Question for the class…

So, I posted this question on my Facebook page today:

Question for my business-owning, self-employed, entrepreneurial friends –what are your biggest concerns about running a business/being self-employed? Also, if you’ve considered starting a business, what do you consider your biggest obstacle? 

Seemed like a perfectly good question to pose here, as well.

I’m working on a series of articles for a client regarding Entrepreneurship, and I would appreciate feedback from fellow entrepreneurs, business owners and the like.  Not sure where or when the articles will run, but as soon as I know, I will pass that info. along.

And seeing that I never ask a question that I would be unwilling to answer,  here are my responses to the questions I posed.

My biggest concerns about running  a business and being self-employed: getting everything I need to get done, done and not screwing things up in the process.  I wear several hats, see. I’ve got a decent freelance writing career going (again!) and I have my jewelry business. There are times when I am so busy, I forget to eat and sleep becomes a series of catnaps between deadlines. There are times when I think, “Ya know, K, maybe you should scale back the number of articles you write, or decline that client’s job offer. Or maybe you don’t have to attend that jewelry show after all.”

Then I laugh (sometimes to myself, sometimes out loud), take another sip of coffee and go back to work.

Cuz, that’s the thing — yes my gigs  are work. Yes, sometimes I don’t want to do any of it. But there is nothing else I want to do more.  Writing and  creating jewelry are more than just a profession — they are my passion.

Which leads me to my other big concern — sometimes there IS such a thing as too much passion or dedication to your work,  especially  if it constantly bleeds into other aspects of your life.

Or, if you listen to my daughter, completely takes over.

Admittedly, if my professions were the Borg, I would be considered assimilated. I do spend the lion’s share of my life working. But even I question the cost at times. So, it’s important to strike a good balance between work and life. I’m still looking for that balance. I’ll let you know when I find it.

Probably through a blog post.

We Can’t Save Everyone…

A friend posted a link to this article on Facebook. Go ahead and read it, and then come back here, I’ll wait…

Did you read it? OK — what was your reaction.

Several people have mentioned that this story made them cry. OK — I can understand that reaction, but honestly, I don’t think that was a strong enough reaction, at least not for me.

This story pissed me off.

Big time.

This little girl’s world failed her. Not just her crazy parents and grandmother — not just the plethora of social service and state agencies that were supposed to be monitoring her situation –EVERYONE

Including us.

Yeah, I said it. US. Society in general let this little girl die, after living a torturous four years.

“How?”, you ask? Well I’ll tell ya.

We are a self-centered society. Unless something is happening at the tips of our noses or in our front yard, we think we don’t need to get involved. Sure, we read stories like these and think, “Oh, how tragic, that poor poor little girl”…

Then we go back to playing Farmville or posting pics from our last vacation.

Why? Why do we do this?

The two responses I hear most often:

1. We can’t save everyone.

2. I can’t make a difference by myself, so why should I try?

I swear to God, when I hear those responses, I think my head’s going to explode. Those two phrases have become the excuse mantras for not saving ANYONE.

And quite honestly, I think both phrases are a big, heapin’, steamin’ pile of bull.

I know this is an unpopular and unpalatable stance for many, but it DOES take a village to raise a child…

Especially if the village the child lives in is overrun by idiots. Someone has to take a stand for these kids. I don’t give a damn if anyone helps the adults in the village (well, I do care, but they aren’t the subject of this post at the moment), but these kids’ only crime was being brought into this world to people who can’t or won’t give a damn about them.

This. Has. To. Stop.

Whenever I go off on this sort of rant (and it happens OFTEN), someone always asks me what we should do about it. Well, here ya go —

In cases such as the one mentioned in this post:

1. If you see a child being abused, report it.

2. If you know a child is in danger (especially a relative), GET THEM OUT. One of the most disturbing parts of this story for me was that several of that little girl’s relatives suspected someone was amiss, but didn’t act on their suspicions.

3. If you have any involvement with social services agencies, pay attention to what is being said (or not said) by staff members.

In general:

PAY ATTENTION TO SOMEONE AND SOMETHING OTHER THAN YOURSELF! Yeah, I’m screaming. I know it can be uncomfortable to see things we would rather ignore, but ignoring the issue does not make it go away. Someone has to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. Someone has to help this next generation — they can’t help themselves and we are failing them. And if the next generation fails, what do you think will happen to society as a whole? We can no longer wait for someone else to come along and do the hard work. No more excuses.

So, maybe we can’t save everyone. Perhaps some people will “fall through the cracks” (Lord, how I detest that phrase!). But dammit, that is no excuse not to try.

PS — this may seem to be a strange post for a writer’s blog, but it’s here for two reasons:

1. my Other blog site is down for maintenance.

2. As writers, we need to lend our voices to the issue. I mean, that’s why we write, is it not, to inform? To educate? To offer our opinions….?