Life After College

Hello My Beloved Inside Scoopers! 

I was nervous about writing this newsletter because my subscriber list is growing faster than ever (yay!) which means +300 new friends since last month -- and a sense of pressure to please and over-deliver, while keeping the same "behind-the-scenes" honesty that you all signed up for. So, with a few deep breaths, I'm embracing all the wonderful growth and sitting down to write as though I'm just talking to one person -- YOU. 

These newsletters are fun because I get to dig deep for my "truths" of the moment. Things that don't make it to the blog -- partly because I only really get quiet enough to hear them when I sit down to write this newsletter. For every awesome thing that's happening, there are some flip-sides that you might not otherwise hear about -- so I've included a "TRUTH LIST" below. 

In the meantime, here's a funny publishing story/update that is illustrative of the half-baked communication channels between publisher and author: 

• When my book first came out in March, I asked my publisher (per reader requests) to also release on Kindle. They said no -- they wanted people to benefit from the workbook aspect of the hard copy, and sell what we had printed.  
• Just got my first sales report from the publisher (in October - 6 months later!!) and we're in great shape -- about 7K copies sold, which is halfway to earning back my advance. 
• My agent and I ask again if we can publish to kindle -- publisher says yes! 
• I email about Kindle pub date so that I can make another big push/promo and release it with some fanfare. Hear nothing. 
• One day, as I'm searching for my book on Amazon (I'm ridiculous and annoying about checking how close I am to my goal of 100 reviews) I see that a Kindle version is on the way! 
• On October 25, the Kindle version was released to the world, without a peep, or even a heads up. Thank goodness I'm obsessed with my Amazon page and thought to check! 

Much love, 

Jenny

• Make Sh*t Happen course - we're now in Week 6 (of 9) and I am head-over-heels in LOVE with the entire class. Everyone is so motivated and committed to their goals -- and making insane amounts of progress! One person already landed her dream job, many have set-up blogs or websites, and they continue to experience shifts in thinking from fear to action-based proactivity. We've even thrown around the idea of doing an in-person Creative Weekend of Genius mastermind in New York City! Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps.
  
  This is one of my favorite professional pursuits of my life -- working with a group of people on their biggest goals and seeing them interacting with each other completely lights me up. No question that I'll be relaunching in January (in time for New Years Resolutions). Sign-up here if you're not already to be notified when enrollment opens up again. 
  
  Here's a killer case study that Jay Money (one of this newsletter's earliest readers!) wrote and recently shared with his audience at Budgets Are Sexy: How I Accomplished My Goal of Full-Time Blogging. 
  
  And an awesome mid-course update from Megan Cassidy: "I bought a domain name and transferred my existing WordPress blog. I'm proud I was able to do it on my own and not get intimidated by all the high-tech stuff initially...that knowledge will come. The most important lesson I've learned is to make time for what's valuable to you. The visioning exercises really emphasized how much my goal means to me and how much happiness it gives me. If it's a hobby, a job, or something else, make time for it in your life. It needs to be there."

• Potential Partnership with Intuit - okay -- you're hearing this first before we have ANY sort of arrangement down, but I'm in talks with Intuit to help their Mint.com and Quicken properties reach a wider audience. During our exploratory call they used my name in the same sentence as Suze Orman!! Lifelong idol -- see Exhibit A: SUZE ORMAN KNOWS WE EXIST. I'm speechless and now it's up to me to pitch some creative ideas to them. See below for the imposter syndrome thoughts that also cropped up.

• Still trying to take things slowly this quarter - as you may have read in my recent post On Habit Change and The Itchy Scratchy Art* of Saying No, I'm still learning the art of slowing down. It is much harder than I thought! I am very fortunate to have a thriving community and lot's of potential meet-ups, meetings, calls and social engagements, but it's been important for me to learn the art of saying no so that I can be really intentional and committed when I do say yes. 

• Bringing the LAC Book to life - I've fallen out of my chair several times this week based on reader emails. Peter from Pennsylvania said he's ordered about 10 books (and counting) for all of his friends because of the impact the book has had on him -- the greatest compliment an author can receive. And Ryan from Montreal is keeping an incredible interactive log of all the exercises in the book -- you can see (and be inspired by!) his LAC Journal here. 

On self-employment and working from home: 

• The freedom of setting my own schedule according to my best energy and productivity windows/habits is INCREDIBLE. AND....
• I am with myself ALL day. For a girl with a mind prone to overthinking/overanalyzing, this can get torturous at times! Sometimes I feel like I'm trying to entertain a three-year-old. Sometimes by nighttime or weekends I'm sick of myself! Self: I have nothing left for you to read, think about or do! So that's where I have to really make a point to leave the house and be social :) 

• The potential Intuit partnership -- are you kidding me?! Me?! Helping a major company whose products I love? That must mean I'm doing something right! I might actually know where some income will come from in Q1 and beyond! 
• Imposter Syndrome kicks in. Why me? Why not an actual personal finance expert, or someone with pedigrees, or even a PF-related blog? How can I create something unique and awesome that actually helps people? Is this really happening? What if I fail or disappoint them? What if I can't come up with something as creative as Joe Blow Blogger would?

• I generally trust that things will work out and that coaching clients will come, and that Make Sh*t Happen can become a flagship recurring product for me (and hopefully my next book!). AND...
• Living in New York City is expensive, y'all. I can *easily* spend $200/day just eating and running errands. It's scary how surprisingly expensive EVERYTHING is! Laundry, dry cleaning, shoe repair, COBRA, rent, food, meals/drinks out -- it all adds up. My business expenses are low, but holy personal expenses, batman. Time to get those under control! 

• Wee! New York City! Land of endless people, high-achieving go-getters and limitless possibility! AND....
• I get why it's easy to feel lonely sometimes even when surrounded by thousands of people. And I've gotta say -- it's a little awkward when I give someone my contact information and know that they can do hours of research before ever deciding to call me. When one recent potential suitor never followed-up after a first-meeting full of fireworks, I couldn't help but wonder if it was something he saw or read online. Of course that would mean he's not for me, but it's just an interesting dynamic to deal with. 

This list is not about downplaying success or happiness, it's about recognizing and acknowledging the yin and yang that surely comes with living a life out loud. 

What are some of your yins and yangs of the moment?