I listened to a phenomenal podcast this past week - Seth Godin chatting with Rich Roll. After watching and listening (you can watch it on YouTube or listen to it on the podcast service of your choice) to this a few more times I will debrief and explain why this was so pertinent to me and the work that I am doing. Although, if you end up watching it, some of you might figure it out yourselves!

One issue for me writing this newsletter consistently is that I am looking for it to be absolutely perfect when I hit publish. Of course, that will never happen.

As Seth highlighted in the podcast when he was talking about a near-death experience he just had while swimming in the Pacific Ocean…

There’s a difference between drowning off the coast of San Clemente and putting up a blog post that isn’t perfect.

I simply need to get out of my own way and remember that this is a space to share my story, my thoughts and ideas. It is not a dissertation that has to have perfect APA formatting or a manuscript that is being sent for final edits to a publisher.

And then, of course, it comes down to MY WHY…

Why did I decide to write this newsletter?

* To write, as that is one of the only ways to become a better writer (academic or not),

* to share my story,

* and finally to have conversations and build community.

The last reason is a fairly new realization. I used to work in an office where community occurred naturally, over at the water cooler or by popping over to your neighbors cube. That really doesn’t exist for me now and it is something I really miss. An avenue to try out new ideas, talk about what happened over the weekend, or what you learned in the latest non-fiction book you just finished. More on this at the bottom of the newsletter.

On to other news…🗞️

Some of you might be wondering what happened with the Venture Devils pitch that I spoke about in the last newsletter. I wasn’t funded. But that is OK.

I first have to give a shout out and thank all of those who helped me revise my pitch. It was awesome how many people took time out of their schedules to review and provide feedback on my project. After a night of reflection (seriously the day after the zoom pitch I changed course), I realized that my message and how I was approaching the business needed a reboot. So I am heading in a new direction and I think that it is going to be great! I will share more as I move forward.

The month-long vacation that I had from school was wonderful and certainly needed! It was filled with crazy weather, the tallest Christmas tree I have ever had, watching my sons work for four days to put together the coolest brick build (like Lego - but not the Lego brand) I have ever seen, finishing a fiction novel, and above all sleeping in and spending some quality time with my family.

But all good things usually come to an end with the Spring Semester starting this past Monday. Back into the groove again. The beginning of a semester is always so refreshing. Everything seems do-able and nothing seems overwhelming or complicated. While I would like this feeling to continue throughout the semester, I have learned better than to make that particular expectation! Mindset is powerful though…I will will it into being!

Dinner Conversations 🍲

We have some of the most interesting dinner conversations, which I suppose is what happens with a variety of ages sitting at the table. There is so much that is talked about around a dinner table. In my experience, you do not necessarily need to be “sitting at a table”. It is just a time when everyone is together for a meal (although I’m not sure if breakfast conversations would be as interesting as dinner ones? Something to ponder.) Growing up, dinner time was sacred. We all had our roles in setting the table. There were rules, no music or singing being the one that is the most forward in my mind. And if your fits of contagious laughter could not be controlled you might just end up in the hallway for a little while to calm down.

Do you have memories of dinnertime?

Tonight, our conversation led to the topic of the Chinese Lunar New Year, which Alexa explained begins on January 22 and 2023 is The Year of the Rabbit 🐇. Of course this led down the rabbit hole 😂 of which Animal we all were around the table. Out came the phone and the searching began. At our table, we had one Pig, one Ox, one Horse, and two Roosters. This led to much laughter and now I finally know who were all the guests at the Emperor’s party.

The reflections that I had at the top of the newsletter have me leading down a path of revamping this newsletter a bit.

While I am in the planning stages - I just want you to know that I am looking forward to writing this newsletter on a more regular basis in order to get over my fear of perfectionism. As the famous Desmond Tutu quote goes…

How does one go about eating an elephant 🐘 ? You eat it one bite at a time.

Meaning that I can overcome this fear if I take little steps, have those small wins, see that even if I post something that is not perfect I will still be able to wake up the next day and try again.

Keep an eye out for those changes to be happening soon 🙂

For now…stay well and smile often!

(I’m borrowing this line from a colleague of mine - thanks Steve!)

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TODAY’S PICKS…what I would share if we were chatting at the water cooler 💦

📖  READING …Besides all the articles for school 🙂  I have three books in progress…Strong Mothers, Strong Sons by Meg Meeker, M.D ; Talking to Strangers by Malcom Gladwell ; Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

🎧  LISTENING …Marketplace Podcast…I have been learning about the economy from Kai Rysdal and the crew for over 5 years!

🎶  MUSIC …my playlist for January is full of chill Afrobeats that will just about get you out of whatever funk you may be in!

▶️. WATCHING …Seth Godin on the Rich Roll podcast has been on repeat whenever I have a chance (you can also find the audio only version here…)

📰 DAILY NEWS…The Morning Brew is the only email newsletter I read daily to learn about what is going on the world!

Kouda's News is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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