Before we dive in, I’m so excited to share that The Setback Cycle audiobook is out today! I know some of you were waiting for this (and yes, listening definitely counts as reading) so please download it and listen away! As my husband jokes, come for the career advice, stay for the Long Island accent.

And now on to today’s newsletter, which is all about apathy.

I realize I’m over here writing a newsletter that’s supposed to “offer an antidote to daily doomscrolling,” and then when crazy things happen in the world I feel an enormous amount of pressure to address it, not paint an unrealistically rosy picture, but try to find some way to demonstrate that there is still hope in this world.

Because of that, I’ve purposely avoided talking about heated political issues. Frankly, I don’t have a super insightful perspective or any great answers let alone anything resembling hope, as I, like many, have become disillusioned with the state of the world - particularly last week after the presidential debate and a few days later over the really, really, incredibly poor decision making of SCOTUS.

That’s why I was so excited to interview political strategist and author Emily Amick right before the holiday weekend. Our conversation came at such a crucial time. Her new book, Democracy in Retrograde, which comes out today, offers hope for those who, like me, once enjoyed a spark of civic engagement (I phone banked! I marched! I hosted at least a few postcard writing parties in my apartment on Elizabeth Street in 2017!) but now have just found ourselves stumbling towards apathy (nope, not a new Sarah McLaughlin track.)

​

More formally known as @emilyinyourphone, she told me that, “people in power are motivated to maintain the status quo, to maintain their power….their interest is disenfranchising as many people as possible. And silence is a choice. It is a civic action itself. It is giving up your power to these people.”

Ugh. That is so me. But I really don’t want to be the type of person who throws my hands in the air out of frustration and just relinquishes my little bit of power to those who are relying on me doing exactly that. So how do we tame that apathy and move into action?

“People see civic engagement as going to a zoning meeting or getting outraged by the news, but it’s also going to a book club, participating in a bake sale, working with friends to cultivate a community garden,” Emily says. “It might be going to the state house and doing a lobby day about gun violence. These are all ways to meet people who share your values. And at the end of the day, we need to figure out how to start having better conversations and spending more time with people, with real people in real life.”

Ok. So little by little, maybe, possibly, we could all start taking tiny steps to get more engaged and actually climb out of our apathetic state to ensure democracy doesn’t cease to exist. No pressure.

I’m trying to find ways to hold myself accountable to this and move away from the disengagement that has made me shy away from civic engagement these past few years.

Thanks to some convincing by my neighbor Stephen, I’ve joined the board nominating committee for my local park. Now yes, me joining one small committee to decide who makes decisions about one little park that serves one tiny community is not likely to save democracy tomorrow. But I think of this one little step as a muscle I’m starting to train. Maybe by getting involved and starting to have meetings with people I don’t know very well, in a “third space” outside of work or family, I’ll start to dip a toe into civic engagement. I’ll be practicing collective decision making with the overarching goal of bettering our community in some small way. Maybe one day I can consider doing that on a bigger scale, but for now, I’m taking one tiny step.

I certainly don’t have all the answers, but after talking to Emily, I’m committing to trying. Because I refuse to lose hope. And if there’s one thing I have historically been good at, it’s inspiring people to take action. So maybe I can turn that skill toward myself.

Emily told me that the way the tide rises is “with thousands of raindrops.” She says, “No individual person is going to change the Supreme Court. It is up to all of us to come together to make that change.”

Here’s to that first little raindrop.

In the meantime, here’s what I’m:

​Aliza Licht, a fellow marketer, leadership expert and author for realizing our books were perfect companions and putting together this incredible, free event on July 15th. In it, we’ll share actionable steps you can take to navigate your own career setbacks. We'll be talking through research and sharing guidance that will help you identify the best time for a pivot, show you how to confidently navigate obstacles and work through big decisions, offering ways to strategically position yourself as you craft your path forward.

Want to join? Register here.

There is truly nothing that makes me feel more patriotic than cheering on U.S. women’s gymnastics in the Olympics. And with Simone Biles leading the team this year, I’m excited to watch team U.S.A. take the beam, bar and mat, especially now that I get to enjoy it alongside my gymnastics-loving daughter.

Are young men becoming more sexist? Wasn’t it only yesterday when they were pretending to be feminists to pick up chicks?​

​

These women are professional climbers navigating inequality in their field. But not in the way you may think.

I’m now offering career strategy packages for people starting to think about what their next chapter might be. This is for you if you’ve been recently laid off, are considering switching industries, need help tying together different parts of your career into one strategic narrative that connects all your former roles to clearly communicate what you're amazing at, if you need help updating your LinkedIn profile or resume to help you land a new job, of if you’re just in need of a career refresh, a motivation boost and someone to help you re-energize you in their work.

Please feel free to share this with your networks, forward this email along, or book a free 15 minute consulting session to learn more.

​