La Salonniere

Colleen Wainwright

Colleen Wainwright, aka the communicatrix, is a writer, speaker and marketing consultant with an  extensive background in acting, advertising and design. She helps her clients figure out how to put forth their best selves. Even more impressive, she can help you be your best self. I think of her as one of my gurus—she just doesn’t know it. Colleen is smart, thoughtful, funny and not afraid to dig deep. She writes a kick-ass blog and a terrific monthly newsletter under her communicatrix banner. I’ve read her blog for many years and I'm very excited to feature her here. 

1. In 2010 you took a “self-imposed sabbatical.” What fueled your desire to take some time off?  Were there key areas of your life where you wanted to manifest change, or did you enter the sabbatical without specific goals in mind?

I didn't even enter the sabbatical with a sabbatical in mind.

Toward the end of '09, I did decide to close shop for the last two weeks of December. Even that much of a break is unusual for me, unless I'm forced into it by ill health or a grouchy significant other. But coming off of 2009, I sensed that if I didn't take a break, something really, really bad was going to happen. I'd narrowly avoided a full-on Crohn's flare earlier in the year, and there were other indicators as well: increased alcohol and caffeine consumption; sudden, inexplicable bursting into tears in the shower. (You may have some passing familiarity with the drill.)

Another contributing factor was my decision that fall to start private lessons in Nei Kung, an internal form of chi gong. No doubt all that chi moving around for the first time in a decade played a role in my decision to quit acting like a complete jackass and give my body a break.

Anyway, at the end of two weeks I was still zonked, so I decided to extend just a wee bit into January. Then end of Q1. Then, oh, how about May-ish? 

Finally, somewhere around mid-July, I conceded what I probably knew all along: I was looking at a full reboot. I stared at the numbers in my long-term savings account for a day, took a deep breath, changed my "Hire Me" page to reflect unavailability through 2011, and that was that. (Oddly enough, a big job for January came in over the transom after this. Modern-age voodoo, as Roz Chast and my ex like to say.)

As for goals, I didn't establish any until mid-February. I ended up choosing ten, per Ginny Ditzler's excellent Best Year Yet goal-planning system, which I'd been using faithfully for four years to map out the coming year. This time around, though, I did a few things differently.

First, I partnered with a friend. He kept me a little more realistic about what I could reasonably do vs. the magical sparkle-pony fantasy agenda I usually dreamed up. Secondly, for the first time in my life I chose mostly "boring" self-care goals rather than hard-ass business goals. To read more books, for example—something I deeply enjoy, but never give myself time for. To practice my Nei Kung daily, get back on my Crohn's diet 100%, see friends twice per week, feng-shui my apartment from top to bottom. I even made "recover from breakup" a goal—with a deadline and action items! I did better on the "me" goals than the business goals. In fact, I've failed, or fallen way short, on my three business-y goals, and accomplished all of the personal ones. Quite a turnaround.

In hindsight, I think taking the sabbatical was my effort to gain clarity. I turn 50 in September, and that's a hard number to be cavalier about. I wanted to head into the back nine with the confidence that I was actually living my life, not sleepwalking through some carryover bullshit notion of what I thought a life was supposed to be when I was 20 or 30 or even 40. I'm not all there, by any means; I don't know that I'll ever have 100% clarity. But I do finally have some real, rooted confidence in my ability to judge what is right for me.

Finally, just to call out the elephant in the room, I realize that this was an insanely great privilege, being able to take this kind of time off. My intention was—and is—to gain clarity around my talents, such as they are, and my interests, so that I could start making a difference in the world. I'm not leaving a flesh-and-blood legacy, but I can (I hope) leave a useful body of work.

2. An overall theme in your writing last year was about downsizing—minimizing possessions and virtual distractions. You even titled one of your recent newsletters, “Adding by Taking Away.”  What have you gained by decluttering your physical and virtual spaces?

Part of what I've gained, of course, is actual physical room. It makes moving around one's apartment much easier, and helps one realize considerable savings on bulk buys of paper products. 

Seriously though, my home is a much, much nicer place to be in now. I've been able to arrange things to suit my creative process, which I've discovered requires surprising amounts of cleared horizontal space for working, and restful, clean space for preparing food and relaxing. 

Psychic room is a little harder to quantify. I feel happier and more myself now, but this could also be a function of exiting a relationship that was no longer serving me.

Another big gain happened via the *process* of decluttering itself. I was amazed at how good it felt, how deeply self-caring, to take the time and energy to physically transform my space from something gross and icky and dirty and crowded and sad-making into something lovely, fresh, lively and clean that supported me. Damn, it feels good! It's made me much more aware and respectful of the necessity for and benefits of thoughtful attention to "soft" things in general.

