2012 was
a bit of a rough year. On a large-scale
perspective, we saw another extremely politically divisive election season,
continued unrest in many parts of the world, disturbing acts of violence, and
endless fear and uncertainty about the future.
On a personal level, I struggled extensively with depression, spent a week in the hospital, lost my house,
and went through several career transitions.
As I wrote briefly about in my last post, there are plenty of ways in
which I could look over the last few years and talk about what a failure they
were. In many ways, I'm sure that I have
yet to fully deal with the emotional, spiritual, and psychological baggage
resulting from the last couple years. As
I was telling some friends last night, I feel like I've been working so hard
just to keep my head above water. I
described to my Psychologist last week the image of transitioning from drowning
to treading water to slowly making my way to shore. I have been feeling like I can see the
shoreline in the distance and it looks so warm and comforting. But it's been difficult to muster the
strength to actually start swimming toward it.
Just keeping your head above water can take all the strength you can
muster.
I have an
uncle who works for a Justice on the Ohio Supreme Court and he writes a weekly
column for the paper. His last column
for 2012 did a fantastic job of painting the dismal picture we have all felt
recently while still highlighting the small slivers of hope we see beginning to
develop as people realize the power they have to do good. We don't have to wait on large institutions
to figure shit out. We can actually start
living the change we want to see in small ways in our daily lives. That can give hope. I feel confident that we will continue to see
the icy walls we've constructed that so often divide us begin to melt as our
hearts warm to the idea that we all want very similar things and have similar
goals, we just have to talk about the best way to get there.
But I
digress. The point is, I've been trying
to maintain hope as I enter 2013. I'm tired of feeling like
the victim of circumstances and I want to take more control of my life, while
recognizing the things that are simply out of my control.
So, I'm
working on a plan. In light of my last
post, I know that this plan may or may not work out according to my current
understandings. Things change, and I've
learned from past mistakes that it can be extremely dangerous to completely
invest your hopes and dreams into one possibility, putting all your eggs into
one basket as it were. I want my plan to
work, but I'm also trying to diversify my efforts so there is a greater chance
of at least part of the plan working out.
Anyway, I
want to share this plan with whoever is interested enough to read about it and
then share some ways in which I could use the support of my close friends and
family.
The Plan
(in 3 parts)
Part 1: Business
During my
brief stint working in sales, I discovered some skill-sets I didn't really know
I had and started getting lots of ideas on potential business ventures I could
pursue in the future. I decided very
quickly that I was good at sales and there were parts of it I enjoyed but if I
were ever to make a career out of it, I'd want to be in business for
myself. I have some ideas that I'd still
like to pursue in the future, but as a start and a good way to hopefully help
fund my studies, I've decided to work as an Independent Associate for Legal
Shield, a company that offers access to consultation and other services from
top-quality law firms for a low monthly fee.
The idea functions in a similar manner to what you might call legal
insurance, but it's geared more at giving greater access to preventative legal
measures, like consulting with an attorney, having a letter written or phone
call made on your behalf to resolve issues like traffic tickets, getting
documents reviewed to make sure you aren't being taken advantage of, and the
list goes on. I think it's a great idea
with a lot of potential and something I think many people could use, so I've
decided to get on board and try to sell memberships. This works out great because I can work my
own hours, be totally in control of my own schedule, and potentially set up
some great residual income for down the road.
There are
other ideas I want to pursue in the future, but I think this is a good and
logical place to start.
Part 2: Art
Naturally
the greatest focus here is going to be on my writing. I want to get in a solid routine of blogging
2-3 times a week and begin working on the book idea that I've had floating
around in my head for ages (more to come on this later). I have so many other writing projects I'm
anxious to work on but I'm trying to take it a step at a time.
I also
want to work on my music more, as well as start getting into photography. For now, this is just jamming out with
friends and posting stuff on Instagram but we'll see where it goes. I also have this crazy pipe dream of getting
into acting so we'll see whether or not something happens with that at some
point.
Part 3: School and Career
I'm
returning this semester (finally!) to finish my Master's Degree in Counseling
Psychology. After spending some time
analyzing what I want my future career to look like and what things would need
to be included in order for me to feel fulfilled, this path makes the most
sense. I can counsel people, which I
love to do. I can teach, which I love to
do and am still wrestling with the fact that I was not strong enough to make it
teaching in the city. And I can write,
which is clearly something that I enjoy.
While I'm
going to school, I'll also be working for a tutoring company part-time and
perhaps trying to get an online teaching gig to help supplement.
So,
that's my plan, in three simple parts.
In many ways, I'm sure I'm not doing some of this in the most
responsible manner but it's how I've chosen to proceed for now. I have no idea what's going to happen over
the next little while, but I invite you along for the journey if you're up for
an adventure.
How you can help (if you so desire):
1. Check out my Legal Shield website: colterdiehl.legalshield.com Watch the video, do a little reading, if it
sounds interesting and you'd like to find out more for yourself, let me know
and we'll talk. If it's not interesting
to you but you think someone else you know could benefit from the service, tell
them about it. If you're not interested
at all, we'll never talk about it again.
2. Read my blog! And tell your friends!
3. Follow me on Twitter
(@colterdiehl) and Instagram (colterdiehl).
I'll keep my different channels apprised of new developments as they
arise.
No comments:
Post a Comment