Work on my Destiny or do the dishes?

I am notorious for having too many balls in the air, too many irons in the fire. When I was working from home as a freelance writer, it was my blessing and my downfall. One moment I am working on my book, then taking on a project for a friend, then focusing on charity work, then working on my deadlines, followed by consulting for small companies and querying new magazines for bylines. While it was all exciting, it didn't create momentum to build on in any one given area--and of course I didn't know I was on a path that would lead me back to the corporate world.
With hindsight being what it is, I know that the variety of experience I gained is now invaluable to me, but what can I learn from that now?
Because I can feel it happening again. I am clear about my role at work being to grow our company, but what is the best way to do that and to grow my personal brand and reputation to facilitate that goal?
Blogging, tweeting, Youtubing, prospecting, networking, strategizing, planning, PRing--each one a lofty, fruitful and FULL TIME pursuit if done well. (In addition to the 9-5 business management.)
Funny how I can so easily see and develop the path for my clients and friends, yet for myself, I am standing in their shoes looking at a jumble of "want-to's" and "need-to's" all lumped into one messy, mental pile.
I believe from a spiritual perspective (that leads into the secular) that desire determines destiny. I know it, I can feel it, I desire it. So how do I focus that desire into manageable action? Thus far, "destiny" has certainly been an S-shaped road--and yet I keep searching for the straight and narrow.
What is a gal to do? For now, keep taking single steps forward, whichever direction they may be in.

Getting what's...

I have been arguing with the word "deserve" lately.
How do you know what you deserve? How do you give people what they deserve?
Love, money, fame, recognition, payback, hope, kindness, justice.

Trees in Texas

In Georgia, where I grew up, the trees are such a part of your daily existence that their delicate reachings in the constant peripheral don't even garner your attention at all. They are like the complex goings-on in your subconscious, directing you, protecting you, real and there, but unacknowledged.
So while my daily thankfulness for the trees was missing, my knowledge about them wasn't. An organic dendrological education (yes, I confess I looked that word up)--bits of info about genus, phylum and species--float to you like leaves on a breeze when you live there.
And of course, trees also became part of my language and metaphor, like the idea about God knowing exactly the number of grains of sand. I always thought about God knowing the exact number of leaves and the ongoing seasonal accounting of them.
As I would lay in the grass talking with my sister, I found God in the black silhouettes of the branches with the dusk sky behind. My faith in Creation was strengthened by the overall symmetry comprised of random off-shootings and underscored by the perfection of form and function in the veins and cells and colors.
So when I moved to Texas in '04, it drove me crazy that I didn't know the names of the trees. I would ask, sounding very much the fool since there were pretty much only three types of trees in all of south Texas (one being the palm tree). But no knew any tree answers. I even went as far as going to the library, bookstore and internet trying  to give myself a mental catalog of these new gentle giants.
But just as in life, there are never any simple answers. The trees here, much like the state they call home, are neither gentle nor giant. They are scrappy survivalists who could make a little water go along way, who jealously and intelligently stockpile resources, and have numerous defense tactics at their disposal. The Georgia pines framed my youth, would the Texas brush give me a similar framework? Nope. That transition period right after the move proved too tumultuous for clarity and perspective. (That would only come with time and a humbling dose of 'growth opportunities'.) I eventually gave up my strange search for tree names and insight, letting it go as a passing fancy or a random distraction. But the truth of the matter is that while elegant, reaching branches and energy transforming leaves captured my imagination, what I actually was looking for were roots.
One interesting piece of tree information I did gather was about the palm tree. Their roots are extremely shallow and, even still, are incredibly adept at weathering any storm, even hurricane winds. It is almost as if it stays standing of its own strength, will and tenacity.
I found I could relate.

Jennifer Aniston belated Sex Tape goes viral

Absolutely love her and love the final title of this ad. Whether this will cause me to buy overpriced water remains to be seen, but...

Let it All Hang Out

One thing I have noticed while working with new clients, big and small, is their fear of being special. Inside our heads, we all know we are special, want to be seen as special, yeearrrnnn to be applauded for our outstanding specialness and then...we sit in silence looking for permission to let it out instead of acting in an authentic way. But you can't launch an effective branding campaign if you don't know what image to capitalize on.

Listen peeps, no one is going to give you permission to be special on the outside because they are all also busy wondering about their own authenticity. This becomes even more true when you run a business.

Do not be scared to push unique aspects of your business to the forefront. While it seems you may be cutting off a part of your target market by differentiating, in the end you aren't BECAUSE YOU CAN'T BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE. Do what you do well and don't worry about the rest. People are attracted to exceptional-ism, even if that particular service does not apply to them.

Find your niche and keep it simple and stop being scared of bring your insides out. The heart beat of you business-whether it is quirky or innovative or aggressive or sexy or Christian or shocking-will be the pulse that builds loyalty and keeps people talking about you.

Welcome Back, Optimism!

So after 6 months at IKON that created many ups at home, but stole my Mojo, I just began my new role as Account Executive for an advertising agency called The Fowler Group. I am beyond ecstatic. I am finally in an industry that I am thrilled to be a part of. TFG seems like such a good fit after just a week, I am terribly scared that someone will pinch me and I will wake up.

After feeling like a failure at IKON, which I now know was just part of their brilliant corporate culture, I still have a bit of a confidence hang-over, but I believe I can overcome it. I WANT to be successful here for me and for them. I am excited at what I will learn, I am excited at what I might be able to accomplish for them, I am excited to be in a creative environment that believes in teamwork. I have already started making cold calls and I am reading a lot and staying enthused. I am just jumping in, trying to get my words and trying to take with me at least one lesson of IKON--go ahead and fail, but learn from it.

One thing I have got to learn to get over is being so regimented or institutionalized when I approach prospecting. Anytime friends or writing clients needed ideas, they were coming out my ears, but when I look at prospects I seem to divorce my creativity and approach it like an intimidating hurdle instead of an opportunity to share excitement and ideas. Tonight Kyle was just throwing out a ton of companies and creative ways to help them and it really got me going. I just have to figure my way to blend cold introductions to clients with the excitement I feel for actually helping them and getting a project underway. I'll get there.

I am ready to step out of my potential and into a successful reality.

Christmas Card 2010- Oh Silent Night

The photo with the surprised eyes made the cut as the official Coffey Christmas Card of 2010, but sometimes the images leading up to it are just as fun...
"Hey Mom, look at us. Keep clicking!"


After 13 more shots and poses, "Seriously Mama, we are getting tired of this..."

"Only one more and we mean it!"