A lawyer by training, I am an entrepreneur at heart. I spend my days teaching law students how to help people start their own small businesses.   I am especially interested in entrepreneurship as economic development…creating a path out of poverty and creating green-collar jobs for the unemployed.

I have also started a number of small businesses myself, and am always looking for the next great trend.  My partner and I co-own Capitol Hill Bikes, a friendly neighborhood bike shop in Washington, DC.  We sadly closed our green gift shop, Hoopla EcoBoutique, when the economy turned south.  But it didn’t take long to find a great new business, joining the USANA vision of bringing good health to the world.  You can find out more about that here.

But, much as I love my work, I won’t let it define me.  There are so many things I want to be and do in this life.  For starters, I love learning about other cultures and have a bucket list of places I want to travel.

I also have a hidden creative side just bursting to leap out.  Right now, I am dying to turn disaster into beauty by making a quilt.  I saved some gorgeous batik fabric when vandals slashed holes in some clothing at Hoopla EcoBoutique.   It has been sitting in my closet for two years awaiting transformation into a piece of art. 

I also want to write a book, learn to play the piano, take a Spanish immersion course, and finish yoga teacher training.  Some people call me a dilettante, but I prefer to think of myself as a Renaissance woman.

The dictionary definition of “Renaissance woman” is “A woman who has broad intellectual interests and is accomplished in areas of both the arts and the sciences.”  

It embodies the basic tenets of Renaissance humanism which considered humans empowered, limitless in their capacities for development, and led to the notion that people should embrace all knowledge and develop their capacities as fully as possible. Thus the gifted humans of the Renaissance sought to develop skills in all areas of knowledge, in physical development, in social accomplishments and in the arts.

That feels like a life worth living to me! 

Last year, when the stock market took a plunge, I had a kind of mid-life crisis.   Although I have a good job with excellent benefits, I saw my retirement fund dwindle away to practically nothing.  I may be too young to retire, but I sure want to know that I can live the life I want when that day comes.

That is when I knew it was time to start my next business…one that would provide leverage, residual income, and financial freedom to travel, enjoy cultural events, and give something back to the world.

I have been on a mission to learn as much as I can about successful people, and I started this blog to share it all with you.  One thing I know for sure…most people don’t get rich by working for someone else!  So, if you’re sick of making money for your employer and never getting ahead…if you have lost your passion for what you are doing…if you have a dream that you’ve put aside…join me here to start creating the life of your dreams.