I impulse bought a car last month… here’s why

I’m a born optimist. But it seems like sometimes life LOVES to test just how far that optimism goes.

Before we get to the story, there are a few pieces of information you need to know.

  1. I set off on a nomadic journey at the beginning of this year, starting in New Mexico.
  2. I planned to go snowboarding in Taos as part of the experience.
  3. My vehicle at this point is an ’04 Mercedes CLK 500.

Capeesh?

So on January 8, I pack my little car and head to Ruidoso, New Mexico. 

I loved my time there. It was a little mountain town with an eclectic, undiscovered style.

And it was 45 minutes away from White Sands National Park, where I watched 4 sunsets and went sledding on the sand dunes.

After Ruidoso came a little detour to Truth or Consequences, the hot springs town and apparently a legend in true crime history. (Ask me about the serial killer story later.)

In TorC, I had an AirBnB with a large stock tank as a hot tub. The water came straight out of the mineral hot spring at 106 degrees Fahrenheit. Great time. 

Then I headed to Taos, where this story actually starts.

I was there with 4 friends who have been snowboarding or skiing for most of their lives. 

So naturally, I wanted to keep up with them.

Long story short, I fractured my distal radius on day 2.

I want to tell you it was on the double black slope in a heroic attempt to “just do it”…

But it happened during a lesson…

ON THE BUNNY HILL.

I blame the ice. 

Anyway, here’s me in a splint the day after the break.

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Don’t worry, that’s just Act I.

I stayed in Taos for a week so I could heal a bit before driving 22hours home to see a surgeon.

Exactly a week afterward, I packed everything back into my car with one arm and the help of my friends…

And started driving down the mountains like the road warrior I am. 

I should add that my RIGHT wrist broke, so I’m doing everything with my non-dominant hand/ arm.

Sooooo anywho, 2.5 hours down the road ALL the warning lights, sounds, and whatnot start going off in the car. 

And I lost power steering.

IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE NEW MEXICO.

I was 2.5 hours east of Santa Fe and 3 hours out of Amarillo. The closest town was a tiny place called Santa Rosa—in the 6th percentile for safety compared to all US cities. 

So I cranked that steering wheel as hard as a woman with one non-dominant arm can, and pulled into a tiny gas station 5 miles outside the town.

Called AAA. 

An hour later (systems were down at AAA for awhile, ironically) a tow truck shows up, and some guy named Anthony comes up and introduces himself. 

I’m in no trusting mood, so when he offers to take me to a DIFFERENT mechanic shop than the one I had asked for, I was naturally suspicious.

But I looked it up, and it seemed legit. 

(Plus, it’s hard to be picky with who you trust when you’re completely alone in New Mexico with a broken-down vehicle.)

So we went to the mechanic shop he suggested… which happened to be owned by his family. 

They were respectful to each other and treated their employees well, so I started to relax. 

The parts for my car would take 2 weeks to get there. (foreign vehicle problems)

I didn’t have 2 weeks.

I needed to be at that surgeon’s office at 8 o’clock sharp on Tuesday morning. (It’s Friday afternoon by now.)

And then I started calculating the costs for repair.

Labor…
Towing the car back to Florida 20 hours away…
Expensive Mercedes parts…

NOT worth it for a vehicle made in 2004.

So I ventured to ask if anyone at the shop would be open to buying the vehicle from me.

Sure enough, Anthony jumped on the offer. 

He’s got a ’71 Volkswagen Beetle that he’s putting that CLK 500 engine into. 

A beetle with 300 horsepower?! Sick.

So I decided this would be the proper way to say “goodbye” to my little car of 4 years.

Now I’m stranded in the middle of Santa Rosa, NM (6th percentile for safety) with NO car.

I called CarMax and worked out a deal with the dealership in Santa Fe.

Anthony drove me 2 hours to Santa Fe free of charge (God bless the man).

And by 7:30 that night, I became the owner of a 2017 Toyota Rav4.

Surreal picture documenting the experience here:

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David, the salesman who worked out all the paperwork for me, asked “So, are you excited about your new ride?”

I just smiled and said, “In all honesty, I just want a bed.”

So long story short, I spent the night in Santa Fe, drove for 18 hours the next day, and finished out the trip on Sunday morning.

