We, oui!

If you have been following me you may have noticed some recent changes.

We’ve gotten rid of the YouTube videos, cleaned out Instagram and the social channels, and started to create a more intentional mission statement and aesthetic.

But the biggest change is in using “We” instead of “Me.”

The force behind all this change is Shannon Rebecca.

Shannon is responsible for the change in tone and look of the site and the consistency in our voice and direction.

It is not easy to hand over the reins when you have been flying “solo” for so long. That only comes with trust. Shannon has become not only my confidant and my Creative Director, but my business partner—a position I have never trusted to anyone.

Like a good partner, Shannon brings balance to our game. Her contributions have already made a big difference in how we operate and how we communicate with you.

Shannon is detail oriented, unlike me.

She’s good at tech, unlike me.

She has an amazing ability for focused attention, unlike me.

But, like me, Shannon is wildly creative, not a designer (though trained as one), and she works towards clear communication with an audience she truly cares for.

Shannon is an artist and poet, deeply curious and always a student.

Her most admirable trait, both personally and professionally, is what made her “weird” as a kid—her desire to help people.

Today, Shannon helps me and helps you. I am proud to have her as my creative partner as we continue building a platform to help you get paid doing what you love.

Handing the mic over to SR now to do her own intro…

Hey guys! 

I’ve been behind the scenes here for about a year now, and I’m excited to get to say hi and interact more personally with all of you today and going forward :-) 

I thought a good place to start is “why me.” What do I bring that might be of interest to you in your journeys?

Well, so much of what James tries to impart to you is how to trust yourself rather than “the rules” — design rules, societal rules, how you’re “allowed to be” rules. That is the foundation of everything, including how to get paid to do what you love (the mission of Your Work is a Gift).

And, while professionally I’ve done a lot of different things—I held an EMT license, a life coach certification, I did PR for a nonprofit, acted breifly (you can see me in Stone Temple Pilot’s Scott Weiland’s video for Winter Wonderland—it aired in Times Square on repeat for a month the year it came out :-), nannied full time for two years to two girls under 2, was a graphic designer for the International Monetary Fund, a communications manager for a large startup, and then went freelance and never looked back—it’s not my unconventional CV in itself that I think helps here.

The biggest thing that makes me such a good fit for this team, a good fit for helping you, is that I have always lived my life away from rules and “what other people think.” (I was asked once by a friend in high school “How do you live trusting your gut so much?” And the response in my head was, “How do you not? I don’t know any other way.”)

I was a lifelong straight A student who dropped out of a good college after 1.5 years (I couldn’t work out what I wanted to major in, so I figured I should stop wasting money and time and go get some real life experience. I figured if I needed a shiny, stamped piece of paper at a later date, I could always go back). At 19 I married a man who was older than me, in the face of everyone—everyone—in my life coming out of the woodwork to tell me why I was wrong for it (we ended up being together almost a decade and I learned so much about how the world and relationships and I work from that time together). I’m different than people around me and am used to it being that way. I am part of the world’s newest recognized religion, which I care deeply about. I hold political beliefs that are unlike most of my personal social network and age group. I am not afraid to speak out and stand up for what is true to me. Integrity—personal integrity—is perhaps the thing I hold most dear. I know that without it, there is nothing.

James wrote “magic” on me in permanent ink last year. It is a name I have been called by him and others. But it’s not magic, not really. It’s just integrity. When you have it in and you’re true to yourself, everything else can’t help but fall into place. 

And that is what James and I are working to help you with—to see that you are worth trusting and that whatever truth is inside you is the thing worth following and worth putting forward as your work. That is your North Star. There is nothing else. There are no rules. There are no “supposed to’s.” And there is no job or relationship or financial reward worth forfeiting it for.

I’m happy to get to be here for you alongside James, and look forward to all that lies ahead.