“Be patient. Good things come to those who wait.”
This is the Chinese fortune cookie wisdom I received Sunday night after eating out in a town nearby. The town of 10,000 people is the hub of the region I live in which most likely has more trees, wildlife and clean running water than it does people. Yes, I am feeling a little isolated.
My small town on the edge of the woods
I wonder if it’s the remote geography, working alone in my attic during the dark November days, or lack of strong professional networks to share the daily grind with. Being patient is interesting advice as I have been thinking about my professional life lately and how I can enhance it from good to great as well as being less isolating.
For anyone that works on issues related to improving people, places and making positive change, you could imagine that doing this alone in your attic, mostly by typing into a computer box, could be a lonely place (despite my online friends – thank you friends 
). Given that it’s a not so bad trade-off for living next to bears and powder skiing, I have been seeking advice lately to find that magical work-life balance. Here are some of the nuggets that I plan to work on in the New Year:
- Have a filter for work you take on. Here are four criteria my inspiring colleagues at Bright Green Learning use: Impact, Creativity, Interesting, Learning. I may add people/team to that list.
- Network. Go to conferences to meet people you want to work with and keep in touch with them. This may mean dedicating two phone calls a day as follow up which is very possible (That is my brothers advice and he owns a successful HR magazine so I’ll take it).
- Develop a local network of professionals who may also be looking for people to connect with. I will use my community building experience to start this in 2012 with the domain being ‘professional development’ and the side benefits of deeper relationships and networking (this is an idea that has been on my mind since I moved here – time for action).
This is only the start to my 2012 ‘good to great’ list as my mind is burgeoning with ideas for connection, social media is at my finger tips and I should not forget my widespread community of friends, colleagues, alumni…who I should make more time to get in touch with.
Blogging is important to me as it is a place to reflect and share thoughts with others. The professional world (even for someone living at the edge of the woods) has lots to offer. So do I wait patiently for taking my professional life to the next level or work to make it happen? Drop a line if you have a thought. My top of mind response is that it will be a bit of both.
Discover Your Passion was one of the messages Christian Begin shared with a small yet captivated audience at Rossland Mountain Filmfest’s Journey of An Adverture Filmmaker. Christian gave an animated account of his career from starting out in Quebec, then Rossland and on to the world stage of filmmaking with a recent dream accomplished by completing a film for National Geographic. 