And that’s the story of how I impulse bought a Rav4 in New Mexico.

P.S. A few things I’m thankful for:

  1. I didn’t need surgery!
  2. I got home safely. 
  3. I now know I can take on anything life throws at me. 
  4. I have a car with FANTASTIC gas mileage (great timing lol).

Are We Headed for a Credential Market Crash?

Before I say anything else, go take a look at this student loan debt clock.

Last time I checked, the number was at $1,720,946,567,201. Scary, right?

Everyone knows the total student loan debt is a huge number. But something about watching that clock really makes it sink in for me. 

However, experts disagree about the implications of this debt.

Here’s one side of the argument: More student debt = more people taking out loans = more students attending college. Therefore, the student debt is a good thing because our population is, in general, getting a higher education than before. 

But there’s another side to the debate, illustrated well in a recent study by the Roosevelt Institute:

Although the country’s populace is becoming more educated, each educational group is becoming less well paid. This is a result of declining worker power, which allows employers to demand a higher level of educational attainment for any given job, not a broken link between workforce skills and labor market demands.

-Roosevelt Institute, 2018


What exactly does this mean?  Basically, we’re witnessing credential inflation. 

Yes, more people are pursuing higher education.

Which means more people have degrees. 

Which means the average value of an individual degree decreases.

As a result, many employers have implemented even more advanced education requirements on job applications.

In other words, jobs that used to require a high school diploma now require a 2-year degree. Opportunities you could land with an associate’s degree now require a bachelor’s, and the list could go on. 

This isn’t because jobs have changed. (Though some certainly have.) Most impacted jobs don’t necessarily require more knowledge or more years of study than before.

It’s because the value of a degree has changed. As more people earn degrees, they’ve become less useful differentiators on the job market. 

And there’s no sign of this trend stopping anytime soon. (Take another look at that student debt clock.)

So naturally, employers are responding by looking for different signals. In many cases that means advanced degrees. And in other cases it means foregoing degree requirements altogether.

While it’s still common to hear people say, “If I want to get a good job there’s no option other than college” that sentiment is less of a guarantee than it once was.

Which is exactly why I bring it up today. Because while the relative “value” of a degree continues to decrease, the cost keeps going up.

And that poses a new challenge for anyone on the job market today (especially those with little to no experience):

How can I stand out?

I’ve already covered one option people choose: even more school. 

Or there’s another option. You could forge your own educational path and create a different kind of signal altogether. 

Neither one is easy. Neither one works for everyone.

There are ways to avoid the debt. There are ways to bypass the dreaded “degree required” on job applications. And yes, there are ways to build a meaningful career without pursuing even more school.

It’s up to you to decide which works for you. Which will you choose?

(originally published as a Praxis newsletter. Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash)

Focus Playlists on Spotify

I’m a writer.

As a creative, my natural state is prone to distraction. The next big idea comes up, and it’s hard to stay in a flow state or accomplish the task I first set out to do. 

I’ve learned to accept this as a strength, but work on the weak areas by studying techniques for tip-top focus when writing. 

And MUSIC is one of the best avenues I’ve found to help my focus stay on track. First off, I’ve stopped trying to get into a flow state when music with words is playing. I can do basic admin work to anything, but when it comes to cranking out a first draft, editing, researching, or any other piece of the copywriting process, I need pure music unhindered by words.

Maybe it’s because I’m writing, and I need the words to come out of my mind instead of from the music. Regardless, classical/ instrumental music is my top genre on Spotify (because writing’s like, my life and stuff.) 

So I created two playlists with compilations of my favorite songs. Feel free to grab them on Spotify, and read on to check out other artists and playlists I follow! 

Get In the Zone 

This playlist is solely classical music. I play it on surround sound in my office, in my Airpods, or straight from my computer speakers. Each method of listening has a different impact on my mental state (all good!) But regardless, within 30 seconds of starting this music, I can enter a writing flow state. 

It’s possible that I’ve just trained myself to enter a flow state with classical music. That’s certainly part of the impact. However, I don’t think I could have trained myself to this level of focus with rock or pop music (no offense!) 

Listen to The Transformative Power of Classical Music by Benjamin Zander if you want more insight into the reason I love classical music so much. 

