Saturday night, here on the couch with my dogs watching Jerry McGuire because I can't rationalize HBO (as much as I crave True Blood) and I won't spring for Showtime (as much as I miss Weeds).
Had a great day, an hour and a half of intense yoga followed by three more hours in the same room with a Tibetan monk and 25 reverent listeners.
Three hours is a very long time. Most of us were sitting on the floor on blankets and cushions.
One woman came in wearing thick black shoes - I didn't know if it was some fetish thing or a serious foot problem. It was the latter. When she sat on the chair her feet didn't reach the blanket she had folded below. I asked if I could add a bolster and she was very grateful.
One older woman with a "Clergy" tag came in late. Her purse started ringing shortly after she sat (people down here have an affinity for steel drum ringtones). It took about 6 rings for her to locate the phone in her GARGANTUAN leather bag and another 3 minutes of fumbling to shut the thing off.
She crossed her legs at the ankles and snored softly through part of the lecture. Her toenails were painted the color of construction cones.
One of the Buddhist themes he talked about today was "interconnectedness". Tonight I intended to write about the importance of sucking up, helping each other within the professional community and appreciating the *&^% out of all good things that come our way ... but it's all pretty much the same.
Interconnected.
So I'm here at home, doing my a.d.d. thing here, watching the movie, checking my email - and I see I have about four messages from clients. It's Saturday night. I should be at my favorite Tiki Bar on Fort Myers Beach ... but my priorities have changed.
Two of the emails are from the most tedious client in the history of the world. He talks like the ingredients label on a bottle of generic acetominophen. I'm going to need a day or so to hype myself into a level of perkiness that will mask my frustration.
He has developed and now sells a line of hair restoration products and lasers. Ironically, he is cause and cure for part of my problem. My bathroom is full of product and a floor laser is within spitting distance as I type this. (No, I don't spit. Not intentionally, anyway.)
I am noticing a difference; but I feel like I've sold my soul for fuller follicles.
I could not afford these treatments without the trade and he is lucky to have found me (on craigslist); his old marketing materials might as well have been written in Sanskrit.
The other two emails were from a great potential client.
Here's a question I get asked sometimes. When does your workweek end? If there's work coming in, my workweek NEVER ends. That's just how it is.
After weeks without any work I learned a hard lesson:
You have to do your BEST work for EVERY client WHENEVER they want it; otherwise ANY project could be your last.
This is what I've learned from this sucky economy.
Not that I'm poster child for survival, but everyone who is looking for a job or hating the job they have really needs to think about this stuff:
NEVER stop looking for work. Hit craigslist daily; don't just search your city, search your region.
NEVER leave home without your business cards. Smeared numbers on damp cocktail napkins might get you laid but they won't get you paid.
WHAT DO YOU DO? More important - what's NEW with what you do? Over the years our capabilities grow.
Some of my friends were confused when they heard about the videos I was working on. They thought I was "just a writer." That was a wake-up call. I do offer a variety of important marketing services these days. I had to go back in and change my resume and website.
I had a friend years back who was way into car components. His company had him describing the function, repair and maintenance of equipment they manufactured; then they laid him off. That weekend - freaked - he showed me a large stack of the materials he'd created. He didn't even realize he was a TECHNICAL WRITER! We changed his resume. Within a month he went from grunt wages to a great professional job in Seattle.
ALWAYS embrace the opportunity to make new contacts. Let's say you're invited to attend or participate in an event of some kind. If there is even the slightest chance you will meet someone who may need your skills or services, GO! (Example: I attended a mock trial two months ago. I met amazing people and doors opened.)
IF YOUR CLIENT DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO GET SOMETHING DONE, learn what it takes and offer to do it. Sometimes the guidance you need is just a few phone calls or emails away; it expands your portfolio and makes you a valuable one-stop resource.
GO WHERE THE WORK IS. Remember Sam Kinison used to talk about hunger in Africa? He said "we have deserts too, we don't live there; GO WHERE THE FOOD IS." Who's doing well right now? Look for every opportunity to rub shoulders with the people who have the work - bankruptcy attorneys, hospitals, charities, etc.
FIND NEW BUSINESS FOR THE PEOPLE WHO GIVE YOU BUSINESS. Don't pay it forward, pay it back. More work for them will probably mean more work for you.
We are interconnected.
If we're smart, loyal and open to the opportunities that are out there, hopefully we can weather the storm intact.
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