Tara’s Entrepreneurial Spirit

Do you remember those quaint tests conducted in our high school career counseling class?  Please say you do.  Of course you remember, they were the quizzes we filled out to help determine a career path based on personality traits? Weren’t they fun! I seriously wonder if anyone followed the advice?  Imagine the excitement if we all simply chose our profession based solely on what we are interested in and would naturally excel at.  What a colossally amazing idea!  In point of fact, I think this one simple adjustment would go a long way toward solving many of our social ills and foibles.    Think for a moment …  if everyone got up in the morning and rushed out the door to go and do what they absolutely love to do.  We would all truly whistle while we worked, joy and bliss would reign supreme.   Imagine:

Boss Man:  Hendricks! I need you stay late tonight to finish up the month’s work, and you’ll have to miss your lunch too.  We’re way behind.

Hendricks:  Love it!  No problemo!  Give me more Boss Man, I just can’t get enough of this work.  I am absolutely built for this… each day I float in heavenly euphoria at the mere thought of working at this job.

Boss Man: Hendricks, you’re a little wacky, but I like ya!

Utopian daydreams aside, alas, too often I think, other considerations nettle their way into our job selection process.  Things like…. availability, necessity, convenience and responsibility.  Ponder for a moment, and think back to your own “working” path selection.  What did you choose to do and why did you choose it?  Are you happy with your choice?  Or, maybe you are content but there is something else, something more, something that you wish you might have done, if only….

Which brings me to Tara’s tale.  You see, she worked many years for a major Canadian corporation, a position that suited some of her interests,  a position that made for a comfortable lifestyle, but was ultimately not personally fulfilling.  And, upon reflection, I think, for Tara, it was a position that was too confining and did not afford enough opportunities to exercise creative flow.  It was a position that would have ranked somewhere in the middle of her high school career quiz.

Tara is an  “ideas” person.  Some days, when she goes for a shower, I am terrified the tiles are going to blow off the wall with the level of kinetic energy generating from the bathroom; a minimum of twenty-seven new ideas are generated each day (I’ve counted).  She loves the genesis of a new idea and she loves to watch it flourish.  She adores connecting with people and building their enthusiasm for the idea, orchestrating the collective energy, crescendo mounting, until… the idea is born and prospers.  This is Tara, naturally!

The other personality trait that perks up brightly when viewing Tara is Courage, described here as the ability to face a challenge when the outcome is not assured.  For Tara, living, and more directly, growing while we live, involves risk.  “When we take risks we feel alive, we feel compelled to live more”, Tara has said.  She displayed the upmost courage when caring for her ailing mother, although, in this case, the ending was sadly certain. And she has shown tremendous courage in leaving a secure, paid position to set out and create something new; indeed, here, the outcome was far from certain, the outcome was not assured.  But no matter, for Tara, the idea of building something new, creating something of her own, is worth the risk.

And with this, we have a view, a vision of Tara and what she was meant to be, of what her high school Guidance Counselor would have encouraged upon reading the results of Tara’s  Career Choice Quiz. Most definitely, certainly, unquestionably, Monsieur Gauthier, Guidance Counselor extraordinaire, would have shouted, “You, Miss Tara, must absolutely become an….ENTREPRENEUR!”  He would continue, “Here, young lady, you can hatch, create, unfold!  And, what is more, there is no clear path to follow.  You must take your axe into the forest and forge your own trail, unencumbered by meddlesome mucks who do not share your vision.” (God bless Ol’ Monsieur Gauthier, so much enthusiasm)  Then, he would conclude:

It is your path, and yours alone.

To some people, this idea is frightening.  And this is a good thing.  I don’t think we were all meant to be entrepreneurs.  Many people quite enjoy a well-cleared path with neatly trimmed edges.  They like to know where they are going and how long the journey will take.  What is more, entrepreneurs would be the first to tell you, that these people, are worth their weight in gold; these people are much needed and oft’ solicited by genuine entrepreneurs.

But for Tara, it fit.  Ideas to form, challenges to face, risky ventures to unveil, all conspired to give Spice to Life.  This has been at the centre of Tara’s mission for the last ten years as she has moved from the corporate world to life as an entrepreneur. Over this time, since the late ‘90s, she has raised up small businesses in the areas of education and in retail sales, all the while honing her skills as a contemporary businesswoman. Today, her website, bearing her name, stands as beacon for all that she has learned and all she believes.  It tells the tale of a person who cherishes the positive elements of living – and making a living – in her community, of connecting positively for the benefit of others, and for the growth and fulfillment of oneself.  It is a testament to the spirit of a true entrepreneur.

About Tara Markus

Owner & Executive Director of taramarkus.com, a new online Positive Living Life-Style Magazine, Tara is a reknowned copywriter that delivers positivity, connectivity and possibility to people. Host of #UBUSensations weekly Tweetchat on Twitter, Tara shares insight with a sensational community of remarkable people who join together to engage. Tara is also the creator behind "Glam It Up" accessory boutiques which offer awesome & affordable jewelry and accessories for fundraiser events. Additionally Tara is now developing "Treetop Communications" - a company that grows healthy ideas and helps your business branch out!