However, there is yang to all this yin (or vice versa), which is that you start to see some of the things that had been safely hidden from view under the murk: filthy walls and dirty floorboards, for example, or really ugly habits and truths you'd deftly avoided by obfuscating them with crap. (For more on all of this, please see A&E's horrifying-but-compulsively-watchable show, Hoarders.)

It's definitely a journey rather than a destination, especially if you have the packrat gene. (Again, cf. Hoarders. Highly sobering stuff.)

3. As a marketing consultant who loves the power of a good decluttering, do you ever tell your clients to do a bit of un-marketing?  If so, what’s one tip you like to give people to help them streamline their marketing plans?

Oh, my, yes. It may be what started me on the road to decluttering—that and my ex-boyfriend's attic. Seeing someone else's stuff and how it holds them back is much easier than seeing your own.

My #1 super-trick for better marketing is to get really, really clear on your objective, your goal. It's rarely easy, but it's far more effective than futzing with your blog theme or revamping your business cards or retooling your online-to-meatspace networking mix. When you're not clear on what it is you want—which takes time and reflection and sometimes outside help—the rest of it is just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

But if you want a "trickier" trick, I'd say to ask yourself where most of your business or your clients come from, and then forgo something else to take better care of this area. For most people, it's referrals. Most folks—myself, included—are really abysmal at cultivating referrals. If you start tending the network of loyal fans you already have, you'll be amazed at what starts to shift.

4. You’re a big reader and seem to be a disciplined one. You set a goal to read 52 books in 2010, with a daily goal of 40 pages a day. What did you find to be the benefits of a reading schedule?  Do you plan to continue that schedule in 2011?

The big secret to my self-discipline is my total natural lack of it. I have the attention span of a highly distractible toddler who accidentally drank his mom's coffee: a kind of permanent, free-floating case of Shiny Object Syndrome, as an old art director so aptly dubbed it. Hence, the immense benefits of routine. You don't have to think about stuff; you just have to do the stuff you're supposed to do! It's really quite freeing.

So for me, it was incredibly easy once I figured out the routine: I'd wake up, I'd make myself a cup of tea, then I'd get back in bed and read my 40pp. It's a little tougher now, because I'm trying to add in a morning walk first thing, and obviously, you can't take a walk first and read first. 

But I'll figure it out. The main thing is that I rediscovered how great it is to read regularly, and to read books, instead of just bloggy stuff. (Not that there's anything wrong with that! This blog, for example, is awesome!) It really kicks your idea-generating machine into high gear, not to mention it being a great way to learn new stuff.

5. I know you love hacks—those little shortcuts that can make our tasks just a little bit easier. Can you share a couple of your favorite new hacks that you’ve incorporated into your life recently?

Twist my arm, why don't you? Okay, here goes:

*Learning ONE keyboard command from my most-used programs.* Lately, I'm all over Command-H (which is "hide" on the Mac—it makes a live program disappear) and, in Evernote, Command-Control-F, which lets you search your entire Evernote archives. (I heart Evernote, big-time.) In addition to speeding things up, there's a sense of accomplishment in acquiring a skill, which I think leads to more self-confidence, which is just better for neurotic, self-loathing anxiety cases like me. So even if neither of these two work for you, learning a few key commands for your favorite programs will be a big win-win. The kaizen way—incremental tweaks to improve performance—is, I find, a far more useful way of approaching change. Maybe that's the true hack here.

*Dragging files into x.* Okay, I just finished talking about not picking up my hands from the keyboard, but dragging a URL from the address bar onto the Evernote icon in the dock and watching it turn into a note is pretty much the most satisfying thing ever. I think you have to upgrade to the paid version to do it; I never tried it before I bought in. But it's awesome. Ditto with dragging pictures or URLs onto the Skitch icon, which, again—sorry—I think you have to pay for. Hey, maybe actually paying for the tools you really love and use—i.e., having the best versions of them—is really the hack, here. Oh, and if you have both paid Evernote and paid Skitch, you can pretty much rule the known universe. (Man, I sound like a total ad for them, but I'm seriously in lurve with my software.)

6. The first time I read that you were attending Toastmasters, I was surprised because you already had years of acting experience under your belt. Then I realized that public speaking and acting are two very different animals. When you step on stage at events, which instinct kicks in first—the acting or the public speaking one?  How do the two skills complement each other?

They're hopelessly fused at this point. The gift of acting—the "inside-out", Method kind, anyway—is learning how to reliably open yourself up to being a channel of truth. Public speaking training is more about outside-in stuff: developing your voice, removing distracting tics and "um"s, etc. There's a bit of crossover in the training around stuff like sovereignty; in both acting and speaking training you learn to hold your ground, to not piss away your power with unnecessary movement. And of course, speakers are also learning how to write and structure material. Actors have to really work hard to learn this, via scene study and analyzing film scripts and literature and such. Most of them are too stupid or narcissistic or lazy to do this, unfortunately, which really limits their abilities to work except as the vessel for someone else's truth, which can really limit their ability to work, period.

