What I Did Last Week (and what I’m looking forward to)

Last week, Melissa Cohen shared her #FourToFollow series, recommending four people worth following for their novel and high value ideas. Lisa Rangel generously tagged me. I’m paying it forward.

• Cassandra Sethi. I first met this personal stylist on the Upper East Side. Her husband, Ramit Sethi was in conversation about his book “I will teach you to be rich” at the 92nd Street Y. Cassandra was with her parents in the front row. She is a stunning Mexican woman, and I thought “Of course he would be married to her.” But, over the years, I became enamored with her business. She consistently showed up with high value content for styling both men and women. Blogs. Videos. Posts. Relentless. Recently, she invested in her branding and started to POP! off my page. She was very clear and singular about who she goes to market for and how. I wanted to invest in her. I began referring her to clients who are building a personal brand with me.

• May Busch I left home at 18. As much as I would love to spend hours poring over the history and pioneers of leadership, I didn’t have time. I needed practical information that I can test, deploy, and iterate on. Fast. I operate the same today at 50. I want scripts that I can tuck into my back pocket and deploy in my leadership in real time. Executive Coach May Busch was COO of Morgan Stanley Europe in a previous avatar. No nonsense and I need more women like this in my life. She shares a regular newsletter with SCRIPTS you can harvest for professional use. The refers me for public speaking coaching and I love her for that too.

• Clement Kao is a once-upon-a-time-coach for me and founder of of Product Teacher. Given the moniker, he largely talks about “product.” But F&*( ! this guy processes information FAST and adds value to my business FAST. Example : In this newsletter he KILLS IT with a template email you can use to get your company to sponsor your professional development goals. Everyone needs a Clement Kao in their lives.

• Gabrielle T Leonard. I first met Gabrielle when she and Fearless Coach Bisi MacGregor flew up to attend my Mastermind Dinner in Boston. By ‘flew up’ I mean, they came to Boston for 24 hours. Total. Just for my dinner. I thought to myself, “That is some serious baller energy right there and I want to be a part of it.” I went on join one of Gabrielle’s cohorts. She had the most unconventional approach to business I had ever heard. Required reading was a book by Mama Gena, whose title is not appropriate for this platform and saucy by design. Gabrielle passed suddenly this past January, leaving behind a husband and 2 young children. But I like to think of her as just resting somewhere like Cleopatra in a mausoleum, crown intact. You can still download her book “Becoming a CloseHer” to avail yourself of her business legacy. The most powerful section is on case studies and how to use them effectively for corporate outreach.

Now on to this week’s newsletter

What I Did Last Week

Saturday. We ushered in fall at the home of a former member of the Women’s Leadership Lab. She had two fire pits going, food flowing, reuniting the crew that had sailed the Dalmatian coast in 2022. See REEL.

Sunday. I didn’t drink the night before. It felt amazing to hop out of bed and get to Soulcycle in the West Village with Lo at 9:30am. Sometimes I’m too ‘disciplined’ (Call it a by product of being raised by tiger Asian parents.) Before I rushed back to my computer, I took a moment to sit by the Hudson and watch the early morning runners and fast walkers. It’s been raining raining raining here in New York. Sunday was the first sunny day in a week. I wanted to soak in the Vitamin D. Later in the afternoon, I did my “Sunday Strategy Days” as Marlene, my beloved hair colorist, worked on me.

Monday. I’ve been testing out new templates for teaching content creation in my Mastermind in the class of 2024. I’ve been delighted to watch my following and engagement grow by 93 percent this year. By the way, here are my 3 highest-performing content pieces —-and templates you can use.

Later in the evening, under a starry night, I shared cocktails on the roof with my neighbors in Brooklyn.

Wednesday. Two podcasts I had been interviewed on dropped this week. This one on building a personal brand and this one on mindset.

The 2023 class of my Mastermind is getting ready to give their Tedx style Talks on a New York City stage November 16th. I’m coaching them through an 8 week intensive in the lead up to event day to get their stories in order. It’s been all consuming. You can register here.

Thursday, I felt like I had been put through the ringer. I signed up for an hour long hot stone massage at my favorite local spa Plaza M Dumbo.

Then hopped over to the roof at Randolph. Holy cow! With stunning views of the Hudson and the East River from this 12th floor perch, I don’t know how I have lived in Dumbo for 3 years and missed this place. The building houses corporate for Etsy, so you will see a big afterwork crowd here.

Friday. My entire week is leading up to this! I signed up for a flower arranging class at Hudson Yards. It’s part of the “Fleurs de Villes VOYAGE” exhibit, showcasing monster mannequins and installations using flowers. I missed it last year and so I marked my calendar to make sure I got to it this year. See REEL

Sunday. Catching up with my accountability partner over brunch at La Mercerie. Each day, we write the 3 things we are grateful for to one another in Voxer. Carlyn Bushman and I recorded this limited edition podcast together, translating the sometimes cryptic 40 day prosperity exercise in John Randolph Price’s book “The Abundance Book.”

What I’m looking forward to

• Being on this panel Friday October 13th, talking about my top value (Adventure!). Talk moderated by Gabrielle Doré, Assistant Editor at Worth Media

• Barcelona in December! Have you seen the itinerary?

• I’m a little obsessed with this Veronica Beard denim jacket and this skirt from Sezane for the trip.

• My upcoming Perfume Making Class in Manhattan with Nathan from Paris.
  

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Welcoming the class of 2024 into my Mastermind. Next Thursday, October 12th, at 11 a.m. ET, I will be answering questions on LinkedIn live about my Mastermind submitted in advance (click here to submit yours) as well as questions in the live chat. I hope to see you there!

Are you looking to do your thought leadership strategy in Paris, London or Florence in 2024. Be sure to be added to my VIP DAY Client Queue. Book a minimum of 30 days in advance. With international trips, I’m also building you an immersive cultural experience too.