Speaker 1 (00:00:13) - Y'all. Ladies and gentlemen, there is nobody else on this podcast. I do believe that there are people who are listening right now who actually own a t-shirt emblazed with the words present because y'all are fighting for the position for a president of this woman's fan club. She is a fan favorite here on the Jazz Star podcast. This is going to be her third appearance. I think she is the only person in podcast history to come back three times, and she always over delivers. Like I am. Just like, you must come back. So ladies and gentlemen, if you're a long time listener of this podcast, you'll likely remember this woman from our 2020 episode Copywriter extraordinaire, Laura Belgray. Now, for those of you guys who want to do the search, her episode, how to Get Paid to Be You, okay, how to Be Paid To Be You is one of the most downloaded episodes and for good reason, Laura is real. She is hilarious. These conversations always move me from the inside out and like she's one of those people who's so good at what it is she does, that people will sign up for an old school, get it down and dirty email, because she has a really cool way of mixing her life into everything that she does. She is getting paid to be her. Laura Belgrade, welcome back to the Jasmine Star Show. Okay,

Speaker 2 (00:01:28) - Gosh, thank you, Jasmine. I promise you right now, nobody is going to top that intro. No podcast I'm on is going to top that. So it's all down here downhill from here. Know, well,

Speaker 1 (00:01:41) - You know, it just comes to the heart, Laura Bel Graye. It comes from my heart and I wanna be very clear. So we're gonna start, I always spit the truth, so have people know what they're getting into from the beginning. And so this is the real life story of why I invited Laura back to the show. So Laura decided to get extra paid for being her by writing a book. And here's the thing, this is why I am not just a podcaster who wants people to be on like a book train. I like Laura, I follow Laura, I'm an avid reader and I like the way that she's navigating her life, her stories and monetizing, creating a business around it. So just imagine my surprise when I was not one of the tightly knit circles that Laura hit up to say, can you pre-buy my book and can you get me on your podcast?

Speaker 1 (00:02:29) - She didn't say that. I saw on her stories that you could pre-buy her book. And so I marched my little fingers on over to Amazon. I bought her book, I paid my own dang money. I didn't get a press kit. I wanted to support what it is she's doing. And I loved it so much that I'm like, number one, I'm offended. I wasn't asked to be a part of it. Number two, thank you for not asking me to be a part of your book tour. And number three, will you come on and not just talk about your book, but let's have an extension of where you are now as a hardcover book author. Like, uh, you are doing it all. You're doing it all. Thank you. Hold

Speaker 2 (00:03:02) - On, hold on. We have to backtrack. Okay, the reason, the reason I asked you late in the game when you were like, you think I didn't already pre-order that shit ? Um,

Speaker 2 (00:03:13) - Because I am last minute, Laura. I, I, that's when I asked anybody, anyone big, I was actually probably procrastinating asking you because I was like, oh, now I've waited too long. And she's gonna think I'm a big procrastinator, which I'm admitting to you now, . Um, like I think I waited till after I asked you to ask some other people who are enormous. And of course I started stressing about it all way early on. Like I was so ahead of the curve stressing about it and what I was going to have to do. And then when it came time to ask people, can I be on your podcast and can I send you a galley? They were all like, I already pre-ordered it. Pre-ordered. It said,

Speaker 1 (00:03:53) - Well, that says a lot about you. That says a lot about you. And last minute, Laura, you're about to jump right in, Jasmine, because one of the things that I was really attracted to is you actually wrote an Instagram post about this and you said, the worst way to write and I substitute, right? With create. So any business owner, like substitute what it is you do. So the worst way to be a coach, the worst way to be a photographer, the worst way to be a writer is to wait until you're inspired. And so can you speak to the creative entrepreneur or any entrepreneur if they've identified as creative or not? Who's saying, yeah, but that feels impossible. Like when I write, when I create, when I post, when I take a photo, when I'm not inspired, I get nothing. So it feels like a waste of time. Like what do you say to the people who are looking at what it is you're doing and saying, well, I can never do that in my own way. It feels like it's a waste.

