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 April 2016!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

• Want to combine a new job with a sabbatical? Try jobbatical!

• I’m honored to be on this list of the best career blogs for women!

• Night at the museum? Try a week. These fourth graders did and it changed their world.

• Do you love books + travel? Here’s the best combo ever. This Airbnb rental comes complete with its own bookstore!

• I always wondered how a bride went to the bathroom surrounded by all that tulle and lace. This has to be my favorite invention ever! Pure genius!

• Being a teenage girl these days has got to be complicated. This book tries to make sense of all the mixed messages about sext and the single girl.

• Telling your story is the most important part of building your business. This is such a great read about how to do it and why.

• Do you need that extra push to go after what you want in life? My new course, Go Get It! is maybe what you need. The premise is simple: after enrolling, you select one career, business, or income-related goal and you pursue that goal with total commitment for 6 weeks in a row. We are still taking last minute sign ups. Or get your name on the list for next time.

• Here’s what fruits and vegetables looked like before we spent hundreds of years domesticating them!

• A model who caught the coding bug, Karlie Kloss is taking it up a notch by launching her own Kode with Klossy coding camps for young women aged 13-18 in Los Angeles, New York, and her hometown of St. Louis. Here’s a behind the scenes look.

• As work changes at warp speed, here are 2025’s hottest job sectors (and the skills you’ll need to work in them).

• Can a company upend capitalism and never turn a profit? The fascinating story of Etsy.

• Photographer Helena Price’s touching project features designers, engineers and product managers who break the white-bro stereotypes: 100 Portraits That Tell The Stories of People Under-represented in Tech.

• Will you sprint, stroll or stumble into a career? The many ways that young adults find their way into the work world.

• If, on the other hand, you are at the stage of life where it is time to reinvent yourself, here are some great stories about people who have changed their lives because they were no longer happy in their chosen careers, simply needed a change or were driven by a new-found passion. From a 70-year old yoga instructor to the lawyer who became a chaplain, the possibilities are endless.

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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 February 2016!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

• At age 67, this mother of 11 and grandmother of 23 became the first woman to walk the entire 2050 mile Appalachian Trail. She told her daughter: “If those men can do it, I can do it.”

• We tend to think of brewers as men — at least I do! Not true. Here are more than 40 Babes Who Beer: Women Brewers, Bartenders and Entrepreneurs.

• Is blogging dead? Maybe not, but the times sure are a changing. Chris Guillebeau’s read on how the world of online publishing is changing.

• What are your other options? Alexandra Franzen lists 35 things you can do instead of starting a blog.

• Can we train ourselves to be happy? Science says we can and this app will show you how.

• Next time your kids complain about walking to school, have them watch this!

• Lena Dunham and Jane Fonda explore everything from feminism and motherhood to Hollywood sexism and dangerous women. Read it here.

• A great column from Parker Palmer (one of my favorite columnists) in Krista Tibbet’s On Being (also a fav) with advice on what to do when you are feeling lost (hint: stand still).

• Susan Hyatt shares chef Brandon Week’s recipe on how to cook a perfect sunny-side-up egg. Watch out, the photo will make you very hungry!

• Stuck in a long commute? Need some great podcasts to listen to? Here are some top picks.

• Love these moving portraits of the most famous folks in Hollywood. Watch out — they are tricky!

• And to end on a funny note, here are 100 jokes that shaped modern comedy.

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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 first link round-up for 2016!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

• The microwave oven, safety glass, smoke detectors, artificial sweeteners and x-ray imaging all came about as the result of serendipity, as do over 50% of all patents. Which leads us to ask: do some people have a talent for serendipity or is it just dumb luck?

• The New York Time’s readers contributed a story and a photograph of someone close to them who died last year. Here are the moving tributes.

• Ready to make 2016 your best year yet? Here are 100 small but easy ways to make it happen. My favorite: “Listen before speaking”. I also really like “Invest in an awesome mattress”.

• While we are at it, what if we made goals that were more about loving what we have rather than chasing what we don’t (which is why a good mattress is key!). Here are a few ideas to get you started.

