Jude Miller Burke's Blog

I was in Minneapolis this summer and did a book signing and reading at the Minneapolis Barnes and Noble. This was different. I have presented four times at the American Psychological Association Convention and at the Employee Assistance Professionals Association for hundreds of people. However, this was not going to be another academic presentation. I was doing a signing in my home town for my new book, The Adversity Advantage , and it felt different. It is easy to stand up in front of people who don’t know you and tell them your thoughts and opinions from a professional perspective. You are seen as an expert , and with a Ph.D. behind your name people give you instant respect. But, that is not the case when you are presenting in the town you grew up in. People know your warts. I was nervous. I had told many people about the event , and my publisher had made it clear that for Barnes and Noble to be happy we needed to have good attendance.   I arrived early, dressed in Mi...

I woke up at 3:45 a.m. MST to be ready for a Fox Radio Tour that started at 7 a.m. Eastern. I was worried because when your voice is the only thing that carries you through an interview, it is important to sound clear-headed and succinct. I had done a radio show for Ethan Bearman on KGO San Francisco earlier in the month and thought I sounded foggy and circumstantial at best! I did not want to repeat that experience. It was dark outside. I quietly crept out of bed and into the kitchen to make my ‘pour over’ coffee. I had filled the little red teapot the night before and ground the beans to ensure I had fresh and strong coffee. I turned on the gas stove and the teapot slowly began to speak to me as it heated the water. My goal was to have my first cup of coffee about a half-hour before my first interview. The teapot was whistling and I had already helped myself wake up with cold ice water in my face. I actually was starting to feel alive. It is not that I can’t work a night shi...