Once a month, I curate the best links on how to find work that you love, be excellent at what you do, and unlock any door that stands in your way. Mostly, I gather articles and podcasts that capture my attention because they make me think or laugh. Here is the link round-up for October 2016!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

• The ‘most rejected person in the world’ shares how to create work you love.

• These eleven women reinvented themselves in mid-life and never looked back!

• Great advice from Alex Franzen if you are searching for your life’s purpose.

• Don’t lie on your resume! Those little white lies are not so little anymore.

• The world’s oldest man waited a century to celebrate his bar mitzvah! At age 113, it finally happened!

• I am so going to miss having the Obamas in the White House! At least Michelle’s kitchen garden will keep blooming after they leave.

• The Boss in an interview with Terry Gross. So good.

• Speaking of The Boss, I love this letter from a fan. It shows the healing powers of music and all the ways we can impact someone and not even know it.

• Annie Leibovitz is one of my favorite photographers. Her body of work, especially of women, never ceases to inspire me.

• Another inspirational icon, Gloria Steinem looks back on a life well lived and looks forward to all the things she still wants to do.

Happy reading and listening,

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Image: Willie Franklin.

Once a month, I curate the best links on how to find work that you love, be excellent at what you do, and unlock any door that stands in your way. Mostly, I gather articles and podcasts that capture my attention because they make me think or laugh. Here is the link round-up for September 2016!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

• This is a lovely, introspective piece from writer Dani Shapiro about how we need to embrace the good with the bad.

• Women spend so much time obsessing about body image. No one it seems is immune from that particular ringer. Too bad we can’t take all that wasted time back! Here are the thoughts of 25 famous women.

• Talking to strangers can open up interesting doors — yet all too often we pass one another without a word. In this TED article, author Kio Stark shares five ways to spark a meaningful interaction with someone you’ve never met before.

• Need some fresh career tips? Here are 15 from women we know and admire.

• Looking to work in the design field? Here are 5 design jobs that won’t exist in the future (and 7 that will grow!)

• We will sadly be saying goodbye to our amazing President. Here is a wonderful interview of Barack Obama by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.

• Are you a coffee fanatic? For your drinking pleasure, here is a step by step guide on how to make the best cup of coffee of your life.

• From a journalist who has lived to see 19 presidential elections: why this one will be the most important.

• Find out how to figure out what to do with the rest of your life by using design thinking.

• We know the words to the songs even before we see the play. Here is an ASL performance of the song, Alexander Hamilton.

• The longer you are in business, the more important it becomes to narrow down what you want to be known for.

• I love every post by Alexandra Franzen, but this is one of my favs.

Happy reading and listening,

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Image: Willie Franklin.

Once a month, I curate the best links on how to find work that you love, be excellent at what you do, and unlock any door that stands in your way. Mostly, I gather articles and podcasts that capture my attention because they make me think or laugh. Here is the link round-up for August 2016!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

• Nonprofit work is grueling and often not very funny. This irreverent site pulls back the curtain to show the real people and feelings behind the work of doing good.

• This head of hiring at Google has sifted through over 2 million resumes. Here’s how he sorts through them all to find just the right people for the job.

• What is the best way to maneuver through our throwaway culture? Buy Me Once focuses on showcasing products that are built so well that they’ll never break — better for the environment and your bank account!

• One of the secrets to being productive is the touch it once mentality, from email to dirty dishes.

• Two of my favorites. Krista Tibbets interviews poet Naomi Shihab Nye.

• And another great podcast: Elizabeth Gilbert interviews the man behind Humans of New York, Brandon Stanton. Learn how he makes the brutal beautiful.

• Trying to decide on a quick trip before summer ends? Here is a guide for a weekend in Portland.

• Here’s how to stay healthy on a vacation and still eat, drink and be merry!

• Ready to get inspired? Check out Oprah’s Supersoul 100: a collection of 100 leaders who are using their voices and talent to elevate humanity.

• In these troubled political times, John Oliver’s weekly show Last Week Tonight is always a great mix of intelligence + telling it like it is.

• If you are like me- you are in awe and inspired by all of the Olympic athletes. Ever wonder how they do it? Here’s a little wisdom from Kobe Bryant.

• Here’s a great site out of England that gives advice and resources on how to live your life doing what you love. Yes, it’s possible!

Happy reading and listening,

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Image: Willie Franklin.

Once a month, I curate the best links on how to find work that you love, be excellent at what you do, and unlock any door that stands in your way. Mostly, I gather articles and podcasts that capture my attention because they make me think or laugh. Here is the link round-up for July 2016!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

• Do you wish someone could just plan your vacations and surprise you with the destination? Here is a travel company that keeps your vacation a secret until you get there.

• 11 years ago this woman could not even run 5km without being out of breath. Then in her 30’s, she discovered mountaineering. Today she is the fastest female to complete the Explorers Grand Slam (reaching both the North and South Pole as well as climbing the seven summits (the highest mountain on each continent).

• Thinking about stopping your nightly glass of wine? Here are 7 things that happen to your body when you stop drinking alcohol for a year.

