Tapping into Creativity: When Life Imitates Art

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Experience has taught the more I pay attention to synchronicities the more I experience them.

Today was no different.

Over past weeks I’ve been focused on elizabethmaxim.com’s refresh.  

The site needed to serve readers and visitors in a format that supported my vision.  

Determined not to rush the process – though I was eager to get to work –  I spent time while walking 4 – 6 miles/day thinking through what’s worked in the past, what hasn’t, and where I’m going with my career after time off.

Time spent healing from severe burnout.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

The Universe Steps In

No sooner did I start embracing the vision when synchronicities began popping up like mushrooms in a Pacific Northwest autum.  

Each in its way helpful to my efforts.

  • Meaningful and relevant conversations with perfect strangers who always seemed to be where I needed them when I needed them.
  • Coming across articles that would fill out future blog posts.
  • Discovering much of what I needed I already had

Recognzing each “coincidence” as a gift I acknowledged by thanking the universe.  

I took each as a sign post I was on the right track.

Hey!  

The Universe Turns Up the Volume.

A recent headline caught my attention but, busy working on the refresh effort, I set it aside for later consumption.  

Later = Today.

Hey Yourself!  This Is In My Series!

This is the premise for my series!

The article –  Your Consciousness Can Connect With the Whole Universe, Scientists Say – appeared in Popular Mechanics.

Unfortunately, it’s restricted to Pro Members though I got access through Apple News service.

There are specific lines from the article that stand out because they match the premise of my Metatron’s Army series.

Considerations – including scientific – I’ve had for decades.

From the article:

  • Normal states of consciousness might be what we consider quite ordinary—knowing you exist, for example. But when you have a heightened state of consciousness, it’s because you’re dealing with quantum-level consciousness that is capable of being in all places at the same time, he explains.

He being Stuart Hameroff, MD.

  • When we imagine “what if …?” scenarios, we’re actually getting information about versions of ourselves in other universes who are also navigating the same strange attractor—others’ “cars” on the track. This also accounts for our sense of consciousness, of free will, and of being connected with a greater universe.

Timothy Palmer, Ph.D., mathematical physicist at Oxford

My What If …?  My Work

These are not only existential challenges facing protagonist Christine Baker, they are challenges explained to her by a character using almost the exact analogy.

Definitely the principle. 

Just as in my series, scientists working on consciousness research use geometry to explore concepts mysterious and difficult to quantify.

Metatron.

Associated with the concept of sacred geometry, I utilize Metatron’s Cube as a plot device to explore awareness on multiple levels.

Across multiple universes.

From the back of Positional Play

To Guide and Protect.  When a mysterious carving reveals the identity of a powerful being who can prevent an apocalyptic future, Christine sets out to unlock the secrets of his cube in time to prevent the end of everything.

I invite you to explore the world of Metatron’s Army.

An Author Reads

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As I was sitting rereading one of my very favorite Dragon Core Stories – Shadow of the Gods – I wondered briefly if other authors reread their own work.

And if they did was it to do the endless editing we’re known for or because they absolutely loved everything about that moment

The moment being

  • The characters
  • The story
  • The setting
  • The memories

Characters

Readers and visitors will note I regularly mention strong independent characters who steer/direct their destiny… Character driven fiction is the priority for me because it’s a reflection of my existence as an observer of the world and those in it.

Story

For me the story flows naturally – from feeling.

The process of a tale fighting to get out is more psycho-emotional than cerebral

As an author, rereading my work ignites the same feelings and psycho-emotional responses that were at work when I first put fingers to keyboard.

It isn’t a high, just a happy feeling of accomplishment.

Setting

Setting is a natural extension of the above.

When I write I can see the setting as if I’m there.

Memories

Memories can be tricksters, jesters hiding in shadows waiting to feed their need for perverse entertainment

At your expense.

Memories associated with an event such as writing and/or publishing a story can be associated with what was going on in your life at that moment, life memories evoked while putting fingers to keyboard, or anything that happened as a result of releasing that work into the world.

Mixed bag.

