Why I Unsubscribed From the Groupon Email Newsletter: An Open Letter

Groupon Newsletter Image

I signed up for Groupon a little before Thanksgiving. I knew people who got really good deals on it so I went to check it out, & I was impressed. They had some really, really good deals on things. I bought several Christmas presents from them. Even more interesting to me than the “Groupon Goods” was that Groupon sold were tickets/admissions to real-life experiences in my area. I found some amazing things I never would have thought to look up, & at great prices!

I love Groupon. I still do. I think it’s a great tool for finding cool experiences you can have in your area or somewhere you’re traveling, & getting a great deal on those experiences. It’s got some pretty nice discounts on things you might want to buy yourself or someone else for a gift. I love that it makes me aware of things I might want to do & experiences I might want to have.

BUT SERIOUSLY.

STOP EMAILING ME SO OFTEN.

I wouldn’t mind getting a Groupon newsletter. Getting deals sent to your inbox, making you aware of deals they have, & reminding me of Groupon’s existence are all very good things that I have no problem with.

But getting what seemed like 3+ emails EVERY SINGLE DAY from Groupon (or anyone) is just way too much noise. Even after Black Friday was done, they just wouldn’t stop emailing me. I get a lot of newsletters, & I don’t have time to read most of them. I don’t like being emailed constantly. I don’t like subscribing to a newsletter where as soon as an email arrives, it feels like a burden to read or something to frantically keep up with. If it starts feeling that way, there’s a 99% chance I’ll either delete all the emails as soon as they arrive or unsubscribe entirely.

There is a really easy solution to this. One that allows the brand to increase the amount I’ll spend with them, stop bothering me with emails, AND keep me as an email subscriber.

I had the same problem with Zulily a year or so ago. Zulily, the clothing-&-gift deal website, is kind of like Groupon — great deals, limited-time-offers, cool things to buy. But they also shared a penchant for sending me way too many emails. Minimum of once a day, there would be an email from Zulily. I started deleting the emails without even looking at them.

I was about to unsubscribe completely.

But Zulily had a nice little feature that I discovered on my way to unsubscribe.

You could choose how often Zulily emailed you. Once a day, once a week, or never. They also have a “Snooze” feature where you can keep your current settings but not receive any emails from them for 30 days.

Some email newsletters just piss you off because they send an obnoxious amount of emails & give you nothing in return. With those, you just want the emails to stop. With a newsletter like Zulily (or Groupon) that sends you good stuff but just emails too often, you’re willing to negotiate. You WANT to stay subscribed, you just don’t want constant emails.

I picked “Once a Week”, & Zulily has never annoyed me again. I have purchased way more stuff from them AFTER decreasing the frequency of emails than I would have if they kept emailing me every day, because then I would have unsubscribed completely & not thought about them very often.

When I started getting annoyed at how often Groupon emailed me, I clicked on the link at the bottom of the screen that said “change frequency of emails”. I thought, “Awesome, I can fix this like I did with Zulily!” I was excited & relieved. But to my disappointment, the only choices you had were to either unsubscribe completely, change the region the deals were for, or unsubscribe from individual types of newsletters, like Groupon Goods, Groupon Getaways, etc.

No option to change how many times PER WEEK I got an email. For any newsletter that sends out “daily deals”, I think this being able to opt out of just those & have control over the frequency of emails is essential.

With no other choice, I did what I had to do.

I unsubscribed from the Groupon newsletter.

I think a lot of brands are afraid that if you don’t get emails from them at least once a day that you’ll forget about them. If this is the reason these brands don’t offer an option to reduce how often you get an email, this doesn’t make any sense to me. Annoying me by constantly telling me about how many sales you have makes me LESS LIKELY to read ANY of the emails because I find it overwhelming, even if the content is good. I’m only going to spend my money when I WANT to spend my money.

I don’t like feeling like when a brand is pressuring me into impulse buying stuff I don’t want or need, rather than making meaningful purchases when I feel like it & developing a mutually respectful relationship with the brand.

If I unsubscribe, I have to manually go to the website & look for deals if I want to buy from them. I’m not going to do that, say, once a week, so I’d be seeing their stuff a bare minimum of 4X more if they gave me the option of only receiving an email weekly vs me unsubscribing altogether. Sure, I might miss some deals that I might have been interested in, but I’ll still buy way more stuff from the brand because I’ll still be subscribed to their newsletter.

