Paint & Pipette: The Art & Science of Innovation S2Ep18: Dismantling Survival Narratives with Minda Harts
Today’s guest believes strongly that we can't just survive anymore, we've got to thrive. In this episode, we are joined by Minda Harts, blogger, best-selling author, and the 2020 Linkedin Top Voice For Equity In The Workplace. Minda recently published her third book You Are More Than Magic: The Black and Brown Girls Guide to Finding Your Voice and explains what it means to ‘take one’s space’. She explains why she feels that Black and Brown girls especially need to hear this message, why she felt she needed to shift her focus from adults to teens, and how her experiences as a teen made her want to address this topic. Tuning in you’ll learn about Minda’s writing process, why she chose to conduct roundtables in preparation for this book, how she learned the writing craft, and how she came to see herself as an artist. To hear how Minda overcame self-doubt when told that there was no audience for her book, her top go-to hacks for finding fresh inspiration, and many profound insights from this inspirational person, tune in today!
Key Points From This Episode:
- Why Minda Harts decided to write a book for young people and how this is different from writing for adults
- What it means to ‘take one’s space' and why Black and Brown girls need to have that exhortation in particular.
- How Minda’s own experience as a teen made her want to focus on this topic.
- What inspired Minda to conduct roundtables in preparation for writing this book.
- How Minda learned the writing craft and came to see herself as an artist.
- Why she aimed for a conversational style with her writing.
- The specific moment when Minda realized that she was an artist.
- What it was like to be told that there was no audience for her book and why she persevered anyway.
- How she used a blog to find her voice as a writer and how she knew it was resonating with people.
- Thoughts on the value of posting consistently and how to come up with ideas.
- How her habits have changed and how she finds fresh inspiration and new material.
- Thoughts on self-doubt, how Minda overcame it, and why she sticks to her recipe.
- How she is overcoming the learning curve to adapt her material for different formats and finding ways to stay relevant.
- Minda’s recent epiphany on the difference between survival tools and tools to thrive.
- Minda’s go-to hacks, tips, or tricks for fresh inspiration.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
You Are More Than Magic: The Black and Brown Girls Guide to Finding Your Voice
The Memo: What Women of Color Need to Know to Secure a Seat at the Table
Right Within: How to Heal from Racial Trauma in the Workplace