Speaker 2 (00:04:39) - Yeah, which I get cuz I used to be a big wait for inspiration person myself. And I would go like, go in a sprint of posting or blogging every day back when I was, you know, when blogging was my thing. And, um, be on a roll and then one day run out of things to write about, just not feel it or skip a day. And then one day turned into two and two days turned into three and people would say, where's your blog? I haven't gotten one in a while. I haven't seen one. And I'd say, yeah, I'm just waiting for some ideas to come along and no ideas would come along. Because the less you create, the less ideas you have, and the more you create, the more ideas you have, and the more you create, the more you write, the more you write, the more you, the more snaps you take, the more snaps you take and want to take.

Speaker 2 (00:05:24) - And I always love to quote Seth Godden on this one. Um, we all, Seth, Seth, Seth Godden, the marketing hero author, Jordanaire, he's been blogging for I don't know how many years since the dawn of the internet and a a post every single day, like rain or shine, um, hell or high water. He posts every single day and he has said that 50% of his posts are below average. And he's not saying that he's a below average writer by any means. He is saying that's what average means. 50% are below average, 50% are above average. So if you want to create more that is above average, you have to create a lot more. And we all know that, like that one thing that you sit there and polish and hone and you're like, this is the one, this is the, this is the thing I'm inspired to do and this is the one that's gonna hit big and go viral and probably get me on TV because it's the post that went viral.

Speaker 2 (00:06:25) - Um, , you post it and it's like chirp, chirp and you know, like, is is this thing on, is my router broken? Like, is the, is the wifi down? Let me look up spectrum and  and no, it's not. And then the thing that you just kind of throw out there, you're like, this is no good, but gosh, I gotta post something. That's the one that everyone's like this. Mm, you're like, really this? Yeah, this, because it's that thing. You didn't put that much that much weight on. You held it lightly. You just, you know, even though you weren't inspired, you didn't think it was inspired somehow it just hits home because there's less effort in it and less weight to it. And so I think there's, uh, a lot of merit too, just being prolific, putting a lot out there, put like creating and creating and creating even when you're not inspired, and especially when you're not inspired. Mm

Speaker 1 (00:07:18) - Mm I'm gonna pause and I need that to like completely sink in because if you're a photographer, you shoot more when you don't feel like shooting. And when you are a fitness influencer, you're posting or you're a fitness coach, you're posting when you don't want to post. And when you are a dj, you're mixing when you don't want to mix. And when you're a baker, it's not your piece to resistance. That's gonna be a 15 layer cake that's gonna make you go viral. It's gonna be those homespun cookies that you used to make at your grandma's kitchen table that really resonates with people. And so the more we do, the more we get creative. And so anybody who's listening, that's the main takeaway. Obviously Laura and I come from the same school of thought that more is more, but it's not for the sake of doing things that we don't want to do.

Speaker 1 (00:08:10) - We do it as a sacrifice so that when inspiration hits, we know how to apply ourselves. And so for those of you who aren't gonna do the due diligence, we will link back in our show notes to Laura's other episodes. But I want to just give a little bit of context. Laura has written and writes for some of the biggest names in the industry. She's also written for N B C and Bravo and H b O. Like these are the type of clients that she's working with. And I really wanna go back and tie this into how Laura is getting paid to be her and how she talks and educates other people to get paid for being them. Now, um, when we talk about creating to create, when we don't feel like creating, can we get practical? Like, can you give us an example or a story? Like how does this look for you? Do you sit down? Do you sit a timer or are you just like, I'm just gonna write however I can't, like give us like a framework to somebody's like, I think I can do that.

Speaker 2 (00:08:58) - Yeah, I have had times when I'm so resistant to sitting down and writing something or writing what I have to write, you know, maybe I'm on a deadline. I pitched something to, uh, publication, and so I owe it to them. Most of the stuff is that I do is it's on me. Like, I don't have to post anything, it's just on me. But when I have a deadline and I'm just so resistant and I don't know how to start it or anything like that, I'll do the pomodoro. Like, there's, there's one that's free online. It's called the marinara Timer. It's a free version of the Pomodoro method. And I will use that. I'm like, I close all the windows on my laptop, all the, all the socials. Um, I have used an app called Freedom, which I haven't used in a long time, but that can be helpful.

Speaker 2 (00:09:45) - It doesn't let you open anything that you've put in there. Um, so, which I, I need very much because I don't even know I'm doing it when I type like, you know, I into the browser that like, Instagram is gonna pop up, I don't even know I'm doing it and then it's there. So, um, I'm putting phone in a, in another room. Yeah. So that's a great way of doing it. Sitting down with a timer, say, you know, I'm going to write for 20 minutes. You can, uh, it can be 30 minutes. Um, I wouldn't say an hour. I think that's probably too long. And then if you, you know, if you hit an hour and you're ti or you've hit 50 minutes and the timer goes off and you wanna keep creating, you can keep creating. But make it easy for yourself. Don't make it so that you can't hit that mark.

