Blog

For a moment, I appreciate the peacefulness.

Lying on the sofa for a mid-afternoon break, I hear a dove cooing. A car drives by at a distance. The bright sunlight lights up the room, and my pillow feels comfy.

Seconds later, I enter the hustle and bustle of an Istanbul market …Read more »

How are you coping, my friend?

We’re living in strange times where most of us have seen our world turned upside down and routines disrupted.

Collectively, we’re probably more worried than ever before.

We don’t know how long this is going to take, and whether life will ever feel normal again. We’re worried about our health, our loved ones, our finances, the future.

How do you cope with your worries?Read more »

I have an irreverent streak.

Just ask my Dad. He’ll tell you I’ve always done my own thing.

But even I have to admit … I’ve learned a lot from the original copywriters—the famous direct response writers, most of whom passed away a long time ago.

Want to know the most useful lessons of 5 legendary copywriters?
Read more »

Henrietta wonders …

Is there’s a secret trick to writing better?

She’s revising her blog post, and she’s pulling out her hair. She seems to have written a bunch of crappy paragraphs with only a couple of good sentences in between. Henrietta wonders whether great writers produce such crappy drafts, too. And what if she could ask Ernest Hemingway for advice?Read more »

May I tell you?

It upsets me a little. When people talk about creative writing, they refer to writing fiction, poetry, or a memoir. Somehow, writing for your business is thought to be devoid of creativity.

Why? Oh why? Read more »

In the last few years, it’s become my habit to write a personal review at the end of the year. And rather than ask myself what I’ve achieved, I like to consider what I’ve learned.

I’m less interested in achievements. Perhaps because I never quite achieve in a year what I planned. Or perhaps because achievements are so fleeting. Achievements are often the outward signs of success, and, for me, they’re rarely a real measure of personal success and happiness.

So, what have I learned this year?Read more »

Have you ever read a question that made you stop and think?

I’m not talking about the kind of questions where you quickly nod yes, and read on.

Nope, I’m talking about questions that make you curious but not in a clickbaity or gossipy way. I’m talking about questions that make you want to learn more, read more, think more. Perhaps a question that’s so fascinating you wonder whether a good answer even exists …Read more »

I wondered why.

Why does editing take so much longer when I’m writing a personal story?

Some people seem to write about themselves effortlessly. But my draft life stories are often disjointed and rambling on endlessly. Editing can feel like a daunting, even an impossible task.

How we can make writing our own stories easier? And how can we make such stories more engaging? Read more »

Being busy used to make me feel good.

The more tasks I ticked off from my to-do list, the more productive I felt. And I loved the adrenaline rush of working late at night. I kept pushing myself to work a little harder, to achieve a little more. When running your own biz, there’s always more to do, right?

I thought I thrived on stress. But late 2014, something changed …Read more »

When I started blogging, I was taught to view a blog as an online publication …

You write a new blog regularly—weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.

And each time you publish a new post, you invite email subscribers and social media followers to read your shiny new blog post.

Sounds good, right?

Yet, it’s a blinkered view on blogging. Read more »