This has been a rough + rowdy week for many of us …
… especially those of us here in the USA.
We’ve seen visuals of gore + horror, flashed across our screens.
We’ve felt angry, violated, and at times, simply baffled.
We’ve collectively wondered what could possibly move someone to do something so unspeakably heinous.
As author Harlan Coben once said, “Tragedy is one hell of a teacher.”
And the lesson I’m taking away from the tragedy in Boston is three-fold:
1. We are damn strong.
2. Anyone can be — as Mr. Rogers puts it — a “helper.”
3. Art, play + creativity matter (more than ever, ever, ever.)
On a personal note: I’ve been quietly planning a writing workshop / pop-up artist colony / birthday party in Hawaii, for a while now.
But in light of Monday’s tragedy, I found myself wondering whether it was “appropriate” or “sensitive” to announce it, this week.
I found myself thinking, “isn’t writing, creativity, self-expression, entrepreneurship, all of my work … just … like, frivolous?”
Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. But one thing’s for sure:
Having LESS art has never made the world a better place.
Now is the time to write what needs to be written.
Now is the time to say what needs to be said.
Now is the time to express yourself to the fullest.
And now is the time for radical celebration.
Bring your magnificent brain + a meaningful project to a writing workshop / pop-up artist colony / birthday party in Hawaii.
(Yeah. Not too shabby.)
You might not swing into full-on Dancer Pose (but you’ll feel like it!) // Our workshop HQ, illuminated at night
Join me + 20 bodacious new friends for the grand finale of my 2013 workshop tour … a 5-day festival of wordsmithery, in paradise.
Outline that manuscript. Roll out that book proposal. Sketch out your dreams + must-dos for 2014. Dive deep into a personal writing (or business) project, for days on end. No excuses. No distractions. Just space, support + a sensational ocean view.
We’ll have structured workshop time in the mornings, and then you’ll have 3 full hours every afternoon to work on your independent project — and pull me aside for some 1-on-1 brain-time.
It’s going to be loose, yet focused. Playful, yet purposeful. The perrrrfect way to wrap up 2013, and hula into the New Year on a high note.
Our workshop HQ, by day // Laptops + brainstorming by the pool? Why not!
Registration costs $1350, and includes 12+ hours of lively writing lessons with yours truly …
… plus delicious, deeeep-exhalation space for independent writing + creation.
The vibe is going to be: “pop-up artist colony” — and yes, if you’re an “entrepreneur,” then you are most definitely an “artist.”
My dream is to attract a gaggle of glorious humans, put just-the-right-amount of structure in place, and see what transpires.
You’ll get loved-up with a glorious breakfast + lunch each day, all the coconut water + chocolate-covered macadamia nuts you can handle, beachside yoga classes, and plumeria-scented hugs.
Your registration fee does not include airfare, hotel accommodation, lap dances, or the ability to levitate. (OK. Maybe one lap dance. But only if you bring your four-string ukelele.)
All the tropical details…
ϟ WHEN: Saturday, Dec 7 – Tuesday, Dec 10, 2013 (my birthday!) — with a farewell breakfast on Wednesday, Dec 11, 2013.
(Plan on arriving on the Big Island on Friday, Dec 6 — so you don’t miss a beat.)
ϟ WHERE: Our headquarters = a gorgeous Hale Aloha (that’s Hawaiian for “Awesome Beach House of Love & Good Feelings”) on the Big Island of Hawaii.
ϟ TIMING + FLOW:
We’ll converge at the Hale Aloha at 9am each day (fresh-squeezed guava juice, anyone?) and stay + play (and write + work) till about 5-ish. (It’s a very different kinda 9-to-5.)
Your day will look a little somethin’ like this …
9am: Breakfast + Kona coffee at the Hale Aloha, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
10am – 1pm: Workshop time! Practice writing with style, simplicity + power … play with creative marketing scripts + approaches … field-test your latest product idea (or business direction) with the group … clarify who you’re becoming (and who you’ve always been.)
