Reporting Life

Where in the world is Carmen Santiago

When I first started this blog I decided to create a page for it on Facebook. Apparently, in order to have a page on Facebook you have to have an account connected to a name. I immediately started trying to think of names beginning with the letters R and L to match Reporting Life.

"Friends" is one of my favorite shows, so I picked Rachel with the middle initial L.

I've been outed a few times since then, the most recent being in this post on Penelope Trunk's blog. She drives her son from Wisconsin to Chicago every week for cello lessons, and she dictates to me while she's driving in her car.

What started this unusual pairing is that I called her for coaching. She thinks court reporting is a great business and that I should sell court reporting. It's also a great field for focused, detail-oriented people. I should be promoting the profession to people best suited for the job, because the world needs court reporters.

So she convinced me to continue court reporting as my career path, and I've been trying to think of ways to use both sides of my personality to find fulfillment.

How do I combine Rachel L.D., the creative, and Carmen Santiago, the court reporter, into one person?

Which reminds me, she's offering a seminar. It's about how to make your 20's count. She wants to help 20-year-olds make better choices so they can create a fulfilling life for themselves. If you're a college student struggling financially, then you should have a Penelope party. Gather all your friends together and split the $195. Make an event out of it.

After she posted about the webinar, the question people kept asking in the comments is what do you do once you hit 40? 40-year-olds have money to spend on webinars, so she should do one for them too.

If your 20's are all about self-discovery, realizing your gifts, and making decisions to shape your future, then your 40's are about learning how to use your gifts to expose yourself so that you can live an authentic life.

Teaching others what you've learned and maybe helping someone, that's what your 40's are about. You just need to find your audience and method of connecting and communicating. Perhaps passing information down to your kids is what you were meant to do in your 40's.

So my next step is telling you that Rachel L.D. and Carmen Santiago is the same person. Maybe someone will learn from this or maybe this was a bad decision. There's only one way to find out if your decisions are good, and that's just by trying.

So while you're living your life in your 20's figuring yourself out, your values, your principles and what's important to you, start thinking about how you're going to share your lessons with the world once you hit your 40's.

Your 30's are a great time to learn and grow alongside your kids. If you don't have kids, like me, you'll find yourself learning and growing alongside coworkers, family, friends, and lovers.

Ultimately, life is about connecting. There are no guarantees, so don't waste energy being afraid. Use your energy to live your life, put yourself out there, and make lots of mistakes. In your 40's you'll discover that your gifts are what you've been cultivating all along, and now it's time to use them.

How to Make Life Easier and More Meaningful

Communication is the most vital means of progress in society today. Without communication there would be no forward motion.

One way to add meaning to what you're communicating is by making a record of it.

When people don't communicate, a couple of things happen. They either stagnate or deteriorate.

Not only does communication cultivate your relationships with others, it also helps you to develop a relationship with yourself.

Cognitive behavioral therapists might call it talk therapy. There's no denying the benefits of talking things out, expressing yourself, and then feeling acknowledged by being heard.

I'm used to people not understanding my job, what I do, or the importance of it, how communication is everything.

People actually try to minimize what I do, but I know the truth because I'm living it. I'm sitting there while a witness is in tears testifying. I'm hanging on every word when an author is dictating to me. I'm captivated by every new interesting bit of information that travels through my brain and out my fingers. Knowing that other people get to read it when I'm done is exhilarating.

It's like being in on a secret before it's released to the world.

Communication is how we convey information to each other. It's how we teach and learn. Communication can create conflicts and end wars. It keeps marriages together as well as breaks them apart. Friendships and business partners use communication for similar goals. You can share disdain or compassion through communication.

Making a record and making it accessible, that's what I do as a court reporter. It's verbatim. It's accurate. It's reliable.

Making information accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing is what CART providers do.

Helping people share information, share their thoughts and opinions and help bridge gaps, that's what we do as court reporters.

Selling ourselves is half the battle. Making people aware of how we can help them through recording, writing, research and transcription, is not an easy task.

Whether you're an attorney, a student, a teacher, an author writing a novel, a blogger writing a post or an executive conducting a meeting, a court reporter can help you.

What we do is important. It keeps humanity moving forward.

Everyone wants to be heard. Everyone is trying to hear you. Make your life easier and hire a court reporter.

Freelancer Availability

What's your availability? How far are you willing to travel? How late can you work?