In my monthly column for actors, I'm constantly hammering them to develop these "tangential" abilities. I feel they're integral to one's development not only as a true artist but that they're the key to a longtime, successful career as a professional. 

7.  What’s just the right amount of social media use for your taste?

My cop-out answer is "enough to feel connected, not so much that I'm neglecting my real work." Most days, it ends up being several check-ins with Twitter and Facebook, a few postings to delicious/Google Reader, and perhaps a blog comment or two. (I like to get them, so I think it's only fair to leave them.) 

On bad days, I do too much of it, and feel awful at the end, like when you were a kid and ate crap all day at the amusement park. (Or when you were an adult and did it, for that matter.) On really good, productive days, I'll do much less.

I do almost always check in with Facebook in the morning to wish people a happy birthday. Corny, but again, I just love it on my birthday, and it's a pretty easy, friction-free thing to do.

8.  Colleen, you’re a prolific blogger and you’ve talked about writing a book. How do you juggle your writing schedule so that you can keep posting those wonderful essays and poems on your blog and still find time to write a book?

Well, now, really—you don't see a book yet, do you? So I'm not that good of a juggler after all, am I, now?

If you've been doing the math, I've had more time than an entire retirement village this year. I had zero clients! And one less blog to write for! (My year-long marketing blog experiment, virgoguidetomarketing.com, ended in 2009.) And still, no book!

I've tried all kinds of things to keep me on track with the book writing this year: a "morning write" workshop, a writers' group, commitments made to my mastermind group. Then, somewhere in November, I finally gave up and asked my hypnotherapist. He'd helped me get back on my Crohn's diet with ONE session. (It was a holy miracle, I tell you. I could drive past Jack In The Box with impunity.) So we worked for a few weeks on it, and he made me one recording to help me establish good time habits, and another booster recording to help me with chunking my day. Slowly, they're starting to make a difference; I don't always write a ton every day, and I definitely don't write great stuff every day, but I write. It's a start.

Also, an angel from the sky descended to this mortal plain to help me—a regular reader/fan of mine, who is in the business of editing and coaching writers through big projects. She offered her services to me in support and for the first time in my life, I accepted a gift with grace and humility. Again, it's a start.

9. For many of us, our definition of success changes over time. What will success look like for Communicatrix in 2011?

Well, I don't officially have to lock myself into something until mid-February, when my new calendar year starts. If I had to guess from here, though, I'd say success would be more contentment with what I've done rather than so much angst over what I haven't. That plus some quality visits with good friends. Although I wouldn't say "no" to a million-billion dollars in the bank and a friendly, well-behaved terrier/collie mix.

Website:  http://www.communicatrix.com/

Newsletter:  http://www.communicatrix.com/newsletter-archives

Marketing column for actors:  http://www.communicatrix.com/lacasting-articles

YouTube channel:  http://www.youtube.com/user/communicatrix

Colleen Wainwright is a writer-speaker-layabout who started calling herself “the communicatrix” when she hit three hyphens. She spent 10 years writing ads and another 10 acting in them for cash money. These days she spends most of her time teaching other creative souls how to talk about what they do in a way that wins them attention, work and satisfaction and the rest of it horsing around on the Internet.

Eric Shiveley

Years ago a blogging friend told me about parcels of raw land that were for sale in a huge alpine valley in Southern Colorado. We were so taken with the beauty of the place that we bought five acres. Then one day I read a blog post she’d written about a friend of hers who was already living there. He’d made a documentary about his life there. I watched the trailer for the film…and was blown away. Meet Eric Shiveley.

1. Eric, can you set the scene for us and describe the San Luis Valley where you live and work?

The San Luis Valley is a flat, scrub-brush desert that straddles the Colorado/New Mexico border.  It's walled on the east by the Sangre De Cristo mountains, the west by the San Juans, and the south by mesas and tarantulas. It's a huge valley, but because it's so flat it looks small until you have to cross it. It's also one of the coldest areas in the lower 48 (the temperature averages 40.8 degrees over a year, and the January 2007 average temperature was 12 degrees). Although it's the sunniest part of Colorado, spring is long, icy cold, and very, very windy.

But from June until October it's the prettiest place you've ever seen. The skies, thunderstorms and sunsets are beyond description.  And you wonder why no one lives or visits here.  That's the other thing, no one lives here.  Pueblo is two hours away, and a trip there is like going to New York City.

Alamosa is the biggest town (8,000 people?), right in the center of the valley.  I live a few miles east of town in the open desert.  You can see Great Sand Dunes National Park from my kitchen window.

