hey amber rae

Steve Jobs

(via stens)

minimize regret rather than risk

jeff bezos (founder of amazon.com) has amazing perspective on life and making decisions. he does this through what he calls a regret minimization framework.

his story is a perfect example of living now with intention for the future. when we make important decisions for our future, we must look beyond the certain near-future events that are highly likely to occur (e.g. getting a bonus in 6 months). this type of thinking is short-sighted and hinders you from taking action now when opportunity presents itself.

instead, when we establish a personally relevant framework for success, we become more decisive and action-oriented. when we focus on minimizing regret rather than risk, we become more comfortable in the notion of taking risk. (which i then ask, which involves more risk: having regret or embracing uncertainty?)

establishing a framework allows us to make more decisions faster as we’re able to more easily see the big picture.

all in all, it’s important to see beyond trivial day-to-day challenges and inevitable near-future events. that’s not what we’ll remember 2, 5, 15, 30 years from now.

(h/t to mark for sending the video my way)

artists create things from scratch.

entrepreneurs make things happen (from scratch).

art means nothing (in the eye of the consumer) when it’s incomplete.

entrepreneurship fails when the product and market never fit.

someone once told me the parallels of art and design to sex. another person told me entrepreneurship is a lonely path. i can see both sides.

art is selfish, like masturbation. entrepreneurship takes teamwork and communication, like sex. mastery of one potentially improves (or enhances) the other. but one without the other is a very lonely path.

—

photo via @gapingvoid

“can’t keep no good boy down” by the parlor mob is one of my most favorite songs in the entire world.

not only does the song immediately make me want to stop everything i’m doing to dance ridiculously and sing loudly BUT the lyrics too are rather fantastic.

i think the lyrics represent the type of woman who is manipulative, catty, hard-to-please and always dissatisfied (which is likely a result of her own internal dissatisfaction)…. this type of woman can’t keep no good boy down (as the song indicates) nor should she have the privilege of doing so.

some people just can’t be satisifed, no matter how hard you try. other people can be satisfied by the simplest gester. find and nurture the latter.

rules to live by via @busterbenson

these are damn good rules.

Breathing - James Duncan Davidson - James Duncan Davidson

i can relate to this, particularly the last bit in bold. in my experience, facing loss teaches you appreciation and gratitude. it teaches you to look at every day as a gift and to live life doing your own work and the things that are meaningful to you.

facing loss has created this burning desire inside of me to go, experience and see the world. there’s so much beauty and culture out there! i want to experience it all and I want to relish in the unknown, unseen and unexpected.

i often stop and think to myself, “wouldn’t my dad have loved to see this… i wish he could see me now.” i think this is what sustains my child-like curiosity and genuine amazement in seeing new things.

i often remind myself that one day i won’t have the opportunity to go and do my own life’s work. i think that’s why it’s so easy for me to go, explore and find answers, even when i have no clue how things will evolve. i trust the process and not knowing is what makes life fun.

a very close friend told me tonight that what i said really hurt his feelings.

the second i heard this, everything inside of me stopped and all of my attention immediately gravitated toward him.

i was confused and bewildered as to why and how i could have possibly hurt his feelings. we’ve been friends for nearly a year and have never been upset with each other. in fact, our communication is so open, honest, genuine and understanding that i never imagined us getting to the point of hurt feelings.

in my mind, hurt feelings only occur when communication isn’t ongoing, open, honest and sincere. i also think (in general) we can only truly understand and relate to one other when appreciation, confusion, satisfaction and dislike are freely and openly expressed.

in life, communication is everything.

this is why i was shocked to hear that i had hurt his feelings. our communication styles are so in sync! we understand each other so well! the thought of possibly hurting him seemed out of the question….

and then the tables turned….

i can be extremely direct and straightforward in what i think and believe. i can also get impatient in inaction and therefore come off more aggressive in my opinions. when someone expresses to me what they want and they don’t act against it, i become frustrated. i’m not frustrated in their ability (because i know the potential is there) but rather in their inability to execute.

with my friend, he’s unhappy with his job, his company treats him like shit and he hates going to work every day.

