Marcy Fisher's Open Salon Blog

Turning 60

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 10:09:15 -0400

I’m not a navel-gazer by nature but turning 60 has given me a reason to stop and reflect on the past 6 decades to see what lessons I may have learned along the way to who I am today. I’ve shared them here, for what they are worth.

1. Do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do. What you hold inside as your values are a possession that no one can take away from you. Even though I may not always have wanted to, doing the right thing made me feel better about myself in the end.

2. Peoples’ opinions of you don’t matter. The people I love and who love me matter. Let go of worries about other peoples’ opinions because you cannot change their view and there are better things to do with the time you have.

3. Be flexible. The wheels of the world may not always stick to the path you’d like. You may have to take a turn or two in a different direction. Don’t let it tip you over but accept it for the learning and strengthening experience it is.

4. Behave yourself. I heard these words hundreds of times while I was growing up (thanks, Mom). They still hold true. There is no need to be confrontational or fractious in normal social and workplace interactions. If someone disagrees with you, be gracious and don’t call names.

5. Put more value into the world than you use up. Use your energy to improve something, fix something, or help someone. Don’t look for gratitude, look for that nice feeling you get inside when you know you’ve made a difference.

6. Do complete work. A half-assed job will not only screw up your career and livelihood but it will make you feel sneaky and paranoid. Always do the “extra credit” work.

7. Enjoy the moments. This world is a beautiful place, populated by many kind and generous people – revel in it and be thankful for it.

8. Listen. Take in what others are saying, be respectful, but don’t get excited, angry, or bothered by their ideas and opinions. We all have the right to form our own opinions.

9. Trust, but use common sense. There are many dangers in this world, so don’t trust blindly. Use your gut, your brains, and your experience to decide who you can trust and when.

10. Be generous. Share your knowledge, your love, your humor, your patience, your comfort, and your compassion. These things never run out so you can give them freely, knowing there will always be more to give.

I am astonished and proud of my 60 years. Astonished because I still feel like a 30 year old inside, and proud that I think I learned the right lessons, rolled with the punches, and came out whole into this new decade. No, 60 doesn’t bother me at all.

When is a raven like a writing desk?

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:12:11 -0500

The riddle, as originally written by Lewis Carroll for the Mad Hatter, has no official answer, either in the context of the Alice in Wonderland story or in real life. Oh, in the years since the book was written, various other authors and notables, including Carroll himself, have offered answers but all were conjecture or speculation.

These days, I'm faced with a new riddle: When is a hobby like a career? The answer seems perfectly clear: when you get paid for doing it.

I have spent much of the last 2 weeks researching what it takes to earn a living as a writer. And I've fallen down a rabbit hole into a dizzying world full of information, all of which is enlightening and useful. Today however, as I sit back and take stock, I realize that, while I have a long list of bookmarks, resources and lots of advice, I am no further ahead in turning my hobby into a career. What am I missing?

As the March Hare once said, "Why don't you start at the beginning?"

I haven't prepared a business plan. The beginning of any new business starts with a business plan. And writing is a business, despite its "artsy" characterization. But I have neglected to provide myself with any organized guideline for launching this new career. How odd, because I have worked in sales/marketing all my life and I had a personal business plan for every year of it. Curiouser and curiouser.

A written plan adds substance to the idea for a business. Without one, your business is as amorphous as the Cheshire Cat, vague and without a clearly defined shape.

Like Alice, I often give myself good advice but I very seldom follow it. This is the exception and my project for this week is to create a plan with goals and strategies that I can put in place in the coming weeks.

By the way, the most popular answer to why a raven is like a writing desk is:

Poe wrote on both.

(We've all got a little Mad Hatter in us, don't we?)

Once more unto the breach ...

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:12:15 -0500

It's been two weeks since I was RIF'd and joined the ranks of the unemployed, for the first time in my entire working life (which began, as my kid would say, "back in the day"). Aside from spending most of the first week in my pajamas, I feel pretty positive about my prospects and here's why.

First, I'm not that far from retirement, only two and a half years, so the pressure to find a "career" position isn't what it was in my 30's and 40's, when I was raising a kid as a single mother and driven by all that goes with it.

With that pressure off (and nearly 3 months of severance plus some unemployment, courtesy of New York State and the Federal Gub'mint), I have a little breathing room to look around and reconsider my options.

