Say what you mean and mean what you say.

Quick share - great article from Entrepreneur magazine that will help you maximize the impact of every word you speak, and help you sound more successful doing it. Even though I consider myself to be very thoughtful before I speak, especially in a business situation, I am definitely guilty of saying many of these overused and uninspiring words and expressions. For example, I found myself saying "you know" often when I was trying to describe or explain something - which clearly the other person didn't "know" or I wouldn't be describing it!!

Curious if anyone has any tips for eliminating meaningless expressions or words from your vocabulary. If so, please share in the comments :)

Mid-Week Motivation

Every Wednesday I receive an email from Entrepreneur magazine's Editor in Chief, Jason Feifer. He is one of those rare editors whose column in the beginning pages of the magazine I look forward to reading and is often my favorite part of the issue. Needless to say, I appreciate what Jason has to say and these weekly emails have proven to be so valuable to me as I navigate this uncertain time. Today's message gave me all the feels as I have been trying to use this time at home wisely and looking at it from a different perspective - one of opportunity and possibility, instead of confinement and negativity. It 100% served as my mid-week motivation and I hope by sharing it serves a similar purpose for you.

This pandemic feels stifling and is causing great hardship. But that’s not the end of it. There’s a freedom here, too — a freedom to navigate a shaken-up world, to provide solutions to people newly in need, and to forget whatever negativity we carried over from the old world.

A lot may be wrong right now, but a lot is possible as well. And possibility is all we need.

One woman's quest to end ageism.

I was just about to close my last issue of Ad Age, when the words "Ageism" caught my eye. I was instantly drawn into the Opinion piece by the formidable Cindy Gallop, founder/CEO of If We Ran The World and Make Love Not Porn. A self-proclaimed champion of the power of age, she has set out to battle ageism in the advertising industry and by doing so, hopes to change the way society views aging.

I found myself nodding my head in agreement as I mentally checked off each one of the reasons she gives that young people aspire to be us. I got fired up! This is powerful stuff. So powerful that it needs to be shared. Everywhere.

Here is just one of the actions she proposes; you can read the full article here.

"Tap into the aspiration of age. We’re very happy with who we are. We don’t aspire to be young. But young people aspire to be us. Here’s why:

• We don’t give a shit.

• We have self-confidence that comes with age.

• We know what really matters.

• We’re free to express our individuality.

• We’ve developed our own sense of personal style.

• We’ve developed our own sense of home style.

• We have better relationships because we know what really matters.

• We’re experienced—at everything.

• We’re well-traveled.

• We’re starting businesses at the highest rate of any entrepreneur group.

• We have money to spend.

Lead with what’s aspirational about being older, and the young will follow—not the other way round."

Let that all sink in for a minute. Remember who you are. Don't ever be afraid to own your age.