THIS KILLS ME. it hurts my heart and i can’t stand to see it. i also can’t stand to see him deal with it. as a result, i get aggressive and very direct with him about making change. i cut all bullshit and i directly tell him he needs to make things happen now (or never).

tonight i learned that this approach doesn’t work so well with him sometimes. it makes him shut down. why? he feels as if i’m not being understanding in what he’s going through. he also feels like i’m not showing appreciation for his troubles and i’m not helping him bypass this difficult time in his life. ouch.

but you know what… he’s right. while i still think he needs to learn to take action and go, i do need to be more sensitive to his circumstances, environment and past experiences. instead of telling him what to do, i need to ask him why he isn’t doing. the only way to understand is to ask why and why not. rather than make assumptions and impatiently provide a “you need to make a change now” blanket statement, it’s far more useful to understand where the other person is coming from, genuinely listen, empathize with their situation and then apply the advice accordingly.

this need to empathize became very evident to me tonight. i also realized it’s far more valuable to provide encouragement than to seemingly critique every aspect you would do differently.

so as for the tables turning…

it’s amazing and enlightening when an experience helps you remember how it feels being on the other side. in the midst of my candid, blunt, action-oriented chatter and my friend feeling unappreciated and unsupported, i was reminded of a recent situation in which i felt on the other side…

i went through something similar in which i felt like a close friend was being apathetic and discouraging toward me when i was in a transient, life-altering state. i’m the type who thrives off of feedback and i wanted to feel supported. i became upset and my feelings were hurt when he wasn’t providing me with the positive encouragement that helps me thrive.

i realized tonight that my friend wanted the same. he didn’t want to feel ridiculed or inadequate in his choices, he wanted to feel supported and justified in his actions. he wanted me to say that i understood where he was coming from and that i believed in his choices.

sometimes we just need to reminded of this by people we care about. we all experience situations likes this… we go through hard times, more vulnerable times, amazing times and everything in between. hearing something nice from someone you care about can go a really long way. feeling supported by someone who means a lot to you can make your day (or week! or month!). not feeling supported does just the opposite. it can eat at you and shut you down. it can actually cause inaction.

we all have highs and lows; life is full of ups and downs. we’ll hit rock bottom to appreciate being on top of the mountain. for everything in between (and everything period), support goes a long way.

in short: always supporting each other - with compassion and an open heart - is what exhilarates and makes the world go round. it’s what reminds people how remarkable they really are. remind people of this every day. you’ll touch more lives than you know.

GPOYW: date with nina.

my best friend from college - who I hadn’t seen in 18 months - came to visit this past weekend. here we are enjoying a fine Italian dinner and bottle of vino on Valentine’s Day. what a fantastic day we had!

i woke up yesterday to a mention in the Washington Post’s Warrior Woman blog about success…

Experiencing new life in California

As my plane landed in Los Angeles last night, I could not help but think about all of the people who have come to California over the years in pursuit of a dream.  My mom made the journey as an aspiring actress when she was 18.  Now it is my turn.

Aside from working with Bandsintown, my life feels very much like a blank slate, bursting with possibility and opportunity.  I know the vision that brought me here, one that I’ve been honing in on for some time and am ready to bring to fruition. The funny thing is, I don’t feel a sense of urgency to figure it out, I just want to experience each and every moment of my new life in full and be receptive to new opportunities.