Of all, I believe memories the most challenging as they tie in multiple variables including memories of where you thought you would be once you released your art to the world.

And how you thought the world would react. Hahahahahahaha

Mental Minefield

It turns out Time holds the key to healing incongruencies

Even when reality surpasses expectation memories can be a wrench in it all

Healing

Time has been an element of fascination and passion for me for as long as I can remember

And – at times – my nemesis

One thing Time has done is take pity on me as the author wading through my favorite works by its passing blunting the edge of emotions that might ruin the joy of reliving creative expression through reading a work of art given to the world to spread joy.

And love.

Just in time for Halloween: Life as a Costume Party!

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Hope everyone is enjoying life if not the weekend.  Had a lightbulb moment and wanted to share.

It’s up my holistic – aka body mind spirit – alley.

But first

Making progress figuring out “next steps” in website/career update.

Feeling more at peace with it. But – it takes time.

As usual [for me] the universe is directing the energy – but – it’s coming round that the energy will be pulled in – put to good use.

I’m feeling better!

I wanted to share the perspective that popped into mind.

Perspective is everything!

Many of us are searching – in one form or another – for ourselves.

Searching for meaning, searching for what our Divine Purpose is, searching for the winning Powerball numbers…

Got a bit of insight as to why it’s been so difficult for some of us to find ourselves

Imagine…

Showing up to a costume party where you’re trying to see if you can figure out who’s who only to find you don’t even recognize yourself

because…

Your soul is housed in a damn good costume!

Maybe too good ya?

Good things coming!

Eager to share!

Stay tuned!

Site Update

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Happy Autumn!

My favorite season.

Over the past months I’ve focused on healing after severe burnout.

Even as I wanted to work on a vision for my writing career.  

Walking countless miles I examined the possibilities.

And felt ill even thinking of writing.

I was fully prepared to walk away from writing forever if that’s what I needed to do to stay healthy.  There was just one tiny issue.  Writing wasn’t just a job, it was a lifelong dream.

I couldn’t get the maxim God never puts a dream in your heart without giving you the means of fulfilling it out of my head and heart.

While walking mile after mile – rain snow or shine – I prayed for guidance.  

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Over the months I came to see that it is possible for me to continue along the path of my dream provided I start over and – most importantly – I don’t go back to doing things the same old way.

A way that led me straight into burnout.

Simply giving myself permission to dream of the possibility I might be able to write again terrified me, so I acknowledged it as a possibility and set it aside for several months more. 

Light At the End of the Tunnel

A light that thankfully was not an oncoming train!

I started with blog posts and when that went well gave myself permission to dream of more. At the same time I kept my focus on healing.

Walking is wonderful for body mind and spirit.

The vision started to crystalize but I struggled with details such as layout and organization and soon came to realize I was overcomplicating things.

Again.

I’ve finally come up with a format I can live with.

As someone with a passion for excellence, I’m picky.

In the coming weeks I will be implementing the changes which will include

  • Work on EMF Sensitivity
  • Work on the Psi Side
  • Fiction
  • New nonfiction work I will provide details for in the near future

When it comes to blogs, rather than overcomplicating things by filing posts in different locations,  I will simply make sure the subject is in the title.  

Readers can decide whether the subject is of interest.

I look forward to sharing my desire to make the world a better place through Creations, Communications, and Research in the weeks and months to come.

Stay tuned

Validating EMF Sensitivity Findings: Better Late Than Never

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Four years after surgery for a brain bleed I began experiencing horrible migraines.  

Why now?  

Seemingly unrelated to the arterial rupture clamped with a titanium clip it was a puzzling, if miserable, period of my life.

The pain was not only intense it was unresponsive to any but narcotic strength medication.  Since I despised the way those medications made me feel it became a constant study in frustration as to how to relieve pain that drove me to my knees in tears.

While I searched for a non-narcotic solution I demanded the smallest dose of the other.

Cause and Effect: An Unwitting Introduction to EMF Sensitivity

  It was while discussing the periodic and debilitatingly painful episodes at a family gathering I got my first look – thanks to a savvy aunt – into what it meant to be EMF Sensitive.  

