Today is a blip in time. Not even that. If I live 80 years it will amount to .003% of my life (I think I mathed that right). But it feels like the biggest day of my life.
I am starting anew today as a freelance consultant. I have dreamed of working for myself before, fantasized about it, planned an entire life in my head when I woke up at 3am unhappy about something, then woke up at 6am and headed into work, telling myself that life is out of reach for someone like me.
BUT NOT TODAY!! Today I am officially working for myself. So it's a big .003% of my life.
A "jack-of-all-trades", I am good at a lot of things. Anyone who I've ever worked with can tell you that. I'll sync all your widgets, organize your filing system, and then help you fix your car while talking about movies or why Lebron is better than MJ (there's no debate). But I'm ready to be a master. My dad is a master mechanic. My mom graduated with a 4.0 getting her Accounting degree at High Point University - while running a business and raising two teenagers (one of whom had a tendency to be a stubborn ass - looking at you, mirror).
I have technically been a "professional" for 12 years - though I started working at age 16 - so let's call it 18 years. I've managed people, inventory, logistics, nonprofit operations, payroll, accounting, budgets, and projects. My degree is in Mechanical Design which I don't use because I graduated in 2008, I'm wrapping up a Non-Profit Management certificate course at Drexel, and I started officiating sports to help supplement my income which has turned into something I really enjoy. Over the past year or so, I've taken some time to ask myself: what am I a master at?
Relationships. I thrive on working with people and I love getting to know someone new and understanding who they are.
Procedures. I think playing sports did this to me. I want to know the rules, understand the process and how things are done, and work within that - pushing the boundaries ever so slightly.
Implementation. Let's get shit done. There are things to do, a life to live, and a world to impact. You want to make a difference? Let's make a plan and do it.
If I had a mantra, that would be it - people, process, productivity.
A mantra (the non-sacred kind) is a commonly repeated word or phrase, especially in advocacy or for motivation. Some people fill their houses with those signs: "Live.Laugh.Love." Some people get tattoos - I'm posting mine on my blog.
So I'm starting today as a consultant - with a mantra - that can help organizations and businesses become more efficient by managing employees and vendors, processes, and help implement solutions that last. If you're reading this as someone who doesn't know me and who is looking for that type of help - click the Contact link.
I've also decided that I'm going to write a blog post every day until I have enough work that I don't have time for it. Yep, every. Single. Day. This is going to be really hard, because I haven't written anything in, like, years. Since college. I like to think I'm a decent writer who uses good grammar and punctuation, can type lots of words per minute, and understands the basics of how to construct a piece...
Did you watch the Denver Broncos game last week? When they had a wide receiver who use to play quarterback fill in because all of the real QBs were out due to COVID-19 protocols? He completed 1 pass for 13 yards. If you're not a football fan, that is not an impressive stat line.
The point is that just like there's a huge difference in an actual professional QB and someone who used to play QB, there's also a huge difference in someone who is an actual writer and, well, me. So this might be bad. I might do one thing right and someone who is an actual writer is probably shaking their head saying, "go back to what you're good at."
But I'ma do it anyway! 'Cause I can! I'm putting myself out there, and letting the pieces fall where they may.
In my blogs, there will probably be lots of movie and TV show quotes and sports references, and I'll do my best to keep it interesting. And though I haven't really decided the entire direction of my writing, it's likely to be somewhat of a mix of relating to my fellow humans, metaphorical analysis of life and navigating it, and maybe some light Joe-Dirt-like advice about "selling the good stuff" or "keep on keepin' on". Which I guess - looking back at my new mantra - is what I do best: people, process, productivity.
Shoutout to @brookelark for the "I am Bad Ass" photo.
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