Groupon, if you’re reading this, I will gladly re-subscribe to your newsletter once you offer an option to only be emailed weekly. I miss seeing what you have to offer!

BUT:

Marketing should be more like a mutually-beneficial conversation & less like someone shoving an ad in your face. I know you’re better than that, & I think the payoff you’ll get from giving your customers more email options will be more than worth any effort you would put into implementing this.

“Silent Night” – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 026 – Poetry

Episode 026 is THE SIX MONTH ANNIVERSARY EPISODE of The Ashlee Craft Show, so thank you SO MUCH for all your support for it! It’s been so much fun making it & will be even more fun as it continues. For this episode, I read a poem from my Winter poetry book titled “Silent Night”.

WINTER (FOUR SEASONS #2)

Silent Night

silent night / holy night

you sit there looking into the down-turned eyes of lonely strangers / lost on a cold, unforgiving ocean to which there seems no chance of rescue & the boat seems on its last leg / it’s Christmas eve & you huddle in the canvas tents while the boom boom boom explosions nearby shake the ground / fear flows as fresh as the blood in their veins as the cramped isolation begins to take its toll & you suddenly feel as though you’re falling thru an empty world yet the overcrowded illusion & warmth stifles you / the cool night air outside seems as cold as the desperation – frantic grasping rapid fire falling falling falling into an abyss to which there is no return hope is gone from your soul & all you want to do is go home / the isolated desolation & illusion of paper-thin canvas walled tent huddled, silent, seems as fragile as the beating of your heart which could stop any moment & you feel the liquid cool of night air sifting thru your palms / mind goes back to ten years ago when you were a kid

you feel cold despite the heat in the tent & the putrid smell of sweat fills your nostrils & you feel empty – cold – alone – your heart beats madly against the wall of your ribcage, beating so strongly yet seeming so weak like a baby bird just hatched attempting to flap it’s wings & fly / you see the fear felt in your heart mirrored twenty times in the faces around you / what do they think of, what do they feel / the same as you, each in their own way / you avert your eyes to the dirt floor & suppress the urge to tear the nightmare illusions around you down, tear down the canvas backdrop & the projections of people & the illusions of fear / but you can’t / it’s not an illusion & it’s the only reality that there is

your heart aches for your family & friends & the thought crosses your mind constantly that you may never return to them / you wonder why you signed up for this but there’s no turning back & you feel alone in the world

first Christmas away from home / your heart reaches the most desperate lonely despondency distraught with fear & misery

silence is broken / a voice so warm & kind, trembling slightly beneath the weight of the war & world & fear, overcomes the situation & rises to do what they know they must do / they feel the same fear as you & their young face gleams in the pale lighting, a reflection of your own

the song raises thru the air & wafts onto the roof of the tent & it remains there / as more of the song is revealed, the air becomes heavy with the hope & fills the whole tent / other voices join in & you suddenly find yourself singing / your spirit soars & suddenly somehow you know you’re gonna be okay

you’re gonna be okay

the Christmas voices & spirits soaring flying alive for this one moment enter into each heart & hope is restored

in the midst of loneliness & pain came the soft words bringing hope / the midst of war & hate, for just a moment, there was love & peace

silent night / holy night / all is calm / all is bright / round young virgin mother & child / holy infant so tender & mild / sleep in heavenly peace / sleep in heavenly peace

“You Used to Be My Soulmate” – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 025 – Poetry

Episode 025 is a poem from my upcoming poetry book THE WALLS WERE GRAY, which will be released December 15th by Freedom Meadow Media! I’m really excited to share this poem with you because you get a sneak peak of my newest book!

