Heart songs, then boobs, it is a thrill a minute here Chez WMM!!
Today, another brain teaser for you all.
I am reading this book, Second Act Careers, to help me determine if indeed I am ready, willing and able to move on to a second act in my work life (actually, it will be a third act if you consider all the part-time jobs I held growing up!)
It is an interesting book, one that is geared mostly for folks who have retired and who would still like to work, but it is also a useful book for someone thinking of making a switch. There are lots of good ideas included from folks who have switched gears, and there are some interesting exercises to help you unlock what some of your other interests in life might be, or other things you might like to pursue.
One thing that caught my attention was the question:
What would you do for a living if you knew that you couldn't fail at it?
Smartass that I am, I thought "opera singer", but I was only joking with myself. I have no passion or interest in being an opera singer.
So I sat and thought and sat and thought (and all this time I was sober, mind you, so that is a lot of sitting and thinking!) and came up with the following:
If I could something and know that I wouldn't fail I would either
1) write a TV series OR
2) have my own little shop of WMM delights
Some people would choose the jobs they already have. If you don't choose the job you already have, if in fact the job you have is the EXACT opposite in every way, shape and form from what you are currently doing, this may be a message. Or not. For me, probably yes, it is a sign.
But it is an interesting exercise and I realized that what I really need in terms of work whenever I choose to make a change is creativity. I need creativity. I am no longer content to work 80 hours a week at something that is not creative. So the book has given me a lot of food for thought.
How about you: what would YOU do if you knew you couldn't fail at it?
On a completely different subject, I don't have much to add to the comments about the new JC rollout. The basics are good and that is where I will place any of my money that may go to JCrew this spring and summer. I don't think much will go there however.
I really liked the linen blazer in bronzed moss:
Although I will wait to see what the colour is like in real life...
Like most people, I really like the peony tshirt and the hummingbird skirt and I am bitter that J Crew puts things up online that are already sold out (if this is indeed the case!)
And I like the little espadrilles
And I liked the Lilian sandals in black as I may go black and white for summer (though I have not entirely sorted out spring colour story, so am minding my Ps and Qs!)
One thing that will definitely make the summer list is a white linen shirt:
But perhaps not by JC!
I hope you have lovely Thursdays and am not peppering you too much with my questions and big thoughts!
Tomorrow is Miller Time Friday, where I will be unveiling a nice surprise for you all for while I am away next week!
Stay Safe Out There My Friends and Remember: Carpe Diem! Foreveruary is done!
Today, another brain teaser for you all.
I am reading this book, Second Act Careers, to help me determine if indeed I am ready, willing and able to move on to a second act in my work life (actually, it will be a third act if you consider all the part-time jobs I held growing up!)
 |
| Buy yours here |
One thing that caught my attention was the question:
What would you do for a living if you knew that you couldn't fail at it?
Smartass that I am, I thought "opera singer", but I was only joking with myself. I have no passion or interest in being an opera singer.
So I sat and thought and sat and thought (and all this time I was sober, mind you, so that is a lot of sitting and thinking!) and came up with the following:
If I could something and know that I wouldn't fail I would either
1) write a TV series OR
2) have my own little shop of WMM delights
Some people would choose the jobs they already have. If you don't choose the job you already have, if in fact the job you have is the EXACT opposite in every way, shape and form from what you are currently doing, this may be a message. Or not. For me, probably yes, it is a sign.
But it is an interesting exercise and I realized that what I really need in terms of work whenever I choose to make a change is creativity. I need creativity. I am no longer content to work 80 hours a week at something that is not creative. So the book has given me a lot of food for thought.
How about you: what would YOU do if you knew you couldn't fail at it?
On a completely different subject, I don't have much to add to the comments about the new JC rollout. The basics are good and that is where I will place any of my money that may go to JCrew this spring and summer. I don't think much will go there however.
I really liked the linen blazer in bronzed moss:
Although I will wait to see what the colour is like in real life...
Like most people, I really like the peony tshirt and the hummingbird skirt and I am bitter that J Crew puts things up online that are already sold out (if this is indeed the case!)
