Editor’s pick of the week – The HeSo Project

Hi dear readers,

Today is Friday and it’s time for the editor’s post.

I have decided to pick up and showcase a blog from wordpress every week to promote bloggers. The editor’s choice blogs will be a little different and unique in their own way.

Today’s pick is the blog “The HeSo Project” by Tracy.

About the Blog and the Author:

You might be wondering what the heck HeSo means. It´s my nickname for heart and soul. For too long I ignored my HeSo. But not anymore.

When I started this blog I was on a mission to find a job that made me happy and satisfied. I had just quit a job that was financially rewarding, but was so unrelated to any of my interests that I felt like I had to turn myself off when I went to work. The hardest part of finding a new job was realizing that I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I made it my mission to find out what exactly would make me happy.

On this blog you’ll find interviews with people who inspired me with their HeSo endeavors. You’ll find reviews of books that nurture creativity and support career hunts that are soul satisfying. You’ll hear about my experience starting an LLC and then eventually deciding that it wasn’t what I wanted to do. You’ll read about my creative aspirations and goals. And since travel has always been something that inspires me, I’ve included just a taste of some of my journeys.

While writing this blog I realized that I didn’t need to find the perfect job to make me happy. Focusing on my interests and making myself a priority made me happy - dissatisfaction in the work place was just a symptom of greater dissatisfaction with my life. I call this a project because I look at my personal satisfaction as a lofty and noble aim that will take time and effort. My hope is that you too will be inspired to challenge yourself and ask, “What really makes me happy?”

Here is one of the post from the blog. I hope you will like it.

My dinner party with 5 famous people: #1 Oprah Winfrey

For the next 5 posts, I’ve decided to take a cue from the classic college application question: If you could have dinner with five famous people (alive or dead) who would they be and why? It’s a good question because it shows what you value in a person, and what you hope to gain from the interaction. So without further ado, the first person who came to mind was Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah and me on a picnic

What I love most about Oprah is that she treats life like one big classroom. She’s constantly learning, always asking questions, always looking at something in a new way. She could have taken the easy route and continued with her show for decades, but she needed something new and challenging so she started an entire television network. I don’t have cable so I don’t get to watch it . People seem to want to bash the network and celebrate in its fledgling ratings, but I see it as an amazing act of bravery. How many people will risk their public brand like that? As the great lady herself said, “challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a new way to stand.”

Oprah introduced me to author’s I love (Jonathan Franzen, Isabel Allende, and Barbara Kingsolver to name a few), causes I care deeply about (The Fistula Foundation, Puppies behind bars, and The Grameen Bank to name a few), and questions of spirituality that I still grapple with. She asked questions and we all got to listen to the answers.

I would want Oprah to relax at the dinner party. No toasts, no stories, no pressure. She’s worked hard her whole life entertaining and challenging us that all I would really want is for her to sit, drink some wine, and receive a big fat hug from me at the end of dinner.

I’ll leave you with my favorite quote of hers: “I believe that every single event in life happens in an opportunity to choose love over fear.”