Thanks. I have it set to open for work, and I've had literally the words "open to work" in all my social media profiles (including linkedin) in case someone missed it 😆. I'm getting tired of seeing green. 🤢

Interesting point.

They state very plainly that they sell your data to advertisers.

I post there weekly (often blog articles I publish to provide value for people), I have thousands of connections (a lot of CEOs) over the past 7 years I've been on there and I have yet to make a connection that ends in even meager work. The paranoid of me thinks that it's keeping me in a bubble because it's cheaper to keep me in need.

CRTL+C!!! CTRL+C!!!! Cancel FASTER!!!!!

Is it possible to report a post for personally attacking me?

Don't be afraid of spices. Use more than you think is necessary. Onion and garlic can make a meal 100x better.

Yeah, I think introverts definitely got the better end of the deal with the social isolation. People kind of "forgot" how to do small talk, meaning real conversation happened. 😆

Only partly, I think. I didn't feel the panic that everyone else was feeling. I just felt calm and in control of my life for the first time in a while. I felt like I was finally "catching up" as it were (again not in a comparison mindset).

I wish it had lasted. But I know I can't dwell on the past. I just have to keep going. This week I have a couple of potential clients that seem promising (for the past 2 years the client inflow has been dead silent) which will be a breather.

That's awesome! Congrats!

I'm kind of in the same boat. In my 30's. I feel like I spent half of my adult life looking for work instead of actually working.

I kind of hit a breaking point when I realized I was playing someone else's (figurative) game; this person (figuratively) held all the cards and I lost each and every time.

So I stopped playing their game. I've found I'm very good at coming across as disarming. Once people meet me face-to-face (even over a video call or phone call) any preconceived notions they had go out the window and I have the opportunity to flip the power dynamic because I earn their trust quickly.

So recently I decided to build my own chess board (again, figuratively). I stopped applying for jobs. Instead, I focused on connecting with people first. So then I applied for work only as a housekeeping step once the employer/client and I are in agreement that I'll be on board for a certain position or role. Obviously in 99% of cases organizations don't like this. They want to funnel me into a system. Well, sucks for them. If they set aside their corporate ego and start a conversation I'd be able to help them.

I hope this perspective helps.

I'm a man, so I'm sure as a woman you're going to come against a lot of backlash as far as appearing too aggressive. I'd actually see this as a good thing since it means you're standing on your own and not taking s***t.

My advice, for what it's worth...pay attention to what's causing the anxiety. You have the power to change it, but (as a fellow neurodivergent) you might have to step on some toes to do so (correction--you will have to step on some toes). Keep steadying on!

And someone else on mastodon actually suggested The Man Who was Thursday as well. 2 chapters in. So far I'm intrigued.

Oh, yeah, I've read Lincoln Child before. Utopia. I don't remember much of it. I think I classified it as "OK but forgettable." But in researching that was his very first novel, so his later stuff might be better.