Speaker 2 (00:10:32) - And, uh, I think that that's a great way to do it. I also use seven 50 words.com, which is my, that's my journaling app of choice. I can't hand write anything anymore. My hand doesn't work. Uh, so I can barely sign my name. So I use seven 50 words.com and I just free write into that. That's how I start most of my mornings. And I try to do it every day, sometimes I don't. But, um, it, it has a word count at the bottom that keeps going and it hit, it turns green when you hit seven 50 words. And that's when you know, you're, you're done with your words for the day. And that just gets the synapses firing and makes you realize, oh, I do have things too. Right? I do have things to say today I didn't think I did. Even if it's just your thoughts from, you know, the, the same repeating thoughts that you have over and over and over, which, um, I've spent many days doing like, I can't write this book, I can't write this book, I can't write this book, , I'm gonna miss my deadline. Um, same thoughts over and over, or it might be what I had for dinner last night. But that just gets things rolling and makes me realize I have got, I've got plenty to say, even just about the steak that I ordered that came well done instead of medium rare.

Speaker 1 (00:11:48) - So I wanna, um, tap here for a second because when I look back at the peaks and the valleys of my career and like kind of like pushing up, uh, after a pivot, during a pivot and pre pivot, one of the things that I would always go back to would be content. I've been banging the same drum for over 14 years, but where I feel like maybe I have detoured, um, at different points of my career. And at the time of this recording, I am so distinctly hardcore going back to that it is framing everything with a story. And as humor and as humans, we're so story driven, but as entrepreneurs, what we want to be is business driven. So either it's conscious or subconscious that we're leading with a thing that we feel the most insecure about. Like the story about my steak, I mean, I'm a vegetarian, so like the story about my tofu is really boring, but it's actually the thing that's really connective.

Speaker 1 (00:12:36) - So on that note, um, the practicalities of talking and sharing your stories, like you shared one story and anyone, it was an email a little bit from last year and it was a really simple story about how people kept on noticing you on your regular walking route. . It wasn't like they recognized somebody famous, it was just that they recognized somebody who walked consistently and then you, like, they would comment about it. So in your email, you told a story and then it tied into the idea of consistency and the power of staying on top of your mind for your clients and customers. How do you do this? Do you just sit down and this story comes to you? I know. So what happens is you just like, oh, I can write about my steak. And people are like, great. She writes about her steak.

Speaker 1 (00:13:11) - And then here I am telling you like, dude, this story of you walking in your neighborhood has stayed with me almost a year. Maybe it's been a year. And I'm thinking to myself, okay, how, how are you bridging things you do daily to what you write about in business? And so I'm coming at this from the context of not just a writer. So people who are listening, it would be like a life coach. This would be a videographer, this would be a baker. And they think to themselves, okay, my story in the the carpool line at school is really boring. This is what I tell myself. I'm like, I am a an astounding, boring person. So how are you getting the steak you ordered for dinner, the route you take? What's the linchpin? How are you working here?

Speaker 2 (00:13:48) - Okay, so when I do that, when I sit down and I'm like, I have a story to tell, I feel like talking about this today. Um, usually I write it and try to come to a conclusion, some sort of a segue, some sort of a takeaway or point, or maybe it's something I'm selling by the time I finish writing it. Like sometimes it doesn't happen. Sometimes I'm like, what is the point of this story? Like, I write it for the fun of it and try to make it entertaining and pull them in. And then I have to come up with what is the takeaway here. And I had to do this when I was writing my book. Yes. And it was way harder writing my book. Yes. Because I had all these stories I wanted to tell and, um, on their own, I thought they were good enough to tell.

Speaker 2 (00:14:33) - Like I've been telling them, I've been dining out on this story of like a foursome with a world, uh, renowned filmmaker for, you know, 30 years since it happened. And, um, and near f uh, failed for some. But as I had to grapple with what is the point of this, what is the, my editor said, what are you trying to say here? What is the point of view? What is the perspective? And it's sometimes it's really hard to do that cuz you're like, I don't know, it's just a funny story. But that's not satisfying to your reader. They wanna know why they just read this. So I will sit down and say, and ask myself, if it doesn't come right away, why am I telling this story? What are some things that you could pull out of this? What is a pattern here that you also see in the business world or in life or something that mirrors what we do in life?

