mary ann kane -- about me

I have been in the business world almost my entire working career. At times I wondered, "What am I doing?" My passion is people, writing, relationship building. What I didn't know was business was giving me the foundation to understand how most things work, how everyday life is set up like a business. Discovering our workable, practical skill set is one aspect of who we are. Unearthing our passion is the other side of life's natural equation. Combining the two makes for the perfect balance. My practical business side enriches my passionate, creative side into a harmonious talent I love sharing. My goal is to find your natural balance of practical and passion and share it with the world. That is why I started Barley Hill.

I love a pen. I love holding that little stylus and just connecting it to any paper I can find. I love the feel of it, the way it glides on the page. It's fluidness and sheer weight in my hand makes me feel creative, confident, almost cocky. It is like all my thoughts flow from my mind into my magic wand and away I go. Tapping on a keyboard, endless letters appearing on a lit screen like small ants marching in a line, well, that doesn't spark my creative flame like a pen. Some of the work I do for clients has to be on a computer, but what satisfies and produces my best work? A pen.

I wiggled in my Adirondack chair. How long had I been here reading? I looked out at the beautiful view - the lake, the multitude of green trees stacked and lined so very close together that it looked like a velvet canvas next to the lake waters. All this beauty and I still couldn't stop reading this book. I couldn't stop consuming, ravenously eating the words that took me places and made me feel things never seen before. That's when I knew a life of words, reading and constructing them, was ahead of me.