Category: Getting Better

Have you ever set a goal? Was it a goal that was ju-u-u-st out of your comfort zone or was it something that was an incredible reach, maybe even something you thought you had a low likelihood of achieving? That is, was it… audacious?

Audacious has two meanings with slightly different tones:

1. showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks.
2. showing an impudent lack of respect.

Sometimes goals are drivers to do something bold, something unexpected. And sometimes goals strive to show that something can be done when “they” say it can’t. I’m really open to both interpretations here.

I’m thinking about a new project and I want to hear from people who have set a big, audacious goal. No need to have achieved it. I’m curious about why you set that goal, what you did to reach it, and what happened as a result.

You can message me directly here.

This June I signed up for Climb Like a Girl at Brooklyn Boulders in my neighborhood. I have been climbing just a few times before but really enjoyed it. I was looking for a new challenge and this seemed like the perfect early summer activity. Climbing combines a physical challenge with puzzle solving and it is completely addictive. With Climb Like a Girl, I’ll be climbing twice a week all this month with a group of other climbing gals at Brooklyn Boulders Queensbridge.

I have a fear of heights and it’s something I’m facing as I get better at scaling the wall. Every climb I feel the push of wanting to reach the final hold and the pull of safe, solid ground below. I hate falling! But it’s exhilarating to solve every new puzzle and progress slowly from V0s and V1s to V2s… and hopefully beyond.

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The photos are from my first visit to Brooklyn Boulders Queensbridge with my sisters in 2017. We had a great time bouldering for the first time together. Looking forward to some more climbs in the coming weeks!

Summer is here and I’m enjoying the long hot days! Here’s what I’m into this month:

• College reunion. It was fun to go back to Dickinson College this month and stay in the dorms with friends. It’s funny how a trip back to school can make it feel like no time has passed at all…
• Exploring Queens. I moved to this borough almost a year ago and made a long list of places to check out. I’m slowly making my way through and finding so many great places. I visited MoMA PS1, Brooklyn Boulders Queensbridge and Citifield (thought not for the first time). I’m taking a guitar class at Queens Guitar School and after class, I’ll meet Pete to try a new restaurant in the neighborhood (Astoria). We really like Milkflower and Snowdonia.
  

  

  
  Chris Guillebeau’s Side Hustle School. I love a good project and this one from Chris Guillebeau is very compelling. He’s releasing a new podcast every day in 2017 about people and their side hustles. I really love how short each one is (most are <10 minutes) and that he includes quantitative measures of success, like revenue! I’m conflicted about the push for millennials to start a side hustle (more on that another time), but I appreciate this content.
• The Getting Things Done method from David Allen and reaching Inbox Zero. I’ve heard about this on life hack sites for years and I’m finally reading the book. I haven’t fully committed, but there are great tips for leading a more minimal and organized life.
• Long walks. I’m trying to get 10,000 steps a day, something that’s disturbingly difficult with an office job. Now that the weather’s nice I try to walk home across Queensboro Bridge or take a walk along the waterfront if I have time after dinner. Not always possible, but great when it happens.

Afterward a whirlwind of travel in March, I’m enjoying a more home-bound April.

• Lots of family time! My cousin is getting married in Pennsylvania at the end of the month, and it’s a great reason to get together with the Laffertys. I had fun exploring Philadelphia for her bachelorette party this weekend, and brunch at Harp & Crown was a perfect wrap-up. This has led to more plans for family get-togethers in 2017, like seeing Classic East in July!
• So much music. The month kicked off with a house concert hosted by a friend and I went to Blue Note to see jazz when Autumn was in town over Easter weekend. After a six-week hiatus, I’m back to guitar lessons. I’m learning Don’t Think Twice by Bob Dylan and Diamonds and Rust by Joan Baez.
• Continuing with the music theme, I will finally finish my listen of the first 50 albums on the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list from The Rolling Stone. I got James Brown’s ‘Live at the Apollo’ at the library this weekend since I couldn’t find it in full on any of my typical online music sources.
• Starting – but not finishing – lots of books. If I complete the books I’m currently reading, I’ll exceed my reading goal for the year. I’m reading tons of founder bios lately and really enjoying them.

In the meantime, I’m also working on some longer-term projects that will hopefully come to fruition in the next 3-5 months. Good start to the year!

I’m breaking my posting hiatus with some of the stuff I’m following this month.

• Lots of travel. So many of my trips strangely converged this month. Spain, Houston and Scottsdale. I checked off two bucket list items this month – visiting the Alhambra and the Johnson Space Center!
• Outer space and life coming full circle. In 2009, I went to Scottsdale to recruit for the new Barneys New York store (unfortunately now closed). While there, Buzz Aldrin was signing his new book, Magnificent Desolation, at the Louis Vuitton store in the mall. The book was a very special Christmas gift to my dad that year. This winter, while going through my mom’s bookshelves as she prepares to sell my childhood home, I found Buzz’s book. I brought it back to Scottsdale to read poolside this month. Having also seen the Saturn V rocket at the Johnson Space Center just a week before, I felt like a real superfan.
• So much reading. I finally finished Dubliners this month and Goodreads is moving up as one of my favorite social media accounts.
• Getting back to writing in some small ways. More to come soon.
• Career advice from powerful women. First Ann Shoket‘s new book The Big Life and now Sallie Krawcheck’s Own It. It’s exciting to hear how they navigated their careers and the advice they have for women like me. I saw Krawcheck speak at Work-bench last week and she was riveting. She came across as very authentic and direct, and it was great to speak with her briefly as she signed my book.

https://twitter.com/misstoffer/status/844324400027570178

It’s been a whirlwind month and I really enjoyed it. Here’s to a happy spring!