Love the final shape of this, Michelle. It's inspiring and encouraging. And it transpires your beautiful and positive approach to life, where you make daunting things look easy and harmless and very relatable. I feel privileged to have witnessed your (writing) journey from the beginning. Great work. :)
Thank you so much Silvio! I feel equally as lucky to have been witnessing your writing journey from the start. And to benefit from your poetic feedback!
I left my job three years ago, took a ‘sabbatical’ living in a motorhome around the country, and now I’d like to begin to share the experience and make connections online.
I love when you say that you ‘were afraid to be publicly vulnerable.’ I believe it's me.
If you have any other tips, suggestions, or resources that may be useful, please let me know.
Ben, thank you, I'm so happy to hear the piece resonated. I also saw you are publishing a book which is amazing! So cool to see where your journey took you and best of luck on the next chapter!
Playing catch up on newsletters and seeing my name here surprised me! lol
So funny to see that tweet, especially because I think that's why we started talking! 😌
Fills me with joy to know that I could be even a smidge helpful to you in that way.
"To boldly try something different attracts attention. I assumed this was a bad thing. All I could imagine was the opportunity to fail in front of my peers."
This is an interesting point for someone like me who has an uncomfortable relationship with attention. But I also know that there is so much good that it can be used for.
And as a fellow perfectionist (like most women are) this issue is so resonate.
It is! I remember we had been in a zoom sesh together but the tweet made me feel like we were friends. It was very helpful, I *was* to shy to promo my work and having you encourage me made all the difference.
I totally get that, attention can be uncomfortable. It’s really about figuring out what we want and seeing if it lines up with the good we want to put out into the world.
Gah I’m glad it resonates too, I’m a perfectionist every day still so it’s funny to write this and be like oh right, need to listen to this.
Great stories Michelle. Especially like the flawed tumbler one. You're definitely an example of boldness that I appreciate and I always need the reminders you're offering about not letting fear and perfectionism stand in the way of contributing.
Thank you Rick, the tumbler story is one I've held dear to my heart and am happy it naturally found it's way into this essay. I appreciate you saying I'm an example of boldness, it means a lot from someone who used to launch themselves onto an extremely tall unicycle!
'But if you never publish, I can guarantee that nothing will.'
Truth bombs right here. Your journey is admirable, keep going, one tweet at a time!
Thank you so much Kelly! I'll have to give Tai credit for inspiring my last line!
Ha! Thanks for the h/t. I really like how this came together with documenting the screenshots and interactions. Also love the title!
Thank you for the help and I’m glad you like the title!
Love the final shape of this, Michelle. It's inspiring and encouraging. And it transpires your beautiful and positive approach to life, where you make daunting things look easy and harmless and very relatable. I feel privileged to have witnessed your (writing) journey from the beginning. Great work. :)
Thank you so much Silvio! I feel equally as lucky to have been witnessing your writing journey from the start. And to benefit from your poetic feedback!
Thank you, Michelle.
I left my job three years ago, took a ‘sabbatical’ living in a motorhome around the country, and now I’d like to begin to share the experience and make connections online.
I love when you say that you ‘were afraid to be publicly vulnerable.’ I believe it's me.
If you have any other tips, suggestions, or resources that may be useful, please let me know.
Love,
Ben
Ben, thank you, I'm so happy to hear the piece resonated. I also saw you are publishing a book which is amazing! So cool to see where your journey took you and best of luck on the next chapter!
Playing catch up on newsletters and seeing my name here surprised me! lol
So funny to see that tweet, especially because I think that's why we started talking! 😌
Fills me with joy to know that I could be even a smidge helpful to you in that way.
"To boldly try something different attracts attention. I assumed this was a bad thing. All I could imagine was the opportunity to fail in front of my peers."
This is an interesting point for someone like me who has an uncomfortable relationship with attention. But I also know that there is so much good that it can be used for.
And as a fellow perfectionist (like most women are) this issue is so resonate.
:)
It is! I remember we had been in a zoom sesh together but the tweet made me feel like we were friends. It was very helpful, I *was* to shy to promo my work and having you encourage me made all the difference.
I totally get that, attention can be uncomfortable. It’s really about figuring out what we want and seeing if it lines up with the good we want to put out into the world.
Gah I’m glad it resonates too, I’m a perfectionist every day still so it’s funny to write this and be like oh right, need to listen to this.
Hahaha okay but...Michelle? shy???? Weird thought.
But💙
Everything is always easier said than done! Eventually we'll learn. Eventually things stick....I think🫠
Your amazing essay and that amazing coffee tumbler remind me to choose "imperfect execution over perfection."
Thank you 🥰 I may need to find this company and start gifting imperfect tumblers
🎵 somewhere out there...🎵
😊
that coffee mug is everything
yes! a great reminder that the world will go on if something is shipped imperfectly
This brings a smile to my face :) Very well-done!
Thank you so much Helen :) you embody this!
What lovely inspiration, Michelle! Practice makes progress. If you don’t practice, you don’t progress.
Yes so well said Eric, thank you so much!
Great stories Michelle. Especially like the flawed tumbler one. You're definitely an example of boldness that I appreciate and I always need the reminders you're offering about not letting fear and perfectionism stand in the way of contributing.
Thank you Rick, the tumbler story is one I've held dear to my heart and am happy it naturally found it's way into this essay. I appreciate you saying I'm an example of boldness, it means a lot from someone who used to launch themselves onto an extremely tall unicycle!
Amazing journey! Keep going Michelle!!
Thank you so much Genesis! You as well, I aspire to be as prolific as you have been lately!