It was only when I was typing today’s date that I realized the significance

Tomorrow would have been my mom’s 81st birthday. But that’s only part of the story. She never made it past her 59th. And still, there’s more which gives me pause right now. This whole year since my last birthday has been a lot of things, but one which comes back up now is that it’s been bittersweet. In May, I will be 60 and my daughter has been very excited about celebrating it for quite awhile now. To her, it’s a major birthday, but to me, it’s a major milestone because it means, unlike my mother, that I have a whole lot to look forward to, I’m loving my life and if I haven’t conquered all of my demons, I’ve conquered enough of them to truly appreciate this life I have.

To say that a small part of me has not been a teensy bit worried would be to deny an important part of my own psyche. However, I know that I’ve allowed myself to take some major risks so that I could truly live my passion. I have three books in progress and another in concept to show for it, an office which has made the transition from accounting with a bunch of bookshelves to a writer’s den. The accoutrements of my accounting career are not gone, but only come out when they are needed for my own or a client’s work. The things I needed while managing multiple clients on a regular basis no longer need to be apparent nor can they distract me from my true vocation which is writing.

Certainly, I am still looking for ways to use my accounting skills to help pay the bills, but now, I’m expanding my vision to see where I can meld the two into something which will be both lucrative and unique. Research is pending, but I’m looking at a side career as a Virtual Assistant who can not only handle the business/accounting side of things, but can also create newsletters, blogs and web copy. I don’t even know if there is a market for such a person but then, there wasn’t a market for computers at one time, was there? I bring some pretty unique skills to any table. I’m a number cruncher, but can open my mind and create unique environments which allow a client to see things in a way which makes sense to them.

Soon, yet another Leap of Faith will begin!

For the last year or so I’ve been reading about finding your niche. I tried learning to do copywriting with the result, Epic Fail. But was it really a failure, or simply an opportunity to re-examine where my skills really lie? Heaven knows I’ve created my share of desk instructions over the years. I’ve learned how to write proposals which show a customer what we can do for them and I’ve knocked out a few newsletters over the years as well. Meld that with my years spent doing finance, accounting, budgeting and forecasting, and I know this all adds up to a very special place for me.

My weakness is marketing, but will I really let that stop me?

I don’t profess to have that special talent for being able to sell ice to the Eskimos, but I am able to listen to a customer and customize things to give them the visibility they desire so they can make their business successful. Sure, accounting has a lot of rules, but frankly, those rules can be broken while still complying with the requirements of governmental authorities. In short, I am a Creative Accountant who can also help maintain a website or blog or help write a proposal.

If my blog posts are less frequent, it is only because I need to spend time putting effort into my new line of work as well as continuing to devote plenty of time to my first love, writing. As the ADHD kicked in, I spent a couple of hours researching business plans and Virtual Assistant businesses, and feel pretty good about making this my new direction. It will require some help with my website and some networking, but I really feel that it will be a good fit with my writing and will fit my non-conformist work days.

But for now, I’ll wander in my odd little way over to the book I’m working on and leave you with tonight’s gratitudes.
1. I am grateful that, in some ways, I’m my mother’s child in name only.
2. I am grateful that I sought and found my own particular brand of bliss.
3. I am grateful for new directions and opportunities to fund my writing addiction.
4. I am grateful for the people in my life who encourage each other to be who they truly want to be.
5. I am grateful for a schedule which rarely requires me to be any place at a particular time. Life happens and my days rarely go as planned.
6. I am grateful for abundance: opportunities, ideas, epiphanies, friendship, love, joy, bliss, peace, harmony, health and prosperity.

Blessed Be

And now for some shameless self-promotion:
I’d love it if you’d visit my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SheriLevensteinConawayAuthor?ref=aymt_homepage_panel. I’ve created this page as a means of positive affirmation and would be very grateful if you’d “like” it or leave a comment! Thank you!