2. Your documentary, Everyone But You, tells the story of your move to the San Luis Valley to build a recording studio on land you had purchased there. The part that amazed me was that you taught yourself filmmaking while making the film. How long did it take you to make it?

It was a year of filming, then another year of filming and editing. It's a good thing it took so long because after two years I knew much better how to cut everything that wasn't needed.

3. Was the final film the one you set out to make or did the story change over time?

What I planned to make is still there, but the best parts came up on their own. The "planned" (for lack of a better word) and unplanned storylines end up woven together, and I don't think the two could work without each other.  If the movie works, that's why.  You see this guy with a plan. He follows through, and then gets drop-kicked into the oblivion by the powers that be.

4. Everyone But You was screened at some film festivals and was well-received. What was the festival experience like for you? Are there plans to show it at future festivals?

The experience was a bit strange but with a few moments where, you know, it's like your dream comes true and it's real.

Since I was a complete nobody it's almost a miracle the movie got the recognition it did.  At the time I thought it deserved more, but it's a two-hour movie made on a low-res camera, again by a complete nobody. So it had everything working against it.  You expect it to be hard when you have no agent or connections, but to live it and have selection committee members tell you how they had to fight to get you in because you're not a big name is something that stays with you.

Eventually you get tired of selling and it's time to get back to work on something else.  So I stopped pushing the movie.

5. You’re a very talented singer-songwriter and musician. (All of the songs in the film are original.) I’m a big fan of your music. Has your songwriting changed since you moved to the SLV, and if so, how?

Thanks and thanks for listening. Weird, but before I lived here in the valley I wrote songs about living in a trailer in the desert, then I ended up here in my trailer in the desert. I don't know if my writing has changed, but you're always trying to do something you haven't, or that doesn't come naturally. And playing with other people helps because you hear new things.  It's like this: A) One of my friends loves Neko Case and I liked the songs she sent me, B) I've always wanted to write something like the Gipsy Kings, and C) A friend from the coffee shop told me about turning south at Deming, New Mexico to get inexpensive dental care in Mexico. So I tried to write a Gipsy Kings/Neko Case song and named it "Greetings From Deming." It's on my new album.

I don't think your writing changes as much based on where you live as what you hear (and like) from friends, satellite radio in the coffee shop, or wherever. 

You get sick of playing the same grooves so naturally you keep trying ones you haven't.

6. Your most recent CD is Eden’s Light. When you set out to make a CD, do you have an overarching theme in mind for the entire CD, or do you wait until you’ve written quite a few songs and then start selecting songs to record?

Yes, all. I don't know how other people do it, but I usually have this big, vague, dark story in my head. It's not something I force, and the songs aren't literal chapters or anything, but it's all loosely but deeply related.  When you have most of the songs sketched out, you say, "Oh, this is way too depressing, I'll write a happy song for the beginning of the album." And that song ends up the darkest thing you've ever written. And so it goes.  But you do know when you're done.  And the only fun (and relatively easy) part is the packaging. The story and hard work are done, and for some reason it's fun, even though it's just as detailed as the writing and recording. It's like getting dressed up in your fancy, studded western suit for a gig.

7. In the film you document some of the jobs you took recording music for other bands and artists. Do you still take recording/engineering jobs? Has your studio produced client work for you in that area or do you use it primarily to record your own music?

These days I just do a song or video here and there for friends, for dirt cheap or free. If I record someone I want it to be great, and when I try to sleep I think, "Aw man, that should be a church organ at the beginning instead of strings." So for me it's not worth what a band without a budget can afford.

8. As a DIY musician, what challenges do you face when marketing and promoting your music?

Good question.  I won Best Composer at a top-tier film festival.  When I got home I gave a copy of the soundtrack to our local public radio station, figuring they'd at least listen.  During the next pledge drive I went in to make a donation and they told me to take something from their free bin.  There was my soundtrack, never been played.  If you're unknown you're up against every law of nature.  Your hometown doesn't give a shit until you're famous somewhere else, and the world at large mostly only wants what they already know.  Everyone does it. If you like Wilco but their new album bores you on first listen, you'll give it several more chances. If you've never heard of the band, you probably won't. Because of that, my goal has always been to wait until I have something great and polished before throwing it out there.

People don't realize how much they like polish. Presentation is probably 88% of this life.

9. The San Luis Valley is a very sparsely populated area and you live miles from the nearest town. What’s a typical day in the SLV like for you?

We all wake up at four, adjust the buffalo hides on the mules to make sure they don't freeze, and then hitch a buggy ride to the tradin' post to barter some egg-pone for chicken-pone and a twopence of shoelaces.  Then we scamper home over hill and dale to count the chickens and make sure the dial-up wasn't interrupted in the middle of that goat porn we've been downloading forever.

