Another Fork In The Road...

My how life takes us down interesting paths. And doesn't it appear, retrospectively, that each step, each fork, had its purpose!

Yesterday I went to a seminar to learn more about internet marketing. Not so surprising... but it was my husband, Colin, who not only told me about it, signed us up for it AND took the day off work to attend.

That is surprising because for the last 11 months he has viewed my time and energies spent on internet marketing as a bit unnecessary. I suppose he has a point, I am a nurse. I make good money as a nurse, why do I want to spend so much time learning something totally foreign to me?

But apparently, he has seen the value in what I have been able to teach myself and is seeing the interest that other people have in my new skills as a web designer. I now have five different accounts; businesses that have hired me to do their web design and building.

At any rate, we attended the seminar yesterday and he readily bought into what they were promoting! I was, and am still, in a state of shock! I am not totally convinced that we need this service, yet, if he is to become involved it will be much easier for him to learn through them. I will supplement his education with what I know. Certainly, I can always learn more and they have a great deal to offer!

So, here we go... the business that Colin has always been talking about starting for years is the business that I was turned on to by our son, MacKenzie, the end of last February! I have continued in the coffee business and expanded my knowledge base, skills and interests into much more.

Retrospectively, I can look back at the forks in the road, well beyond this past year... The brochure designing that I did for nursing seminars, the lectures that I presented at those seminars, the teaching that I have always loved to do and even have delved into in this new world of mine. Critical Care 4 Marketing (www.cc4marketing) was born from my desire to learn and help others learn how to market on line. Yesterday, the people involved in the presentation asked me if I would be interested in speaking, teaching those seminars! HOLY!

Where is all of this going? Am I taking the right paths? Seemingly so... my dedication and perseverance is paying off. I can't wait to see how the information that I garnered yesterday will affect my coffee business! (www.javaqueen.us) I know that I will continue to reap from my asscociation with this company. What else will I be getting into? It seems inevitable that there is more in store.

So, in spite of some of the heartache and weariness, disappointment and disillusionment, I appear to be reacting appropriately as each step is taking me positively forward into it not away from it.

And to the naysayers, I respect your opinions for they are a product of your experiences and your reactions to them. But I will march forward to see what the future holds. I will hold tight to my courage and continue to take the risk of change for it is only then that my life will be different.

"The key to happiness is dreams; The key to success is achieving those dreams."

All that I am...

My first entry... so much in my head... where do I begin?

Clearly, at the beginning; but where is it? So many things that I could share, divulge and esponge.

Let's start with a brief synopsis from the beginning; who am I?

In the short six years of marriage, my parents had four children, one of whom was dying with Cystic Fibrosis. As the eldest and the only daughter, responsibility came early as I helped care for my second youngest brother, Ronnie.

Frank was but fourteen months younger and quite accident prone. His escapades had him falling 30 feet out of a tree breaking both the tibia and fibula of his leg and bruising his heart. He broke both arms one year, a leg another. I was always the first family member on the scene because Mom worked so much.

My mother managed to support us in spite of all of the challenges of raising four children alone in the 1960's. Women were expected to stay home, and made very little when out in the work force. Much of the time, Mom worked multiple jobs to make ends meet.

Rick, my youngest brother, was barely a year when our parents split up. We had 'Bestemor' to babysit us but I kept Rick under my wing as much as possible as we grew up.

Is it any wonder why I became that which I always wanted to be; a nurse?

Immediately out of high school, I went to nurses aide training because I couldn't afford to go to college right away. Over the course of eleven years, I studied and earned my LPN and RN, subsequently garnered national certification for Critical Care Nursing.

I have worked in the same institution for 30 years but have transferred into many different specialties in my career, including medical surgical ICU, cardiac ICU, endoscopy and cardiovascular lab amongst the medical surgical, obstetrical and orthopedic experiences as well.

One of the promises that I made to myself was that I would not be a nurse in an ICU when I was in my fifties. Although I love the mental work, physically it wears on a nurse's body and management wears on a persons psyche. Throughout my nursing career I have been involved in organizing and marketing seminars, designing brochures, spreading my creativity into other realms of my profession.

My 49th year brought me to a new interest that encompasses many of the elements that I have enjoyed over my lifetime. My, then 18 year old, son introduced me to a coffee marketing opportunity. That business opportunity has been fantastic in itself and has expanded my knowledge base to include web design and internet marketing. I am confident that the future will bring me more changes, such as starting this blog and who knows what else.

With the foundation started, I will conclude my first posting. Rest assured that there will be diversity in this blog. I will discuss my experiences as a nurse providing life saving interventions as well as the plight of health care in the United States. Politically, socially and financially what healthcare is producing in this country.

I will share my thoughts, opinions and revelations about marketing, the social and environmental implications of coffee, and life in general.

If you are interested in a taste of my recent reality...
www.javaqueen.us
www.cc4marketing.com

Respectfully submitted,
Java Queen