Number 100; A Long Journey

Ah yes, number one hundred; happy anniversary to me. When I decided I was going to write a newsletter, I had three thoughts in mind. One, I wanted to bring attention to my business, and thought it would be one way to do it. Two, I wanted to talk about all the different aspects of my business to show that I had some type of proficiency in what I wanted to do as a profession. And three, I wanted to start doing something positive in my life.

That last one has turned out to be the most important reason for writing the newsletter, and for continuing to do it. It allows me to say to people, when they're wondering why they should try something new, or whether they should do anything to begin with, or even if they start worrying that they may not be good enough, to just do it, give it a try, and don't worry about what other people have to say. After all, there are people who never do anything positive in their lives who feel that, because their lives aren't giving them what they want, that no one else should have anything either.

The first newsletter was definitely a different style than what I write today, and yet I often have people tell me, at least these days, that it's one of the most important topics they've read from me, that one talking about micro managers; yes, we all know someone like that, unfortunately. But with the first one, I sent it to friends and business contacts, just to see what they thought. I received some interesting comments. Some hated the layout; some hated the style of writing. Some hated the colors; some hated the font. Amazingly enough, no one hated the topic; those that responded about the topic itself agreed with what I wrote. I learned two things from the first one: I wasn't going to please everyone, but there was an audience for what I had to say. I had 25 people subscribe from the first issue; I felt that was enough for me to continue.

Over the years I have tackled management, leadership, diversity, customer service, and motivation. I've told some personal stories, and tried to shy away from politics and religion, unless I could touch upon them to highlight a point I was trying to address. I also started another newsletter on healthcare billing topics, which has turned out to be special because more than half of them have been reprinted by other national healthcare magazines and newsletters. This particular newsletter has been reprinted numerous times on the internet and in print; one of these days I may actually get paid for it, but I'm not worried about that at this time. I'm glad that I have subscribes who enjoy reading it, and sometimes sharing it, and I also enjoy the feedback I get from time to time.

From a business perspective, the newsletter has done pretty much what I had hoped it might. I have received offers to speak to groups throughout the Northeast, though mainly in New York. I have had some coaching clients, and I've sold a few books. From a personal perspective, it's a mixed bag. On one level, I'm happy because I know I've helped some people figure out how to deal with certain business issues, as well as helped some people figure out how to personally grow. On another level, I know that I will be able to write on all of these topics from now until eternity because there are some things that one just can't change.

And that was the first thing I had to mentally overcome; that I couldn't instantly affect change in the world. If I wrote about a customer service issue, I had hopes that companies would suddenly change how they treat their customers; didn't happen. When I wrote about diversity issues, I had hopes that the races would come together and start a dialogue of positive change; didn't happen. I had to learn that, as with most things, I had to be happy if one person read something I wrote and decided to give it a try, or decided that it made sense and they were going to change, or change their situation. It's the same as with seminars I put on; if at least one person in the room decides to try something I recommend, and is still doing it two weeks from that date, then I was a major success.

There is a strange thing about continuity. One can feel smug about doing something for a long time. One can feel proud. One can feel a sense of accomplishment. And one can feel a sense of nostalgia. As I think about it, I know I've felt all of these. I know other people who have started and stopped writing newsletters since I began writing. I know that, put together, my newsletters amount to at least a few books. I know that there are some people who are proud of me for what I've been able to do for this period of time. And I know that there were at least a few newsletters that I'd put up against anything anyone else has ever written in the same format; well, maybe one or two anyway.

I also know that I've gained and lost subscribers because of what and how I write. Losing my first subscribers was something new to me, because, as a labor of love, one's first thought is that you've somehow offended someone, or that they don't like what it is you do. You tend to take it personal at first. Then, with perspective, you realize that sometimes it might be that, but sometimes it just might be that the material isn't relevant to them anymore, or that they might not have the time to read it anymore. After all, how many newsletters have I signed up for, then unsubscribed from, in all the years I've been on the internet? This was another major lesson to learn about myself, whether I had the mettle to keep on writing if I couldn't please everyone. None of us pleases everyone; I was reading something a friend of mine wrote earlier today where she said that if we believe other people aren't talking about us then we're in great denial. I wrote back saying I knew people were talking about me, but I hoped that most of them were saying nice things, and if it's at least at 51%, I could live with it.

And, I assume that's the lesson of this particular newsletter; it's all in the doing more than the perfection of the results. Some people start dieting and don't lose the weight they wanted to, and then they quit, while others persevere, try something different, and succeed. Some people quit smoking or drinking and are able to stick with it, while others aren't. Yet, in each case, people at least gave it a try. I bet most of you have at least tried to do something positive in your lives, either for others or yourselves. Even if you've given it up, I want you to take this moment to give yourself a slap on the back, say "way to go", and, if you've been able to stick with it, whatever it is, smile and realize how unique a thing it is you've been able to do. I'm as proud of all of you as I am of myself for reaching this particular milestone, and I hope you're proud of yourselves also.

And keep reading; there's a lot more to come. And I thank you, all of you, for sticking with me on this never ending journey of discovery and education.