1pm: Lunch, coconut water + conversation with new friends, beneath the palm trees …
2pm – 5pm: Work on your independent project. Bask in the sun. Dip into the ocean. Walk, think, muse, create …
5pm: Sunset yoga, to seal up the day.
Evenings will be open for you to explore the island, chillax in your hotel room, or take a sunset swim with your new friends. Y’know — utter bliss, in every conceivable form.
There will be impromptu dinners + gatherings. There will be spontaneous dancing. And if my previous workshops are any indication — there will be outbursts of song, improv performances, and basically, a tropical symphony of self-expression.
ϟ WHAT TO BRING: A notebook (or laptop), a pen (or two), comfy clothes, a bathing suit, your finest coconut shells, sunblock, a hot + meaningful project to work on (or the willingness to discover one!) and your sparkling brain.
There will be a (complimentary) shuttle from the airport to your hotel. And yep: we’ve arranged a special hotel rate just for thee. Not a huge discount, but a little somethin’ to sweeten your stay. (You’re welcome.)
ϟ NOURISHMENT: You’ll be fed a lovely breakfast + lunch each day, plus a celebratory birthday dinner on Tuesday, Dec 10th. (Chocolate-coconut birthday cake = pretty much mandatory!)
ϟ HOLY WOW: Laurie Wagner — the founder of 27 Powers, and a magnificent writer + teacher — will be our island hostess. And she’s bringing along two friends from the mainland to be our private chefs. Effin’ fancy.
My promise?
ϟ You will be (gently) encouraged to unplug, completely. Just think: 100+ hours without email, Twitter or Facebook. Life. Altering. Space.
ϟ You will think new thoughts + have ideas that would (probably) never occur to you, anywhere other than that precise moment when the sun dips down beneath the horizon of the Pacific Ocean, while the sea breeze is caressing your hair …
ϟ You will have ample time to crystallize plans, projects + language with me — possibly while wearing a bikini.
ϟ You will write. A lot. And like it.
ϟ You will be surrounded by smart, passionate, articulate people who get it.
And get you.
ϟ You will wrap up 2013 feeling clear(er) about what you want to deliver to the world.
And you’ll have a really crazy feeling … like maybe … it could be easy.
Want in?
Holy smokes + hot papayas!
The Big Island workshop sold out in less than 24 hours. Island power!
I’m building a just-in-case waiting list, of course. If you want to be on it, toss a note to me at [email protected].
“To work with Alexandra Franzen is to know her genius, her speed and her incredible ability to see who you are and celebrate it. (Then, she magically translates this into fluorescent words + copy).
Write Yourself Into Motion was seeing a bit of the method to her madness. I learned how to talk about my work in an empowered + enticing way, own my own genius, and to write powerful copy that inspires.
Not only did I leave with the sketch of a juicy project, I left with my soul furniture rearranged.”
“During Write Yourself Into Motion my business plan for 2013 exploded in a soulfully satisfying {and crazy successful} way. Two months after the workshop I released my Write Yourself Into Motion concept, content, and copy into the world and here’s what happened:
1. My event sold out in five days {eight months in advance!}
2. We raised enough money for 87 Kenyans to have access to clean fresh water
3. I had the best birthday celebration of my life
Watching Alex in motion and feeling myself rise up to join her is electrifying. I give her my highest level of recommendation.”
“Alex: you are the brightest light I’ve seen in a long time, and I was drawn to be in your space. Often, in my day-job, I feel like I’m a right-brain gal in a left-brain world. This weekend was a huge recalibration for me — a soul tune-up.
WRITE YOURSELF INTO MOTION connected me with other bright minds, gutsy ideas and inspirational energy. I feel my creative breath moving again … and I’ve got permission to live out loud!”
—Kim Berube, Founder of Big Love For Girls At Risk
“You may know Alex Franzen as a brilliant writer, strategist and dispenser of panache-filled entrepreneurial wisdom. But she is so, so much more. Her secret is out … she’s an astonishingly gifted teacher.
