Kick Monday’s Ass: 2 left-handed, food-loving book nerds walk into a bar… (July 19, 2021)

It’s time to kick Monday’s ass…

Lately I’ve noticed a recurring theme in my life and interactions:

Kindness.

It started a couple weeks back when I had a hard convo with a team member that wound up shining the spotlight back on me in a very uncomfortable way.

I was kind to my staff but struggled with extending myself that much grace.

Then I found the Badass of the Week story below – talk about inspirational.

And then over the weekend I had a couple interesting conversations with complete strangers. The first was Friday at lunch, when I looked over at the table next to me in the café and realized my next-door table neighbor had a book (like me) and was left-handed (like me).

I made an idle comment about meeting another food-loving, left-handed book nerd in a random restaurant, and inadvertently kicked off a convo that lasted over an hour. Turns out she’s a writer as well, and working on a story about her time as a Black female architect in the deep south.

We had shared connections ranging from TV/film industry (her cousin’s an actress and her brother’s a producer, while I got laid off from the Oprah Winfrey Network LOL) to shared taste in authors – she had a David Baldacci hardcover next to her artisanal pizza and I adore his style.

Then yesterday as I was getting groceries, a man noticed my Texas plates and started asking where I was from. Turns out he’s thinking of moving to my hometown of Houston, and really liked that I’m doing the digital nomad thing. I gave him some pointers on different areas to try out and we wished each other well.

Funny enough, if I was back in Texas living my old life, I don’t know that I would have even seen a stranger, let alone struck up a conversation this way.

But today I’m reminded of the little moments that pass us by in an instant if we let them. Kindness can make your day more pleasant, or it can straight up change your life.

Go out and sprinkle some of that everywhere, on everything. It’s one of life’s most delightful flavors.

Kick Monday’s Ass: there’s always going to be a reason NOT to do it

 

A lot of would-be entrepreneurs I talk to get hung up on this idea of “I need something new, never before seen… something truly innovative that’s going to blow people’s minds (subtext: and make me an instant millionaire without having to do all the hard work)”

The reality is – the chances of you coming up with that million-dollar idea on your first go-round are slim to none. But here are a few ways you CAN come up with a successful business idea, and how to start down the path.

Badass of the Week

Today’s badass is Al Nixon, a man in St. Petersburg who sits and listens to folks most mornings.

What started as a quest to quiet his own thoughts and clear his mind has become an invaluable community service… and sometimes there are even lines of people waiting to talk to him!

Here’s what I love about this story – it almost started on accident. Here’s a guy trying to get in some quality quiet time, and after awhile of showing up in the same place consistently, a stranger popped off with:

‘Every day I see you, I know everything is going to be OK.’

You never know what tiny thing you’re doing that might be inspirational to folks around you. Sometimes you don’t even have to try to be a bright spot in someone’s life – you only have to be, exactly as you are.

(If you know someone who should be featured as my Badass of the Week, leave a comment and tell me!)

 

New podcast episode!

 

The best business advice you’ll get is to stick to one thing and do it really well… or is it? My guest, Mike Rinard, has done the exact opposite of that – he’s switched up his focus almost every year for six years. How does he continue to be successful while constantly changing it up? Listen to this episode to find out.

In this episode, my buddy Mike and I take a look back at our freelancing careers. We’ve had adventures with Stormtroopers, surfing sessions, and failures – all of which have created the guidelines we use to run our businesses to this day.

Can’t-Miss Moments From This Episode:

• How do you pick your specialty when you’re first starting your business? If you’re stuck, I’ve got a two-second trick to bust through all the head trash and get you going.
• BS alert: let’s go ahead and bust the myth that entrepreneurs are either wildly successful or complete and utter failures. We get real on what life as an entrepreneur actually looks like.
• “Nobody gets to tell you how to work” – Mike and I swap stories about the unconventional office spaces (like the beach, or Disney World) we’ve used along the way.
• One of the biggest perks of entrepreneurship is freedom – so why do we work ourselves into the ground instead of enjoying what we’ve built? Here’s how Mike sees it (and you could start using this philosophy in your business TODAY).
• So you failed… how do you know when it’s time to throw in the towel? We’ve got a counterintuitive approach that might just have you embracing failure (and dare I say… having fun with it?).

You don’t want to miss this one. Click here to listen (and subscribe) now!

 

On Repeat This Week…

 

Let’s get trippy on a Monday with White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane. First off, Grace Slick’s vocals = love. Second, the trippy background and lyrics are just WORKING for me today.
_______________

And if you go chasing rabbits, and you know you’re going to fall
Tell ’em a hookah-smoking caterpillar has given you the call

He called Alice, when she was just small

When the men on the chessboard get up and tell you where to go
And you’ve just had some kind of mushroom, and your mind is moving low

Go ask Alice, I think she’ll know