Amber Lambke, an artist and entrepreneur who recently relocated from San Francisco to New York City, eloquently sums it up in describing her decision to move: “Now is not about looking for answers because we don’t yet know their meaning. Now is about living for the question and experiencing the answer.”

i echo Alexis’ sentiments exactly, particularly the bit about life feeling like a blank slate and not feeling a sense of urgency to figure it out. i admire Alexis, her move and desire to chase her dreams in California! (i also think we may have been separated at birth but that’s another story…) best of luck to you Alexis! i so have your back.

the theme here I think is believing. know that no matter what you do or how you do it, you’ll succeed. we don’t succeed when we don’t believe and know that our success is inevitable. when we do believe, our focus very quickly shifts from “what if” to “how.” be rid of the ifs. chase the hows.

msg turned me on to 750 words - a site that encourages and analyzes your long-hand, stream-of-consciousness writing - when I was staying with him in nyc a few weeks ago. i write a ton and he told me that i’d love the statistics and how it analyzes my writing. 18 days later (today), i finally check out the stats. and holy damn! he was right! this is awesome!

two hours and 812 words later, here’s a preview of the analysis I got from tonight’s late-night writing sesh…

pretty awesome, eh? now go learn what 750 words is all about.

i’m moving to new york two weeks from today and i’m so flipping excited. if you recall, three weeks ago I had an ass-kicking conversation with the amazing amit gupta who gave me the push I needed to quit my job and get on a flight to nyc in a mere 48 hours. (best decision of my life, ps!)

i’m back in san francisco now simplifying my life. i’m saying goodbye to my car, 2400 lbs of furniture and 90% of my wardrobe that I never wear… i don’t need you stuff, you cause clutter in my mind and impede on the remote, nimble and adventurous life i want to lead. #peaceoutstuff

so today i started my “peace out stuff” journey. in doing this i reallllly came to realize the meaninglessness of stuff (and the appreciation of little). for so long i would attach meaning to things like cards, kind gifts, random knick knacks and the things that clutter my room and life. i would keep things that “mean” something. but they don’t mean anything!! and they take up room!! and are unnecessary!! and cause me to be disorganized because i don’t know where to put them!! time to say goodbye… time to only keep what i need right now.

for too long i kept stuff because of the people behind the stuff. i felt bad getting rid of things that people gave me. then i realized, gifts are not a prison sentence. people give things to you for a reason and hopefully those things serve a purpose in your life at that time. then we change, our situations change and the need (or not need) for those things changes too. why should we attach meaning to something and feel bad after it no longer serves a purpose in our life? it DID serve a purpose but when it DOESN’T serve a purpose anymore, let it go.

letting things go comes easy to me. my mom always called it my “light switch.” it’s either on or off. i either see meaning and a purpose in something or i don’t. when i don’t, i move on. 90% of the time, i don’t look back, i don’t think about the ramifications, i just decide, act and move forward. 10% of the time i tremble. letting things go that other people care about, have an interest in or for some reason still feel an attachment to is much more difficult for me. it’s even more difficult when the person doesn’t share my beliefs or perspective. i’m opinionated and like to debate so naturally i want people to see my point of view. i’ve learned that getting other people who don’t see eye to eye with me to understand my perspective is usually a waste of time. people either it get it and support you or don’t. people either trust the process or become anxious in not knowing.

in the end, you have two options:
1. go and do how you want
2. spend time and energy trying to get people to see your perspective, feel emotionally drained by this process, and then either go and do how you wanted to initially OR end up not doing at all because you now feel restrained and held back by the other person’s thoughts and beliefs

people will always have opinions on what they think you should do. they’ll also always have a hard time understanding what exactly it is you’re doing because they’re not you. stop talking. start doing. stop telling. start showing.

remember: i can < i should < i want to < i am.

1. Thievery Corporation (54)
2. Kevin Yost (23)
3. Kettel (17)
4. xx (12)
5. Radiohead (7)

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

what single girls and guys do on valentine’s day. this = AMAZING.

momma and me on my seventh birthday.

she just emailed me this. LOVE.

aviary, the best image editor on the web is now free (thanks to a series of funding). think adobe creative suite sans the $1K+ price tag. best of all, web-based means you can access anytime, anywhere and sharing your works of art is super easy.

congrats msg & aviary team!

—

via msg via laughingsquid

Nothing Steve Jobs ever creates could fully replace you in my life

if i was dating someone, he would get this… :)

superamit:

Welcome to Square slick intro video. I paid Natalie back for burritos using her Square last night. It was the future!

