People love to talk about the journey over the destination. And I tell you what… I am no different.

It has been a long road to get here to Cici Writes, to start my own business, to call myself a writer, to literally bet on myself.

In a lifetime of doing the things others have recommended for me or catapulted me into—writing is the first big thing that I chose for myself.

I have a natural gift of showing up for others and have always had a strong affinity for the power of social connection through language. The power of love through language. And the power of healing through language.

That language can come in so many forms. Whether it’s…

• Promoting a friend’s new business on social media or sharing some useful information to let marginalized groups know I am an ally.

• Carefully crafting letters of recommendation, each from scratch, for high school seniors applying to colleges back when I was a school counselor.

• Writing a rave review for the new restaurant in town to help get the word out; or highlighting a small business that could be heading into a rut.

• The personalized hand-written cards for people I love. Maybe it’s their birthday, maybe it’s just a day that ends in y.

Whatever the context is, the dopamine rush for me is the same:

The words that I write have the power to make someone feel really good about what they’re offering this world.

And that feels really good.

Finding out that this passion could be a foundation to start my own business and to help promote and grow other people’s businesses, I finally felt like I had found a stepping stone to build a career on. A purpose that feeds me, while also feeding others.

Give me more of that, please!