I think my team member Tim Jones‘ analogy of the junk drawer is great – except it would describe my make-up as opposed to being my oracle. I have so many interests and enjoy learning so many different things, it was difficult in the early days of my career to decide what I would do for the long haul. Everything I got into, I wanted to convert into a means of earning a living. And then I’d get bored, abort, and then try something new.
The one thing that stuck was website development. My age is showing when I say that the internet wasn’t around when I was in college (Gasp! You mean there was a time when there was no internet?!?!) so I had to teach myself how to build websites once they arrived on the scene. As soon as I did, I was hooked. It’s such a beautiful marriage of art, language, math, writing, business and marketing, that no self-respecting multi-potentialite as myself could turn away. You get to practice photography, copywriting, video creation and editing, graphic arts, programming, email marketing, social media, SEO, ecommerce and more, for any subject known to man. And some not known to man… yet. If you’re a knowledge and skills junkie like me, who also happens to like the freedom of being able to work from anywhere, there is no better profession.
Talk about a junk drawer! Except maybe not a drawerful of junk, more a drawerful of delight, challenge and opportunity.
So I’ve been doing that for 20 years.
But make no mistake, website development isn’t for the faint of heart. With technology changing all the time, if it’s not your business and/or you don’t love it, then it’s best to let someone else handle it. Otherwise it can take over your life and give you dementia.
Which is how I ended up working with Magellan! Michael wisely recognized that his magic and that of his staff is in providing the exact right promotional products to their customers, while mine is in making sure the website is awesome and functional. It’s a beautiful thing.
My junk drawer make-up isn’t limited to my career though. I was born in Oklahoma, grew up in Louisiana, went to high school in England, and went to college in Ohio. I’ve been in every state except Alaska, Hawaii, and North Dakota. I’ve railed across Europe and lived in an RV traveling all over the USA. I was on a TV show for cake decorating. Eventually, I landed in Colorado, and hope never to leave. It’s been an interesting life so far, and who knows what’s next.