Today I am grateful for...

Blogs.

Blogs have transformed my life, and it all started here.
One click leads to another, and before I knew it, 5 years later my life is richer than I could have ever imagined.

Through the wonder that is blogging, I found these amazing women, who moved from the screen of my computer into my every day reality.

Some of my now favourite musicians were found through the blog of this magical woman, and my mind is inspired and stimulated constantly through the writing and creativity of these wonderful artists and story tellers.

This picture made me look at photography in a completely different light and actually marked the beginning of my journey as a photographer, and these blogs continue to challenge me in this field of work.

A daily joy in my Google reader is to see the new delicious offerings on these blogs.  And this woman stokes the fire in my belly.

Last but by no means least, there are kindred spirits who I have yet to meet in the real world, but whose words impact my life daily, the wonderful Lisa being a clear example - without whom, I wouldn't have even started these gratitude posts.

Birthday Thoughts.

It's my birthday today, and other than spending the majority of the day working on the images from a recent wedding shoot (what can I say, I love what I do), I have been thinking about how to mark this day. Similar to how many people find significance in a New Year (myself included), I thought the same could be applied to one's own birthday...

It all started with a wonderfully thoughtful gift from my dear sister-in-law in Australia, part of which included a book called, "Living Oprah". Aside from my own Oprah obsession, the book also made me think about blogging (she thanks her blog readers in the beginning) and about what power a blog can have: think Julie & Julia. Now, I haven't exactly come up with my own 365-Birth-Day-Challenge-Blogging-Phenomenon-Book-Deal idea, but it did make me question my own intention with my blog.

You see, I used to have a more personal blog, but since I decided to amalgamate it with my "business" blog, I have struggled with what to write about. I guess now I am about to actively encourage people to the site - it becomes something a lot different. Do I, can I, continue to blog about more personal thoughts now, knowing potential customers may be looking at it? Should it be more business focused? Should I have kept my personal blog separate? It's tough. How much of myself do I want to share with my clients? Will it be bad for business? Put them off even?

To be honest, I am still unsure. But I know the reason I blog is to connect with people (and I have met an amazing group of women in the process already). I guess I hope that by sharing a little of myself, others may feel inclined to share a little of themselves too. And the thing is, I want the same thing in business too. So I guess, if I am asking people to share one of the most important days in their life with me, the least I can do is reveal a little more about who I am in addition to what I do.

Maybe this is my 365 Birthday Challenge after all. To build a business based on who I really am, and trust in the process. Because I really do love what I do.