Oh, hi friends!
Let's close up the week.
Not sure what to say about this one. It was…a lot? But also, very little?
Let's look at a few phrases I scribbled on notecards this week.
"Make it real."
This was from a chat I had with a mentor I was partnered with through Maestra (highly recommend for musical theater people!).
I was updating my mentor Madeline about my new musical and talked about how so often our work exists in small, private spaces. Our desktops, our Google Drives, our brains. I said I want to get it up on its feet when it's ready and she said: "Yes, yes. You want to make it real."
That’s exactly right.
It is so critical we make these things real to ourselves.
"Elite mindset."
My brother Eric and I were texting each other our usual pump-up encouragement messages and he said: "Like sister. No joke. Our mindsets are elite."
And I remembered the importance of mindset — it’s far more important than the goal. The ability to keep learning, going, doing. Bouncing back.
I also remembered the importance of the people you keep in your corner.
Maybe send your friend a pump-up text today?
"Pretend Everybody's Dead: A Case for Creating Whatever You Want"
Idk, maybe a prospective title for my next book? Maybe it’s about not creating what you think someone else wants, but what you want to create. Maybe it’s about laughing at the futility of chasing critical acclaim or metrics and why we hold up “the market” or “the industry” as a shield against putting out our boldest stuff. Maybe it’s about giving a hug to the gatekeepers and then gently moving them aside in order to move yourself forward and maybe it’s about remembering that one day you, too, will die and you won’t want your stories left untold.
I’m thinking…children’s illustrated, what do you think? lol
"It's not so much if I feel like the work itself was good. It's that if I did any."
This is a favorite quote from my next podcast with screenwriter and author David Koepp, coming out Monday.
Really loved his reminder that most days any work can be equal to good work.
Alright so maybe this week wasn't the “a lot / a little” dumpster fire I imagined it to be.
Funny things, our brains.
Now might be a good time to quickly look at your own notes and reminders from the week.
Which messages rise to the top?
What changed you?
What will you close out?
What will you keep through the weekend — or maybe forever?
BTW — In case you missed it, here’s my fun interview with Broke Millennial author Erin Lowry. I love that she says she’s “aggressively not a morning person” because I understand that on a very deep level. Y’all know these newsletters are written the day before, right? It’s all an illusion!!! <3