The Last Dance

Dear Dancing with the Stars,

I didn't want it to end. I loved spending my Monday and Tuesday evenings with you. I set my DVR just in case of an emergency and I had to be away, because I never wanted to miss an episode. I was one of your true, loyal fans. I voted every week. I encouraged my friends to do so too. I tweeted and posted on Facebook my anticipation for another season. I blogged about you, my guilty pleasure. I was not a casual admirer. I even went so far as to drive to New Jersey to the Prudential Center and see the show when it went on tour!  I've missed you so, all summer long. But now it's over. Done. I know we can't go on.

It is so very hard to write this. But we're through. You're just not the same show you used to be. You've changed.  I thought you were different than all those other reality shows.  But it turns out I was wrong.

I could see it coming. For a long time I questioned your definition of the word Star. For me  it means someone who has become famous because they earned it. They are an accomplished artist in film or song, a professional athlete, a master of their craft. For you, it has been someone who you hope will garner great free publicity and thus draw good ratings.

First there was Melissa Rycroft. No sooner was she dumped on The Bachelor than you decided she was a star. The next season there was Jake Pavelka and horror of horrors,  Kate Gosselin! OK. So I've been in the TV business. I know you did it for ratings because those translate into money and that is what you are all about. But really, she was so bad it was physically painful to watch. I thought you  would have learned your lesson. But I was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Now you have pushed me over the edge.  I kept hearing the rumors but I didn't want to believe they were true. You couldn't possibly be casting Bristol Palin and The Situation as Stars!  But again, I was wrong, wrong, wrong. 

Our definitions of Star are just too different! Bristol Palin, one day the daughter of the woman who did not complete her term as Governor of Alaska, and a teenage unwed mother, the next a Star?  And The Situation. I can't even begin to go there. I didn't even know he had a real name until I saw your list this morning.

Yes Michael Bolton, Margaret Cho, Florence Henderson and all the rest are stars. But Bristol Palin and The Situation? These are not stars!   These are  masqueraders! Perhaps you should consider changing   the name of the show to Dancing with the Masqueraders. After all, you too DWTS,  are not who you professed to be! Alas! Such deception is just too much for me.

And so I have to leave. I have to end our  ten season relationship. I thought you were different, but I was wrong. I thought about trying to continue, to put this aside, hope they are both out in the first few weeks and  pretend this deception was OK.  But I can't. I'm a woman of principle. Your choices perpetuate the message our media obsessed culture continues to put out there. You don't have to work to earn celebrity status.  Just do something, anything that will garner media attention, the more outlandish and controversial the better, and you too will be considered a star. 

I will miss you, DWTS, but I'm sure my absence will go unnoticed. You see I have never  been  asked to participate in a Nielsen survey.  So while my vote for the best dancer might have counted, my viewership does not help you to get that high price you quote for a spot in the live show. Which we know, in the end is what this is all about. It is not about picking true Stars. It is about getting people to tune in so you can charge more money to advertise. Yes, you too are just another corporate sell out.

I'm sure there will be others who feel otherwise, who will ignore this, pretend like it is OK. But not I.
I can't pretend. It will be hard. I won't deny that. I will miss Carrie Anne Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli. I will miss Tom Bergeron's entertaining hosting and all my favorite pros, Julianne, Derek, Cheryl, Edyta, Tony, Mak, Kym and Lacey. I will miss getting to see Jennifer Grey dance again. It's been a long time since Dirty Dancing.

But I will find other shows to watch and books to read to fill in your gap. And I will encourage others who are disillusioned to do the same. I've heard about other dancing shows that are good. I was just too loyal a fan to even switch the channel.

While this is painful, I must go now, sign on to Facebook and remove my like button.  Perhaps we will cross each other's  path again. One never knows. Life is like that.  You could change. Or not.

Farewell!
Your once loving and adoring fan



 This blog is being syndicated on BlogHer, Life well said.

Me Coaching Me

My list is long today. Perhaps too long and that is why I have been accomplishing nothing. Not knowing how else to center my thoughts I started writing. Morning pages a la The Artist's Way. Three pages of nothing. Writing without purpose. Writing just to practice. Writing to try and make sense of the many computer programs open simultaneously in my head.

The first thing I wrote was what would I say to one of my coaching clients? If this was not about me, if I had the luxury of perspective and could pull myself back from where I was, if I could look at my little circle of chaos this morning with a clear and not self involved head, what advice would I give?

