SEO FRIENDLY

This post is probably the shortest I’ve ever written. You’ll see why. As the title of my post suggests, I’m trying to make new friends! The SEO kind!

If you’ve been following me, you know that my goal is to become a published author-to finish the bestseller I’ve been writing for about 20 years now-but I’ve been writing my entire life, and trying to figure out how to promote myself. Everyone else is doing it-why shouldn’t I? It seems I’ve been “trying” my whole life. I’ve consistently fallen into jobs, educational opportunities…relationships. If there’s one lesson to be learned from the quarantine, it is how fleeting life is. Now’s the time! Decisions I’ve made, both good and bad, have always been motivated by other people’s ideas of who I am and what I should do. I’ve also been dependent on other people’s decisions to dictate how I move in life.

I’d say that 90 per cent of the choices I’ve made throughout my life were a result of laziness, fear and insecurity. I just figured I didn’t have what it takes- successful people were beautiful, smart, and confident. Somebody recognized their talent because they were noticeable. I was far from noticeable. I would literally stand in front of the mirror, look myself in they eye and tell myself that it was pointless. That I couldn’t do it, I shouldn’t even try. Who wants to hear what I have to say? Who was I to be so bold? But then…who am I not to be? I’ve allowed this negative self-talk hold me back from fulfilling my purpose for nearly half my life. Thoughts become things. Time to change the thought process. Once I told myself I can…I did. Every success story starts with a first step-including mine. And here it is.

Now. Please do not misunderstand what I’m about to say. I would never promote dropping out of school or advocate against education-there is nothing more important in the world than an education, but it’s only useful if you can use it. I’m not saying I wasted my education, but I haven’t been able to use what I’ve learned-until now, when I realized that I can. I have two master’s degrees, which may look great on paper (or not; I’m still waiting to get a request for an interview) but I lacked focus. Also, as a shy, insecure introvert I didn’t make the connections inside or outside of the classroom that would have been beneficial because the support would have made me feel less isolated and fearful. Artists and creatives are a sensitive bunch. Community is as important to us as family. We’ve definitely got each other’s back!

Anyway, that was then, this is now-no time for regret. In the words of Red Man, one of my favorite emcees, it’s time for some action! I’m starting a podcast y’all! In fact, I’m going to try to include it in this post. It’s really short, and not quite as polished as the next podcasts will be, but I recognize that I have to start somewhere. We all do. Yeah, I’m a novice when it comes to social media, but I’m good with that. I’ll learn. I’ve made some amazing connections. Shout out to my LinkedIn and Twitter writing community for motivating and inspiring me. As I said, the time is now and really, what have I got to lose?

Most people work to collect a paycheck. To many, that’s what a job is for, fulfillment, happiness, satisfaction is of no concern to them. I know a lot of these people, and they are miserable. As the old maxim goes: if you have a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. I’ve been miserable for a long time, working at jobs that don’t allow me to express my creativity. To be fair, many of the jobs I’ve held didn’t allow for that. Then, the other part of it was, I knew I was unhappy at work, and did nothing about it. I was afraid to trust God, and trust myself.

I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my faith is important to me and it has become increasingly important. I can’t do this work without it. I can’t do this work without believing I have something to offer. And here’s where I have to give another shout out-to Joyce Meyer. Her “in your face, stop whining, get over yourself and do what you were called to do,” sermons were the punch in the gut I needed. One of her messages has resonated with me ever since I heard it nearly three years ago. “If you do not do what you have been called to do, you will be miserable in any job you have. Every time I thought I’d landed the perfect job, I’d be excited for the first few months, and without fail within another couple of months, I’d become bored and unhappy, which led to landing another “perfect ” job and the cycle would continue. It’s one thing to have the calling, but another to trust God completely to follow it through.

I’ll keep you posted. Check out my first podcast and stay tuned!