Thought for the day--for the month:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."
--Marianne Williamson

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Managing the Meltdowns

So I was online late last night, a little before midnight, and my Internet service went down--in the middle of adding my new blog entry. Needless to say, I was having a moment. My saving grace was that I had typed up the entry in Word, so it wasn't completely lost. Still, I was in the zone and ready to get my latest words to the wise out there. After a few minutes of opening and closing browsers--I tried Firefox, Netscape and Explorer--I realized that it was bigger than that. It was not a good moment. "Is my service shut off?" I wondered. "Who took care of the bill last?" I began to have a bit of trepidation about whether I'd have any service at all."Not now..."

Here I was, blogging about Re-Vision, and I couldn't even get past the computer screen. Here I was, waxing poetic about teaching moments, and I was getting caught up in the moment. Well, as you can tell by reading this, the service is working just fine. I just needed to unplug everything and start over. Guess what? I needed to do the same thing with myself. Why was I so quick to panic and think the worst? I used that teaching moment to unplug from the desktop--seems like there's an invisible umbilical cord connecting me to it sometimes--and take some time to unwind. Translation: I backed off and went to bed. This morning, after some much-needed sleep, I called technical support and "poof" found myself tickling the keyboard again. And now you can see my latest, "I Hope You Danced," which follows this entry. Enjoy!

I Hope You Danced

Have you had a chance to Do the Hustle yet? It’s okay if you dance to a different tune, just make sure you dance. If you’re not familiar with Lee Ann Womack’s popular song, “I Hope You Dance,” you should take a look at the lyrics some time. Here’s a quick excerpt: I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance/ Never settle for the path of least resistance/ Living might mean taking chances/ But they're worth taking… Isn’t it time you took a chance on your dreams? In this economy, there’s a lot less to lose.

Embracing Re-Vision

One aspect of finding your hustle that I didn’t speak to in my last blog is something that might seem totally unrelated. It’s the idea of what I call Re-Vision. Back in the day, folks would speak of taking stock of your life; well, this is pretty much along those lines. Re-Vision is reassessing where you are and where you want to be at any given point in your life. I find myself going through the process at certain milestones: hitting 30, having a child, changing jobs. Those were the moments when I reconsidered what really mattered to me and what/who I was working for when all was said and done.

Writing is one of my first loves, especially creative writing. And one thing I’ve learned well, something that I try to instill in my students, is that revision—updating the original work so that it’s more polished—is just as important as the initial writing itself. The same goes for our goals. They may not be perfect the first time through; or, they may need tweaking at some point, as you take a look at your outcomes and determine successes vs. teaching moments (failure is in the eye of the beholder). It's okay to start over.

Teaching the Teacher

My husband and I experienced a Re-Vision teaching moment very recently. At the beginning of the summer, we decided that we were going to sell our townhouse and buy a larger single-family home so that we could take advantage of the amazing interest rates that abounded at the time. We figured we had valid reasons. For one thing, a lot had changed over the five years since we’d moved into our home. The biggest change was the fact that when we bought it, we had no children; now, we have three. Still, we were able to fit pretty comfortably in the space, since there are three bedrooms.

Whatever the case, we were on a mission to move on up. So, motivated by our new prospects, we fixed up, cleaned up and spent a good amount of money on getting our place “show ready.” What we didn’t expect was the amount of stress that would be involved in keeping it that way with three small children. It was an interesting process.

We spent many a gallon of gas driving around looking for areas in which we’d like to settle down again—some as close as down the street, and others as much as 40 minutes away. But nothing seemed to be just right for us. An all-too-common comment we’d make to each other was, “This is not an upgrade.” Finally, about six weeks or so into the process, we realized that we were pretty happy with what we have, especially for the price in comparison to the houses we were viewing. We actually found a new appreciation for our home as a result of the search. In the end, I was able to swallow my pride, along with my wallet, and make a new plan with the hubby. We figure a larger vehicle is more feasible, and more affordable, in the near future.