#1 - this is really fucking awesome.

#2 - this video is really fucking funny. i enjoyed all two minutes and eighteen seconds.

square, you rock.

my friend micah wrote an interesting post today about inspiration:

Spending time with my sisters students reminded me that so much of school is spent being presented with inspiration. You read about people that have achieved amazing things, and slowly, almost without realizing it, we learn that to be successful, we have to search for external inspiration; for people and actions to emulate. We need people to stand in front of class and talk about how they became successful. We need to relate to those people and their stories, and be inspired.

We stop looking in the mirror and inspiring ourselves.

Fuck inspiration. Its not a requirement for greatness.

Just be amazing. I see it every day in people that are too busy looking for inspiration to see it in themselves.

while i agree completely with the notion of looking for inspiration internally, i think the power of external inspiration (that which naturally occurs) is in its ability to reinforce and enhance personal ambitions.

i also think that how we react to and internalize inspiration is situational, different person to person and based on our past experiences and current surroundings. as micah suggests, we must look in before we look out. the power of inspiration in actually motivating action depends on how much we accept change as well as our personal perceptions of being able to achieve greatness.

for me, (external) inspiration is a positive feeling i get when i read or see something that resonates with me and my personal beliefs, goals and ambitions. this feeling enables me to produce ideas more easily as exposure to new and interesting information often helps me reach the point of “ah ha.”

that which inspires me (externally) is always aligned with what i want and am working toward in the present moment. it never denotes feeling of not being good enough; rather, it helps push me in ways I hadn’t yet thought of and often needed to be pushed (to reach my own personal goals).

inspiration isn’t something you look for, it’s something that naturally comes to you. you can’t seek out inspiration because you won’t know what to look for. instead, you can believe in your pursuits and then openly expose yourself to positive people, novel experiences and chance encounters. this is the internal mindset and external framework in which inspiration occurs successfully.

at it’s best, i think…
intrinsic inspiration = what you innately and genuinely do for you and others; the inner voice that guides you; based on instinct and intuition

extrinsic inspiration = people, places and situations that inspire action in you; action is aligned with your personal ambitions and goals

we define success and what it means to us. i don’t think inspiration is the barrier to reaching greatness. i think self-doubt in our abilities combined with too much care for what other people think is what holds us back.

go, do, experience and live the answer. you are great, be confident in your abilities and ignore everybody who tells you otherwise.

mikebrownjr:

The Truth?

i LOVE this. hilarious + fantastic in my mind.

although it begs the question: what happens when girls actually make you MORE money?

it was fantastic meeting @micah in NYC over the weekend… his words inspired me then and they still do now… I SO agree with his thinking here:

Then about a year or two ago, I realized two things.

1. It’s ok for others to be better than me at things. It doesnt mean Im not good.
2. I need to surround myself with people that are better than me so I can derive inspiration. I need to be driven by their successes to become more successful.

Its not that I dont have intrinsic motivation. I do. But having people that I talk to and work with daily that are just slightly (or in some cases extremely) better than me at something, gives me someone to learn from and to be inspired by.

I know that I have accomplished much in my life. I know that offer my friends as much as they offer me.

But if I cant be challenged by those around me, then why am I spending time with them?

carlablumenthal:

via indexed

it’s the little things!

GPOYW: with @colinismyname at the #smw closing party at kiss & fly in NYC last Friday

honorable mention goes to brilliant photographer brandon king and his photobooth gallery from chrissy & naveen’s prom… i think I enthusiastically posted enough prom photos over the last few days so I decided to switch things up a bit. :)

who wants to go?!

when i was in 6th grade, my mother gave me this poem; it’s my favorite, and the only one I can recite.

Look to this day
For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course lie all the
Varieties and realities of your existence:
The bliss of growth,
The glory of action,
The splendour of beauty,
Are but experiences of time.
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision,
But today well lived makes
Every yesterday a dream of happiness,
And every to-morrow a vision of hope.
Look well therefore to this day!
Such is the salutation to the ever-new dawn.