Speaker 2 (00:15:24) - If I were just telling the story about the stake and that I still remember that it was, you know, the wrong temperature when it came out, I don't know. The conclusion might be that we tend to focus on the negative. Like, I don't remember the dessert, I don't remember this or that mm-hmm.  or, you know, there are, there are different lessons that, that you can pull out of a wrongly done steak. Um, and being the crazy walking girl in, you know, in a small town. So I, I'll do it that way sometimes if like, if I'm promoting something like a course, I will think I'll do it the reverse way. I'll think what are some stories that demonstrate the power of, you know, if I'm promoting say inbox hero, what are some stories that demonstrate the power of showing up in somebody's inbox over and over and being top of mind? And then I might say, oh, like when I'm walking around town and everybody knows who I am because they've seen me day in, day out, like doing strange laps up and down the street.

Speaker 1 (00:16:24) - Mm-hmm. Okay, so I'm gonna repeat back what I think I heard and correct me . So when it comes to storytelling and in integrating it with your business, which I am a big advocate of, and the more stories that I intersperse in my business development, the more I get engagement, the more I get followers, the more I get customers. So story matters. And so the way that you're looking at this is a two-prong approach story. First, I know that I want to talk about this one instance, but the story that is funny, great, inspiring to you doesn't mean anything unless the reader knows the benefit or the takeaway. So you start with a great story, but before writing it, you have to know what is the main takeaway? What do I want them to know? Once you have the story and the takeaway, then you fill in the middle.

Speaker 1 (00:17:13) - The second approach is a lot more strategic when it comes to business. You have the lesson or the point that you want to make. This is the pressure you wanna apply on a desire or the pressure you wanna apply on somebody's desired solution. And you start with, they must need inbox hero because it's important to show up in the inbox. How then can you talk about the importance of consistency and doing something so you stay on top of mine? So one starts with story, then gets to the point, one starts with the point, and then you find a story to correlate the two. I remember a couple weeks ago I was in Texas and I re I did something like a rally car race. I don't even know, I, I don't, I don't know, maybe, maybe I was drinking when I signed up for this event.

Speaker 1 (00:17:54) - , I don't even know why. But I remember going there and being so uncomfortable. And then as they were training us to learn how to become rally car drivers, I remember thinking there is a lesson here. Like I immediately, I'm listening to this coach talk to us before we get in the cars. And I thought, oh my god, the lesson is how racing rally car is similar to starting a business. So I started off with the benefit to the reader and then I reverse engineered with the story. And now my weekly newsletters are always this exact approach that I didn't know that I was doing story benefit or of a specific angle with a story to reverse engineer that. Thank you. That's so, so, so good, so good. Thank

Speaker 2 (00:18:35) - You for summing up. I wanna just go back to one thing that you said, which is that you find the point of the story and then you write the story. You don't write the story till you know the point of it. And I would not say that. I would say write the story and the point will come, it might not come super easily or immediately, but don't wait until you know the point to sit down and write this story because that will just stop you and your tracks and you'll say, well, I don't know the point yet, so I'm not gonna write the story. Remember that writing a story or telling a story gets the ideas firing in your head and you might discover it on the page or as you're telling it. And so don't stop yourself because you don't know the point yet.

Speaker 1 (00:19:15) - This is so good because this is to the photographer. If you really wanna capture the perfect sunset photo, this is not dreaming up that sunset photo before you actually hit the photo. It's the series of sunset photos that you will take until you truly understand what you want to see in a photo. This is for the baker not imagining the taste of the cookie without multiple iterations of that cookie. So this is us doing our discipline. This is us coaching, this is us singing, this is us writing poems until we figure out the, the nature of it and then take away for the reader with a listener, the watcher. Amazing. Okay. So I am always like, as a law school dropout, I'm always looking for where are the holes? Where are people going to doubt or, uh, have questions? And so this is gonna come from somebody who's listening, but the yes. But so in, in an Instagram post, you admitted that the best part of a vacation is coming up with all the TV shows that you wanna catch up with, you wanna watch. And like, people are like, wow, that's amazing. And you talk about being yourself and talking about those things. What about like the doctor, the lawyer who thinks that showcasing too many of their personal stories or personal life makes them appear, uh, less professional in a per when they show off too much of their personal

