Daily Inspire

SPONSORED BY KIT Hey Reader, When I was in Paris in 2017, I took a live nude drawing class. Before we started, the instructor told us it was going to be extremely taxing, and that people often underestimate how much mental energy it takes to focus on a subject for hours. I relished in this. Who doesn't love a challenge? First we had to focus for 5 minutes while the model held different poses. Then 15 minutes. Then 20 minutes. Then an hour. Midway, the instructor came around to see our...

SUPPORTED BY SHOUTOUT.IO Hey Reader, Are you self-critical? Or are you one of those weirdos who has radical self-acceptance? (In which case, can we hang out?). Because one thing I notice about self-critical people like me is we've got a funny little wound around acceptance. Someone, somewhere said we were weird or different or too much or not enough and we made the mistake of internalizing it––of using every experience we could to justify why they're right. And oh boy, does that take its toll...

THANKS TO POCKET-SIZED COACHING Hey Reader, Yesterday, my business coach made an observation about the way I work that was both amusing and accurate (if not a little bit vulnerable). He said, "The thing that excites you and the thing that makes you feel guilty are the same thing." I'd mentioned how I love working in sprints which ultimately requires significant rest to recharge––and I feel guilty about that, but there's something about the urgency of sprints that just gives my brain the...

SUPPORTED BY SQUARESPACE Hey Reader, Have you ever felt like you know exactly what to do, but are scared to actually do it? Even when something's good for you, change is scary. The trick for overcoming that fear and doing the thing you want is this: You can either make the thing less scary OR make the scary matter less. Make it less scary This is possible by priming our brain, and there's only two ways I know how to do that: Take on little bits at a time. Have a public talk coming up? Make a...

Supported by Kit Hey Reader, I'm sitting at a coffee shop in Phoenix––the first ever specialty shop here––reminiscing about the start of this spot. Back in the day, it was about pretentious baristas and great coffee. They were the leading local roaster for years, and knew it. Not only did they know it, but were kind of assholes about it. The comments and reviews were always about the pretentious vibe and the stuck-up staff, but we all dealt with it. They could afford to be assholes. And that...