February 2012

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New Zealand And Its Obnoxiously Beautiful Beaches

February 21, 2012 in Travel, Writing by jensincero | No comments

Me feeling extremely self-satisfied about my situation, only to be soaked to the bone and nearly swept off to sea moments later.

Less than a week ago (really??!) I landed in the home of my dear pal, Nancy Irvine, in Auckland, New Zealand.  Nancy and I worked together at CBS Records/Sony Music in NYC back in the days when we could stay awake past 11pm and order enough sushi on the corporate credit card to sink a record company.

Nancy, her boys, their pigs

We took a little road trip to a beach house in a place called Whangapoua (pronounced Fongapoouh), where we spent a blissful couple of days surrounded by rolling hills, sheep, blue green sea and jungle on one of the best decks I’ve ever cocktail houred on.

I’ve never been to New Zealand before and had no idea how insanely beautiful it is.  Everywhere you turn.  It’s like, really New Zealand?  ANOTHER perfect beach?  Don’t you have anything better to do?

Whangapoua Beach

On our way to New Chums Beach

We walked down our perfect beach, through an extremely muddy jungle over to New Chums Beach, which is touted as one of the Top 20 Beaches in the World – a title that seems rather unnecessarily celebratory in a country where the coastline that runs along the freeway could bring a person to tears.

 

I’m in New Zealand on a world-wide quest in search of the perfect place to write my new book, and have already started taking notes for my follow-up book which will apparently be all about my search for the perfect place to write my new book.  And all the books to follow.

A search that I’ll be on for a lifetime if all goes according to plan.

Hokey Pokey ice cream in Kaituna. I don't know what any of that means.

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How To Hit The New Ground Running

February 16, 2012 in Travel, Uncategorized by jensincero | 2 comments

I arrived in New Zealand after a 20 hour-ish journey from Los Angeles last night and felt just fine about it.

And here’s why:

 

I don’t know what the hell this stuff is, but 4 drops under the tongue as many times a day as you can remember of the Five Flower Formula, and 40 drops in some water 4 times a day of the Rhodiola and I’m feeling like I skipped around the block and wound up in Auckland.

As a seasoned hippie and someone who’s always shied away from taking drugs that don’t do anything fun to you, I’ve tried many an herbal remedy over the years to cure my ills.

And honestly, most of the time, they didn’t do nuthin.

But I am totally blown away by these two potions so I thought I’d share.

Also, while en route, drink craploads of water, immediately adapt to the time zone of wherever you’re going (force yourself to stay awake or go to sleep when you get on the plane),

I'm awake. I'm so awake it's not even funny.

lay off the booze and eat as healthy as you possibly can.

Green smoothies and Aunt Margaret's Tuna bean salad with my pal Nanooch Molinooch.

We’re heading off to Whangapoua Beach where I am told the beauty will leave me sobbing in a heap of  heartbreaking awe.  So far I give NZ an A+.

Office #32: Nancy's front porch, Auckland, NZ

 

 

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My Book Is In Oprah Magazine – Doot Doo Doo!

February 13, 2012 in Uncategorized, Writing by jensincero | No comments

In 2002 I published my very first book:

Today I’m inspired to talk about my dear old book because this week, in 2012, it appears in Oprah Magazine.  Page 131 to be exact.

Look closely and you can see my mother holding it up.
I’m the blur on the bottom left.

As I mentioned in my recent TEDx Talk, one fear I had around deciding to cut the cord and live the home-free lifestyle was what the hell is gonna happen to my mail?

Because I have the sweetest mother (who is still talking to me even after posting a picture of her in bed in her robe w/o make-up on in the aforementioned TEDx talk), she has now become my postmistress.

And she is constantly forced to get in front of her computer, fire up Skype, and hold up photos of my friends on the Christmas cards that were forwarded to her house, read aloud to me from the DMV about my upcoming car registration and yesterday, hold up O Magazine so I could get a screen shot because I refuse to buy it and lug it all over the globe with me.

A bit higher.  Great, now move to the right.

Here?

A little farther.  Perfect!  Wait, it’s blurry.  Let me try again.  You moved!

Sorry.

Back to the left.  Good.

My arms hurt.  I’m putting this down.

It took us a good ten minutes and much blood loss in my mother’s arms to get a rather crappy picture of it, but the important thing is IT EXISTS!  My little book that could keeps on keeping on!

And now it’s not only being talked about on page 131 by Malin Akerman in Oprah Magazine, but they’re taking an excerpt from it for an APP they’re making for the new iPad – doot doo doo!

So for all of you out there who are too lazy or scared to get off your asses and write your books or start a band or paint a picture or quit your job and start your own business…

Do it.

 

Because opportunity is out there whether you decide to show up or not.

And if you don’t show up, it’ll just go to someone else.

And one day a very lovely and very Swedish actress may be blabbing about you in a very O magazine.

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Book Deal Numba 3!

February 11, 2012 in Travel, Uncategorized, Writing by jensincero | No comments

It’s official, ma new little baby has a home!

My next book, You Are a Badass, Now Start Acting Like One:  How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Live Large and In Charge was scooped up by Jennifer Kasius at Running Press and will be coming out in hardcover sometime next year.

Woo!  Hooooooo!

I’m rill excited to work with my new editor because we share the same name, she’s great pals with another beloved editor of mine, Amanda Patton, who worked on The Straight Girl’s Guide to Sleeping With Chicks, and she said she likes the dress I wore in my promo video.

One of the reasons I love being an author is that you work very closely with your editor.  Just.  Your. Editor.  Unlike screenwriting or TV writing where you must answer to countless studio executives and development people and producers, many of whom are great people, but there are just so freakin many of them – how the hell are any of your words and ideas ever supposed to make it onto the page when they have to go through such a giant spanking machine of opinions?  Answer = they often don’t.

So it’s very important that you like this editor of yours who you will be working side by side with. Which, thankfully, I already do.

I’m also rill excited because these are the people who brought us the NY Times Bestselling dieting book, Skinny Bitch: A No-Nonsense, Tough-Love Guide for Savvy Girls Who Want to Stop Eating Crap and Start Looking Fabulous! Even though I’m not a dieter, I am a fan of cursing and sentences such as, “The first thing you need to do is give up your gross vices.  Don’t act surprised!  You cannot keep eating the same shit and expect to get skinny.”

And lastly, now that I have a deal, I have an excuse to buy a plane ticket to somewhere I’ve always wanted to go and write it!  Life, she am good.

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Check Out My TEDx Talk, Y’all!

February 2, 2012 in Inspiration, Videos by jensincero | 3 comments

In December I had the great pleasure of becoming a TEDx speaker.  Gave a talk called “Freefalling Into the Strong, Hairy Arms of Uncertainty” in Scottsdale, AZ, which was real exciting because:

TED talks are kind of a big deal.

I did it without having to write anything on my hand.

I got to perform alongside geniuses like Tania Katan, Julie Hampton, Todd Woloson and a bunch of other rockstars whose talks aren’t up on the site yet but who made it so much fun I wanted to stay in that little red room with them forever.

YouTube Preview Image

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