my book is better than my tweets

writing essays at

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

It’s here! It’s here! “Eyes On The Road” is officially available for purchase.

Writing this book changed my life—I hope it helps you, too.

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

Think about what would happen if you stopped treating your most ambitious ideas like embarrassing secrets, and started to give them the same resources, patience, and attention you’ve historically reserved for everybody else’s priorities.

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

I'm getting more comfortable saying "I want that." No disclaimer about how unlikely it is. No little joke to soften the ambition. No elaborate explanation of why I deserve it. Just an honest declaration of desire.

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

Be honest with yourself: do you help people because they need it, or because being needed is when you feel most sure of your place? Be honest with yourself about your “why.”

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

I love people who get excited easily. Tell me about the mural you saw on your walk. Show me the weird ass t-shirt you found at the thrift store. I think being genuinely delighted by ordinary life is one of the most underrated forms of intelligence.

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

writing advice I’d give anyone starting today: write the sentence you’d be embarrassed to say out loud, then cut every word that softens it.

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

maybe the point isn't to become so wise and stoic that nothing ever hurts your feelings. maybe it's to become secure enough that you can feel the sting, laugh at yourself a little, learn what you need to learn, and keep your heart open anyway.

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

A strange thing about people-pleasing is that you can become so skilled at anticipating what everyone else wants that your own preferences start to feel like interruptions.

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

Some of you have been reading my words since before I knew anyone would read them. Thank you for growing with me, for disagreeing kindly, and for sending my thoughts to people who needed them more than I could have known.

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

Big difference between offering someone information and taking away their permission to hope. I can say, “Here’s something worth considering,” without saying, “You’re foolish for believing this could work.”

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

Would you rather be understood or be remembered?

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

Some people confuse being impossible to impress with having high standards. There's nothing particularly sophisticated about losing your capacity for wonder.

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

I wonder how many extraordinary things never get created because someone with an interesting idea made the mistake of asking a room full of unimaginative people whether it was worth pursuing.

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

i love watching people become more of who they already are. the friend who starts dressing differently. the quiet person who discovers their voice. the artist who stops asking permission. there's something sacred about witnessing somebody become less afraid of their own life.

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

you can love your family, appreciate your career, be grateful for your opportunities, and still want more. gratitude is not a legally binding agreement to stop imagining a better life.

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

I hope you eventually become so comfortable with yourself that being misunderstood feels like an inconvenience instead of an emergency.

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

Younger me: “I’ll start soon, when I feel ready.”

Me, today: “I still don’t feel ready, but I built a lot of things anyways. Check this shit out.”

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

too many inspirational, feel-good stories. not enough conversation about why they had to “beat the odds” to survive a world built by their fellow human beings. we make the rules!

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

At some point, I'd like us to retire the idea that wanting more from life automatically means you're dissatisfied with what you have. Some of us are deeply grateful for the present and wildly curious about what else is possible. Those feelings coexist beautifully.

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

you ever look back on a conversation that absolutely devastated you five years ago and realize you wouldn't even respond to the text today? sometimes growth is hilarious.

[my book is better than my tweets @MichellCClark]

Working at a museum taught me that ticket stubs, church fans, and handwritten letters can become precious artifacts. They tell stories that might otherwise be forgotten. Hold on to the ordinary evidence of your life. One day, the people who love you may need it to remember you.