My Continued Service To You!

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.  – Mahatma Gandhi

 

Skills are either learned or are innate! A calling, if you will! As a pre- teen before I knew what a Fortune 500 company was I knew I wanted to wear a business suit and carry a briefcase. I knew that was not my calling! At that age, a child tends to migrate to what they see as being cool. They start to get their first inclinations of what they want to be when they grow up.

Then high school came along! Freshmen year introduced me to JROTC. Finally, I found my calling! By my sophomore year JROTC undoubtedly removed the briefcase and replaced it with a uniform and the need to serve my country. Once I graduated, I was off to begin my career in the United States Navy. My greatest accomplishment in life!

Finding My place in Service.

Once I finished my service in the Navy, my need to be of service did not end. Like I stated earlier, some skills are learned, and some are innate! I needed to figure out a way to efficiently serve others. The epiphany came in the form of a client comment. As a freelance writer and virtual administrative assistant, I worked with a few loyal customers who loved how I assisted them in running their businesses. One of my clients who referred to me as “The Fixer,” stated Chronicles Administrative Support Services was not an accurate depiction of me and the way I handled business. He elaborated on how he felt about my service. After interviewing other clients, I began my rebranding process.

The Birth of A New Call to Service.

After a week of brainstorming and reviewing the opinions of those I interviewed, The Militant Virtual Assistant finally was born. The Militant Virtual Assistant is a representation of how I service businesses. The foundation is Honor, Courage, and Commitment! To honorably service companies as if they were my own. The courage to go the extra mile and to be a support system for the entrepreneur and the commitment to efficiently help set goals and see them out to completion. The military pillars that are a part of my psyche, I now utilize to motivate entrepreneurs to live out their dreams of being a successful business owner.

Why Militant VA?

As an entrepreneur and business owner, I put myself in the position of my clientele. What do they need the most? It is not just a person to handle calls, check emails or keep them on schedule. Entrepreneurs need more hours in a day! They need to be in two places at once. I pride myself on the ability to keep longer than usual hours; my hours are flexible. I have clients who call or text me on weekends and late in the evening. I have had a realtor showing a house, while I negotiated another deal while texting numbers with them. I feel many Virtual Assistants (VAs) drop the ball by keeping bankers hours and unavailable on weekends. Entrepreneurs rarely take a day off! I am not just there to service the business. I learn the business to become an asset to the company which allows me to aid in its success efficiently.  When my client is successful, I am successful!

Initially, I thought nothing would be as satisfying as my military career. I can honestly say “The Militant Virtual Assistant” fills that void. I get to do what I love for a living which is not considered work but living out a dream.

 

An Eventful New Year

Hello, fellow bloggers! Hope the new year is treating you exceptionally well. For me, it is quite eventful. As some of you may have noticed, I’m in the process of re-branding my virtual assistant business. This process has been time-consuming but fun I must say. Most entrepreneurs would see it as stressful and a little painstaking. I look at it as an opportunity to build upon the foundation I have started and further my growth.

My decision to make modifications was influenced by client comments. When you work in close collaboration with people, they can give you insight into your business. If you’re open to it! In my case, their subtle suggestions made sense, so now I’m running with it. So as this month moves along, you will see my new business name The Militant Virtual Assistant. I’m excited about the change.

A Total Do Over!!!

Love is funny!!! As a young girl, I wanted to own a business, be married to my best friend minus the children. During my time in the military, I was going to be a lifer and married to a lifer as well. Children never fit into life’s equation for me. One of the reasons for the end of my first marriage was because he wanted a child. That was the minor issue, but the rest is a story to be told later. In the past, when I dated which was not often I stayed away from men with young children. Well, when Jim and I met I decided to try something different. In the beginning, it was okay, but things changed. His son started to have behavioral issues that were leading him down the wrong road. So, to make a long story short, we decided to end our engagement and continue as friends. Single again!!! I thought I would be sad and depressed but what’s weird is I feel like a load has been lifted off my shoulders. I can’t figure out why!!! What is also funny is that everywhere I go online I encounter singles ads and blog websites for 40 and overs. I almost feel like I’m being spied on. LOL!!! I visited a blog, and the blogger wrote as if single at forty is the end of the world. I got a good laugh that day. Life is what you make it! Saturday, I will be forty years young, and I feel as if I’m in my prime. Life has granted me a do over!

This year so far has kept me smiling and laughing. Definitely, good writing material as well. I hope life has been full of laughs and smiles for you as well.

 

Mood of The Day😊

Today’s prompt for the 30 day blog challenge is “Mood of The Day”. I have been trying to keep up daily but with being so busy it has been quite difficult. Today, I have a little time to spare so I decided to participate.

My “Mood of The Day” is many moods wrapped up in one beautiful package called Lydia with a big beautiful bow.

I am happy because I have been blessed to live another beautiful day. Life is precious and to be treasured and grateful for. I’m happy to have gained two clients, one client employs me to do freelance writing (SEO articles), the second is a social media management client.

Excitement is a mood I am feeling because all of my hard work is paying off. Rebuilding and re-branding my virtual assistant business and making time to write my book. Everything is falling in place and it is cause for excitement. It’s great when you can watch all your plans and efforts come together.

