Am I an inny or an outty?

I mean am I an introvert or an extrovert? As the possibility of making a living from a sailboat becomes reality I seriously ask myself if I would like a work life of solitude?
I was attracted to a solitude work life after visiting some light houses while sailing in the Bustard Islands last summer.
My journal for my lighthouse sketch says.

"The choice of the Lighthouse Keeper. To choose an occupation so lonely and remote must take a person who loves solitude, yet sacrifices social for the opportunity to help someone in dire need. - Byng Inlet Oct.5, 2008."

To help with this question I took an online Introversion/Extroversion assessment. It showed that I am an introvert. That does not mean I'm a backwards mouse-type personality. It means that I get rest and re-energized by solitude. That is so true with me. That's why I sit in my sailboat every morning for an hour typing blogs, listening to inspirational music and Podcasts, and drawing. I guess a work life on a sailboat would suite me.

Down and out in a sail boat

I felt a little "shallow" sharing my dream to make a living on a sail boat. Especially with my sister showing me art work of children in Africa needing support to attend school. I immediately thought of Mbuma, a child I met in Africa. He asked me "Don't forget me...I want to work in America".
My daily Pray As You Go pod cast was about Jesus encouraging us to be like little children, to abandon our worldly desires. I thought to myself "Crap! Now I really feel shallow". In my drawing/journal I questioned the difference I have made over the past year.
Yet, when my sister asked if I would help the children in Africa I said "I'd be all over it like a kid on candy".
Maybe the flexibility of freelance work would help me be available for volunteering? Does this make sense, or am I just fooling myself to not feel so shallow?

Found the answer to virtual work!

When I shared with my sister Lynn that I wanted to make a living from a sailboat she immedialty held up a little red USB drive and said "this is the answer". Well, it wasn't a drive, but a Roger's Mobile Internet Stick. My mouth dropped in amazement and vissions of working from the middle of Lake Simcoe danced in my head.
Lynn has spent the last month in Tanzania implementing a Rotary project called ABCD. It sponsors kids for school by getting them to share their dreams in drawings.
While we were downloading Africa video from her camera to my Mac we were a little board and ended up Skyping each other on the couch..., it was fun talking to each other with a split-second delay...we sounded like some cheap used car commercial going crazy with the echo machine. What a laugh!

The art of "Blabbing" part II

The art of “Blabbing” (networking) is alive and well. I shared my dream of making a living from a sailboard to a friend, Doug Humphries. With excitement he told me how he’s using www.gotothemeeting.com for virtual meetings with his consulting business. This is another great tool for doing on-line career counselling. More proof that sharing your work dream not only gets other people helping, but also helps you get a clearer idea of your desired work.
Doug continued with his dream of helping retail business owners develop an inviting environment for shoppers. I loved his idea of building employee moral as a critical component of an inviting shopping experience. I offered to help him design motivational workshop……something I could easily do as a Sailancer.
It’s your turn, share your work dream.

Clueless in a sailboat

I’m still wondering if making a living from a sail boat is the best use of my time. At church I watched a montage of Martin Luther King Jr. quotes. The quote “We must use time creatively -- and forever realize that the time is always hope to do great things." really got to me. Am I doing great things by working from a boat?
At times of doubt I often journal…..not in a diary….or my guy friends would beat me up (emotionally). But, when I draw. My journal entry on this drawing says:

Journey – Snowy, windy day, white outs from the North. This road makes me think of the journey God has me on, unexpected turns, yet still heading in the same direction. Winds of change can bend me, but God’s strength keeps me from breaking.

I guess if I always do what I love (use my gifts to help people) I’m heading in God’s direction for my work life.
What do you think about following a destiny?

Just because I can.

When freezing in my sailboat each morning I listen to a Podcast called Pray-As-You-Go. Today it talked about how God gave up heaven to come to earth in a human body to help and spread Good News. It made me think about the purpose of making a living form a sailboat, is it just to satisfy my own wants, or to help others?
It made me think if I should go after this dream just because I can. Therefore, I took one of those on-line Spiritual Gifts assessments and it said I am gifted with Exhortation, Serving, and Mercy. I guess that's why I feel so good when people see hope of their future after making or updating their resumes. I hear people saying "I did not realize I had so many great skill to get into the jobs I want".
I think I could still use these Spiritual Gifts making resumes for people from my sailboat. Actually, virtual career counselling might be able to help those in remote locations or challenged with getting out.

