My vision was blurry, but my purpose is clear

At the end of 2014 I posted How’s your Vision? I think it’s safe for me to admit that mine was a bit blurry. I wrote that post on December 31st, 2014. I was going full force ahead, wind at my back, embracing a new way for a Simply Sustainable life. That was of course until I went to Cuba in January and had to explain what exactly I did for a living. It wasn’t hard due to a language barrier, my Spanish skills are quite good. It was due to the fact that I really didn’t know where I was going or exactly how I would get there.

I knew that I wanted to share and connect; to teach and learn, but I didn’t fully know how I would do that effectively. Furthermore I didn’t  know how I would consistently earn an income doing it. My services which range from cost accounting to organizational development to teaching English (the list goes on) are often done on a volunteer basis or below market value charge out rate. You don’t choose which cause(s) you believe in much like you don’t choose who you love.

So here I am, “another year over, and a new one just begun”. In my last post, I talked about taking a step back in 2015 and getting some clarity. Now I’d like to act on that, mobilize myself and do a little fine tuning in my professional life. I share this because I know that I am not alone, and feel that knowledge is meant to be shared, even as inspiration.

As I mentioned last month, my mind feels balanced when I follow “A lifelong “career” spent learning – work that allows me to exercise my mind, stay active and dedicate passionately to greater good”. And since it’s all about balance for me – and I will forever be a sole proprietor – I would like to make a few tweaks to my mission/vision statement while taking a lesson from Russ Stoddard of Oliver Russel.

So much of what I teach and learn surrounds social enterprise and grassroots movements so I try to keep up to date with information as best as I can. Twitter has proven to be an excellent source for just that.

I had acknowledged already that my vision was slightly blurry, and had it on the “to do” list to make some changes, so I felt a level of synchronicity when I came across a white paper titled “How to Build a Purpose-Driven Company, Part 1”. I read it, twice. And just in time!

I really liked how Stoddard broke things down, how he defined things. I strongly suggest you give it a read (all three parts) if you are amidst creating a company of your own.

As for me, I’ll be making some changes to my “About” page in the hours and days ahead. Keep posted!

Welcome to 2016….year of action.

This is a picture of the back of the seat in front mine on a bus ride I took in Argentina, Spring 2015. Clearly an affirmation: “Think about doing good”.