Speaker 2 (00:20:18) -  personalities? Yes, right. I get it. They wanna be taken seriously. Yes. I mean, one thing that I might not show about my personality if I were say a doctor is that I don't know what I'm doing half the time or  or that I, or that I fake my expertise. I might not admit things like that, but if you are maybe a mess and uh, maybe even have trouble following your own advice, I think that that is fine to admit showing that you're human, um, and saying like, you know, ever ever notice that a lot of like doctors who, um, you know, tell you to stop smoking then, you know, go out and come back in with cigarettes on their breath. Like, yeah, we're a bunch of hypocrites. I mean, I think it's fine to say things like that as long as you, um, are not discrediting yourself as an expert who knows how, like in whatever profession it is, you know, don't reveal something that specifically discredits you, but if you think that it reveals too much of your humanity, I think that you're wrong.

Speaker 2 (00:21:18) - And that's a great thing to do. And people will be more attracted to you. They will feel like, um, attractive to you in a business sense, um, to compelled to work with you. And they'll feel like they know you. We all know that we buy from or work with people we know, like, and trust. And the more you reveal about yourself and the more human you are and real you are, you know, in that public facing way, the more people who don't know you will feel like they do know you and they like you and they trust you because you're being real. And it also gives them permission to be more of themselves. And I think that's a huge gift to give to people. I listen to an author who I love, who I, I just, I think is so brilliant. Her name is Sam Iby.

Speaker 2 (00:22:05) - And in fact, I, I went to see her last night, um, for her new book and I listened to her on the podcast, I think it was Glen and Doyle's podcast talking about how she just can't with the news, like she doesn't know anything that's going on in the world. And that's a big thing to admit to a really like aware woke, um, activist audience. And I loved her for it. She was just like, uh, I don't know anything. I'm ignorant. I just watch trash TV and cannot keep up with what's going on for the life of me. Uh, I can't remember where she, you know, she got her news from like some Instagram feed, um, that was all Bravo based or something . So, which is how, where I get my news to these days. So I, I think it's, you're giving someone the gift of relief, like, oh, it's okay to be myself and it's okay to be real. Um, and I don't have to be buttoned up and present this fake facade of of perfection to get people to take me seriously. I think perfection doesn't create connection.

Speaker 1 (00:23:11) - Mm. Perfection doesn't create connection. Was there any part of your book where you were kind of like on the fence about should I put this story in? Do you feel like it revealed too much or ?

Speaker 2 (00:23:22) - I, you know, I put a lot in there, um, as you know, if you've even peeked at the table of contents, and I did not worry about my audience, like anyone in my audience reading it or outside my audience reading it. I didn't worry about people saying like, oh, I wouldn't do business with her. I would never go, you know, take a course from her at all. I just worried about my mom reading it,  and actually the dedication says, mom, you know, uh, maybe skip chapter nine,  and Dad, if you're up there, you too .

Speaker 1 (00:23:58) - Okay. So, um, you are very okay with that. But for somebody who's just like, well, I don't wanna shock my audience, like, I'm afraid of shocking. How did they get a little bit closer to where you are?

Speaker 2 (00:24:09) - Yeah, I mean, you don't have to, you don't have to go as far as I did. I get off on t m I, I'm a t m i, queen and  like, and, and most people who are listening to this are probably considering writing, um, some sort of prescriptive expert book, right? Rather than a memoir. I mean, this is a memoir in essays. It's a very personal book and it's not a self-help book. It's not a how to, it's more of a how not to though. I think a lot of people who've our early readers have said that it helped them, helped them feel more of themselves or have permission to be who they are and take their time, feel less behind. But it is a very personal book intentionally. So you don't have to go that far. I think you wanna include parts of your life, you wanna tell personal stories in there and make them super specific.

