JG
Creative Media
Judith Gross

freelance
    writer
    journalist
    media guru
In Transit
No Can Do

Why do I always get carried away with enthusiasm and say “Yes” to projects that sound good on first hearing, only to realize in the ensuing days and weeks that they aren’t even close to what makes me happy or close to the core of what I want to be doing?

I’m like a kid at an ice-cream store with too many flavors. White-chocolate rainbow marshmallow with pecans and bits of coffee beans—sure! Then I remember I have never really liked marshmallows, feel lukewarm about pecans, the rainbow is a melted mess of too-sweet sugar and I’m not all that crazy about coffee beans in my ice-cream.

Why does it take that long to remember? Until I get up one morning primed and pumped to start the day and realize it’s that project I need to move along—the one that almost overnight has turned into “that dreaded project.”

I have to catch myself entangled in Spider Solitaire for the umpteenth time before I stop and shake off the procrastination. How long is it going to take me to learn that when I put something off it’s because I don’t really want to do it?

How many times will I jump in and say “Yes!” to something that, on reflection, should be a “no?”

And I always feel guilty, because I know I’m going to disappoint somebody and fall short of expectations when this happens. And that only fosters non-specific bad feelings and anxious dread that takes me eons to overcome.

Some of these yesses-that-should-be-no’s have been epic.

Selling radio ads; the Consumer Surveys in Colorado and now, selling sponsorships for wine festivals and writing articles on topics which don’t inspire passion..

I haven’t gotten any better at recognizing them when they lure me in, all shiny and full of promises. Fortunately, I have gotten better at getting out from under these burdens once I realize my mistake.

So, to help spark my memory and make me better able to say “No” even when I’m tempted to say “Yes,” here’s a current list of things I do not want to do that I will, hopefully, successfully remove from my schedule before too much time passes:

No-Can-Do-List
Sell sponsorships
Sell Advertising
Sell memberships
Cold-call marketing (Yes, I gave it a try, no, it’s gotten no good results)
Take a J-O-B
Do day-to-day radio
Do day-to-day TV
Write something I have no passion for, no interest in and not enough info about

December 9, 2010 9:47 am
Because change is the only way to grow
Tectonic Shift

Somewhere between starting this business nearly a year ago and reaching today, the work shifted over from a “have to” to a “want to.” I’ve been seeking that flash-point for my entire career. I had, it briefly, at times, but I was never able to create work that fit that without the intervention of a “boss” or corporation until now.

Took a long time, but it was worth it. Not finished yet by a long shot but finally on the right path.

January 15, 2011