Some of you may not know this: I am an Ovum Pescatorian. This means that I don't eat dairy or beef, chicken or pork (However, I fail misreably at staying away from bacon - come on, it's meat candy, how could I possibly be expected to deny that love?) Anyway, I eat vegetables, fruits, salads, fish and eggs. I am currently in Wisconsin, land of meat and cheese. I haven't had a lot to eat because I have been conferencing it, a lot of hors d'oeurvres with cheese meat and mushrooms. Did I fail to mention that I am allergic to mushrooms? That makes it a little more difficult to be a "sort-of vegetarian." But I am one, and proud.

Last night, I went to dinner all by myself. It is the first time I have eaten alone since my trip to London. It is always a good exercise to dine out alone. To have those conversations with yourself that you avoid, to gain a little perspective as to how much time you spend fidgeting with a gadget. I didn't take my mobile with me to dinner and I readily admit, I was going a bit crazy. I was sure a very important email or text had been missed while I spent forty-five minutes in the hotel restaurant.

As I left the restaurant, I couldn't help but notice a lovely china bowl on the hostess podium filled with delightful little square chocolates wrapped in gold foil. I grabbed three and proceeded to my room. As I boarded the elevator, I slipped one of the chocolates in my mouth. The foil had tricked me, I was ready for a delectable piece of dark chocolate, a perfect follow-up for my meal. Instead, I received a really bad milk chocolate. Not rich, dark and flavorful, but, instead, too sweet and waxy. I think it was just not what I was expecting.

How easy to is to be fooled by a package. There are many in this biz that can don a great suit and deceive to their heart's content, either by rusing or denying their responsibility in the chain of events or the effect a job search has on the many different parties. Success is not a well-tailored suit or an embossed 3 by 3 inch square of gold foil. Success is not that Range Rover that I so desperately want. Success is not having twenty comments on my blog or my SEO shooting through the roof.

Success is when my job is done well and I enjoyed doing it. The well-done part leads to needs being met, financial and otherwise, and the alignment of expectations. I will probably still stop and pick up the gold-foil wrapped chocolates - every time. Hope springs eternal, eh? Live up to your packaging, live up to the brand you work so hard to create yourself. You are not a character, this isn't a play, it is real life, real work. Stop taking bows.

By the way, my dinner? Bacon-wrapped grilled prawns. Madison, Wisconsin knew I was coming.


©by rayannethorn