Atmospheric EMFs

My maternal grandmother was carefully questioning  me about the headaches in an effort to see if their was any pattern that would help us understand why they’d started out of the blue.  Sitting at the table was my Aunt Anne who said, “Your headaches are related to thunderstorms.”  

She figured out that approximately 48 hours after I got a migraine, a thunderstorm occurred. She also pointed out the pain resolved once the system moved out of the area.

We spent the next half hour trying to figure out what it was about the storms specifically that instigated the painful headaches and though no real conclusions were drawn my aunt was certain it was the lightning.

Electrical right?

Think Again

If that was the case then why did I feel so good while living in Florida in an area considered the lightning capital of the world?

I feel wonderful whenever I visit the state and it’s not just sunshine because I lived in sunny So Cal and I’ve lived in Phoenix yet did not have this same sense of physical well-being.

I did not get headaches while living in Florida.  

They started the spring after my family moved back to Michigan.

It wasn’t until 2011 – after years researching a phenomenon called EHS – what I called EMF Sensitivity – that I learned that atmospheric EMFs associated with storm systems are of the same ultra-low and very low EM frequencies that wreaked havoc with my health.

Which was why I was researching EMFs in the first place.

Understanding is Not a Cure

Knowing why I got horrible migraines 48 hours before a thunderstorm was all good and well but it didn’t offer any solution.

None of the remedies I had for my sensitivity to geologic and technologic EMFs worked for the atmospheric EMFs.  

Never Stop Learning

In subsequent years I gained incredible insight into EMF Sensitivity, including coming to understand the root cause and thus a cure.  I also discovered numerous remedies at all price points with no need for a doctor’s prescription.

I wanted remedies that were easily affordable and accessible to anyone.

I was thrilled to share my findings with the world through my release of Riding the Waves: Diagnosing, Treating, and Living with EMF Sensitivity.

As well as follow-up books on the subject.

While I’d made incredible progress and was living a relatively normal life, I was still struggling with migraines before thunderstorms.

Which were unfortunately all too common where I was living when I released Riding the Waves.

A Decade Later

It was while living in an area known for rain that I finally had a breakthrough.  

Rain Yes But…

Though we had our share of rain thunderstorms were a rarity where I was living.  This suggests it was something about atmospheric conditions tied to rain.  However…

I remembered living in Sunnyvale, California during a time when local rainfall broke records and not experiencing any migraines. Adding to the argument disputing the migraines being tied to rain was the fact I was getting the migraines during the summer too.

Pressure Drop

Research and a barometer purchase showed the migraines happened approximately 48 hours before a serious pressure drop. That they happened in the summer was due to the fact the pressure dropped as the temperature rose.  

I was able to determine the temperature had to rise sharply in a very short time for the pressure drop to induce a migraine.

Yeah, Okay, But…

I still had no way of treating the migraines and I refused to take narcotic medicine.

I’d had some luck with potassium supplements but it was not consistent.

As I document in Ignoring the Rules: An Intriguing Approach to Resolving Calcium Toxicity, I was able, through constant research, to determine the migraines were the result of the scar tissue – made up mostly of calcium – reacting to the atmospheric changes associated with pressure drops.

Like temperature, changes in pressure are a product of EMFs.

Through a lot of trial and error that drew on years of research I was able to discover a cure for the migraines.

Included in the book.

Two days ago as Idalia was making headlines I came upon an article that validated my experience; that it’s possible to sense EM frequencies associated with thunderstorms.

And, as I write in Riding the Waves, EMs associated with tropical storms and hurricanes.

It’s hard to put into words how it felt to see my observations backed up by other researchers; researchers who are going to conduct further study into how these EM frequencies affect behavior in a living organism.

Talk about validation!

It hasn’t been easy writing about a subject that continues to be controversial, to rile emotions, so when I come across this type of information it’s another brick falling off shoulders too often burdened by weighty matters.

Of course I also had to consider it meant I’m a shark.

Kidding, naturally.

To my delight, a day later another EMF article crossed my desk and while this one relates to a different part of my experience it’s every bit as validating.  Needless to say I’ll be sharing that information in the near future.

