Well I am finally caught up on rest after my Big Weekend Out last weekend. Yes, a full week later—and that’s on being Chronically Ill, babyyy!! 😎🤙 I sure did borrow some spoons out the ol’ silverwear drawer to get out there and live my best concert-going life for two whole nights in a row, and it took a number of days, a really lovely long hot bath, and a giant cheeseburger (red meat!) to get back on track. So my week was pleasantly “unproductive”, though I would have appreciated getting a bit more work done. So it goes.

In an exciting update, y’all may be excited to know that the anti-CEO sleight-of-hand movie franchise Now You See Me is getting a 3rd installment, with plenty of returning characters and a few new actors in the mix. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, due out in mid-November of this year! Thank you to the several of you who wrote in to update me on this matter… I’m slightly embarrassed to admit I hadn’t even bothered to look to see if there was one planned! But I’m glad y’all are paying attention to such things and I’ll see you in a few months to talk about the new flick. 🍿

Having spent most of the week confounded by time and sidestepped by energy, this newsletter is going to be as equally scattered. I find myself with more than enough material (a.k.a. opinions) for potential rants… but I know full well that none of us want to read an email with like, 5 separate rants about disparate topics, you know? Brevity is king in the attention economy… though I do tend to be a bit verbose so queen is also plenty fine (if we’re going by playing card hierarchy).

There is a lazy AF cake recipe in the mix (pun intended 🍰); have fun with that and do let me know if you make it!

☑️ Did It - Worked on brand voice and strategy for H2H, started (re) drafting plans for a focus group/beta test group, spent time here and there thinking thoughts vis-à-vis the Hey Creator virtual summit, made a dump cake, ate an awesome burger as part of the city-wide Burger Week, got out for a photo walk with my 3D camera, had a completely unnoteworthy medical appointment.

❌ Didn’t It - The second attempt to replace my 2 broken window blinds was again a no-go, as it was discovered at the time of installation that they were the right style but the wrong size. This is my shocked face. But I did get an update that they do not intend to replace my literally-hanging-out-of-the-ceiling ceiling fan until after repairing the leak and rotten boards in the roof, which will apparently be both extensive and expensive (but not for me). Great. Greeaaaat.

📋 Coming up - Getting back to my desk and back into some kind of work routine, I have an appointment at the DMV to finally get my RealID, and I need to spend a day digging in and figuring out The Newsletter Plugin (which is already integrated in the theme functionality). Beyond that, idk, prolly just the usual stuff!

As mentioned, this past week I sat in on a series of presentations as part of the Hey Creator virtual summit. This was the second year of the summit, and I loved the first one in 2024 so I was glad to see the promos start popping up for this year’s. I couldn’t watch most of the live talks unfortunately, which means missed opportunities to ask questions—and to hype up the speakers—but there were still so many GEMS in the replays. Y’all!

One of the things I’ve become very cautious/aware of over recent years is my tendency to hoard knowledge, rather than take action. (It’s not my fault; I just love to learn!) I know I’m not alone in this tendency… trying to figure out everything I may need to know before the problem ever presents itself. Except, you can never be 100% fully prepared, especially when you’re the one doing something innovative and new. So I’ve become better about saying “I don’t need to know that right now” or “that’s not relevant to my current work.” It helps me stay focused, and the moments that do align stand out all the more clearly.

I thought it would be fun and interesting to share a summary of some of my top presentations from the Hey Creator talks this year, and a quote from each that stood out to me. One person literally said something I’d said to my business cohort earlier in the wee; finding that kind of alignment feels so good when you’ve been struggling to clarify your own thoughts.

All these fine folks have websites or newsletters or podcasts or books etc, so if something resonates with you I encourage you to explore them more. Or hit Reply if there’s something you’d like to talk about, as I’d love to share some convo on these themes! In no particular order:

Keynote: The Future of the Creator Economy w/Darrell Vesterfelt

With AI on the horizon to become a seemingly unavoidable part of digital life, creators need to shift their presence from role of “expert” (a roll which AI is quickly eclipsing) to that of a “host” who facilitates community and group transformation, because nothing can replace human connection.

Why One-Click Content Is A Creator’s Best Friend w/Amanda Natividad

Because of algorithms, link suppression, and decision fatigue, creators need to shift from trying to pull audiences to their platforms or websites to instead going where their audiences already are and delivering direct value there. It’s easier to build community when you’re already surrounded by people.

Why Writing Is Your Secret Weapon in a Noisy World w/Ed Latimore

Your unique combination of experiences and perspective is your greatest competitive advantage as a creator. You don’t need to be the best at any single thing, just share what you’ve lived through. Authenticity trumps trying to find some revolutionary new idea that positions you as an expert in any given niche.

The Podcaster’s Flywheel for Business Growth w/Sam Vander Wielen

Creators have to prioritize understanding their customers actual needs, you can’t just monetize what you enjoy doing. You have to fill the gap between their needs and your understanding.

Reverse Engineering Creator Success w/Chenell Basilio

Sustainable success comes from genuine passion for your topic rather than chasing growth alone. You need to love what you’re creating enough to persist through the inevitable slow periods.

