💚 Make your own life

☘️ An Irish author's inspiring advice

In honour of St. Patrick’s Day this Thursday, I’m sharing some inspiring life advice from an Irish author. Ireland is known as ‘The Land of Saints and Scholars’ and boasts approx. one Nobel Literary Laureate per one million people. Our Nobel Laureates include William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett, and Seamus Heaney. They don't include Maeve Binchy.

Maeve Binchy (1939-2012) was an author who wrote humorous, warm-hearted novels set in small-town Ireland. Most popular was Circle of Friends, which was made into a movie starring Colin Firth and Minnie Driver in 1995. Maeve’s novels never received much literary acclaim but she was a beloved public figure, and her wildly successful writing career made her, at one time, one of Ireland’s richest women.

She lived life on her own terms and was a great woman for no-nonsense life advice. I have the below quote by Maeve Binchy pinned to a noticeboard above my desk, and I try to live by it. (📱 Screenshot the below image if you’d like to use it for your phone’s lock screen.)

“Learn to type. Learn to drive. Have fun. Write postcards. (Letters take too long and you won’t do it; a postcard takes two minutes.) Be punctual. Don’t worry about what other people are thinking. They are not thinking about you. Write quickly. (Taking longer doesn’t usually make it better.) Get up early. See the world. Call everybody by their first name, from doctors to presidents. Have parties. Don’t agonise. Don’t regret. Don’t fuss. Never brood. Move on. Don’t wait for permission to be happy. Don’t wait for permission to do anything. Make your own life.”

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🎧 A gift for you: Songs for the Spring Equinox

Spring is finally here! The Northern Hemisphere celebrates the first day of spring, the Vernal Equinox, this weekend. If you’d like to greet the new season with some lovely music, I’ve made you a Spring Equinox Spotify playlist. It features springtime songs from artists such as Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Nick Drake, Beach House, and more.

Spotify Playlist: Songs for Spring Equinox

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