And I like the little espadrilles
And I liked the Lilian sandals in black as I may go black and white for summer (though I have not entirely sorted out spring colour story, so am minding my Ps and Qs!)
One thing that will definitely make the summer list is a white linen shirt:
But perhaps not by JC!
I hope you have lovely Thursdays and am not peppering you too much with my questions and big thoughts!
Tomorrow is Miller Time Friday, where I will be unveiling a nice surprise for you all for while I am away next week!
Stay Safe Out There My Friends and Remember: Carpe Diem! Foreveruary is done!
OK let's get you writing, I want 1000 words on my desk by Monday and we are pitching it to your local paper, what niches do they have? Or do you want to right fiction? I want a rough first chapter on my desk in 6 weeks.
ReplyDeleteI would love to work in a lab with petri dishes, weird things in jars and computers - research scientist it is. Or ...a housewife, a proper one with a family and entertaining to organise - we live like single people really.
I can't wait to read everyone's answers.
DeleteI spelled 'write' 'right' - you will have no faith in me as an editor now!
DeleteI never would have dreamed you were the Petri dish type!
DeleteNo writing for local rag - is not even a paper! But I will come up with a schedule. And then once I make a $1000 someday, will have my little euro flea shop on side, once I get going! You and hubs come here for two weeks this summer and you can have kids and dog - you may not find single life so bad or you may love it - the teens have quite the personalities! We'll take care of mum!
Tabs, it's something about that white lab coat uniform isn't it? Wendy, laughing about Daily Gleaner. Send your stuff to Jamaican paper by same name, they are a bit more 21st, something besides public notices and obits.
Delete!
DeleteACTING OUT Well, it's early here coffee's still steaming up and we've already been through columns, spelling, mystery jackets and petri dishes, what else could an enquiring gal ask for. This is the coolest clubhouse.
ReplyDeleteIf I knew there was no failure involved and I wouldn't drive my nearest and dearest (or self) to drink, I would hone one aspect of my profession and crank out a properly published book. Non-fiction so I could soak up all kinds of details of something new, and because I just love the look, feel, pleaure of good words and pictures on paper. Wouldn't hope for JK type serial success, only something that gives some people a pause in a different world, something to think on, or a resource, a tiny dot of what I've gotten from other's volumes.
Otherwise, I'd go all Clearly Canadian and start some kind of brand, website, creative (others') collective to share all the wonderful stuff that gets made here (besides maple syrup, smoked salmon, inkshuks and and blanket coats) with a wider than their back-yard world. Roots but on smaller scale and beautifully made here. Eventual hope, promote and create some authentic cottage industry in places that really need it.
If I could just bail for a first sabbatical versus Act 3 and not be a failure, I'd go do something very hands-on and Habitat-ish in a place where I speak the language. (I've done the "curtain sewing and painting" volunteering, but I wish I had the skills to really get stuck in, you know, raise the roof.)
Whuf, that's a lot of introspection for one morning.
HA! and it's only 6:15! Imagine if you had the whole day, you would rule the world!!!
DeleteOh WMM, if failure wasn't an option I might consider 2nd female PM. But only if you agree to cover Foreign Affairs - travel's creative ;-)
DeleteOh I think I would rather be a senator! ;-)
DeleteThat's for after. And did idealistic WMM just break my heart a wee bit this morning or do you just want a red and ermine robe?
DeleteAh well both,actually! One of the things on my list of don't is "no more long tedious meetings implementing someone elese's agenda", heehee (true!) plus you need someone smarter than I for foreign affairs, look at the bright bulb we have now!
DeleteOh, I know. I wanted to get you globetrotting in one of the maple-leafed jets. You are smart, gracious and have common sense. And, when I am PM, first thing off the agenda is meaningless meetings about meetings. If there's no failure we really can change the world and that would be an excellent place to start.
DeleteI can just see John Kerry sitting opposite each other sitting on exercise balls!
