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WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT  Anna and I discuss the difference between the business of writing, and the writing of writing The fear that so many of us feel of showing up, and putting ourselves out there or “being seen to try”. Anna says this is “straight-up embarrassment,” and we feel this way whenever we step outside the norm (even if we are embarrassed for positive reasons, like receiving a compliment) But in addition to this, she says that what holds us back, post-pandemic, is “very low emotional reserves.” All of us have a lower baseline of resilience which makes pitching scarier, and rejection harder to take Recognising when you’re in burnout (and remembering that you don’t have to have all the answers before you’re allowed to help anyone else!) Defining freelancing and the many roles that freelancers need to play. Learning to be both boss and employee, and knowing when to shift between these modes Seeking a balance between working ON the business versus IN the business. Anna says she spends 20 percent of her time actually writing… but she’s working on increasing this! The bonkers (Anna’s word but I wholeheartedly agree!) system that rewards creative people for doing a good job by making them managers - a completely different skill-set and a role that a lot of creative people don’t actually aspire to take on Working with people in your business from a place of collaboration, rather than management Getting comfortable with sales (and moving on from the door-to-door salesman stereotype) “Dirty capitalism” versus “clean capitalism” (in other words, the conflict-that-shouldn’t-be-a-conflict of doing the right thing while also making money)   LINKS WE MENTIONED Anna’s book, “You’re the Business: How to Build a Successful Career When You Strike Out Alone” My first chat with Anna, on “Life Lessons for Freelancers” - The book Anna mentions, “A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload” by Cal Newport The quote I was trying to remember is attributed to Ellevest co-founder and former Citigroup CFO Sallie Krawcheck, who said, “About the most powerful thing you can do to help a society and economy is get more money in the hands of women.” Hear hear!   WHERE TO FIND ANNA ONLINE  Anna’s podcast, Is this working?  Which she co-hosts with Tiffany Philippou Anna on Twitter (she’s @annacod)