Penelope Trunk: Fearless
Posted on Thu, Jul 23, 2009
Here I am, wrapping up my vacation by sitting on the porch, drinking a beer and starting to sort through hundreds of emails in my Inbox. Where do I start? I’ll tell you: Catching up on what Penelope Trunk has been saying while I’ve been gone. I missed her!
I have been reading Penelope Trunk for years. To be more specific, I have loved her blog for years. Penelope fearlessly shares intimate, personal details while smartly handing out free career advice, and somehow it works. She doesn’t fake it. She doesn’t hide her imperfections. Penelope puts it all out there, blurring personal and professional lines in an utterly honest and oftentimes humorous fashion. I don’t always agree with her advice or opinions. Sometimes Cathy and I read lines aloud to each other because we can’t believe she really said something. But, I can’t help but follow her.
I respect her for refusing to hold back. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that I envy her. Sometimes, I hold back. For example, you have no idea how long I will hem and haw about admitting I am drinking a beer on my front porch while catching up on email. I mean, will people admire me for working on my vacation and appreciate the fact that I am sipping on a cold beer as I do? Or, will people think I have a drinking problem? Will people not even give it a second thought? Does it even matter? Is anyone even reading this?… And so on.
Penelope wouldn’t care. She wouldn’t even think about it. It is what it is. Fearless. We’d make her a Maverick without a doubt. But, for now, we’ll settle on giving her our first official shout out on our “We’re Not Worthy” list.
(For the record: Reading Penelope’s blog first in my Inbox was a great move as I begin the re-entry process from vacation to the real world. It is about self-discipline. After my fun in the sun, I needed a reminder and a bit of inspiration. Thanks, Penelope!)