HERE’S MY NEW BOOK THAT THIS POEM IS FROM →

YOU ONCE WERE MY SOULMATE, NOW YOU ARE A SHADOW

when I was with you, I thought you were everything / I loved you deeply & only ever wanted you to love me back with equal strength / I wrote romantic poems about how you & I would be looking at each other, driving around town with the jazz playing / I used to think that was what I wanted / we could both be mature & stereotypically in love with each other / I thought it would last forever / we would grow up together

we would grow cynical together / I have been glad many times, but especially now, that things never worked out / you would never have loved the way I came to dress, the way I colored my hair neon bright, the way I was so determined above anything else to accomplish something you didn’t think was worth doing / you would never have loved the person I have become / you only loved me when I became a carbon copy of you

when I told you my secret dream, you said, “well, that’s nice but -” / you were the one who had taken the advice of your drunkard neighbor who told you it was too stressful to try & follow your own dream / I find it hard to believe he was literally the only person you ever knew you could have asked that question to, & you believed him when he told you it wouldn’t be fun / you decided rather than find out for yourself you’d rather blindly believe he was right, even though he was just one person & that was just his opinion / you never asked again

complacency & comfort can be terrible things / you get comfortable & then you stop evolving / you simultaneously love & hate where you’re at / you think it’s okay to just be “okay” / mediocrity came knocking on your door one day & you let it in / it has lived there, hogging your couch & soiling your floor ever since / it would leave if you asked it, but you never have

I can take comfort in knowing that what I did was way beyond anything you would have wanted to do or would have let me do / you would have told me it was a terrible idea & I would have believed you / if we would have ended up together, we would never have ventured out / every place we went would be “safe”, would be “socially acceptable” / you would never become the kind of person who would stay up until three in the morning falling in love with the concert you just heard, you would never venture out on a whimsical road trip alone to do things that were genuinely important to you, you would never pursue the challenging obstacle course, you would never fly out to see the musicians play / you would stay safe with your cruises & prepackaged vacation deals where the itinerary would dictate your every move, your work would always be your first love for the wrong reasons, & you would never be bold enough to let yourself live

instead you would follow in the footsteps of every sheep who walked before you, blindly following everything the herd did because they were “supposed to” / if we would have ended up together, I would never know what it was like / it wouldn’t have been the type of thing you would ever want to do, & I would have agreed with your vision of me because I really thought you were right

& you would never have been able to do it alone / it didn’t, couldn’t, never would fit in with your narrow ideas about how to keep up with both the Joneses & the sheep at the same time

& I can take comfort in knowing that what I did was way beyond anything you could have done / I thought you were the better half but now I see I’m wrong / I did something braver than anything you can fathom, much less bring to life

you could have had it all too, if you would have really wanted to

but you never had the courage

WHY DO MY CORYDORAS CATFISH KEEP DYING??? – Animals with Ashlee


My corydoras catfish start losing their balance & then they start floating at the top. If I don’t put them in the hospital tank, they die. In the hospital tank, they’re usually fine. But the water in the tank has been tested by the pet store & there’s nothing wrong with it. Any ideas on how to fix this???

“g” – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 023 – Poetry

I read you a poem called “g” from my 2015 poetry book “Panorama Novelty” in Episode 023 of The Ashlee Craft Show!

READ THE BOOK HERE
g

knowing what the sound of the wind is like
through board empty boards of houses,
a match on rough brick strikes,
the flame burning higher & higher into the sky

wearing neon yellow blouses;
I called out into the wind asking where you were
& you replied it was all a lie,
the mask you’d worn for so long

we walked on the beach & the sun was a blur
behind growing gray clouds & the height of the sun
tendrils of a rainbow blooming
& nothing was wrong,
not anymore

17 Better Things to Spend Your Money on Than Kylie Jenner’s New $360 Silver Series Makeup Brushes

 Things to throw your dough at that might give you more value for what you spend.

I just read an article about how Kylie Jenner recently came out with a set of makeup brushes in her Silver Series line. If you haven’t heard yet, they cost $360 for a set of 16 synthetic brushes. Do you know a ton about makeup & understand the difference between different makeup brushes? Do you still believe that the brushes are a great price for what you’re getting? By all means, buy them then. I have nothing against the brush set, except that I personally think it should be less expensive.

The thing is, I want you to buy what’s going to make you GENUINELY HAPPY. Not just spend your money on something you think you’re supposed to want or like.

These brushes might be the perfect thing for you.

But this article is for the people who aren’t totally on board with buying the brush set but still feel like buying SOMETHING. The alternatives on this list are equally great alternatives for anything else you’re on the fence about buying. Especially if what you’re debating buying is something else that’s hyped, new, popular, & probably overpriced, especially for everyday people who don’t need pro-quality tools for whatever they do.

