ChatGPT has me much less enthusiastic about writing and publishing. In the nearly two years since consumer-facing AI chatbot apps have been made available, as a writer, I have found my own interest in writing has been diminishing. I find it harder to send newsletters, write my next book, and post on social media, because [...]
How do authors build a thriving business around their published work? Spoiler alert: it's not by selling more books. In my work over the past decade with authors, coaches, and speakers, I have been behind-the-scenes of multiple 6- and 7-figure businesses. I've seen how their businesses are structured, developed the commercial offers they make to [...]
In every story, there are three characters: the hero, the villain, and the victim. A century ago, American film was born out of the vaudeville scene. The main storytelling medium at the time was melodrama, when the characters were almost comically basic. Think of the mustachio-twirling villain, tying a damsel in distress to the train [...]
Recently I taught an improv workshop at the local repertory theatre. We played many fun games, rapid games which sharpened our wits and made us laugh. What made this workshop work so well was the bell. Whenever the bell sounded, two things happened: Everyone onstage took a bow and went offstage, and Everyone in the [...]
A good power-up is easy to start & easy to select. When Mario is running through Bowser's kingdom, stomping on turtles and dodging fireballs, he needs to see his power-up clearly. Seeing such an obvious (and visible) power-up makes his choice easy, and fast, and simple. Grabbing the magic mushroom turns him into Super Mario, [...]
Impostor syndrome is a natural consequence of growth. Growth creates a gap, between who you are now, and who you used to be. We often interpret this gap, internally, as impostor syndrome. Image from iStock The only qualified experts in any subject are those who have collected a volume of failures in their field. That’s [...]
I want to share with you a theory I have about tall poppies. What happens to tall poppies? Tall poppies get … cut down. Tall Poppy Syndrome is a cultural belief in New Zealand, where I now live. There’s a lot of resistance when people see others daring to raise themselves up above the crowd. [...]
The singer Beyoncé Knowles has an alter-ego she calls Sasha Fierce. When she was young in her career, and nervous about a big show, she would internally decide it was not Beyoncé going onstage, it was Sasha Fierce. This character was brave, and strong, and confident. Assuming this persona allowed her to handle difficult challenges, because [...]
One of my coaching clients surpassed her revenue goal last month. She started August believing that her $30k goal was impossible, and wanted to avoid thinking about it. But every week, we reviewed that goal, and renewed her commitment to (attempting to) achieve it. A few times, she said, "There's no way I can do [...]
In the game of life, how well you play determines your success. Every day is another round, every year is another level, and at the end of the game, it doesn’t matter if you won the high score - all that matters is that you played the game well. There are lots of ways [...]