About

This blog is about more than just me and my stories; it is about you, my readers and your stories. I am putting the words on paper, or on screen would be more accurate. However, most of the time my inspiration has been from the people I encounter and the world I see around me.

I am posting under the name, Barbster, because that is one of the many nicknames my daughter has given me. In a future blog post I will share some of the others she has created for me through the years.

I started out my career in sales and marketing, where I spent over 25 years. From Tupperware home party sales to computer technology, I was fortunate to work with and be taught by some of the best. I learned great sales skills; more importantly I learned an abundance of information about people. I also learned about myself and the importance of believing in yourself and others in order to succeed. It was this last part of my career journey that would direct my future.

“If you build the people, the people will build the business.” This was my first mentor’s philosophy and it proved to be so true. As a sales manager, helping others succeed led to my own success. It also provided me with a path to my next career as a teacher and a mental health professional.

After many successful years in the business world, I walked away from it all to become a college student. I had never been able to attend college when I was young, and it was always my dream to further my education. Leaving my lucrative business career to go to college was a leap of faith and I did not make that leap without some fears. However, I knew from past experiences that reaching for dreams and goals was a part of personal growth and usually fears were part of that growth.

I ended up obtaining both undergraduate and graduate degrees. I have a Bachelors in Human Services and a Masters in Counseling. This education resulted in me becoming a Licensed Marriage and Family Counselor, and an Adjunct Professor in the Professional Counseling Program at Grand Canyon University. Helping others has taken on different manifestations throughout my career, but in my mind, it is all the same. Motivating people to be the best they can be is still the goal. I am hoping to continue this goal through this website.

How it All Started

When did my journey as a writer start?   Well, that is a very good question.  I remember writing as a young person.  I had a very chaotic childhood (abusive would be the term used today) and I suppose that writing stories was my way out of my reality and into a much happier fantasy world. 

Years ago, I remember seeing a friend after a long time with no contact and she said she was surprised I was not a professional writer by then.  Her comment has stayed with me ever since. My adult daughter says I have talked about writing for as long as she can remember.  I guess it was inevitable that I would eventually put pen to paper, or in today’s world of technology, words to website.

In late 2021 I decided to travel the writing road in a serious dedicated manner.  I pulled out any old writings I could find, some handwritten and some computer generated.  It was a treasure trove of information. Lots of personal journal entries, and many essays or stories I had written over the last four decades.  I had recorded and saved the training materials I had developed as a sales manager and most of the written work from my college classes. It was hard to read the journal entries for some were about the most difficult parts of my early life.  However, some were inspiring in that they demonstrated my growth as a person, and as a writer.

Purpose of the Blog

In a few words the purpose of this blog is to inspire others, as well as myself, in the journey of personal and professional growth.

I have always known that I was supposed to write.  It did not matter to me whether my writings would get published or not; words were exploding inside of me and waiting to get out!  It was what I was meant to do. 

Throughout my life I found that words in books helped me grow as a person and as a professional.  Reading for pleasure or for the requirements of a job or college degree always changed me, inspired me, and helped me cope with the challenges of life.

So here I am today, in January 2022, finally taking that plunge into writing and finding ways to help and inspire others with it, while ending up helping and inspiring myself along the way. There should be some humorous moments along the way too! I hope this is a journey you will take with me.