Entertainment & Self-Development to Beat the Winter Blues

It’s the time of year when we all need a boost to stay motivated, right? For me, that energy almost always comes from entertainment or infotainment — some way to get out of my own head & think about or LAUGH about something else. I’ve been lucky lately, finding all kinds of stuff to keep me engaged. Check these out & feel free to add your own favorites in the Comments so we can ALL enjoy!  

Here goes:

SHOWS

I’ve recently been binging on Netflix “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” (never mind that Jerry Seinfeld was sued for creative rights yesterday — just enjoy it while you can!). The one with Chris Rock is great, so is Obama, Steve Harvey, Kristen Wiig, Julia-Louis Dreyfus….and all of them really. They’re short, snappy pieces - highly recommend. (Note: the ones with Steve Martin & Tina Fey show them to be much more shy in real life & are a little slower).

Also Jerry Seinfeld related - the documentary “Jerry Before Seinfeld” is hilarious. Set in NYC & Long Island in the late ‘70s, the documentary showcases Jerry Seinfeld’s unbelievably modest beginnings in comedy and gives very entertaining behind-the-scenes look at stand up comedy.

On the other end of the spectrum, check out Finding Vivian Maier (also Netflix). It is a crazy but true story of a prolific, rock-star talented photojournalist who was NEVER published in her lifetime. Vivian Maier worked as a nanny all her life and no one even knew she was a real photographer — until after her death when boxes of negatives were discovered by accident.  She’s now worldwide famous & collectible…Must see!

PODCASTS  

I’ve got all of these in rotation on my iTunes line-up….some are nourishing for the soul, others for the bottom line….all interesting & useful!!

* She Did It Her Way, with Amanda Boleyn

* Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice by the Best in the World, hosted by Tim Ferriss

* How I Built This, with Guy Raz (check out the one on my friend, Framebridge CEO & Founder Susan Tynan!!)

* The Influencer Podcast, by Julie Solomon

* Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations

* The Moment with Brian Koppelman (thx to Virginia Onufer for this suggestion from my last post on podcasts!)

ONLINE

I’m going to do a whole other post on the online course landscape because there are SO many great offerings out there right now. For the moment, I’ll just throw out one: Skillshare. They have a combination of free and “premium” classes, which are still very inexpensive — with lectures and really hands-on info about branding, design, productivity, marketing, fundraising, you name it.

I signed up for the premium subscription & have loved the classes taught by Seth Godin, Bloglovin, Wit & Delight & more.

Please throw out any other suggestions you have so we can all stay inspired through these dark days of winter!!

cheers,
Lee