The Magazine Mismach
A few months ago I had the privilege of being featured in a local magazine. I was so excited! I spent hours working on the perfect wording for this article to the point where I stayed up till 3 or 4 am. Finally, it was all perfect and polished. I ordered print copies of my article to use as a nice one pager for potential clients and everything felt like it was falling together.
I received the draft of my editorial and approved it for print. I was so excited! Then, time passed and I didn’t receive my printed copies. I reached out and waited over and over again. Finally after 2.5 months I received a thick envelope in a parcel locker at my mailbox. It had been so long I forgot what I even said in my interview. I eagerly opened the envelope and started reading. At first I was satisfied with the photos and the first section of the article. Then I got to the section about my services. The perfectionist in me started giving me a hard time because it didn’t say what I would now want it to say. At the time that I interviewed for this magazine, I was focusing on being “all-in-one”, not only strategy but things like social media execution but now, even though it’s only been 2ish months, things have changed.
One of the fun things about being an entrepreneur is that my business is like choosing your own adventure. I have decided to focus on what I am the best at and where my passion truly lies: building authentic human connection, empowering others, and storytelling. So, SMC is no longer “all-in-one”. Although I have some clients that have been grandfathered in with paid ads and social media management, the new direction I am going is a specialization in branding through storytelling while aligning leaders and their values with their business.
So yes, things have changed. Although SMC has only been in official business for 8 months, I’ve learned a lot and my direction has changed. I went from an “all-in-one” approach with a focus on digital marketing to a branding expert, becoming a podcast host, starting my book, and launching a new brand. The common theme? Storytelling.
The purpose of this blog is not to promote my podcast, brand, or book. The point is yes, I am still a little disappointed that my printed magazine article doesn’t fully match with what I’m doing now. But I firmly believe that “negative” things like disappointments, sadness, grief, endings, you name it, are all opportunities. One of my favorite songs is “La Vie en Rose”, which directly translates to “Life in Pink” or as we may understand it better, “Looking at the world through rose-colored glasses.” I allowed myself to feel the disappointment but also realize that it’s not the end of the world. I put on my rose-colored glasses and saw that this magazine article will be a reminder of where I started. I will look at it with gratitude and an opportunity to offer someone else compassion when they are disappointed and to offer guidance that it’s okay to switch paths.
The sparks I would like to leave in your heart today are:
It’s more than okay to change and grow
We don’t know how far we’ve come until we look back at where we started
The next time you experience disappointment or loss or anything in between, I challenge you to put on your rose-colored glasses and look for the ways this moment is preparing you to offer a helping hand down the road and what it’s trying to teach you.
About Brooke’s Babbles
Brooke’s Babbles is a podcast and blog where storytelling meets soul. Hosted by marketing consultant and professional babbler Brooke, Brooke’s Babbles offers honest conversations, insightful tips, and real life stories. Whether you're here for storytelling, connection, mindset shifts, or a dose of inspiration, you’re in the right place.