Here’s the playlist:

 

 

 

Write Fast

Sometimes I’ve had one (okay, three) cups of coffee and I feel like I could run a writing marathon. Or some days the slow music is just too slow. 

That’s when I crank up the REAL kicker… and I call it “write fast” because I end up hunching over the keyboard, pecking furiously and staring at my Google Doc like it’s my arch enemy. 

Here ya go: 

 

 

More Great Playlists

I listen to all of the following playlists regularly. While I didn’t create these playlists, whoever was the architect “just gets” me and my writing process.

These playlists feature more classical beats and one Celtic fiddle playlist (my guilty pleasure). 

A caveat…

One exception to my no-words rule (once in a blue moon) is music with words in a different language. Here are two playlists I sometimes revert to when writing if I want to change it up a bit.

Otherwise, I listen to these playlists in the car and must frighten some poor souls who stare at me at stoplights and watch my face as I try to copy the artists’ words. 

 

Happy writing!

10 Copywriting Lessons from F.R.I.E.N.D.S

The best place to find insight is far away from the specific niche you’re studying. Curious creatives don’t get their biggest insights from an art course or a writing seminar… they find inspiration in seemingly unrelated subject, leveraging those insights to make their creations more dynamic.

Since starting my freelance copywriting journey, I’ve been needing to relearn this. Often, great ad writers learn their biggest lessons from something totally unrelated to ads or even marketing! And the best marketers learn quickly how to broaden their horizons and find copywriting lessons anywhere.

Recently, my top copywriting lessons have come from sitcoms. The more I dive into a TV writer’s process, the more “gold nuggets” I find to apply to my copy flow.

Marta Kauffman, one of the main writers of the hit show F.R.I.E.N.D.S, has been my source of insight in the past few months. (Yes, I’ve watched all 10 seasons of the show since November of 2020 as I try to dig into the “behind the scenes” of such a timeless show.)

Learn from the best, right? The fact that teens still wear shirts with the F.R.I.E.N.D.S logo even though the show ended in 2004 is proof enough that there are hidden writing insights to be learned from the show.

Here are the top lessons I’ve learned about writing from Marta Kauffman (and from the show).

Understand your audience.

Marta says the main goal of the show was to capture the post-college time in life “when your friends are your family”. To do this, she and her co-writer David Crane thought back to their 20s, sourced insight from other 20-somethings around them, and put themselves in 20-year-old shoes as much as possible.

That’s the mindset it takes to build relatable ads as well. Creating a customer avatar, building a foundational outline, and writing emotion-packed copy all require you as a writer to dig deep into the emotions of your target audience and find what’s most valuable to them.

The best writing captures more than one emotion.

So many scenes in F.R.I.E.N.D.S make you want to laugh and cry at the same time (or within seconds of each other.) Some scenes hit on comedy and insecurity; others mix a sad moment with a joke.

Take, for instance, Ross and Rachel’s “we were on a break” saga. While we all laugh at the stubbornness with which they cling to their differing opinions, we also identify quickly with the emotion involved in the situation. (Looking on, it seems like a minor issue. But living it out makes it a whole different story.)

Great writing (and by extension great ad writing) hinges on more than one emotion. It mixes comedy with hard-hitting subjects. It take a light moment and finds something deep about it. It tugs at the reader’s heartstrings while simultaneously making them smile.

via GIPHY

Rewriting is the most important key to great writing.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S was a multi-camera show filmed live in front of an audience. Often, the writers had to adjust the story on the fly when the audience didn’t respond as intended, or if a particularly popular moment made itself clear.

Marta Kauffman openly shares the writing schedule from the show, and it’s intense. The team would go through 4-5 rewrites in a single week before the final take of an episode would be filmed at the end of each week.

The same thing goes for great ad writing. Get feedback. Let your writing rest and take another stab at it. Be zealous about cutting the fluff and filler words.

If TV writers can create successful 20 minute scripts with diligent editing processes, you can make a successful ad using the same strategies.

It’s better to have a great storyline than to be clever.

