We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nancy Zaffaro a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nancy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Success looks different for everyone. I think we need to define what it means to be successful for ourselves. Success is based on who we are as hard-wired individuals as well as all the things that turned us into who we are. Our upbringing, our generation, our relationships, sex, race, where we’ve lived, our physical and economic environments. All of that.

Our successes are both small and big. Creating work I’m proud of is a success. When I’m traveling and have a great encounter with someone from another culture; that’s a success. Businesses successes, family successes; they all come from experiences, building skills, being intentional, knowing what has value.

I think a lot about life stages too. How we define success changes throughout our lives. Do we know how best to respond to our circumstances and current goals? We need to learn, focus, adapt, find a way. And of course, work hard.

Nancy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started travel writing in 2014 and running my own site, ConfettiTravelCafe.com, in 2016. The site focuses on international and national travel, culture, food and drink. I have a great diversified group of contributing writers and there’s something for everyone. The site tag is “Celebrate Travel, Culture, Connection.”

I took my first solo trip at 17 and have been hooked ever since. I’ve been to 24 countries, mostly for extended stays of a month or more. I love the writing and I love the travel. I seek out sites and experiences I wouldn’t normally because there’s a story there. I meet and work with this wonderful community of editors and writers and travel and tourism professionals. I interact more with people who live in the places I visit. I get to hear about what they do and the lives they lead, and why they love living where they do.

I majored in creative writing at Columbia College, an arts college in Chicago that addressed the practical side of a career in the arts. I’ve published some fiction, poetry, essays, journalism, and photography, and made my living for years as a journalist and editor.

I started out working on medical journals and organizing international board meetings. I’ve freelanced, edited, done technical writing, and managed and online forum. Then as an artist/crafter, I sold my wire wares at art festivals and in stores throughout the West Coast. I’ve also been a managing partner in a telecommunications construction company. All this work has given me an edge in working with different people, businesses, and organizations.

You ask what I’m proud of and what sets me apart. I really value win-win situations. We’re all trying to make a living and make a good life. When working with people, I’m trying to get a job done, but the experience is not going to feel right or be as meaningful if the person I’m working with isn’t also getting what they need. Those connections are everything to me.

I let people know what they’re doing well. I try to treat people with respect. I try to be open and let people into my life. I like to bring people together when I can. It makes whatever it is we’re doing better. I can be tough. I can walk away. But softer is better.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I love the word pivot. Pivots keep us vital and make our lives so wonderfully interesting.

My career changes have been sparked by circumstances. Life needed something different to happen, so I did X. I don’t regret that.I learned a lot from each change.

When I married a Canadian, we decided to start out fresh together in Vancouver, British Columbia. Jobs in publishing were plentiful in Chicago, but not so much in Vancouver. Vancouver was big in alternative health, medical markets, and tech though. So I wrote for those markets.

We moved to a small-town Washington rural property a few years later. I was raised in inner-city Chicago. But I loved learning how to garden and can food and harvest clams and so on. I loved those little five-acres.

I had my second child in Portland, Oregon. Having two kids and a husband who traveled constantly meant I needed a different kind of flexibility. I worked from home for years. I was lucky to still get work I enjoyed. Then I started making wired art and crafts and that was a whole other world and so much fun. All of us artists would trade our wares and tell each other about different shows and take care of one another’s booths. It was a wonderful community.

Maybe the craziest pivot was joining my husband’s telecom construction company after we bought out his partner. The field wasn’t my heart’s work, but I had a lot of respect for the people I worked with and how they worked together. The company grew and we did well. We continued working together for years after we divorced because the company needed us both. It was good for our kids and our employees, and for us, to see we could still be family. I’m happy with what I did there.

I want to stay open to that ability to pivot. Just this month, I decided to rent out my house and use the funds to travel. I’m excited for the opportunity and whatever is ahead for me this year!

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

One of the greatest resources I have in my life is my friends and my community.

I’ve always been blessed with having a wide variety of people in my life, not just so-called creatives. But I had to learn that being more open and sharing my passions—and getting others to do the same—is the best way to truly connect. It’s led to so many opportunities to give and receive. It’s a gamechanger.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.confettitravelcafe.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/confettitravel/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConfettiTravelCafe/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-zaffaro-b7099530/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ConfettiTravel/

Image Credits
Nancy Zaffaro took all photos, except those she’s in. Photos of her were taken by various travel companions.