2023 Hardmode is on and I’m ready for it

“If you want to ruin your new year, start it in Arkansas”

That is how 2023 started. There were no parties, no fireworks, and no balls dropping in Times Square for me. It started in Little Rock, Arkansas. I apologize to the people that live in that state, but the quote stands. It was the start of 2023 and the task ahead was daunting.

We were on our way, my wife, my pugs, and myself, with a car packed to the gills of things to live in New Mexico Temporarily. We had made the decision to head out to New Mexico because of my elderly family member in need.

Now, I won’t get into specifics of the last 40 days in terms of personal struggles, but here is a short list:

1. My Uncle was in worse shape than let on
2. My House in Georgia Flooded
3. We had a death in the family that took us back to Georgia
4. I came back out with just the pugs a week later

So, Hardmode was activated and 2023 was off to an insanely chaotic start.

However, there are small pockets of beauty sprinkled throughout this turmoil.

Being out here with barely an internet connection put a few projects on hiatus.

The Pug Headshot Project is on a temporary hold until I can get back.

My online pet photography course. Is also on Temporary hold until I get back.

My Podcast “The Professional Amateur Podcast” is… semi on hiatus. But is still available!

However, the big news is that one night I sat down and started writing.

I don’t mean, “took 20 minutes to write a blog post”. I honestly mean, sat down and started writing about something that I had dealt with my whole life, struggled with, created tools for, and then figured out how to grow and become a better human for.

I started writing how I navigated life as someone who is Neurodivergent. Being diagnosed with ADHD, Anxiety and all the fun bits. How did I get through all of it, how did I learn to Meditate, how did I start a business, how did I do anything.

The words poured onto the page. They continued to until I had about 100 typed pages written out.

I then talked to my business coach and informed her about this passion, this spark that came and started flowing out.

And we decided on a game plan. To keep the brain dump going and then take the data I put into these documents and put them into smaller e-books through Amazon.

So, currently I have about 2.5 books of information on how to navigate life with ADHD and other neurodivergence. And will continue on the path of writing more.

She had a feeling this was in me, she always recognized my ability to put the words on paper, even when I had troubles speaking them out loud.

She is a writer herself, with quite a few published books. So, being welcomed to the club was pretty amazing. With her help and guidance, my next steps are easy enough; finish the brain dump, put the pieces together, send it off to an editor, create a cover and title for the books, then it’s off to Amazon.

What I thought was interesting, was learning the other side of the whole Kindle Unlimited deal, how they pay, and more.

I’m excited for this new venture, because it’s just one more weapon in an ever expanding arsenal of creative outlets and endeavors that will help others.

Oh, and I still am doing plenty of photography. Here is a little gallery for your eyes to enjoy after all that reading: