My birthday post

,

It’s my birthday. I’m going to give a gift to myself today. I’m going to post five posts that make me happy. I hope you will like reading them. I hope you haven’t read all of them already.

Also, maybe in the comments section, you will post your favorite post back to me. And tell me why it makes you happy. That would be a good gift.

Top Ten Jobs to Have, April 2006
I like this one because it is one of the first posts I did. It reminds me that each time I’ve tried something new I have been tentative, and largely terrible at it. This is not really a post as much as a start of a post. But I like the last line.

My financial history, and stop whining about your job, March 2007
My personal finances have been sort of a wreck since about 2001. It’s very scary to have a messy financial life. It’s even scarier to be a career advisor in a financial mess. I was so scared, all the time, that people would find out and then hate me. So it was a huge relief to write this post and come clean about who I am, and how I got here. And there were absolutely no negative ramifications from writing this post. It taught me so much about the value of being who I am, and trusting that it will be okay to be me.

Gen X updates outdated work and family goals, September 2007
I don’t write a lot about gen X. Because I have a company that is an anthem to generation Y, but also because everyone who is not gen X hates hearing about gen X. We’re a generation that has nothing to lose, so we take huge risks all the time. In history, it is the marginal, overlooked, overshadowed generations that are revolutionary. That’s how I know that history will mark gen -X as the real revolutionaries of this era. And this post collects the data I have running through my head to support this conclusion.

Try to be funny, even if you’re not, March 2008
It took me so long to realize that I have Asperger Syndrome. It was a result of lots of tiny little pieces of information piling up. One of them was after this post. I lamented the fact that I was funny but men don’t like funny, they like hot. And my friend told me, “You’re not funny. I mean, you are, but you don’t know when you are.” At first I thought this was informative because now I could just focus on being hot. But really, it was informative because it’s true that I am never really sure when something’s funny.

Tips for coping when your startup is out of cash, May 2009
I remember this day so clearly. I thought I was going to die from the pressure I was under, and I felt so totally isolated in a room full of parents with overachiever violin students. I wondered if they could tell I was falling apart. I wondered if my son thought I looked like other parents. The only way to keep myself sane that day was to write the post as the post was happening. It makes me happy that I have a place to publish something like this.

People ask me all the time how they can get more readers to their blog. The answer is that you have to be learning on your blog. If you’re not learning, no one else is learning. You can’t fake it. It’s safe to talk about what you know, but it’s not that interesting; no one likes a know-it-all. My favorite posts are the one’s when I was doing something scary, but doing it with grace. In fact, I actually think those are my favorite times of life.

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  2. Betty in Munich
    Betty in Munich says:

    Happy Birthday! Sorry to repeat others but one of my favorites was:
    http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/06/01/get-married-first-then-focus-on-career/
    It was so spot on, yet in the comments section there was uproar. A lot of women and men spewing about how lame, or how wrong, backward this post was…that there was plenty of time. Unfortunately, many seemed to miss the point which I thought was – as a woman, if you KNOW you for certain want kids you should do it sooner rather than later, that’s all no drama really.
    My other favorite I can’t find, but it was during your divorce proceedings. You were explaining to your lawyers and husband what your new company did, gave them the whole pitch. Then your (soon to be ex) husband said something quite insightful about your new company and there you both were in front of your attorneys getting a divorce but you said something like, “you’re right it’s the one weak thing we haven’t quite figured out – you are so smart, that’s why I married you.” Don’t know why but that was funny, sweet and sad all at once – which many of your personal posts are and that is why I keep coming back.

  3. David
    David says:

    Through the years I have read most (perhaps all) of your posts. My single favorite is “How to Write a Blog Post People Love” (March 31, 2009, blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/05/13/how-to-write-a-blog-post-people-love/). As a minister I write and deliver a new sermon each week. When I confront the occasional writer's block your advice is a great place to start: Start strong; be short; have a genuine connection; be passionate; and have one good piece of research.

    Your book is another of the great gifts you have given to your readers. Your writing is honest, inspiring and occasionally poignant. For example, you wrote, "Uncertainty is a good gift with bad wrapping paper. If you could see a movie of your life before you lived it, would you still want to live it? Probably not. The thrill of living is that you don't know what's coming. In other words, uncertainty is what makes our lives fun. Sure, it's hard to see uncertainty in such a positive light when you're out of work or when you feel like you're flailing. But, uncertainty is another word for opportunity. And you can't harness an opportunity until you recognize it's there."

    I wish you all the best as you tear through the bad wrapping paper of a broken heart. Happy birthday.

  4. sylvain
    sylvain says:

    Dear Penelope,

    I wish you a happy bithday. I discovered your wonderful blog by Chance. And It is a real PLEASURE to read your blog. For me it is a constant source of inspiration and I wish I will write as good as you do and did on day. Anyway it is a thrill to read a new post….

    Your blog and your writing give me courage and I have to say it again :

    You are a real source of inspiration and I want to thank you very much for that.

    I want to apologize for any mistake I might have made in this comment but english is not my mothertongue.
    I live in Switzerland and I speak french So your blog is amazing and
    Joyeux anniversaire !

  6. Jan Hogle
    Jan Hogle says:

    Happy Birthday, Penelope!! I’ve been wanting to write some about farmers, land, history, and some other things, but have not. But anyway, I wanted to wish you a great day despite this awful weather. But you’re used to snowy Madison winters by now, right? Yours and my brothers are the only blogs I read regularly!!
    Cheers,
    Jan H.

