The Good (Almost Always) Outweighs The Bad

My friend Jo-Lynne does a weekly blog topic called “What I Learned This Week”. I usually have so much going on that I don’t participate regularly, but I’m glad that I get to share this week. What I learned last week was that in business (just like in life); the good almost always outweighs the bad. Let me explain…

On Monday, I received some disappointing news work-wise. I had been asked to be a (paid) part of this AMAZING new website. It was a really big deal blogging-world wise. However, the offer was taken away because of my (unofficial, unpaid!) relationship with Kodak. I was really disappointed, but I got it – it was totally business, not personal. For a moment, I started second-guessing myself and my unpaid relationships with brands. Had I been making a mistake gushing about things that I really like? Should I stop? Then, after some thought and some encouragement (from my good friend Jennifer), I decided to just continue being me. I talk about what I like. I’m not going to change that for future possibilities. Of course that will mean I will lose some opportunities, but then again it means I will gain others. Que sera, sera. So, that was the bad thing. Huge opportunity gone – boo hoo.

The rest of the week more than made up for my disappointment on Monday. Let me count the ways…

1. I was featured as an expert in Women’s World Magazine in their “You Deserve the best…” feature. Admittedly, it was a dubious honor at best seeing that they thought of me for their best store-bought cake mixes. (It’s still baking, right? Right?) Anyway, the great thing t was that I was able to say nice things about the products of a mompreneur (Nora of Naturally Nora’s that I spotlighted back in February on the Healthier Sweet Treats (Naturally Nora’s and Zebra Mix) post.

2. Mom in the City was mentioned (along with several other blogs that I think are great) in the TODAY/msnb article Motherhood 2.0: It takes an (online) village. (One of my Mom in the City readers was the one who let me know about the inclusion. Thanks!)

3. I went to Sesame Street. How cool is that?! Priceless.

4. I received and completed a paid consulting job (at the highest end of my consulting range – yeah!).

And

5. Lastly, I learned that Mom in the City had been voted “Best Local Blog” in The Spirit’s Best of Manhattan 09: Reader’s Choice Poll. I’m not a big award focused person. You probably will never read me asking you to vote for me (UNLESS there was a huge cash prize that we could split). This one was special though because: 1. it was unexpected; 2. it was a Reader’s Choice Award; and 3. it’s from an Upper WestSide based newspaper. The Upper West Side is my favorite part of the city. I went to college there so it was my first introduction to NYC. If I were to ever win the lottery (that I don’t play), that’s where I would spend the rest of my days.

One not-so-good thing versus five very good things…I prove my point. (Actually, there were several other great things – I just can’t write about them yet.) Good trumps bad. Yes!

Anyway, feel free to share any of your recent “good news”. It can be anything that encouraged you recently. (i.e. “My kid ate his broccoli” would count as good news if I were writing it about Sean…)