Motivation is what will keep me on the road to successful business owner and published author. It’s the same motivation that burns in me at this very moment that will allow me to reach my goals and encourage others to do the same.

So all of these emotions are my mood of the day!!! Share!!! What are you feeling today?

Woman with laptop courtesy of ijmaki via pixabay.com

Happy emoticon created by 95C on pixabay.com

Brain, emotion, emoji by johnhain on pixabay.com

Where in the World is Lydia?

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”

― Kevin Durant

 

Where have you been hiding? When is your next post? Is everything okay? The last two weeks has been a boxing match between talent and hard work. So far it has been a draw! Maintaining a work-life balance can be quite difficult. Juggling work and personal life are quite consuming. In my opinion; I manage pretty well considering! 

Work and the pursuit of…. More Work.

Most of my readers are old enough to remember the geographical game and show, “Where in The World is Carmen Sandiego?” Carmen traveled the world conspiring with crooks. I love being a virtual assistant, social media manager, and freelance writer it allows me to travel the world from the comfort of my home and network with entrepreneurs and fellow writers. I find enjoyment in being a gumshoe for startup’s, nurturing my client’s social media, helping them to develop their brand, watching the business grow, their baby becomes my child. They are often surprised and pleased by what I help them to accomplish. Needless to say marketing myself on Twitter, LinkedIn and freelance sites such as Upwork.com has been vital to keeping me busy.

Writing and a writer’s life.

My blog writing has been very limited, but my writing has not stopped. Before blogging, I did content and article writing for clients websites. Freelance writing is also a wonderful way to get recognized and make money. Although, lately I have been working on my memoir, fictional novel and compositions for Two Drops of Ink.  The literary blog voted one of the “100 Best Websites for Writers” for the second year in a row. Thanks to The Write Life for recognizing such a great site, team and all of its contributing authors. Guest blogging is also an awesome way to get exposure to the writing world. Two Drops of Ink is always accepting submissions.  I have so many ideas dancing around in my head, some have been jotted down, and some are begging to be released. It would take a lifetime to give birth to every idea or maybe quit my day job. So I devote at least two hours daily in need of releasing creative pressure.

Life at home.

We have been back home for two months. Well, at least I have! My dear Jimmy took a month off before heading back out. Which was not a part of the plan! That is the problem with passions. They can be an addiction. It is hard to live without or break free if it. Truck driving is his passion. Throughout the week he is out on the open road continuing his service to his country delivering freight and the weekends are for us. Our understanding the others need to do what we love for a living is what makes us work. Eight days to bond a month and four hours of phone time a day, I often miss my best friend. Two weeks ago we took a four day weekend together which was wonderful. Jimmy is my soul mate and so much more. In an attempt to make sure our beautiful union does not go lacking we promise to escape to the world where only we exist when we are together. It works.

For my friends and followers who have inquired about me, I say thanks. I am here. Grateful to have such caring friends and supporters. Honored that my clients trust me with their businesses.

Images courtesy of Pixabay

 

 

The Importance of Writing

When I was asked to write about “writing” I was immediately excited. My excitement was not just because I love to write, but because there were so many ways I could approach the subject of writing; all of which allowed me to be imaginative!

I chose the “importance of writing” because writing is an essential part of my life, whether it is my blog, expressing my thoughts and feelings to others, or in my professional field as a virtual assistant.

Writing is important because it gives us the ability to express a thought and deliver information, using words or symbols. In the simplest manner, writing is: words and symbols on paper.

We have grown considerably from the old way of jotting out letters, essays and greeting cards.

Writing is involved and evolving: we text, email and utilize blogging as well as other types of social media to get our messages out there for others. We now write on a MacBook, IPad, Laptop, and Smartphones.

Conveying the Important Information

Have you ever attempted to express an opinion or provide information about a subject but didn’t know where to begin? Outlining your ideas, thoughts seems like a daunting task for some; myself included some days.

However, if I begin by brainstorming and developing various aspects of my topic, I find I have a lot of information. Then I can begin to research all the diverse aspects of my subject and help me solidify my writing objectives.

What is The Important Objective in Writing?

The ultimate goal or objective of any writing is to ignite a particular reaction from the audience. The way in which you use the words in the composition determines the response of the reader. What response are you hoping to receive?

Whether writing to advertise, educate, deliver a speech or entertain; the way in which you choose to present the topic is important. Determine the type of audience you intend to attract.

Research and brainstorm any topic and write, just don’t forget to rewrite; it’s not as in-depth as you may think, and it pays off in the end.

Writing does not require you to be a creative genius or literary scholar. All you need is the ability to convey a thought or emotion in the form of words.

I often find myself writing articles, advertisements, call- to- actions, and blogs, for those who deem themselves incapable.

It is not that they don’t have the ability but that they don’t know where to start. Begin by writing down the subject matter of your composition that may consist of a compilation of thoughts, research and statistical data.

Once you have completed this process, you can start to build your final piece from there. My advice is to write from the heart even when including all other information.

My joy of writing comes when I write using my voice and emotions coupled with all other data.

And it’s that personal quality that makes my writing important to me; it’s authentic, easily understood by others and just maybe in time, it will have importance and give hope and encouragement to someone else to find the importance of writing.

Just Write!!!