Anyhoo, Alamosa is pretty much like living anywhere but without the traffic. We have a four-year college and a 24-hour Walmart.

10. I love how your dogs make unexpected appearances in your projects. Can you tell us a little about them?

I love my doggies. I never thought I'd have Chihuahuas, then I met Macy (she's in my movie) and her Chihuahuas. Soon after you get a Chihuahua, everyone else's dog seems three times larger.  And you can't believe you used to think Chihuahuas are useless. Chihuahuas have it harder than you can imagine.  Children think they're toys and yank them around like dolls. Then they snap at the kid and get beaten by the kid or a parent.  Look at any Chihuahua rescue site and see how badly they're abused. The poor dogs are defenseless. Anyway I love Senor and Toro, and I wish people were nicer to Chihuahuas.

11. What’s one thing you’d like to see happen in your creative life in the coming year?

If I can make one absolute knockout video for a song on "Eden's Light" that would be cool. Maybe I could let the album go and start the next one.  I'd like to make one more album and be done. 

Thanks to Eric for a great interview!

In 2000, when independent bands were just beginning to release CDs, Eric Shiveley recorded his first album in the basement of his Denver home, with no previous experience writing, recording or singing.  The album, 'Everything Is Good' received overwhelming praise from a Denver/Boulder scene that was just beginning to get recognition that would soon explode. The Boulder Daily Camera wrote, "Several tracks could be Shiveley's ticket to the big time." But when Eric saw a legion of bands record one album and spend a year touring with very little gain, he decided to work on his writing and recording and put off promotion. Four more albums and a two-hour documentary later, Eric finally released "Eden's Light" (which he considers his first "real" album) in 2010.  But that's only the beginning of the story.

Website: http://ericshiveleymusic.net/

YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/eshiveley

A note from Eric:  Several people have been unduly kind and supportive of me and my music. They're on the Music & Friends page of my site.  Please visit them.  And thank you Marilyn.

Mari Pfeiffer

Mari Pfeiffer is a true Renaissance woman--journalist, copywriter, baker, screenwriter, mother, wife.  She astounds me with how many hats she wears because she manages to do it all with smarts, humor and touches of beauty. Mari resides in Los Angeles and is a self-employed business owner. In this interview, she shares some great videoblogging tips, talks about the struggles of balancing a freelance career with mommyhood, explains how her reporting skills help her baking career and much more. I’m honored to call her my dear friend. I hope you’ll enjoy this interview as much as I did.

1.  Mari, you and your husband, Wolf, are both freelance professionals who work from home. You have a 1-year-old daughter, Mimi. How do you balance parenting a toddler with a freelance work life?

It’s hard. Really hard! Before Mimi was born, I had a nice mix of assignments both as reporter and copywriter. Whenever I was free, I attended networking meetings and used social media to make new contacts. But once I became a mother, everything changed. With a baby, you can’t set a schedule.  That baby sets it for you! I joke with friends that I’ve gone from the relative freedom of freelancing to having a new boss: my kid. I have reduced my work drastically; I’ve taken myself off of lists of active freelance reporters, and I have reduced the number of businesses for whom I write content such as web text and marketing collateral. My main responsibility is my daughter, so I have to get my work done around her needs. Generally I work a minimum of 10 hours a week, and no more than 25.

2.  You have a new business, Wolf and Redhood Media, where you teach small businesses, nonprofits and creative professionals how to create compelling video content. I think it’s a great idea for a business because more and more of us are adding video to our blogs and websites. How did you come up with the idea for this business?

Over the past year a lot of friends and clients asked me whether they should put videos on their sites because marketing experts were telling them to. Those experts said that video would drive traffic to their sites, convert visitors into customers and boost their businesses. All of this made sense, but I realized that no one was telling these people how to make good videos.

I figured that with our television and film experience, we were in a unique position to educate small businesses and creative professionals – generally people with small budgets and little knowledge - how to make interesting videos for their websites, starting with what they have. We want to help them tell interesting stories about themselves and their businesses.

3.  How have the skills from your career as a broadcast journalist translated over to your video production start-up?

There are many I’m bringing but the two big ones are:  understanding who my target market is and building strong relationships.

When we decided to start this small consulting business, we really had to draw up a list of needs that our target audience has and find ways to speak to them and provide them with the information they’re looking for.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad (I confess I’ve never read his books but I do occasionally read his guest columns in business magazines) once said that strong businesses are always built on strong relationships, not big transactions. He’s absolutely right. When I was a full-time journalist it was impossible to get interesting and/or exclusive interviews without building important relationships first. I feel the same way about Wolf and Redhood Media. I know it will take time, but I’m confident it will be worth it.

