Dating Tips From a 5-Year-Old

The pic's a lil' fuzzy - us at the Roller Derby rink!

You know the saying, everything you need to know you learned in Kindergarten, right? Well, I recently babysat my friends' 5-year-old son, and I joked that it was the best date I had had in quite a while! No, but seriously. 

He was game for everything… 

• He let me take him to see my friend's Roller Derby match (and agreed to stay about 10-minutes longer than he cared to)… A compromiser. 
• Wanted an Icee and shared it with me… A sharer. 
• When he asked what else we were doing, I said we would get dinner and he wanted pizza… Great taste in food, even if he preferred Pizza Hut over any other kind of pizza (my compromise). 
• He then asked if we could watch a movie and he let me pick it (we agreed to watch Star Wars ;-) ). 

He was genuinely interested in learning about ME… 

• He asked what I do for a living. Explaining what marketing is to a 5-year-old was a challenge, but I think I did an okay job. His response? "I think you should do something else for work" – to which I asked “Well, what do you think I should do?” He responded with both the professions his Dad and Mom work within… And we had a chat. 
• He also asked where I live – and then asked if I'm friends with my neighbors. 

HE'S 5!! 

I truly can't recall the last time I had someone who was really interested in learning about me in such a genuine way. Of course, these aren't just lessons in dating, but in life, and I really appreciated the sweet little evening I had with my smart new boyfriend Gabe. 

Oh, and he was right about the pizza, by the way, and didn't rub it in too much – just gave me the "yumm-o" lifted eyebrows and said "I told you." 

Touché.

Dividing My Mind Time

I suppose that sounds like a silly title, but this is something I've been meaning to write about for a while. From September until the beginning of May I was a contractor (Marketing), who turned entrepreneur/business owner, and a graduate student. My clients are a restaurant group (three restaurants) and a software company start-up in the "events industry." 

Every time I attend a Webinar, or a face-to-face conference, or read a blog, I'm constantly struggling with where my mind goes and how to apply what I'm hearing! My personal business is different from both of my clients and they are very different from each other. Add in that little thesis project required for my Masters Degree graduation and it was a very challenging bunch of months. 

Perfect example: Listening to a podcasting speaker at 

Social Media Day, and I wrote myself a note to write this blog!

I hear a great idea and my mind explores how to apply it for a certain situation, but then I stop and wonder—what about the other client? What about my business? People have suggested I "carve out a niche" client-base, which would help solve this problem a little bit, but I love the variety. Just as my career has been a potpourri of duties and industries, that's also how I would like my consulting business to be. 

Being able to apply my expertise in a variety of industries to help solve my client's business needs is part of why I'm so enjoying having my own consulting business. 

SO—I think this is the first blog I've written where I don't have a (potential) resolution. I would love to hear comments / suggestions for how we can all "divide our mind time"… 

Any tips or tricks? Let’s hear it!