56 - You don't do great things alone
Welcome to the new subscribers who have joined us this week.
Photo of the Week
It was a quiet week overall. Kona got groomed on Monday and I got a haircut on Wednesday so there are more Kona pics than perhaps normal. I also finished the transition to Apple/iOS this week although there are still a couple of lingering tasks on the list but I’m already loving all of the automation I can do with the Mac.
You don’t do great things alone
Early this week my dear friend Diana sent me a text to see if I would like to go see Jack Everly conduct the Richmond Symphony Orchestra. Jack is a Richmond native who is now the conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. If you’ve watched the July 4th “A Capitol Fourth” anytime since 2010 (thank you Wikipedia) then you’ve also seen Jack conduct.
Symphony and other live performances always remind me that if we want to do great things we pretty much have to do them with other people. As we sat there Saturday night watching this accomplished conductor create beautiful moments with the flick of a wand I just kept thinking about how incredible it is that all these talented people came together to make this concert happen.
As an introvert, it’s easy to forget this lesson. I like to do things on my own. I like to - as Gayle and I often say - ‘do myself’. But we don’t do great things alone. We can do things alone for sure. But the greatest accomplishments of your life - no matter what they are - you, at the very least, stood on the shoulders of others to get there. Chances are you’re also standing shoulder to shoulder with others who are helping you in that moment.
So my challenges for you this week:
What is holding you back from getting something done? Do you need to ask someone to join you?
Who do you need to tell thank you to for helping you achieve something?
Who do you need to invite into a project or activity to make it go even better?
Where’s Kara?
A quick summary of where I’m going to be hanging out online and IRL over the next few weeks. Join me, and if I’m visiting near you, hit reply and let’s meet up!
June or July - I am (still) waiting on all the signatures but I may get to North Carolina later in the summer
July/August - A Northern European Cruise!
Around the Virtual World
The Facts of Life LIVE Cohort - You will often find me hanging out in the course and community for my course “Facts of Life Book” that launched on January 1! I know some of you were waiting for the first ever live cohort - and that is now available. From April 7 - June 23 I’ll be running a live cohort including virtual sessions every Friday afternoon during that time period. What is the Facts of Life Book? Do you need to organize your most important stuff for life’s most important moments? If so, then the Facts of Life Book course is just for you. With loads of templates, tools, and guides I’ll help you get your most important information organized. Join now and you’ll get access to all future updates as well as any additional future live cohorts I run. Use coupon code FRIEND to get 50% off of the cost of the course.
Quarterly Retreat - It’s still a great time to prepare for an awesome 2023 by signing up for the Quarterly Retreat All Access Pass or the Quarterly Retreat Workshop. Visit https://karamonroe.podia.com and download the workbook for free and check out all of the offerings.
Creative Work Hour - Every single day of the week, at 10 a.m. eastern, a group gathers online in Zoom to do a quick check in, a brief meditation, work for about 50 minutes on whatever they want to do, and then check out with one another for 5 minutes. Creative Work Hour is one of my favorite places to hang out online and I’ve been there every single day that I could be there since about March of 2022. Come as often or as little as you need to get projects done. To register for the sessions (they are free but you have to sign up to get the zoom link) and to learn more, visit https://lu.ma/CreativeWork.
Tools, Tips, & Tricks
Text Replacement on iPhone
This week’s tip is courtesy of Gayle who said, “I think the iPhone just does what you’re describing.” Indeed it does.
I’m trying out several different things with my iPhone and other apple items - one of which is the most reliable way to do text replacement across all my devices. While I will likely end up keeping my beloved Text Expander software, you can easily add in text you use all the time to your iOS keyboard by using the Text Replacement options.
Go to Settings > General > Keyboard and see if text replacement is an option. If it is, click the add button in the top right and enter the text you want to appear on the screen in the top box and then short code you want to type to get that text on the screen in the bottom box.
Then to use it just open up any app that accepts text and type that short code. You’ll see the text you want to replace that with show up in your paste bar. Just click it and voila - text replacement.
The text expander software works across all my devices so again I’ll probably keep paying for it but this is a nice replacement/backup option if you’re interested. Here is a video on how it works.
Diversion
One of the songs played at Saturday night concerts was this one my John Williams - a Tribute to the Film Composer which, according to Jack Everly, contains 21 unique film themes in song - and if you listen to at least half of it you’ll get to hear how a song writer cracks a joke in the middle of a score.
Ways You Can Support Me
Purchase one of my digital courses and/or products
I offer courses and digital products focused on organization, planning, productivity, technology, and personal development. Check out all of the offerings currently available at
https://karamonroe.podia.com
Subscribe to and Share My Newsletter
If someone forwarded this to you or if you’re reading online, hit subscribe so you get every issue delivered right to your inbox every Monday morning at 8 a.m. eastern time.
And, remember to share this with a friend and/or on social media if you read something in here think someone else might find it valuable.
Buy Me A Coffee
You can buy me a virtual coffee if you feel my work has added monetary value to your life in some way. Just visit https://www.buymeacoffee.com/iwannabeme and follow the on screen instructions.
Subscribe to Medium
I publish much of my writing on Medium. To read all of the content there, you need to have a subscription which gives you access to the entire library of Medium content. It’s a great place where I start nearly every day. If you want to subscribe, consider doing so through my referral link: https://iwannabemewhenigrowup.medium.com/membership
Subscribe to Readwise
Readwise is an incredible service that takes all of the highlights you take on Kindle, on various web sites, and in so many other places and stores and organizes them for you. It generates a daily (or more often/less often as you prefer) set of highlights for you to review so that you can better remember what you read. Readwise also syncs with all kinds of apps including Evernote, Notion, Obsidian, Roam Research, Log Seq and more. If you’d like an extended 60 day trial, use my link https://readwise.io/kara
Affiliate Links
I do use affiliate links (a link that you click on and then if you purchase the tool, I may receive a little money or service in return) for products that I use and recommend.