4.   You’re a screenwriter and a graduate of American Film Institute. How can someone who doesn’t know anything about screenwriting begin to come up with good storytelling skills for videoblogging?

I’ll tell you a little secret: I don’t think you need any formal training in screenwriting to drum up ideas for a video blog. It’s very much like most forms of storytelling in that you need a good story idea that has a beginning, middle and end. What’s most important is that you have a clear purpose for what you’re doing, and that you’re passionate about it. Once you’ve got that down, you’ll need an interesting angle from which to tell it. This is not an easy task.

One of the best ways to get started is to look at other people’s videos. If you like a certain blogger’s style, then consider how they came up with the idea, and how they executed it. Then take notes on the following: how the video starts. How it ends. What makes it a good video? Is it that person’s passion for what they do? Are they telling you something that’s fascinating? Helpful? What keeps you coming back for more? How could you do that? And how could you do that in your own unique way?

Just remember that the population of videobloggers is mushrooming. It’s getting harder and harder to get noticed. So don’t be afraid to be yourself, and don’t be afraid to insert interesting, personal tidbits about yourself that will make you memorable.

5.   One of the things I like about your view of the rapidly-changing freelance life is that you’re not as quick as some to toss aside traditional marketing mediums. How are you marketing and advertising Wolf and Redhood Media? Are you using both traditional and newer methods?

At the moment, we’re doing most of our marketing through online channels such as our blog, Twitter, YouTube and an upcoming webinar. We do have a Facebook page but we have our weekly (and sometimes daily!) qualms about good ol’ Facey-Facey, so we haven’t updated that page since putting it up.

We’re in the process of putting together our physical marketing collateral and will be pushing harder on that end in the new year. And yes, there will be some really cool T-shirts with our funky logo.

6.   Switching gears, you’re also a fabulous baker and the creator of Mischief Mari Cookies. (Mari's chocolate cookies are featured this holiday season at the New York Times. The Times tested eight holiday cookie recipes and Mari's was the unanimous favorite.) Have your journalism and baking careers turned out to be complementary in any surprising ways? If so, how?

I’m so glad you asked this because the answer is yes! At first I was just happy to have found a hobby outside of writing that was so much fun. But as I became more skilled at baking and decorating, I realized that I was drawing on skills and beliefs I had as a journalist. In order to be a good baker, you really have to understand your ingredients and how they interact. It’s an art form that has a lot of science in it. And presentation, for me at least, is very important. It has to be original. A cookie is still a cookie. But it has to be different. That’s what makes people look, and hopefully take a bite.

The same goes for reporting; you have to know your subject ahead of an interview so you can tell a good story and present it the way you want or need to. A lot of people think that reporting is just putting together the facts in a logical, understandable way. But I really disagree with that. Every reporter has his/her unique style which adds to the story overall. I mean, can you imagine if someone other than Walter Cronkite had reported on television, the news that President Kennedy had died? History would have looked and felt a bit different.

And finally, the best part of both interests have yielded the same great thing: friends. Good friends. I don’t take this for granted.

7.   Your husband is Norwegian and I know that you’ve been to Norway many times. Are there any Norwegian customs that you’ve incorporated into your life in Los Angeles?

Um…no, not really. Oh wait. Norwegians are fanatic about breakfast. Before Wolf, I used to have no more than a cup of coffee every morning. Now I start my day with a decent breakfast.

We do make a gingerbread house every Christmas, which is how I started my cookie decorating mania. And we smash it at the end of the holidays, which is what Wolf and his siblings did when they were growing up. I’ve seen our nieces and nephews in Norway carry out this tradition. It’s not a pretty sight. All those kids fighting over gingerbread scraps. The Vikings live on through them. Ha! 

8.   For those of us new to videoblogging, what would you suggest as a good first video to create for our blogs or sites?

The easiest way to start is to introduce yourself. You don’t have to sit in front of the camera the entire time and talk. But do tell everyone who you are and a few interesting things about yourself, and why you’re adding video to your blog. Tell them what to expect. Use interesting imagery. And try to find an interesting, entertaining way to do this.

Getting started is probably the hardest but just write about yourself. Here’s an example: “Hi, my name’s Mari Pfeiffer. I’m a freelance journalist. I’ve been published in Vogue, The Wall Street Journal and Yoga Journal. I love interviewing people and finding out what makes them tick. That’s why I became a reporter.”

Very basic. I’d put photos of the publications I’ve written for, video of me, and narrate the whole thing. Edit and upload to YouTube. Boom. Done. 

But what if I wanted to give people a more interesting, even humorous insight into how I became a reporter? With shots of me growing up, my late father, stories I published in high school and college, I might write something like this: “Mischief mari. Chief Dirty Feet. Mari Mustard Sandwich Pfeiffer. Muddy. When I was a kid, my father made a long list of nicknames for me. But Mischief Mari was the one that really stuck. Because I was always putting my nose in places it didn’t belong. Naturally, I became a reporter.”

