April 5, 2024
Up until February, I was working as a GM at a fast food chain. I did it, proved to myself I could, and learned a lot. Looking back, yeah, I learned a lot from a surprising place and people. I have to skip most of that here. Two things I learned were that I’m not meant to do that and that I had to face and change some more things.
In February, I transitioned out and back into what I was doing before. Some of the early plans didn’t work out as hoped and there was some juggling…maybe a ball or two dropped. I was trying to figure out a lot internally, a lot more than I thought I had to. I was leaning into work I had done before but differently now. Things had changed and were different, better. I had a better grasp and more experience. All the things were there, it was just a matter of doing the work.
Currently, I’m “making it work” and the lessons are pouring in, especially in the last couple of weeks. I have this, Drunk Pastor, which houses my personal, faith, ideas, and the stuff I want to engage the world with. It’s my “brand.” The name doesn’t matter as much as that I’m doing something with what I have to work with. It’ll be where I build a platform and a message, work out my stuff, and put it out there to see what happens. Writing has been something that I for far too long talk too much about and don’t do enough of.
It’s a back burner thing, my “hobby” and down-time focus, but a passion and clear direction. I’m focusing on just writing and getting in the habit of it again, finding my voice after a lot has changed. There’s some website setup and other audience-building things I’m doing but, right now, the game is just to keep writing for now while I tick-tack it together. There are a lot of other things that need to be done.
Professionally my world is under the category of my business, Stigma Marketing. It’s taken a bit of figuring it out while I go but I have what I do down, if that makes sense. Stigma’s purpose, its identity, how it does it, and what it does. I started with What (what I could do) and, apparently, worked backward. It literally just came together.
“Stigma” was a name I came up with years ago, a play off of stigmata and Jesus. It’s taken on deeper meanings since then with suicide prevention work (and my suicide journey), addiction, and dealing with my mistakes and shame. It’s about grabbing your story and owning it.
The schtick with Stigma Marketing is that it’s a collaborative agency for small business owners and individuals to help make their dreams more possible by helping fill in gaps, equip, and empower their efforts. We specialize in professional graphic design, web design, professional & copywriting, and marketing support. The language is there, but it still needs work. I have a meeting tomorrow to do some of that. My heart is really to build some connections in Missoula. I was called here….I still am.
Personally, I’m working through some of the things I had been putting off, getting into a rhythm and mode, loving my partner, and trying to figure out what this evolving me needs to do in this world. Personal development is an active thing…sometimes haphazardly…often times, but at least it keeps coming back to that.
I would have done these last few years differently if it were not for the lessons I apparently could only have learned this way and for where I’m at now with the tools I have…I feel “ready” for whatever it is. I’m also a lot less naive about myself, which is nice when I don’t have to look over my shoulder to check for my ego.
You can always check My Bookshelf to see what I am and have been reading, as well as what is my top lists.
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