Hello,

So much is happening right now I don't even know where to start updating you on it. Last week I spent an incredible two days at the Facebook Communities Summit Europe in London. It felt like coming home, literally because I was born in London, but more because I was surrounded by 300+ people who were all working to make big and small changes in the world through connecting people and communities. All of them are working to leave the world a better place than they found it. That was inspiring. Its work I've been doing with Amsterdam Mamas for eight years now but that work can often be very lonely. To suddenly be in the presence of other people who had been working away on their own and be able to say "me too!" was powerful. So powerful that next week I am heading to San Francisco to talk more about communities with Facebook. 

Sitting here, in the sun in Amsterdam, writing to you it feels like something is waking up. A feeling that something big is coming is shifting from a niggly little itch at the back of my brain to a full-blown "hey hey you can't ignore me now, it's time to do the work". I don't know where this will lead me yet but I know that I'm not afraid to find out, I'm curious and curious has always been when I do my best work. So I am buckling up and locking in because I think 2018 is about to get very interesting indeed. 

Now, let's get on with the Notes...

1) working with the best

Are you working with the right clients? I don't mean any client who pays you money, I mean the people who light you up from the inside. The clients who when someone asks you to name your "ideal client" you say their name without hesitation. This is an area where I see a lot of business owners, especially new business owners, get it very wrong. Working with the right clients will change your business and only ever in a good way. Marie Poulin breaks down why and how you can work with the clients who are truly the right fit for you.

2) The myth of self-control

Don't have the willpower to stick to your goals? You are not alone and this recent study says that it has nothing to do with your powers of self-control (or lack of them). It has to do with how you approach things. Read on to find out what the researchers discovered and how you can apply it to your own goals in life.

3) write more this year

Did you have great goals at the beginning of the year to write more? Maybe it was writing for pleasure. Maybe it was writing content for your audience. Now that it's February, how's that plan working for you? If you've been struggling to make time for writing this year then Nicole Bianchi 

4) make 'em listen

Everybody has a story. But not everybody knows how to tell their story so that other people can hear it. Julian Treasure knows how to speak so that people will listen. In this TED talk, he tells you how you can too.

5) could changing your linkedin bio change your priorities?

This was such an interesting concept to me. I've tried being more active on LinkedIn. Ironically, it's where I have the most direct connections when you compare my social media channels but I haven't found my flow with it yet. But I loved this take on why you should update your LinkedIn bio and how it will change your perspective. Go ahead, I challenge you to do it. And if you want, you can connect with me on LinkedIn and show me what your new bio looks like now.

Me, elsewhere...

Stephanie and I are back with Business UNVARNISHED Episode #2 and we're talking about comparisons in our business lives. What happens when we compare ourselves to others and what we can do if we get lost in the rabbit hole of paying too much attention to the success of other people. 

If you are a female entrepreneur in the Amsterdam area then I want to see you at the 4th annual Spark Women conference on the 27th of September. We'll be talking all about how to take the Next Step in your business. Use the code SPARKFRIEND to get €10 off your ticket for the day.

Until the next Notes,

Emmy

P.S. If you have any tips for visiting San Francisco, send them my way by hitting reply to this email. And you can follow along with all my adventures in the next week on my Instagram. Be warned though, my Instagram is not a place for idle scrolling, I ask questions, I engage in the comments, I want conversations. If you're up for that, join me over there.