I’m a big fan of setting goals but writing down what I want is not the same as achieving it. My friend, Sara, and I have agreed to hold each other accountable for moving forward on our high-flying aspirations, since creative types often excel at using our creativity to procrastinate in new and interesting ways. That’s why I loved this…
My piano teacher has instructed me that I’m to have a glass of wine before I practice piano. He’s constantly reminding me that it’s OK to make mistakes, that as a beginner I need to make mistakes to learn, and he wants me to give myself permission to be imperfect. Thus the wine, to chill out a bit about whether…
Lately I’ve read a number of articles that discuss the difference between happiness and life satisfaction. In my market research role, I often discussed with people the importance of words in survey questions — asking someone if they are satisfied with a product is different from asking if they’re happy with it, for example. I’m satisfied with my light bulbs…
When I recently returned from South by Southwest Interactive, I couldn’t quite put my finger on why the 20,000-person tech festival fires me up so much. Sure, there’s a lot going on — compelling speakers, rockin’ parties, huge crowds on the sidewalks. But for a woman who lives in New York, it’s not like I couldn’t access those things any…
When I started piano lessons last spring, my approaching 40th birthday was a big motivator. Something about a milestone birthday triggered my deadline response, and I thought I’d like to be able to play at least one song by my 40th. Turns out I can do a decent job at several songs, including Scarborough Fair and My Cherie Amour. Not…
A few days ago I offered a list of Newvine Growing’s greatest hits — the posts I’ve written in the last two years that have gotten the most traffic. Today I’ll do the opposite and serve up a list of some of the least-read posts. I’m curating these to look for posts I actually liked that never got traction, as…
I have always been a girl with a plan. I lived life like a chess game, thinking through how my current move will ripple through three moves ahead: Getting good grades in high school would help me get into college Doing internships during college would help me land a job after graduation Taking a job at a small newspaper would…
I’m not the biggest sports fan but I do think sports offers some excellent life lessons. For example, I’ve always liked the saying “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” Babe Ruth, considered one of the best baseball players of all time, hit 60 home runs in 1927, breaking his own record as the all-time single-season HR…
Food writer Mark Bittman recently ended his long-running Minimalist column in the New York Times to shift into a new role as an opinion writer for the Times. This change of perspective, that food is about so much more than filling our bellies, is apparent in his book “Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating.” Bittman wrote in the announcement…
Earlier this week I wrote a post headlined “Feel the fear and do it anyway,” about not letting fear limit our decisions. I’ve been reflecting on major forks in the road in my life and how often I have self limited by taking the conservative path — what my husband, John, calls being a good girl. If a…
“Feel the fear and do it anyway” ~ Susan Jeffers I’m blessed to have some fabulous people in my life, including career coach Kim Ann Curtin. Kim met with me recently to help me strategize about where my career is headed and how to get there. As we talked about various possibilities, Kim asked what I was afraid of. My…
It’s easy to see why Four-Hour Workweek is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek bestseller – working four hours a week and having a comfortable lifestyle is just short of winning the lottery in terms of fantasy freedom. After I heard author Tim Ferriss speak at MediaBistro Circus, where he shared many of the ways he’d marketed…
In New York, it’s not uncommon to meet people who don’t cook. At all. They proudly talk about using their fridge only for beverages and maybe leftovers, and keeping shoes or sweaters in their ovens. I’m thankful not to be among them. As much as I do love going out for a good meal, I take serious pleasure in the…
A guest post by Christine Kane: Let’s say you had a baby. Congratulations! Your baby is the best human ever! You love your baby. You celebrate as it starts to crawl. You and your partner delight in this baby’s every new adventure. Then, one day, the baby stands up on her own. “Yaaaaay!” you cheer. You clap your hands. The…
I love serendipity. Tuesday night, with my blog post about the connection between relationships and happiness still fresh, I stumbled onto a tweet from VenessaMiemis: 10 Things Science Says Will Make You Happy The Yes Magazine article is approaching two years old but the advice sounds timeless — savoring every day moments, exercising and helping others, for example. The suggestion…
Have you ever been at home all day when there’s nothing in the fridge? You open the door. You poke your head in. You hum a little tune and look around. You sigh. You grab a handful of pine nuts. You go back to your desk. About an hour later, you’re hungry. So you go back to the fridge and…
South by Southwest Interactive has a great way of selecting speakers and panels for its schedule — it includes expert review, staff consideration and the will of the people. SXSWi Panel Picker crowdsources the decision of who should speak. Voting started this week and I’d love your support in getting on the roster. Here’s my pitch: Explore how you might…
The first time I visited Sara Grace’s blog and read her profile, I was hooked. Here’s the opening from her profile on My Thousand Mile Year: I’m Sara Grace. I seek pleasure and spent a lot of years firmly convinced that it was best found at a dinner table, in recline, or in bed. I nourished my indulgent and excessive sides…
I liked this blog post because it’s an example of someone who set a life goal — doing her first triathlon — and is using her blog for motivation and accountability. She’s reaching out to her community for support, too, including being able to sponsor her hands and feet. This was a big, big week. Not only did I hit…
Nobody has to convince me of the power of relationships in our lives. For example, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a job by applying for a help wanted ad — it’s always been through a personal connection. And when I reflect back on my mom’s death, some of the strongest emotional memories come from the many ways our friends…