Freelance court reporters have to answer these questions every week. My clients want to know if I'm available and agencies need to know as well.

Where you live and anything else you're responsible for will have a great impact on your availability to take freelance work. Try and decide if what you're saying yes to is leading you in the right direction.

We all want wealth, good health, happiness, close family and friends, but in order to have all of that you have to be there to do the work. If a lot of your time is spent on things that take away from your financial freedom, peace of mind, good health and good relationships, then think about how you're managing your availability.

In the past I was always someone who was willing to travel for work, from Switzerland to Las Vegas. Locally I work in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, but I've also traveled to Washington, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, New York and Boston. I'm sure I've left out a few, but you get the idea.

I've cut down on traveling lately since Jack and I started seeing each other and since I've moved. The commute into the nearest city takes a couple of hours because of traffic. I have to decide if the jobs are good enough where it's worth the trip.

The one side of the flexibility coin is making choices to have time for yourself and your relationships.

The other side of the flexibility coin is being available to cover jobs and being open to all of the financial benefits and freedom that come with making money.

Spending my days sitting in traffic is not adding to my quality of life, so I'm taking opportunities and thinking of ideas that will allow me to always be working closer to home that will be the most profitable. There was a time where my desires pulled me in the direction of traveling to interesting new cities full of new experiences, challenges and adventures, and it was great.

Whatever your vision is for yourself, make sure it's something you desire because every moment counts. Having a sense of control over your own workload and your own life is what's going to bring you the most happiness.

Apply yourself, but be smart about it. Money can be lost by working hard instead of smart.

I've lost money on occasion by deciding to accept jobs in faraway places without asking the right questions about the job. I took for granted that an agency wouldn't send me somewhere if it weren't going to be profitable for me. That isn't the case.

You can drive five hours round trip for a one-hour deposition ordered by one attorney and the agency still makes money. By the time you've paid for gas and parking, you're in the negative. That's a hard day for very little pay.

Don't work hard. Work smart and apply yourself to profitable jobs. Do your math and don't be afraid to say no.

The internet is making all kinds of opportunities available to us. We just have to open our eyes and start trying new things and kick fear to the curb.

So if you're not happy, look at where you've lost control. Make sure your actions stay in line with your vision. Are your thoughts, words and actions in alignment with your true intentions for yourself?

As I toss around ideas for new businesses and opportunities, I'm orchestrating my life to accommodate the changes I want to make. I'm making room for change. My availability for certain work is changing.

Everything starts and ends with you. Make yourself available for the right types of work. Scare yourself in the process by challenging yourself, but be smart about it.

When Inspiration Finds You

Finding inspiration is fairly easy once you start looking for it. Some people are just naturally inspired on their own. You can read it in a story, see it in a photo, find it in a movie, feel it in a gesture, discover it in a poem, find a message in a quote, take a walk in the park, spend time with nature and look up at the sky taking in the size and wonders of the universe, or just simply look at the people around you.

Even better still is when inspiration finds you.

I wanted to take a moment and thank Bill Parsons, a fellow reporter who created the Court Reporters Museum where you'll find things like The Best of Bob and Mike court reporter cartoons, The Court Reporter's Creed and my personal favorite, The Court Reporter Patron Saint's Card created by Joe Roy.

Artist:  Joe Roy of Tarrywood Designs

Bill has been gracious enough to offer, free of charge, poster-sized copies of both the Creed and Patron Saint's Card. If you're interested in receiving the poster-sized versions, please send me an email with your name, address, and if you would like one or both of these. You can also contact Bill through his web site. Send him an email or just thank him for his generosity.

How to Find Comfort in Your To-Do List

"The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward." –Steve Maraboli

I was on the elliptical machine at the gym and I had an anxiety attack. I was having anxiety attacks upon waking every morning after my mom died in 2004. They started again after a bad career move in 2009, and then stopped after creating this blog in 2011.

Be Your Own Boss

"Making a profit is the by-product of a clearly defined purpose." –Shawn Parr

Guess what !?!

I'm starting a new business!

I just don't know what it's going to be yet. I haven't figured out a clearly defined purpose or vision for it yet.

So until then, I'm making some changes and tweaking things. I'm a freelance court reporter. With that comes autonomy and flexibility that you can't find with most occupations, so I'm putting it to good use, and doing what I want to do right now.