This morning I had a catch-up breakfast with my career coach, Maggie Mistal.  I hired Maggie over two years ago, while I was unhappily working in ad sales and feeling stuck.  I hemmed and hawed a bit – as it was a serious investment, but I had an introductory phone call with Maggie and I just got a good vibe.  And… I was feeling rather desperate.   At the time, I had invested a decent little chunk of money in Adam’s film and I remember thinking  to myself… I invest in Adam because I believe in him.  I should invest in myself because I believe in ME!  So I went for it.  And I’m very happy I did.

First off, Maggie is just a really positive energetic force for me.  She is a problem solver and a creative thinker and has a very can-do attitude – especially when it comes to creating a career path (both for herself and for her clients) that might not be the traditional one.  The biggest thing I got out of our meetings was the confidence to make a change and the belief that if anyone is capable of successfully creating a more free, flexible career outside of the 9-5 corporate realm, then I will be capable too!  She helped me to identify my career ideals and wishes and then helped me to create a plan and a framework for making it all seem rather doable.

I am now a couple months away from the two year mark from when I left my career in ad sales.  I am 100% confident that I made the right decision and I haven’t looked back.  I had planned to be making more money in my new endeavors by this point, and of course, I contend with the roller-coaster syndrome at times, but all in all, I’m quite happy with the progress I’ve made.  I have learned a lot about topics I really care about, topics that inspire me – and I do feel I’m coming closer to being the person I want to be.  In our conversation today, we were discussing how the game is changing so quickly now.  Things like being able to work virtually, being able to self-publish, being able to create an enormously wide network through avenues like twitter and facebook… it’s all opening up so much opportunity to create your own way in the career world.  It’s rather exciting stuff.

Now for my photo of the day:

Photo 299 out of 365 – “Empire State Pride”

"Empire State Pride" - Settings: ISO 1600, f/2.5, 1/40 sec, 85mm lens

I caught this photo on our way out of the Albert Watson lecture last night (which I enjoyed very much).  I love how the reflection of the Empire State Building is so sharp in the glass of this other building.  It’s such a proud building – the Empire State Building, so tall and all lit up!  And I think the flag waving in the bottom left adds to that feeling and balances out the photo quite nicely.

Oh – and I might be crazy, but here’s what I saw in yesterday’s photo:

I see a conga-line of cartoon animals!  Starting from the left, I see a dog – with his snout up and to the left, his ear flopping in the air, one paw up and one paw down.  Then in front of him, I see a cat, with pointy ears and with his paw on the Goofy-type creature in front of him.  You know Goofy?  With the hat and with the big nose?

And then in front of Goofy is some rabbit-type animal.

Do you see it??