This week I am launching my upcoming book – Listing Life. Exciting, yes, but also weirdly scary. There’s something about putting yourself (and the things you do) out in to the world that is positively terrifying, no matter how many times you do it.
I’ll talk more about the book as time goes on, but it actually didn’t start out as a book. It started as a workshop for small business owners. Many of them were intelligent and dynamic women in the 30s, 40s and 50s and they all confessed to me that they often felt as though they were drowning. They were trying and working so hard to be the perfect partner, mother, daughter, sister, friend, employer, employee, insert-other-title-here, that they’d actually completely forgotten who they were without all that stuff. And that, that lack of clarity and knowing of who they were, was sucking the life fair out of them.
It’s wonderful to speak to people about this book and have them breathe a sigh of relief and say ‘this is just what I needed’. In fact, it’s more than I could imagine. Still makes me nervous though.
Let’s see what else I’ve uncovered these past few weeks, eh?
3 things to read:
– There are certain authors who simply never let me down and Sydney-based Candice Fox is one of them. Fast-paced, action-packed, gruesome-in-parts, and just enough humour to keep you breathing properly, her thrillers are exactly how thrillers should be. I especially love that her women are real and honest (often in this genre, they’re more of an object than a human which can be frustrating). Her latest offering has absolutely delivered again and if you’re after something that is likely to keep you up past your bedtime for ‘one more chapter’ then this is it.
– In my teens, I went through a stage of reading biographies of old Hollywood film stars. Grace Kelly, Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Audrey Hepburn, Joan Crawford, Vivien Leigh…their backstory was often more fascinating than the movies they starred in (and I am a massive old Hollywood film buff, so that’s saying something!). I first heard about The Barbizon, a women’s only serviced hotel in the heart of New York, from some of these books, so when I stumbled across this title, I was immediately curious. The structure of the book takes a bit of getting used to, with timelines back and forth, but I loved learning about these brave and dynamic women and how this unique building was partially responsible for making their dreams become reality. Really interesting stuff!
– There’s some wonderful advice in this article about how creatives are never pleased. Our expectations will always change as time and work progresses (and are usually out of whack, to be fair), so it’s a great (and humbling) reminder that we are not alone in this. And that the only answer is to keep going, moving forward and creating more. Thanks Joan for sharing this one with me!
2 things to listen to:
– If you work in a creative field in any capacity then you will really enjoy this chat between Joanna Penn and David Kadavy. Joanna’s podcast is (clearly, from the title) focused on writing, and if you’re not interested in her chat about pivoting then skip to 22:49 for the interview portion. I loved the discussion about time as a measure and how that framework doesn’t work when your work is predominantly ideas. I also adore the concept of a Week Of Want when a major project is completely, and I am definitely going to try to implement this moving forward.
– We all have music, a song, album or artist, that just takes us back to a specific moment in time. From James Taylor and Carole King, through to Madonna’s True Blue album, my childhood can be categorised into many awesome musical memories. My ultimate favourite, from ages 4-10 was Olivia Newton-John. I thought she was spectacular and my sister and I spent many hours roller-skating about the narrow path around our house (the only concrete for miles) pretending we Kira from Xanadu (possibly with an off-the-shoulder frock from the dress-up box billowing behind us). When I hit my Indie Rock-Pop stage (around 14-15), I loved bands like The Lemonheads, The Pixies and The Clouds. Julianna Hatfield was on the list too, so what a find it was to discover this piece of crossover, cover glory. Love it.
2 things to watch:
– I dare you to watch an episode of this show and not shed at least one little tear. This is the second season of this gorgeous show that makes you appreciate connections, living in the moment and the importance of inter-generational relationships. I so hope these beautiful friendships last beyond the filming.
– Recently the Australian Government released a poorly executed video about consent that had everyone buzzing (mostly about how crap it was, and it was swiftly pulled from all media). It was pretty bad, but it made me think about the good ones that do exist. This one, from the UK, is a particularly practical and well-presented option. I also adore this talk from Jameela Jamil – something I think all blokes should watch – and then Clementine Ford and The Royals whipped up this option. Straight to the point, and fabulous. I was chatting with some mates just a couple of months ago about this very topic, and the blokes (all of us in our 40s) felt that the whole concept of discussing consent was unwarranted. “Don’t people just know” was their statement. Apparently not, and raising young men myself means that it’s a conversation I want to continue having. One that they, I hope, will also have with their friends and lovers as they grow. I think it’s so very important to talk about these things, especially as we get older (and, I hope, wiser). Consent is a conversation.
1 thing to think about:
I’ve recently been thinking a lot about intention. Unlike ‘finding your why’, which feels like it should somehow be big, important and righteous, I feel like ‘intention’ is more about just being aware of what the point is. After all, if there’s no point to what you’re doing, then why are you doing it?
I recently saw this quote: “We won’t be distracted by comparison if we are captivated with purpose” and while I think the word ‘purpose’ has become fairly heavy and loaded of late, I think there’s a whole lot of truth to this. It’s hard to worry about what everyone else is doing if you’re busy with your own stuff. I definitely got caught up in doing what I thought I was ‘supposed’ to be doing recently (no one told me this mind you, it was my own brain adding up 2+2 and getting 537). A good kick up the bum and a re-ask of ‘what’s the point of this’ and ‘what is my intention here?’ got me off focusing on others and back on the stuff I actually want to do. I can definitely recommend it as a tool when you’re feeling a bit stuff.
See you next time I pop in.