My Little Cha-Cha

Okay, I’ll admit that the hustle is a little before my time, though I have some vague memories of it from childhood (lol). So I’ll switch over to one of my more recent dances of choice, the “Cha-Cha.” You know, “Cha-cha one time…” Anyway, I figured that it was only fair to give you an update on my own dance moves since the Hustle blog. I’ve actually done my share of research and applied for some freelance positions online that would allow me to work at my own pace, even during the school year. I told my hubby earlier this evening, “I wish the thought had just hit me at the beginning of the summer!” Hey, genius is no respecter of time, right? Well, I’ll keep you posted on my progress, if you’ll keep me up to speed on yours.

Ever dreaming,

Regina

Do the Hustle!

Who's not looking for a gig on the side these days, right? Well, I'm here to motivate you to get your hustle on, if you haven't found one already. And, just as importantly, if you have found a hustle that works for you, please share your comments and insights. In other words, share the knowledge, which is your real power.

Square Biz?
My husband Charles and I have been talking for years about finding a "family business," something that we can do from home and then hopefully retire comfortably into once we're done with our full-time jobs. We're both in the education field, so we technically have the summers off, although we're often wrapped up in side projects and other means of keeping the summertime income flowing. The challenge for us has been finding that middle ground between our shared interests--passions, really--and skill sets. I'm definitely the driving force behind this ultimate plan. I call myself the consummate entrepreneur.

Narrowing the Playing Field
Going beyond the 9-to-5 is elementary for me. My passions keep me on the more creative side of the work force. And I've been working my little side jobs since at least my early 20s when I realized I'd need some extra cash in order to finance little luxuries like attending grad school and, later, keeping my studio apartment. I've had success as a certified personal trainer (keep that one to yourself), freelance writer and editor, novel editor, fact checker, online editor, decorator and copy writer.

Oddly enough, the challenge for me has always been to simplify--to find that one hobby, that one talent, that I can focus upon completely so that I can build my little empire in the sun. Admittedly, over the years, as I've gone from single to married to the mother of one, to the mother of three, my motivations have changed. These days, I'd be satisfied with knowing that I'm helping to soften the blow of possibly hefty college bills (three in at one time) and a retirement that may not have the benefit of social security. But enough about me. Now, it's your turn...

A Three-Fold Solution
Are you ready to "do the hustle" for yourself? You can start out by taking an inventory of your talents, interests and hobbies. Try this simple technique: Take a clean sheet of paper and divide it into three columns with the headings "Talent," Interest" and "Hobby." Now fold the sheet, accordion style, along those column lines; that will just allow you to look exclusively at each topic.

You're going to tackle this list in two basic steps. Step One is to brainstorm, meaning to quickly jot down whatever you feel falls under each of those columns. More specifically, what are your special talents? Are you a writer, singer, painter, musician? Whatever fits should go under the "Talent" column. Next, consider the various areas where you have interests, even if you haven't pursued them fully. Do you like gardening, even though you have more of a window flower box than a garden? Are you good at bringing groups of people together? You can write down your areas of interest and when you come back to them later, just add what you would need to do in order to make that interest a talent and area of expertise. Finally, there are the hobbies, which can almost speak for themselves. Are you an avid cyclist or hiker? Do you love bowling at midnight? Again, whatever it is, as inconsequential as it may sound, write it down under "Hobby." You're on a roll now. And just in time. It's finally time for Step Two.

So, since Step One was the brainstorming stage, you can consider Step Two your reflective phase. It starts with you. Are there any connections between the three columns? Write them down. Are there entries that ignite your passion as you read them over, making your heart beat a little faster? Take your time with each column and choose the top one or two entries that you think best represent who you are and what you want to do. You've probably heard it before: What would you do for free because you enjoy it so much? (It was the creative arts for me--things like writing and creating.) Once you feel like you've covered all three columns well, make sure you add in the training or research it would require to fulfill the item(s) in Column 2/"Interests." That's your first area of research.

Now, here's where I'd like to suggest an optional Step Three. That would involve sharing the top choices from your columns and reflections with at least two persons whom you trust. It might be your soulmate, it might be your classmate, just make sure you choose someone who can be trusted with your vision and your dream. What does s/he think of your choices? Do they jibe with what s/he knows of you? Ask him/her to brainstorm with you on how to take your lists to the next level. Finally, go for it!

Well now I've said my peace, so I'll just hand over the writing to you for a while. Enjoy! And, please, remember to share what you've discovered and accomplished with me and others.

Ever dreaming,
Regina