Remabulous

Just because I'm going to miss this event doesn't mean you have to!

I wanted to share with everyone an amazing opportunity to spend a day with a teacher who has made a huge difference in my business these past few months. In fact, her services have helped me jump into a whole new arena: I stand to take in more new business this month than I ever have before. I am so happy to be able to serve more clients than ever before and to learn how to attract those clients who are meant to be working with me so we can all move forward.

Even in a crazy economy.

I was so sad to hear that Gina Ratliffe had scheduled her next amazing daylong seminar for March 7th because I had already planned to be out of town for a badly needed vacation with some old friends.

However, I realized that the next best thing would be to make the event available for those people who will still be in town.

So... here's the deal: You get an amazing day learning about internet marketing, which is much more fun than it sounds, and you will learn how speaker David Neagle has helped women entrepreneurs make millions and how Gina herself has gone from having her power turned off two years ago to making 500k a year.

Please go for me and take good notes!

Here is the link to sign up. Do so asap, because it filled to capacity very quickly last time.  I know you won't regret it. If there is one thing we all need right now, it is hope, and every time I work with Gina I am absolutely bursting with it afterward. 

Inspiration Weekend!

It's Oscar weekend... and I've just finished watching the show with my mom, my brother, and my friend Erin. It is always fun to watch people recognized for that hard work that goes into film. Yes, it's a glitzy industry that encourages unrealistic plot lines in our lives, but it also encourages us to think big and to live outside the usual small box we can all get trapped in.

I am the sort who has always sought escape and new ideas inside a theater instead of in religion. I am so grateful to see that stories of hope were recognized... Milk's claiming Best Actor was a great piece of excitement in the house as it cast further light on the injustice of Prop 8 and the attitudes of those protesting outside the events, as Sean Penn pointed out.

And the big hit of the night was Slumdog Millionaire, the story of a boy who came from incredibly difficult beginnings to find incredible riches and the heart of the girl of his dreams. Who wouldn't hope for such a life?

We can all follow our dreams in the same way. And those other films that were honored with nominations, like The Wrestler, Wall-E, as well as Jerry Lewis honored with the humanitarian award made it a hopeful show.

And the new presentation choice of having five previous winners presenting each nominated star with a personalized statement of why they were nominated was a lovely and personal touch to the evening. And the gracious and thoughtful acceptance speeches, especially from Kate Winslet talking about dreaming of an Oscar as a child practicing with a shampoo bottle in the bathroom mirror, and the elequent words of Milk screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black, who had the speech of the night. Here he is in an interview a month ago...

But then again, it's always fun to see people get dressed up to celebrate hard work and have fun. How will you dress up and have fun to celebrate what you've accomplished in the last year? I hope you are having fun tonight, too...

Writers: don't miss this class!

Hello all!

After writing the column yesterday about the conundrums of going back to school, I got to thinking about the fact that I am, in some ways, always in school in one form or other.

One way I have been happy to keep my brain going is through workshops and study from home courses. I have been working on my fiction writing for quite a while now- I took classes at Ripe Fruit Writing in San Francisco with the magical Leslie Kirk-Campbell while I lived there and, once I moved to LA, found a great community of support with Edan Lepucki's Writing Workshops LA

Since so many clients I work with have a book in them- I just know it!- I want to keep you all abreast of great writing offerings.

My teacher, Edan, is offering a class at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena for two Saturdays in March and I think it will be pretty badass. It is geared towards the beginning writer, so if you have been thinking about starting some writing projects, this fiction seminar might be just right for you. Check it out!

Now I am off to an afternoon of writing, both for Remabulous projects and for my Novel, which is up for critique in a few weeks. Aie! I am currently in Edan's Novel writing course and loving it. Don't miss out on the chance to study with a lady who really knows her stuff and creates a really supportive and motivating atmosphere!

Ask Remabulous: Should I go back to school?

Hello All! I can't believe it's been a whole week since I posted last time. recovering from surgery has definitely slowed down my output for the moment.

However, I am glad to say it has not slowed down your questions!

This week, I got a question from a reader about that timeless dilemma: to get another degree or not. Here's the situation in her own words:

"Dear Ask Remabulous,

I am considering returning to school for a doctorate in my field, at the school where I currently teach.