• Jessica Alba went from a pretty girl in a bikini to the head of a billion dollar company. Her transition was not always an easy one, but her story is inspiring to anyone who is trying to build a business that makes a difference.

• I always thought that being an obituary writer would be such an interesting job. Turns out that dying, like living, is never easy. Here’s a behind the scenes peek at the obituary column for the New York Times.

• Looking for an Airbnb experience with a little extra luxury and TLC? Try onefinestay: the pioneers of handmade hospitality.

• Do you live in Portland, Oregon? On the first Saturday of every month, check out LETTERS & BRUNCH. Eat delicious food. Sip a mimosa. Write a few heartfelt letters. Leave full and happy.

• The kind of work we do often presents us with the Hobson’s choice of having a job that nourishes the soul versus one that nourishes the wallet. If given the choice, what would you choose?

• I love this Dani Shapiro piece On Mentors. “We need those who are able to remind us to become who we are.”

• The grass always looks greener. Working in Silicon Valley always seems like the nirvana so many people are striving for. But every story has two sides. Read: What’s Eating Silicon Valley?

• I don’t always love these best of lists but these 600 bright young entrepreneurs, talents and change agents are certainly an inspiration. The Forbes 30 Under 30 List (in 20 different categories).

• Need to learn the art of the pitch? Take a class on pitching yourself from Barbara Corcoran of Shark Tank.

• “Simple acts of kindness can make someone’s day and possibly even cause a worldwide ripple effect.” Read Alex Franzen’s post on Daymakers – people who are changing the world simply by making people’s days.

• Superintendent Tiffany Anderson is a daymaker.

• And check out these other Daymakers. The Turkish bride and groom who spent their wedding day feeding over 4000 refugees. Or the coffee shop that lets stray dogs sleep inside each night so they won’t be left in the cold. These are just two of 65 everyday people who have changed lives with their small acts of kindness.

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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 final link round-up for 2015!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

• Yes, we all revert to childhood patterns when we go home. Here’s what you can do about it.

• From a painter hitting her stride at the age of 100 to a 35 year old artist/studio manager at the center of New York’s buzziest scene, these 14 female visionaries are carving out fresh, fearless ways to rule the art world.

• Thinking about leaving your job and becoming an entrepreneur? Here are 23 awesome reasons to work for yourself.

• Every time I get in a cab in NYC (or anywhere for that matter), the cab drivers are on their cells. Ever wonder who NYC cab drivers are actually talking to on the phone?

• Baby, it’s cold outside. Here are some yummy, healthy and hot drinks to get us through the cold winter months.

• He started it in his dorm room as a dating site. Today, it has a following of over a billion and a half users a day. What’s next? Here is Mark Zuckerberg’s bold plan for the future of Facebook.

• Hannah Brencher has dedicated her life to showing total strangers they are not alone in the world. You can help. The world needs more love letters.

• Female executives and filmmakers are ready to run studios and direct blockbuster pictures. What keeps them from doing it? The women of Hollywood speak out.

• Feeling stuck in your job and not sure what to do about it? Here’s how 5 real people made massive career changes — and you can, too!

• Two of my favorite actresses are Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Their TED talk is a celebration of lifelong female friendship.

• From Afganistan’s first female pilot to the 57 schoolgirls who escaped the terrorist group Boko Haram, let’s not forget these bad-ass women who are an inspiration to us all.

• The latest in tech: 21 female founders who killed it in 2015.

• Finally, let’s honor those who died this past year: remembering some of the artists, innovators and thinkers we lost in 2015.

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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 November.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

• The Nazis called them “Night Witches” because the whooshing noise their plywood and canvas airplanes made reminded the Germans of the sound of a witch’s broomstick. The Russian women who piloted those planes took it as a compliment. In 30,000 missions over four years, they dumped 23,000 tons of bombs on the German invaders, ultimately helping to chase them back to Berlin. I recently came across their amazing story.

• This bucket list not only changed this woman’s life, it gave her life.

