Thursday, February 11, 2010

Casa de Spooks

I'm dealing with the issues inherent in being an overachieving dreamer with a variety of interests right now.

I'm struggling, specifically, with the idea of whether or not I should focus all my energy into writing, or if I should keep up with both writing and Heritage Makers (or, as I mentioned the other day, whether or not I should replace Heritage Makers with Pure Romance).

They all have merit. If I gave up on Heritage Makers it wouldn't be because it's a bad business or a bad company - quite the contrary, I like them and the products quite a bit. I believe in what they're doing quite strongly and I think more people should be storybooking.

The trouble is, I have too many passions. That's not a secret. I also love to write. That's not a secret either. I keep coming up with more and more writing ideas and I could conceivably spend all day every day writing or researching things I want to write about. Obviously I have a family to care for and a house to maintain too, but aside from that... I could write. A lot. I want to write. A lot. I'm hindered by time.

One thought is to scale back on the time I've scheduled for Heritage Makers, and add in a bit more writing time to my day. I may try that simply to see if I feel like I'm getting more writing done, and if that satisfies me.

The thing is, I'm not sure how well the two things go together. On the surface, fine. But the majority of the things I enjoy writing about - halloween, horror movies, the strange and unusual, and Adult Topics - don't necessarily fit in with "family values" and "scrapbooking". Yes, you get your weirdos who like to scrapbook from time to time (HELLO, you're looking at one right now, heh), but for the most part my target audience for Heritage Makers is family matriarchs. And a lot of them are more... normal?... than I am. Since I've been working in offices for the past decade or so, I look pretty vanilla most of the time. But now that I'm working only for myself, my wardrobe is slowly changing back to my preferred 'jeans and t shirt', horror shirts, goth-y type stuff. I'm feeling the freedom to be able to do whatever the heck I want with my hair. I'm not sure that the hot-pink hair and the "wolfman's got nards" t-shirt look fits in with the majority of the folks I'm trying to sell scrapbooking stuff to. Yes, I'll always have a small audience and I am happy to work with anyone (I don't judge because other people aren't into the same things I'm into, it's more that I'm worried I'll scare people away, like the one Pampered Chef consultant who wouldn't come out and have a party at my house because she was religious and she found out that I LOVE Halloween). I'm just not sure that it's worth the time and effort for ME to continue. And I guess that sometimes, when I'm trying to market to people that I know will think I'm one of the weird ones, I feel like I'm trying to force myself into a place I don't belong. I'm trying to wear those business clothes that, once again, just never fit quite right, while all the time thinking that I should be able to BE in business but still look however I want. I know that the world doesn't work that way, but I think it SHOULD; I think if you're good at something and passionate about something, it shouldn't matter if you like to wear jeans and tshirts instead of suits, or that your hair is pink instead of brown, or that you have piercings or tattoos. Those things don't mean you aren't the best damn candidate for the job. But, unfortunately, some people can't get past those things.

And yet, I harbor guilt over the thought of quitting too. Heritage Makers, more than anything else I've been involved with, is a repeat-business company. People buy credits for their projects and then you work with them to get those projects completed. People's lives go on, and there are ALWAYS new stories to tell. I have a number of customers with outstanding credits right now. And my upline is all in Utah, so it's not like they're nearby for easy customer service if I jump ship. I don't want to leave anyone hanging. And, like I said, it's a business concept that I truly do believe in - I believe people SHOULD be using their credits, SHOULD be making books about their lives.

But at the same time, I could happily spend all day writing scary stories, watching bad movies and reviewing them, working on my halloween display (yes, I know it's February, hush, I'm already three months behind!!), and just living a Spooktacular life in general.

And this is, really, the issue with my entire life. I LOVE doing stuff. Lots of stuff. Much of it is at odds with the other stuff I like to do. And I just plain don't have time to do ALL of the stuff I want to do. Choosing between things, and making decisions about what dreams to give up and what dreams to pursue, is one of the hardest struggles in my life. It's perpetual, because my dreams never seem to end. I will go through this cycle again and again, and I don't think it will ever get any easier.

At the same time, I'm blessed to have the imagination and life that I do. I am NEVER bored. I don't think I will ever GET bored. And I wouldn't give up my dreams for anything. I lead a fascinating life, even if it is only in my own mind. :)

I don't know what direction I will ultimately end up going with these things. I do believe I am going to rewrite my schedule slightly and devote less daily time to Heritage Makers, more daily time to writing. That's just where more of my passion lies right now.

I'm not giving up on Heritage Makers but I am having what I guess you could call a small crisis of faith, heh. So if you've got outstanding credits with me, let's get together and get them finished and published!

And whatever may happen... here's to the future.

4 comments:

  1. Inspiration for you....

    http://www.nichegeek.com/10_unconventional_but_successful_online_homebusiness_ideas

    http://ezinearticles.com/?Unconventional-Work-at-Home-Jobs&id=1364801

    http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/TopHomeBusinessesList.aspx

    Good luck!!

    Leslie

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dream big...and die trying...ive been living that life for a little over a year now...bouncing from one thing to the next...overlapping things like writing, promotions, radio, reading, movies, fitness (or lack there of in my present case)...and it never stops! something new always comes along...I think the balancing act is all part of the fun too...even though it can be stressful. but the simple truth was written in this blog by you...you are never bored..."I lead a fascinating life even if its only in my own mind." and that is all that matters really...im rearranging things all the time...almost on a daily basis as of late. no one should ever knock you for trying things differently...and if they do, then they are just jealous that they dont have the fantastic life that you have! =)

    ReplyDelete
  3. First off, I've been freelancing fulltime for 3 years now and no matter how amazingly talented my clients believe I am...I still cannot get away with anything less than business casual (Yes, I have worn jeans to meetings but they are dark washed with sharp ironed creases and an oxford with flats...so still very bid-ness-ee). The world looks at how you are dressed and assesses your value and success by your dress. You can buck it all you want, you know this, but the bottom line is that people will always judge you by how you dress.
    Also, what about making 3 days a week for writing and 2 days a week for Heritage Makers or whatever? You do not have *too* many passions..its just a matter of time management. If you knew the crap I've got my hands in all the time, your head would spin! With the amount of volunteer work, clients, my own writing, CT3i, my hypnobirthing group maintenance, LLL participation, doing all the house stuff (account/cleaning/dinner/pets/organizing/etc), and still having my weekends "off"....seriously. You can do this, no problem:)
    w00t!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I understand -- at least you have the husband and kids and the house. So you are nominally part of that demographic. You have the entry tickets so to speak, and I don't.

    I mean really compare me and my life to THIS shizzit.
    http://kennyanderin.blogspot.com/

    I MEAN REALY NOW.

    As for your other issues -- well everyone would love to spend all their time watching scary movies and writing reviews, or playing WOW, or creating things, or whatnot. That is fun. Work is the stuff you do bc you need to do it, that's why it's work and not FUN. Right?

    So you have the same issue everyone else does "I'd like so spend my whole day or all my time doing fun things that I enjoy, but now I have to wear clothes I don't like and deal with people that ar enot my friends, and do stuff that is not what I would choose. Because it's work."

    Sounds pretty normal to me....

    --je reviens

    ReplyDelete

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