I want you to spend your money on things that are going to add real VALUE to your life, however you define that value. Because it’s not really the price that matters as much as whether the value you’ll personally get from buying something is equal to or higher than the price you’re going to pay for it. I just don’t want to feel pressured into buying something just because it’s “cool” or because a celebrity is involved with it.

So if you’re debating about whether to buy the brushes (or other expensive, popular item), here are 17 way better things you can use that money for that will give you back so much personal value in return for what you’ll spend on them.

  1. Invest In Yourself. This is my absolute #1 use for this money. NO OTHER INVESTMENT will probably give you as good of an ROI (return on investment) than investing in yourself. Websites like Udemy offer courses in pretty much EVERYTHING you could ever want a course in, & they always have courses going on sale for $10 — $20 or so, which means you could get a LOT of courses for your $360. On Udemy, you can take classes in everything from business knowledge, marketing, & finances, to playing guitar, healing people with crystals, & becoming a life coach. SO MUCH POSSIBILITY HERE. You could also use some of the money to take a IRL class, buy books/ebooks, or take a college class. Investing in yourself will help you become a better person, learn the skills you always wanted to have, start your own business, increase your knowledge, get a higher paying job, or develop a new hobby (which could turn profitable). All of those can potentially increase your happiness so much, which makes investing in yourself an awesome thing to spend your money on.
  2. Pay Off Some Debt. From a financial standpoint, paying off your debt is one type of investing that ABSOLUTELY will have a ROI. The stock market can crash, but money spent paying down your debt will always benefit you. Most money you’ve borrowed in one way or another has interest you pay on it (or will pay on it if you don’t pay it off before the interest-free time is over). So by paying down your debt, you’re pretty much putting money in your pocket by not handing it casually over to the bank each month via paying unnecessary interest. Spend your money here, & you could possibly increase your credit score, pay off a loan sooner (so you don’t have to keep putting money towards it each month), avoid unnecessary interest, avoid late fees, or if nothing more, increase your net worth & get closer to achieving financial freedom.
  3. Put the Money in Savings for Your Emergency Fund. Do you have an emergency fund? GOBankingRates says that 34% of American adults don’t have one at all. Now is a great time to start, even if you don’t have an emergency fund. Even putting $5 in savings is better than having nothing in your emergency fund. I know that technically, you’re supposed to have a few months’ worth of living expenses, but starting is so much more important than perfection. For me personally, even having a few hundred dollars in my emergency fund feels really good, because it gives me the confidence that if something big comes up & I need to pay for it, that I will be able to without having to worry about it. Being able to have certainty in your future might be more valuable to you than owning new makeup brushes.
  4. Put the Money in Savings to Buy Something Big. If you want to buy your dream house, car, RV, Jacuzzi, or something else expensive but valuable to you, this is the perfect time to put this money in savings so you can pay the down payment on one of those things. Sure, having nice makeup brushes might feel good, but how amazing would it feel to be able to confidently go shopping for one of the above & more easily be able to pay the down payment? Then you’d own your own house, or have a reliable car you didn’t have to worry about, or be able to travel the country in your RV, or be able to chill in your Jacuzzi sipping your favorite milkshake. The options are endless!
  5. Adopt a Pet. If you’re really ready for a pet & you’ve done all your research, the love & enjoyment you get back from owning a pet will be unmatched. IMO, nothing feels better than having an awesome animal to care for, to nurture, & to love. BEST FEELING EVER. My pets are my world. If you’re ready for a pet & know exactly what you’re getting into & how to care for it, this would be an awesome use for the money. $360 is enough to get a lot of types of pets & still have some left over for supplies, vet care, etc.
  6. Donate it to Charity. Think about how amazing it would feel to be able to write a check for $360 to your favorite charity! So many people/animals could be helped with $360. Your money could be used to feed the homeless, build schools for kids in another country, assist battered women, rescue abused animals, or save the rain forest. Going to sleep at night knowing you made an impact on the quality of life of another living thing is so worth it.
  7. Invest in the Stock Market. First off, DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A FINANCIAL ADVISER (or do I play one on TV), so please do your research or talk to a real financial professional before doing this. But there’s no reason to be scared of the stock market. I know us millennials grew up during the recession & some of us are nervous about the stock market for this reason, but if you utilize it right, can be a good place to put some of your money. Unlike most regular savings accounts (unless you have a high-yield savings account), if you invest correctly the stock market can grow your money beyond the rate of inflation. But do your research or talk to someone who is qualified to work with you on this if you want to pursue it. There are lots of brokerage websites you can sign up with & begin investing if knowledge-wise you’re ready to do this, such as Ally Invest, which I like because there are low fees & no minimum investment needed to fund your account.
  8. Use the Money to Start Your Side Hustle. In the back (or front) of your mind, maybe you have a business idea you’ve been thinking about for a while. DO IT NOW! There’s literally never been a better time in history to start a business, thanks to the Internet & the infinite number of people you can reach through technology. Maybe you watch your favorite YouTubers & wish you had a good camera you could use to make vlogs too. Maybe you love nothing more than making a perfectly-decorated cupcake & thought about starting a catering business. Maybe you want to learn how to be a programmer so you can get a better paying job or make apps everyone will use. Maybe you’ve started doing research on starting your own business but you haven’t been able to do it yet. Use this $360 to start your side hustle. The extra income you could make from it (as well as the possibility of working for yourself one day, if that’s what you want) might be way more valuable to you than buying new makeup brushes.
