Why I disappeared + kicking the can

Issue No. 527

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Whoops! I didn't mean to disappear for two days!

My Mailchimp account was suspended after my emails were flagged for violating their Terms of Service—but turns out that was a computer error. I didn't actually break any rules. (That is not in my nature...) This little hiccup also came on the last day Mercury was in retrograde. Of course.

But resolving this issue also reminded me how much I rely on this newsletter as a creative outlet and to keep my own brain churning. Challenges are good in that way.

Now back to the action...

Oh, hi friends!

Recently I’ve been meeting a lot of people who are doing what I like to call…kicking the can down the road.

Working on a book proposal? How about editing a paragraph every day…

Think starting a newsletter sounds fun? Lemme just start by coming up with a name…

Writing a TV show pilot? Revise your draft and send it to a friend for notes…

Want to write a new short play? Find a deadline for a festival nearby and put it on your calendar…

Get joy out of connecting other likeminded people? Send an email to two friends who would never cross paths and send them on their way…

Honestly, none of these things take very long to do.

They’re short little kicks — and yet the can starts to move.

You kick it more and more and soon it’s so far down the road you can't see where you started.

This photo was taken in San Francisco but still makes me want to go outside and look up.

Photo by Raul Cacho Oses on Unsplash

On handling criticism…

My saying is, “When the dogs are barking, the elephant keeps walking.” And most of my career, the dogs were barking: “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She doesn’t have deep financial knowledge.” But I let them bark.

My fave Suze Orman gives financial advice from her private island (which I visited and wrote about awhile back for MONEY!). And as a reformed multitasker, I believe in this: “I only do one thing at a time. I will forever think multitasking is the ruination of perfection.”

Mercy for Animals is hiring a director of communications and a content specialist. (Anywhere in the U.S. — these jobs are remote.) PS — My friend Rachel works here and can’t recommend it highly enough!  

“I direct by whether I feel what’s happening on stage in my body,” she said. “And I mean that quite literally — is my body moved, on a cellular level, by what I’m watching? If not, then I keep pushing.” Loved this profile of Broadway director Rachel Chavkin.

And here's another profile of the theater director Daniel Fish, who's leading Oklahoma to Broadway.

Want to be a better writer? Start by writing a fan note.

Stop doing low-value work. YES YES YES.

Why AirPods are everywhere. Very interesting case study.

Fashionable outfits for working from home. LOL

Here’s a genius method for writing emails that people always open. Welcome to EFAB!

“Half-paying attention to everything means you’re not able to fully pay attention to anything.” True true true. Here's how to stop it.

Do you like these daily emails? Please share with a friend!

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Love, Kara

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