DeleteWell I actually started off as a chemist (not joking) then moved to stay at home mom and am now a glorified secretary for our construction company..not what I envisioned but it let's me work from home and I am very well paid :) My dream job would be a travel agent for only the very rich. I would specialize in Africa and South America. I would also consider being an investment whiz...that would be nice to not fail at.
ReplyDeleteBlue Booby - sounds like you have a dream job bow and maybe that would turn into something else later! How old are your children? Now that mine are grown up, it gives me some freedome to say "what if", though I need to get them through university!
DeleteBB, that's fab, L/S America so under-served in that way. And you'd get to take lots of "business" trips.
DeleteI have 19 yo son in first year of college..Auburn University. I also have 17 yo daughter a senior in high school..she will be attending Elon University, NC in the fall. And just like that they are gone. I actually am very excited for both of them and myself. Time for breakfast..we get moving early here.
ReplyDeleteThos are fun ages. May daughter is 21 and my son will be 18 in 3 weeks. Lots of fun!
DeleteWe need to get you a writing room like Nigella's and you'll be off! If you're cranking out so much stuff that Tabs is overwhelmed with the editing I would love to help, that's something I really like doing. Maybe I'd be an editor if I knew I couldn't fail!
ReplyDeleteOr maybe I'd be a dressmaker.
Also I want to not fail at what I'm doing already! ;)
Another thought provoking post, you are not idle during this time off are you!
Well you are all getting the brunt of it, as I think Barry is getting tired of it - am dragging him through this all too! Editors are a good thing!!! YOu would be an awesome dressmaker! As for not failing, I only assumed I would continue to be a spectacular wife and mother! And if you are living your dream (like Tabs will be when she take care of kids and dog for 2 weeks) then all the better, isn't it? I love being at home lots - I don't think I want to work outside the house except when I am selling my script!
DeleteLoving this and this is us without wine!
ReplyDeleteTabs you can't know for sure this is us without wine!
Deletei am still in bathrobe trying to pay online bills due next week while out of town and reconcile February! And you know it is impossible to reconcile February!
What is stopping you from writing a TV series Wendy? You could leak a little a day to us like the old cliffhangers!I can tell you that the information about submissions is probably on line, and as I learned in my field- you can't get published if you don't submit. I bet you could write a very entertaining proposal. I need black sandals, and like the looks of those. I just don't know if the strap in black would visually shorten my legs. The hummingbird espadrilles are pretty. I can't believe your trip is so imminent- how exciting. E-mail if you need me to find you an item here-IWFIFY!
ReplyDeleteThanks KNitsyarns - I actually have what I consider to be a good idea. I am setting a schedule for the month of March as soon as I return from NYC - will keep you posted. It will be a comedy. I am not really a drama kind of girl!
DeleteThanks for the offer of assistance - I hope I am good! The weather looks great and I will be the person in Manhattan (maybe the ONLY person in Manhattan on that particular day) who wants their picture taken with the Farragut statue in Madison Square. I am so worried I am getting more and more eccentric every day!
I did once work in an immunology lab before I went clinical-- with leprosy (!). I have loved my career and look forward to the non-remunertive ways to use my skills at this point in my life. Long ago, I did some TV medical spots for mid-market station and I wonder sometimes, what if I had kept that up.
ReplyDeleteOh Lane, I bet you were good! And teh leprosy - how cool is that!!! I saw an AARP ad (ACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) saying that Julie Child did not become a chef until she was 51. we got lots of time to be us!
DeleteLane, I would love that, I volunteered in a leper colony in India when I was young.
DeleteTabs - that is so interesting! When I was young I volunteered at an Alzheimer's day clinic. It is so interesting the various lives people have lived! I bet that was an inpsiring and interesting experience!
DeleteI would be a shoe designer! I already have a whole book of sketches done with colored pencils. I keep thinking that I should have some of them custom-made but what if they are ugly or horribly uncomfortable IRL? Then I will have some very expensive trash. For now I will keep my day job and just buy shoes.
ReplyDeletexoxo - you have fabulous taste in shoes - maybe if you only get one done up and see... YOu will need a good shoemaker who knows what they are doing!