How to Run Tiny Experiments as a Creator w/Anne‑Laure Le Cunff, PhD

Sustainable success comes from focusing on what you can control (your processes and output) and paying attention to internal signals—not external metrics—about how that work feels. Don’t get lost in the gap between where you are and what you know is possible because getting there will require experimenting and making mistakes.

How to Build a Full-Time Business On A Part-Time Schedule w/Shawn Blanc

Sustainable business growth requires intentional focus and systems, and being strategic about what matters rather than just working more hours to brute-force revenue. Working smarter requires more upfront effort to build the right foundation, ultimately leading to better results and a more sustainable work-life balance.

And one last quote from the closing talk, a conversation shared between summit host Matt Ragland (who gives an excellent interview) and Darrell Vesterfelt (though I’m not sure which of them said this; oops):

💅 Self-Caring - I took a maintenance day this week and finally tried out one of those viral K-beauty collagen face-masks from Biodance. Y’all. My skin is plump. It is moisturized. Day I say it? Rejuvenated. It’s been a few days and I still feel like the effects are visible in skin quality, and I can definitely see this becoming a bi-weekly routine. The only downside is that they do recommend 4-6 hours of wear to achieve the full benefits. Oh no I must remain calm and restful for 4-6 hours ohhh nooo what will I dooooo.

🎵 Listening - FIL (Friday I Learned) that the singer for Goldfrapp (which is, apparently, the band/”experience”) also publishes music as herself, Alison Goldfrapp, and her new album Flux is fully of happy, yellow vibes. If you like Goldfrapp, this is a nice way to enjoy more of her lovely voice, and if you like happy dance music that feels light in your heart, I’d recommend you give this a listen. (Source)

☕ Drinking - I brewed up the last of my Pumpkin Brulee Oolong tea from Plum Deluxe Hand-Blended Teas on the gloomiest day of the week. I had found a little 1oz. bag on sale at a local shop last autumn and it reminded me how much I enjoy oolong. Sadly the Pumpkin Brulee was limited edition, but their main offerings sound delicious and I signed up to their newsletter to keep an eye out for this year’s autumn seasonals.

🎬 Watching - Produced by LEGO, Piece by Piece (2024) is a fascinating biopic about the life and career of musician Pharrell. Yes, the entire movie is “in LEGO”… and it works. Also, holy shit, I did not know about Pharrell’s deep impact on the music industry? And how interconnected the rap/hip-hop stars of that era were? Super super interesting stuff! Also heart-warming in the realm of what one can achieve when given room to explore and embrace what makes you different.

🥧 Eating - Dump cake! It’s delicious, it’s easy AF, it costs $10-$15 to make and all you have to do is open some cans and a box. Perfect for pot-lucks, BBQs and picnics, and it’s entirely reasonable to eat for breakfast if you’re blessed with leftovers. Does start to soften after 4+ days stored in the fridge, so, eat up!

📱 Are you a graphic/UX designer, or just a little OCD in a romanticised way? I love this (mobile friendly) web-based game Can’t Unsee, challenging you to spot the difference in the design of various familiar graphic interfaces. You’ll get the gist from the tutorial, but be warned: the challenges get progressively harder to spot! Share this on the company Slack on a quiet afternoon and waste the rest of everyone’s day and validate your design budget in the process. (I got 🪙5830; I swear I can do better!!)

📘 One of my favourite mangas (and subsequent anime adaptations, which you can/should totally watch even if you’ve not read the manga), NANA is poised to make a comeback… someday. Its creator, Ai Yazawa, has not given any details on like, when, but nonetheless! Exciting news for fans of Nana and Hachi and co. I don’t think I ever caught up on/finished the manga so this is an excellent excuse for a re-read; I wonder if my local library has it…

🎻 I’ve honestly never looked into or listened to much Klingon music outside of whatever was presented in the actual Star Trek episodes/movies, but this breakdown of Klingon music theory is truly wonderful and now I need more!!

🕹️ A bit of a niche share specifically for fans of Disco Elysium: It’s Time We Talked about Disco Elysium, Again. This video follows up on a documentary about the cult hit game which has had—and continues to face—copious struggles. If you’ve never played the game and/or wonder about the drama, the Wikipedia page should get you up to speed. And if you read/watched all of that and find yourself wanting to play the game… you have options (yarr).

🎙️ Was I just not talking about how merely complaining about something does not a “critic” make? I loved this Aftermath podcast convo on the changing face of criticism and what we lose culturally when we/institutions leave media criticism to fans in lieu of those who are trained to critically analyze music, television, games, and other forms of art.

Every Saturday I sit down to meal plan my week ahead and order groceries, often basing the former off whatever sales are going on. Sometimes my grocery store has free stuff as a way to promote a new brand or get people to try something they have excess stock of. This week they had two freebies: a free pint of dairy-free Oatly ice cream (I got cookie dough!) and a free donut from the bakery. The guy who packed the groceries couldn’t see which donut had been added to the cart, so he put three in the bag. “Hopefully it was one of them!”

Do I need that much sugar in my diet this week? Absolutely not. Am I gonna eat it anyway? Bet! My mind is full of inspiration and my tummy is full of chocolate donut with chocolate jimmies. Spectacular.

That’s it from me this week. Here’s hoping the universe treats you to a free donut or three as well—but don’t be afraid to go get your own little donut treat because hey, you’ve earned it. 🍩

xox,