Funny lines are no good if they don’t have a strong framework. The problem with most beginner copywriters is they try to be clever (yeah, I’m talking about myself here) before they nail the fundamentals of the ad they’re writing.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S has many funny lines, but the reason people come back to the show is that each episode sticks to a foundational storyline. And the entire show follows a broader plot of friendship and growth that everyone can relate to on some level!

Be funny. It’s a good skill to have. But don’t even try to think about being clever until you’ve been clear.

Solve a problem for your audience. That’s all.

The timing of F.R.I.E.N.D.S was one of the reasons it rose to the #1 sitcom in America. When the American world turned upside down after 9/11, the show brought comfort to a hurting country.

While many shows are rightly created to make you feel uncomfortable (before resolving the issue), F.R.I.E.N.D.S was intentionally created to symbolize comfort. It perfectly solved the pain the American people faced during trying months of turmoil.

Ironically, that’s the whole point of a great ad! In the end, all your ad needs to do is solve a problem for someone. End of story.

Strong characters breathe life into your words.

Marta talks about the development of the characters- many of the scenes the writers had scripted out couldn’t come to life until the actors filled their roles. (Joey wasn’t “slow” in the writers’ original portrayal of him. But Matt LeBlanc turned him into the lovable, heartfelt character we all know.)

“Know your avatar” everyone says, but many ad writers don’t take into consideration just how important a well-developed customer avatar is!

A business’ avatar is exactly like the protagonist in a great TV show- the more developed the personality, likes, dislikes, thoughts, and feelings of your avatar are, the better you’ll be able to write a relatable ad for your customers.

SHOW, don’t tell.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S is noteworthy because of all the visual aids in the story. The coffee house, the time they switched apartments, and “ugly naked guy” are all examples of superb visual cues. Another example is the prom episode when Rachel takes a whole 15(?) seconds of valuable TV time to walk the w-h-o-l-e way across the room to kiss Ross.

Viewers understand something by those visual moments that can’t be described by any words in the script. It has to be SHOWN.

Creating word pictures and leveraging visual aids is one of the most sophisticated levels of great writing – when you know how to allow your reader to see the vision you’re portraying in an ad, you’ll get farther by a few descriptive words than you could if you’d write a million words to describe your product.

You can’t take the “you” out of your writing.

Marta and her cowriter David Crane readily admit that each character in the show involve pieces of them.

I thought this insight was interesting. The truth is, no matter how hard you try to separate yourself from your writing, your voice and personality will always bleed through.

You can allow this to be a crutch for you as a copywriter, or you can leverage it. Many great copywriters have been known for buying the product they’re selling and immersing themselves into the market for months before writing the final direct response piece.

You can’t take yourself out of what you’re writing. Leverage that!

You’re stronger when you work with others.

A common concept in TV writing is the “writers’ room” where all the writers get together to pitch ideas, edit scripts, and work together on other aspects of the writing process.

I’m not saying freelance copywriters need to have a partner. I AM saying your writing will exponentially grow if you surround yourself with other great writers. (At Copy Chief, where I’m a Community Leader, our motto is “nobody writes alone” – and for good reason.)

Feedback. Mentorship. Critiques. All of these are essential to taking your writing to the next level!

The best writing takes the obvious and turns it into something new.

I love that F.R.I.E.N.D.S takes the simplest moments and finds something amusing. Take, for instance, this scene where Rachel gets her first paycheck:

We all know how this feels. We all cringe when we see how much actually goes out in taxes. But when Rachel says, “This is… so NOT worth it!” that simple line makes the whole scene so much more funny and relatable.

I’ve learned so much just from listening to Marta talk about her writing. Who knew a sitcom would give me so much writing juice?

My resources for this post:

Listen.

If you’re young and have people over 45 in your life, this is for you…


You may roll your eyes because they can’t do anything with modern technology.


You may think some of their ideas are strange and maybe even fanatical.
Maybe their opinions are outdated. Maybe they’re not progressive enough for you. Maybe you think they don’t understand how you feel.

But you should listen.


Here’s the thing: experience is one of the greatest teachers in the world. If you’re under 25 you have far less than most people over 45.


Experience births wisdom. Experience gives you common sense. Experience brings a strength and tenacity to your life that nothing else can.


I’m not saying you swallow everything they have to say, or that you should roll over every time they tell you to do something.


I’m just asking you to listen.


