“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”
Steve Jobs
Stanford commencement speech, June 2005
Love him or hate him - that Steve Jobs had a way of turning the phrase - didn't he? I have been thinking about work a lot lately, and I am very fortunate to be able to say that I have a job that I really, really love.I get to talk for a living - I mean really - who does that? Being Sally-Say-it-All and getting paid for it - my idea of heaven. Now - don't get me wrong- I don't love everything about it - especially the travel. I really hate being away from my family- even for one night. But I do love being in a different place every day. I am NOT the type of person who thrives on routine. The idea of reporting to the same place each and every day fills me with dread. Weird - I know. So I found this little niche that works for me. But, it takes a heck of a lot of work to keep the home fires burning and to keep everything running smoothly when I have to be out on the road. PC and I joke that it "takes a village" to raise a Ruff kid. Because it really does. And we are acutely aware that if one cog in this very delicately balanced wheel breaks...the whole operation will come to a screeching halt. No stress there.....
So, the topic of work and perhaps what's next has been on my mind quite a bit. Someone reminded me of the quote by Confucius that goes something like:"Choose a job that you love to do and you will never work a day in your life." But what would that be? What would that look like? Would it have dental coverage? Vision? (Oh yes - braces and glasses are the legacies that we hand down to our kids.) Being a professional shopper won't exactly pay the bills over here. And, as far as I know, being a professional Pinterest Lady is a career that doesn't exists outside of my dreams.
When I was a little girl I really wanted to be Julie McCoy. Remember her? The cruise director for The Love Boat.....
She had the BEST, most GLAMOROUS job in the entire world. She got to wear that spiffy blue suit and show everyone around the "Lido" deck. She got to go to exotic locales like Puerto Vallarta once a week AND she got to hang out with super stars like The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders AND Charo! I mean, come on! What little girl who grew up in the 70's and 80's didn't want that? But, unfortunately, that dream didn't come true for me. Neither did my dream of becoming a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, a fighter pilot (it was a Top Gun/Kelly McGillis/Tom Cruise thing) or principal dancer for the New York City Ballet. That particular dream didn't come true because of it's diametrical opposition to my love of the Double Stuffed Oreo Cookie. That cookie is a god damned dream killer. That and my genetic disposition for really fat thighs - those O'Neil thighs are my cross to bear. Oreos help me garner the strength to carry the burden. It's a sick, sad cycle to be sure.
So now that I am all grown up and the dream of the Julie McCoy lifestyle doesn't hold the same appeal it held 30 years ago...where do I go from here? If money were no object - how would I spend my time? Well...what do I like to do?
Besides eat Oreos...
What I really would love to do is to buy a little cottage in Cape Cod and write novels. I'd have a room in the attic with floor to ceiling windows that overlooked a little pond and I would write there every day. My cottage would be covered with climbing roses and surrounded with hydrangeas and my driveway would be made of crushed oyster shells. Everything in my cottage would be white and airy and beautiful. I would have big, overstuffed couches and roomy chairs and pitchers filled with light pink peonies and green and purple and pink hydrangeas. I would spend every afternoon reading at the beach and life would be so wonderful.......and peaceful.....and quiet.....and slow. And, of course, I would have a BIG advance from a BIG publishing house and a wonderful editor who wouldn't ever rush me to stick to a deadline....
Wait - is this a job or is this heaven? Why oh why can't it be both??? How can I get from here to there?
That my friends is the question.....
So - that is the goal. That is what I'm working for and dreaming of. In the meantime, I have decided to do something creative in my free time...I am becoming an independent jewelry designer for a company called Origami Owl.
The company was started by a TEENAGER -who is now a MILLIONAIRE. She and her mom came up with this amazing idea - they help people create completely customized pieces of jewelry that tell a story.
I first saw these adorable lockets ON some of the teachers that I work with - and I loved them SO much that I asked about them. Hence - my obsession with Origami Owl was born. I am waiting for my kit with baited breath. I cannot wait to start creating lockets and necklaces and bracelets for myself, for Bella and for my girlfriends. I'd LOVE to make enough money to fund my little Cape Cod cottage by the sea and writer's lifestyle. Wouldn't that be something?
Stay tuned to see how my little jewelry designing hobby goes.....
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