I’ve been meaning to write this post for the longest time and have managed to wimp out at every opportunity.
It was mostly the shame of what people would think when I told them the truth.
That I changed my mind.
That what I thought I wanted as my “dream” turned out not to be the case?
People will think I’m flaky, that I led them on or worse that I lied.
And I can assure you that I didn’t lie… things just changed.
I’ve always wanted to pursue a career in events, it was that thrill of the pressure and the act of creating that interested me the most. It was in those five minutes before your show went live that I really felt alive – the point of no return. Every thing I had spent months working on was about to come to fruition within minutes, I was about to find out whether I had missed dotting an i or crossing a t somewhere. Sometimes things went wrong that were out of my control and other times I kicked myself that I should have known better.
It was all part of the journey, part of the job.
A year ago I decided that if events really were for me, I should aim high and apply for one of the largest events known to the world – The Olympics.
And why not?
Why settle for small town events when you can go for an international mammoth of an event. If I’m destined for this as a career why settle for small.
And that was the plan, it was to make it happen.
2012 Recommendations
I’ve always been interested in social media, marketing and I love convincing people to attend my events through different means. I really started to get more involved in marketing and bridging that potential between marketing and events – in new media and traditional media. I even jumped into copywriting and always passed it through my manager (aka editor) and we created some killer content.
And I loved it.
I loved it more than I loved organising the event.
Don’t get me wrong, I love events and always will but I felt I needed to explore that passion for social media and marketing that I had developed.
I don’t want to be a part of an event where I can’t get my teeth stuck into a full project. I want to be part of creating not just following. I want to get my hands dirty and involved in strategies, brainstorming and then executing.
And I want to explore that bridge between digital marketing and events – particularly because I think that event organisers are still doing it badly.
I want to use digital marketing to drive attendees to events and I want to drive events to build digital channels.
I think they’re a perfect marriage – like garlic and potatoes.
But I changed my mind and to any that this may disappoint, I’m sorry.
I always aim to follow things that I love and I would be betraying myself if I didn’t follow this.
For all who left me some amazing comments on my 2012 Project, I can’t thank you enough. Some of your messages gave me shivers, others make me laugh and there were some that made me cry.
I really value them and value your time, efforts and your belief that I could do it.
4 Comments
Sean Fleming
You said “journey”…!
But good for you for being switched on enough to change your plans. A failing strategy is no use at all. And if sticking stubbornly to your guns won’t bring thee happiness you want, put your guns down.
Also… *everyone* in the UK hates the Olympics, so it’s good to see you are settling in so well.
17 Apr
mariellamejia
Damnit I said JOURNEY!! ARGGH ARGHH ARGHH!
Sean
You said “journey”…!
Seriously though, well done for realising that sticking stubbornly to your guns wouldn’t have delivered the happiness you wanted and for changing tack. After all, a failing strategy is no strategy at all.
Also, *everyone* in the UK hates the Olympics anyway so it’s good to see you are settling in so well.
17 Apr
Mary Scriva
I always knew this path was for you, very happy for your realization!
18 Apr
Leave a Comment