Friday Six Word Memoir

You know what I haven't done in a really really long time? No, taking a vacation to Italy is not what I had in mind, although that's true too!

It's writing a Six Word Memoir. In fact, I haven't done one in so long, that more recent readers probably don't even know that it's one of my things.

See this for the origins of this folderol eccentric exercise.

I've found myself too busy this week! Too busy to blog. Too busy to tweet (much). Too busy to read what's in my beloved RSS feed (much). Almost too busy to answer emails. Definitely too busy to attend my usual Wednesday evening wine tasting event - now that's drastic!

It's true. I have a lot of plates spinning as I'm working hard to market and build a stronger business for 2011 plus take care of existing clients plus take care of administrative stuff (can anyone spell Tax Time?).

I'm writing a lot. (A lot.) I'm writing upcoming Newsletter articles (next issue comes out next week - sign up at the right!). I'm writing a white paper. I'm re-purposing previous articles for my website. I'm completely revamping and redesigning my website! (Stay tuned! Stay tuned for a change for this blog too!) Not to mention the client/potential client thing, clients being the point of the whole kit 'n kaboodle after all.

My head is spinning.

So here is the next in my occasional series of Six Word Memoirs - a memoir to encapsulate my week:

No rest for the good, either!

"I can't slow down, I can't hold back, although you know I wish I could . . ." (Cage the Elephant - gotta love that song!)

What about you? Got your own Six Word Memoir? Feel free to leave it in the comments!

Sunday Six Word Memoir

I’ve had an unsettling week.  Unsettling in a good way, that is.  It all started a little while back when I scored a copy of Dave Navaro’s ebook, 7 Steps To Playing A Much Bigger Game.  Which is not hard to do, since he’s giving it away on his website, how cool is that.  Although I think I got it from somewhere else. 

In any event, reading and working through it has been challenged my thinking quite a bit, as I’m struggling to build my little great big freelance and virtual paralegal business in a difficult economy.  It’s challenged me to ask myself if I’m really "all in" on this project, and if I really am, then what else am I prepared to do to succeed.  Beyond that, how much further can I take my ideas; what additional services or products can I provide that might benefit my clients even more, while yielding greater income for me?  What am I willing to invest, of my time and effort and resources, in order to insure my success?

As a result I’m in the midst of adding to my marketing arsenal, and planning new approaches for reaching new clients.  I’m far from finished working these ideas out, but in the interim, here is the next in my series of Six Word Memoirs – a memoir to encapsulate my week:
 

Be all in; go all out!

Got your own Six Word Memoir?  Feel free to share it in the Comments!

Sunday Six Word Memoir

While an interesting litigation project for a client took precedent this week, the remainder of my time was completely absorbed by a computer upgrade.  I had been intending to upgrade my computer for quite some time, as my PC was old.  However, frightening “blue screen of death” error messages – which given the age of the computer, I saw no point in trying to trouble-shoot - hastened matters.  So I took the plunge, made the purchase, and spent this week loading software, working through a few installation glitches, and getting my work space reconfigured for my new laptop. 
 
I’m a fairly proficient user of computer technology, but in the law firm, there was always an IT department to perform these kinds of set-up tasks for me.  Doing it all myself posed an interesting challenge, particularly while working to assure that no technological hang-ups prevented me from meeting my client’s deadlines.
 
So here is the next in my series of Six Word Memoirs – a memoir to encapsulate my week:
 

Add “computer geek” to job description!

Got your own Six Word Memoir?  Feel free to share it in the Comments!

Saturday Six Word Memoir

This week was characterized by persistent efforts targeted at a number of different fronts.  I’ve been working on an additional project to market my freelance paralegal business and also to solicit more referrals from colleagues, and former co-workers and employers.  I’ve been seeking out more local arenas for meeting attorneys and fellow paralegals with whom I can begin to build relationships.  I’ve embarked on a crash-course education program to learn more about expanding my freelance paralegal business into the virtual world, which has led to making connections with virtual paralegals and virtual assistants from whom I hope to learn, and with whom I hope to exchange ideas.