Five things. I would tell myself to glance at the big list and then make a small one with five things I wanted to do this morning. They could be prioritized by urgency, obviously anything with a deadline showing up first. But they don't all have to be the  big things. Include some small things too. Maybe a mindless yet necessary task or two that I know can get checked off quickly. Something that will bring me a sense of accomplishment quickly.

I think one of the biggest challenges for any reinventor or entrepreneur is feeling progress is being made. We have our sights set on the big goal and anything less feels like no movement has been made. When in fact that is not true. And how better to feel the sense of movement than by checking off a list that includes all the little steps you are taking?

Five items on a list. A deadline in which to finish them. The day, the morning, whichever feels best.  That is what I would tell myself if I were coaching me this morning. The reason? Because the sense of accomplishment breeds the desire to accomplish more. Because when the small list is completed the next question is what's next?

BTW,  I decided to listen to myself today. Number one on my morning list was writing a blog.
Check!


What would you say to you today if you were coaching you?
Do you have a list of five?
What's on your list?

A Life Of It's Own

I followed the suggestion of Laura Day this morning to write a reality tale of how what I want came into being.  I wrote a story about how my desire to be a published novelist manifested. It was a good exercise that I recommend to anyone who is creating something new in their life. It put me in that place of having it already.

But it also got me to thinking how we sometimes write these stories in our head of how things are supposed to unravel and hold too tightly to what we think it should look like.

I have dreamed of one day writing full time for most of my life. My fear of not being good enough or not having anything interesting enough to say was pretty much what stopped me from  devoting  time to the practice.

I did not get serious about my writing until eight years ago. And even then it was still more a dream as in pipe dream than a dream as in I want to make this happen.

But now I had this character I created and this story that had become a novel. I knew it was good. I started to get serious. I got an agent. I had a plan. When the book was sold I would leave that day job. OK, so it was more than leaving a day job. It would be leaving a twenty five year career. In any event the story I was writing of how this would transpire did not include being asked to leave that job before the book was sold. But that is the way things unraveled.

So I had part of my dream fulfilled. I was writing full time. And I had a severance package, so I rewrote that to look like my first book advance.

Then the economy tanked. I hadn't written that into the story of my publication either. The market for new fiction writers was challenging to say the least. So while my agent navigated those waters I wrote a second novel. I liked this even better than my first one.

I didn't plan that two plus years after leaving my corporate job I would still be in search of a book contract.
I didn't plan I would be putting aside the first novel and pushing the second.
I didn't plan that I would seriously begin to consider the idea of self publishing. Thank you Seth Godin.

If I was still holding on to how I thought things should occur, I would probably be seeking psychiatric care. That or giving up.

But giving up is not an option. The publication will occur. However the road I am traveling to get there  is just like any story I write. I think it is going to look one way and once my fingers hit the keys it takes on a life of its own. If I don't let my fingers fly, if I try to censor myself or force things in one direction, I have an unreadable story. So I let go of what I think the sequence of events will be, I stay open to what shows up and I trust in a good story.

I'm Taking A Poll

I'm taking a poll. What I want to know is have you ever been polled?

Seriously, are you one of these people that has actually been asked to participate in a poll. You know, the kind that are quoted daily in the media. Where someone actually calls you on the phone and asks if you will participate. Not the voluntary type that might appear in the sidebar of your favorite news site. I'm talking an official poll in which presumably a cross section of the population is being interviewed. The unbiased variety, if there is such a thing anymore.

I keep hearing the results of all these polls that are being taken yet no one asks me to participate.
How is that?

The number of polls are staggering. Gallup, Pew,  Reuters, Rasmussen, CBS/NewYorkTimes, CNN, Fox News, Time, Associated Press, NBC/WSJ, RealClearPolitics.  There is an entire industry based on taking the pulse of the public.

You would think I would get a call from at least one of them.  The thing is I don't know anyone who has been called either. So I want to know, who are these people that are being polled?

Having spent all those years mired in the world of Arbitron and Nielsen ratings I am aware of how small a sample is needed to determine the future fate of any one program, not to mention how much you get to charge for a commercial in it.

I also know that because I worked in the business I could never be included in that kind of research.  Which means  a whole industry of media employed individuals, from the IT department to the executive in charge of programming in the corner office is eliminated from most polling, unless of course they lie about their work experience.

