January 2022
Well folks, it can only go up from here! As promised, I am changing the format of this newsletter to be more themed and (fingers crossed) more helpful, which will include special guests, interviews, video, projects, and more, but first…kicking off with this one dedicated to YOU. I’m your cheerleader today, so deal with it. Some of us are tired or stuck, others energized or making changes. Either way, the gift of two years of insanity are to break rules and old patterns, and live the way you want, on your terms, big or small. The time has never been better to shatter antiquated thinking, societal/age/expectation/business boxes and just do you. And I am right there with you trying to work on myself, make different decisions, and keep motivated yet flexible in an ever-changing world. So here I have collected some reads, listens and watches, but before you roll your eyes, no this is not all ‘motivational speaker’ type stuff, but rather reference cheerleader material, or simply some inspiration if you need it. In the words of an executive coach friend "The world is on reset, and if we are brave we reset too." Let's not make this a trilogy - go for it, make this your year on your terms and be authentically yourself. We need you.
To start things off, here is an oldie but a goodie from Mel Robbins (Who also has a handy 5 things to ask yourself before you plan 2022), with an excellent point: Scientists have calculated the odds of you being born - 1 in 400 Trillion - so live it up!
Let’s stay connected: Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Linkedin, Website
Some Inspiration from and for Women+
Examples: Forbes The World’s most powerful women
Powerhouse Cindy Gallop episode on the ‘What’s underneath’ StyleLikeU series on being yourself at all ages
Ted Talks: Luvvie Ajayi Jones, Get comfortable with being uncomfortable / Caroline McHugh, The art of being yourself / Mel Robbins, How to stop screwing yourself over / Alison Ledgerwood, Getting stuck in the negatives (and how to get unstuck) / Bozoma Saint John, on intuition (also her Badass Workshop)
Recent Inspo Books: Glennon Doyle ‘Untamed’, Brene Brown ‘Braving the Wilderness’, Elizabeth Gilbert ‘Big Magic’, Katie Couric ‘Going There’
Podcasts: “How I built this” and “What It Takes” (*I still occasionally podcast too so check out my recent conversation with the Culinary Editor at Condé Nast Traveller India)
Financial education for women: Ellevest, Suze Orman, CleverGirlFinance +
Learn for free: Coursera, FutureLearn, Udemy, Skillshare, Linkedin Learning
Ring the alarm: Things we need to keep an eye on in business, fight the good fight, and continue to help women succeed: Survey shows disproportionate number of women fleeing the agency, media and tech fields (Adage) + Report found just 12 percent of directors of 2021's top 100 films were women (Hollywood Reporter) + We need more women surgeons as study shows female patients w/ male surgeons were 15% more likely to have worse outcomes than w/ female surgeon, and 32% more likely to die (Guardian)
Culture Corner
Covid global interactive map tracker (Get your booster!)
60 Minutes: Why Americans are choosing to quit their jobs in record numbers (November saw 4.5 million resignations alone) and BBC on How the Great Resignation is turning into the Great Reshuffle
Fellow Movie lovers: SAG nominations, Academy Award predictions, Golden Globe Winners (and the drama around the GG)
NYT: The loss & legacy of Joan Didion and Bell Hooks
Independent: The game Wordle has taken over the internet
An 8 year old explains the Metaverse + Navigating luxury NFTs
WSJ: Taylor Swift’s Rerecording of ‘Red’ Is Reshaping the Music Industry
Prince Andrew sucks + his villan pal Ghislaine found guilty
Novak Djokovic does not know how to read the room in Australia
Viewers love/hate relationship with ‘Emily in Paris’ (Atlantic) and misguided storylines on ‘Just like that’ (NYT), Harry Potter 20th Special
NYT: Mental health professionals how their patients are coping after nearly two years of the pandemic
NY History: Vanderbilt legacy, book & podcast interview w/Anderson Cooper
Atlantic: Marking one year since the January 6th insurrection
Guardian: Voting rights threatened in the USA + visit DeliverForVotingRights
New Yorker Pod: A New Civil War in America? (with a CIA political scientist)
RIP Betty White, Peter Bogdanovich, Sidney Poitier, Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Go get it. See you out there.
In the wise twitter words of poet Yesika Salgado: “You don’t owe anyone your dreams. You don’t even have to follow them. They’re yours to do what you wish. BUT if you’re waiting for fear to subside before chasing them, it won’t. This is your sign. Be brave. For yourself.”