Hi my beautiful friends,
Today we have a special treat: a 10-minute (timed!) video convo with my friend of 30-plus years, Carrie Williams. Carrie, a genius brand strategist, possesses a vibrant beauty that shines from her as if, instead of a heart, she’s powered by the sun. She smiles easily, genuinely, and often. The quick wit, sense of humor, and big laugh is something you want to bask in for days.
And it gets better: Carrie’s a deep thinker, leaping quickly over small talk, and asking bold questions, proposing intriguing ideas. “What do you think of . . . ", “I just read something interesting that made me think of you . . . “ She’s someone with whom you can laugh your ass off at a ridiculous meme one moment, and a second later, dive deep into how to be an engaged citizen. Carrie will be your biggest fan, and generously introduce you to anyone she thinks you should know from her broad network.
Everyone needs a Carrie in their world!
I drove over to Carrie’s on a Friday, and we sat down to talk about everything from: whether beauty really matters to a Good Reason to Be Alive Today—and we did it in 10 minutes (with timer on).
Here are a few highlights.
ON BEAUTY:
I think of beauty as the result of things, versus just the thing. . . it’s the how vs the what. The elegan solution.
It inspires me when I see things resolved in a really interesting, elegant or surprising light . . . when I least expected it.
Beauty is allowing yourself to be odd*, and an “aha.”
*Carrie really meant to say “awe”; I heard it as “odd”—you’re invited to consider both.
ON HER WORK:
I get to look at work as a sandbox . . . it’s an amazing process to be in community with others, doing work. The mental focus is serious, but it’s fun. It’s exploring ideas that are galvanizing. They give purpose. That’s really rewarding work.
I get excited exposing myself to people who are finding ways to create possibilities.
Don’t miss out on other cool, invigorating pearls of insight and experience in the video.
Carrie Williams lives in Seattle, where she creates beauty in her work as a chief brand strategist at Brand Lab, a company she founded in 2001.
A Few Good Links:
Carrie loves the Reasons to Be Cheerful website.
Carrie told me about The Book of Delights, which became recommended reading in the Salons. It’s a book you can dip into and delight the bejesus out of yourself in the little sweet delicious chapters.
Read more Beauty Q&As:
Beauty Hunter is a space where we examine the whole bag of life through the lens of beauty—going so far as to imagine Beauty as the Purpose of Life. Late September the Salon for Beauty Hunters will resume. This is a virtual gathering of curious-minded people who want to talk about the larger issues of life from an exploratory POV. ←If you’re interested, more information at the link above, or email me at: tatyana @ everydaycreative (dot) net.
For coaching, go to Everyday Creative Coaching.
Beauty Q&A with Carrie Williams