In spite of my lack of enthusiasm for sitting in class and my overwhelming enthusiasm for drinking Mimosas at brunch with my friends at least once a week, I was an honors student with four advanced placement classes who went on to a top university. As with blogging now, I just had other, generally better or more interesting, things to do.

Even at 17 it would make me cringe when someone would say something like "if you are doing this well not applying yourself, think of what you could do if you put forth some effort!" And all I could think was 1)I just got into the school ranked #5 in the U.S. News and World Report annual overall ranking (and #1 in my intended field, History), 2)This was my dream school, and why work harder than I had to when I was already going in the direction I wanted?

Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of that line of thinking. It came to mind the other day when I mentioned that in 2007 I had over 5,000 additional unique visitors to my site than I did in 2006, in spite of being a little slack on the blogging and portfolio updating fronts. "Maybe you should resolve to blog more consistently in 2008," was the reply. "Um, no..." was all I could think.

I don't really buy into the New Year's resolution bit. For me, at least, I feel like I am kind of setting yourself up for a bit of self-flagellation when (inevitably) I don't meet that resolution I set forth. It also requires a glaring look at what's "wrong" rather than appreciating what's right. That's why I really appreciated Pam Slim's post yesterday on this very topic at Escape from Cubicle Nation:

...Current practice tells us that we must be dissatisfied with where we are now in order to make improvements.

But what I have found is quite the opposite. You have to be satisfied with yourself as you are now in order to truly appreciate the change in the future.

This is not to say I don't set goals. But I also like to view things day-by-day, and I would rather look at my goals in the context of what is right than beat myself over the head with what I think is wrong. And when I get where I want to go, I'll try to appreciate myself and those around me for what's right, and spend the rest of my time on a new adventure. I think I'll keep blogging when I feel like blogging, and not force myself into some unrealistic schedule and level of effort that I'll only grow to resent.

So yay 75%!

I know it's a little late for this, as the deadline is today, but I just found out about this last night...

Menu for Hope 4 is a fundraising campaign orchestrated by Pim at Chez Pim on behalf of the United Nations World Food Programme in Lesotho.

It's a virtual raffle. For every US$10 you donate, you can enter to win one of the prizes donated by participating food bloggers, and there are some really cool prizes for food-lovin' foodies like myself.

So everyone wins, and it only takes a small donation. Hungry children get fed, and you might even win some cool swag. But hurry...tonight is the deadline!

Learn more about Menu for Hope 4

Donate now

I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.

What a wonderful sentiment! Yesterday I received a thoughtful holiday gift from my long-time client, Laura West of The Center for Joyful Business. With the gift was that quote, which has made me smile since I read it. Those words are as precious to me as any gift. :-)

I've touched on that wonderful love and fearless spirit in my own life with Roscoe before, and it's true more than ever.

The cat? She's still around. She continues to excel at demonstrating the heights of self-absorption and disdain for everyone around her. But I'm cutting her more slack these days...when you're the equivalent of 382 years old in cat years, you have to focus your energies on something.

I've been thinking a lot about the concept of flow lately, both in general and in relation to my own work. Being deeply engaged, hyper-focused, tuning out the world around you; in short, effortlessness. Obviously a desirable state for anyone who expresses themselves creatively in their work, and a source of frustration when it just doesn't happen.

I've been struggling to pinpoint why it eludes me at times (too frequently as of late), and at the same time this struggle has been running parallel with my own attempts to "grow a backbone"...that is, learn to say no and not take every client who comes my way. I certainly don't need to take every job, and I'm slowly realizing that by doing so I am sabotaging my success by taking away the time I could spend working with clients whose projects do intrigue me.

So imagine my delight and relief when I found How to cultivate mad-hot creative flow, love what you do and double your fees in today's Freelance Switch. It was almost like walking into a physician's office and having the doc diagnose me before I even opened my mouth!

Jonathan Fields writes that flow begins in your very first contact with a project. I do know that intellectually, but it has yet to make it into full-time practice.

In fact, you need to actually make the opportunity for flow an integral part of your decision to accept a new client or project. For example, when I consider taking on a new client, beyond gathering a lot of information and getting as good a beat possible on the personality and work style of the client, I think seriously about whether the nature of the relationship, the content, the timing and the overall project is likely to cultivate flow.

...more often than not, I use a simple gut-proxy…passion. I ask, “Am I becoming increasingly excited the more I learn about the project? And, can I get passionate about working on it?”

For me, if the answer to either is no to either, I pass.

Here is what made the connection and really hit home for me:

...when you consistently fill your time with jobs that empty you out, you leave fewer opportunities to create opportunities you love or take on jobs that would fill you with flow. And, you pretty much ensure that you’ll build a career and a clientele that increasingly frustrates the hell out of you, burns you out and leaves you struggling to deliver passable, let alone remarkable work.

This leads to a vicious cycle of passable-work which leads to low/moderate perceived value which leads to low/moderate fees that leave you to feeling like you’ve got take any client who walks in the door just to pay your bills.

Wow. He's so right. And there was a reason that flow and client quality have been floating around in my head...they are related. More so than I cared to admit.

Guess I'd better ask Santa for a new spine...

Not only does it feel good to give to someone or something who actually needs our help, but it saves my sanity by keeping me out of the mall.

This year I'm taking it another step, by making donations in honor of my clients. My first donation is to Oxfam America Unwrapped for a dozen chicks. And by chicks I mean baby chickens, so get your mind out of the gutter.

These fuzzy babies provide HIV/AIDS-affected households with a starter flock: a dozen chicks to produce eggs, generate income, and improve nutrition.

That beats a fruitcake any day!