Hey Reader, I woke to two bits of news this week. One, that the US (and world) economy was in a tailspin. OK, that’s news we’ve been getting on the hour. But anyway. Two, that I dropped out of law school. What’s that? You didn’t know I went to law school? Well, guess what — NEITHER DID I. But when I checked my IG notifications, I saw I’d been tagged in a post all about me. What a lovely burst of dopamine to kick off my day! Then I clicked and feasted my greedy eyes on the first slide. Oh my. I quit law school? I went to law school? That’s news to me! I swiped to see if it was a clever mislead. Maybe the next slide would say… “GOTCHA! Instead, it said this: WHAT IN THE CHATGPT??? If AI is spreading strange rumors about me, couldn’t it say that I dated Brad Pitt in the 90s but dumped him because I was just having fun and he wanted something serious? Or make up something slightly plausible, like: Laura was on the fast track to become a world champion at Step Aerobics. But her excessive sweat created dangerous conditions, so she went into media. The next slide is mostly accurate… I just have two nits to pick here: 1 - I didn’t really write for Marie Forleo; I wrote with her. For years, we co-scripted all her episodes of Marie TV, and then we co-created The Copy Cure. 2 - It’s *national* bestselling book, thank you. You can have a bestselling book by hitting the top in a niche category on Amazon, like “Business for Medieval Feminist Milkmaids.” Which is great! Whatever qualifies you to call yourself a bestselling author, do that. That national part is a big deal to me. I celebrate it every time I mention my book. But back to the law school thing. If you know me at all, and especially if you’ve read Tough Titties, you know I would no sooner even apply to law school than I would become an opera singer or an astronaut. And then there’s the matter of the “safe path.” Let's be clear: THERE IS NO SAFE PATH. Unless you're a tenured university professor, I guess. Otherwise, there’s no j-o-b that guarantees security. Even at a top law firm, you can lose your job. Or the firm can go belly up and you all lose your jobs. In a cuckoo economy like today’s, the smartest thing you can do is set out to make as much money as possible. Even in a tough market, if you’re an entrepreneur or freelancer, especially a digital one, you’re way more in charge of your income than as an employee. Sure, the way people spend will change, but you can adapt your marketing and adjust your messaging if you know how to write good copy. And if you write entertaining, compelling emails, that’s always an edge. When the world is in freefall, your people want comfort, connection, and escape. Providing that with your words is a skill that will pay infinite dividends. Cultivating it? A fail-proof bet. As is any investment in your learning and personal development. Along with the craft of writing (which you’re getting with anything you buy from me), your emotional and spiritual steadiness around money is a great place to start. My friend Kate Northrup is offering a free workshop next week called… “Good With Money” Here’s what she’s covering: 🧠 Day 1: The Counterintuitive Key to Financial Stability 🌀 Day 2: Rewiring Your Financial Nervous System 🔐 Day 3: The Relaxed Money Blueprint 👉 Register for “Good with Money” here. This is a TRUE safe choice. It’s free and you have zero to lose. I can even guarantee you won’t feel you’ve wasted a minute of your time. If Kate’s not for you, you’ll know it in the first minute. Chances are, you’ll find her magnetic, inspiring, and a “breath of fresh” (as they say on my favorite Real Housewives podcast, Bitch Sesh). You coming? LMK! I’m signed up and very excited for it. I expect it'll help me stop regretting my decision to drop out of law school. xoLaura PS - The person who created that misinformed post had such good intentions. I didn’t want to embarrass them but I knew it would be shitty to write to you about it and not let them know privately that ChatGPT had led them astray. So I DM’d a sincere thank-you and a recommendation that they check the one valid source, my About page. I know it’s correct because I wrote it myself. PPS - *I said this same thing on Threads about being as likely to become an opera singer or astronaut, and one connection there did a little research on the space part. For all its flaws, sometimes, Chat gets it. I’m especially impressed with the Mars ad copy. PPS - On the other hand, wtf is a lipstick-proof helmet? Who’s kissing helmets in space?
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"Yours are the only emails I actually open and read" - a regular reply in my inbox since 2009...and I'll bet in yours, too, once you subscribe and learn by pure, lazy osmosis to become the most compelling writer around. That said, no promises on improving your moral character.
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