I have serious gaps in my thinking at 21 (everyone does- it’s part of being young!) Listening to people with the advantage of age has helped me broaden my horizons and learn what really matters.


Dismissing what they have to say does me no good. Pondering their ideas (even if I completely disagree with them) has only been good for me.


Seriously, just listen.


P.S. I understand that not every person over 45 is worth listening to in this aspect. If that’s the case for you, start actively looking for people older than you who can be active voices in your life. It’s one of the best investments you’ll make.

A Promising Career Strategy for the Modern Teen

Gone are the days where it’s necessary to go into debt to start a great career.

What if, instead of going to a 4-year university, you did this:

  1. Pick 8 skills that can make you money.
  2. Study each one for 6 months.
  3. Get certifications if you need to, but focus more on finishing projects that showcase your proficiency in the skill.

Examples of the kind of skills I’m talking about: Photography

  • Copywriting
  • Programming
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Facebook Ads
  • Options Trading
  • Personal Training
  • Video Editing
  • Sales
  • Content Writing
  • Graphic Design
  • Public Adjusting
  • Interior Design
  • Hair Styling

…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The point isn’t to exhaust any of these skills or master them completely. It’s to get a base foundation in the skills so you can build on them later and make money using them.

By the time your peers graduate, you would have not 1, but 8 potential sources of income. By this time you probably know which one(s) you enjoy the most and can double down/ start making money doing something you love.

This approach also frees you up to get a full-time job while you’re studying if you choose to do so.

So you’re…

  1. Saving money on student loans.
  2. MAKING money while you study.
  3. Finding out what you love.
  4. Setting yourself up for future success.

We live in a world where Harvard and other universities have free online courses with certifications. Coursera and other platforms offer verified courses in practically everything. Even LinkedIn has oodles of resources and certifications.All of this is at the fingertips of the people who choose to leverage it.

Be one of those people.

P.S. Stay tuned. I’ll be writing more on this topic in the future!

Taken in 2018 in Atlanta.

The Innovation Called Homeschool with Lisa Nehring | Season 1 Episode 2

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Lisa Nehring has homeschooled for almost 30 years. She’s watched the world of home education change drastically: from people being thrown into jail for pulling their children out of school to today’s massive movement of homeschooling.

Lisa is the director of True North Homeschool Academy, an online academy for homeschool students. They feature live and pre-recorded classes, complete with interaction between teachers and students!

Lisa joins me today to talk about homeschooling. What’s the best thing to focus on as a homeschool parent? What are the pros and cons of home education? This episode is full of encouraging advice from a veteran educator.

Here are Lisa’s book/ influencer recommendations:

My Favorite College Alternatives (There Are a Lot of Them)

I wrote this post for the Praxis blog. Who would have imagined that so many alternatives to college would be available today?

This system can’t be fixed from the inside. The only way education will be truly reformed is when individuals begin to seek other ways of learning and recognize that the traditional method no longer efficient.

Check out my favorite college alternatives here!

The Fear of Shipping | Season 2 PILOT Episode

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It’s time again for Educationeering!

Here’s the first episode, featuring me rambling about an issue I see in every creator I encounter- especially the ones who are just starting out.

I faced it too. I still face it sometimes.

It’s the fear of shipping.

Know what you have to do to overcome it? Ship something.

That’s all I got. Check out Season 2 Episode 1!

Turn Your Frustration Into Fascination

Most times we see our situations negatively.

There’s one simple thing that it takes to lighten up those situations: a positive outlook. Although most times this is difficult here are some reasons and ways you should and can change that.

First off, you can change your negative outlook, by thinking of the reasons you should be thankful for the situation or person your frustration is centered on and find ways to learn from it.  Doing this causes you to look at it positively, which is so important.

Secondly, talk to someone or write out how you feel about the situation and the reason for your frustration.   This normally brings the realization that it probably wasn’t that big of a deal and you could have helped that situation in many ways if only had a different additude.

Thirdly, if you learn from these situations, then you can see that a positive additude can prevent a disagreement and will create a positive atmosphere everywhere you go.

So we conclude that if you are frustrated, be thankful, think about it and find what you could have done to help the situation, and most importantly, learn from it and have a positive additude as you keep learning.