Everyone is formed, to some degree, by the circumstances they live in and the opportunities they encounter throughout their life. In my case, I’ve been thinking about – and trying to identify – the circumstances that enabled me to become an expert in my chosen field. Generally, I believe that a combination of intelligence, innate or inborn ability and cultural background also inform how someone develops in their career, and when all these and circumstance/opportunity are mixed together in a positive way, it becomes possible for someone to really succeed.

I’ve been reading Seth Godin’s new book, “Poke the Box,” where he discusses initiative and practice. In terms of his language, I like to think of myself as VP of Starting, because no matter what kind of project I get involved in I’m still always looking for new ones to start working on! More than once, I’ve been told I’m the glue that holds these projects together, but I feel like I’m more of a “glue manager” in that way – keeping the events, friendships and connections that are already present alive, and always searching for new “glues” to add to the mix! As the whir of activity around any event builds up, you’ll find me at the center – keeping an eye out on the overall process – and making lists. Lots and lots of lists.

In Event Strategy, initiative is also a required ingredient in my interactions with clients. They might have a vision when they come to me – but what value can I add and what new potential can I help them explore? This skill was required when I started out as an Events Strategist – each event was initiated by yours truly, and everything revolved around having the “go” to get the ideas off the ground. As I’ve done more and more event planning in the Hudson Valley, a certain amount of momentum has built up – but that doesn’t mean it’s time to stop pushing. Partly this is also due to the kind of people I spend time with here in the Hudson Valley – people who are always looking for ways to make life better for their communities.

For example, the other night I had dinner with some close girlfriends – all very creative women, who started brainstorming new ideas so naturally that we had a fully-fledged idea raring to go before we managed to stop ourselves by admitting, finally, that we might all have too much going on to pursue it at exactly that moment. It’s too early to share the details here, but I think the project will get underway sooner or later. How could it not? We’re all so full of “go” we can hardly wait to kick it off!