Shannon's Blog: Minding My Own Business

  So much to ❤️ at Centrepiece Writing Studio You know how it feels when you try on a jacket, or get a new 'do, or get in the driver's seat of a new car, and it just feels so... YOU!   You get a confident twinkle in your eye, maybe a little strut in your step - and you think to yourself: Yeah, this is me! That's how I feel every time I visit my new website: www.centrepiecewriting.com! This site is such an authentic reflection of who I am and the services I offer - I can't wait for you to check it out. Yeah, this is me!    

"Follow your bliss, and the Universe will open doors where there were only walls."  - Joseph Campbell  Summer may be over, but I'm off to camp! Pretend you already knew I've been working on developing a video game for the last 18 months.  If you didn't know, it's probably because there hasn't been a lot to say until now. I'll fill you in below! The exciting news is I - along with a superstar crew of creative Bad Astronauts - have been hand-chosen by the fine folks at Xbox (yes that Xbox) to attend a five-month virtual Game Ca mp, where we'll be building a test version of our game! We start next week.

"She said Tell me are you a Christian, child? And I said Ma'am I am tonight." -Marc Cohn, Walking in Memphis “Do you know the Lord’s prayer?” The question - called out to me by a stranger on the street - catches me off guard.  This guy is vaguely familiar to me. He and his girlfriend sit in a doorway with their stuffed backpacks. I imagine they may be under-housed. Calling out greetings to the passersby.  I had smiled as I'd walked past, returning a friendly wave.  And now, this question from left field: Do I know the Lord's prayer? I cringe inwardly. Is it leading up to a creative request for spare change? Am I about to have my WASP-y ass handed to me? I pause, calculating the risk.

"Nobody can bring you peace but yourself."  Ralph Waldo Emerson A few months ago, back when travel was still in the social lexicon, I pulled off the highway for a quick health break.  Imagine my disappointment when I discovered the available facility wasn't a bathroom at all, but an outhouse. Gross! I have specific protocols for outhouses:  close my eyes, hold my breath, sometimes even plug my ears.  And for the love of all that is good, control that imagination!   Focus only on the task. These are natural instincts when we're uncomfortable.  And although these strategies are perfect for a five-minute pit stop, they aren't productive for long-term coping.

I can't believe it's already May. Since my last blog,  I've reached a number of exciting milestones: I got my business license, launched my new Facebook page , and deposited my first paycheque as an entrepreneur! I'm proud of my progress. But truth be told, this has been a tough winter, and this post is more personal than professional. I spent months feeling like I was fighting the office cold, and generally felt a desire to climb into my bear-cave and hibernate through to Spring. In March, just as the sun came out and the robins began to sing, my pace of life slowed even further. I felt tired, sluggish, and couldn't concentrate. My motivation was non-existent. I assumed I was finally getting the flu. I didn't get the flu. But I spent almost a week at home, sleeping 10-hour nights and topping up with mid-day naps. I startled easily, and could feel my pulse pounding in my belly, sounding alarm bells at imaginary threats. At this point, m...

It's that time of year when the world falls in love Every song you hear seems to say   "Merry Christmas, may your New Year dreams come true." - Christmas Waltz by Sammy Cahn & Jule Styne I love the centrepiece laid out on the table above, and the way it brings joy on so many levels: pinecones for texture and growth, pomegranate seeds for colour and zest, sprigs of pine for fragrance, and of course, a lantern to light the path. Add a little Sinatra to round out the senses. Whatever your personal tradition, this is the time of year we find solace amid the darkness, and celebrate the gradual lengthening of the days.  During this time of reflection, I wish you all the warmth and coziness of December.  Wrap yourself in a blanket and curl up by the fire. Take afternoon naps. Bake gingerbread. Keep your loved ones close.  It's the season for comfort. From my home to yours, Merry Christmas! xo Shannon  *** What a year!  This marks my...

"On the subway, we feel like strangers, but we're all in this together." - Ben Lee, Singer full song here I've been talking to a lot of people and seeing a lot of comments online from people who are lonely. We are finding it harder and harder to make those personal connections that give us that sense of belonging we all seek. I don't have the clinical or sociological expertise to discuss the roots of this problem or its significance on society, but I'm a human, and I've also experienced loneliness - especially through large swaths of my adolescence and young adulthood - so I feel modestly qualified to talk about this. I don't mention any of it to bring you down. I mention it because there's a terrible irony here: If you feel lonely, you're not alone. This is a complex topic, with many strands and solutions that vary by circumstances.  But let's not overlook the simple solutions either - whether you're lonely yourself...

