[Courses] [Spineful Living, lesson 8: Just Talk, Just Ask, Just Do]

[Beth Skwarecki]

Carla, thanks so much for running this course! (And thanks to everyone who
contributed their goals and stories and advice!) This course helped me make
the decision to quit my job as a bioinformatics analyst and become a writer.
So I when I read today's lesson I felt like I'd been skipping ahead in the
book :)

I almost didn't do the Chapter One homework, the list of dreams. It took a
lot of guts to be honest with myself about what I wanted, and I wrote down a
lot of things that sounded impossible at first. I was unhappy with my job,
so a lot of the dreams related to finding something awesome and fun and
satisfying to do for a living.

One day my husband suggested I start my own business. The idea that popped
into my head, that I write, at first seemed crazy and totally random. But
the more I thought about it, the less crazy it sounded. I'd had a job as a
copywriter once; I've queried and published knitting patterns; I even had a
regular column in a tiny newspaper when I was in high school (more about
that in a minute). I realized that the desire to write for money was
actually something I'd had in the back of my head for a long time and never
really acknowledged. (I have a copy of Writer's Market on my bookshelf, for
gosh sakes. What's that doing there?)

So the next "Just Do" task for me is to give notice to my boss. I've already
started making lists of book and article ideas, writing every day in my
journal to get back into practice, planning out the business and financial
details of writing, and setting lofty dreamy goals for my new life as well
as planning for various degrees of "what if it doesn't work out". (worst
case: I have to go back to a 9-5 job after an expensive vacation pursuing a
hobby I enjoy. How is that so bad?)

As for my dreams list, becoming a professional writer is a step toward TEN
of the 28 goals I listed. 

Here are some quick "Just Ask" success stories.

A few years ago, I did one of the scariest things I've ever done (I'm shy,
this is hard for me): I asked my boss to pay to send me to the YAPC
conference. He said yes! In fact, he's sent me (and co-workers) to every
YAPC since. Work benefits when we come back full of ideas, enthusiasm, and
new information; I benefit from free "vacations". (It's held in a different
city every year, including some I couldn't afford to go to on my own.)

Back in high school, I would sometimes pick up a local publication called
something like "teen voices" that featured teenagers' writing. I wanted to
have something in print, but when I sat down to write an article it came out
twice as long as the maximum length they would accept. So I wrote to the
editor and asked if they'd like it as a two-part article. She wrote back to
offer me a regular column! 

My boyfriend of many years lived in a different city than me. We intended to
get married someday, but he wasn't ready to propose to me just yet (no money
for a ring, loved his job and didn't want to move, etc). So I asked him! I
didn't get down on one knee, I just said "Will you marry me and move to my
town by next summer?" And guess what, he said yes! Part Two: he asked his
boss if he could telecommute after he moved. The boss said yes! We got
married two years ago, and lived happily ever after.

-beth

-- 
Beth Skwarecki
http://loxosceles.org
Bioinformatics Analyst, http://sgn.cornell.edu
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