There are endless ways of doing the videoblogging thing. It’s mostly a matter of finding a fun, smart and unique way to engage with your audience. You might stumble a few times. But you’ll get there. Keep trying. Most of all, have fun!

 

Thank you to Mari for a great interview and for sharing such great videoblogging tips!

 

Mari is a freelance writer and web video consultant based in Southern California. She's also known to bake and decorate a few cookies every now and then. That's Nunuk, her Malamute, in the background. He can be shy. 

Twitter:  @mischief_mari, @WandRMedia

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/marip

Lori-Lyn Hurley

I've wanted to do a blogging interview series for years. I'm thrilled to kick it off with Lori-Lyn Hurley, one of my oldest, dearest blogging friends. She's a writer, a Reiki Master and an intuitive healer. Lori-Lyn extends such beautiful, loving energy out into the world. We talked about family history, her intuitive healing business, writing inspiration, social media, pursuing one's passion, the time demands of self-employment and the one thing she would encourage you to do every day. I hope you'll enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

1. I’m fascinated by genealogy. How has your ancestry and/or family history shaped your choice to pursue work in healing and wellness?

My family and family history influenced my choice in several ways. When I was growing up, there was much discussion in my home about the fact that there was more to life, health, spirituality--more to this human experience--than one is often led to believe. I always knew the door was opened for me to explore pathways of thought and practice that felt right to me, rather than accepting what the dominant culture of the time wanted me to do or believe. 

Both of my parents were college professors, but when I was in middle school, my dad took a year's leave of absence from teaching so that he could pursue a career as an entertainer. He was actually about the same age that I am now. It was a risk - but he decided to take it and pursue his dream. He never went back to teaching and he's still performing. That decision of his was a great role model for me. It showed me the power in stepping forward into your desires and doing the work you love.

I can also see some direct links between my ancestry and the specifics of my work. Even though it wasn't always spoken about publicly, my grandmother experienced profound psychic ability. I've always known that was a part of my genetic structure and family history, as was anxiety and depression. Watching family members struggle with emotional issues, and hearing stories of the similar struggles of my ancestors, inspired me to want to find a better way. Part of my passion for learning all that I can about the way the body mind and spirit works, and how we can shape and influence our lived experience -- how we can heal -- is inspired by this history.

2. As a Certified Reiki Master, can you tell us where Reiki originated and what kind of global presence it has as a healing art?

As far as the origins of Reiki, there's some confusion and contradictory information, but what is widely understood is that Mikao Usui had a mystical experience in Japan in 1922, which led him to organize Usui Reiki as a hands-on healing technique. Reiki is actually a general term that describes a variety of spiritual healing methods, and Dr. Usui's technique is formally known as the Usui System of Natural Healing or Usui Reiki Ryoho. 

Dr. Usui's methods were changed slightly (for the American audience) when they were brought to the west by Hawayo Takata, and teachers like Diane Stein helped spread the teachings in an accessible way in the 70s and 80s, somewhat demystifying Reiki, in my opinion. (As much as energy healing can be demystified.)

I think we're living in an exciting time for energy work. What was once strictly the domain of spiritual seekers, shamans and mystics, is now broadening. Science is beginning to catch up with what spiritual healers have always known. Reiki is practiced in clinics and hospitals, more and more people are hearing about it and adopting it as part of their wellness routine.

I don't think the influence of nurses should be underplayed when it comes to how Reiki has spread in the western world. Doctors diagnose, but nurses heal. They know the power of loving human touch, and many nurses have been working quietly behind the scenes, and publicly, to promote the art of Reiki and bring it into the mainstream.

Even though I am trained in the Usui tradition, like many practitioners, I use the word Reiki loosely to encompass a variety of methods, both physically tangible and spiritually intuitive, that accelerate the flow of energy between the body and the emotional body, to promote healing and wellness on all levels.

It will be interesting to see how and where we go from here, but I do believe the world is catching on and more and more people are waking up to the profound power of channeling energy.

3. You have a M.F.A. in Fiction Writing and write beautiful nonfiction at your blog. Who do you read when you feel stuck as a writer?

(Well, first of all, thank you.) 

When I was eighteen or nineteen, someone I barely knew gave me a copy of Sharon Olds’ Satan Says and completely rearranged my understanding of what one could do as a writer. I had an immediate visceral reaction to her work. I think I own every Sharon Olds collection in publication, and those poems are my go-to medicine when I'm feeling stuck. Her words shoot straight into my blood and remind me how to be brave. Her poems also speak to the power of the personal. We, on this planet, are living a shared experience. She can tell the story of a moment in her life and even thought I didn’t live that moment, I can get in it with her and understand.