  7. Susie
    Susie says:

    Hi Penelope — happy, happy birthday and my thoughts are with you throughout the recovery process…for what it’s worth, I adore your posts, and having people love the work-me always makes me feel better when I’m going through a personl crisis.

    I’m a young female lawyer, 29 years old, and I identify with your gender politics and entrepreneurial bent. In other words, I’m super ambitious, kinda bossy but learning hard lessons in life too.

    My FAVORITE Penelope Trunk post was the one where you talk about that female rap artist’s lyrics, why her self-confidence hurt you, and you later figured out the lyics hurt because all the regret you can remember about your 20s revolved around not having enough self-confidence. That really, really resonated with me…I’m easy on the eyes, smart, successful…and with a huge sense of bravado but no real self-confidence. I think about your post and your words whenever I need to feel centered right before a board meeting or before a court hearing. I think about your words and how I’m now way too old to be feeling self-conscious or lacking self-confidence…that I don’t want to live another year or grow older without it.

    Thanks, Penelope, or whatever your real name is…I hope you keep at this for a long, long time. :)

  10. Melissa
    Melissa says:

    Penelope…Happy Birthday..!

    You are so inspiring. Your truth is like a light rocket exploding into the stars and lighting up the sky for others to shine brighter.

    May you open up to the love that is you in the world around you. Enjoy!

    • Penelope Trunk
      Penelope Trunk says:

      This comment makes me so happy, Melissa. Thank you.
      Actually  Elizabeth’s, right up above yours makes me happy, too.
      Actually, so many of these make me happy. I am lucky.

      -Penelope

  11. surcey
    surcey says:

    My favorite post is “My birthday post.” You compile a series of blog posts that aren’t really your best, and you tell us how you grew/learned from them. It’s basically a constellation of what I have begun to expect from you: imperfection just ready and anticipating the process towards perfection.

    So to summarize, I love this quote from your birthday post, “You can’t fake it. It’s safe to talk about what you know, but it’s not that interesting; no one likes a know-it-all. My favorite posts are the one’s when I was doing something scary, but doing it with grace.”

    P.S. That you are willing to appreciate yourself without apologizing for it makes me love you even more.

  13. Rachel
    Rachel says:

    Hi, while I was trying to find my favorite post, I had some problems with the search function. I get the list of articles, but I can’t click through to any of them.

    Is it me?

  14. Sharon
    Sharon says:

    My birthday is the day before yours – and I turned 30 this year. Just wanted to say Happy Birthday to another Saggitarius!

  15. Alisa Bowman
    Alisa Bowman says:

    Happy birthday!

    What makes me happy?

    Realizing that someone knows everything about me, and somehow loves me anyway.

    Tomatoes when they are in season.

    A good night’s sleep

    Snuggling with my daughter

    Coming home with a long to-do list in my head, part of which entails going to the grocery store and cleaning the house–only to come home to find out that my husband has cleaned the house and bought the groceries. This doesn’t happen very often, but, when it does, I reward him with sex, and that makes me happy, too.

    Whenever someone writes to tell me how much they appreciate my writing.

    Sunlight.

    Finding out that there is more money in my banking account than previously thought.

    Ditto regarding the 401-K

    The smell of freshly turned over earth in the spring

    A good book

  16. boots
    boots says:

    Happy belated birthday!

    LOL, I think a lot of us chose favorite posts that validate our life choices–this one is mine:

    http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/08/10/im-moving-out-of-new-york-city/

    …Gretchen Rubin linked it on her blog, and I was hooked on Brazen Careerist from that moment. I liked this particular post because I had just moved out of New York and was feeling like I might be a quitter or a loser, retreating to the suburbs, even though I was a lot happier. But reading that post made me feel much more like it was a choice, and a good choice.

  17. Carla
    Carla says:

    Happy belated birthday! I’ve been reading your blog for almost two years now, and while this is not my first comment, it’s the first time I’m going to gush.

    Last weekend my son saw a news story about a girl who got to shop to her heart’s content in a closed Toys-R-Us, because she has terminal cancer and this was her wish. Son and I were talking therefore about what we would choose if we were granted such a wish, and he said he’d probably prefer to meet someone famous. I agreed, that was a better wish. So who would I want to meet, he asked me? I thought of the obvious, like movie stars or US Presidents. but frankly, yours is the name that most came to mind.

    I’ve never met you, and don’t expect I ever would, but you seem like the most fascinating person in my sphere. You are smarter than me, overcame more challenges than I ever want to consider, and still are the most articulate and funny and interesting person I “know.”

    Happy birthday, and I hope this next year is packed with more happy moments and fewer sad ones.

  21. Young, Fabulous & Self-Employed
    Young, Fabulous & Self-Employed says:

    “People ask me all the time how they can get more readers to their blog. The answer is that you have to be learning on your blog. If you’re not learning, no one else is learning.” Great observation. You have to get in the trenches and bake the recipe to know if something works — period. For instance, you don’t go to a mechanic for heart surgery. Seek wise counsel — especially when it comes to business.

  23. Chicago Attorney's
    Chicago Attorney's says:

    This month, i get my birthday too but here in this place i m alone and no one here to wish me but telephonic wishes are not less and that is why i need some written too. So who is going to wish me first. Waiting???

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