It’s 2023, and MakeJoy Studio is on the verge of celebrating 10 years in business—save the date, we’re having a party on Feb 10, 2024.
Cleaning out my inbox today, I opened an email from Ryan Holiday, author of books on Stoic philosophy and a daily email called the Daily Stoic. He says in this email it’s his 7-year anniversary writing every single day for his email list.
If I needed a sign, here it is.
Today will be the official start of a daily email called MakeJoy + More.
Right now, these will start with daily ideas about marketing your small business. Maybe some tough love, but hopefully a source to simplify a problem that I see most of my clients struggling to do themselves.
Most recently, I had a conversation with a client about revamping his website. We both were kinda joking, but not really joking, that his life’s work as a specialist deserved to be published online for everyone because, let’s face it, someday we’re going to die and he was not a young man anymore.
The short version of this story is that we are running on limited time, and wouldn’t it be nice to pass along the knowledge that we have spent our life obtaining?
I feel this for sure.
Two days before my 35th birthday, I sat in a room with a doctor who told me I have Stage IV cancer of a rare disease called paraganglioma. It is slow-growing until it’s not, and it is incurable, and all over my body—liver, bones, lymph nodes.
I am 37 now, and all we are doing is “watch and wait”…. watch… and… wait…
It’s been two years and a second diagnosis of Thyroid Cancer later, and I am tired already of the “watch and wait”.
I know I am fortunate that I am asymptomatic and not rushing off to chemo, but it really does suck.
Cancer sucks.
Life has been continuing since my original diagnosis, and in 2023 I have found new life in myself and MakeJoy Studio. It’s far from over, and every day is a challenge to keep going and find meaning in all of this. I am mostly excited for what’s ahead. I can tell my story is really just beginning and not ending.
I have been sharing my thoughts more on Instagram, but have always wanted to start with a source for my content, like a daily blog/email newsletter.
MakeJoy + More, daily thoughts about marketing your small business (real-life stuff + more). Here we go.
Thank you for joining me.