I like to set goals at the beginning of each new year. It keeps me focused and helps me single out the real values and priorities from the things that “would be nice,” but are less important to me, or that I think I want but really are just things I was influenced to think I want. There are few…
Category: Lifestyle
My 2017 Values
For the third year in a row, I’m completing the Design Your 20XX workbook, a tool developed by GetBullish creator Jen Dziura for those of us who find extreme joy in advance planning. The Design Your 2017 workbook contains some updates from previous versions which I found to be thoughtful improvements as well as good fun (we should all have To-Don’t…
You Don’t Need Permission
Some things you don’t need permission to do, but here it is anyway: It’s OK to date people who ultimately aren’t right for you, as long as you’re having fun. (If it feels like a burden, shut. it. down.) On that note, it’s OK to change your mind, even after it seems the opportunity has passed. It is never too late…
Published on DailyWorth: Why I’m Done Being a ‘Nice Girl’
I do not plan to be a nice person this year. I’ve made a lot of friends by being friendly and uncontroversial toward everyone I meet — in short, by being nice. For a while, this worked well enough. I do not like conflict, and getting along with everyone made it easy to avoid. But it also made it hard…
How To Live Under Financial Strain With Dignity
Have you ever felt that you’re on the verge of greatness…if you could only land that perfect job, figure out your career, move out of your parents’ house, or find time outside of three minimum-wage jobs to start your business? It feels like your life has been put on hold, and it’s a frustrating place to be, isn’t it? There…
Motivation Monday: “F” Does Not Stand For “Fail”
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison Too often I think we associate failure with defeat, especially when we start to measure the achievements of others against our own. This kind of defeat can be crushing. It can make us feel broken and targeted (by ourselves). We all experience it at one…
On Business and Style: The Gentlewoman’s Code
I love the idea of living by a code. A strong code defines the type of person you want to be and equips you with finite ways to live that life. To have a code is to stand for something. It is a plan for when there can be no plan–when life gets unpredictable and demanding and improvised badassery is…
How To Order A Manhattan Like You Mean It
A Manhattan is sophisticated, strong and classic. The drink itself commands respect, and in turn so does the person consuming it. It is a more fun version of straight whiskey, which I highly recommend as a drink when you mean business, for reasons which have already been explained quite well. A Manhattan is both business and pleasure. It is an assertion…
Motivation Monday: The Morning Hustle
“The choices are 1) sleep in bed, or 2) have some coffee and remake the world to my liking.” – Jen Dziura How you start your day is key. You can either hate the morning, or wake up excited to get to work. I believe in filling my day with the kind of things that are going to get me…
Motivation Monday: On Writing
“Write like a motherfucker.” – Cheryl Strayed Write all the time, every day, in every possible mood. Write when you’re so excited to write that you could throw up because you can’t get it all down on paper fast enough. Write when you have nothing to say. Most importantly, write when it’s the very last thing you feel like doing—when…