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.                                                                                          - John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States In the last month, I've been taking ca...

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. -Ralph Waldo Emerson Did you feel life pick up speed his week?  I know I did. My inbox flooded with loudspeaker announcements of sales, as every store I've ever shopped at tried to grab a piece of me.  Yikes! Whether or not you're in the thick of things already, we're all close.  It's the last week of November after all. The time when to-do lists surge out of control. Parties and concerts abound.  We burn through our reserves of Vitamin D. I'm on high alert. As a small business owner, my biggest risk to my productivity isn't a computer virus or a power outage.  For me, it's the common cold and flu. Have you ever tried to write when you're sick?  Sinuses aren't the only thing that clog - inspiration does too. And it's hard to be creative when you're sleeping. Starting now, I'm keeping extra special watch over my well-being. That means paying attention to hand-washing. Stay...

"From a little spark may burst a flame."   - Dante I made a stomach-turning discovery this week. I've been watching my readership sink over the last five weeks since Thanksgiving.  And although I've always approached my readership stats with a sense of curiosity,  they've been pretty deep in the basement lately in a way that's been hard to explain. Do I have spinach in my sentences? Rather than taking it personally, I assumed people had gotten busy with Halloween, followed by that nuisance of a time change, caught a quick breath over Remembrance Day, and then swan dived into the early and persistent pressure of the jingle jingle.  Who has time to read this time of year? But this week I discovered it was all my fault after all.  I took for granted my default social media settings.  Instead of posting for the world to see, the last couple of weeks, my blog posts have been inadvertently locked up in a me- only viewing party of one. Rather tha...

We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.   -William Faulkner, writer, Nobel laureate I am taking time this weekend to remember those who serve and those who have served to protect our peace, democracy and freedoms. Especially, I've been reflecting on freedom: What does freedom mean and how can I honour freedom in a free country like Canada? Here are a few ideas: 1 - Seek Knowledge Knowledge is power. I think of countries where getting an education is still so difficult, especially for girls and women,  especially for the impoverished, and how lucky I am to have access to so many free learning resources, both formal and informal.  Whether I want to find a better soup recipe, or learn a new language, or find out more about how my car engine works, I can do it!  It can be as easy as going to the local library, museum or nature centre.  Or could be as involved as signing up for a continuing education class at the loca...

Design is the silent ambassador of your brand.  -Paul Rand, art director and graphic designer My business cards are ready! Earlier this summer, I mentioned that just at the moment my business name had crystallized, a friend reconnected and offered to help with a logotype and card design.  What luck!   We met over donuts and discussed at length my business name and the kind of work I hoped to do.   At this point, it's important to know I have a very limited capacity for spatial visualization.  So my thoughts about how my card should look were particularly open-ended.  I wanted my cards to be approachable. Open. Calm.  Maybe a pen? But, as it turns out, a spatial deficit doesn't stop me from having strong opinions.  Hey! Why are you laughing?! I liked that. But not this. What about moving this over there? No - never mind, that's wrong. Can I see...? And this is where I salute Marleen Kiral, Commander-in-Chief at A lmo stronaut...

Decisions like this make me want to hide! I'm in touchy territory here.  I admit, until recently, the mere topic of incorporation vs. sole proprietorship (yuck!) used to trigger anxiety. Researching this kind of stuff is onerous, and yet it feels so important. There's pressure to get it right.  When I think back to my pre-biz days, self-doubt around business mechanics was a real barrier to expanding my horizons. But it won't stop me now. So when I write about incorporation vs. sole proprietorship, it's not with a ton of expertise. It's based on skimming a bunch of websites, then back-checking my understanding on a few others. Consider this more of a musing than actual advice.  You're not reading this for actual advice are you? A few of my friends have incorporated in the past year or two, and from the sidelines, it feels like there's a certain cachet attached to it. They are fancy business people now.  They get to put Inc. at the end of...

