Shannon's Blog: Minding My Own Business

"Life begins the day you start a garden."  - Chinese proverb I've been thinking a lot about my garden this summer. Three years ago, my garden was in disarray.  The plants had been planted haphazardly before we moved in, as if by an apathetic grocery bagger who doesn't care they've just packed your eggs on top of your bread.  The so-called gardener was obviously at the end of their day, nearing the end of their plants, and tossed whatever was left into our backyard in a hurry before going off to grab a weekend beer with friends. After a couple of years of ( ignorance- and priority-related ) neglect, the ornamental grasses had spread with abandon. I didn't know anything about gardening, and every time I looked out the back window, I felt a heaviness; the emotional burden of clutter and disorder. Recently as I planted a couple of daphnes given by a friend, it dawned on me that I was close to the end of planting.  I have reached my goal of having a ...

Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it.  - Maya Angelou Exciting news: I've got a name! If I had doubt before, it was because the name wasn't fully formed.  Just as we all have multiple parts to our full name, so too does my business. Although each part of the name came to me separately and weeks apart, I note (with equal parts awe and humility) that everything culminated a mere five days after my blog post on the topic . The law of attraction; stating an intention; trusting the universe - whatever you call it, it's a powerful catalyst for making things happen. The final piece clicked into place while I was letting my mind wander on the ferry. I wrote all three words together and... Shazam! Over the next few days, I wondered whether I should workshop the idea with friends, but it seemed pointless. The name is the name. The Part Where I Explain Why I Can't Tell You What I Want to Tell You This blog is a tool to help me process my thoughts.  R...

"A field that has rested yields a bountiful crop"    - Ovid This is the first week I wasn't quite feeling the blog.  It wasn't writer's block exactly - I started a handful of new topics.  It's just that none of them feel quite ready. And I was tired. Maybe it was that ready-for-a-break feeling after a full week. Or it could be a natural low point after six weeks of sustained momentum. Maybe it's the air pressure, moon phase, or a butterfly on the other side of the world flapping its wings at just the right moment. Who knows? It's easy to internalize societal pressure to #SleepWhenImDead and smash through my success-limiting energy plateau like the Kool-Aid man on a hot day. This wussy need for a break is obviously just self-doubt manifesting reasons to quit...  Unless it's that barely perceptible early-warning alarm reminding me to quiet my mind and bolster my immune system.  There are times to push ahead and times to rest, and ...

"If you want to conquer fear, don't sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy."                                                                          -Dale Carnegie, author of How to Win Friends and Influence People It's only been a few weeks since my friend's Dad's memorial - way too soon to worry that my first client might be my last.  The blog's keeping me disciplined, and there's still a lot of research to do. Business taxes, copyright law and billing... it's not exactly riveting summer reading.  So no rush. But still,  in the absence of any marketing tools, I've been starting to wonder when my nex...

I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I've never been able to believe it.  I don't believe a rose *would * be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk cabbage.  -  L.M. Montgomery's title character, Anne of Green Gables According to legend, it took three days for my parents to settle on my name.  I'm glad they took the time to really think through the decision, because a name is a big deal. Our names are deeply connected to who we are. Some of us change our names to signal significant life changes, advance our careers or demonstrate a close relationship to another. And whether we like it or not, our names convey basic information about us to strangers. Even though it's early days, I'm starting to feel a sense of urgency to choose a business name. In terms of logistics, my business name is the foundation for a lot work I'm keen to start: the website, business cards, and other marketing materials ...

"Often any decision, even the wrong decision, is better than no decision." - Ben Horowitz, businessman, author, blogger I honestly didn't think this was going to be such a hard decision.  Isn't blogging the digital equivalent of opening to a blank page and starting to write? But there are a lot of considerations for a new blogger.  For instance: Do you care how it looks?  (Me: of course! ). How much do want to pay for your blog? ( $0 to cheap ). Do you want to make money showing ads ( uh...maybe? ) CINNABON I LOVE YOU! Just sayin'... Do you have your heart set on an independent domain name, like IamAmaaaazing.com?  Or can you live with a sub-domain? like I-Am-Amaaaazing.blogspot.com? (ugh...so ugly, and will anyone even find me here? ) Do you know the first thing about coding or programming or hosting or SEO?*  ( nope ).  So here I am on Blogger. For free blogs, my top two choices were Wordpress.com (not to be confused with ...

Actions are the seed of fate, deeds grow into destiny.  -Harry S. Truman A couple of weeks ago, I got to see my work in action. My first client, a close friend of 20 years, is a working mom of two energetic young boys. I also learned after our work had begun that she was in the process of buying a new home and selling her current one. Talk about busy! With her Dad's celebration of life approaching, I asked if she needed a hand organizing her thoughts. Her answer was a clear yes, and as it turns out, the timing was perfect. She had just started getting her thoughts down on paper. *    *    * I was wondering if you’re planning on speaking at your Dad’s memorial, and if you’d like any help preparing?  I don’t mean to put you on the spot if it’s not something you were planning... But if it’s something you’ve been considering, I’d be honoured to help out in the next few weeks... -Shannon *    *  ...