Never Be Afraid to Try Something New!
Dance to your own music!
Admin note: Elizabeth is an engaging writer with original ideas—always a great read. She’s a baby boomer by chronology but a totally modern woman by design with a handle on the latest writing tools and processes. Elizabeth’s a founding member of the Inkspired Community. Read her musings about allowing ourselves the freedom to hear a different drummer. (If you have a story to tell that relates to our community, to writing, or is just a great read direct message Maryan Pelland).
I’ve always heard "it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind,” and when it comes to my career, I’ve definitely taken that to heart.
Some people my age (74) believe it’s too late to learn new skills, let alone pursue a new career. However, when I look around at the courageous men and women reinventing themselves even into their eighties and nineties, I feel inspired! Every day presents an opportunity to expand your experiences and explore something new.
Growing up on a Virginia cattle farm in the 1950s was an idyllic childhood. Along with my brothers, I built forts in the woods and rock dams in the stream. We swam and fished in the pond. I learned to gather wild berries safely, assist in delivering a baby calf, and find where the foxes made their den.
My passion for nature led to a degree in biology and a master's in human anatomy. In the 1970s, I supervised a scientific research laboratory in Louisiana, where we studied leprosy in armadillos. Our work resulted in several publications in scientific journals.
From 1978 into the 1990s, my top priorities were raising our two children, volunteering in the community, and being a homemaker while my husband practiced internal medicine in a rural Virginia practice. As college tuition costs loomed, I rejoined the workforce as a technical writer, doing government contract work in accessibility research. My boss appreciated my liberal arts and science background, figuring I could take the work of his engineers and make sure government bureaucrats could understand it. Before long, I was managing research projects.
When the owner closed the business, I opted for the flexibility of working from home. As an early adopter of Mac computers, I provided services to local clients who were uncomfortable with the "new" technology. I wrote resumés, designed pages for local printers, maintained databases, and helped clients publish family history books. I also managed a team of international writers who provided content for a membership website.
When my husband retired and became happily busy with his hobbies, I still had an entrepreneurial itch to scratch. So, I learned about social media and took courses in marketing, writing, website design, and online visibility. For a while, I helped small business owners make sense of the overwhelming amount of Internet information. I did freelance writing and editing and learned about digital publishing for myself and my clients.
Today, my blog Heartspoken.com, and my Substack newsletter, “The HEARTSPOKEN Note,” provide an outlet for my writing and a way to explore my fascination with the power of Connection. My favorite connection tool—the handwritten note—led to my writing a book during the “Great Pause” of COVID-19 called HEARTSPOKEN: How to Write Notes that Connect, Comfort, Encourage, and Inspire.
That book was published by Koehler Books when I was 72 years old. I chair the board of a regional community bank—the first woman board member and first woman board chair in its 120-year-old history.
I still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up, but I'm living proof that it's never too late to change your mind!
If you enjoy from-the-heart authentic writing and want to learn about incorporating pen and paper into your modern world, subscribe to Elizabeth’s charming publication The Heartspoken Note.
The Inkspired Community was conceived and developed by Pen2Profit.online and friends.
 | A guest post by
|
Thank you for this warm introduction. It’s an honor to be here to support and learn from others in this growing community.
Very interesting post. You have done so much. Thank you for sharing this.