Author: Nicole Larson

Imagine yourself looking down the road of life (stay with me). It’s bumpy and long and damnit, you need a vehicle to get down there. Sure you can choose one of those fancy sports cars, but you’ll constantly have to stop for gas. And that’s annoying. So instead let’s go Oregon Trail old school style and build ourselves a wagon. Something big and sturdy. Something that can cover us when it rains and shade us when it’s sunny. And it’ll probably come with an Ox. And that’s cool. Last month we focused on Steps Four, Five, and Six of the…

Everyone has heard of the really annoying cliche of taking baby steps. Though this is great advice in the overall picture of tackling major tasks, it’s also overused and has an underlining word of caution. “Be careful! Baby steps!” But we are not babies. We are grown ass creatives who don’t want to take baby steps. We want to take confident stiletto driven strides. We want to see the end result and we want to figure out the route to get there, what milestones we need to tackle, and what trolls we may find along the way. We don’t want…

Raise your hand if you like to: 1) Be the chick that gets it done. 2) Be the gal who has it together. 3) Be the one with all the good wine. A couple months ago I wrote an article about the importance of creatives getting organized in order to make more space for their creativity. That being said, the kind of organization we need goes beyond making a foolproof filing system. What we need is a way of life that includes good habits, prioritizing our happiness, and open-mindedness (and yes, organization plays a huge role in all these things).…

I have zero intentions of eating frogs. You’ve heard this theory right? The “Eat the Frogs First” thing? Life and business coach extraordinaire Brian Tracy coined it after reading a quote from Mark Twain. Good old Marky T Mark says “that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worse thing that is going to happen to you all day long.” In other words, Brian looks at the tasks you need to complete in these four ways: 1)…

The other day I was having a mini meltdown and I did the thing that came the most natural to me. Ok, well the second most natural thing (**puts down wine bottle**). I made a checklist. You see, every January this warm and fuzzy urge to get my duckies in a row for the coming year starts to take over my body like little Twilight Zone invaders with cute little aluminum space suits (and high heels…like all good space invaders). So I do what I do every year: I put on my best pair of yoga pants, head down to…

I always thought that life was like a train trip. You know, the sexy kind where everything is in black and white, Clark Gable is waiting in the bar car to share a dirty martini and flirtatious conversation, and the smooth rocking would send you quickly into a dream wonderland. As you traveled along, people would get on and off the train. And our stops would be huge, magnificent, and bursting with life. Now to go along with our travel heavy metaphor here, those stops would be life’s greatest milestones. Things like: first steps, first words, first tooth, first kiss,…

On November 12, 2015 I put up my Christmas tree. No, it’s not an attempt to show Starbucks who’s boss (I drank a Pumpkin Spice Latte while putting up the ornaments). Nor was it my complete lack of regard for the holiday that falls between Halloween and Christmas (flag day?). And truth be told, it had nothing to do with giving me an excuse to start watching Christmas movies (I watch Elf in July). I put up my Christmas tree because I wanted everything to be perfect. My parents are coming into town and what better way to greet them…

The other day I was at work, waiting on these two sweet middle-aged ladies. One had a floppy hat on (yes!) and the other was wearing the loudest flower frock I’ve ever seen. We started chatting a bit and I told them I was a writer. Floppy Hat giggled with glee. She was a writer, too! And Loud Flower Frock told me she made jewelry. When I came back from retrieving their turmeric almond milk lattes, I noticed that Loud Flower Frock was giving Floppy Hat entrepreneur advice. Naturally, my ears perked up and like all good waiters, I eavesdropped…

The day this article was due, I looked at the version I had ready to go, ready to send, ready to publish. And then gave it the middle finger. So I deleted it. Let me explain. I’m a writer. I write articles for Ms. in the Biz, for my own website, and for my (coming soon) series on Channillo. I also write my young adult fiction novel and everything that goes with that business: query letters, a long synopsis, a short synopsis, beat sheets, post its reminding me why I’m doing this, back cover copy, tweets, Facebook posts, and notes…

Listen, you don’t need me to sugarcoat a thing. You know being a creative has its “Bang Head Here” moments. You also know that being an entrepreneur not only means taking risks, but it’s in the damn definition. When I first became a creative entrepreneur I was surrounded by those who patted my hand and distracted me with flowers instead of being straight with me. I fumbled around, spent an enormous amount of money, and fell into too many traps because—at the time—I didn’t have what it takes. Now the second time around I’m doing things differently. I’ve prepped and…

You know that warm feeling (read: mini orgasm) you get when you make a plan? Like a really pretty color-coded plan? The kind of plan that people say is brilliant? The kind of plan that goes…well, according to plan? Yeah, I like them too, so much so that I decided to become one. I—like many other wedding planners—made plans constantly. Itineraries, checklists, vision-boards, venue hunting route, timelines, agendas, and agendas to the agendas riddled our daydreams and desks. If we failed to make a plan we would get sloppy. And if we were sloppy, we’d be unemployed in a hurry.…

You know what’s the worst? A box of those damn chocolates. Forrest has ruined a good box of See’s Nuts and Chews for me for life. (Eff you Gump). Because even though you may never know what you’re gonna get? It’s still damn chocolate, you guys. Chocolate. But for Creative Entrepreneurs? Our only candy option is more like Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans…on crack. Popping one of those bad boys could rev our engines or send us on a manic spiral southbound (seriously…that one you’re holding could be ear wax). And you want to know the funny part? We kind…

Is it just me or do you think there was enough room on that floating piece of wood for Rose to move her ass over and let Jack on so he wouldn’t freeze to death? Am I right? (Note to Self: need to move on and forgive Rose so you can heal). But it isn’t Rose I’m really mad at. It’s that damn iceberg. The one that—spoiler alert here you guys—crushed the Titanic and sent Jack and all of our romantic fantasies of being sketched with charcoal down to the bottom of the ocean. (By the way, I kid you…

You, 1. Resolutions, 0. I’m not going to ask you nicely to put down that pen and notebook. You know, the notebook where you’ve written down your New Year’s Resolutions. I’m not going to scream, or yell, or wave my hands in the air bellowing, “Oh crap, we’re gonna die,” because that wouldn’t be productive (And a tad overdramatic). I’m not going to guilt trip you, or try to trick you, or set off on a secret agenda. I’m not that diabolical (or that smart). What I will do, however, is kick up my feet, pour myself a glass of…