I tried drafting this yesterday, but nothing felt right, so here we go with stream of consciousness – that never came back to bite anyone, right?

The last month to six weeks have been FULL, like “when did I ever have time for a Day Job” full. Like “All You Can Eat buffet plates at a Competitive Eater conventions” full.

You’re not going to see those drafts because they’re either depressing or way too quippy. Quippy isn’t BAD but then it becomes forced. So let’s be real.

WIIFM

I went to a Missionary Fund Raising conference this week with my BFF, Nora. She’s the missionary, not me. When she was asking MONTHS ago when I was starting my New Chapter, I asked her WIIFM (what’s in it for me), she said maybe I could make some money helping missionaries write their newsletters. Okay. Done.

BTW, asking WIIFM is not always a gross, capitalistic question.

Because what was in it for me? A WHOLE new take on personal/author branding. This is a company run by a major non-profit fundraiser and a very influential marketing genius. And amazingly enough, in about HALF the content? I could substitute “writer” for “missionary”. The marketing guy is Mike Kim, he has another book that I’ve bought but not read called “You Are The Brand“.

I have fought “branding” as an author for YEARS because I’m not a can of soup. I don’t want to have to write one thing or have 100 pen names. This may help.

Also, when he was talking about messaging, something else clicked like the hammer of a Gatlin gun. He said there are 3 types of messaging/messengers: Fireworks, Dumpster Fires, Campfires.

All the Fires

Firework Messages are just the “look at me” all success all the time.

Dumpster Fires are just that – all the BLECK in our lives. Crisis after crisis.

Campfires are where we tell stories that build community and invite folks in.

Let’s face it, there’s a lot of dumpster fires out there. My own dumpster continues to burn with the light of 1 or 2 suns. Heck, in one draft of this I bullet pointed the things and even I was depressed (you’re welcome).

To Sum Up

My point is…I’m going to try to be more even with fires. Less Dumpster, more Camp and Sparkler…and you can take that any way you want.

So here are the wins –

I learned something new.

I’m writing even when I’m exhausted (not as consistently those days).

And I’m finally on my way to figuring out what this New Chapter may look like. And hopefully it’s not always the chaotic mess I’m seeing on my desk right now because things got Dumped When Busy.

Dawn, if you’ve read this far, I’m ready to start tackling a newsletter. (I’ll tell you officially through proper channels.) Still need to figure out some content there, but that’s what the learning is for, right?