Stay tuned.

Writing Crystal Visions

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Hey y’all 

Typed with a Midwest accent

I haven’t dropped off the planet, just gathering my thoughts.

Lots of projects under consideration.

The biggest hurdle at this point is deciding how to do a site layout that reflects my vision. I’ve always been a visual person, one who sees things then works to recreate what I see in my mind’s eye.

So readers can immerse themselves in that vision.

Vision as Part of the Process.

When writing, my visual process makes it so I not only see characters, colors, settings in equisite detail, I can smell the smells.

Whether they come from shampoo a character uses, a by-product of what is going on in the scene – i.e., the aftermath of a battle – or from memory – i.e., a hospital or elementary school.

When I set fingers to keyboard I literally have images of characters, settings, smells in mind.  It’s why I so easily identify with my characters.

Which helps when writing from their point of view.  

I see them with crystal clarity.

As if they were standing in front of or beside me.

Speaking of Crystal Visions, the song of the same name – by The Big Pink – is pretty sweet.

On the Red Riding Hood Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

I imagine other novelists have this ability.

As would song writers, painters, sculptors, photographers, and a myriad of other artists, including actors who create their character as they see – and feel – in body and soul.

What makes this phase of my career challenging is that despite the tremendous improvements in tools and layout options available through WordPress, I’m concerned about making the layout overly busy.  

I want to represent multiple projects in one place without making it cluttered.

As with many disciplines (i.e. writing software code**), there are numerous ways to accomplish what I want and plenty of tools for doing so, but it’s wanting to match what I envision with what is displayed that has me taking time.

Considerations

Some projects will remain under wraps.

I’ll be revealing them in the near future.

Some are topics I never walked away from.

They’re integrated into who I am, woven into my life in a way that means to abandon them is akin to pulling a thread and watching everything unravel til nothing’s left but a spaghetti mess.

That doesn’t mean I was obligated to share.

In spite of a passion for making the world a better place.

Going back to the way things were would only land me in the place that drove me to step away to being with.

The way I’d been doing things resulted in serious damage – to me.

It was as if – metaphorically – I suddenly found myself in a ballroom so crowded I couldn’t hear myself think.

Let alone breathe.

As I go forward with these projects I’m taking my strengths and vulnerabilities into consideration.

As I honor my passion for making the world a better place.

Among the myriad of topics attached to various projects are EMF Sensitivity and life through a Living the Psi Life lens.

Stay tuned.

**  A big part of why I refused to do coding on-the-fly as part of my technical consulting is the simple fact I would be setting the sales rep up for failure.  I’d either be trying to deal with a predecessor’s code or writing in a way that meant whoever came after me needed to understand where I was coming from – at that moment – in order to support the customer.

Never mind that whatever I did wouldn’t be supported if the customer ever called the help desk.  

Ah, but that is a story for another day.

It Used to Be Socks – Part I

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Trying to pick yourself up after you’ve been flattened by life is something I’m all too familiar with.  I’ve been doing it since I was 10 and a brain hemhorrage knocked me out of the game 2 weeks before US Olympic Gymnast Training Camp.

I came to after dying 3x blind, paralyzed, and recovering from an induced coma.

What I’m trying to come back from now is the most difficult health issue I’ve faced since those days.

What I do have is drawing from numerous times my life and plans were rerouted – for me – knowing I survived it – perhaps even emerged a stronger better person for it.

The Spirit Lives

I’ve come to see – fortunately -on endless walks over months the creative spirit within is still around, though it was and continues to be touch and go.

Merely thinking of projects can make me physically ill.

I think some part of me has been ‘splining what I was trying to do was akin to a baseball player getting back in the game before his injuries were healed.

Aka “Ain’t gonna happen.

Failed Negotiation

I tried all sorts of end runs around my higher self.

Crash and burn.

I gave up

And gave it to the Universe

Tuning the Dial

I was eventually strong enough to tap into old philosophies including my success with Silva and the Law of Attraction.

And got to a point where it was diminishing returns.

That’s okay – I’d put the energy out there.  I trusted the process.

