Networking: Doors Open and Doors Close — Shall We Leave Them Ajar?

Wishing you all an abundant New Year filled with love, joy, and success! Five days into the New Year, I’ve taken stock of where I’ve been, where I am right now and where I want to be. I have decided that lamenting the past and worrying about the future is a huge waste of time and being a septuagenarian, one does not have the luxury of squandering a moment.

That made me think about my relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. Doors will remain open to family, no matter how difficult they may be. In those instances, I will love them from afar. For friends, my doors are always open. The changes I am making this year are with colleagues.

BE PROUD OF WHAT YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED THUS FAR.

I am proud of what I have accomplished as a screenwriter and novelist, beginning my writing career after retirement, but I am not happy with the results of doors opening and closing. I have, up until this point, believed that one should never shut any doors but leave them ajar.

Those were the lessons I learned working for top executives in profit and non-profit organizations as a young woman in Manhattan. No doors were ever shut. Either a deal was done, or it wasn’t — hands were shaken, well wishes were sent and if the deal could not be done, the message was always “maybe next time.” So, it was natural for me to approach my writing career, doors ajar.