You can find Tris Hussey's excellent posts on several blogs from business to science. However, writing didn't always come easy. Tris' story of personal courage sends a strong message that the right environment and a little perseverance can make all the difference. In fact, it may even change a life.
Blogger Story Teller: Tris Hussey, Larix Consulting, Qumana, Work At Home Book Blog
My story is both business and personal let's call it ... I didn't think I could write ...
Writing has been a struggle for me for most of my academic life. My first high school paper, D+ ... I spelled society wrong, every single time I used it—I used it a lot. College, not really any different. With the standard grade inflation, spell check, and some practice I did fine, decent grades, but my writing was just terrible. Bad sentences, bad grammar, over writing parts of the idea.
In grad school it all came to a head, it was crushing. The one reason my Masters thesis hasn't ever been published in a peer-reviewed journal is because my advisor and I were so disgusted with both my writing and the process we just couldn't stomach another round of revisions. That was over 10 years ago.
Flash forward to April 2004. I was unhappy in a job selling market research services to big pharma. I was tapping into just a small portion of my interests and skills. I wanted to get my consulting practice going again.
I had heard about this blogging thing and decided I should give it a go. I had tried to blog about six months before, but I think that blog lasted all of a couple days before I deleted it—at least I knew enough to not let it languish out there.
My first blog posts, well they are rather funny in hindsight. Stuff like, I saw a link to this interesting new file sharing tool ... and the link. Oooh deep, compelling stuff it was. But I stuck with it. I kept reading, kept blogging. Moved from Blogger to a "real" blog platform. Then I noticed something. With this daily ritual of reading and writing, my writing was getting better. My writing was getting noticed. Holy smokes not only was I a blogger, but a writer too!
Flash forward to the present day. I work for a blog software company; a job I got because of my blogging. I write for several blogs and do it professionally. I've even started to write a book, something I would never have considered two years ago. Rather, I might have considered it, but thought that my writing just wasn't good enough to pull it off.
I get a thrill when I write and know I'm writing well. I get a thrill when people "get it". When they connect with my story or idea or point, that is so tremendously fulfilling.
So personally, I have conquered my fear that I don't write well. Professionally, my writing got and keeps me employed (I've often given story ideas by the CEO to write up for our Investor blog, because he's been told that people like the way I explain and express things).
While I have made tremendous friends from blogging, friends who mean the world to me and I wouldn't give up for anything under the Sun, it has been the feeling that I can write, that my writing can make a difference, that has been the greatest part of my blogging success story.
Technorati Tags: Blogger_Stories, Tris_Hussey, Qumana, Business_Blogs, Work_at_Home
Thank so much Toby. This is a great site and amazing set of stories.
Posted by: Tris Hussey | June 06, 2006 at 08:22 PM