A few months ago someone called wanting to know if I would participate in a survey. I was intrigued. It could be good research for my writing. But after a few questions one came up that eliminated me.
Have you now or ever worked for a media property?   My answer ended our conversation. My opinion  no longer counted.

But why  shouldn't my opinion be counted?  And how many others like me are eliminated from this overdose of opinion polling that is used to sway headlines and affect everything from the political climate to what shows are programmed?

I admit to not always picking up the phone when I see an 800# on my caller ID. And I would guess I am not alone in that regard. And what about those who are afraid to express their opinion, who believed in the idea that "Big Brother" may be checking long before the advent of technology and GPS tracking. Even if they are picking up that 800# they may be hanging up shortly after.


OK. I admit this might sound like a bit of rant, but hey, it's been raining for four days now and I am starting to miss the sun again. I'm entitled to a rant.  So pacify me. Tell me what you think. Take my poll. Post a comment or try out the new poll gadget from Blogger in my sidebar.  It's totally random. I swear.

The Rain Of Change

It feels strange. Rain. Two days in a row. What feels more bizarre is that I like it.

Don't get me wrong. I don't dislike rain. I enjoy a good downpour every now and then, especially when the apartment is clean, the refrigerator is full of food and I have no place I have to be except at my iMac writing. But usually one day is enough and that one day was yesterday.

Rain can depress me. It can make me lazy and want to do nothing more than snuggle under the covers and watch a good movie. But this rain is doing neither. I was glad to see the overcast skies when I woke up.  I feel happy. And inspired to accomplish a lot of work today.

So I am thinking..what's up with that?


Is it because I can open the windows and feel a cool breeze  circulating without the AC?
Is it the fact that the city always looks a little cleaner and fresher, after a good downpour?
Is it because there has been so little this summer that it feels like an old friend I haven't seen for a while?

Or is it because it doesn't feel like summer rain? It feels like the fall. Could it be....and I hesitate to write this, because I know I will be reminded in the dead of winter when I am longing for warm summer days that I even suggested such a thing....., that I am ready for a change?

I can hear the workman outside setting up the stages for Fashion Week. That and the US Open Tennis signal the end of summer and Back to School in New York City. The season is about to switch.

And as much as a summer girl I am at heart, I am ready.  For new. For fresh. For possibility.

Too much sun and heat invites dry grass and the possibility of brush fire. Too much rain clogs drains, floods homes and blocks roadways. When things stay the same all the time it invites stagnation.

Change is good. Even when it means the summer is almost over.



What does rain do to you?
What is your signpost for the change of seasons?
Are you ready for a change?
What changes are you making?


If your change involves your work check out my coaching services page.

Tales of Reinvention: Vince Rocco

Vince Rocco is a Vice President for Halstead Property. But Real Estate has not always been his business. In fact when when I first met Vince years ago the running joke was that Vince was either buying or selling his current residence. At one point he moved seven times in seven years. What started as a hobby became his passion. In 2002 Vince decided to make Real Estate his work. 




I believe that sometimes we choose to reinvent and sometimes it choose us.  
What made you take the leap?
I had been thinking of transitioning for a while. But I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I had a great job in network consulting with a big title, Vice President of Sales, making good money with lots of perks. It was not easy to give up. But then 9/11 happened. I had just started a new job that August. My office was near the Towers. I remember being covered with ash from head to toe and just running. Something snapped in me.  I knew something had to change.  It took a few months but then one morning that winter I woke up. I still remember just laying there and deciding it was time. A few days later I called my boss and said I'm resigning. That was February of 2002.

Where did you get the idea? 
I was always buying real estate. But I'm not really sure when I got the idea. I think it was just there. I believe everything happens for a reason and with a purpose. Who knew that when I bought my very first Manhattan apartment it would lead to this?

You came to this with a sales background. Has that made it easier to transition?
Real Estate is more marketing than sales. You don't get schooled in Real Estate. Yes, you have to take classes to get your license, but I have found that the most successful brokers are that way from life experiences. If you've walked the earth long enough and you have good people and communication skills  then you are prepared. I have and I do.

What has been the biggest surprise concerning your reinvention?
My comfort level with being free and not being on a salary. It took me two years to get over the shock of not having a paycheck every two weeks. But I think that has made me a better person, stronger, more confident. It's taught me to work, to breath, to relax and trust the compensation will follow.

