Before I jet off for a few weeks

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Hey [FIRST NAME GOES HERE]!

Happy Friday! Short and sweet newsletter today because 1) it has been A WEEK, I tell you (related: my kids’ last day of school was one week ago), and 2) It’s freaking beautiful outside here in Minneapolis today, I spent the morning at various doctor’s appointments, the afternoon on calls, and I need to get out for a long walk on a lake. I’m sure you get it.

In an effort to ramping up my consulting business, I’ve been having lots of talks, coffees and drinks with fellow consultants and solo-preneurs these past several weeks. I always marvel at how generous people are with their time for things like this, and how willing people are to introduce you to other cool and helpful people. I will always pay it forward and do the same, of course, but if you’re one of these people and you’re reading this: THANK YOU. (And if you’re not, maybe you should think about how you can help a person out in some way! It’s good karma if anything.)

A pattern I’ve noticed in all of these talks is that every person is going through kind of a lull in their client work right now. Not that there isn’t any work, but there’s a whole lot less than there was previously. As a person just starting out – who has no clients at the moment, by the way (hmu!) – it’s a little unnerving to hear it. On the other hand, I’m grateful to hear it. None of these people are throwing in the towel, telling me the consulting/contract/boss-free life isn’t worth it. In fact, everyone was super encouraging. They just were acknowledging that things are a little challenging at the moment, and they were optimistic that it would shift and turn around (hopefully sooner than later).

Some were taking the quiet time to rebuild their websites, build their LinkedIn presence or do a little work on the admin side of the business. Some were taking the time to concentrate on home and family stuff. I found all of this helpful and heartening. I know there will be ups and downs in this work, but it’s mentally good for me to see how other people get through it and know that I too will get through it.

In the meantime, I am going to take advantage of my downtime by doing a little travel throughout the month of June (a trip to Jackson Hole and then London, Dublin and Amsterdam/Haarlem) so I’m going to hang up the ol' “Out of Office” sign on this newsletter for a few weeks. 😎

Cheers to the wonderfulness of June and to all of us getting out to enjoy it in our own way!

A little summer reading:

• ​Does Your Boss Practice Toxic Positivity? from Harvard Business Review. Thank you, Chuqing, for sharing this Harvard Business article with me about bosses and toxic positivity that was published on the same day or slightly after my newsletter about toxic positivity! Glad to see I'm aligned with actual experts on the topic.
• ​How Wombats May Save Other Animals from Wildfires from The NY Times.  🐨🔥
• ​Jonathan Groff Rolls Merrily Back from the New Yorker. Even if you don't follow Broadway actors, you'll love this reverse-order Q&A with Jonathan Groff, who is currently in the Sondheim musical with Daniel Radcliffe on Broadway but who many of us remember as the very spitty king in "Hamilton" that we watched on HBO during the pandemic lockdown times (or if you were lucky, with Lin-Manuel on Broadway in the Before Times).
• ​How People Get Sucked into Misinformation Rabbit Holes and How to Get Them Out from The Conversation. Not a brand new piece, but I think this topic only continues to be disturbingly relevant.
• ​The Neighbor at the Center of the Alito Flag Controversy Speaks Out - National Public Radio. I heard this when I was stuck in traffic picking up my daughter from meeting a friend in St. Paul yesterday, and I was actually grateful to be in the car to hear this crazy-bananas story about Mrs. Alito.

That's it. Thank you so much for reading, and I'll see you in July!

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