Famous among dozens
When something terrible and purposeful happens, like the bombings in Boston yesterday, we first ask why. Sometimes there are half-answers — the person responsible felt wronged in some way, the attacker wanted attention for this or that perspective. And so we open our ears to ravings, and turn our attention to psychosis.
I sometimes get frustrated at having to ask for help when I’m not physically strong enough to do something on my own. Pictured above is Jen Bruntlett’s husband portaging a canoe. She wants to do it herself, and I’m all for it. Let us know when the weight training commences, and then send us a duplicate of the above photo, except with your girly legs poking out, Miss Jen. And in the meantime, consider a coracle.
Stacey Ferguson is still at work learning American Sign Language thanks to a goal grant from Olay. Recently, she was able to understand the gyst of a signed two-hour conversation. Stacey’s sister is deaf, so this goal and all the effort and love going into it puts a lump in my throat.
Bonnie Chan checked off a goal to benefit Cycles of Change, and it’s been on my Life List for years, Go on a multi-day bike trip.
Molly is taking our Skillshare class, and aiming to collect ten tickets to shows this year. She settled on the goal after we did a class exercise about working backward from feelings you want to experience. Molly wants to be amazed. Good one.
On Monday, we’re launching the #mightyup challenge, which is about doing a little something fun every day. Meet me back here and I’ll tell you all about it. In the meantime, take some time this weekend to revisit your Life List on Go Mighty. The site is still in beta, but we’re processing invitations within about 24 hours now, so please go request one if you haven’t. We’d love to have you.
Holy, holy, a lot is happening on Go Mighty this week.
Natalie Holbrook‘s #MightyLove project is about small acts of kindness online. Go Mighty’s plan was to donate $500 to a battered women’s shelter in NYC once we got to 500 tweets/instagrams tagged #mightylove. Which happened in a couple of hours. What the what? You guys are the best. The project is still going strong until April 12, so throw a compliment someone’s way. Meanwhile, Natalie is posting her favorite compliments on Go Mighty, so go see if you’re on her list.
My Go Mighty Skillshare class on Life Lists starts Monday, and one participant will receive a $1,000 goal grant from Go Mighty. Last month’s grant went to Emrys Kim, who’s planning a trip to South Korea to take spoken histories of women who were coerced into brothels during the Japanese occupation. Sign up for the class and let us know your plans.
We’re in our third week of the #ThankAWriter project with Nathan Bransford. Nathan’s letter this week was to the author and teacher that encouraged him to write his first novel. You should read it. Moving stuff.
I’ve enjoyed reading about which writers inspire you all and why. Here are a few letters written by Go Mighty members this week: To Kazuo Ishiguro, To Sharon G. Flake, To Lois Lowry, To Kay Ryan, To Martin Waddell, To Pam Houston, To Mo Willems.
So much good stuff, right? Keep it up, team. We are a snowball rolling downhill.
Photo credit: Sara Lucero
When I was in high school, I read Vicktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, presumably because it was on a book list. I don’t remember specifics, but his name has been coming up for me as I think about what I want to say in this Skillshare class next week.
If you’re not familiar with Frankl’s work, he was a psychotherapist who practiced as an inmate at Auschwitz. He found that people were able to survive best when they felt they had purpose.
In pursuing happiness, it’s easy to overlook the pursuit of meaning. So I ordered another copy of the book, and I’m thinking more about responsibility as I look over my Life List in preparation for this class. There’s still space, if you’d like to join in.
In the meantime, is this something you think about too? Do you feel like you’ve found your “thing?”
Susan Hall is hanging in Afghanistan. No bigs.
-It’s been cool seeing who everyone’s favorite authors are with our #ThankAWriter project. Nathan thanked Hank’s favorite author, and Libby Nousen reminded me of one of my own childhood favorites.
– Well, now I kind of want to dye my hair blue.
– A playlist for your solo dance parties. (I’ve already done a test run on that last song.)
– Listen, girl. I am all about a plan. You’ll get on that plane eventually.
– Finally, a question: Is there anywhere in the U.S. where it’s legal to do this? Because let’s go outlaw if we have to.
Surprise. Writing to Joan Didion was daunting. These two paragraphs have twenty unnecessary words between them. Perhaps I should have just written “Thank you.” on a postcard. Ah well.
Since Nathan and I launched the #ThankAWriter project, Penguin Classics has offered to give the first six of their new Penguin Drop Caps series to one lucky bibliophile.
I want these. I can almost smell the paper. The drop caps were designed by Jessica Hische, who happens to be an acquaintance, so this makes me extra happy. Yay, Jessica! You do cool stuff.
If you like books and you’d like to enter, here’s all you have to do:
1) If you haven’t already, sign in on Go Mighty.
