With the weirdest year in history coming to a close, most of us are looking forward to a 2021 reset.

But what does “reset” even mean at this point for marketers and businesses?

Typically, a new year means new budgets, messaging, campaigns and launches. Yet, with so much unclarity and confusion still lingering, these opportunities will most definitely be delayed.

So how will smart brands continue to navigate through this uncertainty while looking to rebuild in 2021?

1. They’ll take time to review their long-term strategy

The good news is that a vaccine is on its way. The bad news is that many people are back in some form…

This past Thanksgiving weekend, as tradition dictates, my ten guests and I took turns naming one thing we were thankful for.

When it was my turn to share, I said the first thing that came to mind.

“Covid,” I replied quietly. “I’m grateful for Covid.”

Yes, a virus that has created unprecedented anxiety, loss and uncertainty worldwide is what I gave thanks for.

Was it my truth? 100%.

Am I a bad person for speaking my truth? Let’s see.

Check All That Apply

Here’s a quick quiz. How many of the below statements apply to you?

During 2020:

• I celebrated Thanksgiving (and most other holidays) in…

I didn’t need coffee to fuel me that morning. The high of giving my first presentation to our biggest client at my new job provided all the adrenaline I needed.

The strategy was sound, the creativity was stunning, and the market insights were fresh. This was my time to shine and prove to my colleagues and clients that they made the right choice in headhunting and relocating me across the country for the role.

I envisioned looks of astonishment because I felt the presentation was that good. Heck, maybe even a high-five or proclamation of “this is exactly why we…

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: I left my cushy corporate job to become a digital nomad in Bali.

You’ve heard it before? How about this one?

It took two years and a global pandemic for me to figure out how to be a successful* location-independent consultant.

Success, to me, is measured by quality of life and work-life balance, as well as mental, physical, and emotional health.

I landed my first long-term consulting contract the same day I moved to Bali. I thought it was a great gig: Head of Digital Strategy for a PPC agency.

Though the…

What a decade of pushing people away taught me about healthy relationships

I’ve experienced all types of heartache during my 41 trips around the sun. I’ve been in abusive relationships, been (briefly) married, been cheated on, and been fooled by unrequited love. As my good friend Phoebe would say:

“Your collective dating record reads like a who’s who of human crap!” — Phoebe Buffay, Friends Season 8 Episode 18

It’s no wonder then that I chose to be single for nearly a decade. I was single and definitely not ready to mingle. I mean, I went on the occasional date…

Full disclosure: I’m one of those people whose eyes pop open before her alarm goes off, jumps out of bed like a gazelle and is buzzing to start her day — all before 5 AM or having a single ounce of coffee.

Sound like a nightmare? Try being my boyfriend.

But in all seriousness, I wasn’t always like this. For most of my career, I was a “night owl”; the one who’d get back on her laptop at 10 pm to finish a kickass presentation at 2 am. …

You will always be wanting more unless you rewrite what it means to be successful

I have no problem saying it: I am good at what I do. As a self-taught marketer who was once told she wouldn’t be successful without a university degree, I’ve fiercely managed to do the complete opposite.

Yet, despite all the success I’ve experienced, I found myself feeling extremely unfulfilled earlier this year when it came to my career. The feeling was so intense that I thought I was having some sort of midlife crisis.

It didn’t matter that I had created some of the…

The 6-Step Daily Practice I’ve Created So I Can Start to Call Myself a “Writer”

Just over six weeks ago, before COVID-19 became top-of-mind for all of us here in Bali, I expressed to my family and close friends how I wished I had more time to write. The fire to begin my writing career burned so deep in me that I actually turned down one paying consulting gig then asked for my hours to be reduced in another (not knowing of course that four weeks later I’d be temporarily laid off due to the pandemic).

Do I regret those…