Here we go! The Setback Cycle will arrive at your door in just one week! Next Tuesday, you’ll be able to hold it in your hands and stare at the beautiful orange gradient cover that wraps around the spine so it stands out proudly on your bookshelf and makes you look super smart (thank you Vanessa for that brilliant design recommendation!)

I am so grateful for this community. You have all been on this journey with me for so long and every one of you has been wildly supportive, especially these past few months.

I shared this last week on Instagram, but here’s a list of all the book tour stops I have planned so far, with more dates being added. Let me know if you’ll be joining any of them and let me know if there’s a bookstore in your area I should come to!

I’ve recently had the honor of joining as a guest on quite a few podcasts and local news segments. Aside from the weirdness of being on the other side of these interviews, I’ve been somewhat surprised by how frequently I’m asked about my own setback story.

When I wrote this book, I did it because I wanted to share the stories of the leaders I was inspired by - their stories were the ones I thought everyone would be interested in and want to learn from. And that’s what the bulk of The Setback Cycle focuses on- how prominent leaders worked through their most defining moments. I do not put myself anywhere near the caliber of the leaders included in this book.

Since the beginning of this journey, I’ve been pushed by my agent and many, many editors to make my voice stronger. To tell more of my own story. I’m so good at telling the stories of others. It comes naturally to me. But writing about myself, what happened in my small corner of the world and now talking about it publicly? That’s a skill I’ve had to work hard to sharpen. Sharing my own setback story has actually been my biggest struggle.

I simply never thought my narrative was all that interesting. I always countered those pushes with the argument that I’m not that unique, so why would anyone find my story compelling or care to read it?

The answer is — that’s exactly why. People want to see themselves in the stories they read. So if you’re holding back from telling your own because you don’t think it’s interesting enough, unique enough, or you’re afraid it's too similar to one that’s been told before, perhaps there’s truth to that. But it shouldn’t hold you back. Your story is more interesting than you realize and it absolutely deserves to be told. So go ahead and tell it in any way you can. People want to read it, hear it, see it, feel it. All of it. All the boring details, all the unoriginal pieces.

I promise you will see hints of yourself somewhere within the stories I share in The Setback Cycle. Perhaps in my own telling, perhaps in someone else’s.

So what was my personal setback story that I struggled so much to share?

In an ironic twist of events, when I was laid off last year, I completely walked away from taking a severance package or signing any paperwork that would force me to remain quiet about my experience with my former employer. That’s right, I didn’t take a dime - all so I could candidly, truthfully and vulnerably share that very story with you. Walking away with the freedom to do that made me feel powerful.

I guess I decided my story was worth sharing after all. You’ll find out why when you have the book in your hands next week.😉

In the meantime here’s what I’m:

My worlds collided when good friend and brilliant New York Times contributor Alix Strauss profiled Sunnyside small business enthusiast Dirk McCall de Palomá for one of my favorite columns, “How These New Yorkers Spend Their Sundays.”

Scarlett Johansson’s satirical take on Senator Katie Britt in Saturday Night Live’s cold open.​

Daylight Savings Time. Spring forward (or is it “spring ahead?” honestly I’m too tired to look it up) is always so rough. I woke up half an hour late yesterday and today, somehow managing to get both myself and a small person out the door, but with much more struggle than usual. Didn’t we all agree to stop doing this already?

My friend Stephanie Harrison whose forthcoming book New Happy: Getting Happiness Right in a World That’s Got It Wrong, was picked for the Next Big Idea Club! The book comes out in May but you can pre-order it now.

Her philosophy centers around the idea that, "everything we have ever been told about happiness is all wrong. As it turns out, the real secret to happiness is counterintuitive: if you want to be happy, you need to help other people to be happy.”

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So how are you helping others find happiness, even through your post-daylight savings lack of sleep fogginess? How might you reconsider any hesitation around sharing your story?

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