Yesterday I practiced the whole primary series for the first time since last Monday, and once again, it felt good. I really need to just make time for it more days out of the week. In the fall, I began teaching yoga to a friend in private lessons. It’s really, really nice to get back into teaching in such a low-pressure way. And, now I can say I teach privates and have a client! This is one of the several wonderful freelance opportunities that have been falling into my lap recently.
My other friend is letting me edit her ebooks too! So, now I’m a freelance textbook editor as well. I’ve been waiting and thinking for years about how to build my own business opportunities without having a Job with a Boss, and now they’re starting to happen! And I didn’t really *do* anything, these things just materialized for me by cultivating relationships with interesting, smart, productive people. I’ve thought for a while now that the connections are really the important advantage that ivy-league grads have over most other people. When you come from a top-tier school, you’re tapped into a network of successful people who are good at making opportunities for themselves and others. It’s a huge advantage.
It’s taken me some time to make a niche for myself, and it hasn’t always been the niche I would have picked. But I am increasingly pleased with the options I have available now, even though they’re pretty unlikely to be very lucrative.
The other day I was passed over for another promotion. But just yesterday over dinner, I described to Mr. Carrots the three different books he could should write about his adventures the past few years. In my head, these books (two would be perfect little ebooks, one is worth doing in paperback too) are nearly fully formed.
I also started my own website this weekend, which I can also see in my head fully built out. I know exactly where I want it to be in six months to a year, and more or less how to get there. Most of the work is writing, and some will be learning how to use web tools and make a store and upload video and audio and this sort of thing. The topic is a bit niche-y on purpose, which limits my audience, but all the people who talk about starting these kinds of businesses say that having a niche is good. You want the few real fans and interested customers, not the hordes of disinterested visitors. Or something like that. Doesn’t really matter to me. Because I’m going to be putting *a lot* of effort into this project, I think it would be a shame if it didn’t make any money. But if it can make a third of a proper income, along with yoga teaching and freelance editing, then that’s all I need.
Seven Carrots 