Speaker 2 (00:25:02) - Make the details specific so that it's uniquely your story, not just some vague, you know, story that everybody tells that feels cliche. Like your specific details will bring it to life and feel personal and revealing in a way that doesn't reveal too much. You don't have to, you know, pull back the curtain on all the dirty, messy stuff. But some of it we like to see messy. That's what makes it compelling. We like to see the things that you are afraid to reveal. So I encourage you to reveal those. But you don't, you don't have to talk about your sex life. You don't have to talk about, you know, any parts of your body. You don't have to talk about any of you know, your most shameful stories, the time you shoplifted, if it has nothing to do with what you're writing about. Um, but do, do show us the real you tell you

Speaker 1 (00:25:53) - I, well, one, um, yes, like I believe that a thousand percent and through me, like through my bones. Now for somebody who's listening, and they may not be on the path of being an author and they really aren't like all that skilled with even writing for somebody who says, like, Laura, I I want to just start doing micro practices. Micro practices sending either a, a short newsletter or a short blog post, or even a short social post. Do you have like one or two tips that some that you could say, Hey, this will help you find your voice. Like, we're not talking about an overshare. We're actually talking to the person right now who's just like, I feel like I want to do more of me online. How do I find my voice?

Speaker 2 (00:26:33) - Yeah, I think that it's funny, I'm thinking about like newsletters versus say, uh, caption on Instagram or social. People tend to have two different voices in those. And so if we're talking newsletter, I'd say beware of getting into businessy voice. And like my putting on your writer hat, for some reason people seem to be more natural on social, like in an Instagram caption and speak in their, and write in their actual voice the way they talk. So whatever gets you to write the way you talk, the way you would talk to a friend, um, that's how you start to find your voice when you're writing. And then to give it personality, to make it uniquely yours, to give it voice. It's not about what is my voice. I think a great place to start is writing down, I'll always come back to this, the details, the specific details.

Speaker 2 (00:27:27) - And I'm thinking right now of um, an example I saw in, uh, from Kate Northrop who she was writing about how she used to have problems with money. She was actually like promoting a money course that she was offering. And she talked about how she used to have this alpha shelving system, you know, that they sell at the container store. Yeah, yeah. Um, at as her desk drawer. And so the desk drawer was a wire mash basket from Alpha. And so she could see through it, she could see the stack of bills and envelopes in there that were unopened and untouched and it would just grow and get more and more crammed. And she would just look at it every day and think of, you know, all the bills that she was avoiding and was terrified to look at. And I thought the detail of the wire mesh alpha basket was perfect and made us, and put us right there. So painting a picture using those concrete details. What did you see? What did you smell? What did it, you know, what did it feel like If you handed what you were writing the story that you're writing to a director, would they know how to direct the scene? If you handed it to an illustrator, would they know what to draw? Mm-hmm. . And that's where your voice will come out.

Speaker 1 (00:28:42) - Okay, let's play this flash fire. You get this steak to your table and you realize it's been overcooked. You didn't order well done  add, add three details to put us there in the scene with you.

Speaker 2 (00:28:55) - It comes down, I am starving, my stomach is grumbling. I've been actually skipping the bread because I was so excited for my steak. Um, and I cut into right into the middle cuz I know that's gonna be like the rarest part and the part that I'm looking forward to. And I see that it is not pink. Um, it's, it's not red, it shouldn't be red, it's not pink, it's just gray and almost a little crumbly. And I take a bite and sure enough it is well done and I chew it and swallow it, but I think about spitting it into my napkin and I don't,

Speaker 1 (00:29:34) - Oh, I'm right there. I'm right there in the restaurant with you. And I have seen, I mean, for years I worked in, um, a rib and steakhouse and I'm a vegetarian. I was the top sales, I was the top sales server in that restaurant. So I know meat. I am a vegetarian, who knows meat. So when you described this well done steak that was crumbly and you cut into this center and it wasn't pink, but all gray. I was like, oh, my vegetarian heart broke for you. Okay, so at this point in the conversation, I'm gonna get a little selfish and I'm happy that this is conversation serving other people as they figure out how to find their voice. But on a completely selfish note, uh, question just for me, why did you decide to write more of a memoir based than an educational or book around say copywriting or personal branding or finding your voice?

Speaker 2 (00:30:20) - Yeah. Um, there was a lot of pressure to write that kind of book. The second kind of book prescriptive, that's it, both from the publishing industry cuz they're like, that's what your audience wants. That's what's gonna sell. And just from general, uh, business wisdom, like this could be a great business card, a lead magnet, a you know, lead generator for your business with a Laura,

Speaker 1 (00:30:44) - Stop, stop, stop for the conversations you've been dropping on conversations I've had. Okay, go ,

Speaker 2 (00:30:49) - Have a QR code in the back so they can go to your website and take the quiz. Get in the

Speaker 1 (00:30:53) - Funnel, baby. Get

Speaker 2 (00:30:54) - In the funnel. Get in the funnel. And I knew that, you know, no one's gonna take the quiz. Like, find out how tough your titties are.

