Tips on staying delightfully delusional

My favorite place for a brain dump these days is my insta stories. As I mention in today’s episode/ letter, I like to take the mentality of everything can be a tool. Money can be a tool. Social media can be a tool. Astrology/ woo woo studies can be a tool. The biggest difference in you being a user vs a the used is your perspective. As cliche as it sounds, it’s that actually that simple. It helps you not become immersed or obsessed with inanimate objects but instead figure out how to use them on your journey.

For example, this is how I use social media as a tool for staying connected and giving support I would love to receive myself (I’m a big you reap what you sow girl, so I like to sow a lot of support):

1. I make sure I am following the accounts I really want to support. Friends personal, friends businesses, other businesses and thought leaders I don’t know IRL but feel like I do and would probably accidentally say hi if I passed them on the street forgetting we don’t actually know know each other. Influencers who I value their opinions and thoughtfulness in recommendations who save me tons of time searching for random things like kids shoes and lunch boxes etc. You get the point. My scroll habits are curated around making sure seeing them is a priority. I don’t get on instagram to doom scroll or look for entertainment. That is safely tucked in the tiktok column.

2. Cultivate relationships/ community. I loveeeee to have convos in my DMs. Maybe it’s due to the fact that AOL chat came of age as I was as well. Those tween years were ripe for me to really think I was extremely cool in my screenname, away status1, font choices. So I love when I see someone is active online now, I love the back and forth swaps in the chats. But my favorite thing is instastories. I love the impermanence of it. The casual tone. The use of polls to gather data on the most random topics I think to myself “I wonder if anyone is interested in this/ thinks about this like I do/ etc.”

And that’s it. Those are my goals for insta. It helps me not get sucked into the sea of algorithm begging for my attention. One day, when I actually have something to sell or promote I will readjust those goals. But for now it’s just about getting comfortable putting myself out there publically. It keeps motivating me because the more I get on and talk about my random rabbit hole du jours, the more I keep having the most interesting conversations with the most interesting people, which as I’m sure y’all have noticed by now is my favorite thing in life. And for whatever reason, me talking about solar flares and ghosts makes people feel like I am equipped to help them with their businesses because I always get new clients this way. I don’t know why it works, but I am continuing to lean in because having a “content pillar plan for my personal brand” just can’t stop giving me the ick (no shade if it doesn’t for you!!!!).

Anywho- bringing me back today’s topic. I posted last week that having this experience of finding a way for my precious nephew with a rare genetic disorder to meet his hero, Daniel Tiger, IRL this weekend in Charleston gave my mindset such a boost. I shared that I have been going through a challenging situation in my business life for a while now (15 months to be exact but who's counting?) I had gotten to a mental space where I thought a creative, kind choice was impossible. I had resolved that I would have to energy match the greedy, controlling feelings to get out of the corner I was backed into. But after seeing how lovely and kind so many people were to put in so much effort to make sure this sweet boy could get a few minutes with Daniel Tiger, I retracted those thoughts. Dealing with the team from Fred Rogers Productions and seeing first hand how a business built on kindness can live on after it’s founder is no longer there and still carry his loving legacy reminded me that’s what I want for myself too. I want to get to retirement and say “you know what. I did everything possible to not drop my morals. To actually treat others how I wanted to be treated.” So back to the drawing board I go! The most surprising thing was how many people were concerned that it wasn’t all smooth sailing in the land of Victoria Winter Enterprises.2 And it got me thinking about how much I don’t share about the not so easy sides of business. And that’s a disservice because they are inevitable in today’s landscape, even more so if you aren’t a “by the book” sort of creative. But the truth is, I just don’t let the stressful situations define me and I find ways to move through those dissappointed/angry/annoyed/ick feelings quickly so that’s why I don’t speak about them much. So I wanted to share a few of the ways I do that with you! For today’s pod, I pieced together a few mindset hacks I use and swear by to keep me moving forward on my path, and actually be enjoying it as well, despite people and circumstances I can’t control.

And they are as follows:

1. Let go of “if then, when”
2. Look for the lessons.
3. Everything can be a tool.
4. Cultivate your community.
5. If you are a little misunderstood, you are probably doing it right.
6. Do things JUST for fun.

If you would like more insights into what these things actually mean, tune into this weeks pod. They are not groundbreaking by any means, but they keep me delightfully delusional that there is a way we can have modern businesses, modern lives that feel good AND do good. We just have to figure it out together!

Have a wonderful week my friends! Thank you as always for you time and support :)

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