Earlier this month, I got to spend time at one of my favorite places, Cocoa Beach. I love starting the day watching the sunrise from the porch. One year, I kept seeing this woman down at the beach. But she wasn't walking. She was ecstatically dancing down the beach. Headphones on. Arms moving, hips swaying. I immediately wanted to meet her, befriend her, and also be her. On my last morning, I finally said something:āIāve seen you dancing all week. Thank you, itās made my day.ā She smiled and...
23 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Last Spring, I got my oil changed and they told me my battery was failing. Trying to save money, I picked one up at the auto parts store instead of the dealership. Then at my recent oil change? āYour batteryās failing again.ā š¤¦āļø Impossible, I thought. Itās brand new. So I went back to the store and asked the guy to test it. He looked annoyed to leave the air conditioning and check a battery in the Florida heat. But as we stepped outside, his phone rang. It was Black Sabbathās War Pigs....
about 1 month agoĀ ā¢Ā 2 min read
When you work for yourself, Reader, especially when much of that work is behind a screen, itās easy to feel alone. But after reading your responses last week, I know thatās far from true. Iāve been sending emails since 2011. š± And yet, so much of this creative work feels like tossing ideas into the void. Your replies remind me thereās a whole world of you out there. Hereās what I know about you: You want connection. You want reminders that itās all going to be okayāand that while itās on its...
about 1 month agoĀ ā¢Ā 2 min read
I checked in with one of my coaching clients and asked, āSo, howās the project going?ā Them: āItās goingā¦ā [trailing off as to guard against uncertainty] This is a common conversation I have with clients. Weāre usually working on something bigāpersonally or professionallyāand itās so easy to focus on whatās not working. So I always encourage the opposite: celebrate the small wins. They add up. š This client was overwhelmed. They came into the session thinking theyād have to delay everything...
about 2 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 2 min read
The way Iāve been dealing with the state of the world lately? Gardening like never before. While spending more time in my yard, I noticed a bunch of forgotten cinderblocksātucked under bushes, in overgrown beds, collecting leaves in the far corner. One Saturday last Spring, I decided to gather them and build a small garden bed for my new herbs (some from a shopping therapy trip, some Iād nurtured from cuttings). I weeded, leveled the ground, laid cardboard, hauled the blocks, added soil, and...
about 2 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 2 min read
This past week Iāve been home recovering from surgery to remove a fibroid. Even though I was technically cleared to return to work pretty quickly, I had a feeling I would need more time. So, I canceled a week of clients. (scary!) Old me would have resisted and pushed through, probably to my detriment. Instead, I gave myself some grace to get over general anesthesia and calm down my cramping abdomen. And yet, the guilt demons still showed up. At least I can fight them lying down. Thereās still...
2 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. But growth can look very similar. Stay with me. In Hidden Potential, Adam Grant writes that people who go far usually arenāt the most ātalented.ā Theyāre the ones who keep showing up even when theyāre not good at it yet. He tells the story of a man learning Spanish who didnāt wait to feel confident. Instead, he fumbled his way through conversations with native speakers, making a ton of mistakes. Thatās what...
2 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Every summer, one of my relatives inevitably says: āHappy Chindependence Day.ā It goes back to 2008. The early days of YouTube, when my roommate and I discovered chin faceāthat absurd thing where you draw a face on your chin, cover your eyes with a towel, and record it upside-down. Most of my dadās siblings were visiting for the fourth of July. Twenty-four-year-old me thought it would be hilarious to do a full improv monologue from the perspective of a chin who had declared independence from...
3 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
They say a lotus grows from mud. Iāve seen vines grow from concrete. Yesterday, I spotted one pushing up through the crack between my house and our not-even-two-year-old porch slab. Nature is amazing. So are you, Reader. Some of the biggest lessons come from what feels dry, brittle, and stuckāyet somehow, new life breaks through. This time of year, I like to reflect on the past six months and dig up the gems hiding in the rough. Hereās what Iāve learned: I need routineābut one that breathes....
3 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read