This chimes with my experience perfectly. I’m a freelance writer and editor, a sometime journalist, a publications manager, a script doctor: a wordsmith, in short. And my career has taken some funny and interesting turns after chance encounters.

I met a woman in a Greenwich Village coffee shop who mistook me for an old college classmate of hers, and became, subsequently, my writing mentor, and introduced me to her literary agent at William Morris (thereby hangs a tale).

A friend and colleague I had worked with at a business publishing house offered me my first freelance consulting job years later, as a publications manager for an NGO.

This led indirectly to another friend’s asking me to write a major United Nations report. That evolved into a gig that ran for six years, writing UN reports for some sweet money. As well as writing for other NGOs.

A chance acquaintance in the Tall Ship world (South Street Seaport Museum, NYC) asked if I would like to edit a newsletter for a bunch of rocket scientists: he didn’t have the time. I met and interviewed some of the most famous men in space, rocket scientists, physicists, cosmonauts/astronauts, and was an aerospace journalist for a while. That same fellow also got me an entree to the world of maritime journalism.

Another friend, a director (mostly music videos) over dinner one night really pushed me to call a TV development director I knew and to ask for a tryout as a story editor. I still work for that producer to this day.

I didn’t plan any of this! If anything, I think I need to do some more planning–but I can surely attest to the value of serendipity.

Love your blog.

Gail Cooper

What’s amazing to me is that this is a recording from the 1950s. WAY before the Law of Attraction had entered the mainstream via movies like “The Secret.”

Further proof that this is a timeless principle, not some fad.

Hope you rock the house in 2010!

Penny – So true! I think most of us underestimate the power of word-of-mouth marketing, especially when starting out as a solo professional.

It’s so typical that before we think about and clarify the “What?”, we jump to the “How?” And even when we jump to the “How”, the “What” is still pretty vague and general.

Peter Block has written a great book about this “What” “How dilemma”: The Answer to How is Yes: Acting on What Matters.

He presents the psychology behind this interesting phenomenon.

Nikki – Congrats on working toward full-time freelancing! Glad to hear the ideas were helpful.

Carolyn – So true about persistence! Most people give up too early. And my fear is that the younger generation — especially those just now entering college or the workforce — are giving up (on any type of challenge) much earlier than other generations before them. Is it me, or is anyone else seeing this trend?

Best,

Carolyn