mistakes & self-sealing

May 6, 2015 - Daily Notes, From the Editor

"Place your ribcage into neutral so that your lower ribs are flush with your abdomen," she said.

Standing in line for coffee this morning, I was doing this. Shifting my weight back into my heels first, like she showed me, then aligning my diaphragm over my pelvis. No one noticed my subtle movements but they resulted in soft, centered strength. Mild effort created powerful self-containment; and with it came ease.

Amanda is my strength coach and we are working on my posture. We are always working on my posture. "Your ninety-year old self is so grateful for you today!" she chirps, usually once during our weekly workout. I wonder if my nonagenarian self is still doing these invisible exercises while she waits in line for her morning joe. I wonder what other things she has mastered that I have yet to know. 

What I do know is that we are made of water and so we must cultivate the ability to self-seal if we are to move through this life with any sort of coalescence, with any sort of uprightness, with any sort of ability to guide and have agency over what we do with our time here.

This week has been full of water. I put out a call to hire a social media and sales assistant and received numerous beautiful replies and inquiries. More than I can attend to, truthfully. I interviewed a few this week. I realized, in meeting and talking with talented and creative social media marketers, that I made a mistake.

I do not need someone to do social media for Lucia. Not yet, anyway. I am doing fine with social media. What Lucia needs right now is a revenue-generator, a sales goddess, someone who loves--actually thrives and feels happy--selling Lucia to independent retailers and increasing the amount of money coming in, so that we can keep going.

It's a funny thing when you see you've made a mistake. There are two choices: 1. Pretend like nothing happened and keep going in the wrong direction to save face, or 2. Say the words, "I made a mistake" out loud and then change course.

The universe wants us to choose number two. But that second choice requires the ability to stand upright and contain ourselves. No one else is responsible for your posture but you. There are great coaches in this world (thank you, Amanda Ford) but all they can really do is show us how. We have to do the work of holding ourselves together. 

Coffee lines are good practice zones.

xo
laura

there aren't any mistakes

“Just ask yourself, what is the NEXT right move? Because there aren’t any mistakes.”

— Oprah

February 24, 2016, Daily Notes, From the Editor

Sample copies of Issue Two of Lucia arrived last week. I was so overwhelmed with my day job and the accompanying client communications (emails, deadlines, deliverables) that for a couple of hours I just let the FedEx box sit on my kitchen table. Unopened.

Our design advisor Karly's package must have arrived at the same time mine did because I got a text message with a photograph of her holding the new issue, "Congrats, lady, she is gorgeous!"

That's when it hit me. I am not too busy to open that FedEx package. I am too scared.

Why? Because my ducks are not all in a perfect row yet. I thought they would be by now. I haven't lined up the draft emails and blog posts and order buttons and social media messages and website photographs and new sales plans and...these things are all quacking around in my brain like a flock of nervous chaos with feathers. 

I want them all in perfect order before opening that box. I want to be breathing calmly and have everything prepared so it will fall effortlessly into place.

Perfectionism is an insidious and debilitating state of mind. Just when I think I've conquered my addiction to being seen as perfect, I catch myself putting joy on hold and refusing to open the most treasured creation I've made in months until I can write a perfect email about it and have a bulletproof plan for exactly how everything will unfold from here.

Karly's text snapped me back to reality. Ready or not, Issue Two is here. It's all about perfection. Which is, well, perfect.

Today I'm working to herd those fluttering plans into line because on March 1 we'll be unveiling the new cover and shipping Issue Two : Perfection.

There is a little piece of paper pinned to the bulletin board above my iMac as I work. It has some words I heard Oprah Winfrey say recently: Just ask yourself, what is the NEXT right move? Because there aren't any mistakes.

My next move is to upload the pre-orders we've received. One step at a time, I keep going. Whatever you are creating, I hope you will too.

xo
laura