So Where Do the Socks Come In?

I’m finally in a place where I’m strong enough to do a post under circumstances I wasn’t able to before.

Yay!

The Socks?

I could start with a cutesie story of how my kitty used to steal my socks when I was in second grade so I couldn’t go to school.

And leave her.

Years later she showed up at my sixth grade classroom.

Hopped up on the windowsill next to my desk.

Neither the teacher nor principal – both nuns – were amused.

We didn’t have a working car at the time so my dad had to ride up on  my 10-speed bike and put her in a suitcase to ride home with .

Bet that was fun.

The Cultural Divide of Socks

Anecdote aside, the sock thing started when I was 12 and my family had moved to New Orelans.

Small town in Jefferson Parish.

I had to wear the Catholic school uniform – I got that – but I put on socks I felt represented my creative spirit.

To give perspective, the other girls wore poodle length uniform skirts, bobby socks, and saddle shoes reminiscent of the 50s though this was some 30 years later.

Needless to say my yellow and brown striped socks didn’t win any popularity contests.

Nor did my Yankee accent.

It was actually the school bus driver who called me out first.

“What are ye wearin’ those fer?!”

She threatened not to let me on the bus.

Then decided to let the nuns have at me.

Needless to say, it went downhill from there.

But my creative spirit had morphed into some sort of rebellion over socks and the freedom to choose my own.

Sock Evolution.

By the time I was in high school I was working multiple jobs and maintaining grades good enough to get an academic scholarship.

And leading an organization that earned me Oakland County Outstanding Citizen of the Year.

Laundry was not a priority.

Neither was hair.

It’s amazing how many adults get tied up in knots when you don’t pay attention to such things.

Not school adults – ahem.

Showing up in mismatched socks was simply no big deal to me.

It was reflective of getting dressed at 6am after having gotten home from work after 11pm.  I was half asleep.

When I was called out for it I replied, “What does it matter if they match?  They’re both clean.”

Evolution II

I started to choose socks with fun patterns.

No dull solids for me!

And of course none of this was inspired by the continuous criticism of my choice of socks.

I mean come on – who takes the energy to stare at someone’s ankles?  I lived in jeans so it wasn’t like people could see goofy knee socks!

Evolution III

Alas the thrill of the sock hunt has been replaced by the joy of spending as much time barefoot as possible.  That doesn’t mean I don’t seek creative expression.

The latest version came from the realization I’m spending more time in t-shirts than sweaters.

So I may as well make it fun.

Given I needed to expand the wardrobe anyway since wearing the same 3-4 t-shirts over and over was going to have them wearing out I decided to do something fun that will help my writing efforts.

Honoring that creative spirit.

This will be evident in future posts.

Stay tuned

Self-Care and The Important Follow-On Question

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As with so many, the fallout from the pandemic spurred me into taking what action I could to ease suffering – at personal expense.

Serious mental, emotional, and eventually physical burn-out.

Hitting a wall I elected to do something that would have appalled my corporate self.

Gasp!  Self-Care

To put in perspective, my primary influences growing up came from the Greatest Generation.

World War II Vets and war brides.

You didn’t complain.

Grit and heart and self-sacrifice for the greater good won the day.

This is the philosophy that underpinned my decades as a woman in the male dominated field of tech.

Eons before the Me-Too movement.

The idea of self-care was akin to betrayal.

Selfish!

And so it went.

By the end of 2022 even I was coming to see if I didn’t do something my health was going to deteriorate to the point I couldn’t recover.

Okay, so Now What?

I didn’t make the decision for self-care so much as God made it for me.

My life literally ground to a halt and I wound up in the ER.

In the days that followed it occurred to me that in order to heal I would have to sacrifice something that was an indelible part of my life.

My writing career.

When I wound up in the ER a second time after a test result came back suspicious I knew that in spite of the fact I’d wanted to be a writer from the time I was three, trying to pull up energy reserves to continue might be dire indeed.

Nothing like waking to a call at 7am telling you to get to the hospital immediately because of a number on a blood draw.

A Warning.

