| Heya <<First Name>>,
My day job — at least until Bob and I manage to, you know, create a global empire out of giving children’s stories away for free — is copywriting.
(Or, if I’m feeling insecure, I’m a “brand-messaging consultant.”)
The delight is (nearly) the same
During my career, I’ve worked with and for a lot of fancy-schmancy global behemoths, but in recent years I’ve found the most professional satisfaction (outside of writing kids books) in working with people who are starting new businesses. That’s probably because I get to help them create a story they can tell their potential customers.
The delight in the work is similar to what I feel when I put a fiction story together. I get to think about both the big picture (the “brand”) and the individual parts (each piece of marketing content).
A recent mistake
But sometimes, as happened recently, I’ll take on a project because I’m afraid to say “No” to work.
This particular job was for a Fortune 50 tech company, and I would have had the opportunity to work with a person I admire.
My mistake, though, was letting my brain gaslight my heart into accepting the work, even though I felt a sense of dread about it.
It can be hard to make a decision because something “doesn’t feel right.” But for me, a gut feeling is always a good indicator of whether something will work out, even if the reasons don’t become clear until much later.
The reward
Fortunately, I’ve lived long enough to make lots of mistakes and actually learn from them. (Yay getting old!)
So once I clearly understood I was a bad fit for the project, I was able to step away early enough to be replaced.
Yes, I may have closed off future opportunities. And it doesn’t feel good to think I may have disappointed someone I admire.
But they were opportunities I didn’t want.
And better to have a small disappointment now than a big one later.
Even better, I got to spend last week a) doing work for a different client (one I’m truly passionate about) and b) writing a couple new stories for 320 Sycamore Studios.
I remember again what Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote in “The Little Prince”:
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
And some people think kids books are just for kids.
Happy reading,
Jeff and Bob …
… who believe that reading with kids can change the world for the better |