  9. Buy Concert Tickets. Over the past year, I’ve gone to a lot of amazing concerts. EVERY SINGLE CONCERT I’ve ever gone to has been more than worth what I paid for the tickets, regardless of how much that was. Getting to see your favorite musicians in concert & hear them playing it in real life & know that YOU ARE IN THE SAME ROOM AS THEM breathing the same air & they are really REAL & everything is such a thrilling feeling. Going to a concert lets you experience the music in a way that makes YouTube pale in comparison, especially when the crowd starts singing along & you realize this big amazing thing that you’re part of.
  10. Get Your Car Fixed. Or whatever other item has been broken for too long or needs some work done but you keep putting it off because it’s expensive. You know what I’m talking about. Stop procrastinating. Get your oil changed. Fix that squeaky brake. Get that annoying cavity looked at. Get your driveway pressure washed. There is probably something kind-of-broken-but-not-broken-enough-you-have-to-fix-it that you should just FIX before it actually causes a problem. Then you won’t have to worry about it anymore. It will be done, & that will feel good.
  11. Travel. Traveling, like concert tickets, is something else I’ve always found gives you WAY more value out of it than the money you put into it. $360 won’t necessarily cover a lot of travel expenses (unless you’re going somewhere close by or only staying one night). But there are some amazing hotel + flight packages, so this money might get you something like that depending on where you go. You could also go camping or take a weekend enjoying a “staycation” & checking out all the awesome attractions in your area. If you’ve always wanted to go on a cruise or travel to another country, put this money aside & you’ll be way closer to being able to afford the trip of your dreams. Makeup brushes < watching a stunning sunset in a place you’ve never been before after spending an amazing day doing things you’ve never done before? Like they say in the MasterCard commercials, “Priceless.”
  12. Invest in Your Hobby. Whether you love stamp collecting, scrapbooking, belly dancing, playing video games, crocheting, or cooking, spending this money on your hobby could be a great use for it. Buy those collectibles you’ve had your eye on for forever, get yourself a new video game, or take a class up upgrade your skills & become even better at your hobby. And, if your hobby is makeup, you might enjoy buying a lot of really nice but less expensive brushes for the same price, or get the higher-quality versions of some other types of makeup you’ve been wanting to try. You could also buy yourself a good quantity of less expensive makeup, giving yourself more makeup variety for your money & more possibilities for your look.
  13. Upgrade Something You Use Every Day. Does your laptop piss your off daily because it’s so slow? Do you wish you had a better phone? Is your fridge so old that you are surprised it’s still running? Is your mattress so uncomfortable you spend most of your night rolling over & trying to get comfortable? Does your bath towel rip in half a little more every time you shower? (mine just did). Is your bike so rusty that you could find your way back home by retracing the rust flakes? Upgrading something you use all the time might be perfect for you. Even if the $360 doesn’t cover the full price of upgrading this item (like a fridge, for example), it should cover a decent chunk of it, & you’ll be that much closer to making your life easier thanks to your new upgraded gadget.
  14. Spend the Money On Your Business. If you already have a business, think about how much you could improve it for $360! You could use it to buy the WordPress plugin you really need to pursue that awesome idea you had, pay for Shopify for a year so you can have your own eCommerce site, boost your top-performing Facebook posts, hire someone to revamp your website, improve your logo, buy inventory of a new product you’re interested in selling, purchase a better tool or service to level-up what you’re able to put out, or increase your business knowledge.
  15. Do a Random Act of Kindness. Pay for the groceries the person behind you is buying. Give your waiter or waitress a really good tip. Pay for the person’s drink in line behind you at your favorite coffee shop. Buy a warm meal to give to a homeless person. Buy pet food & donate it to an animal shelter. Get the money broken down into $20 bills & hand them out to people. Buy something nice for someone you love. However you choose to spend it, doing something nice for others will feel SO AMAZING.
  16. Invest in Your Appearance. You can still use the money you were going to spend on makeup brushes to improve your appearance without buying the makeup brushes. In fact, you might even be able to do things that help you feel & become more like your best version of yourself for the same or less money. You could color your hair the bright-neon-fantasy color of your dreams, put the money towards a set of Invisalign braces, buy yourself some amazing new clothes, or get a facial, manicure, or pedicure. You’ll not only be looking & feeling good, but you’ll also probably get more value for the money you spend on it.
  17. Invest in Your Health. Investing in your health, like investing in yourself, is a fantastic way to spend your money. As long as you make consistent-as-possible use of the health things you throw your dough at, the value you’ll get from this will only compound. There are SO MANY things you could use this money for to improve your health. You could join a gym, take dance lessons, sign up for multiple 5ks or marathons, buy some exercise equipment for your home (like a new set of weights or a trampoline), hire a personal trainer, get the newest fitness wearable, or buy some really nice running shoes & new exercise clothes. You could also invest the $360 in buying more organic vegetables or grass-fed meat throughout the year, going to the chiropractor, learning how to eat better, or taking yoga classes. Anything health-related you spend it on will be an excellent investment not only in your health, & in your future.