2) Create a life list goal of thanking authors. (Here’s mine.)
3) Every time you write a thank you note, post a photo or the text on Go Mighty with the tag #ThankAWriter.
We’ll enter your name once for every note you write. This is our second week of a five-week project, so dig out your stationery and get to it. It will make you happy.
The Go Mighty team has been building a community of people who make things happen. Come be part of it.
I’m teaching a one-week Life List Workshop through Skillshare, starting April 8. It’s online, it’s only $20, and you should do it.
As part of the class, the Go Mighty team is choosing one participant (or group of participants, if you feel like doing a team project) to receive a $1,000 grant toward turning a dream into an action.
If you’ve been wanting to make a Life List, or meaning to choose a few goals to tackle, or thinking about supporting others who are working on their lists, you could do that later. But later is dumb. Instead, let’s do it right now:
See you there, doers. I will bring pizza.
When I was 15, I lived in Costa Rica for a month. I didn’t speak Spanish well, or much at all, so I spent my days in an exhausting state of presence — otherwise known as culture shock. Books let my brain relax, and one of my most poignant memories is staying up late to finish Lord of the Flies. My room was still unfamiliar and didn’t yet smell like home, and there were crickets sounding outside as I read the last passage. Closing the book, I felt overcome. I set it on my chest and felt the weight of it while I breathed.
I chase that feeling when I read. The one that makes me want to find the author, pour them a drink, and leave them to bask in the glow of their efforts. Damn.
On Go Mighty, I’ve come across a few of you who want to write thank you notes to your favorite authors. I recently mentioned it to my friend Nathan Bransford. He’s a first-order bibliophile — a children’s book author, a former literary agent, and he hosts a blog for writers at NathanBransford.com.
“Bransford!” I said. “We should do this.” And he agreed. So we both added “Write thank you notes to authors” to our Life Lists, and today we’re launching our #ThankAWriter Project on Go Mighty. Please join us in writing and delivering hand-written thank you notes to our favorite authors.
Here’s all you have to do:
1) If you don’t already have one, make a quick profile on Go Mighty.
2) Create a life list goal of thanking authors. (Here’s mine.)
3) Every time you write a thank you note, post a photo or the text on Go Mighty with the tag #ThankAWriter.
We’re doing one note a a week for five weeks, so join in. Say thank you to the strangers who have changed the way you think, and shaped who you’ve become.
My first thank you note is to an author who changed the way I think about mortality, you can read it on Go Mighty. I’ll feature some of my favorite letters here on Mighty Girl, so please do this with us! Who gets your first note?
A few Life Lists ideas from Go Mighty that you might want to bite for your own list. Links are to the people who also want to do these things, so if you’re inspired or think you might be able to help, let them know.
– Eat a soft-boiled egg on the day it was laid.
– Go on a dinosaur dig.
– See an axolotl in its native environment.
– Raise money for a scholarship.
– Read all of the Newberry Award Winners.
Have you guys done any of these?
And if you haven’t added your Life List to Go Mighty yet, you should. Get over there.
I wish I was swimming.
Fiona and I finished our swimming classes! They were more difficult than I expected. When Fiona started, she was afraid of the water, so she could swim with a sort-of modified doggie paddle, but it scared her. The difference in her confidence was startling over such a short period. Overcoming a genuine fear with the support of friends is one of the best uses of Go Mighty — it changes so much about your outlook and your opinion of yourself. I’ll write up my post next week, but for now go read Fiona’s. (Also! Fiona debuted her new business — Signal Camp — last night, and was engaged a few days ago. Confetti!)
It isn’t all soft-focus moments of bliss.
OK, hear me out on this one. At first I was like, “Oof. I cannot lift my eyes to engage with yet another mom book.” But then I clicked on the video for Ali Smith’s photo project, which she’s been working on for twelve years. It’s been endorsed by Gloria Steinem, and is intended as a more feminist take on motherhood, questioning the social norms around the role. She can’t find a publisher, so she’s running a Kickstarter project, and I think her book has merit. Have a look at the video and see what you think. And Ali! Tell us more about goals, sis. I can tell you’re not a one-trick pony.
Do something good.
One of my favorite uses of Go Mighty goal grants is as an incentive to complete a project within a given timeline, rather than as a means of funding it. Olay offered $500 to the charity of Megan Peters’s choice, if she could complete her goal within a few weeks. This week, she did it, and gave her grant to the Willow Domestic Violence Center, where she used to work as a women and children’s advocate. Go read her affecting story about how she chose the center, and consider celebrating her success by making a donation yourself here. This one makes me really proud. Good on you, Megan.
Mighty Girl 