Alex teaches with heart, humor and a storyteller’s dramatic flair. She knows so much about how to write brilliantly, cogently – about matching elegance of structure and form with depth and clarity of content.
And she has the rare ability of a true teacher to bring out the very best in her students. Her experiential, interactive exercises are perfectly designed to lead you to discover and express your own truth, in your own essential voice.
Embrace every opportunity to learn from her. You’ll be so very glad you did!
“My favorite moment of the workshop? Honestly. I can’t pick one.
It was epic moment followed by epic moment followed by tears of joy followed by OH MY GOD WOW followed by overflowing love followed by blinding brilliance.
And I’m not just saying that. I experienced it. It was major.”
“Word shifting muse of awesome! Watching you deliver your workshop was like staring into the face of the sun — so much radiant brilliance it was almost painful (in the best way possible).
Your questions helped me unclutter my mental landscape and find the words that have been waiting for me.
Thank you is a pretty pitiful gift in return — you deserve showers of roses and chocolates and odes in praise of your loveliness.”
“Alex: I am in utter awe of you and the ease and fluidity with which you can completely transform someone’s story into a captivating headline, an introduction that pulls others in, or the way people stand a little taller when they finally know how to answer the question ‘so what do you do?’.
Just being around your genius was incredible — and, you helped name my baby! I’m feeling inspired and ready to take on the world!”
—Amy Deagle, Director of Expecting Success, Founder of The Rural Business Bombshells
“I came to this weekend with a new program in gestation. It had been in development for the last couple months, and I was getting ready to share it with the world. I just didn’t know the words to use — it felt so big, and too complicated to condense down into a simple, easy sales page.
After Alex’s workshop, not only did I leave with an outline for my sales page, but an updated bio, a 10-second introduction, an invitation to affiliates that is ready to be sent, and a re-ignited passion for the written word. In one weekend I moved from overwhelm to clarity in motion. Thank you.”
“I was in LOVE with the entirety of the workshop. I feel like I was thrown into a blender, put on high, and then poured out into a new mold that looks exactly like I did before, but completely shaken up.
And now: I’m really clear, and really sure of where I want to go, and I have this weekend — and YOU, YOU AMAZING WONDERFUL THING THAT I WANT TO PUT IN MY POCKET AND PULL OUT TO DO TRICKS ALL. THE. TIME — to thank.”
–Katy Werring, Aspiring writer | Amateur cellist | Lead blogstress at Velvet Boxes
“Dear Alexandra: You are a galaxy all your own. Thank you sooooo much for pouring out your GENIUS so freely and generously to all of us. For me, WRITE YOURSELF INTO MOTION was like getting everything I asked for, for Christmas — and then so many things I was afraid to hope for and then (!) a pile o’ magic gifts I didn’t even know existed!
The magic continues to work. I have an UnMasquerade Party booked. 25-ish invites went out on Thursday. And I rewrote 4 pages of my website effortlessly with the material you helped create at last weekend’s workshop. You have very powerful mojo and I am blessed to be basking in it still!
Oh, and before WRITE YOURSELF INTO MOTION the best way I knew how to express myself was: ‘I like cake.’ True story.
I’m working on a better word for LOVE, cause ‘I Love You, Alex’ (also a true story) doesn’t quite cut it here…”
—Jennifer Washington, The What Now? Coach
“Since coming home from your workshop, I have been sharing on my Facebook page in a different, more transparent way. My posts are getting shared a lot more (10x more!) and I’m receiving comments and messages of appreciation. I know I am beginning to reach my ‘right people’ and sinking into my brand. There’s motion!
I feel grounded in my story and wisdom. Vulnerable + powerful. Its a beautiful thing! I feel like I’ve tapped into the secret ingredient my message needs to be memorable and inspiring. Thank you.”
—Monica Fraser, Adventurer, Yogini + Practical Muse for Highly-Creative Women
“What I loved BEST about this workshop was the alchemy of ideas — how the weekend just bubbled and broiled and sizzled with new forms born out of old questions.