-Sanskrit Poem

(via isurusen)

ideas are thoughts that can hinder action. don’t become a victim to your thoughts.

i love coming up with ideas. it’s fun, creative and comes easily to me. the more i expose myself to novel experiences, the more ideas i come up with. i could easily sit all day and ideate, ideate, ideate. the problem with this? i could easily sit all day and ideate, ideate, ideate.

while coming up with ideas is great, being decisive about which ideas to focus on and then executing is critical. ideas are thoughts that can hinder action. don’t become a victim to your thoughts.

instead, set limits and use your time wisely. spend more time putting your ideas into motion; spend less time thinking and pondering.

the same goes for being on and offline. always being on, always exposing yourself to new information and ideas takes precious time away from the execution process. make sure you give yourself time to think and break away without interruption so that the time spent online is used most effectively.

a personal example: i have hundreds of blog post ideas in my phone that I haven’t written. (#fail.) i spent too much time thinking up ideas and when they accumulated, I became overwhelmed with choice and inaction. now, I limit myself to about three blog post ideas at a time and until i execute, i restrain from entering brainstorm mode.

naturally, ideas will come as I experience and expose myself to new experiences and information, but having limits makes me mindful. if the ideas continue to pop up, i know it’s time to carve out writing time asap. similarly, if the ideas aren’t coming, i know i need to expose myself to new people, places and information asap.

mnmlist : less

Stop buying unnecessary things.
Toss half your stuff, learn contentedness.
Reduce half again.

List 4 essential things in your life,
stop doing non-essential things.
Do these essentials first each day, clear distractions
focus on each moment.

Let go of attachment to doing, having more.
Fall in love with less.

http://mnmlist.com/less/

—

YES! LOVE! this is EXACTLY what i’m currently doing.

1. Chew Lips (10)
2. Thievery Corporation (9)
3. Kid Cudi (2)
4. xx (1)
5. Northern State (1)

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

There are many things we all desire in life. Desires are things that would be nice. Putting up a jewelry shop on some cliff-like coast of Greece would be nice. Having a live-in housekeeper would be nice. Gorging on pizza every single day would be nice.   Having my pants fit after gorging on pizza every single day would be nice. Doing anthropological research of indigenous tribes around the world would be nice. Owning a spa would be nice. Becoming a fashion designer would be nice. Having a brand new, white Audi would be nice. Teaching primates sign language would be nice.  Hell, all of these things would be nice, if not fantastic. And that’s what makes them desires. Especially the part about the pizza. With hot sauce. Franks, to be exact.

But despite how nice, fantastic, awesome, or mouth-watering all of these things are to me, I must be careful not to make the mistake of letting whimsical desires get in the way of my true dreams. Because those desires are sneaky little suckers, and they have the power to derail your thought processes, even if only momentarily. But that power is something to keep an eye on, because you don’t want to be derailed by things that would be nice. You want what will be downright freaking awesome. You want to stay focused on your dream–that is, the one unwavering desire that lies deep within you.

Don’t try to have it all–you simply can’t. Time doesn’t allow for it. But absolutely try for what it is you sincerely want to do. Having a jewelry shop on a cliff-like coast of Greece would certainly be brag-worthy, and give me plenty of excuses to wear nothing but white and eat chicken kabobs all day long, but is it what I truly want?  No. What I want is a mobile lifestyle in which I am enabled to wear white and eat chicken kabobs while exploring all sorts of different countries. (Evil laugh.) And I’ve got to do what it takes to achieve that goal–not some whimsical desire that suddenly strikes.

I’m not a sportsy kinda gal, but let’s indulge in a baseball reference for fun, because the point is salient:  Keep your eye on the ball.

Constantly reassess what you’re spending your time on every day, and make sure that the largest percentage that you can manage is dedicated to what you really want–what you dream about–because if you don’t, that dream will just stay a dream, and never turn into a reality. And then you’ll feel like a big, giant loser–point blank. You have all of the power to make it happen; you simply have to do just that…..make it happen.

