Everything's going to change, and it's going to be great.
It starts with contributing to others, and turns into the Universe gifting you and me with a whole host of goodness.
Today I got a taste of something wonderful. It was an old feeling I used to get often; strolling through urban streets while the city beamed back at me.
I love breathing in the dense city air - it gives me life! It's filled with opportunity and the energy of a thriving environment and all of its people.
I wasn't actually in a city today, I just had that amazing feeling.
My day started with an early morning call with a former biz dev group I used to be a member of.
My girl, AZ, and I committed to giving back to our community during this crazy time. If the world asked something of us, it would be our marketing brains. So marketing help we will provide. We want to help small business owners - and, any company really - to pivot and get hyper focused on what their best marketing strategy could be right now.
And what better way to start than to reconnect with some of my favorite small business owners in Orange County.
Yet I was hesitant on joining this meeting because my monkey brain was screaming, but what about my already crazy schedule?! I should reserve my creative energy for my paid work. Shouldn't I use my spare time to finally Marie Kondo all my clothes? Or just relax and take a dang breather already? I have other priorities!
Interestingly, it's always more fulfilling to give back. To contribute. Especially during times like these when so many people are suffering.
So I cleaned myself up, made my face presentable, but stayed in my pajama pants. Win win!
Hopefully AZ and I will help a few people and their teams.
In return, the Universe has already rewarded me with these three gifts, and I want to share them with you.
The Gift of Health
This morning I got an email from the McDougall team announcing that everything on their entire site has been opened up for FREE during this time of massive change.
Dr. John McDougall is a pioneer of this modern plant-based movement. He's been one of my trusted experts on human health and wellness and he's by far the most entertaining of all plant-based doctors. His message is short and sweet and to the point!
He's known for advocating the diet that humans have thrived on for centuries, which is a diet rich in starch-based foods like potatoes, rice, and beans.
What's for free?
All of their ebooks.
Dr. McDougall's Dietary Therapy Course.
And, the Starch Solution Course (which I'm pretty sure I paid $800 for back in the day).
My first download? The McDougall Program for Women (which the good Doc dedicated to his mom, wife, and daughter 😭😍).
The Gift of Connection
I don't know what that says either.
BUT a friend pinged me and let me know that Rosetta Stone has opened up three months for FREE, woot! (I love a good deal.)
Time to engage Elle and get closer to our Korean roots. She's always pretending to speak Chinese, Japanese, and Korean so now's the time to learn some of it for real, starting with Korean. 🤞
The Gift of Inspiration & Art
THEN I got an email from Skillshare. Someone had reviewed my class and with a moment of bated breathe, I took a look.
Phew! It's a positive review. 🥴
It's painful for me to watch myself but the future will see more of me (and AZ!). What I've learned from the process of creating courses is that it's best to get over ourselves and realize no one cares how you look. What's important is that we share the useful knowledge we have. #sharingiscaring
Skillshare is great for well-made classes on so many topics: anything art-related from Photoshop to calligraphy, and also from branding to leadership.
Here's a link for two FREE months to all of Skillshare's premium content.
(I don't get compensated for this. And if you don't want to get automatically charged by Skillshare after the two months are up, make sure to put a reminder in your calendar to disable your account!)
☝️Don't forget to watch my Email class, too. 😁 I'm amazed it's still on the first page of all of their email marketing classes and right behind Mailchimp's classes. Yass!
Lessons
Everything is changing and is in a constant state of ebb and flow. Sometimes life feels like it's moving like molasses. And that's okay - remember, ebb and flow. It won't always be like this.
But if you've been having some down weeks (you're definitely not alone) and want to get out of a funk, my high recommendation is to do something different.
Specifically, the best thing to do is give back. You have a handful of things you're really good at - pick one of them and start offering that knowledge and skill to someone.
The Universe will gift you right back. ✨
Photos from Unsplash:
Beaming city by ben o'bro
Potatoes by Monika Grabkowska
Indecipherable Korean sign by Tsuyuri Hara