The Upside of Being Down: How Mental Health Struggles Led to My Greatest Successes in Work and Life

creatives often need logistical and operational support so we can focus on being creative and not be eye-tortured by spreadsheets.

When Laurel asked me questions she looked into my eyes with such attentiveness and genuine curiosity that for the first time in my life, I felt seen. For a girl who had felt incredibly misunderstood by the one most important female figure in her life, this was the gift I needed to set me on my path.

There’s a real beauty, and freedom, in acceptance.

When your intuition guides you to do something, don’t wonder why. Just do it and eventually you’ll find out.

My signature move was to pack up all my opinions, feelings, likes, and dislikes, and set them aside so I could absorb the lifestyle, interests, and friends of whoever I was dating. If I remain compliant, sweet, easy, and suggestible, then you’ll really love me, right?

The concept of having a job that paid the bills and then pursuing your interests on nights and weekends seemed completely absurd to me.

if you know the job you want, and you can’t find it, you can create it.

You’re probably used to seeing creative types depicted as successful or suffering, one or the other. My story is both.

You want someone whose words resonate with you deeply. Who you trust and feel comfortable with, because, week after week, you’ll be spilling your guts out onto a table like puzzle pieces to be sorted through and reassembled.

Just because you find a career that you love doesn’t mean you are tethered to it for life,