Discomfort is the currency of your dreams.
-Maren Martschenko
10-Minute Blog (TMB)
This chapter an experiment in creative yet disciplined writing. Once a week, I practice writing for 10 minutes about a top-of-mind topic and post whatever comes out. It’s about getting out of my comfort zone, about being imperfect and about being even more vulnerable.
Next Chapter: Leadership
May 2020: Empathy’s Moment
Empathy is having a moment. It’s been around for a while. The word originates from Greek and was translated in English for the first time from Einfühlung, German for feeling in, in the early 1900s. We have been studying it and using it for literally 100 years. Empathy is the ability to sense other people’s ...
May 2020: You are Not Alone
Actually, I am. I’ve been alone for 57 days. Everything I do is alone. — May is Mental Health Awareness month. Respect. I hear and read that apparently, I am not alone, pretty much everywhere I look these days . Mostly on social media. On tv. And at work. I get it. You want to ...
2020: More Writing
I need to write for The Voices more. It’s a 2020 goal. Writing for myself. And for the 2 or 3 fans who read everything I write: you know who you are. Thank you. All I’ve been doing is writing for work. For audience of 170-ish, to whom I mostly send emails that many are ...
TMB: Missing Munich
Nostalgia for Germany I am having massive FOMO. My BFF and Gloss Over podcast co-host, Meaghan Whalen is in Munich, vacationing, closing out 2019 and celebrating the coming of a new decade. I’ve been seeing her posts on social media, giving her recommendations for places to dine at and visit, and I see her car ...
TMB: My Writer’s Block
In doing some maintenance on The Voices Collection today, I realized that I haven’t written anything for the blog in almost a month. Thoughts of doubt came rushing to my head: how are you calling yourself a writer, a blogger, if you aren’t even writing?! So many thing have happened since I last wrote: ...
TMB: Being 40 – Something…
I love it. I love being 40-something Here is why: I am neither the oldest nor the youngest in the room. I’m in the middle now. It’s a good place to be. Learning from both the generation that precedes and succeeds me. I have enough experience for people to be interested I what I ...
TMB: From Fear to Freedom
When I started using my voice to express who I am and stand in my truth, without the constraints of an establishment’s rules dictating my expectations or requiring a certain behavior, I began a journey to finding my words. I’ve been practicing using my words to describe my present reality and my wishes for ...
TMB: Listening to Language
I’ve just arrived Cascais, a small resort town some 30km west of Lisbon. Reflecting on a week of inspiration and mental stimulation at a conference in the lively Portuguese capital, I am enjoying this quaint and quiet town. As I stroll down its city center streets, I listen. At first, to silence. Then, I ...
TMB: The Glamour of Travel
I’ve been a traveling fool. Since 2012, I’ve preferred an airplane ride to Detroit, San Francisco, Dallas, Munich and a train to NYC/NJ to the commute on DC’s silver line. This year, in my touristing expéditions to Mexico and Germany, in the often lengthy process of reaching these international destinations, I’ve enjoyed the luxuries ...
TMB: Why I Love Germany 1
A couple of women approached me today at an S-Bahn stop. One of them began speaking to me in German. Surely, they are looking for directions, I thought. “I’m sorry, I don’t speak German. Do you speak English?” As we proceeded to communicate in my second yet primary language, I wasn’t exactly surprised with how I instinctively ...
Introducing: The 10-Minute Blog (TMB)
Last month, as part of my networking trip to Munich, I was lucky enough to go on some 30 blind dates with the women of GDW‘s Digital Female Leadership Awards. On a sunny afternoon, I met with Maren Martschenko, a digital media veteran and consultant, entrepreneur, founder of Munich’s popular and well-respected Digital Media ...
