2010 Was a Sweet Ride

It's hard to sum up 365 days in a few words. Twelve months, 52 weeks, 525,600 minutes....a lot takes place, good, bad and ugly. For me, and for my lovely bride, it may have been a challenging year, but 2010 was also full of promise, change and evolution. We endured the passing of beloved relatives, the welcoming of new clients and projects, crises and passion. Just as I was struggling to find a theme, a capstone appeared on Christmas day.

Perry's album "Sweet Ride" was launched in 2009, but it's really still being released and publicized. The title track was written with the hope of being featured on the NPR show Car Talk. Amazingly, just having a producer named David "The Calves of Belleville" Greene wasn't enough to get us automatically included in their musical selection. Perry submitted her CD to the Car Talk staff. Repeatedly. And heard nothing back, for months.

Finally, on the Christmas day show, episode #1052, you can hear Sweet Ride. Listen toward the end of segment 6. The full track is also available on Perry's website right here. I've known how talented she is for a long time. Now the whole NPR listening community gets to find out, too. I love you, sweetie!

In adding on to the trend started last year where I recounted things for which I was grateful, here is my short list for 2010:

1) My clients: starting up an independent consultancy only works if there are people and organizations who want -- and are willing to pay for -- your services. 2010 taught me a few things.  First, I'm a lousy marketer. Second, if I give it some effort, I can find a niche for my talents. Greene Means Go Consulting would just be a vivid fantasy without friendly and loyal clients, spread coast to coast. I thank them all.

2) My house: When millions of Americans suffer through the agony of foreclosure, it's no small feat to admit the obvious - having a home is something to be thankful for. Sure, we had to endure almost a year of annoying, frustrating back and forth conversations with our lender to modify the mortgage, but in the end we're still in the home we love, for a figure we can manage. Maynard is a great town, and that's from someone who never thought he could live without an MBTA trolley rolling in front of his door. Every time I travel (which is less and less these days) I remember that there's no place like home.

3) My dogs: Without Cami and Harry, I wouldn't have much of a tie to Pet Connection. Without Cami and Harry, P and I wouldn't have a tiny fraction of the entertainment that we do. Without Cami and Harry, we'd miss out on the love and incredible joy of these adorable, loving souls  This Thursday marks nine years since they appeared in our lives.  I couldn't imagine my life without them, and I don't want to.

4) My wife: She's my sweetheart, my best friend, my musical idol, and my soulmate. 2010 was both the best of times and the worst of times, but she's still here, and so am I, looking forward to the new year, and whatever 2011 has in store for us.

So how do your measure 525,600 minutes? Remember the love.

May you have a healthy, happy new year.

It's getting better all the time

When the recession began two years ago and people started losing their jobs in droves, I read a few dozen articles about those downsized souls who completely changed course. Instead of making six figures as a bond trader, the person was now running a bed and breakfast somewhere, growing heirloom tomatoes, working for a nonprofit, or something else similarly 180 degrees from what they had been doing previously.

Then I was laid off. I hadn't been making six figures previously, and it wasn't my plan to reinvent my professional self, but looking back from the vantage point of 18 months later, that's pretty much what happened. What's next didn't automatically have to mean keep doing the same stuff as before.

Independent consulting is a euphemism for "figuring it out as you go along." Nevertheless, with a little luck and a lot of blood, sweat and tears, Greene Means Go Consulting is now showing signs of turning a tidy profit and building a growing cadre of happy clients.  Looking back, the surprising part is that for the first time since the mid 1980's, I've been using the journalism part of my brain again, and it still works! Thanks to Pet Connection (you've been reading, right? You should be), I've become an integral part of an incredible community of support, knowledge, events and opinion. Without that addition to my world, 2010 wouldn't have been nearly as fun and rewarding.

I don't recommend that everyone (or anyone) ditch it all to become a solo entrepreneur and start a new business from scratch, with only the barest safety net. The older you are, the more responsibilities you've assumed (mortgage, children, car payments) and the more you've become used to things like buying presents for people at Christmas and nagging details like electricity and food, the harder the sudden fall gets.

On the other hand, it feels that much better when, against all odds, it starts to work out, and a new reality appears -- one that not only doesn't suck, but is actually more rewarding and more FUN than what had come before.

Now that 2010 is starting to wind down, I finally have faith that my gamble is paying off. I work differently now. It doesn't have to be just one job, and it doesn't even have to be only one client at a time. Two halves can equal a whole. If they're more fun than the previous whole, bonus!

The recession taught me that there's no such thing as long term planning. You can plan if you like, but if you're being honest with yourself, all you're doing is fantasizing. I'll take it as it comes, and make the best of it. 2009 was a tough year. 2010 was better. I'm rooting for 2011.

Photo credits: Sgt Pepper album, beatles-facts.com.