Out of My Comfort Zone

Testing the Water!

Ok, I admit it! I like my comfortable routine. I'm not real crazy about change. I used to be when I was younger, but let's face it...I'm not a teenager anymore (comments from the audience not necessary).

But I needed something to do after my daughter graduated homeschool. Homeschooling took up a large part of my life for a long time. Now what was I going to do to fill my hours, that would keep my interest, and maybe aid the family budget?

So I took a class in becoming a VA. VA stands for Virtual Assistant, and is basically an office assistant off site...usually from home. It was a safe jump into the water...because it was just a class. No commitment.

After waiting and waiting, doing some temporary work here and there, I finally got a client! Scary business. This was commitment, this was really testing the water, now. I opened a new e-mail account, started making appointments for her, did a few excel spreadsheets, and a few Word documents. Not bad. I can do this.

Then ordering gifts, mailing them out, checking e-mail when she's out of town. Do an event page? What in the world is an event page? A Fan Page? Yikes! Find a conference room, figure out what's wrong with Time Driver, you never know what will come up that needs to be done. Typing transcripts came next - now that makes me a happy camper, I love to type. See who's following her on Twitter...add clients to LinkedIn, etc., etc.

It's a challenge - and you can never complain about being bored!

In the back of my mind, I've been telling myself I need to step it up. Advance to the next challenge. There's been this "toe" hanging over the edge of the dock, hanging but not dipping into the cold water.

Well, today...the "toe" got dipped. I heard the little scream in my head...but, it only lasted a short second. I took on a new client, AND added my name to an available transcriptionist list - all in the same day!

The water was a little icy...but I survived. I'm not quite swimming yet...but I will be. So are you sitting on the dock with one foot an inch above the water? Are you trying to decide if you really want to challenge yourself or move outside your comfort zone? Hey, I did it and I'm still alive...so you can, too!

Thanks to Denise, Rhea, and Stacey. You gals rock!
(And not to forget their input, thanks mom and dad for making me take some business classes in high school!)

(No, that's NOT a shark...it's a dolphin, come on now!)