The follow-up tests showed I was fine.

Thank God.

I raised the white flag and informed my family that for the foreseeable future I would no longer be writing.

Or doing anything that would take precious energy needed for my recovery.

Selfish.

But first I had to get past the philosophy that putting myself first was selfish.

Thank God for the more modern philosophy that points out – wisely – if you aren’t there for yourself you can’t be there for those you love let alone anyone else.

Repeat after me:  Self-care is NOT being selfish!

I spent months focused on recovery even as I tried to be there for those who needed me.

I’m grateful for family and friends who were there for me when they too were trying to pick up their lives from various – and not always Covid related – challenges.

Part of self-care included daily walks.

Starting at a little under 2 I was soon walking 6 miles a day 7 days a week.

For months the only thought I could identify was “What was the license number of that truck?”

Anything deeper got me into a world of hurt.

Extended members of the family were a bit disconcerted.

“What’s with -?”

Giving the most basic of answers I put my head down and foot to the pavement.

Walking cold or heat, rain, sleet, or shine.

It was months before I could muster up the energy to utter – even mentally – the all-important follow-on question.

What’s Next?

I knew I wasn’t going back to corporate.

Hell I wasn’t healthy enough to do much – outside walking – but sit my butt on a couch.  I couldn’t commit to an employer let alone a customer!

Is that a Ray of – SUN?

Or is it hope?

One day while walking I considered that I really did want to write again.

It’s all I’d ever dreamed of doing from the time I was 3.

I also knew I was in no condition to even try.

The mere thought caused serious mental pain.

It was out of my hands.

I turned it over to God.

I also acknowledged that I may never be able to go back to writing.

Though that rubbed against another philosophy I was raised with which was God never put a dream in your heart He didn’t give you the means to achieve.

It’s a weird place living in the twilight of a dream shredded beyond recognition.

You’re so tangled in the confusion and pain of the idea of never again doing something you loved – that had been living inside of you since you could first put crayon to construction paper – you can’t give voice to the fear

The horror.

Not even to those who love you and want you to not hurt.

I couldn’t voice the fear even as I was willing to give it up forever if that’s what it took to make me whole again.

A Way Forward.

It’s early in the process and I’m taking it in baby steps but I intend to resurrect my dream.

As God wills it as my dear cousin likes to say.

I intend to tap the dream to be a writer to follow my passion.

Making the world a better place.

Stay tuned.

Manifesting 101: So, You Want a Shortcut

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I haven’t fallen over a cliff, I’ve been focusing on that much needed self-care and while I have a blog post in draft, I do have a meaningful anecdote to share.

The Universe and a human were walking side by side, the human  deciding whether or not to trust the message they were getting about next steps.

This person has been dealing with a few challenges but did ask for guidance.

Omipotent and therefore able to pick up on the concern, the Universe says, “I’m leading you by the hand down the path and it isn’t a path of thorns.”

The human is considering the words thoughtfully when the Universe continues

“Of course, I can’t be held responsible if you decide to take a path you think is a shortcut only to find it’s a path lined with thorny shrubs.”

Reminds me of a time when Aaron and I were hiking in Sedona and I indicated what looked to be a shortcut.  Aaron subsequently spent close to a half hour carefully picking cactus needles from  my hair, shoulder blade, back, and waist.

Thank God for blue jeans!

Post in draft coming soon.

Be well!

Manifesting 101: Accept What Goes With It

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Note: Longer post.

Hoping everyone had a good weekend.  As I was walking this morning I recalled another aspect of manifesting worth sharing:

Accepting what goes with obtaining the goal.  

Incidentally, this is different than be careful what you wish for.

I find it fun to illustrate with examples.

After all, experience is a great way to get perspective.

When I was starting along my journey in corporate I became aware of the role technical consultant.

I was working in HR at the time, as a PSA.

I spoke with my manager – one of three I had at the time – and she agreed it would be a good fit as a career goal.  She proceeded to help me find a job in the department that would get me to the next step.

I was welcomed warmly by the technical consultants in the group who were more than happy to help me along the path to my goal.

