Dear Leaders, Entrepreneurs, Dreamers, and Creators of Great Things: I write these Love Letters each month with the hope of bringing 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.
Cookies
On my floor of my building I have five neighbors.
I spent two days last week baking all my favorite cookies and making homemade candy. I packed them up in pretty boxes, tied with pretty bows, and topped them with handwritten notes. And two days before Christmas, I delivered them to my neighbors. I hadn’t really met any of them since I moved in a few months ago, so I was excited to maybe make some friends. Some were home, some weren’t. For those who weren’t home, I left the boxes in lovely bags on their doorknobs.
An hour later, I went out to finish my shopping and nearly tripped over a box in front of my door. It was one of my cookie boxes. Open, the cookies inside, with the open card on top, the ribbons untied, all of it tossed in a heap on the floor.
I set it inside and almost ran to the elevator. When I reached my car, I burst into tears and called my mom. “Why?” I cried. “Why wouldn’t they just throw it away if they didn’t want it? Why would someone do that?” I was sad, my feelings were hurt, and, honestly, I was a little embarrassed. I started to think I made a huge mistake moving here.
But.
Over the next two days, other things showed up at my door. My other four neighbors came with greetings, notes, dinner invitations, and thank you’s. They were lovely and neighborly and kind. (And I think I have made at least one new friend!)
I look back on this past year, and it would be easy to bundle it all together and label it a mess. Because parts of this year were a mess. Terrible things happened. Good people passed away. In some ways, we became more isolated and divided than ever before. Markets have shifted, and many things were, and are still, uncertain.
But.
Good things happened too. Joyful things. People fell in love, traveled, bought their first house, had babies, got new pets, tried new foods, laughed, learned, made snow angels, wiped the juice from the best peach ever from their faces (IYKYK), and a million other beautiful things – big and small – filled up this year.
In a few days we get a shiny new year. And we also get to make a super important decision: are we going to focus on the one neighbor… or the other four?
The easy choice is to spiral around the one and let them color how we see the world.
The tougher choice is to focus all our energy on the others, and let them inspire us to open our fists and hold out our arms.
I am so hopeful we’ll all make the tougher choice.
Comfort
A woman wrote, “Tell me one tiny, oddly specific thing that brings you comfort. No explanations.”
Jason Bateman’s voice.
A really good pen.
Heavy rain.
And on, and on, and on.
I loved it. I bookmarked it. And it reminded me that humans are deeply comforted by simple things. As you look at your business plan for the year ahead, I urge you to ask yourself – what can you make simpler and more comforting for your clients and customers? What small things will make your audience feel encouraged and comforted?
We are in an age of artificial things. Fake food. Fake news. Fake data. Fake intelligence. The thing that will stand out most right now is real. Simple. Comforting. Build your business and your messaging around that, and I promise you that people will show up for it.
This is where I share the good stuff.
… 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.
The post that has influenced my word of the year for 2026. And a dang good lesson for all of us.
What did you notice? Every one of those ads told a story and made you FEEL something. You don’t need a huge budget to do either of those things, my friends. You simply have to pay attention.
I leave you with one last quote:
“Every meaningful breakthrough in history came from someone who ignored consensus, questioned limits, and acted before certainty arrived. In this era, the people who build the future won’t be the most credentialed… they’ll be the most willing to move when others hesitate.” – Matt Gottesman
If not – what are you waiting for? You can find the links here. If you have ordered it – thank you! Also, please take a few minutes to leave a review on the site you ordered from. It means the world to me, so thank you!
