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Motivated By Death
Motivated by death, I live with the skills from CareerMakers.
I am one of those people who made a career of change. I had been a hippie, a dance instructor, a costume designer, a sewing machine operator, a waitress, a bus driver, an activist, an artist rep, a cab driver/owner, a vitamin pill sales person, a gallery curator, and director of a women's shelter by the time I was 42.
So you might think I was a little kooky, but you probably wouldn't think I needed CareerMakers. Well guess what? - as I got older, and began to lose the bravado of my youth, I developed a major crisis of confidence, and blamed it all on not having a college degree. In retrospect, my crisis probably developed from the prolonged state of shock I was living through. Over a period of five years, nearly two dozen of my most beloved friends had died from AIDS.
Maybe I needed a therapist, but I was experiencing all the feelings I could enjoy, and first on my list was a new vision for earning a living.
I don't remember who told me about CareerMakers, or how I got to the orientation meeting, but I do remember informing Peter Paskill (somewhat belligerently) that there was no way they could deliver on what they promised. It was not possible to go through a two-week educational encounter group and be ready to find a dream job. I was certain of the problem - no college credentials. Life experience just didn't count in this rotten society.
Oh, I had a dream - write "the novel." I just needed a job that would facilitate that project, and I knew that job didn't exist. But you know what? That job did exist, and those little stinkers at CareerMakers delivered the skills I needed to find it. They forced me to sort through my work and life history, made me discuss it with others who were doing the same, and helped me begin to reorganize the pieces into a working, cohesive picture.
Probably the worst moment was checking my personal phone book for helpful interviewees. My book was full of dead people. But I took a deep breath, hid my tears, and marched out at the end of class to buy a new address book. I thought about my living friends as I wrote their names into the new book.
By the time I finished with CareerMakers, I was able to translate grant writing, project development and training experience (from social service and community organizations) into a training development and technical writing position with a private corporation. At my new job (found fairly quickly), I negotiated a 50% job share working at home as an independent contractor. I made more money in 20 hours a week than I had ever made full time. To this day, 10 years later, I have never attended a single college class, or given more than a passing thought to the missing degree.
Training development and technical writing satisfied me for about 6 years while I taught myself to write fiction. By then, I knew it was time for another change. Unexpectedly, my older brother died. That was the push I needed. I quit work and took a year to finish my planned best seller. Oops… I found I had lost passion for the project. This time there was no identity crisis. I had CareerMakers' skills! With curiosity and confidence, I launched a thorough, calculated, purposeful survey of my accomplishments and interests. My first conclusion was: time to work for me. The question became: what would I do for me?
I drove my friends nuts while sifting through ideas. Each fantasy was submitted to the test of a financial plan, personal interviews, and many hours of talking and daydreaming.
Dog Nose News was the idea that got off the lawn chair. I couldn't envision the point where I got bored out of my wits and had to quit. Publishing a newspaper about companion animals would use my organizing and management skills, and incorporate my love of the written word.
In daydreams, one can rarely project reality. I started out planning to give the pet-loving community a fun source of information, and was an instant success. But I found myself in an industry where I had no business knowledge. Oops again… I have spent most waking moments for the past two and a half years learning what steps to take. But that's okay; solving the challenges created by a fortuitous moment of blind stupidity keeps me alive and on my toes.
Good luck to all potential Graduates! CareerMakers is a wise adventure on a fascinating road.
Laurie Morton, Publisher
Dog Nose News
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