Courage, Consistency, & Chowder

Dear Leaders, Entrepreneurs, Dreamers, and Creators of Great Things: I write these Love Letters each month to bring you a little encouragement, some marketing help, and a few minutes of joy. Whether we are already friends or have yet to meet, I hope you’ll enjoy my stories from the road and some awesomely random takeaways, tools, tips, and updates.

Consistency

A few months ago, I came across Laina Booth on Instagram. She’s funny and real, and she has started a movement that I have been incorporating into my weekly schedule.

It’s called FckitFriday.

It’s pretty simple. Here’s how it works: every Friday, you schedule 15 minutes on your calendar to do something ballsy to exercise your courage muscles. Sounds easy, right? Well, it’s not. It’s scary. But I have been keeping this up for two full months now, and let me telllll youuuu, I am growing those muscles.

Here’s what I have done the last 8 Fridays:

1. Reached out to an event organizer who put 11 men and 1 woman on their stage and said, “Hey, you need more women…” which started three different productive conversations.
2. Reached out to an organization with a big, fat unused opportunity right in front of them and offered to help.
3. Set up a call with someone I admire and asked for advice.
4. Submitted a proposal bigger than I’ve ever taken on before.
5. Put my hand up for a big opportunity.
6. Made a very scary phone call.
7. Sent a brave email.
8. Finished something I had been putting off for ages.

Here’s what I have learned:

It doesn’t get less scary. But it does get easier. The more it becomes a habit, the easier it gets. The failure rate is high. After all, I am doing things that are Out There. Things that feel big and sometimes ridiculous. But the important bit is that I am consistently doing them.

Don’t go it alone. I have 10 friends who are now also doing FckItFriday, and we hold each other accountable and report back each week. It’s fun to see others trying big, ballsy things, and we definitely feel less alone.

Sometimes, it works. This is the crazy part. You start to shoot for things that you think you have zero chance at – and surprise! Sometimes, it actually works! People say yes. It’s totally amazing. Turns out, the things you thought were impossible actually only seem that way because you’ve never tried. Who knew?

Courage

They have won multiple awards, but this year, they were awarded the most coveted food award: the Michelin Star. Shortly after, they posted this on their Instagram account:

A note to our new guests. We are grateful you’re here. We view our restaurant as our home. We genuinely care about welcoming you in, sharing what we do, and giving you the best experience we can. But we should probably talk about what to expect when you dine with us. 

Since receiving Michelin recognition, we’ve received a lot of new guests. We’re incredibly grateful that more people are getting to experience the regional Thai food we care so deeply about. But past recognition has taught us something. Sometimes people arrive with an idea of what an award-winning restaurant is supposed to look and feel like. Formal. Upscale. European-influenced. Courses arriving in a particular order. That isn’t us. We serve village Thai food. 

The recognition we’ve received came from being sincere about who we are and the food we serve. So please don’t come expecting us to change or conform to someone else’s idea of what an award-winning restaurant should be. We’re not going to. That would defeat the whole point. We’ll take your whole order at once. Your dishes will come out when they are ready. Your mango salad might arrive after your curry. Three dishes might land on the table together. There is no appetizer course. There is no entrée course. 

This is intentional. Each dish is a smaller part of a larger meal. They’re meant to be shared, eaten together, and experienced as a whole. We know this isn’t how most American restaurants structure a meal. We are OK with that. 

We also don’t make substitutions simply to make a dish more familiar. These recipes were shared with us by our families or by the communities we work with. We respect those recipes and the people who trusted them to us. We aren’t going to trim the tendon from the beef. We aren’t going to take the head off the fish. And if a cut of meat is supposed to be fatty, it’s gonna be fatty af. These things aren’t mistakes. They’re part of the dish. 

None of this is meant to be combative. It’s actually pretty simple. This is how this food is cooked and eaten in the Thai villages we come from and work with. If it’s good enough to serve our family back home, it’s good enough to serve here. Writing a negative review isn’t going to force us to change who we are. 

Awards haven’t changed what we do. We’re going to continue to stay true to ourselves, our family, and our community. Come curious. Come hungry. Come ready to share. We’ll take care of the rest.

I share this because lately I have been digging deep into what it takes to be a brand, organization, or person that is impossible to ignore. One of the most essential ingredients is courage. Courage to stand for something. Courage to have an idea, a goal, or a methodology that you refuse to sacrifice, even when others may disagree.

This is one of the most beautiful examples of courage I have seen from a brand in a long while. Lots to learn from this one.

The Good Stuff

This is where I share the latest websites, books, & tools that are inspiring me, the people who are making me smile, and the stuff I have been writing on sticky notes.

My friend Marc Davison of 1000watt has been talking about the “enshittification” of things lately. He recently shared this newsletter, which I have really been enjoying. And that rabbit hole led to this video, which I think everyone should take 3 minutes to watch immediately.

It’s fall! Here’s what I am cooking. Pot pie. Pumpkin muffins. And seafood chowder.

The most incredible story I’ve read lately.

In case you missed it, a fun story with a big lesson for my real estate friends.

In the ongoing push to turn every single thing in our lives into a cesspool of AI, Meta launched Muse this week. This story is worth a glance.

I have five books on my TBR pile this week: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Strangers – by Belle Burden, Mad Mabel – by Sally Hepworth, The Calamity Club – by Kathryn Stockett, and Live Laugh Love – by Kristin Kobes Du Mez.
I am also rereading Careless People – by Sarah Wynn-Williams, for research. And the new Rebecca Yarros book comes out this week, too! Oh dear.

Have you seen something I should feature in this section next month? Send it over!