What has been the biggest obstacle?
Well, we can go back to the steady pay thing. But also trying to keep everything fresh. It's up to me to come up with inventive ideas every day, every week, to stay current. Essentially being a broker is being in business for yourself. So it's all up to me.

What has come the easiest?
The confidence.  Knowing what to do to make it happen. Wisdom I have now that I am in my fifties. My father used to tell me "Just wait until you're my age. You'll know." He's right. The older I've gotten the smarter I've gotten.

What do you love most?
The freedom that comes with this is overwhelming. I don't have to wear a tie, much less that perfect tie that is the latest style at the moment. I love the flexibility in my day. I got a dog, Jett. I couldn't do  that before because I couldn't devote that much time to taking care of her. Now I can.

What do you miss the most?
Expense accounts. Having my cell phone bill paid for.

I always say my biggest regrets have to do with Manhattan Real Estate. Do you have any regrets?
Absolutely not.

What are you most proud of?
I was made a VP after 5 years. And I am a soon to be a Senior VP. I'm proud that with all the drama, the ups and downs that go with a reinvention I did it and I did it successfully.

What advice would you give others shaking up their lives?
Put the fear on the table and just do it. Stop thinking. Until you do it, you don't know.

I don't believe Reinvention is a destination, but an ongoing process. 
What's next for you?
I'm ready to do more. I love sharing what I know about sales, about life, and about real estate. I'd like to take that to a broader audience, possibly with a radio or television show. I'm just starting to investigate that. So stay tuned.

Vince's latest properties are  at 505 West 47th Street. 
You can contact Vince at www.vincerocco.com  
You can also follow his inside the Real Estate market tips on Facebook at The Rocco Group.

Playing By My Own Rules

I went to see Eat Pray Love this weekend. I did not read the reviews ahead of time. Mostly because I rarely agree with the movie critics. Plus in the case of this movie I knew better. I had read the book. No matter how brilliant an adaptation it might be, this is not the subject matter that those who review would take kindly to. It's about a spiritual quest, it's about pausing, it's about looking within. It is not The Expendables.

So as the movie and the book that birthed it suggest, I play by my own rules. I bought my ticket and took my mother. I was more worried about whether she would like it than me. I loved the story. Elizabeth Gilbert inspires me, not just as an author but as a woman. But Mom, who has always been a big movie buff, has changed tastes as she grows older. I'm never quite sure anymore what she will like, but I know she is a big Julia Roberts fan. The real test would be whether or not she stayed awake.

I read the reviews before I sat down to write this blog. I will pause here for a moment to mention  I was hard pressed to find one not written by a man. Which might explain the overall nature of them. This is a movie about a woman's inner journey, aimed to reach women who might relate to Liz's internal struggles. The film like the book is not your typical three act structure with a beginning, middle and end but a journey sprinkled with moments of laughter, tears and a lot of love.  I suppose if I was forced to sit through The Expendables because I was assigned to review it I would have great difficulty reminding myself  that I am not the target audience for all that blood and violence.

But I digress. The reviews were written to dissuade you from plunking down your thirteen bucks for a ticket. How could a  woman who seemed to have so much of what convention tells us we should want not be fulfilled? How could she throw away a marriage, and go off on a journey of self exploration? Isn't it narcissistic to embark on all that self examination?
Blah. Blah. Blah.
(NOTE:As a woman who has chosen her own unconventional path, I can tell you it happens. I can also tell you a lot of people do not understand.)

But let's face it. No movie that is  a two hour diversion into beautiful cinematography with a well chosen cast that makes you think, makes you question, makes you laugh and makes you cry with no overt sex scenes and no violence is going to get great reviews. That is  the culture we live in and no doubt why The Expendables took in more money this weekend than Eat Pray Love.

Eat Pray Love is not a movie for everyone. Nor is the book (although it continues to sit high and pretty on The New York Times bestseller list).

But then neither is taking a risk for everyone or  sitting still long enough to pay attention to the voice inside of us and  listening to that voice and allowing it to lead  instead of the critics.

Mom stayed awake. She really enjoyed the movie. Me too.  She also insisted on Italian food afterwards.

The Cheering Squad

I have a cheering squad. We are a  group of seven women who meet on the phone every other week for an hour. We brag about our stuff. We talk about what we want to create next. We coach each other. We acknowledge each other. Often there is laughter, sometimes tears. We hold a safe space for our desires to manifest.

