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In my Ears: My Favorite Podcasts of 2020 ~ Small Biz Ownership, Money, and Living Life on Your Terms
I was recently asked if I’d share my favorite podcasts.. Absolutely! Most are business related – with slight differences/perspectives on focus areas – marketing including social media, writing, art, tech how-to – then they’re a few that keep me focused on the basics (finances and self-care). I encourage to check these fine folks out… As a self-described ‘visual/kinesthetic learner,’ I was shocked to discover how much I enjoy listening to podcasts (in very specific conditions, as you’ll read below)…. 😉 Here you go… (in no particular order) Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield (online biz/marketing) YESSSSS!!!!!! The Goal Digger Podcast with Jenna Kutcher (online biz/marketing/tech) This gal is both…
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Video Skills for the Win: Yes, You Really Can!
22 Takes Later…. So, I’m learning the ins and outs of recording video…. video blogging? vlogging? Whatever you call it, seems I’ll need a bit more practice….. LOL Wanna see what happens when you forget your name, do an (unplanned) Fonzie impression, and…. you’re recording the ceiling?! Oh, and your sweater and coffee cup don’t match!? Holy moly! I’m a hot mess!!! #Outtake #Blooper #WhatNotToDo #Learning Want to know when there’s more of this nonsense? Be sure to subscribe to get my latest shenanigans (ummmmm…. in-the-trenches-I’m-going-to-figure-this-stuff-out learning!) delivered right to your inbox. Entertainment free of charge… you’re welcome. 😉 p.s. Thanks for watching/reading and sharing! (Don’t forget Insta…. my favorite…
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Ten Years in the Making: How Fear (Eventually) Led to Flying from Educator to Small Biz Owner
I shared how it all began over on my About page… but wanted to share how it all turned out…. in case my twists and turns might help you realize fear is a speed bump that often slows us down but is 100% “overcomeable.” (And so darn worth it!) A quick recap in case you missed the first part of my story…. In 2011, I was in my 17th year in Education: eleven years teaching in classrooms two years as a Reading Coach for Alternative Education four in our school district’s main office as an Instructional Support Teacher (IST) and PD (Professional Development) creator/facilitator for our district’s Career Technical Education…
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Blackout Poetry: 3 Steps to Writing Stories from Others’ Words
Imagine looking at a page full of words and seeing a story begin to appear. That’s what happens with blackout poetry. It’s the story you tell from the words already told… mostly. Let me show you what I mean…. Here’s how to create your own blackout poetry/story in 3 simple steps: 1. Gather your supplies: a page from a book, newspaper, or magazine a permanent marker – might be black, but doesn’t have to be a pencil maybe a pair of readers – some of us need them! 🙂 your imagination and curiosity 2. Next, scan the page for cool words. 3. Blackout (fancy word: redact) the words you won’t…
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They’re Back!
The voices, that is. Finally! A note…. I started this post February 7, 2016, but never shared it. Not sure why not(?), but here it is…. celebrating the return of the voices in my head. What an awesome feeling it was! Feb 2016: If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you know that I suffered through a long spell of silence in my head as I struggled through difficult personal and professional changes in 2015. The silver lining was discovering mixed-media art as a tool to express myself, giving my heart and head a place to speak freely. But as I created art, I longed for…
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Read. Think. Sleep. Repeat.
Do you read? A lot? A little? Not at all? Many people I know, do not. Or do very little. Or do only for daily tasks (e-mails, road signs, contracts, notes from kids’ school, etc…). But wait. You’re reading this. Just sayin’…. According to Mr. Warren Buffett, reading a lot helps make us smarter. My takeaway when I read his advice is this: Reading often (and varied) gives us an advantage because we can oftentimes use that information in new ways as we piece different ideas, opinions, or facts together to form new ideas, opinions, or possibly – facts. This is the essence of creativity: making something new out of…
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Just. Write.
I often listen to people thinking through things at work. As an Instructional Coach, it’s a large part of my role… to listen. Just this week, I listened as a fellow teacher who’s in a new teaching role this year shared how much she dislikes what she’s doing. Not her students, but the challenges that are systemic and largely unchangeable right now. (I’ve said for years our traditional educational system in the U.S. continues to fall short of our societal needs.) As I listened, I could hear myself saying to her in my head, “Write it down. Work through it. I promise. It will help.” And yet, I didn’t say…
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Tell your Story… One Word Bit at a Time
A friend and I were talking on Facebook this week about making creative journals and writing (or not) in them. She said she loves to make them, but doesn’t write in them. I told her I don’t write in mine either…. at least not in the pen-to-paper sense. Instead, my writing in creative journals is done using ‘found words’ – sometimes called ‘word bits’ or ‘word crumbs’ by fellow writers and artists. I like to tell stories in the shortest form possible – sometimes often with six or fewer words. I like inspiring others to tell their stories, too – by sharing a few words to nudge someone’s thinking/feeling/remembering…. So…
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Tuesday Tip: Everyday Containers Contain those Word Bits
It’s not uncommon to find random words stuck in funny places around our home… the side of a chair, between the couch cushions, the bottom of my shoe, the bottom of my foot (!), the inside of a cabinet… you name it. With more than 1,000 bits cut and waiting to be pressed into use, it’s not a far stretch to find them somewhere…. lurking. waiting. hanging out. But that’s not really where I want those word bits to live! So where are they when they aren’t roaming around our home?? I find everyday containers work great… some better than others. Three of my favorites are small mayo jars, wide-mouth…
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Bit by Bit: Creative Elements and Life
It’s been a while since I cobbled words into a blog post. Nine months give or take. Where does the time go? To be sure, I’ve been writing plenty since then – filling writing notebooks before sunrise, building words into my art, and making notes in the margins as I read books that fill me with answers and more questions about the reading/writing/creating process. Business ownership also became a central theme as I committed to moving in the direction I’ve intended the past four years. Less than 48 hours ago – after a month of planning, I enjoyed a Friday night Sip and Make Mixed-Media Art Workshop with friends –…