Everyone knew it would take years of work to get from Point A to Point B and many were eager to guide me along the way.

One of the more attractive aspects of the role was the autonomy the position seemed to afford.

Self-directed and independent, I don’t thrive under micromanagement or bureaucracy.

As I got to the later stages of my non-traditional path …

Big time on-the-job training!

I came to see that there wasn’t as much autonomy as I perceived

Think TPS reports.

And there was a flip side to the autonomy.  

This is being a consultant?

Lonely time!

My job required a lot of travel and for the most part I was thrilled with the idea.  

I love traveling to different places and interacting with people from various walks of life.

What I wasn’t prepared for – nor comfortable with – was all the time I would be spending by myself.

I was self-conscious and felt a lot of eyes on me when I checked into hotels in sometimes rural areas, sat down by myself in a restaurant, or walked into a classroom room of my “peers.”

I was younger than most by 10-15 years.  I was single wheras most were married with kids.  I was uusally the lone female in the predominantly male industry.

A colleague who wanted to see me succeed gave me rather blunt words when I discussed the issue with him.

You’d better get used to it.

He explained that being a technical consultant meant spending hours on a plane and a lot of nights and weekends in hotels eating room service while watching ESPN.  

He suggested as an avid reader I just pull out a book and read while I eat.

Making it mine.

Over time I got used to the not-so-glamorous side of being a technical consultant.  More, outgoing and naturally curious, I engaged other travelers in conversation.

Most, also feeling lonely, were more than happy to talk about what they were doing.

Majority wanted to tell me about their families and how much they missed them.

Especially international travelers who, either because of kids’ school or the family budget couldn’t bring their families with them.

I always learned something new from these engaging conversations.

One of the more interesting ones was speaking with a Congressional Representative from the Navajo Nation who was sitting next to me on a flight to DC, his tray strewn with paperwork.  He was more than happy to take a break to explain his role and what he was presenting to Congress the next day.

This is the big gathering?

One of the more anticipated events in our company was an annual training where consultants from all over the world gathered near corporate HQ for a week of intense hands-on training.

And beaucoup networking.

The experienced consultants, not wanting to leave for one reason or another, proposed I go. However, my job classification meant No way! so a bit of negotiating was done.  I could go on the condition I attend specific courses or breakouts, write a report, and give a presentation upon my return.

But I was not allowed to rent a car and a number of stipend limitations were put on me.

It was a thrill and I was excited.  And challenged.

I was carded when I tried to order wine alongside a senior colleague from another state and when I gave the bartender my Michigan driver’s license, he proceeded to accuse me of having a fake ID.  I told him to go ahead and call the cops if he thought that – as my face flamed from embarassment – I’d drawn a lot of attention amongst the group of peers – all men. 

 One of the senior consultants – a soft spoken gentleman from Atlanta in his late 50s – managed to convince the bartender I had a legitimate license and he should sell the glass of wine to me.  

Oy!

I dutifully took notes while attending various sessions and emailed the report ahead of my return flight so the consultants could read it before my presentation the coming Monday.

They read it over the weekend.

One of the first things I said when I stood up was how incredulous I was that grown professionals could act the way some of the consultants had acted during training.

They argued – sometimes endlessly – over the smallest detail – and became quite passionate when learning that certain features promised by marketing weren’t going to make it into an upcoming release.

When I mentioned the frustration of watching a breakout session devolve into a rat hole my colleagues began to laugh and clap.  Confused, I said, “You think this is funny?” to which they replied, “No, this is what it is to be a consultant!”

I’d passed a test and was soon given more opportunities to further myself along the path toward the goal; a path littered with challenges as I learned the less-than-glamorous side of being a technical consultant.

Including learning after I completed all the requirements there was no headcount for me to get that promised promotion.

Perseverence.

I eventually succeeeded then surpassed the goals I’d set for myself.

I can look back on an incredible and successful years’ long career as a technical consultant.  

What stands out – a good reminder as I walk the path to current goals – is that there are unknowns one has to accept to go the distance and many of these unknowns are unanticipated hurdles.

They go along for the journey to success.

Be well!