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| CHICAGO MARCH 10, 2014 (photo by Hallellujah Truth) |
Today I am going to answer only one of the prompt questions (see the rest below at the end of this blog entry):
Are there risks you've taken that have led to positive change?
In the past academic year, I took the risk of leaving my job of teaching English as a second language (ESL) after more than two decades in order to pursue a new way to make a living. This leave taking from a known profession with distinct parameters to an undefined creative field was definitely a risk!
Has it led to positive change? Today, when I would have been heading back into the classroom for another 8-week session at Georgia Tech's Language Institute, I boarded a plane and flew from Atlanta to Chicago to spend four days with my husband who is on his spring break from Emory. That's fun! Yahoo!
Opportunities abound for me. Flexibility is a wild horse flaring its nostrils and snorting to go...almost anywhere. Like Raleigh two weeks ago. And Chicago now. Heaven only knows where I'm going next! Not to mention all the people I am meeting and opportunities I'm being given to grow deeper in the activities and way of being I love.
I feel magic percolating. I have been initiated and graduated. My super powers are aligning to serve the world, maybe even the universe. As I establish the foundations of what is next for me as a result of my risk taking (leaving my ESL profession to be an entrepreneur) here are a few photos from my first day in Chicago. Enjoy!
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| HARRIS TRUST BANK. I couldn't believe it when I saw this building was Harris Trust Bank! By chance, I had stumbled upon the building where my grandfather, William Milsted, had worked for 41 years. When I was in first grade, I had toured Harris Trust with my family and been given a lion bank--the bank's emblem--and one dollar. (photo by Hallellujah Truth) |
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| DOWN BY THE LAKE. We were so fortunate to have great weather on this 10th day of March 2014! We walked from our hotel all the way to the Art Institute of Chicago and to the banks of frozen Lake Michigan. (photo by Hallellujah Truth) |
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| FROZEN LAKE MICHIGAN. I went swimming in this lake when I was child. Tonight, Tony and I were told by our dinner hosts that a number of people have died this winter by walking out on the frozen lake. Tragic. (photo by Hallellujah Truth) |
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| TWO TALENTED MEN. How awesome to visit the Art Institute of Chicago and see so many works by highly esteemed artists. Here, of course, is Vincent Van Gogh's self-portrait. Tony Martin was kind enough to provide scale and in so doing, revealing his inner Van Gogh. (photo by Hallellujah Truth) |
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| MILLENNIUM PARK. This fascinating sculpture reflects the city and its inhabitants. There was a constant flurry of activity surrounding it with people moving here and there to see how their reflections changed. (photo by Hallellujah Truth) |
That's Coffee with Hallelujah! SOUL BLOG with me and cheer me on as I move forward taking risks.
C4ward March Blogathon Prompt (Day 10)
QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU CONSIDER RISK TAKING AS AN ENTREPRENEURIAL CREATIVE:
- What are some appropriate risks for you?
- What risks can you take in your business?
- Are there risks you've taken that have led to positive change?
- Any that have not panned out they way you thought?
- What are some of your greatest successes that have arisen out of risks you've taken?
- If you are very risk averse, what is holding you back from making that leap? What support system(s) would you need to have in place in order to leap into that new creative or entrepreneurial space?
How great that you're in Chicago and that you're connecting with your past there. I grew up on Lake Erie. These early experiences often stay with us and inform our creative work in unique ways. Have fun traveling and being inspired by it all!
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