Hey Reader!

I kicked off my new workshop series this week and I wanted to share my two main takeaways about how it went.

1) It was amazing! It was great to get this new material out there and see how it's landing for folks and I'm pumped about the next one!

AND

2) There was a catastrophic tech failure right at the start! AGH!

I wish I was kidding, but I'm not. I opened up my slides. I opened up the Zoom room. And I waited, and waited, and waited... and no one was showing up!

Then I got an email. The zoom link simply... wasn't working. Why? No clue, I did things the same way I always do. Maybe Zoom had a case of the Mondays.

Siggggggh.

"We don't panic. We fix it." - Emily, during the workshop

Was I stressed out? Kind of. Okay, definitely.

And. I took a deep breath and remembered something I learned about myself a long time ago...

I am an absolute magnet for tech disasters.
AND. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with me.

Maybe the web designer in your inbox isn't supposed to say that, but hey. I'm not talking, like... the 'oopsie daisies' that happen to all of us.

I'm talking... when I worked as a software QA tester, the developers equally loved & hated working with me because I could find bugs that would take months to figure out how to recreate. If there was an error that seemed truly impossible, I would run right into it without even trying.

I'm talking... last year I somehow fully deleted my main business google calendar. Which was, thankfully, the one actually unfixable mistake I've ever made... not bad for 13 years in the industry!

And yes.

I'm talking... in 2020, a hidden box on my tax return got checked and caused the IRS to believe that I was married to myself.

Really. That's what happened in their words. And yes, the IRS rep on the phone was just as shocked as I was! 😎

I could go on... but I think you get the idea.

So why on earth do I continue to work in this industry?

There are plenty of common problems we all run into in life and in our businesses. Albeit, some us with a little more... married-to-yourself-flare...

But I think it's the problems that we decide not to give up on that set us apart.

I remain belligerently hopeful about fixing the tech problems that are seemingly magnetically attracted to me. Over time, this 'flaw' has become a great teacher. It's become a source of satisfaction. A point of pride. A professional skillset.

I would be willing to bet that the type of problems you run into all the time in your line of work are ones that would completely send me.

And I love that it's most often the little workarounds we develop to cope with the way life 'just is' for us that end up being the ways that we can serve others best.

In the spirit of celebrating unique & beautiful things... I'm delighted to share with you one of my absolute favorite videos on the internet. It's a little bit unhinged. It's a truly unique person doing something truly unique that she clearly loves. And to me, it is beautiful.

Whether or not you check out the video, I'd LOVE for you to hit reply and tell me...

What is your "problem you've decided not to give up on?"

With problems & possums,
Lark

P.S. If you don't feel ready to tell me yours, you could let me know what problem you think the Possum Lady is belligerently hopeful about!