“Let this be the April you always remember.” 🌸 ~Morgan Harper Nichols
Hellooooo April! It is my most favorite month of the year. Not only is it my birthday month, but it’s also my blogiversary month! So I’m excited to celebrate ALL THE THINGS. 🥳
To kick things off, I have two announcements:
Work with me in April
If you’ve wanted to start your side hustle (or your newsletter) and could use some guidance and support, I’m testing a new offer. Think of it as having me as a cheerleader/mentor in your pocket for a month. It’s a lower price point for people who need extra support. I’m only taking on 2-3 people, so if you’re interested, hit reply, and I’ll send over more details.
Connect with each other
Many of you seemed interested in the possibility of meeting fellow # jesspick’ers. I signed up for a beta for IntroSend, a service that introduces you to other community members once a week via email. It’s a great low-pressure way to meet others. You can sign up here to be added to the #jesspicks community and fill out your profile details. Introductions are sent out every Tuesday. Let me know if you have any questions or run into any issues. Excited for us all to start connecting!
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This week for our Meet Our Weirdos series, we interviewed Kai Brach, the Dense Discovery newsletter editor. It’s one I read religiously every week. One of the things he mentioned during his interview has stuck with me:
“I’m all for normalising tiny ambitions. Let’s do more stuff that has no potential for growth.”
As creators and side hustlers, we often feel like we have to monetize what we do or continuously improve. But I love his reminder that we don’t need to be great at everything.
Yesterday I danced 10 minutes to some disco tunes from last week’s top pick, and I’m pretty sure I looked awkward as heck. I felt rather jerky the whole time too 😂, but the joy I felt inside from moving and grooving to some Bee Gees was terrific. Burn baby burn.
Will I ever become an experienced dancer? Doubt it. But I’m learning that that’s OK. It’s more about doing something that brings me joy and is good for my body and soul. And with *gestures wildly* everything going on, we need to embrace that joy wherever we can find it.
What is a thing you’ve been wanting to do but maybe haven’t because you might not be perfect at it? Make some time to do that in the next week. Let’s aim for more “tiny ambitions.” I’ll be cheering you on with disco arms! 🕺🏾
On to the picks!
P.S. This week’s quote is the first line of a poem. Give it a read.
Note: This email may contain affiliate links. If you click through my link and make a purchase, that means I may receive “thank you money” at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I use and love.
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#loves 😍
💰. Tool: Swapstack. Swapstack is a platform that helps newsletter writers (like us!) connect with brands to get sponsorships. They just launched on Product Hunt this week!
📺. Watching: Manifest: I have been binging this show for the last couple of weeks to get ready for the new season that started earlier this week. Premise: these 190ish or so people get on a plane, and once they land at their destination, they realize they’ve been missing for 5.5 years. Yes, cue all the Lost vibes, but I like it better? Can’t wait to catch up on the season premiere this weekend.
📚. Reading: The Tipping Point. This book has been on my to-read list for a while, but it came on my radar again. If you’ve ever heard about connectors, mavens and salespeople, that concept came from this book. I feel like I’m more of a connector (with some maven tendencies). Only a couple of chapters in, but enjoying it so far. Have you read it?
#reads
How a 'Yes Test' Helped Me Curb My People-Pleasing Ways — advice.theshineapp.com
Many of you loved James Altucher’s “no framework” last week, and my friend L’Oreal reminded me about this awesome post she wrote, inspired by P. Diddy.
If it ain’t...
Making me money, making me better or making me happy...
I ain’t making time for it.
What criteria help you say yes to opportunities?
Q&A with Ann Friedman: “What is good about being truly independent that I’m always thinking: Is this the way I want to do it?” — deezlinks.substack.com
“There is a constant re-evaluation that is difficult, but what is good about being truly independent that I’m always thinking, is this the way I want to do it? Is this the way I want to run my business?”
The Ann Friedman Weekly is a popular curated newsletter that has been around for eight years. In this Deez Links interview, they talk about:
How she found a model for her newsletter at the beginning
Her move from TinyLetter to Mailchimp
How she set up classified ads
The good (and bad) of being an independent newsletter.
Found this interview as part of the Newsletter Crew community.
#icymi
😍 Last issue’s top pick was: 70s Disco HIIT Dance Workout (yay, disco fans!! 💃🏾)
🎧 Featured on the We're Only Human podcast and talked about why I’m not trying to leave my day job, how being laid off ended up being a blessing, me being a Broadway dancer (sometimes), and #caregiverlife.
#classifieds 🗞
Creativerly is a weekly digest about creativity & productivity-boosting tools & resources, combined with useful insights, articles, and findings from the fields of design & tech.
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#lifevibes
#supporters ☕️
Thank you Keryn, Terry, Vanessa, Meredith, Lauren, Meg, Maria J., Chivon, Kim, Luciano, Colie, Chasity, Laurie, Latienda, Collette, Anne, Kristen, Liz, Katherine, Monale, Betsy, Melissa, Lindsay, Jennifer, Kayla, Madison, Rae, Stephanie, Christine R., Christine M., Frances, Hannah, Chris, Brandy, Mea, Kristian, Maria K. Avery, Adam, Barbara, Shenee, Desiree, Lisa, Kandice, L'Oreal, and LaVerne for being #jesspicks supporters!! ❤️
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