Strike

"Do not wait to strike until the iron is hot; but make it hot
by striking." – William B. Sprague

I have a birthday coming up next month and as it approaches, I have been reflecting on the past year. A lot has happened. Biggest one being starting a business and right after that one a new job. Both of these things have led me to discover more about myself than I thought possible.

• For one, I have standards. I am at a point in my life where I do not believe I have to settle for crap just for the sake of it.
  
• Secondly, I now understand that businesses do "abolish" entire departments for business reasons. I found this out two months after my former employer kicked me and four other people to the curb right before Christmas last year and gave us one week to get out.
• Thirdly, if you don’t ask, you can’t receive. We, in general, are such chickens. Never asking for what we want because we are too scared to get the answer we don’t want. Now, that is a glass half empty thinking. This year, I have been asking for things and assuming I will get what I want or a yes answer. It has worked 95% of the time. Why in the hell did no one tell me this sooner?!
• Fourthly, just because I have a professional attitude does not mean the people around me do and that is ok, up to a point. What I have discovered is that you can be sucked into negativity or you can rise above it.
• Fifthly (is that a word?), I really don’t like revisions. They destroy my creative flow. I am an artist, damn it!

I have discovered lots more and am thankful for all the lessons I have learned this year. They have been a blessing. Being a student of life is one of the best experiences I am going through right now. Sometimes the lessons suck, but I am learning and that is all that really matters.