The Art of Failure
Last night, I went to an event called The Art of Failure. Three local artists, each famous in their own right, spoke onstage about their failures. The pain. The lessons. The gifts. Lulu Miller, producer the record-breaking NPR podcast Invisibilia, said radio taught her to be a shitty idea machine. …
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Trapped in The Expectation Gap? How to find out & get out…ASAP.
Do you ever have a Brilliant Idea for your business, decide it’s Your Next Big Thing, and then…fail to pull the trigger? You know how it starts. In your mind, you can justify the delay.You’re busy. You’ve got kids, or friends, or cats that desperately need more snuggles. In your …
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How to Speak Your Truth in a Scary, Noisy World (Empath Edition)
On Saturday morning, I joined 500,000+ visitors in D.C. for the Women’s March on Washington. It was awesome. By 7am, I stood near the main stage, surrounded by hundreds of women and men. Every sign, every smile, every outrageous hat unlocked a feeling I didn’t know I craved: safety. The …
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If you want to be a (better) writer…
Ditch your definition of writer, please. 🙂 Sooooo the dictionary defines a writer as “a person engaged in writing books, articles, stories, etc., especially as an occupation or profession; an author or journalist.” As a result, you probably think you can’t be a “writer” until you’re making money from it, or …
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How to defeat blank page paralysis and write great content NOW
Nobody wants to sit down at the computer feeling like they’ve got a gun pointed to their head and some sweaty psychopath shouting, “Okay, go time! Be smart and clever and funny and write a bunch of things! Go!” Yet this is exactly what we do to ourselves, right? Something …
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Is your story too personal to share on your business website?
Right now, you’re in the grind, working hard to promote yourself and your Next Big Thing. That means: Perfecting your brand story and popping it in your pocket so you can be quick on the draw Telling boatloads of mini-stories to get new followers interested, engaged, and on board Getting clear on why …
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Bypass burnout & end the year with a bang: how to relax during the holidays
Most years I enter the holiday season in a fog of to-do lists and fierce nostalgia. I think I look like this: I’m Jimmy Stewart, obviously. When in reality, I look like this: We don’t get much snow here in Virginia, but I imagine that lovely thick snow blankets the …
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how to answer the question “what do you do?” without boozing, sleazing, or wanting to die (part 2)
The holidays are upon us, and you know what that means…huge dinners, road trips, and meeting new people at parties! I got a jumpstart on family visits when I drove to New Jersey to celebrate my birthday. We went into NYC and saw An American in Paris on Broadway! My sister and …
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How to answer the question “What do you do?” without boozing, sleazing, or wanting to die (part 1)
Picture this: You’re standing at a holiday party, bopping along to a festive playlist and piling bleu cheese onto butterfly-shaped butter crackers. You feel FANTASTIC. Maybe it’s the candlelight, the rum punch, or your cute velvet dress. Who knows? Who cares? (Side note: Velvet is BACK, according to teen.com. Since …
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Pump up your perceived value with the Glade Candle Method (and discover the benefits of your soulful services)
Walking through Wal-mart the other day, I happened upon a mid-aisle display of pumpkin- and foliage-scented Glade air fresheners. Images of hayrides and color-changing leaves wreathed the cardboard display, which touted the “feelings of fall.” To an outsider, it looks innocuous, a gentle reminder that autumn is here and you …
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