The human side of business

Archives for August 2016

Big Life

Destination: Procrastination.

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Me. Modeling the art of active nothingness.

I recently listened to a Ted Radio Hour podcast called “Slowing Down.” I was sort of amazed to hear that there is real, scientific data supporting procrastinators as more creatively productive than “do’ers.” This is sort of annoying for all of us who hustle to meet deadlines, who prepare for everything weeks in advance, and roll our eyes at the…

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Big Life

Age

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If you’ve ever had the thought, “can I really do this for 30 more years?” Consider that Peggy Freydberg started writing poetry in her 90’s. She was published after someone heard her at a reading when she was 106.

In the 50’s, a person’s career was established (and halfway over) at 40 years old. Now, many of us have had 5 careers/endeavors/identities by the time we read this blog. It’s also natural to wonder if you can do whatever you do – for ten more years, twenty more years – and do you want to / need to – and if…

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Small Business

Inspired Conversations

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My Inspired Conversation is live. If you have 30 minutes and want to hear more about my process, what I think about “faking it ‘till you make it” and my (unresolved) book project. Listen Here

Morning team. I’m gonna skip the blog today. In its place is an interview I did recently for theInspired Conversations podcast with Amy Schuber. Here’s what I’ll say about it: When a friend interviews you, you invariably share things that are more truthful than you would otherwise. That happened. When a podcast is called “Inspired Conversations,” you hope you can…ahem, inspire. I made it my…

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Small Business

The Ten Minutes.

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Two ads for Women’s Wear Daily. One took me under an hour to conceive and write. The other took three rounds of creative over the course of two days. I billed the same for both.

This may sound familiar: “Can you help me with XYZ? It will just take a few minutes.” The hilarious thing about anything “just taking a few minutes,” is that it only takes you a few minutes to review the creative, rewrite the copy, fix the logo, talk someone off a cliff, post the social, adjust the picture, modify the brief, call the vendor,…

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Small Business

Format

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On a ridiculously beautiful boat with ridiculously beautiful people. But that’s not what this blog is usually about, if that’s okay.

The other day a small business owner (a man), noted how much my blog seems to “feel his pain.” I liked the compliment but then had to ask – “do you think it’s too dark? Do I share too much about the struggle versus the joy?” We had a good conversation about how there are plenty of inspirational slogans and…

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Instagram

  • Join me in conversation today with @libertyforher at 1pm EST for #mentormonday. Talking about the future of small business, how to know when you don’t know, with a Q and A at the end. #entrepreneurship #womeninbusiness #community RSVP www.libertyforher.com/liberty-calendar
  • A good day to celebrate 48! #hbdtome🎉 #aliveandwell
  • Today, I got down on my knees and did something I’m slightly ashamed to say… I haven’t done in a very long time. I cleaned all the floors in my house. I scrubbed the corners of the bathrooms, the places that no one sees until they look too closely. I scoured the kitchen, edge to edge. It is a privilege (under normal circumstances) to be able to outsource this work. At the same time, it was on my knees that felt right on this day. On one’s knees there is humility. It’s the way we pray; it’s where we play with our babies, and where we come to understand what vulnerability really means. It’s often where we cry. There’s something about being close to the ground, the earth. The act of lowering our bodies also lowers our walls, our egos, our pride. Once, when I was in India, I saw something that I still think of often. I was sitting in the courtyard of a shrine, an open square surrounded by an ancient wall whose center housed a divine Hindi god. There are hundreds like them. Thousands of people, of all socioeconomic groups, were making their way in and out. The very, very poor – shoeless, toothless, penniless – stood alongside the very rich, with expensive watches and waiting drivers. Some were moving slowly, others in a rush. Worship, in India is a daily devotional practice – a stop on the way to work as much as a holy family outing. I watched as throngs of people poured out of every doorway, walking briskly past the others who had prostrated themselves in front of the structure itself – some, kneeling, noses down, others laid out on their bellies, arms outstretched in supplication. This chaotic scene plays out often there – to the curiosity of Westerners who can’t imagine ourselves face down in our own sacred venues – which might be church for some, or a concert for others. A young man, maybe 20-years old, in his rush to leave, inadvertently stepped on the arm of an elder woman still in the process of worship. With her face down buried into the stone, she most certainly felt the injury – it was the full weight of his body on her frail wrist. But she didn’t move. (Cont. in comments)
  • A very happy 10th birthday to this lil stinker. Have a feeling we’ll remember this one. #hbd #noparty #morecake
  • I can’t remember the last time… I had time. When I wasn’t in a hurry. When I wasn’t doing two, three, even four things – at once. This is unprecedented. Perhaps even sacred. Strangely, I’m now beginning to realize how upset I’ve been at never having enough… Hours…..Space…..Width…..Depth. We, as a culture, know so little about staying in one place. About settling in. About being quiet, within the quiet, in the soft corners of our interiors. We talk about it. But how much do we embody it? Our footprints are on everything, even while we talk about stillness. Our minds are everywhere, even as we preach about mindfulness. Yet, there are some of us – many of us I’m learning – who see the gift in this (undoubtedly) finite moment. We are doing things we haven’t had time to do in years. Our schedules are empty, and one thing doesn’t have to be sacrificed for another, because the day just got a lot longer. We aren’t checking the box, we’re climbing out of it – even as we’re confined to it. For the first time in a long while, we can hear ourselves think. Yes, the thoughts are scary, uncertain, confronting and even bleak at times. We see suffering, and fear. But somewhere, deep inside, is that relief I also feel? A regeneration is happening. What can we learn? What can be birthed – in all this space? What closure – within us, around us – has been forced, that needs to take hold? I hope this time can and will mean something. Because unequivocally, we are getting a message, if we’re willing to hear it. Could this be the beginning of everything that needs to be next? I’m going to let it come. And then, let it roar. I want to be ready for something precious and bold. I want this to be the time… we didn’t go back to that. We have some change to make. #covid_19

About

SMARTY began as a thriving community in Los Angeles and Boston with weekly panel discussions and events designed to better understand the mindset and growth strategies behind successful entrepreneurs. Today, SMARTY is a weekly blog written by Amy Swift Crosby who chronicles her life as a creative, parent, entrepreneur and spiritual seeker. As an urban refugee living in a New England seaside village, she unpacks topics ranging from uncertainty and doubt to the built environment and advertising. More on Amy.

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