OFF GRID AND PLUGGED IN

I took some time off last week, mostly to join my fiance’ at the end of her vacation. We were off grid a bit, no cell service, plenty of outdoors time, camping on Lake Spokane, Pend Oreille and picking Huckleberries.? Yep that’s a thing in the PNW, huckleberry and morel mushroom hunting.? Both quite meditative and rewarding, although I think I enjoy the ‘hucks’ a bit more, since it’s higher elevation amongst greenery and beauty for miles.? It helps one to reflect upon these moments and realize just how lucky you can be. Looking back on the series of events that lead me to where I am, the lifetimes I have lived, the places I’ve been and the people I have met.? It’s a thick book full of chapters and subchapters, experiences and explorations.? Plenty of time wandering the landscape to balance out the time staring at a computer screen.? I often fantasize that someday the only reason to stare at a screen is to be creatively productive and take it as I please. ?

Lately life has taken on the repetition of Ground Hog Day proportions. The monotony of seeking connection and opportunity as an entrepreneur has it’s daily challenges. To a degree though, how awesome is it that we can do this from the comfort of a home office 1000’s of miles from each other and yet feeling kinship and connectedness with total strangers. I assume many engage with certain groups on various platforms as I do. More recently I have come to some greater realizations and techniques that feel more like chess and less like pick up sticks when it comes to outreach. These inspired techniques were no doubt influenced by online career counseling, seminars and group offerings. Creating rabbit holes to investigate, leads that lead to more leads, that narrow the search, doing everything in my power to offset the ADD that the internet induces. ?

OK side bar: this newsletter started as a ramble for whatever reason, yet as I pontificate, like an actor prepping for the stage of improv, the curtains open and it all comes crystal clear, this is about clarity. ?

This past week or so, has thus better opened my focus and created a more deliberate or shall we say, rewarding outreach. Maybe it was that one random producer, whom I reached out to, who was gracious enough to request my work and respond, could such a little victory inspire such focus? No, not really but it helped, when I think of all the outreach I have engaged with, perhaps that one interaction that seemed more far fetched and random than all the others was inspirational after all? ?

Somehow, through this latest part of my journey I have come to better accept the idea that all entrepreneurs seek out collaborators every day all day in an endless cycle. Seeking that needle in a haystack person, who shows interest in your work, or inspires, ideally that interest blooms into a general interest not only in your work, but for the potential you can bring, maybe even you as a human. And so, if anyone was wondering, that is what I have been up to and pondering.? I hope there is a handful of folks who I have helped to feel ‘not so all alone’ in this seemingness endless search for peeps, connections and collaborations.

PS: I also updated my Linked In profile to better reflect algorithms.? I suggest you do it too!