As a follow up to the last posting, many things have been falling in my lap as it relates to web optimization. I immediately had two clients and took over the webmaster duties of the website for the organization I belong to. I also have 4 other people interested in seeing what I might be able to do for them; this is all fascinating stuff, considering that just a month ago all I saw myself as was a consultant, coach, speaker, etc.

Now, a part of the conversation that I kept having with myself and a couple other people was this word "expert". I'm not the one who initially called myself an expert, but for some reason the word was sticking in my mind, and I just couldn't get away from it. There were email conversations about me specifically that grew into online conversations on the word, as well as how people wanted to be seen in the eyes of those who hire them for whatever projects of whatever type need to be done.

In the end, we came up with these few truths. One, we want to be seen as an expert in the eyes of whomever hires us, because we realize that no one wants to spend big money on someone who thinks they're only "pretty good"; if that person has doubts about themselves, why would anyone else want to hire them? Two, calling yourself an expert isn't necessarily endearing, but if others call you that and you repeat it, just go with it because there's not a single thing negative about that. Three, during a conversation with one friend, she asked why I didn't just look up the word in a thesaurus, something I hadn't even considered, and when I did I decided that the word "specialist" fits much better; this proves the point that sometimes the solution to your issues is right in front of you, or next to you, or at least somewhere close to you.

So, while I embark on this presently new journey, my wife is in the other room embarking on hers, making clay and bead jewelry. And we're both in our 40's; who says you can't teach an old dog, or in this case middle aged dog, new tricks?