Sometimes I get tired of trying so hard.

Today, I’m feeling a little discouraged.

Have you ever worked really, really hard on a project and then, as you’re approaching the finish line, something goes wrong? You thought you were doing everything right. You believed you had enough time. And then, out of the blue, a wrench is thrown into your everything. That’s when I started putting “The Finkelstein Factor” method into practice.

NOTE: Want more about #FFbook, check it out here https://marionspeaks.com/the-finkelstein-factor-book/ or if you’re interested in me sharing the #FFmethod to a group of colleagues, take a peek here
https://marionspeaks.com/programs/the-finkelstein-factor/ 

My blog blues.

For almost a year, I’ve been working off and on on my new website as my previous platform (Adobe Business Catalyst) announced it was ending in 2020. I sourced a supplier to help me redesign the site, and diligently over the months, I’ve updated it and worked hard at trimming down and editing over 200 of my blog posts as I transferred each one manually over to the new platform.

As I was re-reading the articles I hadn’t visited in years, I was struck by how relevant they were. Quite often during this transferring process, I would comment to my husband, “Wow, this information is really good”. At the risk of sounding immodest, I was somewhat taken aback by how much I enjoyed reading them, and I thought you would too.

I culled the list of articles to feature only the best of the best. The result was a compilation of lessons learned and useful communication tips I was proud to preserve and share with you and others. And I only had eight more articles to transfer over. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel and, the good news was, it wasn’t a train. Whoohoo!

I understood that I had until the end of January to complete the transition of content, my articles, to the new site.

Then, this morning, the bad news hit.

I settled in with my morning coffee, got my laptop fired up, and clicked on my new website admin panel. Perfect. Then I opened up my old platform that held my final eight articles. It wouldn’t open. I tried five times without success.

I finally concluded I wasn’t getting access anymore.

A part of me was relieved: Transferring these articles takes so much time! It’s not just cut and paste. It’s that and so much more technical stuff. Ugh. It was truly a labour of love. Then the reality kicked in. I had lost 8 articles of great content. Eight articles that helped people over the years. Eight articles of personal stories and lessons learned, communication tips, and research supporting the suggestions.

Letting go.

So now, I sit here and tell myself that it’s time to let go. For whatever reason, those articles weren’t meant to be shared again. I’m saddened because I can’t even remember what the topics were, I just know that when I’d glanced at the titles, the topics would still be useful and helpful to you today. And now they’re gone.

My role in all this? I must have mixed up the closing dates of the previous website. Thinking I had until the end of January, I timed my work accordingly. I was wrong. I’m terribly human and make mistakes.

I look to find good news, the gift.

It could always be worse.

I am beyond grateful that I got as many articles transferred as I did before my old platform shut down. They are all here https://marionspeaks.com/blog/ for you to enjoy. Click on any article and look to the right-hand column where you’ll find a list of other articles and subject areas you can search at your leisure.

I remind myself, it’s a website. It’s not the end of the world. No limbs or lives were lost in the process. In the big scheme of things, this loss isn’t life-altering. It could always be worse.

Want to help?

What really helps when someone feels down, especially when down on themselves? Reaching out. I’d love for you to do that. How? Visit my blog articles at https://marionspeaks.com/blog/ and post comments in the space at the bottom. It will be interesting to see what articles interest you and others the most.

Thanks in advance. I look forward to reading your posts on my blog. Of course, you’re welcome to email me, but I prefer posts on the blog so everyone can share in the exchanges and jump in. After all, it’s all about sharing, building community, and communicating.

And who knows? Maybe your comments will give me direction and inspiration for my next blog article … or maybe the next eight :).