• At a career crossroads? Here are 6 questions to weigh before taking the leap.

• Tired of getting frustrated because your internet is spotty throughout your house? This company invented a wifi router that could change the way we connect to the internet forever.

• There is nothing like the power of a mentor. Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In organization just started Lean In Circles. Check out these powerful stories.

• And speaking of Sheryl Sandberg- read this Lenny interview. It gives great insight into the kind and compassionate person who is also one of the most accomplished women of our time.

• I am a political junky but in this particular election year, it is often difficult to watch the news. My solve — podcasts!! Here are a few of my favorites.

• For all entrepreneurs who like working in coffee shops, this one in San Francisco takes reservations so you don’t have to worry about getting a seat near an outlet!

• There are times we want to move forward, but feel stuck in the job or business we are in. What to do? Sometimes what is needed is finding the courage to quit.

• It’s summertime. Airports are crowded and planes are delayed. Here are 7 ways to make those travel delays fly by!

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Image: Willie Franklin.

Once a month, I curate the best links on how to find work that you love, be excellent at what you do, and unlock any door that stands in your way. Mostly, I gather articles and podcasts that capture my attention because they make me think or laugh. Here is the link round-up for June 2016!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

• Do the best with this life to be of use: inspirational words from Angelina Jolie.

• When it comes to marriage, what you don’t know really can hurt you. Here are 13 questions designed to give couples a chance to spill secrets before it’s too late.

• Are you always jealous of those ‘overnight sucesses’? Don’t be. The truth is, it takes most people 10 years to ‘succeed overnight’.

• Tired of working in coffee shops? Try this!

• Feel like you don’t fit in? You are not alone. Listen to Lidia Yuknavitch’s TED talk: The beauty of being a misfit.

• Interested in a design job at a tech firm, but nervous about what they might ask you in the interview? Check out this insider’s article on the questions (and answers) from design interviews at Facebook.

• Even the world’s top life coach needs a life coach! Meet Martha Beck.

• The great Lena Dunham on women’s apology addiction. #Sorry/Not Sorry.

• I have mixed feelings about this one. I mean, traffic lights in the ground to alert people who are too busy on their phones!!?? Talk about enabling.

• When you have an idea, listen to those whispers. Six years after opening its first salon, Drybar is on track to do $100 million in sales this year. Here’s how it got there.

• I love Alex Franzen’s post about remembering to celebrate the tiny things.

• Still trying to figure out LinkedIn? Here are 23 Ways you can update Your LinkedIn and make yourself more hireable.

• Alice Waters, Tony Kushner join 4 other luminaries talk about the epiphanies that guided their lives.

• Beyonce’s Lemonade is not just an amazing piece of art. It is also major business inspiration to companies like Warby Parker and Air BnB.

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Image: Willie Franklin.

Once a month, I curate the best links on how to find work that you love, be excellent at what you do, and unlock any door that stands in your way. Mostly, I gather articles and podcasts that capture my attention because they make me think or laugh. Here is the link round-up for May 2016!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

• When we were in school, making new friends was part of the territory. As we age, it is not so simple. Read about how these 17 women go about making friends. If you need more help, Sarah Von Bergen created this handy guide.

• Want to know a great way to stay young? Practice. Practice. Practice.

• Bored with her long airplane flight, Eva Liparova decided to get her fellow passengers to write their secrets in a book. In total, 33 people wrote in the book. Stories of honeymoons, babies and a marriage proposal were among the tales that emerged. Check out the stories here.

• Even the most successful entrepreneur started from scratch. Alex Franzen’s chronology of how she became a professional writer will remind you that it is a step by step process (with a bit of serendipity thrown in).

• Who says there are no more original ideas left in the world? These two women came up with two great ones: Rent-a-Mom and The Decision Coach.

• OMG — the exquisite beauty of this. Just amazing.

• Here are insights from seven thinkers who have contemplated the art and science of that age-old question: how to find purpose and do what you love.

• As a solopreneur, it’s a true challenge to find the very best resources that will provide the insight, advice, and tips you need to build your business. Here are the 100 best sites to help you.

• Got a side project that you are dreaming about? Check out these 51 cool ones for inspiration. My favorite? Will Letter For Lunch: Hand lettering signs in exchange for lunch in NYC!

• The Lemonade Syllabus is a compilation of works of art, history and literature submitted by black women of all ages and disciplines based on their reactions to Beyonce’s magnum opus, Lemonade. Love and community at its best.

• How do we use conflict to grow? In this TedX talk, CrisMarie Campbell and Susan Clarke show how we can use conflict as an energy source for creativity, innovation and transformation.

• It seems like every day there are more great podcasts to choose from. Here are 8 new ones to check out!

• For all the Marie Forleo fans out there, here is the inspiring speech she gave to Oprah’s soul session. The lesson: Everything Is Figureoutable! (I too once experienced the same airport frenzy she describes- but we had a 9-foot surfboard with us!! Another story for another time…)

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Image: Willie Franklin.