To Turn An Important Corner, Keep Moving, Learning, and Growing

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." -George Bernard Shaw

Hungry for Gumbo is written for people who like to stir the pot. Grab a spoon.

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Turning corners. It’s something we do even when it’s not the easiest thing to do. When habits are ingrained and in some cases decades old, turning a corner can be a fight between inertia and ambition. We’re comfortable with what we know and we don’t know what’s around the next corner. We can imagine it, but we won’t know until we find the will and the bravery to act.

Maybe the corner you’re having trouble turning is committing to healthier eating and more exercise. Maybe it’s about making your side project into a full-fledged business that pays the bills. Maybe it’s about finishing the first draft of your first novel. It could be any number of things. Corners and our need to turn them are universal.

Now that I’m actively seeking my third career act, I keep finding that the natural thing to do is reverse course and fall back on what I know. Even when that’s not my intention or my goal. I know how to provide brand messaging to clients. I know how to create a go-to-market plan. How to manage a company’s or candidate’s reputation. And so on. What I’m still learning is how to step away from what I know in order to find something new.

As I contemplate and strategize, I remind myself that my search for what’s next is primarily about people. Who do I want to be around and who can I best serve? If I can answer these two questions correctly, I’m confident that it will lead me to the right people and work. I know I want to be with people who are more interested in other people than whatever’s on the nearest screen. And I want to serve people with a need to be heard, recognized, and respected.

When I overlay my areas of keenest interest with the above search for people, I can start to see the path forward. For example, I know I want to help refugees. I also want to restore the environment, and I’m interested in the innovations happening in the death and dying industry. On top of all that, I want to support writers, serve amazing coffee and wine, and showcase indie film and music.

It’s fun to entertain all these ideas and it will be rewarding to pursue the best of them. If you have insights about moving your career in a new direction or turning other important corners in your life—if it’s something you’ve done or want to do—let me hear from you. Change is a constant and it’s constantly challenging to navigate. Maybe we can compare notes and help one another along the way.

Surprise and Delight

Learn more about the prose poems that I’ve been writing. Also, hear me read a new prose poem.

Lagniappe

This is what I'm listening to and I'm thrilled to share this playlist with you because some of the music I'm hearing today is as good as anything I've ever heard.

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