How to cosplay as a CEO
How to cosplay as a CEO
A lot less business suits & a lot more mental "suiting up."
Sorry for the delay on this newsletter, Nice Work friends! 💛 I took our own Nice advice and took some days off to recover after a nasty bug. Happy to be back with you!
This is a picture of my desk at my first job. I love nearly everything about it - the photos of friends and family, the tulips, the name tag. What I don’t love is the travel mug.
“Success is not for the lazy.”
Yes, indeed. I bought this mug while at university, in a season where I was already doing a lot. I was a full-time student, I was interning, I was applying for jobs, and I was keeping a busy social calendar in order to enjoy my final months of “adulthood lite.” Following that season, I moved to D.C., where I was working full-time AND getting my master’s full time (while also learning how to network, experiencing the sunday scaries for the first time, etc.)
I know everything is easier in your early twenties but, wow - exhausting.
So looking back, was this desk-side reminder “not to be lazy” necessary? No. Laziness wasn’t the issue. And I bet it’s not your issue either (as I don’t think you’d be here reading about how to do nicer work if it was!)
But the constant, somewhat shameful reminder worked. I regularly pulled 12 hour days and worked every weekend to get through my program and keep my job. I even replaced the easier desk job with one at a startup.
Through it all, I believed I was on my way to conquering laziness and into being successful. I was leaning in. I was a girlboss. My favorite position was also CEO (or would be soon).
What I didn’t realise is, to become someone who drops this kind of truth, we have to live as this person. If we can’t live like them yet, we can at least cosplay as them. (Cosplay - i.e., to put on the costume and trial it out. I prefer this to the “fake it until you make it” feeling because that does feel, you know, fake.)
If we keep working too much, and keep never saying no, it’s much less likely we’d answer a radio show host’s jackass question with a brilliant retort of “CEO” and much more likely we’d say whatever they want to hear. Success is not for the lazy, after all - so just smile and take it. 🫠
What we allow into our mental and physical real estate has power.
In service of becoming successful, we allow plenty of quotes, mantras, and stories about how not to be lazy to take up residence in our heads. Which can be helpful, if you’re under the impression that being successful doesn’t take work. Trust me, if you’ve ever seen a travel influencer film a breakfast buffet for the fifth time, iced coffee melting away in the sun, you know that even the most glamorous jobs really aren’t without their issues.
But in doing so, we neglect to invite in the quotes, mantras, and stories that would actually make us a good CEO - including, and most especially, believing in yourself.
I know I would have started my company sooner, or pushed myself into more leadership positions earlier, if the daily reminder on my desk was less “work more, sleep less” and more like:
Hey. You’re crushing it. So please, for the love of God, do not work another twelve hour day on someone else’s dream if they aren’t compensating you for it. Go build something for yourself, or take a nap.
We all could use a reminder that what we’re doing is worth doing.
Which is why I’m excited to share that, today, Nice Work is launching its first collection of decor & clothing!
Each piece is designed to give you, and whoever you run across, both a compliment and a much-needed reminder that you’re doing nice work.
Other things to love: It’s all eco-friendly materials, as well as made to order and shipped from suppliers close to you (to cut down on the carbon footprint).
Check them all out in the Nice Work Store.
To say thank you for joining the Nice Work movement with us, we’re sharing a code for 10% off (which will work until Saturday, November 25 - the day after Black Friday!)
It is:
LAUNCH10
And, of course, a heartfelt and extra-caffeinated thank you to everyone who’s backed Nice Work with a paying subscription. 🥹
Your financial support means we have been able to redo our website, launch this store, and bring in some help to continue to grow our movement (as well as to pay our freelance and contributing writers, which we’ve done since Day 1!)
For you, we have a 20% off code (which means you basically get *all* of the Nice Work merch at its cost price). See it below (behind the paywall)!
Excited to hear what you think - and to hear how your new compliment-and-beverage-delivery-system goes over in your office!
Kindly,
Rachel & the Nice Work team
Paying subscribers, this is for you! 👇
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