Life is Good
I’m enjoying life. Life is good.
It hasn’t always been so. During those lean years of being my own boss, back when I chucked Corporate America and decided to go it on my own, I questioned my sanity on a weekly basis. It wasn’t lack of clients, I was fortunate and in a niche that wasn’t being filled by many others in my area. But, there was a lack of … accomplishment. I didn’t truly feel that I was making anyone’s life different or better. I wanted to do that – to make a difference.
At that point, I decided to write my first book. It seemed to me that women we’re being overlooked when it came to their use of the Internet, especially the shopping they were doing online. Over a period of months, the book came to life and pointed me in a new direction – consulting on marketing to women online.
I felt like I was starting to make a difference, but even then…something was missing.
Let’s fast forward – marketing to women online, and this blog (thanks to my life partner and best friend in the world, Tom Collins), led me to the world of social media, where most companies, big and small, were floundering. With Tom’s help and partnership, we grew out blog consulting business, while publishing books and speaking on a variety of topics related to the expertise we’d developed: marketing to women online, blogging, and using POD for your book publishing efforts.
Which led me to meeting an executive at Nestle Purina, which led to the launch of my petblog, Scratchings and Sniffings (thank you Bruce Peters). Which led me to Caroline Golon who writes Romeo the Cat, and…eventually, led us to partner on creating BlogPaws. The first true pet community online devoted to pet bloggers and pet parents engaged in social media.
None of that came easy. None of it was planned. None of it was even a glimmer in my eye 20 years ago. I share this now to encourage you to let your passion lead you to success. Feed your passion, stay true to it, endure the lean times and cry a little, if need be. Never, ever turn your back on what’s true to your soul! Be what your desire wants you to be. I am a pet person…I am a writer…I still support women and women’s issues and I still teach blogging and social media. But, my soul knew I wanted to return to the roots of my existence – my love of pets. And writing.
Life is good. I am so happy where I am today. I’m making a difference – in the lives of a lot of four-legged creatures that only want to be loved. And, I’m also making a difference in the lives of a lot of pet bloggers who want what I always wanted – to make a difference.
Take your passion and treat it well. It’s more important than food, or wealth, or security. If you follow your passion, everything else will take care of itself. Truly. Oh, yes, it helps to have a partner who supports your ideas and wants to travel that bumpy road with you.
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