“When you’re working to build a community around your brand/company/product, put the right person in charge. Don’t pick the person with the most time on their hands or the most senior executive. Pick the person who has the most passion about starting a relationship with your customers. You’ll be able to spot her because she uses the word customer in most of her conversations.”

Co-author Josh Bernoff reflects on the book ten years after it’s release here.

 

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You must not ever stop being whimsical. And you must not, ever, give anyone else the responsibility for your life.
Mary Oliver

I quote others only in order the better to express myself. – Michel de Montaigne

 

These are a few of my favorite quotes and what they mean to me.

There’s power in looking silly and not caring that you do. – Amy Poehler

The world will tell you who you are until you tell the world. – Tamara Winfrey Harris

You must expect great things of yourself before you can achieve them. – Michael Jordan

You’ve always had the power, my dear. You just had to learn it for yourself. – Glinda The Good Witch

I quote others only in order the better to express myself. –  Michel de Montaigne

Those who say it cannot be done should not get in the way of those who are doing it.

I’m not better than anyone and no one is better than me.

Pour yourself a cup of ambition. – Dolly Parton

A little nonsense every now and then is relished by the wisest men.

Play is the highest form of research.

If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.

How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. – Annie Dillard

Without great solitude no serious work is possible.

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Covergirl ditched their Easy Breezy Beautiful slogan and I LOVE their new one – You are what you make up.

Droga5 was the agency behind the campaign,

We made the women of our campaign our subjects, not just objects.
Philosophically (and grammatically), our new tagline wasn’t a description but a statement, a redirection of the typical beauty-marketing focus that, in turn, positioned COVERGIRL products as tools of self-expression.

“Every day, as you stand in front of that mirror with your makeup bag and creativity, you have the opportunity to express who you are to the world and to create who you want to be.” – Ukonwa Ojo Senior Vice President, Covergirl.

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For me, and for most people, making a career change isn’t some big leap. Of course, there are overarching strategies you should think about, such as pivoting to a new role or industry, not both at the same time, or getting hands-on experience via a side gig or volunteer work, or joining an understaffed startup where you’ll get to wear all kinds of new hats.But the most powerful move I made was just doing one little thing each week that got me a little bit closer to where I wanted to go. The momentum was energizing, and I finally felt motivated to keep going, no matter how long the change was going to take. 

1. Make a list of people who’ve helped you.
2. Make a list of people you look up to. What do you admire about them?
3. Take it one step further and write them a fan letter.
4. Create a Booya Folder
5. Listen to an inspiring podcast. I love Creative Pep Talk and Being Boss
6. Listen to this episode of the Creative Pep Talk podcast.
7. Read Seth Godin’s Linchpin
8. Look up people with your dream title on LinkedIn and study their career history. How did they get where they are?
9. Perform a social audit on yourself.
10. Make a list of our favorite quotes/words of wisdom/pieces of advice.
11. Or, get inspired by the story of a successful career changer — like one of the many featured on Careershifters.
12. Read Finding Your Own North Star
13. Read Your Dream Life Starts Here
14. Look up five people who have your desired job title on LinkedIn, and study their profiles. What skills or experiences do they all have in common? This isn’t meant to be discouraging (“Ugh, they all have 10 years of experience) — it’s meant to help you identify skills you could start to add to your own resume. On that note:
15. Sign up for an online class in your dream field. Udemy, CreativeLive, General Assembly, and edX all have a great selection of affordable options.
16. Create a “networking spreadsheet” where you can keep track of all your contacts in the field. Write down anyone you know now. Then, next week’s task can be…
17. Identify one person you know who’s in the field you want to go into, and invite him or her out to coffee or lunch (your treat!).
18. Make a list of companies that
19. Sign up for interesting and inspiriting email newsetters.
20. Write our your favorite quotes. “Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet.” – Emerson
21. Create
22. Buy a journal, and write about your dreams, goals, fears — anything that comes to mind. Here’s a great guide to getting started.
23. Sign up for a meetup, conference, or professional event.
24. Say “yes” to an event, party, or gathering you wouldn’t normally attend. You never know who you might meet.

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I love this episode of Marie Forleo’s MarieTV. So many times we feel pressure from work or wherever to focus in and try to get good at one thing – but we don’t need to fit ourselves into a box.

“It’s funny because when I was growing up I would run into people in my family and at school who would say you have to pick one [interest]. And I thought – well I don’t want to pick one. I like all of these things. And I very much think that if you have lots of interests, you should explore them to the best of your ability because you never know how they’re going to interplay or which one is really going to take-off. Even if they don’t fit together in a traditional sense, that’s all the more reason to try to make it work because that’s going to separate you from the pack.”

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