TITLE: Being Independent AUTHOR: Tavia DATE: 7/03/2007 12:01:00 PM ----- BODY:
It's fitting that my blog and my website (TaviaGilbert.com) are being launched in time for Independence Day, as the last 9 months have been an exercise in establishing the ultimate independence of self employment. I spent more than a decade working as a writer, researcher, and strategist in law offices in Seattle, Washington and Portland, Maine. But last October marked the beginning of either a brilliant leap of faith or a ridiculous risk when I walked away from a regular paycheck, health insurance, my 401-K, and the "golden handcuffs" of stable employment. I had a great meeting with a friend yesterday afternoon, the sea-scented breeze blowing in his living room windows while we spoke softly so that his sleeping baby wouldn't awaken. Ogden is an inspiration - a passionate, focused, articulate teacher, as well as an unwaveringly daring, innovative, values-driven entrepreneur. And I've been blessed with his support during the last several months of ceaseless transition. He asked, "Did you make the right decision?" Oh, yes. No question. Would I rather be sitting in a square of sunlight at 2:30 p.m. with a cold glass of water, a sliver of Casco Bay on the horizon, in the presence of an angelic sleeping child, discussing an upcoming audiobooks narration project, or perched on an office chair under fluorescent lights, balancing a phone while typing notes of an increasingly contentious call with an insurance adjuster, an unobstructed view of the parking garage outside my seagull-marked window? It's not a struggle to choose between the two options. But do I miss the predictability and regularity of a paycheck signed by the same hand week after week? Oh, yes. No question. There is no comparison between the job I held and the pleasure I take in forging my own path and developing my communications business. My work casts a wide net - voiceover, writing, marketing consulting, acting, entrepreneurship - and it's an exhilarating and emotional and gut-wrenching new lifestyle. But there's no going back. it's comforting to know that I am not alone. Thousands of creative people endeavor each day to define what unique services they bring to the marketplace, what solutions they can innovate for the problems of their clients, to what niche their marketing is targeted. I admire those who flourish while balancing highly creative work while attending to an ocean of administrative minutiae. I'm a Gemini - highly organized, business-savvy, intuitive, open-minded, and extremely creative. So my flourishing will certainly be a result of that lucky personality split. I'm a fairly recent reader of blogs (and so have developed only one serious blog-crush, on Seth Godin's shiny dome). It's exciting to have this space. I look forward to developing Art + Business as a valuable forum! Have a great Independence Day!

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----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Blogger Unknown DATE: September 19, 2007 at 10:34 AM It is an exciting world. I hope to be able to follow suit as well sometime. ----- --------