Archives for December 2024

“Our chief want …

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“…is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Long ago when I was young and impressionable, and believed quotes to be the ultimate truisms to guide one’s life by, I came across a long-winded thing — that I cannot now track down — that said about the same thing as the Emerson bit quoted above.

I felt this profoundly true. With a word processor in the 80s, I tracked and kerned the best I could, printed it out on pretty commercially-designed paper, and taped it up in my bedroom. For a long time it hung, where I could just see it from the bed, and I pondered it hard and often.

And then… yeah – after weeping many silly secret tears that I had no such someone in my life to bring forth the brilliancy that I knew was surely within me, I finally took the quote down with a shake of my head at my over-wrought sentimentality.

The purpose of quotes to live by couldn’t be to make us depressed. I decided I’d take this bull by the horns; instead of waiting for this someone to come along and inspire me, I’d be this person myself.

Looking back now, it’s been an amazing experience to see how a little of my dress-up magic has gone a long ways towards improving opportunities and changing lives of others.

Have a talent that you don’t know how to further develop? Schedule a free discovery call to consult with me.

Deaf Colorado

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Coming out of the Covid pandemic, after experiencing and seeing a need for, I attempted to create a more central source of information for the local deaf community with Deaf Colorado.

My visual strategy was to create a community calendar as its centerpiece, with sidebars full of links and tags, conveying wealth of information. Deaf visitors checking out what local deaf events there might be happening, would likely linger to also browse additional deaf-related information, resources, and opportunities.

What can I say? I adore designing information – making it good, factual, useful, intuitive, and to get it across — irresistibly eye-catching as well.

Intensely over-optimized, socially connected, and more organized than average; the project overdelivered.

ASL with Julie

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With a business card putting her contact info into people’s hands, an eye-catching logo, a website for more info, flyer announcements, as well as social media memes, and spiffy letterhead for networking . . .

Julie transitioned into a more creditable professional.

Good design and consistent branding made people notice Julie in a more ‘professional’ light and take her seriously.

As Julie’s visible confidence grew, backed by her newly branded self-presentation, she more easily gained many new students, referrals, large clients, and numerous networking opportunities, all of which increased her financial independence.

Using WordPress

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car with WordPress colors

Around here we are using the WordPress CMS (Content Management System) when developing websites.

Why? These days over 40% of websites are powered by WordPress! This makes WordPress one of the most widely recognized and used system.

Now, I’ve had past experiences with Drupal, Shopify, and Wix. They range widely from excessively complex to easy-but-limited editing capabilities. Since shifting towards WordPress(.org, not .com), it’s been easy to concur with the current trend towards this highly recommended CMS.

WordPress is not excessively complicated and expensive, nor too cheap and limited. Free and easy to install, capable of accommodating a wide range of purposes, from a simple blog set up to easy e-commerce solutions, to membership sites and directories.

WordPress can truly be customized to meet your needs for any level your business or organization is at.

So whether you want a website you can edit and maintain yourself, or have a professional develop it for you, consider using WordPress.org

Have questions about WordPress? Please ask me!

More from the car metaphor series:

Providing Inspiration is ONE Thing –

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Results aren’t always what you’d expect.

Not too different from My Day Job, being a muse can be full of surprises sometimes. I thought with my poet it was pretty obvious what I was getting into this time around, marrying a novelist and all.

Novelists, as everyone knows, always need muses otherwise they flounder about rather unsuccessfully and die bitter old men. Like old drunk Hemingway. Or was it Faulkner? Must have been Faulkner. Anyhow I was thinking: All right! Easy and clear cut, sweet! I love it. Shoo my honey into his office to “go write your novel now” while off I go with hours at my leisure to do my own thing. I really couldn’t have found a better gig. At least, that’s what I was thinking.

Muse And Baker Cropped

But the gods will have their laughs. Lots of changes in just only the last couple hundred years, gotta get up to speed. Because, turns out I inspire my boy the best in the room with the big white things. You know, the one with all the yummy delicious food? La Cocina. Die Küche. Si.

The Chef And Muse In Kitchen

Yes. That was a bit of a pause for me too. But then I figured oh that’s all right, that’s no skin off my nose. After all a muse’s job is essentially the same regardless the end result, si? Sit around, look pretty — and inspire, of course. Inspire what? Well that’s precisely what keeps life interesting.

The Chef And Muse

Providing inspiration is one thing. Predicting what it’ll lead to? That’s a whole another laughing matter entirely. As I said, keeps life interesting. So while maybe there’ll be no credit for inspiring the boy’s next great novel, all right, but goodness me, I eat impossibly delicious cuisine every day. It’s quite a delectable life. I had no idea I was this good. You see why I like being a muse?