 It would be a two-year commitment, and I could still carry on my current work while in school. It would require one LONG weekend a month (Thursday through Sunday, long hours!).

It would still be quite a financial commitment, even with my faculty discount. How can I determine if I have the stamina for this, and if the benefit to me professionally would be worth all the hard work?   That is my dilemma.

Sincerely,
Should I Hit the Books Again?

image: austinevan

I am so glad you asked this question! So many people struggle with this situation. Let's take a look:

Help me! I'm drowning in social media!

This week's question comes from a reader who is facing a dilemma that I am sure is rampant among even the tech savvy creative people out there: am I required to be publicly online in order to get ahead at this point, and if I am, how do I do it well? This week's request was worded so well, I will let her speak for herself:

 "Dear Ask Remabulous,

I have been very hesitant to get on Facebook, but the peer pressure is mounting.  I feel overwhelmed with all the new technology (Twitter, Zumbox, blog feeds, etc) but also know that I am missing out on advancing my next career move.  The main reason I have resisted is because I don't want to be chained to my computer, something I have not been able to avoid in my two career choices so far!  Any tips on how to use all this new technology to our advantage, but not get sucked in 24/7?

Sincerely,
Take Away My Ball and Chain, LA"

image: mrlerone via flickr

Don't Divorce 18,000 Gay California Couples!

This video was made as part of the Courage Campaign, in an effort to stop Ken Starr in his attempts to divorce the 18,000 gay couples who were married for the window when gay marriage was legal before Prop 8 was passed. As the child of a gay parent, this issue is very close to me.

While I am recovering from surgery, I've had more time to catch up on online reading and video posts. This is a beautiful video giving faces to all the couples who would be affected by such a barbaric ruling. Please watch and, if you are moved to, sign the petition to preserve these marriages. I look forward to the day when the rights of gay couples to marry are taken for granted. We're not there yet, but I hope we will be soon.

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Going under the knife tomorrow....

At long last, I am getting to go under the knife tomorrow. My tonsils have been a source of stress and strain for years.

I never thought I would sigh with relief when a surgeon said to me, "Ok, let's do it," as mine did this morning, finally agreeing to go on schedule and take the little bastards out.

Most surgeons have tried to dissuade me, saying the pain will be awful, citing weeks of recovery eating mush and other inconveniences. I think that two fevers over 103 and one over 104 in the past few weeks along with incredible throat pain before I even got in the operating room is enough to convince me that it's time.

So, the moral of the story is: sometimes a little pain is worth it to push through to a new place where you won't be bothered with that particular problem anymore. And if the cure is even a bit less painful than the disease, it's worth going through with it.

If there's something you are putting off because you are afraid it will be painful to deal with, I urge you to reconsider. My aunt found my grandmother's address book recently and was reading it to me over the phone today- she had a list of illnesses she had dealt with and their dates. One was a recurrent foot pain, which was finally cured with surgery 35 YEARS LATER. I have suffered with a bad throat for 31, she had a foot pain for 35- why do we do this to ourselves?

Life may be said to be short, but decades of inconvenience and unpleasantness still feel pretty long to me. Whether it's health related, work or otherwise clogging up your life- if you've got a pain, do your best to get it fixed.

I promise you'll feel better when the band-aid is off.

I'm taking the rest of the week off for surgery and recovery. See you all next week. Wish me luck!

image: Olivander

5 interview questions for me from Danielle LaPorte

I am back from the dead, temporarily, this Superbowl Sunday. Danielle LaPorte, co-author of Style Statement, one of my favorite books of 2008, has recently launched a new site of her own, White Hot Truth. A fusion of inspiration, provocative inquiry, and good style, it's a great site to follow.

One of her posts, in which she was interviewed by Larry of Yesterday,Today, Forever, included an invitation to post if you wanted a series of 5 interview questions from her.

I was delighted to accept that challenge, as the answer I am trying to give as often as possible in life is captured beautifully in Danielle's image above.

Here are her questions, and my answers:

image: Danielle LaPorte from truisms on WhiteHotTruth.