I launched my blog in 2009 when I was wrestling with a midlife crisis. Since then, the digital world has changed so much. I was new to both Facebook and Twitter when I started blogging, and I was still rocking the BlackBerry for email. Instagram hadn’t launched yet. Podcasting and short videos are what the cool kids do these days, blogging is considered old fashioned. But I still find it the best way to share my thoughts and to profile people who inspire me.
I hope you’ll find something here that inspires you, or at least sparks a conversation. Some of my favorite posts are pinned to the top, scroll down a bit more to find the most recent, or check out the categories in the sidebar.
Christmas can be stressful for a lot of people. Maybe your mother nags you, your sibling gets on your last nerve, the kids are hopped up on sugar and new toys … maybe all of the above? But for this one day, can you step away from email, social media and Candy Crush to just be in the moment? If…
It’s not ready for prime time — but we’re all friends here, so this is a sneak peek at my new consulting website: As I’ve worked with my website guru to develop this new way to present my consulting services, here are a few thoughts about the process: Most of the consulting work I’ve gotten so far has been from…
Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday … remember when it used to be just plain ol’ Thanksgiving? It seems there’s been more buzz this year around Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, making this a long weekend devoted to conversations of shopping and discounts. Should your business participate? Obviously too late to join in for this year,…
When technology companies use their own products, it’s commonly called eating your own dog food. Why dog food? I don’t know. But pour me a big bowl of Gravy Train. A few days ago, I posted to my Newvine Growing Facebook page looking for people to help me beta test a new service: I am testing a new service offering…
I don’t remember much about the commencement address at my college graduation. We were all crowded into a loud fieldhouse, which as I recall had lousy acoustics, and mainly we were waiting for those few seconds when we’d get to walk across the stage to prove we were graduates. I hope the graduates who heard Chris Sacca‘s commencement speech were able to…
Not long ago I had a hands-on social media training session with some of my favorite clients. We covered how to send an @reply and a direct message on Twitter, how to link to other businesses and people in a Facebook status update and how to use HootSuite and Facebook to schedule posts in advance. We even got them started…
How do you plan your life? Not just the to-do list activities — pay bills, go to the grocery store, order Thanksgiving turkey — but the big stuff you value most? I’ve been in a variety of conversations lately about project management. For example: My husband, John, just finished a multi-month sprint to get about a dozen new pieces of…
Death has been close to me recently. Our neighbor died, my dad’s brother died, a business school classmate died. I am aware of our mortality but these various losses have brought that difficult truth front and center. In this already vulnerable state, I read Laurie Anderson’s farewell to Lou Reed in Rolling Stone. It seems every journalist and musician had…
This week we booked our next visit to New Orleans. We haven’t missed a Jazz Fest since Katrina, we’ve been for Halloween and Voodoo Fest and Fourth of July, but we’ve never experienced the one thing most people probably picture when they hear “New Orleans.” Since 2011, we’ve done three long stays in New Orleans and spent a month in…
My artist husband, John Tebeau, shows up as a guest star on my blog fairly often. But today, he’s the focus — specifically, an art show he has opening Thursday on a subject that’s near and dear to my heart. “You Want It, You Got It” focuses on the way your attitude and approach to life affects the quality of…
Last week I wrote about some of my strategies for making the most of conferences. But once you’re done thinking big thoughts like “Which conferences are the best fit for me?” and “What message do I want to convey?” there’s practical matter of executing well. A few pointers I’ve picked up over the years: 1. Keep your business cards in…
You know that saying about how when you assume, you make an ass out of “u” and me? I recently read an excellent blog post that drove that idea home — in language that’s pretty close to the cliché. (It’s also language more delicate readers might not enjoy. If that’s you, maybe skip this one? Perhaps you could look at some…
I’ve just come back from a conference where I had more good conversations than I could count, got good ideas and business leads, and came away reinvigorated. That wasn’t an accident. I’ve been to enough conferences that I’ve developed some strategies about how to make them work for me: 1. Choose conferences carefully — I’m not a highly sought after…
On her Super Soul Sundays series on OWN, Oprah Winfrey recently talked with author Steven Pressfield about finding your calling. Pressfield suggests four questions to help you find your calling: What are you more afraid of than anything else in the world? What would you do if you knew you were going to die in three months? What would you…
Entrepreneur magazine hosted a half-day workshop on selling professional services last week, anchored by Michael Port, author of “Book Yourself Solid.” I took away several helpful ideas and pointers so today’s Marketing Monday is some highlights: 1. There are certain people you are meant to serve. Your job is to find them and push away the people you are not…
I have a confession. In this marketing series, I write about integrated marketing and aligning all your marketing channels — your website, blog, social media, email newsletter and brochures, for example — to help tell your story. I believe in the importance of using all available methods to talk with your current and potential clients, and the data show consumers…
Today’s post is really more of an invitation, an urging, a fervent pointing elsewhere. Thanks to our friend Lou Rosenfeld for posting the link on Facebook, I read and loved Bill Watterson’s “How to Find Happiness.” It’s beautifully written, with charming Calvin & Hobbes style illustrations by Gavin Aung Than, and Watterson quickly and simply gets across his view of…
A friend recently asked a good question: Is there such a thing as too much marketing? You probably know if you’re doing too little. You haven’t updated your website in years, you never carry business cards, you don’t have an email marketing list. But too much? Isn’t that a matter of taste? I’m loathe to order anything from Victoria’s Secret,…
Wanting to change the world is a lofty goal, but according to a recent post by Public Words, it comes down to some basic principles. In an article headlined, “How to Change the World – 5 Lessons from People Who Have,” the communications strategists boil it down to five characteristics. My very streamlined summary: 1. Take the plunge. No one…
