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Quarter Turn's Happy Accident
New monthly guest interviews
I looked out, through the stage lights, at what looked like an ocean of eyeballs.
Every person in the audience, and each of the 5 other panelists on stage, earned far more than me.
But when you’re a tiny leader at the bottom of the corporate totem pole and you get asked to speak at the annual bigwig shindig, there’s only one right answer:
YES. Yes, of course.
It was January of 2018, and I’d been asked weeks before to join a discussion on diversity, after supporting a high-profile project all year.
I’d spent December in vague state of panic.
I wrote my remarks on flashcards and practiced them every day until I could recite the words cold.
During every shower, I gave my 2-minute speech to an audience of imagined suits and jewelry. (I’m a mom—the shower is rare uninterrupted time)
But when I finally got onstage I noticed it:
every one of the other five panelists had note cards in their hands.
I was cardless.
I was the only one who’d memorized what to say.
No one had told me I could have cards. I could have saved my time and blood pressure for a solid month.
But you know what?
I wouldn’t change it.
My preparation was a “happy accident” that proved I was capable of public speaking in a way I’d never have pictured, before.
And even if it did nothing for my career, it did worlds for my confidence.
Quarter Turn is adding something new . . .
Interviews with online writers! Once a month you’ll get an interview right here that won’t be tweeted. Won’t be on Medium.
The Quarter Turn+ interviews will be newsletter exclusives.
For this first special edition, I was lucky to get a “yes” from my friend and author of the “Happy Accidents” newsletter, Dennis Geelen.
Dennis has been hard at work organizing a solopreneur summit with big-name speakers, that’s coming up on September 20th.
Find all the details in this tweet (link to register is in the replies):
Are you attending the Solo Creator Summit next month?
— Solo Creator Summit (@SoloCreatorHQ)
5:58 PM • Aug 24, 2023
Joy is not made to be a crumb. Nothing is, that’s worth pursuing.
Jay Clouse coins an incredible term. And all you have to do as a writer is refuse to stop putting words together.
4 kinds of luck, from Sahil Bloom.
Just think of future you, even one year from now:
Advice I wish I had as a writer 10 years ago:
• You never know what's going to resonate. Just hit publish.
• Progress gets easier to measure the longer you do it.
• You won't enjoy writing every day. Do it anyway.
• Writing is more important than reading.Hope this helps.
— Nicolas Cole 🚢 (@Nicolascole77)
11:00 PM • Aug 11, 2023
Want to increase your happy accident surface area? This is the way.
The secret you’ve been searching for. This is the only way, in the end.
Happy accidents might look like magic, but when you shine a light on them . . . they’re just small pieces, added up.
Who would YOU like to see interviewed for Quarter Turn+?
Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.
🧠 and ❤️