Buying: Last minute Christmas presents. I braved the stores and managed to score a USB turntable for my partner (it’s ok, he knows he’s getting it, I’m not spoiling the surprise) so he can record his ancient LPs (those things still exist?) into MP3s. I’m looking forward to spending time at home catching up on reading, relaxing and sleeping!
Listening to: The beautiful new album by Wolf Larsen (aka Sarah Ramey), Quiet at the Kitchen Door. Wolf/Sarah is a talented singer and has a voice that has to be heard to be believed.
When I first met Sarah, I had no idea she produced this beautiful music. I knew she had worked on the digital marketing team for Obama for America. I knew she wrote non-fiction books. But I had no idea this talented writer was also a mind-blowing singer and musician. Check it out for yourself. You can listen to some of it here.
Remembering: I’m astounded that we’ve already reached the end of the year already. 2011 seems to have flown by and I have to remind myself of the highlights:
* Going to the South by South West Festival in Austin, Texas.
* Launching new online courses at the Sydney Writers’ Centre. You can download our new brochure here.
* Attending the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network Event in Rio de Janeiro
* Being named as one of the 25 Best Business Blogs in Australia by SmartCompany.
* Launching our Proofreading and Editing service which has been a hit with corporates.
* Working with an amazing team of talented people who make coming to work a joy every day.
L-R: Peter, Valerie, Rose, Tracy, Andrew and Danielle
Planning: Last week, we held our editorial issue for the March 2012 issue of Latte magazine. I love being editor of Latte because it’s truly the thinking woman’s magazine. I love the topics we cover – business, lifestyle, finance, inspiration, gadgets, travel, everything that I’m passionate about. And I love working with the incredibly dynamic team from Business Chicks, who publish Latte.
Here’s a picture taken at last week’s editorial meeting (yes, little doggie Rambo made some valuable contributions to proceedings), on the second anniversary of my involvement with the mag.
L-R: Front - Emma Isaacs (CEO, Business Chicks), Rebecca Bodman / Back - Olivia Ruello, Valerie Khoo, Rose Powell
Loving: The Christmas podcast that I recently did with former Sydney Writers’ Centre students Heather Smith (Learn MYOB in 7 Days) and Alistair McKillop (The Last Word, Mixed Martial Arts). Straying from my usual format of one interviewee, it was great to get the point of view of former students who have been successful!
I was also touched by this message in Heather Smith’s book, which hit stores this week.
Surviving: Two fluffy white cats, one fluffy white dog, 11 hours straight in what was once a black car. Yes, I drove from Sydney to Melbourne with Rex, Rocky and Rambo in tow. For those of you who are not familiar with the drive, it’s no mean feat, particularly when wrangling little creatures with minds of their own and who don’t understand the concept of keeping to a timetable.
Reading: I’ll confess. I was pleasantly surprised and more than humbled to find myself on this list … Shopify’s “Must Follow Twitter List” for ecommerce entrepreneurs. Shopify is a Canadian ecommerce platform that is making headlines throughout North America and around the world. With investor and author Tim Ferriss as one of its key advisers, the company is kicking it by helping people to build online ecommerce-powered stores.
You can see the list here.
I was humbled because other names on the list include:
* Best-selling author and marketer Seth Godin
* Wine impresario, social media master and best-selling author Gary Vaynerchuk
* Best-selling author of The Tipping Point and Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell
* Author of The 4-Hour Work Week and The 4-Hour Body, Tim Ferriss.
* among others.
Watching: This YouTube video. Seriously, I really do not enjoy yoga. But if my cat did this, I’d take it up.
Wishing you: A wonderful Christmas and New Year. I hope you get a chance to relax, indulge and truly enjoy the silly season.
Posted on 23 December 2011
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