If you've read my bio, you know that I am branching out in a new direction, hoping to capitalize on one of my best skills, and one that gives me the greatest satisfaction, writing. This blog is part of an overall strategy to get my name out there. Of course, it's a strategy that's not fully formed yet (remember, I just got out of my pajamas this week) but one which I am confident will yield some results.

Most importantly, I have come to the realization that writers are a generous group. Everyone I have had contact with so far has provided tips and resources to help me understand the business. There seems to be a genuine willingness to help us fledglings follow our spirit, and it's something I'm counting on as I stiffen my sinews and charge once more into the career breach!

Getting that first paid writing job under my belt before the end of the year is my top priority. So here's a question for those of you who have perfected the freelance writing game. I'd love to know about your first engagement - how did it come about? Was it part of a business plan or did it just come in over the transom?

Building Tracey's Toy Box

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:12:58 -0500

As a single mom, I was challenged by my lack of mechanical talent every Christmas Eve. This was my first big success.

Late Christmas Eve, the guests have all gone
my little girl sleeps in the pre-Christmas calm
tucked under covers pulled extra tight
to keep her in bed while I work tonight.

Alone on the living room floor, I sit
Surrounded by parts that came out of a kit
A single mom armed with a slim butter knife
To build a toy box, the first one in my life.

A screwdriver’s all the hardware I need,
And a list of instructions I barely can read,
I frown at the butter knife’s dubious blade
but it’s all the hardware I have, I’m afraid.

Behind me, the lights slyly wink on the tree
as if they all know what the ending will be.
In the vast sea of parts, I clutch A and C
while balancing D and B with my knee.

With ragged precision, I line up the holes,
While holding part E2 in place with my nose.
And out of the rubble, some order emerged
As the front and the back of the toybox converged.

Encouraged, I tackle the rest of the chore
the bookshelf and both of the sliding green doors
made out of chalkboard for “hours of fun"
designed by a demon to torment a mom.

Little pink teddy bears dance on the shelf
And I smile at the sight in spite of myself
The sliding doors settle on sticky twin tracks
Which glide easy now after adding some wax.

I’m no Santa’s elf, but I built that shelf
And the doors really do slide to open
when the morning arrives and she opens her eyes
her smile is all that I’m hoping.

I’m nursing pinched fingers and sore achy knees
But the toy box stands finished and ready to please
With a big red bow, and, the finishing touch,
some books, a stuffed toy and a dolly and such.

A toy box may seem just a trivial thing
but don’t overlook the joy that it brings
to build it yourself and to fill it with love
is a gift, for both mom and her child, from above.

Reduction in Force

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:12:22 -0500

Losing a job late in your career may just be the incentive you need to finally become what you wanted to be when you grew up.

Last week, my employer and I parted ways in what was called a “reduction in force”, one of those PC terms that business people use to avoid the distasteful reality of saying “you’re out of a job”. The end result was the same. After 42 years of having to go to work every day, I suddenly didn’t have a job to do. In a career that spanned four decades, I had never lost a job and I was rocked down to my core. What was I going to do now?

As a sales and marketing person in a niche market, I am bound by a non-compete agreement which means I cannot do the same work for another company. To make it more challenging, I work in the software market, where my competitors for jobs include hoards of hungry 30-somethings with lower salary expectations and limitless energy. At 59 years old, I am practically a relic and my chances of a replacement position were not attractive.

Ask a working person to give you three words that define who they are and the answers will always include what they do for a living. For years, I have thought of myself as a high-end software salesperson. Losing my job has forced me to re-examine my own self-definition and what I found surprised me.

Sales was my profession but, upon reflection, I realized it was never my passion. Oh, I did it well and achieved some success, but it always felt like a “job”. I discovered that what I really loved about my work were those aspects that involved creative business writing and editing. I had always been the “go to” person for proposals, presentations, web content, press releases, and promotional materials. This is what got me excited and held my interest. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. Outside of the workplace, I dabbled in poetry and short stories. Even my daily status updates on Facebook were more satisfying than any deal I closed in the past 2 decades. Could I change careers this late in my working life? Is there a market for a freelance business writer?

It turns out there is. The internet is crowded with opportunities for freelancing, and even in the short week since I’ve been exploring, I’ve found a host of resources for business writers. I also have the great good fortune of being friends with another freelance writer who is where I want to be and who has been generous in her support and advice. So, after 40 years, I am taking my first steps on a journey to a whole new career. It is exciting and scary, and I go back and forth from confident to terrified at least twice a day. But I am charging ahead, armed with a new definition of myself and with my eye on my childhood dream. I'm grown up now and I am a writer!