Airplane costume + the power of the unfinished

  Every morning, my son asks me if we’re going to the airport. I say no, not today. Then he asks if he should get his shoes on, just in case I change my mind. He lives and breathes airplanes right now. Naturally, he’s going to be one for Halloween, and I’m tasked with fashioning…

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Is using psychology in marketing unethical?

I have an email from a reader here, and thought you might be interested to see it, too: “I’ve been struggling with something…There are all sorts of tips and tactics about how to attract customers, how to grab their attention, increase sales, up-sell, etc.  I understand many of these things can have a significant impact…

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How To Market Your Work When Self-Confidence Is Low

You know that brief moment of hesitation at the dinner party that makes you miss the window to say “Hey, that’s what I do!” before conversation moves on? Or closing the tab on the ‘speaker application’ page of a conference, with a “Maybe next year?”  When you do creative work, even a slight dip in…

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Battling The Fear That Creates Procrastination

No matter how straightforward the class you’re taking, there’s always one step that makes you break out in hives.  Wait, I have to email someone and ask for ______?! Hold up, I have to actually tell someone, “Your order totals $2,391”?! Which brings us to Reason #4 that people never finish their classes: (Reasons #1-3…

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The Embarrassment of Procrastination + New Class Announcement

  I sat on my college dorm floor with a set of watercolors, trying to paint a simple Christmas tree.  In my head, I saw a series of elegant green strokes forming a beautiful fir outline.  Guys.  When I started painting, it was like, cartoonishly bad.  Like something you’d see tacked on corkboard strips in…

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