"You will face many defeats in your life, but never let yourself be defeated." ~Maya Angelou
This week went by in a blur - there seems to be so much going on in all of my worlds that I'm starting to feel the pressure. Had to deal with a little bit of defeat this week and thought I would share the story with you...
I decided a couple of months to apply to become an Evernote Certified consultant. I use and love Evernote as a note-taking, idea repository. So I thought, why not? I can get trained and certified in it, and it would help in this idea of being this go-to resource that helps people use tech tools to make their lives easier.
I was approved (yay!) and the course started on March 1st and it had to be finished by March 14th at 11:59pm PST. I thought sure, no problem. I can do this. I started out strong, doing a module a day (there were 14), but then...life happened, things got really busy and I started missing days so I figured no problem, I could dedicate some evenings and just go hard on it. Catch up.
Well Monday came (the 13th) and I started working on the assignments for Modules 6 and 7. Out of curiosity, I jumped ahead to see what else was left to budget my time. And then the world fell down. I realized there was no way to get the next 7 assignments done and take the final exam by the following night - unless I pulled an all nighter or missed work the next day.
Since that was not an option, I immediately wanted to cry because I felt like a failure. I signed up for this thing with the commitment of getting it done. And here I was realizing that that would be next to impossible. Defeat. So much defeat. I texted my friend Shenee about it and Facebook-messaged my mom and we all came to two conclusions: (1) that most people doing this are probably full time consultants and I'm trying to do this on the side and (2) that maybe this was just not the right time.
I still was trying to find some magical way to make a miracle happen but then I gave up and went to sleep. The morning of the 14th came. And I realized that it's OK. Sleep really helps you process things. Maybe this wasn't meant to be at this time but that doesn't mean that I failed. I can still use and talk about Evernote. And with the training that I was able to finish, I learned more about the tool and how it can be use. And learning is never a waste of time. So I made peace with it and let it go.
What might you be feeling guilt or defeat about that may not be something meant for you right now? It might be time to view it for the lesson that it is and let it go.
On to the picks for the week!
P.S. I am so grateful that you're here. You keep me going...xoxo
18 Ways to Make Your Online Accounts More Secure — fieldguide.gizmodo.com
With online accounts being hacked left and right (like McDonald's Twitter account), you should do all that you can to protect yourself and the brand you are building. My faves on this list are #3, 4 and 11.
Ten Simple Ways to Improve Any Blog Post in Minutes — problogger.com
These are quick things you can do before you hit "publish" on your blog post. I especially like #1, 3 and 6.
You’re going to be judged. — www.alexandrafranzen.com
THIS --> "But not everybody will criticize you. Some people will love you. Some people will say, “Thank you. I needed to read that today,” and “The story you just told changed my life,” and “You inspired me to keep going.”
Those are the people you’ve got to stay focused on...Remember those people when you’re feeling discouraged... Create for them."
#justbecause
This Chrome extension lets you blow off coworkers with class — mashable.com
BRILLIANT. Have that coworker that wants to come and interrupt your head-down, headphones in productivity mode? Click on the "Nope" and immediately get a very important phone call to your phone that you must take right now! :)