Helvetica is the sweatpants of typefaces.   - John Boardley, typography whiz and fellow blogger I've always been a content gal. Get the words just right, and they'll speak for themselves. If the content needs a little extra oomph,  someone else can deal with that. It's rare for me to deviate from whatever the default font happens to be: Times , Arial , Helvetica .    I know some of you are cringing right now.  But through the process of creating a business card and logotype these last few months, my thoughts have been consumed with fonts. There are millions of options out there.  And fonts have meaning.  They silently convey personality, even attention to detail. Don't believe me?  Let's go to the movies... Maybe you'd like to see: Passions and fortunes come and go, but frankly my dear... a few party favours make everything bright and gay! Or how about: The film that finally explains why men and women can't be ...

Buildings and bridges Are made to bend in the wind To withstand the world That's what it takes.   All that steel and stone Are no match for the air, my friend What doesn't bend breaks What doesn't bend breaks.                                        - Ani Difranco, singer Resilience is a hot topic in the workplace right now. I don't know about you, but when I'm having a bad day, I like to really wallow in the muck,  eat too much chocolate, and then pick fights with my family - really spread that misery around!  #KiddingNotKidding. But sometimes there's just no time for a pity party. Or maybe the party's gotten stale. That's where resilience comes in: the ability to recover quickly from setbacks.  To get back up one more time than you fall down. A couple of mont...

Without humility there can be no humanity.  -John Buchan, Canada's 15th Governor General I had coffee with a friend this summer, and we got talking about confidence. Specifically how much of it I'll need to get my business off the ground. I've touched on this topic before: it's the difference between maybe I can help?   and I can help. I agreed with her. I continue to monitor my personal presentation in terms of confidence. I'm deliberately pushing myself to talk more about my blog and ask for help reaching a broader audience ( yes please: share my blog! ).  I'm also learning from missed opportunities. But there's not much more to that story. We all know about the connection between confidence and success right?  That territory's already been charted.    What I've been reflecting on more since that conversation, is the role of humility in success.  Unlike confidence, humility is a trait that sometimes gets overlooked. The fear...

Photo courtesy of Ylanite Koppens @ Pexels "Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day of your life." - Unknown Every week? people typically ask when I tell them about my blog posts. Me: Every week. That feels about right to build discipline,  exercise my writing muscles and stay on the radar. What if you're away? I can post remotely. What if you're sick?  Well, okay, I always prioritize my health, but I don't get sick very often.  That sounds busy... The question I get asked most since I launched my blog goes something along the lines of: You're doing this in your spare time?!  You must be busy...   The truth is, it does take up quite a bit of time outside of my day job.  There's so much I want to write, research, plan and create to advance the project. And only limited hours per week. But - much like the burn in your legs after a long run - it's the good kind of pain. I've struggled with the oth...

Don't compare yourself with other people; compare yourself with who you were yesterday.                                                                                                - Jordan Peterson, psychologist It's easy to compare ourselves to others. I'm prone to it, and something tells me you might be too. As I start up my own little startup, it's very compelling to compare myself to those who are also going through the process, or those who have gone before.  But that's usually when the doubt starts creep...

You just have to find that thing that’s special about you that distinguishes you from all the others and through true talent, hard work, and passion, anything can happen.  -Dr. Dre I came across a blog this week on CareerShifters.com, about a British public servant who left his job to (successfully) pursue a career in photography. I'm sharing it here, as I was inspired by his success. People sometimes ask me if I'm aiming to grow my business into a full-time job that will allow me to quit my 9-to-5.  The honest answer is: I'm not sure yet. I'm still at the very early stages, and for now, building is its own reward.  Ask me again in a year or two! I enjoy following the CareerShifters' newsletters, as they take a different approach to changing careers than other traditional job advice websites.  There's a real emphasis on discovering your passion, more so than leveraging your existing skills. If you've ever wondered " what if...? " ...

  “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” — Winston Churchill Sometimes success arrives in a different form than we expect. I had an opportunity to practice my pitch the other day, and although my services were not needed, I was glad to A) practice talking with prospective clients and B) think through the range of services I offer. As I consider billing options, I've been percolating on how to account for the valuable consultation portion of my service.  It just wouldn't do to walk a client through a tailor-made needs assessment, only to have them decide they're now ready to write the tribute themselves. In preparing my pitch for this specific client - and without thinking about it too much - I developed a structure that helped clarify the three levels of service I offer: 1) Getting started - the needs assessment: if they want, a client can take the notes from this session and write the tribute themselves from here.  T...