Hi everyone,
I hope this email finds you cruising into the holidays and able to take a much needed break from 2020. I’m now solidly into a two-week breather and I can already feel a sense of relaxation and renewal. Here’s to hoping all of you are experiencing the same feelings and that you’ll hit 2021 with a burst of energy that carries you out of this pandemic.
Thanks so much for reading and now, on to the newsletter.
Financial Stability Tip: How To Live In A City With A High Cost Of Living
I live in Los Angeles, which has one of the highest costs of living in the country. Our decision to move to LA was, in part, prompted by the decision to get away from the Midwest winters, but also to pursue a job that brought great meaning and joy to my life. As an artist, making the move to a city with a high cost of living when there is no guarantee of a stable income can be difficult. The trade-off is that you become a part of a vibrant community of artists and, with a much larger population than in other parts of the country, there are just more opportunities to create.
Tip: Considering a move? Check out a cost of living calculator and find every opportunity to cut costs in the first year so you can find financial stability. That includes having a large enough savings to shield you from any financial headwinds that might come your way and coming up with a plan to live beneath your means.
Work/Life Balance Tip: You Won’t Always Need To Split Your Time With Others
One of the biggest challenges with attaining work/life balance is effectively dividing time between our co-workers, significant others, children, extended family, and friends. This incredible article shows that how we distribute our time is a constant balancing act in our 20s, 30s, and 40s. What I find most fascinating about this article is that striking a balance between all of the people competing for our time earlier in life makes having alone time a real challenge.
Tip: Based on the article above, if you crave alone time, you have to come up with a plan to combat all of the competition of your time. Schedule a two-hour block of time aside in your calendar at least twice a week just to be alone. I’d also suggest that you embrace the ride you’re on right now in your 20s, 30s, and 40s because it will fundamentally change as you get into your 50s and beyond when the kids are likely out of the house and the grind at work starts to slow just a bit. Enjoy the race now for what it is.
Tips On Finding Meaning: Steps To A Fulfilled Life
Feeling fulfillment in life is something that many of us crave. One thing that I am realizing these days, especially when sheltered in place, is that my definition of fulfillment is often largely based on someone else’s plan. Additionally, I can be a bit impatient with the pathway that leads to fulfillment and it makes for some unsettling times on the personal development front.
Tip: Accept that the path towards fulfillment is as meaningful as when you actually attain fulfillment. Embrace your personal hero’s journey, work through the challenges, and celebrate the wins. In his last poignant post for the Guardian, Oliver Burkeman has some great thoughts about finding fulfillment.
Field Notes: Tips On Writing Through the Lens Of Rudolph
So many great stories are delivered by formula. The hero’s journey has been utilized for centuries and we often look for patterns in order to fuel our creative process. This newsletter has become a great opportunity to hone my skills as a writer using a formulaic approach. The personal account on a particular subject matter, followed by a tip and a link have worked well as a primer for my writing.
Tip: If you’re having trouble figuring out how to start writing for a blog or knowing what to say from the stage, start by telling a story. Roy Peter Clark lays out an incredible process for writing and storytelling from the perspective of how Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer was written.
The Way Things Work: How To Crush It On Twitter
For anyone trying to figure out how to move their social media channels from passive consumption to an active community, I am a firm believer that Twitter is the platform in which to build your skills. The fact that Twitter is text based and you are limited to 280 characters per tweet means that you have to be very specific with your message. If you can get your message right on Twitter, I’ve found that it’s fairly easy to expand to other platforms.
Tip: Before you take the steps to build a community on any social media platform, understand why you are building in the first place. After that, it’s about how specific you can be for your audience. Start small and grow from there. Here’s a great post on how to crush it on twitter.
Things I Loved:
- The year in photos.
- Merry Saturnalia
- Some serious finger picking
- Happy Winter Solstice
- Urban Reshuffle?
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