We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kolina Cicero a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kolina , thanks for joining us today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

YES.

A couple years after launching my business, I took a three-week trip to Turkey. This was back when I was managing social media for entrepreneurs and small businesses. I remember sitting at the bar of a treetop hostel with my laptop, scheduling tweets to go out for my clients for the next week. I did a lot of preparation before traveling, but I still checked in daily and continued to create content while in Turkey. While I had the most incredible time away, I didn’t fully disconnect, and I think entrepreneurs need to prioritize time away from work in order to be their best, most creative selves.

Here’s what I would do differently now:

– Write/prepare as much as I could in advance (for my particular business that would include writing blog posts, newsletters, etc.) and schedule them to publish while I am gone;
– Alert all clients to my upcoming vacation and set clear boundaries around my availability. I did this before traveling to Turkey, but my boundaries weren’t clear;
– Check emails morning and night — once each time! No more, no less;
– Step away from work. Get curious. Ask questions. Watch people. Look around me. Take it all in. Then return home rested, inspired, and more ready than ever to tackle work.

Travel is one of my top priorities. If I can’t travel because I am an entrepreneur, then I don’t want to be an entrepreneur. The good news is that entrepreneurs CAN travel! Boundaries are your friend and creativity is a virtue.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am — and have always been — a writer. This is something I feel immense gratitude for: the fact that I knew from a very young age what I wanted to do. While the ways in which I write have changed over the years, the process of writing has remained constant.

Professionally, I create content for authors and entrepreneurs. This ranges from writing posts for a healthcare app to ghost-writing nonfiction books (I am on my third right now) to writing blog posts for clients’ websites. I approach each new client with curiosity and intention, and together we decide how our talents can best complement one another’s. I also do grant writing for a non-profit, which has been very fun and successful. I launched my business in 2011 and it has undergone many changes since, including a name change (I now simply go by my name because I am a human who writes!), but with each change comes growth, and what is the point of owning your own business if not to learn and grow?

Personally, I have just completed my first novel and am currently querying literary agents. While I wait to get picked up by an agent, I am drafting my second novel. Being a novelist is my life’s goal.

In 2020, I indie-published the children’s book Rosie and the Hobby Farm, and that has been a source of great joy in my life. Perhaps the most fulfilling part of this whole journey has been showing my children that they can — and must! — pursue their passions.

I also just launched my newsletter, Words on Words, on November 30th, which focuses on books, creativity, ambition, and writing. You can subscribe to my newsletter here if interested: kolinacicero.substack.com.

As the world around me changes, I find my words are my lifeline. It is a gift to love something so much.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I could write about books all day, but I will practice restraint. Here are seven books about entrepreneurship, leadership, creativity, and writing that I will never stop recommending:

– Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts | Ryan Holiday — Do you want to produce something trendy or do you want to produce something that the next generation, and the one after that, will remember? This is your guide to being timeless. (All of Ryan Holiday’s work is smart, intentional, and worth reading.)

– The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity | Julia Cameron — This book has “spiritual” in the title but don’t let that scare you. It’s about connecting with yourself and summoning your own creativity.

– The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life | Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander — A beautiful book about creating possibility. One of my favorite lessons in this book is to give everyone an A; let people live up to your high expectations of them.

– Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear | Elizabeth Gilbert — If you’re lacking inspiration, pick up this book. That’s all you need to know about that.

– Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? | Seth Godin — This one is all about making a big difference, no matter what your role is.

– On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft | Stephen King — I couldn’t create a list of transformative books without listing this one. Even if you aren’t a writer, this book teaches you so much about art. For example: “Life isn’t a support-system for art. It’s the other way around.”

– Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking | Malcolm Gladwell — Blink is about decision-making and the unconscious. It is incredibly eye-opening. (On that note, so are all of his books.)

This is a small taste of a world of books that can get you thinking differently about business, leadership, and life.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

This is going to get personal, but what is writing if not an expression of the self?

A lesson I had to work hard to unlearn was that I was unworthy. I grew up with an absent father. When one of the two people who are supposed to be your pillars in life chooses not to be, it knocks you off balance. It requires you to create that pillar for yourself, to find support elsewhere.

The truth is, I AM worthy: of love, of support, of success, of friendship and ambition and luck. And so are you, no matter what lessons you have learned in the past. It is so important to believe in ourselves. When the people who are supposed to believe in you don’t, you can get thrown off-kilter. But you can also straighten yourself out, and that’s what I’ve done and will continue to do.

I know my worth because I see it in my children’s eyes; I see it in the way my friends and I love each other; I see it in my communications with my family. I give of myself with my whole heart, and it comes back to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kolinacicero.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kolinacicero/
• Other: https://kolinacicero.substack.com/

Image Credits
Photos 1- 3: Amanda Marie Studio; photo 5: The Rosie Pony.