I’ve known for months now this post was coming. These past few weeks I’ve made excuses not to write it, but I can’t stall forever. This is my 500th original post for this blog. I’ve been writing Bursts of Brilliance for a Creative Life for 10 years and 11 months. I’ve written more than 244,000...
As a creative soul, I love digging deep into the paradoxes of modern existence. Here are a few I’ve identified for myself and circle back to all the time. Can you relate: To ask people to avoid saying a derogatory word, you must first say the word. To let people know you’re taking a break...
Bear with me as I walk you through some familiar scenarios: 1985: Your boss calls and interrupts your dinner to ask if you can pick up extra shifts. 2022: Your boss texts while you’re having lunch with your grandparents and asks if you can pick up extra shifts. 1998: You and your spouse sit at...
After a year of pandemic isolation, you would think I’d have had enough of silence. As someone who is always “in her head,” I feel like during all this alone time I’ve cycled through just about every thought a person could have related to our current predicament, not to mention the state of the world,...
The other day, I went for a walk. I was looking forward to listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell. The sun was shining, the weather was mild, and I was excited to get away from my work and out into the fresh air. Very soon, though, I realized...
Other than chocolate, I’ve long held I have no real addictions. This week, I realized that was no longer true. I think I’m addicted to e-mail, and for a reason that surprised me. See, I’ve always thought I insistently check e-mail out of a sense of obligation; I want to make sure I read or...
The other day, I heard someone refer to the “burden of social proof,” and I thought the word “burden” was so fitting. See, social proof as a standalone term refers really to herd mentality. It means “the influence the actions and attitudes of the people around us have on our own behavior.” But social proof,...
I’m getting ready to roll out a new book and already obsessing about numbers. I’m wondering how many copies to order in my first print run. Should I dream big or be practical? How many books can I really sell in, say, the first three months? I’m concerned about raising my numbers of social media...
They killed off one my favorite characters on one of my TV shows last night, and I’m doing a bit of public mourning here. It’s not that I didn’t know it was coming. I’m way behind on episodes and I’d read that it happened. Though I was dreading it, I’d steeled myself well for the...
Sally Field will never live down that speech at the 1985 Academy Awards when she won Best Actress and pronounced, “I can’t deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me.” It’s got to be one of the most cringe-worthy moments in television history. Honestly, though, part of the reason we all...