The Universe Speaks

I've been rather quiet about my job search adventures lately because quite a few possibilities have been up in the air and I haven't wanted to "jinx" the whole delicate balance. But clearly I'm at a fork in the road of my career and it seems that a few choices need to be made.

Or do they?

More than a few people have suggested to me that the "Universe is speaking" to me about next steps and that I need to really listen -- and perhaps make a few choices that I hadn't realized were even options until recently.

I've talked about "hanging my own shingle" as a writer and educational media consultant. At the same time, I've been applying for a wide variety of jobs that would appeal to both my passions and my program/project management skills. Currently, the irons I have in the fire are amazingly diverse, which would be wonderful if it weren't so scary!

One the one hand, I'm writing the party guide for the wholesome family game company with whom I'm also applying for the internal full-time position of Director of Product Development. That's a bit of an awkward situation, since I'm working fairly closely with the people who are hiring for the director position (and even worked a day at the office last week, at their request). I know that they are interviewing at least five others, some of whom they are bringing in from around the country, so I am by no means a shoe-in for the position. Yet, we're friendly enough to be passing jokes and YouTube videos back and forth. I'm hoping to hear about the full-time position today or next week... and I've submitted two drafts so far of the contract work, so the two are definitely overlapping. I am confident that other candidates aren't being asked to do any freelance work, so I am at either a distinct advantage or a district disadvantage by also doing the additional work and giving them another dimension on which to evaluate my skills.

I'm not sure what to make of all this! Any suggestions?

And -- a few weeks ago I interviewed for the position of Director of Programs with OneWorld Now, a really cool cultural exchange program that brings international exchange opportunities to underserved youth populations in an effort to develop tomorrow's global leaders. What an absolutely fabulous idea! The passion and brains behind the program come from a woman who has traveled extensively and who has a huge sense of cultural justice and global opportunity for ALL youth. Unfortunately that position doesn't pay nearly enough and I couldn't consider it (it'd be career suicide to cut my salary in half), BUT she asked if I'd consider developing their youth leadership curriculum. We met again yesterday, along with the graphic designer I'd bring in, and the three of us left our get-together enthused, inspired and optimistic, and I REALLY want to do this work... which I see as WAY more than a simple youth leadership guide; I see the detailed two-year curriculum guide that I'd develop as their branding and identity, and something they could license nationally and perhaps even internationally. It'd be quite a bit of work to develop (and I have a feeling they couldn't afford it), but oh, how I'd love to do that work!

In addition, I have applied for the Executive Director position of Open Arms, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing perinatal birth services to all who need them. My passion for childbirth and my certification as a childbirth educator and doula aren't even listed on my resume because I never thought I'd be lucky enough to combine those passions with my business experience and project/program management skills, but this position would be a perfect combination of both worlds. They're not interviewing until early September (hopefully before we leave for Germany), so I have no idea where I stand in my candidacy for that position (or if it pays well enough), but I've been in touch with the chairperson of the search committee and I have high hopes that I'll at least have a chance to interview.

Now if they ask me to take on a contract job, I'll freak just a bit!

And lastly, I made a connection with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer at the KOMO Blogger Meet-Up and I've been asked whether I'm interested in blogging for the paper. Uh -- YES!! So I'm waiting to hear about that, too.

OK, so -- what do YOU think "the Universe" is trying to tell me? Should I go all out towards hanging a shingle, which means developing a website (can it be a blog? please?) and marketing myself (how? as what?)? Should I concentrate on full-time employee positions?

Or should I relinquish myself to fate, or the Universe gods, or destiny, or whatever you call it when your life chooses a path for you?