Over the last couple months I have been acquiring some new skills. I'm not sure that was on my Retirement Bingo™ card; once I retired I was supposed to do exactly what I wanted.
Or so I thought.
However, with any new endeavor there will be some learning curve, and sometimes that learning curve will involve skills and processes that we haven't needed before.
For me, over the last couple years that has involved learning some new computer skills.
Now I am not one of those stereotypical little old ladies that can barely turn on her own computer, and who can't figure out how to download pictures of her grandchildren.
My granddaughter. She's 17 now, and nearly as tall as her grandpa. Just to show I can download her pictures!
I have been involved with home computers in one form or another since the late 1970s. I met my husband of nearly 40 years on a local bulletin board system in Seattle. I learned programming in a couple early languages, worked as a technical writer, and trained as an extract programmer before we left Seattle. In 1989.
Yep. I was technically competent, but that was decades ago. Much of that knowledge and ability isn't necessary for the things I want to do now - but I needed other skills, and I didn't have some of them.
Fortunately I have some great friends who are willing to walk me through learning a new skill, and easily-understood software and applications are available, thanks to the skill and generosity of others. You may well have to pay for some apps, or for training, but learning something new is priceless.
I had to learn how to transfer a domain, set up a webpage, and start a Patreon feed in order to launch this channel and my blog. It took some time, and I have the ongoing expense of maintaining the website and the Patreon channel, as well as the annual registrations, but it has been well worth the investment. Learning to do those things made it possible for me to take the next step.
When I first started writing I followed the traditional publishing route, and the only thing I had to do was produce a manuscript in a standard format, print it out, and mail it off. Over the years we (my editors, publishers, and I) learned to work through email. We stopped shipping bulky piles of paper across the country, instead sending electronic files zipping back and forth at the push of a button. It meant we didn't have to wait for the mail, but we did have to learn how to use email and editing software to accomplish the same outcome.
Now, with the publication of the newest book in my series, I have moved to a completely independent publishing model. I am responsible for all the aspects of production and promotion, from the initial composition to the final distribution.
What has made that possible? Technological advances and my ability and willingness to learn new things.
Often the biggest stumbling block to implementing a technological advance isn't that the process is complicated, or even particularly expensive. It is our resistance to change - the insistence that what we are doing, despite the time and effort involved in producing a less-than-optimum result, is perfectly okay.
It is our reluctance to learn something new.
I have done this, more than once. Insisted that whatever I was doing was adequate, even though there was a demonstrably better solution available. What really held me back? Fear. The fear that I wouldn't be able to learn the new thing I needed. The fear of failing, of looking dumb, of making a mistake. Instead I kept doing things the old, tried-and-true way; taking longer and getting a worse result, but protecting myself from the fear.
If someone hadn't been willing to learn something new, this is what I'd be driving. Glad that isn't the case! It's a great car, but it won't get 40 mpg with the air conditioner (what air conditioner?) running, and it won't do 75 on the freeway!
When the time came to publish the new book (MURDER BUYS A LEMON, now available at your favorite online retailer) I had to take some chances and learn some new things. I learned to run a Kickstarter campaign, and I learned to use an excellent layout software package called Vellum. I also learned how to use a platform called Bookfunnel to fulfill the Kickstarter rewards for ebooks.
Along the way I have found that with each step, each new skill, I am less worried, less fearful, of trying something new. I have expanded my horizons, and with each expansion comes an ever-widening vista, beckoning me forward. And I find myself eager for the new challenges.
Learn to embrace life-long learning . Gain a new skill, a new outlook, a new way of doing things. Move ahead with the challenge and the exhilaration of finding new ways to approach the things you love. Exercise your brain - it helps keep you young!
All you have to do is let go of your fear.
You will be glad you did.