If you still think Kylie Jenner’s new Silver Series brushes are a great price, they must be something you know will really add value to your life. Buy them & feel good about the fact that you realized they’re something you really want that you know will matter to you.

But if you’re now really hyped up & excited about how great putting that money towards your business would feel, or helping others, or upgrading something you use everyday, do that instead. You are the only one who can define “valuable” for yourself. The best thing is, you can divide the money up between multiple things on the list above if you want. There’s no reason you have to pick just one. Maybe you spend $100 adopting a cat from the shelter, & then you spend $100 on marketing your business & put the other $160 in your savings account. Whatever makes the most sense to you, go get those things.

Go pursue what’s going to add the maximum amount of value to your life.

DISCLAIMER:: I AM NOT A FINANCIAL ADVISER, so please talk to an actual financial adviser if you have any questions/concerns about anything on this list. Thank you!

I’m Going to Become a Millionaire in 2018

Just one favor from you: hold me accountable.

I’m going to become a millionaire in 2018.

That’s my big goal for the upcoming year.

I don’t know how yet, but I have some exciting ideas. But the how is not the important thing just yet.

The important thing is that I’ve decided.

Declaring this goal publicly is equally important. Being publicly held accountable for ACHIEVING the goal you set is supposed to be really helpful. Public accountability makes things happen.

So I need your help, just one tiny favor from you:

HOLD ME ACCOUNTABLE.

That way if I wimp out & DON’T do this, I’ll know that other people were counting on me to hustle & make my goals happen. I’ll feel embarrassed that I didn’t do what I said I was going to do. I’ll be disappointed. I hate disappointing myself, but when it’s only you you’re answering to, it’s easy to say, “Well, I guess it just wasn’t the right time yet.” When really, you could have done it if you had a reason to.

If you knew you HAD to. If you burnt all your boats & went for it.

By saying this to you, I’m making it so I HAVE to do this.