This image of an Owl making a face plant in the snow was pointed out to me during a snow shoe hike at the Wild Centre in Tupper Lake, NY this weekend.
Brad, the nature interrupter, pointed to a bunch of marks in the snow and said "look at this, it's amazing". At first I just saw mark that look like someone dropped a mitt. But when Brad started to describe the Owl the entire image and story started to appear to me.
Sometimes our search for work happiness does not seem clear to us. Often it takes someone else to point out the possibilities. That's the nice thing about sharing your dreams, it gets those with a different perspective a chance to help you.

I like what Brad said about this blog, he provides some widsom:

"So many people get stuck in a rut especially those who prescribe to the go to school, get married and then let fifty years roll by doing not much. The nuclear family ideal (which I believe never existed in reality) has really stuck in people’s head. I have moved as many as five times in five years and I have no regrets. I’ve met so many neat people and seen so many great things. I wish you all the best and good luck!"
Yours,
Brad Donahue
Interpretive Naturalist"

I hope Brad didn't mind me posting this?

I'm an eLancer Sailancer

I’m a eLancer Sailancer! Sailancer is the name I made up for a person who wants to make a living from a sailboat. eLance is the name of an online bidding site (kind of like eBay) that connects freelance workers with customers. I opened a free account, getting 3 free bids per month. I have yet to win a bid for doing on-line resumes, however, a person saw my profile and asked me to do a resume. Cool!
A lot of the tools for me doing virtual work seem to be falling into place. Anyone use Guru? I think it’s the same as eLance.

Art of Blabbing!

Since I started this blog I have attracted a lot of attention and help, just by sharing my dream of making a living on my sailboat. People who heard of my dream have contributed ideas and encouragement for performing virtual career counselling, such as Skype and Google Docs.
It’s a shame that a lot of people never move towards dreams because of the fear of their dream sounding too stupid or unrealistic. There is a certain “power of attraction” from sharing your dreams…..I call it “The Art of Blabbing”.
We are a culture of “story tellers and watchers”. That’s why movies are so popular. So, it makes sense that people love to hear the “story” of your dreams. Don’t be afraid to share…blab.

Work in my pajamas

I worked with a customer writing a resume...in my pajamas. I tried out some of the on-line tools mentioned by my colleague, Carole, and the worked great. Kicked back on the couch I video conferenced a client using Skype (free video conferencing), and we both viewed and edited the same resume online using Google Docs. It was amazing. As the client made changes it appeared on my screen, and visa-versa. I loved it, made the entire resume writing faster and easier.
If I end up using this technology on my sailboat I will have to be carefull when to wear my Speedo.

Waiting for the future.

Sometimes you have to visit the past to see the future. I mean, connect with joys and interests to understand what you really need in work. I spent many of my summers, as a teen, on canoe trips and at art camp. We'd draw and paint beautiful landscapes in a Group of Seven style.
Sitting in my frozen boat, listing to Across the Universe soundtrack, sipping espresso, and drawing brings back many dreams and aspirations. It's a good past time while trying to figure out the future. What do you do?

Sitting on a frozen lake

Had lunch on Lake Simcoe since I am doing workshops at a near by High School. It's weird to be parked in my truck on the ice, seeing the same lake I usually sail on.
Taking time by myself to have lunch here reminds me how important seclusion is for me...it helps me regenerate, in order to work with another group of 25 students making resumes.
I think there is value in taking time in the outdoors. I think of the Celtic society of 400A.D. that blended nature into all aspects of their life, work, family, and spiritual. Even today's psychologists see this value, like Philip Sutton Chard, the author of The Healing Earth. I think everyone could benefit from some good "time out" each day.

More Help from Toronto

My daughter I stayed with (Rachelle) during the snow storm is a very creative artist. She designed a website for my potential on-line career counselling idea. It's not a functioning page, but, the contact from Carole Cotton might be able to help it get up and running.
All my four daughters are very creative. It's neat that Rachelle and Robynne, made careers in art. As a child I wanted to be an artist like The Group of Seven. Spending summers outdoors I desired to draw and paint landscapes.
I chose a high school, Dr. G.W. Williams in Aurora, that specialized in art. However, my grade 10 guidance counsellor "conselled" me to take up business since my father was self-employed. Maybe that's why I became a career counsellor, to help people follow through with their dreams.
I guess I have no choice, but to follow through with my dreams....if I really beleive in this career counselling stuff.