I also reach for Francesca Lia Block, because style is liberating to me. She reminds me about the freedom of art and how magical it is to be wildly truthful and wildly creative at the same time. Her words seem to zip across the page.

4. You also have a YouTube channel. What do you like most about vlogging?

I started posting videos online several years ago when I was part of the Co-Creating Your Reality project. I felt self-conscious at first, and when that project ended, I let my YouTube channel go dormant. I recently revived it, however, because I find video to be a great vehicle for connecting and getting the word out about what I do, but most importantly, for introducing myself to potential clients and friends. I see my work as a relationship. I think video allows people to know me in a way that the blog doesn't. It's also just really fun. It feels playful to me and it definitely pushes my boundaries in a good way.

5. How has social media contributed to your practice as an intuitive healer?

Social media has given me a community. I have not only met people, but forged real, deep and lasting friendships with people I never would have met otherwise. It allows me to find other voices that challenge and compliment my own. I feel that the internet, but social media in particular, is my school, my stage and a room in my temple. Like any tool, it can be used for good, evil or indifference, but I make sparking soul connections everyday via social media and those moments contribute to my work in a big way. 

In a practical sense, social media is how I advertise. (Although, I'm not crazy about that word!) I don't have the budget for ads, but I can talk about what I do on Facebook and Twitter and my people can find me and I can find them and we can, and do, have meaningful conversation and connection.

The fact that I can be sitting in Kentucky in my pajamas with my cup of coffee conversing with my dear friend in California, in real time, while we're also conversing with other people, blows me away. I mean, yes, there are also telephones, but there's just something about the wider community of social media -- the marriage of public and private -- it makes sense to me.

6. This year you became self-employed. What has been one of the unexpected gifts of self-employment?

Being able to see and be in my world fully has been a great and unexpected gift.

It actually took me a while to realize that I was in charge of how I scheduled my time. When I feel like it's a good time to go to the store, I can go. When I feel like it's a good time to sit on my porch, I can. I'm not saying that I'm living a life of leisure (I'm actually working more now than I was in my 9 to 5), but I'm in touch with my natural rhythms and the rhythms of my environment now in a way that I wasn't before. 

Even I didn't realize how much of myself, my senses and the way I experience life I had deadened and muffled so that I could survive in an office environment. Self-employment has felt like blooming open. I watch the animals in my yard. I notice the way the wind moves in the leaves outside my window. I listen to the body of my home, how it moves and how it works. 

I am present in my world. I'm actually alive. (It's pretty cool.)

7. How do you juggle the time demands of healing work, writing, social media and marketing your business?

Not very well, actually. That's something I'm looking at as we head into 2011.

I love my work and I have a wee bit of an obsessive personality, so it's easy for me to get out of balance and dedicate all of my time and energy to one area of my life at the expense of the other areas. I'm looking at ways to place a more of a structure on how and when I tend to the aspects of my work and expression.

At the same time, my nature is to flow without structure. I think I work best when I can go where I'm called and immerse myself in whatever it is that comes to the surface and speaks to me. I don't want to "tweet" on a schedule, for instance. I prefer to chat on twitter when the inspiration strikes. 

I think there's a happy medium between lists and schedules and divine inspiration. I hope to ease myself in to that place in the coming year.

8. What’s a favorite way you like to unwind?

My favorite moment of the day comes after dinner. I often take a salt bath to release and detoxify. Afterwards, I put on my pajamas and curl up on the couch with Tracy (boyfriend) and Woody (pug) with a quilt or two and the laptop. We watch old movies or tv while I surf around on the net. That's my favorite downtime. It sounds so, well, digital, but it actually feels cozy and sweet.

9. If you could encourage everyone to do one thing every day, what would it be?

Meditate.

I almost hesitate to use that word because there's a lot of pressure and resistance around it, but I believe that meditation (in whatever form you choose to engage with it) is the power cord that connects you to source energy.

I talk to people every day who are struggling to find clarity or answers or awareness. We can be complicated creatures; we can make things much more difficult than they have to be. So often, the answer to everything is simply to be still. In quieting the mind and the body, you make the space for spirit to move through you and speak to you.

A small, simple meditation practice can change your life.


Lori-Lyn is a native Kentuckian who spent almost a decade in New York City before returning to her home town. She is a writer, Reiki practitioner and intuitive. She teaches workshops and works with holistic wellness clients in person and distance. She has a BA in studio art, and MFA in fiction writing and is attuned to Level III Usui Reiki.

Website:  Dream Life Wellness

Blog:  The Dream Life

YouTube Channel:  The Dream Life

Twitter:  @lorilyn

Facebook:  Dream Life Studio