Have you ever had one of those conversations while on vacation with your spouse about how you guys are someday going to retire and open a book shop? You know the conversation, the two of you are wandering in a quaint independent book store in some picturesque vacation town and one of you mentions how idyllic life would be if the two of you were to while away your retirement years curating and manning your own shop in a town with a comfortable and laid back way of life. And so it began.
That conversation for us happened last February, then one day last summer my husband Rob came home from a trip into downtown St. Francisville, the small historic town along the Mississippi River where his family had lived when he was a boy and where we have a second home, and he announced that he had “Signed a Lease”. Signed a Lease on what I asked. On the bookstore he answered. To which I responded, I thought that was our retirement project and I did not know we had retired!
Now you may ask yourself: why open a bookstore when so many bookstores are closing their doors? Or you may ask yourself: why open your bookstore in a small country town with a VERY limited population base? Or perhaps you might ask: why open our new bookstore in a small town that you do not actually live in full time? All of these are good questions, but I do not have a really good answer. One of the definitions of the word “Conundrum” is “A question or problem having only a conjectural answer”. Now you know why our bookstore in a small town we do not live in full time , in an industry some say is going the way of the dinosaurs, that was opened BEFORE we had actually retired from our long time careers is called The Conundrum.
As you might imagine as word got out that we had opened a book shop and that we had named it The Conundrum the questions started flying from all directions. The other day over lunch with a dear friend as I related the above story my friend asked “Are you writing this stuff down somewhere”? She then suggested blogging on our new website. She seems to think people may actually be interested reading about the trials, the tribulations, the successes and the sheer joy that we are experiencing as we embark on this journey to open and hopefully to succeed in the bookstore business. If you are reading this perhaps she was correct. If you want to read more check back soon. Till then I will share with you a favorite quote that sum up the beauty of Rob acting before I was quite ready , the fact is I may have never felt truly ready and so I needed a little push to get started and I must say I am glad for the push!
Quote of the Day: “A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action you haven’t truly decided”. by Tony Robbins