Category: Author Journey

Posted on

Become Your Own Sherpa

You remember reading about the mountain climbers who scale Mount Everest?search

They will all tell you it can’t be done without the assistance of their elite mountain guides, the Sherpas. The Sherpas are an ethnic group of former nomadic people who settled in the mountainous region of Nepal in the Himalayan mountain range.

I was reading a review of Jane Pauley’s recent book Your Life Calling: Reimagining the Rest of Your Life  in which she described herself as a “Sherpa.” She wrote her book to give guidance and assistance to those of us over the age of 50 who, for one reason or another, had given up their corporate careers and are now wondering, “What do I do with the rest of my life?”

Her comments caught my attention because I was one of those thrown out of an industry after 31 years and they wouldn’t let me or my friends back in (frankly, I didn’t want to re-enter the industry so I didn’t push back).

I’m right in the middle of the boomer generation having been born in 1955

The boomer generation is characterized by hard working individuals, doing whatever is necessary to get the job done, and a very high loyalty factor to their employers. The employee/employer relationship broke down. But the sense of loyalty never went away because it’s ingrained in us. For someone like myself, I had to learn to channel the loyalty to a different and new entity—me. Read More Become Your Own Sherpa

Posted on

Camry vs. Maserati

“This is not a Camry”

My consultant, Stephanie Huffman (Epiphany), is fond of using this metaphor when comparing my first book to the ones I’m about to finish. She likes to call The Mindset of Networking® a “Camry.” She says this in reference to the relative ease of the process in pulling it all together after the manuscript was written last year. There were no pictures, images, or maps. In other words, it was a pretty simple book to publish because the presentation of content was straightforward and not complicated. The edited manuscript went to galley and to print very quickly with minimal heartburn (thanks to Kevin Wax of Wax Family Printing).

I’m done writing the first book in the Walking Tours Series. Actually, it’s now two separate books. I’ve had to split it into 2 volumes—too much information for one book. The editing by Dimples Kellogg (Master Sales, Inc.) is about completed on both manuscripts. So the engine has been built and placed into the car frame of a Maserati (or should we say a Citroën since it’s a book on Paris, France?).

Volume 1

Vol. 2

That’s Where I’m at Right Now

Read More Camry vs. Maserati