Speaker 1 (00:31:02) - And Hold on, hold on. The, the book is called Tough Titties. The book is called Tough Titties. We're gonna get to there. Okay. But yeah, I was like, how tough are your titties? Take this quiz ,

Speaker 2 (00:31:10) - Take this quiz, , get your results, but sign up to get your results. Um, I did not wanna write that kind of book. I wanted to write the stories I've always wanted to write. And I felt like most, I was writing them in emails, but not to the full extent that I wanted to. They were too long for an email. I wanted to go full out and write these stories. And this is the kind of book that I like to read. I mean, I love to read fiction and I also love to read like fun memoirs, collection essay collections. Um, David Sadis is one of my heroes for that form. Tina Fay's book, bossy Pants was one of the first non-fiction books I couldn't put down. And this is the kind of book I could write and want to write. Mm-hmm. And so I was dead set on writing the book I wanted to write, otherwise it would be no fun otherwise. Why write a book? It's so much work to write a book. Why write a book that I didn't feel like writing? So I stuck to my guns on it even though I knew that I was giving up potentially those big bidding wars. Um, multi six figure deals. I don't know that I would've gotten one of those, but if I was going to, it was gonna be from the kind of book I was supposed to write.

Speaker 1 (00:32:23) - Mm. There are the books that we are supposed to write and there are the books that we want to write and there are photos that we're supposed to take and there's photos we want to take and there's the cookies we're supposed to make versus the cookies that we want to make. And this podcast is for the people who do the most nonsensical things and brings them joy  because life is short and we don't create waves by doing the same thing that everybody else is. If for those of you who are listening and you're not quite sure, um, Laura is talking about it's a coming of age story. Like she's kind of like a misfit in the eighties and nineties, and then she's kind of just developed an unconventional life and an unconventional career. And if this sounds at all interesting to you, dive in.

Speaker 1 (00:33:04) - Tough Titties is sold everywhere. Books are sold online. Maybe check out your independent book sellers, like shout out to independent bookstores, uh, for carrying, uh, this particular book. But you can also order it one or two clicks on Barnes and Noble or Amazon. I have to tell you though, one of the reasons why I was so drawn to the book was because I too loved Bossy Pants by Tina Faye. I read and have read every David Sedaris book, my husband, I mean, bless his heart, bought me tickets to a show from David Sedaris, like more than a decade ago at Claremont Colleges. And I sat with my book Clutched to my Chest, like I was clutching my book like I was clutching Pearls. I was like, this man is gonna sign my book. I was the first in line to get my book signed and my husband took a photo of it.

Speaker 1 (00:33:50) - And so for those people who are daring enough and open enough to share their stories, we love reading them because there is somebody out in the world who's saying things that we would never dare say ourselves. So thank you for being brave. Thank you for writing this memoir. Thank you for teaching us along the way to find power in our stories, in our voice. Laura, where can people go to learn more, not just about you, but now as a bonafide hardcover author as well as your courses, or rather as your e emails, like tell us, tell us the goods.

Speaker 2 (00:34:21) - Thank you for asking. Please come to talking shrimp.com spelled just like it sounds. That is my digital home and you'll find it all there. And then also, I am at Laura Belgray on Instagram, used to be at Talking Shrimp NYC and I changed the handle recently because felt like as an author I should be known for my name. Yay.

Speaker 1 (00:34:43) - That's that's right. That's right.

Speaker 2 (00:34:46) - Yeah. Yeah, Laura. So those places, thank you.

Speaker 1 (00:34:49) - Thank you. Talking ship.com at Laura Belgray on Instagram. And to those of you who continue to find bravery, find your voice and share your story, we are rooting for you. Like always, if you loved this episode and love Laura Becher to screenshot wherever you're listening to and give a shout out to Laura and or myself so that we can just be there with you. Thank you a thousand times over for listening to the Jasmine Star Show. Thank you, Laura.

Speaker 2 (00:35:12) - Thank you, Jasmine.