Not that I don’t have very compelling personal reasons “why” even without anyone knowing about this. I do know my “why”. My “why” is because being a millionaire would allow me to live my best life, provide for my family beyond their wildest dreams, help elevate & empower & promote other artists/writers/musicians/awesome people, & to do my part to take care of the world. They deserve me living my best life. I deserve me living my best life. I feel like achieving that level of success so I can do those things is my duty. Because I can’t lift up other people as much as I’d like to if I’m in the pit too.

IF YOU’RE GOING TO BE ALIVE, YOU MIGHT AS WELL TRY TO BE ALL YOU CAN.

I know I deserve to live my best life, because I’ve always, ever since I was a kid, known I was destined to. I’ve definitely had my dark times & doubts, but they never were able to kill that underlying thread, the message deeply entwined in who I am that one day, I AM going to make it big.

When things have been dark, that knowledge that I’m meant for something greater — the greatest happiness, the greatest success, recognition, wealth, & intentional & good-feeling fame — is what’s allowed me to rise back into the light. I have always been heading towards these things.

I hold myself accountable to a very high level. But even I sometimes wimp out & play small & think, “maybe I don’t deserve this”. Or I stop when I don’t know how to move forward & let myself get distracted by other things. Or I’m afraid of succeeding. Afraid I won’t like it once I get there. & then I don’t make it happen. I don’t try push enough. Then at the end of the year, I look back with some disappointment that I didn’t do what I TOLD MYSELF I was going to do.

& because I’m getting very tired of falling back on playing small, on not LETTING myself have the money & the success & the HAPPINESS that feel far away even though I know they’re totally within my reach, I’m trying something new this year.

That’s why I need your help.

I just read the amazing “ What Happens When You Take Full Responsibility For Your Life” article here on Medium from one of my favorite writers, Benjamin P. Hardy. The article is about taking radical responsibility for your life & actually COMMITTING to making your dreams happen. Unconditionally & unquestionably RESOLVING to achieve your goals. I highly recommend you read it if you want to make 2018 your best year EVER.

In his article, he challenged the reader to make a big decision & then make sure everyone else knows about your decision so they can hold you accountable. The reason it encourages success is because people like being seen as consistent with what others believe they are. You like seeing YOURSELF as being consistent with what you believe you are. This is one way you “burn your boats”.

Your mind will almost literally move mountains to keep up with what it believes its standards are.

This is why people who don’t believe they deserve something will go to great lengths to sabotage any sort of success. They can’t believe they deserve it, so they don’t let themselves have it. Even if having it would be way easier than resisting it.

This is also why people who believe in their own success will overcome even the most crushing of setbacks & achieve outstanding things. People can do miraculous things when they really believe they can do something.

People also don’t like letting other people down, because disappointing others & not living up to their expectations doesn’t feel good. Especially if they expect something great from you & if they genuinely want something for you which is in your actual best interest.

So, if I’m not a millionaire by the end of 2018, I’m going to feel disappointed because I didn’t do what I said I was going to do. I’m not going to feel like I was consistent with what was expected of me. With what I TOLD YOU I was going to do.

But I don’t think I’ll be disappointed. I believe this IS possible for me. Even if I can’t see exactly how yet. But I do have a lot of options, a lot of ways it could pan out.

Sure, it’s an ambitious goal. It’s by far my most ambitious yearly goal yet.

But I’m no stranger to making big goals. At the beginning of this year, I made some pretty big plans about traveling by myself for the first time, & they weren’t even very specific goals. ALSO, a lot of the goals I set at the beginning of the year were NOT things I actually expected I would accomplish this year. I made them with good intentions, but I also put them on there like, “Well, I hope this happens this year (but deep down inside it’s probably not going to)”.

& I still made them happen. Because somewhere along the line, I started genuinely believing they WERE possible.

That’s how 2017 ended up being the most freaking amazing year of my life. I went on an epic road trip around Florida by myself (my first trip away from home), traveled from Tampa to Houston to see Queen (one of my all-time favorite bands) in concert, saw a lot of my other favorite bands in concert, ran my first 5K, published numerous books, acted in a play, started investing in the stock market even though I knew nothing about it when I started, grew my online business, started a podcast, bought my absolute DREAM guitar (Fender Telecaster Thinline 72′ Series), & started my own weekly show on YouTube. I also really figured out what I wanted & who I wanted to be.

