#FtheHustle ~ 004

The Christmas tree literally fell off the top of the car. 🎄

This didnt’ happen once… it happened twice! Once when I was a little girl (and my dad ran out in the freeway to retrieve it, with my little sister crying in the car scared for him) and once when my kids and I went with my parents to cut a tree down after they retired.

After that they bought a fake tree. 🤣

Add to that the year it fell over, completely decorated… and the year my own tree fell over when I was out of town and had someone staying at my house to dog sit.

We all have these holiday memories, don’t we?

As wacky as they are at the time, these are the things I remember (O.K., I remember a few gifts too, but it was always the “adventures” that left the biggest imprint).

One year my parents sent us on a scavenger hunt when we got our first Nintendo! We had finished opening all our gifts, resigned to the fact that there wasn’t a Nintendo under the tree, and my Mom points out that there was one little teeny tiny gift in the back.

Which held our first clue.

I think we had about 5 or 6 clues in total, but the excitement of searching was priceless!

This is the second holiday season without my Mom, who went above and beyond to make everything magical (Dad helped too, they were like a well-oiled machine).

As hard as this time of year can be when we’ve lost loved ones, it’s the stories and memories that keep us going.

One of these years (hopefully in the near-ish future), we’ll be looking back on a holiday season tamped down by COVID restrictions and telling stories about zooming with family and the ways we stayed connected.

As we approach Thanksgiving here in the states I just wanted to take a moment to thank YOU for being a part of this journey with me.

Through all the ups & downs, life and business, I never take for granted that I get to do something I love and connect with such amazing people.

As crazy and hectic as this time can be, it’s usually filled with little moments that touch our hearts.

Look for those moments and savor them.

A Little Brainpower 🧠

If you have a course or product or are thinking about launching one, there’s some great tips in this article from Denise Duffield-Thomas. She decided to purchase 64 info courses and here are her takeaways. My favorite? Many of them were worth more than they were selling for.
​Read “I Bought 64 Info Courses – Here’s What I Learned

For my fellow newsletter creators, here are 40 One-Sentence Newsletter Tips from Josh Spector (well known for his “For the Interested Newsletter”). Number 2 struck a chord with me: “A newsletter for everyone will be ignored by everyone.” I also love the post headline, which can be used in a lot of different ways for different lists (and is a unique take on a “listicle post”).
​Read “40 One-Sentence Newsletter Tips” here

Tool Time 🛠

Move over Zoom, there’s a new sheriff in town! O.K., truth… I haven’t tested this yet, but it looks like a better collaboration video tool. I just got access last week (but doubt I’ll test it until next week). It kind of looks like Descript and Zoom had a baby.
​Request access to Vowel here

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I am loving Gutenberg for WordPress. I know it’s still a little buggy and has some ways to go, but it’s a much better writing experience than the classic editor. Needless to say, there are plenty of blocks plugins available for free or purchase. So far, I think the Ultimate Blocks plugin is one of the best free options out there.
​Download Ultimate Blocks for Gutenberg

For Your Viewing Pleasure 📹

I’m pretty sure I laughed most of the way through this. For anyone who has struggled with coming up with a tagline, slogan, or unique value proposition… you’re going to appreciate this. This is truly just for a little comic relief.
​Watch Ryan Reynolds share “Rejected Slogans” for his Aviation Gin company

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Since I can’t seem to get enough about email marketing, newsletters, and list growth… here’s a great interview by Neville Medhora (of Copywriting Course) and Sam Parr of the newsletter “The Hustle” (which has a list of 1.7 million people). And I get the irony of me sharing this interview in a newsletter titled #FtheHustle. Watch the interview here

Because We All Need More Books 📕

This book was life-changing for me. At a time when I was really caught up in trying to “make things happen”, Ryan Holiday comes along and shows me that the places we feel stuck or the things that are our obstacles are really what propels us forward and teaches us the most. This is one of those books I re-read every few years. Read “The Obstacle Is the Way” by Ryan Holiday

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I shared this a while back in our Content Creators Planner newsletter, but it bears repeating. This is probably my favorite Seth Godin book, and maybe one of his least mentioned (at least in the marketing world). It’s part inspiration, part story, and a lot of reminders as to why YOU get to create what works for YOU!
​Read “What to Do When it’s Your Turn: (And it’s Always Your Turn)

You can’t go wrong with a comic from “The Oatmeal” 🤣

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Feeling thirsty?

How about a little ‘Fresh Squeezed’?

Checkout the brilliant newsletter from Jodi Hersh, my good friend & partner over at the Content Creators Planner! Jodi has influenced me to shift towards a more essentialist approach to many things, which is what Fresh Squeezed is all about.

​Get Squeezed here​

Lastly…

I’ve decided to open up my one-off coaching sessions again!

These are hands-on, one-to-one Focus Sessions where you and I deep dive into your business. AND… they’re discounted through, you guessed it, next Monday!

These are one session only but I promise you’ll walk away with a plan!

​Sign up for a Focus Session here​

Have a safe and socially distanced Thanksgiving if you’re in the states!

Kim