The other night, as we all hunkered down in our respective homes away from COVID-19, a friend told me she was going to stay in and “do some writing.” Wait, what? This woman had never, not once, expressed an iota of interest in writing! As an office manager, she doesn’t have to do “content” for…
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You’re Cuter Than You Think
READ MORE: You’re Cuter Than You ThinkHow do you feel about the word “cute?” Maybe it makes you think of babies or puppies or Hello Kitty backpacks. Small, harmless things. Or, miniature replicas of larger things. Maybe “cute” to you is just shy of pretty and a few blocks from gorgeous. My friend, writer Becky Karush, believes cute is underrated. Becky…
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People who want to write tend to whisper
READ MORE: People who want to write tend to whisperPeople seem to have no problem voicing their desire to buy a good pair of jeans or go bird watching. I detect zero self-consciousness from the person who tells me she wants to go see Mean Girls on Broadway. Or enroll in improv classes. But. When people want to write, they don’t say it loudly;…
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Do not COME for me with your kitten heels
READ MORE: Do not COME for me with your kitten heelsTwo things I love about my friend Jenn Lederer: She’s got an open mind and sharp opinions. She’s cool with whatever you want to wear, do, pursue. “You do you, girl,” she says, waving her hand at everyone and no one. But don’t get her started on footwear. “Wedges? Fine. Clogs, cool. Tennis shoes ok.…
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What is this? Amateur hour?
READ MORE: What is this? Amateur hour?The Zen Buddhists talk about beginner’s mind. Maybe you’ve heard it as ‘child mind.’ It sounds enlightened, to come at this with a clean slate, to adopt a beginner’s mindset in order to gain new insight. Cool. But what about being … an amateur? Oh god, we hate that. Please! We’re professionals! We’ve been doing…
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Making it up as you go
READ MORE: Making it up as you goAfter I got laid off, I decided not to get another job. I just…didn’t want one. Simple as that. I decided to work on my own, from my couch. As a natural introvert, I was in heaven. And yet—it became clear I had to get out of the house. So I signed up for an…
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“What. Just. Happened.” (How these financial advisors discovered brand stories)
READ MORE: “What. Just. Happened.” (How these financial advisors discovered brand stories)When 20 of the nation’s top advisors walked into the room that morning, they probably thought we were about to debate the merits of logos and taglines. Nope. I told them to take out a pen, and I gave them a prompt: Write about a time when you realized that what you’d always thought was…
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One thing I’m NOT doing in 2020
READ MORE: One thing I’m NOT doing in 2020Like you, I’ve made some sacrifices to the New Year gods—more vegetables, a month without booze. But one of the most important resolutions I’ve made for 2020 this: To stop selling shit on Craigslist. Why? Why’s that so bad? It’s not bad, inherently. Longtime users of this stripped down, early-aughts online garage sale love that…
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A holiday movie with a hidden message about career
READ MORE: A holiday movie with a hidden message about careerI just watched the new animated Netflix movie Klaus with some friends the other night, and if it’s not in your holiday movie queue, it should be. Not just because it’s cute and well done. But because there’s a hidden and profound message for those of us in a line of work we never imagined we’d…
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Calling things “hard” is easy
READ MORE: Calling things “hard” is easyAfter years of working on a book, I’m finally shopping around a proposal. And while I’m only a few weeks into this first leg of the publishing journey, I can tell you already it is not for the faint of heart. Of course, I went into this expecting an even blend of rejection and radio…