Kick Monday’s Ass: the importance of the “kudos folder”

It’s time to kick Monday’s ass…

I’m feeling pretty low energy this week. If you’re not in a hurricane prone area, the stress of watching a storm coming in for weeks is probably not something you’re familiar with. (trust me – that’s a GOOD thing)

It’s… sucky. In a word. Because the forecasters never know where it’s going – it’s all predictions until the damn thing makes landfall. I remember living in Jacksonville, FL two years ago when Hurricane Irma hit.

In the weeks leading up to the storm, Irma’s track changed half a dozen times. It was gonna hit:

• the west coast of Florida (on the other side of the state from me)
• then it was gonna go up the east coast
• then it was gonna hit Alabama/Mississippi and go on to hammer Atlanta
• then it was coming up the middle of Florida, straight toward Disney World

Literally every time I thought about evacuating and started making plans about where to go, the storm would change directions and decide, “DAMN that place Angie’s evacuating to sounds really interesting. I think I’ll go there too!”

It’s a special kind of exhausting to be on high alert for weeks, in a constant will it/won’t it state, debating the merits of completely disrupting your life in order to get out ahead of the storm… vs staying and potentially LOSING your life.

Last Wednesday we got word that Hurricane Laura was heading straight toward Houston, and it was turning into a Category 4 (catastrophic) storm. The newscasters kept using the term “unsurvivable storm surge” and frankly it was terrifying.

I had my boyfriend up on a ladder, screwing plywood into the window framing. We had decided to stay because up until that point it was a Category 3 – a big ol’ storm, but not necessarily something that would destroy the entire coast. And in that situation, we like our odds better holed up at home with ALL our supplies, vs being caught on the road/out in the open with whatever supplies we can fit in the car.

But then Laura got upgraded to a Category 4… and we got a little scared. We went to bed Wednesday night thinking we’d be awakened in the night as the storm made landfall. Instead we woke up Thursday morning… we hadn’t had so much as a single thunderstorm overnight.

In the late night hours, the storm shifted to the east by 100+ miles and made landfall in Louisiana. And as much as it’s annoying to have done all that prep and experienced all the stress for not a whole lot – the alternative is unthinkable.

To say I’m extremely grateful to be writing this right now (and that I’m sending all my good vibes and donations to Louisiana) is an understatement.

And that’s life and business in a nutshell… sometimes all you can do is prepare for the worst and hope for the best. From time to time it works out in your favor, and that in and of itself is something to celebrate.

That brings us to this week’s video…

 

Kick Monday’s Ass: the importance of the “kudos folder”

When you’re running a business, what’s happening between your ears is just as important as the actions you’re taking. And if you’re spending all your time in your head, without ANY outside input… over time your perspective gets warped and all kinds of bent out of shape.

You wind up judging yourself on an impossible set of standards that no one but you expects you to nail.

So when mean AF Angie pops up and gets hyper-critical, I’ve got a trick to short circuit that inner voice and get moving forward. It’s my “kudos folder”, and that’s what this week’s video is about…

(click the button below to watch the video, if you’re not seeing it embedded above)

Badass of the Week

I can’t help but admire those folks who put others before themselves. It’s so un-instinctive, especially in a situation where your life is literally in danger. So I hold those people in a super high regard… to go out of your way to help someone when it’s hard enough to help yourself. You’re my hero!

And that happened in Lake Charles, Louisiana last week, as Hurricane Laura beared down on the Gulf Coast. The extraordinary staff of the hospital’s NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) stayed behind to ensure 19 babies received the care they needed to survive and thrive.

The staff were taking shifts caring for the patients that couldn’t be evacuated, sleeping in hallways as the storm roared through.

When life gets you down, remember there are real-life heroes everywhere, just waiting to step up. Maybe that hero is you?

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

On Repeat This Week…

I’m not always a fan of mash-ups… but this one crossed my screen recently and has been stuck in my head ever since.

Enjoy a masterful mashup between Alicia Keys and John Mayer – “If I Ain’t Got You” meets “Gravity”… gives me GOOSEBUMPS.

It’s a throwback to a whole different lifetime at this point… who can even imagine a New York crowd like this anymore? But whatever it looks like, we’ll get back to making beautiful mashups like this in the future. I can’t wait for that day.

PLUS: Whenever you’re ready… here are 3 ways I can help:

1) Need more Angie rants in your life? Sprinkle some snark on that S*&$ by following me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

2) Want to get better at writing? I got together with 16 other badass industry-leading writers to talk about Writer’s Block, and how we collectively kick its ass. If you want to get good in a hurry, you’ve gotta get comfortable with churning out a ton of crap first. This guide shows you how.

3) Feeling blocked or stuck? Let’s get on the phone for 20 minutes, just you and me. We’ll solve some problems, toss out any head trash, and kick all kinds of ass. Book yours here today.

Real Talk: If you click a link in this email and choose to buy, I may get a tiny slice of the pie. I make these recommendations because 1) pie is delicious, especially when the pie is figurative and made of cash, 2) I have personally used or listened to or read everything I recommend in this email and know what it could do for you, and 3) I love imagining all the action takers out there devouring these kickass materials and progressing by leaps and bounds. Brings back happy memories of my own journey!