Alex was definitely our leader at the helm and Mad Hatter Scientist extraordinaire (Look ma! I’m not afraid to mix metaphors!) — she not only pulled just the phrase or brilliant idea out of her pocket at a moment’s notice, she also created a snowglobe of a space where we could all shake it up a bit and find some freedom of expression that may not have been available to us before.
I left with tons of energizing ideas AND some ready-to-go written promos. Oh, and you know what else I left with? Some new creative friends! Not too shabby, eh?”
–Sherry Richert Belul, Celebration Concierge + creator of Simply Celebrate
“Write Yourself Into Motion is truly one of the best workshops I have attended. You gave each and every one of us your undivided attention, and did so with joy and grace.
I loved watching your wheels turn — it was like watching a great improv performance.
You helped me tremendously and I am extremely grateful.”
–Ellen Fondiler, Career Strategist + Transition Trailblazer
“Alex: you inspire me to be my authentic self and to embrace my unique gifts.
Spending two days with you has sparked a brand new program for me to create next year. This one program has been waiting to be born, be named and have a shape. Not only did I leave the workshop with a new program to launch in 2013, but I have the structure to create a great sales page, a video and my elevator intro.
Best of all? I am now connected to 19 other amazing women. Thank you for stepping into teaching.”
“Your connection to the profound creative wisdom flowing through you is crystal clear.
You’re changing lives with this work, and I’m so proud of you for owning your expressive awesomeness and serving the world with it in big, bold ways.”
–Willo O’Brien, Artist, Entrepreneur + Social Supercollider
“Alexandra is a ridiculously talented writer, teacher, and spirit. When she guest lectures for my Clear Coaches program, the coaches RAVE and practically foam at the mouth with excitement with the content she delivers.”
“I go to ALX when I’m turning a corner. I go to ALX when I can’t see the corner, but am pretty sure there is one.
I trust ALX with my clients and with my own business.
I went on a journey with Alexandra and I came back a different person.
There’s a way in which she is available to her own vulnerability while she invites us to explore ours —
for good, not simple upheaval.
It’s a rare occasion to be in the company of a wordsmith and come out feeling more than, instead of less than, but I felt stronger, more clear and more articulate after three hours with Alexandra than I had in six months of grueling copywriting, biographical explorations and $79 Say-What-You-Really-Mean e-products.
Live sightings of Ms. Alexandra are as rare as unicorns. Tarry not. Register, fly / bus / hike / covered wagon your ass to her workshops, talks or performances. You will never be the same and you’ll thank your lucky stars you got schooled by Ms. ALX.”
—Dyana Valentine, Speaker | Oracle | Creator of Woke Up Knowing
“Alexandra: I cannot fully articulate to you just how much your words and advice impacted me today … I feel so inspired and joyful, like a switch inside my heart / mind has finally been flipped on. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You blew me away today and managed to lift me up and push me forward. You are a goddess!”
—Angie Wheeler, Online Business Manager + Founder of Easywk
Evolutionarily-speaking, we are designed to understand + be understood.
We’ve got five distinct senses.
We’ve got a whole brain region devoted to connecting abstract ideas to words + symbols.
We’ve got 45 miles of nerves running through our bodies, with impulses that travel at 325 miles an hour.
And — depending on your belief system, or how many glasses of Gewurztraminer you’ve imbibed — we’ve got a soul. An essence. A source of intuition.
As human beings, we’re uniquely gifted with the ability to dive deep, to probe + connect, to soften the barricades that divide us, and to really get each other.
We don’t always succeed, of course.
But maybe we’re not asking the right questions …
Here’s a collection of 100 questions to inspire self-discovery + understanding … and maybe your next blog post, journal entry, book outline, first date or dinner party conversation. ❤
Enjoy the Q’s. Go learn something new. Revel in the miracle of your capacity to understand + be understood. (Enough preamble: c’mon, just play!)
ϟ What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received?
ϟ What’s one thing you’re deeply proud of — but would never put on your résumé?
ϟ What’s the most out-of-character choice you’ve ever made?
ϟ If a mysterious benefactor wrote you a check for $5,000 and said, “Help me solve a problem — any problem!” … what would you do with him or her?
ϟ What’s going to be carved on your (hypothetical) tombstone?
ϟ What are you FREAKISHLY good at?
ϟ What’s one dream that you’ve tucked away, for the moment? How come?
ϟ What are you STARVING for?
ϟ If you could have tea with one fictional character, who would it be?
ϟ Do you have a morning ritual?
ϟ Do you believe in magic? When have you felt it?
ϟ Is there something that people consistently ask for your advice on? What is it?
ϟ Have you ever fantasized about changing your first name? To what?
ϟ When was the last time you astonished yourself?
ϟ What’s your personal anthem or theme song?
ϟ Do you ever yearn for your life, before Facebook?
ϟ What’s your definition of an ideal houseguest?
ϟ If you had an extra $100 to spend on yourself every week, what would you do?
ϟ If you could sit down with your 15-year old self, what would you tell him or her?
ϟ What are you BORED of?
ϟ What’s the best birthday cake you ever ate?
ϟ How do you engage with panhandlers on the street?
ϟ Do you think LOVE is chemical, intellectual, spiritual — or completely undefinable?
ϟ Have you ever dreamed about starting a business? (Or if you’ve already got one — a new business?)
ϟ Are you afraid of flying in airplanes? (How come?)
ϟ What’s your most urgent priority for the rest of the year?
ϟ If you could master any instrument on earth, what would it be?
ϟ Have you ever been genuinely afraid for your physical safety?
ϟ What are you an expert on? Is it because of training, lived experience, or both?
ϟ Has a teacher ever changed your life? How so?
ϟ Are there any household chores you secretly enjoy? Which ones — and why?
ϟ How do you reign in self-critical voices?
ϟ If you could custom blend a perfume or cologne, what would it include?
ϟ What does FEAR feel like, in your body?
ϟ Do you think you’re currently operating at 100% capacity?
ϟ What do you value most: free time, recognition, or money?
ϟ If you could save one endangered species from extinction, which would you choose?
ϟ Are there any laws or social rules that completely baffle you?
ϟ Would you like to write a book? (About what?)
ϟ If you could choose your own life obstacles, would you keep the ones you have?
ϟ Have you ever SCREAMED at someone? (What did they do?)
ϟ Do you think there’s going to be an anti-technology whiplash, in our lifetime?
ϟ Where + when do you get your BEST IDEAS?
ϟ Have you ever met one of your HEROES?
ϟ What’s in your fridge, right this moment?
ϟ Can you tell when someone is LYING?
ϟ Can you tell when someone is telling the TRUTH?
ϟ Have you ever pushed your body further than you dreamed possible?
ϟ Are you living your LIFE PURPOSE — or still searching?
ϟ Have you ever had to make a public apology? (How come?)
ϟ What’s the WORST piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
ϟ Do you think we’re designed for monogamy? (Why or why not?)
ϟ How do you CELEBRATE your victories?
ϟ Would you consider yourself an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert?
ϟ Do you ever hunt for answers or omens in dreams?
ϟ Do you think everyone has the capacity to be a LEADER?
ϟ Is WAR a necessary EVIL?
ϟ Are YOU a starter, a finisher, or an implementer?
ϟ Have you ever unplugged from the Internet for more than a week?
ϟ Do you think we should live like we’re dying?
ϟ Do you have any habits or quirks you wish you could ERASE?
ϟ What was the most AGONIZING hour of your life?
ϟ Have you ever dramatically changed a habit, or gotten yourself out of a rut? How’d you do it?
ϟ Would you rather be a lonely genius, or a sociable idiot?
ϟ How would YOU fix the economy?
ϟ What was your very first JOB?
