About Me

I’m a mostly delightful person who loves genuine connections and learning new stuff. I believe we can change the world by embracing and excavating our own potential. Compassionate self-observation and purposeful action usually head me in the right direction. Neither is necessarily easy, but the teensiest steps make life so much better.

I worked most of my adult life as a trainer and administrator in the child welfare sector. I specialized in administrative system design, instructional system design & development, healing developmental trauma, and training others to do the same — meaningful and fulfilling, though sometimes heavy work. Seeing the results of my efforts took time. Sometimes lots of time. So to get some instant gratification in my life, I began making and trying new stuff. I increased my skills in photography, I learned to sew, a little, and I eventually moved on to video production and video editing. Improving some of those skills was relatively easy, while others required a massive dose of courage, energy, and leaps of faith. 

Here’s how the skill acquisition cycle usually went for me:

1. I decide to try something new.

2. I take a leap of courage by taking the first hard step.

3. I have fun at first, moving boldly toward my goal, but then…

4. I experience feelings of incompetence, failure, or frustration, because the new skill is more complicated than I had imagined, and requires a lot of practice.

5. I keep practicing anyway.

6. I experience extreme joy and personal pride for sticking with it, and for taking my skills to a new level.

The results weren’t always amazing creations that could be measured by any standard of excellence. 

As proof, here’s a link to the first video I ever edited. It’s called Nature Calling. You might only appreciate if, like me, you enjoy kid humor. But I sure did have fun making it.

Sometimes what I make isn’t even worth sharing with anyone but myself. The point is to make or try new stuff. The gift is engaging in the process and appreciating my effort. Truly. My courage muscle has become strong, and trying new stuff is exhilarating. Not because it’s easy, but because I get a fantastic rush from having tried and not giving up when things get tough. 

I’m currently a multimedia producer, including digital art, video production, animation, and photography. I still do some training design and production consultation just for fun.

I’m fascinated with the idea of celebrating even the smallest efforts to expand beyond self-limiting beliefs, and that’s how Goal Scouts was born. I love any project designed to uplift and delights.