Stop contemplating random desires. Start concentrating on what it is you really want. If you haven’t figured that out yet, now is the time. It doesn’t have to be one thing, but your goals must be clear, and above all, they must make your heart race. Whatever it is, you must be exhilarated by it. You must truly want it. If you’re not sure what you truly want, then start experimenting. Dig in. Jump in head first. Get involved with your own interests. And do the weeding thereafter. Then once you’ve identified something that, the idea of not having makes you weep, then run full speed after it.  No one else is going to go get it for you. It’s all on you, champ.

(via the middle finger project)

tomorrow I head back to San Francisco to sell my car and many unnecessary belongings, pack a few boxes and ship my life to NYC. stuff creates unnecessary attachment and holds us back. i can’t wait to live a flexible, de-cluttered life in new york. ciao for now nyc, i’ll be back at the end of the month to pursue my “emotional work.”

ps - for minimalism tips, check out the beauty of spring cleaning on exile lifestyle

pps - many thanks to @msg and @sivers for the nyc hospitality!

(photo via grainedit.com)

heyitsnoah:

Hi, So once a month on the second Tuesday at 9am, (this month it’s February 9, 2010), come to Katz’s Deli on 205 E Houston St @ Ludlow, and have breakfast with us! Bring a business date or a coworker you need to catch up with. Nobody normally shows up for breakfast there, so we completely own the place until exactly 10:30am when for some reason dozens of people start showing up. Pass along to interesting people. You don’t have to rsvp or anything, just show up! Thanks! Benjamin & Noah (via COME TO OUR BIG BUSINESS BREAKFAST 2ND TUESDAYS 9AM AT KATZS (.COM))

yeahhhh prom #2010

via wordbk.com

wordbk:

friend sil’s pretty much amazing illustrations

marsbot:

My Dead Pony I find this artist’s work wonderful for so many reasons. The hand drawn images + graphic shapes and scribbling. And don’t even get me started on the fact that Pony is part of his blog’s name….

chetgulland:

oats:

wordbk: Preview of Naveen and Chrissy’s birthday photobooth.

» I also put some media up at http://flickr.com/photos/nickgray/tags/prom2010

Aha. Very much looking forward to this.

YES!

wicked fun and smart people. hula hoops. ribbon dancing. 80’s music. latest tweets + check-ins on the ceiling. men in tuxes. superlatives. flasks galore. corner make-outs. photo booth action. hotel room after party. and a whole lot more. #prom2010 = major success.

(more photos)

Will Smith (via quote-book)

YES!

i’m working on re-branding my online presence (thanks to designer and world traveler @colinismyname - in the photo with me - for helping!) to create something more seamless and consistent.

i currently have online names and properties from @amber_rae to alambke @ gmail to amber-rae.com to socialamber.com, etc etc. this is confusing!!!! so i’m streamlining to ONE online name…

as much as I’d love to own amberrae, it’s not feasible. i’ve tried negotiating with @amberrae on twitter but she does not answer me (sad!) and amberrae.com isn’t available anyway.

SO TO THE SOLUTION! i started thinking about my nicknames and “a rae” is something some close friends call me. in addition, my mom named me after the idea of me being an “amber rae of golden sunshine.” (yes, my mom is a flower child and i love her for it!)

with that, something that IS available and also encompasses who i am is “i am a rae” - e.g. @iamarae, iamarae.com, etc. similarly, i could also go with “i am amber rae” - e.g. @iamamberrae, iamamberrae.com, etc. however, i think the latter doesn’t flow as well and is longer to type.

what do you think and why? (please leave your thoughts in the comments!)

thanks :)

1. Regina Spektor (25)
2. Trentemøller (19)
3. Nick Drake (10)
4. Florence and The Machine (5)
5. Air (4)

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

ofthegarden:

GPOYW: Whisk & Ladle & the lovely Amber Rae.

(many thanks to Frank for the photo)

yay! love!