• It’s sometimes hard to describe all the great things that come from working with a career coach. Here’s one woman’s experience.

• I love Katrina Kenison’s musings on life. She never fails to touch my heart.

• Filmmaker and artist Yann Arthus-Bertrand spent 3 years collecting real-life stories from more than 2,000 women and men in 60 countries Here is the result: Human — The Movie. Watch the introduction. And then the movie. It’s in 3 parts so settle in.

• 101 Career tips you can learn in 3 seconds.

• Zaria Forman’s art depicting the ravages of climate change is extraordinary. Even more interesting is how her work was profoundly influenced by her mother’s photography. Read: A Mother’s Legacy of Art, Icebergs and Inspiration.

• The NPR Interview with Brandon Stanton, the amazing human behind Humans of New York.

• Wow. Wow. Wow. The 2016 TED prize winner!! Star Wars, Star Trek and Indiana Jones all rolled into one!

• 20 Independent Magazines every creative should have on their coffee table. I want them all!

• Elizabeth Gilbert explains why we should follow our curiosity rather than look for our passion

• Dan Carlin has created a one-man empire with his podcast Hardcore History. He makes the past as entertaining as a blockbuster. Check it out.

• Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Gloria Steinem: two women who have held the lantern for us all.

• Black Friday be damned. Here are gifts that make a difference.

• An amazing look at Leonardo da Vinci’s brain and why he was able to see things that no one else could even imagine.

• Cities are changing. New York City is no different. A fascinating look at New York’s disappearing store fronts.

• Fast Company is going to be 20! Here are their predictions of what our world will look like in 20 years!

Find great work. Do great work. Unlock every door in your way.

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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. Here is the link round-up for October.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

• Puppetry Artist and Director. An Inorganic Chemist tackling climate change using nanowire photonics. These are just two of the 24 amazing and inspiring 2015 MacArthur Fellows.

• New to San Francisco? Check out this healthy city guide and learn all the best places to exercise, get healthy food, and get that much-needed massage. Live in Chicago, Boston, New York or Los Angeles? There are guides for those cities, too!

• Have you ever wished that you could wave a magic wand and get all your questions and research needs answered? Now you can. Check out Ask Wonder. Detailed answers and resources delivered to your inbox!

• While the tech world can certainly use more women at the helm, there are some amazing women bucking the male trend in Silicon Valley and rocking it! Check out these 15 female founders building amazing tech companies.

• All women owe a debt of gratitude to these 15 women who have created and defined contemporary American culture.

• There are 62 million girls around the world are denied the right to an education. Michelle Obama wants to make them visible. Add your photo to the yearbook and your voice and support.

• Refined sugar is a drug. Giving it up can clear your brain and unleash untold stores of energy. Try it for 2 weeks and see what happens.

• Suleika Jaquad is one of my heroes. Her beautiful life was interrupted in the prime of her youth. Now she is trying to make sense of it all. Here’s her 100 day project.

• I love stories and obituaries are no exception. Here’s a peek into what happens when death comes and the obituary follows.

• Really? Nude women plastered all over the subways are ok but not women’s underwear?

• If I could do it all over again, I would be Terry Gross. An in-depth look at the amazing woman that has perfected the art of the interview.

• How many times every day do you misplace your phone, keys, and well, anything. Finally, an app that will save you hours of searching each week.

• I’ll admit it. I was a Barbie fan girl in my younger days. Now Barbie is trying to project a new image, telling girls they can be or do anything. Great message — but the new ad is not without its detractors.

• Have you read Lena Dunham and Jennie Konner’s new newsletter – Lenny? Just a few months in- they already have 160,000 subscribers and big plans for the future.

• Silicon Valley suffers from a dearth of women and people of color. And also this. Where are all the old people in Silicon Valley?

• Love what you are doing but also starting to feel the winds of change? What to do? Alex Franzen suggests you ask yourself — What if Your Job Didn’t Exist?

Find great work. Do great work. Unlock every door in your way.

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Image: Willie Franklin.