Helena Dea Bala: ...that I would find myself in every stranger I met

Joining us on this episode is Helena Dea Bala, author of the new book, Craigslist Confessional:  A collection of secrets from anonymous strangers, which The New York Times called 'touching'. She was the true definition of the American dream: an Albanian immigrant who came to the United States as a child, went to George Washignton University, and became a lawyer and lobbyist in Washington, D.C. However, at the end of her work day, she found herself unfulfilled and realized that the most content she felt was in her daily conversations with a homeless man (a stranger) who she felt she could be completely honest with. This sparked her to take a leap of faith, quit her job, and post a sentence on Craigslist: 'tell me about yourself.' Over the course of the years, she has met up with strangers on Craigslist and documented their stories, coming to the conclusion that behind the scenes, we are all struggling with the same issues.   You can buy the book at https://www.amazon.com/Craigslist-Confessional-Collection-Secrets-Strangers/dp/1982114967.   Thanks to our sponsors of this episode! --> Athletic Greens: Athletic Green's AG One is a special blend of ingredients that supports your gut health, nervous system, immune system, energy recovery, focus and aging. Athletic Greens uses the best products based on the latest science with constant product iterations. Right now, it's time to reclaim your health and arm your immune system with convenient daily nutrition, especially in the flu and cold season. Athletic greens is going to give you a free one year supply of immune supporting vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/ntm. → Coda.io: If your best work is spread out across documents and spreadsheets and a stack of workflow tools that you have to jump in and out of all day, then you NEED Coda! Coda is endlessly customizable and connected. There are templates for anything and everything, including product roadmaps, remote onboarding, OKR tracker, and meeting notes, just to name a few. Coda adapts to growing teams and changing strategies, and it can seriously help you change the way that you view information depending on what you need to do with it. And perhaps most importantly, Coda seamlessly integrates with the tools you need. Head over to www.coda.io/nobodytoldme to try it now! --> LinkedIn: Being professional is more than what you do for work. It's finding the right balance between work and life and prioritizing the things that really matter. Right now, LinkedIn members are talking about things like needing more flexibility around where we work, how we work, and even taking time away from work to focus on family or mental health. Those things shouldn't stunt career development and growth. Instead, they should enhance it as we show up on our own terms. It just makes sense that your potential clients, customers, or employers want to hire someone who's authentic– they want to know who you really are. You're more than just a job title. Visit www.linkedin.com to create an account or sign in to update your profile and join the conversation today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices