Bentley met a porcupine…

with Julie Brown

There are certain text messages you never want to receive.

“We need to talk.”

“Your flight has been canceled.”

“Please meet us at the emergency vet.”

That last one? Yeah. I got that on Friday. Accompanied by a picture of Bentley looking like he’d tried to French kiss a cactus.

So, here’s how my Friday went.

The dog walker picked Bentley and Maddie up for their usual adventure in the woods. Running, sniffing, chasing things, generally living their best life as German Shorthaired Pointers with absolutely no job, no responsibilities, and no concept of how much money their existence costs.

And then, about an hour later, my phone buzzed.

Apparently, Bentley had encountered a porcupine and decided this was an animal he needed to get to know a little better.

A PORCUPINE. An animal whose entire body is essentially a warning label. And my dog thought, “Seems friendly!”

This dog is going to kill me.

One emergency vet visit, a whole lot of stress, and a veterinary bill I would prefer never to discuss again, and I’m happy to report that Bentley is doing just fine.

Me? I’m going to need a minute.

And somewhere in the woods of Vermont, there’s a porcupine telling his friends about the dumbest dog he’s ever met.

Now, onto something completely different. Something that’s been banging around in my brain for a while, and something I could really use your help with.

I want to find a way for us to work together beyond the newsletter, beyond the podcast, and beyond the stage.

For the past 10 years, I’ve traveled around the country delivering keynotes about networking, building relationships, advocating for ourselves, and creating opportunities in our lives and careers.

And I love it.

I love being on stage, making people laugh, making them think, and giving them tools they can actually use.

But as much as I love a great keynote, an hour is still just an hour.

I can share the research. I can tell the stories. I can give you the tools. I can get you fired up to make a change.

But then I get on a plane, you go back to your life, and we’re both off doing the next thing.

And I keep thinking about how much more we could accomplish if we had the opportunity to keep working together.

What if we could take that one-hour experience and turn it into something more? Something ongoing. Something where we could dig deeper, work through challenges, build new skills, and actually put all those ideas into practice?

And what if you haven’t seen me speak? What if you found me through this newsletter or the podcast and you’ve been thinking, “I could really use some help with this stuff”?

Well, I’ve been kicking around a few ideas. Check these out:

One-on-one coaching. Just you and me, working through whatever you’re trying to accomplish. Maybe it’s building your network, navigating a career transition, becoming more visible in your industry, understanding how to create content, or finally getting comfortable asking for what you want.

Small group coaching. A handful of people working together over several weeks. Real conversations, practical strategies, accountability, and the opportunity to learn from other people who are working through some of the same challenges.

An on-demand video library. Short, practical lessons you can watch on your own time. Deeper dives into the things I teach on stage, networking strategies, tools, exercises, and maybe even exclusive behind-the-scenes conversations with some of the incredible authors, researchers, and experts I’ve interviewed on This Sh!t Works.

Now, these would all be paid offerings. Before I go too far down this road, I want to know something.

Is this something YOU would actually want?

Because I can sit here all day dreaming up ideas about what I think would be helpful, but the people I really want to hear from are the people reading this newsletter.

YOU.

I’ve created a super short survey to find out which of these ideas interests you, what you’d most like help with, and whether this is something you’d consider investing in.

And listen, if none of these ideas interests you, that’s helpful information too. I promise I won’t be offended.

I want to create something that helps you build better relationships, take bigger chances, advocate for yourself, and make things happen in your life and career. But I don’t want to guess what you need.

I want you to tell me.

So take two minutes, fill out the survey, and help me figure out what we should build together.

Thank you so much in advance.

P.S. If you like my work and want to support it, here are 3 ways!
👉 Pick one right now before you forget:

1) Forward this newsletter to a friend and let them know they can subscribe here.

2) Buy my book

3) Bring me into your company to speak. (Either in person or virtual.)