Hey Reader!

Comparison is the thief of joy. And yet it’s often hard to resist.

Yesterday I read an email from someone I don’t know very well - a business acquaintance - and it made me feel like a straight-up loser who has done nothing in the past 25 years but read celebrity gossip and complain about the weather.

My own fault; I went looking for reasons to feel inferior and so of course I found them. She’s done a bunch of interesting things, and has apparently done them all annoyingly well.

Competing in an unusual sport, becoming an early craft influencer, getting a graduate degree in something that sounds totally uncool but then using that degree to get an unexpectedly cool job.

I mean, I wish that was my resumé.

Hers is catnip to this multipotentiate or, in the words of my mother, person who can’t stick with anything.

It’s also fuel for that recurrent feeling that I’ve never done anything interesting, I don’t know how to do anything well, I’m too old to start having a life worth coveting, fill in the blank.

Basically it’s mad libs for poor self-esteem.

But that is NOT a place I’m willing to spend a lot of time, so as soon as I realized I was wallowing I looked for evidence to the contrary.

And of course the truth is I’ve done interesting things, too. In fact, I could be my own spin doctor, weaving my adventures and accomplishments into a fascinating tale of audacity and flair.

I’m guessing that you, too, have lived an interesting life and have unusual talents and are not just good at your work but a fascinating human to boot.

So let’s tell the world about it! Because your other attributes, aside from the professional ones, would likely make for some very good reading.

If you’re having trouble making those connections, or you can’t figure out which things to highlight or how to talk about yourself in a way that’s both authentic and appealing, let me help.

I offer an intensive coaching call, the Email Power Hour.

It's 60 minutes of deep work on your newsletter. We can talk about formatting and structure, storytelling and finding your voice, how to stay consistent, what to write about, how to create a call to action - all the things.

Or do you just need help figuring out how to set up automations or what to put in a welcome sequence or how to clean your list? Let’s chat about it.​

You can write a terrific email every week. I'm here to help.

And if you're feeling like your life is not great fodder for a weekly newsletter, I beg to differ.

For heaven’s sake, Emily Dickinson rarely left her bedroom, and after more than a hundred years her insight into humanity is still lauded. And let’s not forget that writing in a very particular, unfashionable style was the core of her brilliance.

So just say no to jealousy!

​Sign up for the Email Power Hour.​

And keep your chin up and stop worrying about whether someone else is doing your thing better than you. They’re not. Probably. And even if they are? Doesn’t matter.

There are over eight billion of us. There's a slice of that population that is looking for YOU.

Yours in tooting your own horn,

Julia

​Olivia Rodrigo knows that jealousy is pointless, and so does this email. Forward it to someone who just doesn't get how terrific they really are.