An amazing freaking year. & yet at the beginning of the year I assumed the year would be cool but also kind of lame, & that I wouldn’t really move forward much. That it would be just like every other year before it.

But I was wrong. I got out there & made shit happen.

& I learned who I want to become in 2018. What I want. Another piece of the map showing me the way to my best life. The best life that I am actively creating for myself.

It’s time I took radical responsibility for my life. It’s time I stopped playing small & pretending I can’t have or don’t deserve the things that make me light up.

So I’m sending my declaration out there loud & clear. I’m ready. Let’s make this happen.

By the end of 2018, I will be a millionaire. & it’s going to feel really good, in all aspects.

So, will you help me?

Will you hold me accountable?

& I’ll hold you accountable too. Let me know in the comments what you’re going to create for yourself in 2018.

We’ll watch those boats burn together. Then, with no more excuses stopping us from becoming our best selves, we’ll watch 2018 become the most amazing year of our lives yet.

 —

Thank you so much for reading this! If you could click on the APPLAUSE button on the left, that would be fantastic! Hope you have a really great day.

Larry the Owl Saves Christmas – NEW KIDS’ BOOK

Larry the Owl Saves Christmas by Ashlee CraftLarry the owl was excited. It was almost Christmas, his favorite holiday. He loved Christmas because of the pretty evergreen tree he decorated with his family, the cozy feeling of being around the owls he loved, & making Christmas cookies. He loved making Christmas pictures & gifts for his family, & playing in the snow with his friends. But what excited him most of all was the idea of Santa Owl visiting him & all the other owls. When the bully owls at school tell Larry that Santa isn’t real, Larry comes up with a kind-hearted plan to save Christmas & make sure everyowl has a nice holiday no matter what.

Publish Date :: November 24, 2017
Paperback 48 Pages
Genre :: Juvenile Fiction

Paperback

Kindle eBook

There are Only 30 Days Left in the Year. What Are You Going to Do About It?

You still have time, but you have to go NOW.

There are 30 Days Left in the Year. What Are You Going to Do About It?
There are only 30 days left in 2017.
A lot of days, if you use them well. Only a few if you waste them.

But it’s your choice what you make of the last month of the year.

Not that 30 days ISN’T a pretty long time. It’s about 8.33% of a year. 1/12. That’s a pretty big chunk.
If you use it right. If you think about it the right way. You can change your life in a month.
It isn’t the time to start “winding down”. It isn’t the time to say, “The year’s almost over. Not much more I can do.”
No.
It’s time to put the pedal to the metal. It’s time to start cranking out the projects you wanted to work on. It’s time to check more things off your to-do list. Time to review your goals for the year & ask, “What else can I get done this year?”. Your last chance to accomplish the things in 2017 that you planned on doing. Your last chance to become a little more of the person you wanted to be this year.
Anything you wanted to do this year that you haven’t done yet needs to be done NOW.
You wanted to start a podcast? GO. Do the first episode. NOW. Get whatever microphone you can get your hands on, even if it’s just your phone.
You wanted to get healthier? Get up from wherever you’re sitting & take a walk. Eat a piece of fruit for desert instead of cake.
You wanted to write a novel? You might not have enough time to finish it. But you can start. & that will be what matters, that you finally started.
You wanted to be happier? What are you waiting for? It’ll never be the right time to finally let yourself be happy. You’ll always have some excuse why you can’t be happy. Let yourself be happy now.

The year is almost over.

But you still have time.

Time to read a few more books. Time to relax more. Time to be happy. Time to work on your business. Time to be healthier. Time to record that song. Time to start your blog. Time to learn to code. Time to put more money in your savings. Time to be a better friend. Time to reinvent yourself, again.
The door is closing on 2017. Ask yourself, “What would be the perfect finale to make 2017 the most amazing year of my life?”. What would be the icing on the cake? Do that. It’s your power to make 2017 go out with triumph. To slide up to the finish line as the winner, yelling, “I did it! I did it! I won!”. To accomplish more than you thought you could. To expand your limits. To set yourself up for success. To set yourself free. To build momentum.
2018 is going to be amazing, I just know it. But you have to be ready to make it so.
DO IT NOW.
There are only 30 days left in the year.
You might not have everything you need.
But you have enough to get started.
Who do you want to be?
& more importantly:

What are you going to do about it?