DeleteIf I knew I couldn't fail, I'd be a fashion designer like Emerson Fry. I small, unique, well-edited, made in America, collection women actually want to wear. I sketched a lot when I was a kid - though I can't draw to save my life. In my mind's eye I am forever reworking what I see in stores to make it better-you know - more length on this one, a shorter sleeve on that one and line it in silk for Dani to make it perfect.
ReplyDeleteJulie - that sounds so cool! and xoxo can help with the shoes!
DeleteJulieS, it's so good to know someone else shared my idea of an edited, made in North America collection. Although yours would be stylish clothes and mine would simply be great, planet friendly homeware, edibles etc. that gives/ maintains people who need them in decent paying, flexible jobs. I think more people want "handcrafted" chic, things with integrity, a plan and a story vs. mass-produced stuff. (Not that I don't know people in Asia need jobs too.)
DeleteOh I'm loving this post & the responses.
ReplyDeleteWhat would I be? I think I fear failure at life balance more than I feel failure in a particular field - but then again, maybe that's my excuse.
I would: be a doctor or nurse practitioner in urban primary care; be a medical parasitologist; get a PhD in medical anthropology or public health; write a book (non-fiction); write for the New Yorker; and be an art historian - someday I will be a docent, that's my retirement plan.
I really want to be a thinker and a radical, and to contribute something in a social justice sense.
Abby - that is so neat! Still lots of time and I love the idea of being a docent!
DeleteFunny -- I am a lawyer and don't really want to be anything other than a lawyer. There are parts of my job that drive me up a tree, but so it is with everything in life. I have made various big changes in my work due my husband's work (we've moved countries every 3 years or so for the last little while -- we have another move looming in 5 months) but so far everything has kind of worked out for the best, and I consider myself exceedingly lucky to like what I do and enjoy what I am doing. Maybe more importantly, I love the people I work with and I find that really has an enormous impact on day-to-day quality of life.
ReplyDeleteMichelle - great big gold star for you! Isn't that an amazing thing - to absolutely love what you are doing? That is so great and I applaud you for choosing so well!
DeleteI like those espadrilles. I am sort of second acting it, as trying to get some sort of journalism career back after being at home with the kids for...yikes ten years? The other thing I would have loved to be was a hairdresser. You make so many women happy.(hopefully)
ReplyDeleteI could never be a hairdresser as I am an impatient person by nature! I saw an interview with Beyonce about her mother who is a hairdresser and she said her mother was THE go-to person to all of the clients, hair-wise and for advice! Good luck on getting back at it - I have been in one career for 25 years - wouldn't mind going in a completely different direction!
DeleteProfessional ice cream taster. :)
ReplyDeleteooooh good job!
DeleteNOT a lawyer. Sigh. Oh well... I am still young enough to change professions, maybe. I would run a consignment shop. A good one, with reasonable prices and no crap. Or else open an animal shelter. I really, really want to do that!
ReplyDeleteWell you could have an animal shelter and clothes in the back!!!
DeleteI would love to be a florist with my own shop. Because I'd have buckets of money in my dreams if somebody like an arrangement I'd give it away. I always found it very relaxing to make arrangements.
ReplyDeleteOh wouldn't that be fun? I would love to learn about flower arranging!
DeleteHi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteIf you have a chance could you try on the Goldsign jeans in N.Y.. I'd love to see what you think of them. Thanks
I tried to write back last night - not sure if you got - I will look for them and try on, though I do not have the lithe jeans body of our lithe Dani! :0)
DeleteRolled in the floor about your Andes comparison on my comment to the bra post. I read it early this morning and at first all I could think of were those little chocolate mints! Duh!
ReplyDeleteI would like to do something creative and be a interior decorator. Maybe then I could overcome my fear of making decorating decisions about my own home! Who am I kidding. It takes me years to decide on a paint color!
SC - maybe if you took the course, you would become very decisive!!!!
DeleteI would dance!
ReplyDeleteOh good for you! I'll write a character who loves to dance in fancy pants!
Delete