Last month I had an interesting opportunity. I was asked to be a guest speaker and presenter as part of a local literary festival. The offer came from someone who knew more about my freelance writing work than my past, which made for an interesting few conversations. What I realized after finalizing what I could present as part of a writing workshop was that there are some people in my life who only know me from what they have seen at the end of my midlife career change.
I think that was probably a valuable ‘a-ha’ moment for me. So, I reasoned that there was a possibility that some of the people attending my workshop would also know little about my background. This was what inspired me to produce a short, basic PowerPoint presentation titled, “The Adventures of a Ghostwriter.” In it I explained how both Brenda and I had ended up where we are today doing the things we are doing today. In order to give it context I added a small ‘flashback’ sequence reviewing my past in radio and print media. The idea was to show that I had some previous experience as a writer and promoter that assisted with my current career plans. I think it did a pretty good job of telling the story about both of the midlife career changes that Brenda and I experienced. It also allowed me to point out that anyone could do it as well. All you needed was an idea and the time and effort to put that idea into action. In a way, I was sharing the secrets to a successful midlife career change. You could say that I was speaking from experience about a different kind of experience. Although the attendance at my workshop was not overwhelming, I was overwhelmed with the interest shown by those who did attend. My suspicion was also correct. Out of those present, the majority of them did not know much about my writing and marketing past. It also gave me a chance to remind myself that the midlife career changes Brenda and I went through were also necessary for us to get to where we are now. I had not expected my involvement at the local literary festival to have such an impact on me, but it did. Are you faced with having to make a change in what career path you are following? Are you in or approaching your midlife years? Well, it’s not as scary as it may seem and it is possible to make the change and end up doing something you truly love as a result. That’s what happened with both Brenda and I. You can learn more about our midlife career changes by taking a look at the eBook I published on the subject titled, “Surviving Midlife Career Changes.”
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AuthorMy name is George Elliott. I have been in the Media Industry since 1978. I spent 23 years in Broadcasting and worked in a total of six different radio stations located in southern British Columbia Canada during my career. In 2000 I switched gears and moved into the Print Media Industry at a small town, local weekly newspaper. In 2004 I bought the paper and operated it with my wife, Brenda until July 2016 when we closed it. I launched a freelance web content and article writing business from my home in January 2014. Archives
April 2021
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