Stretch Goals
Image by Dayne Topkin, for Unsplash
I love writing and editing, and I’m very comfortable pursuing any activity that involves words: discussions, puns, crossword puzzles, all of it. I have some other professional, emotional, and physical cocoons where I retreat when I need solace.
I don’t inhabit those comfort zones on a full-time basis, however. Since my teens, I have pushed myself to leave those boundaries, experimenting with new situations, new activities, and new ideas.
This is common for teens, according to my kid’s middle school science teacher. He explained that teens and young adults borrow and “try on” different attitudes, viewpoints, and styles, as if they were shopping at the Goodwill store.
Leaving the Cocoon
What may be less common is my relentless drive to step out of my comfort zone, at regular intervals, at every stage of my life so far. Sometimes it would be something that felt really big, like joining a sports team for the first time in college, moving to a different country in my mid-twenties,. or returning to the States seven years later to get my ‘MBA at a prestigious, Ivy League school.
Along the way, I had to acquire some new skills: building physical strength and endurance, gaining fluency in a second language and culture, driving a car with manual transmission in a hilly city, making friends with people who didn't look or act like me, overcoming a persistent fear of failure, and learning to embrace math.
My evolving motto: I did ______ (fill in the blank) and I can do this, too.
Building the Web
Fast-forward to today. I’m trying to build a business (again) as a freelance, B2B content developer and strategist. (You figured that out already, right?) I am blessed to have already found some great clients who trust me with their web copy, reports, press releases, and the like.
My clients are all on tight budgets, though, and I want to make things easy for them. Suddenly, I find myself taking on jobs and roles that I never would have done at a larger company.
So…allow me to introduce (drumroll) your new website designer! This blog site was actually the test. I set it up to prove to myself that I could. Now I’m almost done with a client’s website, and it’s looking pretty good.
I’ve also designed (and written) two white papers and a sweet infographic. I start with templates, which are readily available, and I adapt them to reflect the client’s brand guidelines. I do get frustrated sometimes by some technical or aesthetic issues, but I push on. And I get results.
Meanwhile, I’ve been patting myself on the back to the point where I almost dislocated my shoulder (metaphorically) but I am aware that new challenges await. They could require an entirely new and different skill set.
Hey. Whatever it is, I can do it. After all, I can design and build entire websites.