I’ve also been working on developing a little prototype for the second business I want to develop relating to wine and food pairing.  So I’ve been doing a lot of reading about wine, writing event plans, and brainstorming with friends about my first trial wine event coming up soon.  (Read more about those efforts on my sister blog, Sonoma Sip.)

So here is the next in my series of Six Word Memoirs – a memoir to encapsulate my week:
 

Pushing multiple projects forward at once.

Got your own Six Word Memoir?  Feel free to share it in the Comments!

Sunday Six Word Memoir

You will recall that I was recently challenged to begin a project of distilling a memoir of my life - or a segment of my life - into six words.  Here is the next in my series of Six Word Memoirs - a memoir to encapsulate my week:

Many interests means many possible businesses.

What does this mean, you ask?  Tune in to my upcoming blog post on Multiple Profit Centers to find out.

Meanwhile, got your own Six Word Memoir?  Feel free to share it in the Comments! 

Sunday Six Word Memoir

It was a slow and silent week for me.  I fought off a little cold bug, resulting in more rest and less activity.  I canceled a couple of social engagements due to not feeling quite well.  I worked on a marketing project, but did little writing.

However, in looking back over the few recent social interactions I've had, a theme has emerged.  I've noticed that when I speak too negatively about a feeling of frustration or discouragement I am having over slow progress in my business, or shortness of cash, or an idea that won't gel, or just about anything else, I elicit unexpected - and perhaps unwelcome - responses.  Well-meaning friends either cluck sympathetically, or try to cheer me up, or pepper me with suggestions.  Rather than helping, this actually results in my doubting myself and what I'm attempting to do, which isn't helpful.  Much more important, I've realized that I engender this result myself by the manner in which I speak.

So the theme which has emerged this week is that it matters what I say.  The language I use to describe to others the projects I'm working on, or the challenges I'm wrestling with, or the emotions I'm experiencing is tremendously significant.  It isn't just that my words are important toward being understood by others (although that's true too), but that my words are important for me.  The language I use to describe a thing has an impact upon how I experience it, how I feel about it, and how optimistic I feel about my progress.  It isn't a matter of deluding myself about the reality of my choices or circumstances; rather, it's about taking responsibility for the manner in which I describe that reality.

So here is another in my series of Six Word Memoirs - a memoir to encapsulate my week:

Speaking optimistically creates a hopeful outlook.

Got your own Six Word Memoir?  Feel free to share it in the Comments!

Sunday Six Word Memoir

(One of the many lovely things about Saturday and Sunday is that they both begin with the letter S.  Which means I can post a Six Word Memoir on either day.)

This week was characterized by a lot of thought given to fine-tuning a strategy for my business, and a resulting prioritization of the activities I spent time on.  I made a huge effort to spend the bulk of my time on activities I hope will make the most marketing sense, and tried to minimize activities which, however interesting, weren’t geared toward garnering me clients in the short term.  I think this was a beneficial focus for the week, and I was much more productive.
 

So here is the next in my series of Six Word Memoirs – a memoir to encapsulate my week:
 

Every activity targets visibility to clients.

Got your own Six Word Memoir?  Feel free to share it in the Comments!

Saturday Six Word Memoir

On a recent early afternoon, my brother phoned me excitedly to tell me to listen to the day’s “Talk of the Nation” on NPR, for an interesting segment called, “What’s Your ‘Six-Word Memoir?’”  The story is that Smith Magazine began inviting people from all walks of life, some famous, most not, to distill a memoir of their lives into six words, and began publishing these in a series of collections.  The most recent of these collections is, “It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure,” by Larry Smith & Rachel Fershleiser. New York: Harper Perennial, 2010.

I took my brother’s advice (a wise thing for a kid sister to do, no?) and listened to the segment.  You should too!  Not because my brother said so, but because the segment, and the six word memoirs you’ll hear from the book and the call-in listeners, are quite simply wonderful.  I found myself in turn amused, amazed and moved by many of the Six Word Memoirs I heard.

And I was inspired to write my own!

So here is the first of what I hope will be a series of Saturday Six Word Memoirs – a memoir to encapsulate my week:

New Business: Less Earned Than Spent

Got your own Six Word Memoir? Feel free to share it in the Comments!