Everyone hates public speaking, right? Ask almost anyone, even the most accomplished speakers, and they tell you that they get twitchy before they go on stage. But why? Public speaking is just talking, and everyone I know can talk. I blame school. (I have no doubt that my teacher friends will be stopping by to…
Category Archives: learning
The Three Jobs
I told my son that at this point in his young life, he has three very important jobs. Listen to your parents/teachers/grandparents. They’re telling you things for a reason, and no, you don’t know better than they do. Tell the truth. Always be curious and try new things. If he does these things, the rest…
Inspiration, Coming Soon
Next week, I’ll be attending the 4th annual Creative Freelancer Conference in Chicago, and let me tell you, I can’t wait. Sure, CFC teaches lots of useful skills and gives insights into important aspects of small business ownership, but the real value is in the people, the ones who inspire me and kick me in…
PowerPoint is Misunderstood
Last month, I was griping about PowerPoint. Honestly, it’s hard not to. But I’m coming to understand that it’s not the software that’s the problem, it’s how we use it. A client asked me to “put together a canned PowerPoint” that they could distribute to a broad audience. This slide deck would require slides (obviously)…
Be Careful What You Wish For
Remember when I mentioned that I’d hoped to step out of my shell this year to do more public speaking? My wish has been granted. I’ve been selected to speak at the 2011 American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) Conference in Jacksonville this fall. The topic: Presenting Yourself as a Freelance/Independent Professional. I’m more excited than…
If At First You Don’t Succeed
We can’t all be the best at everything, no matter how hard we try. I wrote a post about it over on the Creative Freelancer Blog. Check it out! You can also see all of my posts for the Creative Freelancer Blog in one place. They focus on topics of interest to freelancers, like marketing,…
The Plan for 2011
What’s your plan for 2011? Are you branching out into new areas? Trying new things? Starting fresh? Or does your 2010 work flow directly into the new year without interruption? I’ve made some plans for change in the coming year. I’ve submitted proposals to be a featured speaker at conferences. This is a big change…
Wonder
How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? I have a 4-year-old son. If you ever doubt the wonder of anything on this earth, spend time with a 4-year-old and watch through their eyes. Just today, we went to The Tech Museum in San Jose. Originally, we had planned to…
Grieving for Client Relationships
Hey, everyone! I’m guest blogging over at the Creative Freelancer blog. My latest post, Grieving for Client Relationships, is over there, just waiting to be read. Go on, click on the link. You know you want to.
Money Hungry
I’ve spent the last several months fundraising as part of my Team in Training commitment, and I’ve been doing it in memory of a friend’s husband who died in April. I thought that I had all of the elements for a successful fundraising drive: lots of friends and acquaintances, a compelling story and the fact…