As people get older, “they just have this sense, this feeling that time is going faster than they are,” says Warren Meck, a psychology professor at Duke University.

This seems to be true across cultures, across time, all over the world.

No one is sure where this feeling comes from.

Scientists have theories, of course, and one of them is that when you experience something for the very first time, more details, more information gets stored in your memory. Think about your first kiss.

Neuroscientist David Eagleman of Baylor College of Medicine says that since the touch of the lips, the excitement, the taste, the smell — everything about this moment is novel — you aren’t embroidering a bank of previous experiences, you are starting fresh.

Have you noticed, he says, that when you recall your first kisses, early birthdays, your earliest summer vacations, they seem to be in slow motion? “I know when I look back on a childhood summer, it seems to have lasted forever,” he says.

That’s because when it’s the “first”, there are so many things to remember. The list of encoded memories is so dense, reading them back gives you a feeling that they must have taken forever. But that’s an illusion. “It’s a construction of the brain,” says Eagleman. “The more memory you have of something, you think, ‘Wow, that really took a long time!’

“Of course, you can see this in everyday life,” says Eagleman, “when you drive to your new workplace for the first time and it seems to take a really long time to get there. But when you drive back and forth to your work every day after that, it takes no time at all, because you’re not really writing it down anymore. There’s nothing novel about it.”

That may be because the brain records new experiences — especially novel and exciting experiences — differently. This is even measurable. Eagleman’s lab has found that brains use more energy to represent a memory when the memory is novel.

So, first memories are dense. The routines of later life are sketchy. The past wasn’t really slower than the present. It just feels that way.

(via npr)

Lerer Media Ventures Joins Angel Investment Scene in New York

go NYC, go!

Media-related Venture Activity Is in Bloom in NYC – GigaOM

that’s what I’m talking about…

Gloria Larson, president of Bentley University and #1 most powerful woman in Boston, was recently interviewed about her career.

My advice to others would be: Don’t get caught up in just what your head tells you in an analytical way about your career. Be really open to following things that are aspirational for you - and bring real meaning to what you’re doing.

Q: If you were just starting out in your career, or were mid-level, what would you do differently?

A. I would have been bolder. I would have offered my ideas more openly. Early in my career - and I think this is true in particular for young women - a lot of times there was a sense of, “Gee, I should hold back. I need to be more experienced.”

Me gusta mucho! I want to meet this incredible woman.

KN | Kitsune Noir » You Will Take A Chance At Something In The Near Future

love this dude.

Comprehending Chaos: Designs for Understanding NYC | Design + Ideas on WU

in a recent post I said: feeling uncomfortable, I think, is one of the greatest pleasures in life. it embodies the length at which you’re willing to push yourself to learn, grow and truly experience life.

my nyc lesson #3…

like the emotions involved with feeling uncomfortable, I crave the emotions involved with struggle. it means i’m working on something really meaningful and i’m pushing and challenging myself to break free from personal and external restraints.

my sudden move to NYC is a perfect example of this. before making the leap, I was apprehensive about the possibility of struggling. but struggling, very simply, is the journey from uncertain to certain - it’s exploring the undiscovered and proactively putting myself out there. although struggle makes me feel vulnerable, sensitive and impressionable, it also challenges me to truly put my guard down and it helps me to improve and evolve my actions and reactions.

“struggling” in new york has been a complete rush for me. everything here is new, uncertain, being discovered and evolving, and i’m able to channel my energy and focus on what matters and is truly important. i have no clue what all is about to unfold but I know I can’t fail and I know it will be awesome. there’s a quote that says “fail. try again. fail. try again.” etc. etc… and while I agree with the premise of what the quote is trying to say, what I think life really entails is going, doing, discovering, evolving… going, doing, discovering, evolving. trying indicates half-hearted attempts and failure is short-sighted. knowing I can’t fail (I’ll just evolve), and appreciating the fact that I’m at the brink of growth and enlightenment is enough to always keep me going.

(i took the above photo in the subway during my first visit to nyc.)