Getting started: my first blog

Like so many other things in life, sometimes the hardest thing is simply showing up. After that everything else just seems to fall into place. That may be somewhat applicable to this, my first ever blog post as it has taken about six months to finally get over the hump, write, and post it.

Along the way there have been lots of thoughts and an array of excuses:

• Where do I start?
• When can I find the time?
• What should I say?
• What will happen once it is out in cyberspace for all to see?
• What is my log-in to Word Press again?

 So I went back to some basic principles that I often coach clients to do:

•  Keep it simple.
• Get started, don’t wait until all the elements are in place.
• Just showing up is often more than half the battle.
• Learn to embrace mistakes they make up some of the ingredients to ultimate success.

 I also use the following analogy about being a leader or exceling in your field:

In life there are four kinds of people, those who are in the parade, those who organize the parade, those who watch the parade, and those who ask, “parade, what parade”? Well, I have been in the last two categories when it comes to blogging until today.

Over the last few years I have read and shared many other blogs written by a diverse set of professionals with a real talent for reaching their audience or depending on their objectives of getting their message out there. The characteristics that I find most endearing about the really good blogs: authentic, compelling, to the point, and well said. It is my intent to do just that in these posts and hopefully my mistakes will only lead to more scintillating and interesting material.

This site and future blogs are written with the goal of sharing what I consider to be the accumulation of experiences related to Career Development. Wikipedia tells us that “Career” is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as an individual’s “course or progress through life (or a distinct portion of life)”. It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work (and sometimes also formal education). I prefer to look at careers as all the aspects of life that touch us and propel us forward through inspiration to fulfill our aspirations.

So as I build this website I hope to make this blog a meeting place to connect with other career professionals, job seekers, and people interested in sharing more insights about careers. My new goal is to post at least one new blog per month, then we’ll see where it goes from there. Along the way it will serve to take the idea of “connecting people to people, resources, and opportunities” (my brand and tagline) to a whole new level.

 Special mention – this site and finally this blog post would not have been possible if not for the following people:

• Janet and Scott Barclay at Organized Assistant who did an outstanding job putting this site together and performing many other tasks beyond the call of duty (despite all my questions). http://www.organizedassistant.com
• Maureen McCann of Promotion Career Solutions http://mypromotion.ca/ ; a colleague and friend who keeps me on my toes while supporting the heck out of everything that I do; she also helped to propel the final step to getting this post done by saying she intended to post her blog first
• Sharon Graham who knowingly or unknowingly acts as a mentor, friend, colleague, and all around pinnacle of what career development business is all about – giving to others and supporting them in their growth. She has certainly done that for me. www.grahammanagement.com
• Career Professionals of Canada and all of my fellow members who support professionals across Canada to take their businesses to greater heights and higher standards of service.  www.careerprocanada.ca

Many thanks to all of you and the many others who have contributed to W.P.Consulting & Associates along the way. Having this website and now a blog certainly opens new doors to new opportunities. I look forward to exploring more with all of you in future posts.

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