ϟ What brings you SHEER DELIGHT?
ϟ Are you highly useful in a CRISIS?
ϟ Do you like to be SAVED — or do the saving?
ϟ What’s one mistake you keep repeating (and repeating)?
ϟ If you were heading out on a ROAD TRIP right this minute, what would you pack?
ϟ Do you have any irrational fears?
ϟ When you see peers + competitors getting things you want, how do you react?
ϟ If you were to die three hours from now, what would you regret most?
Roiling & rumbling with pre-flight jitters? Quite possibly.
Wrapped in the wonder of rapid evolution? Well, naturally.
Experiencing a sudden convulsion of comparison chaos? Correct.
Terrified of releasing the vise-grip of perfection –
to tip, tumble & surrender to this, this, THIS! Yes.
But confused?
Please.
Don’t make me laugh.
You know who you are.
You know what you want.
You know your next move.
I know.
You know.
You. Now.
Say it with me.
Say it for you.
Let it dance in your hips, lungs & bones:
I am not confused.
I am not confused.
I AM NOT CONFUSED.
XO.
P.S. This poem / reminder (pominder? roem?) was inspired by two beautiful friends — Dyana Valentine & Catherine Just — and all of the humans who came to my most recent workshop in NYC. We are NOT confused.
Airports are a peculiar limbo-space — they always make me slow down & t-h-i-n-k.
Right now, I’m thinking about what it means to be a “good teacher.”
I’m thinking about what it means to really “see” someone — or yourself, for that matter.
And I’m thinking about the whole notion of “ease” – what it feels like, how to get it, why it matters.
I was rummaging through my workshop notes, and landed on a question that I’d scribbled down a few months back. It’s a good one. Really good. It might be my (new) favorite question of all time — and I wanted to share it with you. Here ’tis:
What’s the EASIEST thing you could do, right now, that would have the BIGGEST positive impact on your life & others?
“During 
“Alex: you are the brightest light I’ve seen in a long time, and I was drawn to be in your space. Often, in my day-job, I feel like I’m a right-brain gal in a left-brain world. This weekend was a huge recalibration for me — a soul tune-up. 
“You may know Alex Franzen as a brilliant writer, strategist and dispenser of panache-filled entrepreneurial wisdom. But she is so, so much more. Her secret is out … she’s an astonishingly gifted teacher. 
“Word shifting muse of awesome! Watching you deliver your workshop was like staring into the face of the sun — so much radiant brilliance it was almost painful (in the best way possible). 
“Alex: I am in utter awe of you and the ease and fluidity with which you can completely transform someone’s story into a captivating headline, an introduction that pulls others in, or the way people stand a little taller when they finally know how to answer the question ‘so what do you do?’.
“Dear Alexandra: You are a galaxy all your own. Thank you sooooo much for pouring out your GENIUS so freely and generously to all of us.
For me, WRITE YOURSELF INTO MOTION was like getting everything I asked for, for Christmas — and then so many things I was afraid to hope for and then (!) a pile o’ magic gifts I didn’t even know existed!
“Since coming home from your workshop, I have been sharing on my Facebook page in a different, more transparent way. My posts are getting shared a lot more (10x more!) and I’m receiving comments and messages of appreciation. I know I am beginning to reach my ‘right people’ and sinking into my brand. There’s motion! 
“Write Yourself Into Motion is truly one of the best workshops I have attended. You gave each and every one of us your undivided attention, and did so with joy and grace. 
“Alexandra is a ridiculously talented writer, teacher, and spirit. When she guest lectures for my 
“I go to ALX when I’m turning a corner. I go to ALX when I can’t see the corner, but am pretty sure there is one.
“Alexandra: I cannot fully articulate to you just how much your words and advice impacted me today … I feel so inspired and joyful, like a switch inside my heart / mind has finally been flipped on. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You blew me away today and managed to lift me up and push me forward. You are a goddess!” 
Evolutionarily-speaking, we are designed to understand + be understood.
