Below is an index of all of my articles — alphabetized and categorized by topic
About Me and Personal Essays
Business and Entrepreneurship
Productivity, Achieving Goals, and Newsworthy Topics
Self-Improvement, Motivation, and Advice
Writing, Writing Success on Medium, and Creativity
Take Two — I’d like to try this again . . . and let you know the real me
I quickly wrote an “About Me” story back in October that had a list of my most impressive writing accomplishments, a personable professional headshot, and . . . no soul. I wrote it, checked it off my to-do list, and moved on to my next activity. Unfortunately, sometimes, I do that kind of thing. I’m working on being more mindful and I’m working on myself.
I thought that you Medium readers would only be interested in my past experiences associated with writing. I thought that if I told you I used to be a dancer, an actor, a producer, a…
I’m rubber, you’re glue…
We’ve all been there. The times when the putrid, emotionally-charged word vomit of others makes its unwanted splat on our vulnerable souls. No one can know when it will happen until it’s too late. But, when it does, time’s up. Yoshi wins. You’ve been slimed by the unaddressed childhood trauma of some other inconsiderate cohabitant of this massive chunk of rock.
What does one do when smacked in the face with an unwarranted passionate response to what you thought would be a benign interaction? What do you do when you receive the stare of death and harsh words in response…
Choosing specific areas of focus for days of the week gave me the structure I needed to stop stressing out about my gigantic to-do list.
Like most freelancers, I have approximately 792 disparate tasks to accomplish throughout my maddeningly short days. Unluckily for me, I’m also epically terrible at focusing. Like, the worst. So, when I remember something more time-sensitive than what I am currently doing, I immediately start doing the new thing. Ooh! Shiny!
The combination of hundreds of tasks and my focusing capacity of a meerkat results in a never-ending pile of stressful and unproductive days for writer/entrepreneur/educator Michelle. And the more stressed I am, the less likely I am to hit that elusive flow state, and the less stuff I get done.
…
Gratitude after missing 10 years of sunsets
I missed ten years of sunsets. Not because I meant to, but because I was busy working. See, for around ten years of my life, I performed in theatres eight times per week. Any inch of sunlight can kill any good lighting designer’s work, so for a decade of my life, I missed those peaceful early evening moments where nature lulls us into introspection and reverie.
Now, I wasn’t completely sunset-free. I saw the sun slide beneath the horizon on vacations and the occasional day where daylight savings time just lined up with when I would get out of work…
You can, too. Here’s how.
Ron Finley knows curbs. He also has cultivated one of the most gigantic successes in relation to the area just next to the curbs of Los Angeles — the median.
Finley became popular when he successfully circulated a petition which allowed Los Angeles City residents to plant food along the curbs of the city. “The Los Angeles City Council voted 15–0 on Tuesday to allow the planting of vegetable gardens in unused strips of city land by roads.” With this statement, Finley began to build a movement that would change the face of Los Angeles sidewalks for good.
Finley says…
A letter to she who refuses to abandon her quest
One of my closest friends is an example of the best and the worst that comes with loving openly, honestly, and without reservation. She is consistently present, a whole and grounded individual, and she is a lovingly sexual being.
She approaches her love life with wide eyes and open arms, no matter how many times she has been wounded by the wayward arrows of the less-evolved beings with whom she has been entangled.
I believe that because of her emotional bravery (or in spite of it), Eros himself perches on her shoulder and ensnares every man and woman who enters…
Don’t want more reads and followers? Cool. Scroll on, bro.
When I started editing for a publication in October, I had 520 followers and I made $31.34 per month. I now have 1,942 followers and I make around $200 per month. I credit being an editor for a majority of this (modest) success.
It’s a pain in the a$$ and it takes up a lot of time, but there a lot of really, really good reasons to hook up with a publication owner (or create your own publication) and get to work. Two of the biggest ones? You guessed it — reads and followers.
How the industry can be harmful to the unhealthily driven
Step away from the almond milk. You pressed snooze, Michelle. You don’t deserve it. You didn’t earn it. This morning coffee dilemma happens more often than it should. I’m not as insane as I sound. Let me explain.
I listen to a lot of podcasts. Like, a lot. I run every day for about an hour and listen to podcasts the whole way. I’ve also read hundreds of books on self-improvement. …
How to press fast forward on your goals
I recently heard someone on a podcast say that the difference between the super successful and the mediocre is that the super successful are willing to do the things that most people don’t want to do.
The truth is that if you want to grow any project or move past where you currently are, you need to do more than you’re doing now. Or, you need to do whatever you’re doing in a more efficient manner.
Everyone wants to be famous. But very few people are willing to do the work to get there. Everybody wants to be a baller…
