Thursday was one of the most amazing days of my life.
I had the pleasure of meeting and working with Michelle Ward, the “When I Grow Up Coach” for 6 super exciting, super productive, hours.
And I finally know what I’m going to do when I grow up! (Or at least what I am going to work towards for the next couple of years! Not being pinned down to one specific thing is one thing that I have learned is important to me!)
I have to admit it was a little surreal at first. Michelle is someone I discovered at the Etsy Symposium, and then have been following her blog ever since. So I am used to seeing her on my computer screen. But to actually talk to her, one-on-one, it was a little bit like meeting a celebrity at first (not that I have ever met a celebrity!) And still being a Skype newbie, the whole idea that I can see and talk to someone at the same time still blows my mind (I still own a phone with a cord attached to it, remember?) But it was well worth a few moments of shyness and jitters and feeling like I am on the Jetsons!
So how did this all come about?
Well…two reasons. I’ve always felt like I never really knew what I wanted to do “when I grew up,” not because I lacked ambition, but more because I had too much! I wanted to do everything! I liked to sing and dance and act and play the piano and write and I was passionate about food and healthy eating and creativity and kids and animals and the environment and the outdoors and on and on and there just didn’t seem to be a university program out there where you could “major” in everything! 🙂
I kind of fell into teaching (a story for another day), and I enjoy it (most of the time!) and I am passionate about it, and I love my students, but I also still love so many other things including gardening and writing and sewing and cooking and I am always looking to learn something new. And teaching is a job that, if you do it right, takes up most of your time.
This year, teaching part-time, has opened up a world of opportunity for me – 6 days a month to do whatever it is that I want to do.
And I feel like I have been spinning my wheels more than ever. Running in circles because there are so many things I want to do and I keep starting a bit here and then a bit there, and never really feeling like I have accomplished anything.
Then in walks Michelle Ward with a new program she needs a guinea pig for. And oh, how I love to be the guinea pig. (You’ve got a pattern to test, I’m your girl! You want someone to edit your cookbook and try out the recipes – pick me, pick me! You’ve got a brand new program you want to launch, but someone has to be willing to walk through the learning curve with you, I volunteer!)
So I jumped at the chance, and it led to some of the best hours of my life. We spent some time talking, some time working, and all of the time getting closer to the focus that I have been longing for. I discovered that I am a Renaissance Soul (I’ll save explaining that for a later post) and we develop a plan that is going to allow me to move forward, but always leave room for learning new things.
For the first time in a long time, I am really excited about my life and where it’s going. I know what I want to do, I know what I am going to do to get there. Whew! What an amazing feeling!
And a lot of what I am going to do is going to involve this blog, and Artisan in the Woods, and I can’t wait to get working so I can share all of this awesomeness with you! There are exciting things coming!
Have you ever had a day like this? A day that leaves you energized and excited and ready to finally move forward?
When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible.
— Nancy Coey
Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
— Howard Thurman