Finding My Artist

Focusing

Writing this blog has been one of the best things I could have done for my personal sanity. Prior to committing to limit my business development my brain was always moving a million miles per hour, trying to connect with everyone and just generally doing too much. I have since slowed down and gone underground a bit which has made it much easier to evaluate how I unconsciously fall into some of the bad habits/practices that prompted me to write this blog in the first place.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race: Client/Project Progress

Since my last post business has progressed nicely. George, among other wonderful things, has officially inked a deal for his own weekly segment on WHUR: Style and Elegance with Go to Guy George Worrell. My newest clients Mirror Image Fitness and Wellness "Fitness Twins" had their first radio appearance and their new brand image is set to launch July 1st. I had a great day of shooting on a small documentary project that I am associate producing (my first production credit!). Donovon and I have made progress on a wonderful business venture. My client Jamon Hicks aka "The next Obama" was named one of the Top 40 Lawyers under 40 by the National Bar Association. My hubby and Artistic Director, R. Alexander Clark, has finished his first Drupal* website. And, I have kept my eye on what all my other DC entreprehustlers and "rising stars" have been up to and injected my Muse spirit and resources in any way that I could.

*sidenote: Alex tells me that this is the next "big thing" in website development. The learning curve is steep and the number of developers actually doing it is small. He has been learning it over the last several months and explaining to me in "mind numbing", and dare I say "tune out-able" detail, the value and potential of such an undertaking.

Nothing to "Take the Edge Off"*: Personal Progress

So, now that I have passed the 3 month mark and my belly is in full bloom, it is safe for me to reveal that this end of the year goal is significant in another important way: we are expecting our second child in December!

For those who were witness to my first year as an entrepreneur, you know that I found out that I was pregnant with Ryan Alexis, my first child, several weeks after I resigned from the firm. God knew what he was doing because I am sure that I would have made different decisions, i.e., not becoming an entrepreneur, had I found this information out sooner. Something that may be seen as a hindrance to my plans ended up being the best motivator for "getting it done." Having my growing baby with me every step of the way gave me the feeling that I was not alone and gave me an even greater sense of purpose.

It has been exhilirating to experience motherhood and owning my own business simultaneously, but it also makes it imperative that I put everything in perspective and make sure that I am approaching both tasks in a realistic and well-thought out way. So, in addition to the goals and realizations I have made about Muse and my entrepreneurial journey, I have been making a lot of progress in my personal life...all of this without anything to "take the edge off."

So I have been proud of myself for the things that I have accomplished in my personal journey including getting a Nutritionist, keeping in mind that food, water and sleep are essential to life (seems obvious, but as an entrepreneur sometimes you zone out and forget these most basic things), taking naps and most recently taking a little vacation to Atlanta where I got some much needed rest and made some serious progress on my book.

*as my friend Chandra's mom would say...lol.

"I'm a Writer"--Carrie Bradshaw (in almost every episode of SATC...lol)

So, I have officially begun the process of writing "The Other N Word" and I have to say that it is a truly terrifying undertaking. Over the past six months or so, I have been taking notes, writing down or recording my thoughts, etc. but once I started to actually write full paragraphs I realized that I have a lot to say and my brain has been organizing this book without my knowledge. This is always true when I write, which is why whenever I read something that I have written it always seems like someone else wrote it. I am not one of those draft and redrafters, I simply outline, think about it every minute and when it is time to go, it somehow comes out the right way the first time. My theory is that I draft and redraft in my head.

Anyway, because my book is part personal narrative and part "self-help", the way that I organize it will be very important. To avoid the delay that thinking this all the way through in advance would cause, I began writing under mini topic headings and got a suprising amount written in a short period of time.

After my first full day of writing, I experienced a bit of anxiety because although I knew that I had a great idea, seeing it come to life and realizing that I am particularly purposed to write this felt a bit overwhelming. It is like my version of "The Tipping Point" (could I put the bar any higher!), that is, uncovering a phenomenon that "accidently" occurs and being able to explain it in such a way that those who heed its lessons can make it happen on purpose. Because "The Tipping Point" changed my life so profoundly and has gone on to be one of the best reviewed books and whose theories have transformed the lives of so many entrepreneurs, the thought that my book would have even close to that kind of impact is daunting.

Needless to say, I have a lot of work to do. And now that I have dared to put myself anywhere near Malcolm Gladwell in a public forum, I will definitely need to do some breathing exercises and then "get my Puffy on" and make it happen.

-The Muse