Mental Health - Being happy out of pure spite

Chances are you either are dealing with mental illness, will deal with mental illness or will love someone who deals with mental illness. I've struggled with a plethora of disorders, including treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, inattentive ADHD, OCD and several others I can't think of off the top of my head because inattentive ADHD exists. But I have perfected the art of being FURIOUSLY HAPPY...of celebrating every day that I survive and helping others to know that they are not alone. My journey has saved lives, including my own.

Inspiring leadership

4 years ago I opened a progressive independent bookshop in conservative Texas right before a pandemic. It should not have survived but it is currently one of the best and most successful indie bookshops in San Antonio and it's success comes down to these principles:

• Finding your passion
• Let your team find their strengths and get out of their way
• Do something unique that no one else does
• Create a community
• Use your power to empower others
• Always be learning
• Don't be afraid to pivot
• Learn how to deal with haters
• Find what scares you and do that
• Look to the right places for mentorship and inspiration

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

I became an overnight success and it only took me 12 years and a constant barrage of self-doubt to do it. To this day I battle with Imposter Syndrome, so much so that I worry I'm not qualified to talk about it which makes me possibly the best person to talk about it.

You'd think that becoming successful would cure someone of this idea of not being good enough but what I've learned is that even when everything is going your way you can still be plagued with the same fears, only now you can add the fear that everyone is going to realize that you're not as great as they're giving you credit for. Fortunately I've found a number of tools that have helped me to battle both the inner and outside criticism that can have the power to destroy, but also the power to grow, change and celebrate rather than self-hate.

The Art of Memoir Writing

As a best-selling memoirist I have made all the mistakes so you don't have to. This talk Includes:

• How to find personal boundaries
• How to write about friends and family without them disowning you
• How true is too true?
• How to deal with criticism
• How to write a proposal
• The importance of editing
• Marketing done right and very wrong
• Finding your voice
• Selling your story
• What to know before you record your own audiobook
• Deciding what success looks like for you so you know how to celebrate it
• Comparing yourself to others