This week we met in person, a rare treat since we don't all live in NYC. But one of our out of town members happened to be visiting so there was reason. We had lunch as an appetizer before we did our thing.

Sometimes I get nervous anticipating my turn. You see I am ready for my BIG brag. You know the one where I have my book deal signed, sealed and delivered. But I don't have that brag  yet. And  all my others seem to pale in comparison. At least in my mind.

I had all sorts of knots twisting and turning in my stomach as I listened to the others go before me. There were BIG brags going down. My friend Karen's new game is out. One of our other members was just named VP of a major broadcast network. My brags, the ones I had planned on sharing seemed to be getting smaller and smaller until they shriveled up and disappeared into the ether. If I could have run out of the room I might have.

But that is not how being a member of a cheering squad works. It's about showing up and pushing past. It's about acknowledging not just the others on the squad but yourself. I knew if I could just  manage to remember one tiny one, the others would follow.

So I stayed. I took my turn. I remembered the article that was just published in ForbesWoman. I remembered that a powerful woman's group like 85Broads tweets how much they love my posts and opinions and cites me as an expert in career and professional advice. I remembered the offers I have received to guest blog on other women's sites like Endless Beauty.

I got to see the smiles from my cheering squad, not just hear them. I saw me through their acknowledging eyes instead of my critical ones. I heard their offers of support. I felt their love. And I remembered what I had forgotten.

We need to take a moment and brag. We cannot overlook the little stuff on the way to the big stuff. It all matters.  Each accomplishment, each signpost, is a step closer. We need to give cheer and we need to allow ourselves to receive it. We are not here to do this alone. We need our cheering squad.


Do you have a cheering squad?
Do you acknowledge yourself for your little steps?
Or do you wait for the big ones before you give yourself credit?

A Day In The Life Of The Authorpreneur

Tuesday Morning
3:30AM
Wide awake. I mean AWAKE.
What is this about?
No use tossing and turning.
Get up, make coffee.
Write.
Torture myself trying to finish a blog on fear.
Afraid to hit publish.
4:35AM
Hit publish.
Still afraid it is not one of my best.
Check email, social nets.
More writing.
6:30AM
The sun is up.
Go for a walk.
Forgot how crowded the Park is early in the AM.
All those people with someone else clocking their time.
Glad I am not one of them anymore.
7:30AM
Catch Javier Barden on GMA. Penelope Cruz is one lucky lady.
I want my novels made into a movie.
Thinking about what character Javier can play.
8AM
Craving protein. Make eggs. Read NYTimes.
Shower, dress.
8:30AM
Try to sort through all the contacts I made at BlogHer.
Not in the mood yet. Later.
Now. Write. Write. Write.
11AM
Mac class at the Apple Store. Learn about spotlight. How did I not know about spotlight?
One on one classes are genius marketing!
1PM
Conference Call
Wondering if I should self publish?
2:30 PM
MUST nap.
4PM.
Check email. Article on Cracking the Code on Business Casual is up on ForbesWoman!
Start tweeting the article!
5PM
Follow up on all my BlogHer contacts. Finally!
Read WSJ.
Phone Calls.
PR Coaching from @NancyMoonPR
7PM
Salad for dinner. Still bathing suit season. Must watch intake.
8:30PM
Writing this blog
10PM
A glass of rose and an episode of  Rescue Me.
11PM
Sleep

The Choice Of Fear

Sometimes I get scared. After so many years of living in a world where I knew when my next check would arrive, not knowing takes some getting used to.

There are days when it can consume. When I look for the easiest way to erase those fears. Days when it can make any entrepreneur wonder why they chose this route. After all wouldn't it be easier to just have a conventional job, one where every second Thursday new money appeared in the checking account via the miracle of automatic deposit? There is  a sense of security in that.

Or is there?

Does a "regular" job really mean the money worries go away? Or is that just a perception we have created for ourselves that keeps us working at things and in places we no longer want to be anymore? The idea that the "regular" job will make us not afraid.

Or would it?

For me, the "regular" job was the fear that had me take this route in the first place. My fear of  being someplace I didn't want to be anymore doing something that no longer fuels my soul.

That fear drove me to do something that might be more fearful to someone else, like not knowing when the next deposit is cleared. I chose my fear. And when I remember it was a choice, I am not  afraid.


What are you most afraid of?
Taking the road less traveled?
Staying someplace you don't want to be?
Do you think fear is a choice?

