Let me take you back a couple of weeks. I was in a bad mood. Sulky, annoyed, sitting there thinking I didn't really know what this fall was going to look like.

What came out of that mood was the newsletter I sent about the four miles of art I've drawn over the years, and the 500 more I'd go for down the road.

The 500 was mostly because it made for a catchy subject line. Let's credit The Proclaimers for that one.

But the loosely estimated mile number aside, the mood was very real. Taking a look back at all of that cumulative work was my way of reflecting on something positive instead of sinking into the uncomfortable and (just a little) uneasy part.

Because the uneasy part was real too. While I was looking back, I was also staring at some fall months that were very much up in the air. I had a bunch of bids out for review, and a lot of conversations in the pipeline. But the calendar was penciled in considerably more than it was inked.

Such is the nature of running a small, two-person business offering creative services.

I'm telling you this part because I like to be honest, and because I think it's useful to see the mindset while it's happening, instead of all cleaned up afterward. Sure, I cleaned it up a bit in the moment, but let's just consider this a multi-part story.

Two weeks later, and much of that pencil is now in pen.

In the two weeks since, I've picked up seven new engagements, with four more pending.

An old proposal I'd half forgotten finally came back a yes. A referral circled back to me from another graphic recorder I'd spent time trying to help find their own work, of all things.

And a few of my longtime clients started calling to grab their fall dates before they'd even set an agenda.

None of it fell out of the sky, and I sure didn't manifest it. Every one of those traces back weeks or months, to a note I'd sent or somebody I'd helped. It was just a gap in the calendar, and that kind of thing happens from time to time.

So I'm writing this as much as a reminder to myself as a reflection.

Did it take putting the markers away for a couple of weeks to shake it all loose? Probably just a coincidence.

And honestly, we land here once per season each year (just not once ever in fall). You'd think I'd have learned to trust it by now.

The markers are back out, for the record.

Grateful you are here,

Wade

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