Multi-passionate...

Friday marked the one-year anniversary of my breast cancer surgery, and I continue to run into former colleagues and acquaintances who didn’t know that I was diagnosed, and some brush it off because I look “great,” and they want the conversation to move along. For those who have stuck around and asked the deeper questions to see how I’m truly feeling, I appreciate you. Your friendship and check-ins have meant the world to me. I am not always “fine,” and that’s to be expected. Onlookers want their friends with cancer to hurry up and get better so everyone can get on with their lives. Oh, and there’s also a global pandemic threatening our every move, so we have a lot to contend with on the health front these days. I get it. If breast cancer and the pandemic have taught me anything it’s that I needed to stop sweating the small stuff. I also had to slow down to a crawl to build myself back up again.

It’s time for me to share some news with the world. If you’ve peeked at my LinkedIn profile lately, it may seem like I’m out here doing “all the things,” but, I’m multi-passionate, which means that I am not satisfied with doing just one thing or focusing on one linear career path. I zig, and I zag, and that’s perfectly okay. I have picked up valuable skills along my meandering career path. I’ve learned a lot about myself from experiencing the various business models, leadership styles, and team structures I’ve been exposed to. Having to put my career on pause to focus on healing and self-care, really gave me the space I needed to find clarity of purpose. For the first time in my life, I get to be creative every day on my own terms, and that’s a powerful thing!

Whatever I was going to build for myself needed to sustain my existence outside of a corporate environment, so that’s why I’m shouting it from the rooftops on social media! Today, as we celebrate National Entrepreneurship Month, the start of World Communication Week, and Job Action Day (I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried, folks), I am officially launching my consultancy, Linné Diiorio Communications, LLC. LDC exists to help businesses find their brand voice. Whether that be through voice over services, marketing consulting, or speaking/facilitation, I bring it all to the table and customize services for each unique client. You can read more about these service offerings on my website at www.LinneDiiorio.com. For a better understanding of what a voice over artist does, check out my commercial demo on the homepage. You’ll recognize some clips that were borrowed from current media, but I wrote all the other scripts. I now have a sound booth in my home, and it’s been fun to lean on my degree in multimedia to build something that fosters my creativity and benefits my clients.

If you’ve read this far, thank you. Hang in there with me…there’s more. To truly bolster my ability to keep open communication at the heart of everything I do, I am now a certified Prepare/Enrich marriage mentor & facilitator. You read that correctly, I’m a marriage mentor. I’m passionate about bringing my relationship and life experience to the conversation when working with couples of all ages and stages. For those who are dating or engaged, we can discuss common friction points, remedies for wedding planning stress, and practice communication skills based on each partner’s personality type. There are just some topics every couple should discuss before they walk down the aisle! Established couples benefit from our enrichment program where they can tackle bigger issues in a non-judgmental environment. Every couple will participate in an assessment that helps to draw out points of discussion. I don’t take sides. The goal is to strengthen relationships, ease tension, increase empathy, and rekindle the spark that brought the couple together in the first place. Love = Love. All couples are welcome. Referrals are greatly appreciated!

​So, that’s what I’ve been planning and building for the better part of 2021. I haven’t done it alone, as my trusty “Captain” has been by my side for this entire journey. He’s supported my decision to step back from my career to rest and heal, picked up ALL the slack when it came to parenting or running the household, bought me cool audio gear, and given me the space I needed to process everything I’ve been through. He’s my rock, my favorite co-worker, and I can’t imagine doing life without him. Getting my kids on and off the bus was a lofty daydream in the not-so-distant past. It’s such a blessing to be around for my kids now, as I missed so much by working all those long hours in my pre-pandemic career.

I get my energy from being around people and staying involved. I love having a microphone in my hand, so as we ease back into in-person events, I cannot wait to support my favorite women’s conference, RebelleCon. This week I’ll be stage managing, attending to the guest speakers, and providing “voice of God” announcements on the main event day. You know, “Ladies and gentlemen…please welcome to the stage…” I couldn’t be more excited about it. The founder and members of Rebelle have been a pivotal force behind me starting up something on my own. They say, “You can’t be it, if you don’t see it,” and they couldn’t be more on point. I had to immerse myself in new circles, expand my bubble, and elevate my networking environment to engage with, and learn from, women who were out there doing it, and doing it well.
Sure, I’ve faced some challenges. Freedom and flexibility come with many sacrifices, but in the end, it’s worth fighting for. This new venture is a work in progress, as all small businesses are. No amount of naysaying can get me down from the high I experience when I’ve had a productive meeting with a potential client, or someone compliments my demo and wants to use my voice to promote their brand, or I’ve sparked a solution to a problem a client has been facing. In my new role as a marriage mentor & facilitator, I could be saving families. I cannot wait to dive deeper and show the world what this “multi-passionate” woman can do!

​Follow me for more extremely long blog posts! Now, please get out there and celebrate Extra Mile Day by doing your best work and making someone smile. Peace and love, Linné