I Am A Blogger

I am a Blogger.

There was a time when I did not know what the word meant. It conjured up a picture of some pudgy little creature that fed on swamp growth.  Little did I know Blog is a blend of two words, web and log.

My friend Laura Dawson, a pioneer agent in social networking and digital media was the first person I knew that blogged. I have to admit I did not pay much attention then. I was still immersed in the world of Cable Television. One day we were new media and the next the Internet arrived and we became old media. And like most people who sit on the other side of the table from agents of change, I was skeptical. Who was going to read a Blog? How would people find these Blogs? How could you make money from Blogging?  It never crossed my mind at the time that I would one day have a Blog of my own.

But I do.
I am a Blogger.

I launched my blog on November 18, 2008. Most blogs don't last three months.  I write a Blog but I also read them. I aspire to have people feel about my Blog the way I do about Seth Godin's. I never want to miss one and he always makes me think.

I have a following that is growing steadily. I suppose I could up the ante on that by writing a highly controversial or very angry rant that has no fact behind it or  posting outlandish pictures of myself in compromising situations but that is not what my blog is about. It is about what I think and what I see in this third chapter of my life, the post corporate section. It is about reinvention, rejuvenation and inspiration. And it is about good writing.


I am a Blogger and this week I am attending my first BlogHer Conference.

BlogHer is the largest community of women bloggers as well as a media company. They have been around since 2005. This conference is a hot ticket. In fact, there is no doubt that if I wanted to I could sell mine at a much higher price than what I paid for it. But I am not selling.

I am Blogger. And I am going to my first BlogHer Conference.

I am not sure what to expect, what I will learn, and what I will be surprised I know already.
I am sure there will much discussion as to how to make money from Blogging. And that is a good thing, although not the intention I had when I started this.  I launched my Blog to establish my writing platform. It was the first real grounding I had just a few months out of a world I had spent twenty five years in. I saw it as my daily writing practice, a place to grow my readership before my novels were published. A place where a potential editor might get a taste of my voice. A place where I could go each day and connect with the world.

I am a Blogger and I am going to a conference of BlogHers.

I have attended more than my fair share of conferences and know enough that the most important part is the networking. I'm planning on doing a lot of that.

Tales of Reinvention: Daniel Mancini

Daniel Mancini spent twenty five years in the garment industry. Two years ago he turned his back on it all and followed his dream of creating a business  based on his  grandmother's secret meatball recipe. Yes, that would make him part of the growing group of Corporate expatriates in search of a more meaningful work life. Mama Mancini's, packaged for modern day life, was born of  Daniel's love of his grandmother's sauce and the Sunday dinner.

I discovered Daniel in today's New York Times, but apparently the meatballs are available in a food store near you or can be delivered right to your door.

On his blog Daniel writes:
"The secret to making an amazing meatball: 1% is the ingredients and 99% is love."
I think it's also the secret to an amazing life.

Time

My summers as a kid seemed to be endless. The days stretched long into the evening after the sun went down. The neighborhood  was full of parents on aluminum webbed beach chairs smoking cigarettes and drinking a beer and kids engaged in games of stoop ball and hopscotch on boards designed on concrete with colored chalk. The biggest decision of the day was whether to ask for ice cream from Mr. Softee, Good Humor or the Bungalow Bar truck that stopped on our block. Summer, even in the city, moved slowly and that was a good thing.

Things change and with it so does how fast time slips away. It is August 2 and the summer of 2010  is waning quickly. We are at that point where I know in the blink of an eye, the leaves will start to change color, the air will get cooler and I will feel sad to let go.

It is also exactly two years to the  day since I held a corporate job.  Two years since I made a conscious decision to create something new and different in my life. Two years since I woke to an alarm and raced about my morning to head downtown to the office.

One of the most difficult things in my transition has been the speed with which things manifest. I was in a fast paced sale in which you had a lot of control on the end result. That is not true of the direction I've chosen. The business of writing and selling stories is not a fast one, nor is building and growing a coaching practice.

And that is the great irony of today's blog. At the same time I want to slow the end of summer, to bask in  each ray of sunshine, I  want to rush time and speed up the selling of my novel.

Maybe that is also the lesson. To savor each moment no matter what. We can't delay the changing of the seasons, nor can we speed up things before their time. We can only do the work, drive the truck in the direction we want to go, stop for an ice cream on occasion and remember to enjoy the journey.