Looking back over the past decade has not been easy for me. The recession really began in 1999 and is just now coming around in my view. It's been a rough 10 years and I'd rather not dwell on it. There have been some very good things that have come out of it, however. One is the satisfaction that I was pretty much right how things would go (pat on the back), even though I was unable to change the outcome (sigh of resignation). Another has been watching my family cope with the negative changes and seeing them adapt and support me and each other. As an only child with two dead parents and no other family ties it has been great having these remarkable people teach me what family means... even though we don't seem to be like any other family we know.
But the one grand thing of the past decade has been the new relationships that have developed over the past 10 years and that have been honed by the use of social media. At present, I have more than 1500 relationships spread over Facebook, Skype, Twitter, Linkedin, DeHood all of which, at one time or another, have provided insight, support, opposition, laughter tears, prayers... everything that a physical relationship provides but spread throughout the world. There is pretty much no place in the world I can go and not have a friend within a two-hour drive.
These relationships have helped me adapt to what the world is today. One of those key relationships has been Brian Fuller of EE Times who recently posted about reinventing yourself. That's not an easy thing to do and I've done it several times in my lifetime. I've went from music teacher to top-40 DJ to birdcage cleaner at Marine World before I hit 20. Then came journalism, professional minister and nuclear weapon systems technical editor. That preceded freelance writer, marcom management, PR for semiconductor companies and then communications consultant... which is kinda what I am today but the definition is still morphing. But it has been the support of my family and friends, the insight of people like Brian, Dan Holden and IdaRose Sylvester that has showed me that evolution is not a goal but a process.
And as we enter into this second decade of the 21st century I hope that is an encouragement for those who are still trying to find where or if they fit in. I'm here to tell you that if you don't fit into your current hole, there is another waiting for you. Don't wait for your environment to change to suit you.