Good Queen Elisandra summoned forth her boldest knight and said, “Brave Christina, there is a nameless evil that lurks in the Cave of Seven Rivers. I bid you, ride forth and slay it that the land might be free of its stain.” Christina was a most valiant knight, in joust or tourney or battle. She…
Loving rejection
Katie was a coatmaker and she opened a stall in the market to sell her beautiful wares. Dressed in her favourite morning coat – portwine silk with brass buttons – Katie stood outside of her stall to attract new customers. She addressed the passing crowd about the history of the garment, from Persia to the…
Competence, confidence, and impostor syndrome
Tewodros was born and raised in Algeria, in the hard sands of the Sahara desert. So when he and his family moved to France when he was seven, at his first sight of the lush and verdant French countryside, Tewodros literally fell down. He was gobsmacked. And so a fascination was born. To the surprise…
The teleclass recording and thoughts on benefits.
Yesterday was my first ever teleclass, and it was awesomepants. Firstly, to keep my new commitment to myself, I won’t hint at the bottom but instead I’ll open with the announcement that I launched a new resource during the call. It’s here to transform struggling bloggers into business owners – from “I have a website”…
Magnificence and the raising of standards
Jilaine was a carpenter and a woodworker. Okay, most of the time she was really a lawyer – but she wanted to spend her days with sawdust instead of solicitors. No time like the present! Every workday Jilaine arrived home, changed out of her suit, ate some steamed vegetables and chicken, and marched into the…
Recipes versus frameworks
Bill was a truck driver for thirty-seven years. He enjoyed his job, but he was grateful when he retired and suddenly had the time to do all the things he’d meant to get done but never had the time for. Thus we find Bill at the bookshop, looking for books on making bread. He found…
Ease and challenge
Sticking envelopes is boring work. But stamping envelopes is fun. When you’re sticking envelopes, it’s almost impossible to screw it up. Pull off the sticky tab, seal the envelope, make sure it’s fastened. Done. It gets painfully repetitive within thirty minutes, and coma-inducing within two hours. Stamping the envelopes, however, is a blast. Firstly, the…
The bestest tool in my marketing toolbox
You’re walking through a crowded farmers’ market and you see someone you vaguely know, sitting in an overstuffed tapestry armchair in front of my Arabian Nights tent and gesticulating wildly. I’m curled up in the other chair, listening intently. (Intently. In front of a tent! Ha ha!) You sneak in and eavesdrop. “Hello lovely, what’s…
Something you need to stop beating yourself up about
You’re moping along the dusty road when you come across me on a yellow sunchair, beaming merrily at the sun. I jump up and grin delightedly at you. “Hi there, sweetie! Why do you look so glum?” You say, I’m so pathetic. I don’t know if I should be an inner penguin coach any more….
Intimacy and distance
Teach us to care and not to care Teach us to sit still. TS Eliot, Ash Wednesday In order to powerfully serve our chosen audience, we have to get intimate. We have to know their desires, their values, the fears that keep them awake at 3am. We love them deeply. We think about them constantly….
