I have to be honest, I’m not one to do book reports. In fact, the phrase “book report” gives my inner 15-year-old self some major anxiety. But this is a book of a different beast.
And that beast’s name is Ash Ambirge.
Ash is the creator of The Middle Finger Project, which is also the name of her new book.
Because when you have a name that good, you use it WHEREVER YOU FREAKING CAN.
I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of The Middle Finger Project AND so so so lucky to have the opportunity to interview Ash!
But before we get to the interview, let me tell you about this banger.
I really had no idea what to expect when I started this book. I’ve been following Ash’s blog for a while and love her writing, but DAMN, I was not prepared to feel FEELS while reading this!
Ash has an amazing way of telling a story about her own life and making you feel like it’s about you. I felt like a friend sitting next to her while she dealt with her mom’s death, literally fought her way out of a horrible relationship, and found herself launching into the online business world from the front seat of her car – that she happened to be sleeping in after said horrible relationship.
This book isn’t just about business lessons, it’s about life. Which is probably why you’ll find it in the self help section.
It’s a wake up call for every girl out there trying to do something different than sit in a cube making someone else rich.
It’s about throwing sensibility out the window when something doesn’t feel right.
It’s about giving yourself permission to CHANGE YOUR MIND.
And it is quite literally about giving the middle finger to anyone who says you can’t do what you want.
It’s also hilarious… because Ash is hilarious and it would be weird if this book wasn’t.
Now on with the show!
Katie: You’re so good at telling a story and then tying it into a call-to-action. In your creative process, what comes first: the story or the CTA?
Ash: Oh, it all depends! (UGH, I HATE WHEN PEOPLE SAY THAT.) Sometimes something wacky happens that illustrates a truth and I say to myself, “Yup, gotta write about this.” But other times I consider something I believe to be true and then reverse engineer the narrative that illustrates that idea. It depends on what I’m selling and whether or not I need to be strategic about the order of content, in which I’ll do the latter, or if I’m just nurturing a relationship, in which I’ll do the former. The most important thing, however, is to always understand that my stories are never about me and what I believe: they’re about what those stories mean for all of us. What’s the universal truth here? Why does this matter? I stay focused on that no matter where I’m starting.
K: One of my favorite parts of your book is where you talk about dream zappers. These people have always existed around me, I just never had a name for them. Have you ever successfully changed a dream zapper’s perspective?
A: Success is the only thing that changes a dream zapper’s mind. Right now, they’re skeptical of your idea. In ten years, they’ll be begging you to tell them how you did it. Let ‘em wonder.
K: Speaking of dream zappers, I absolutely hate when people say, “It is what it is,” (reminds me of my ex mother-in-law). The idea that people will just give up and not try to make a change infuriates me! What is your favorite way to respond to that line?
A: “…If you’re a nun from the 1600’s.”
K: Your idea of “quitting often” feels both terrifying and empowering to me! A lot of my readers have a fear of failure, do you have any advice on quitting and restarting, over and over, when you’re already afraid of failing?
A: What is failure, really? I DON’T MEAN TO BE AN ESOTERIC DOUCHE, RIGHT NOW. But honestly—what is failure? So many people assume that failure is about them, but if you went into a restaurant and tried duck nards for the first time, and then failed to like them, you wouldn’t beat yourself up about it: you’d go to a different restaurant! Turns out, you don’t like duck nards! WHO KNEW? That would qualify as a failed attempt at eating dinner. But you didn’t do anything wrong: you actually did something right. You tried something new and that something was ~ not ~ for ~ you. Failure isn’t a lack of competence; it’s a lack of chemistry.
K: OK, last question. What does a typical day as Ash Ambirge look like?
A:
- Wake up and write for three hours
- While drinking unsafe amounts of coffee
- In a mug the size of my head
- While cozied up on my lounge chair
- Either overlooking the Pacific at our place in Costa Rica
- Or overlooking the fireplace at the apartment in Philly
- Which I am very fucking proud to have purchased myself
- Because women don’t need to wait for these things
- And then I’ll make lunch around eleven
- And throw on an interior design TV show
- And then depending on if I’m traveling or if I’m home, I’ll either go explore in the afternoon with my babe or go meet up with friends, OR I’ll stay cozied up in my sweats and hang with the business side of my work—emails, ecommerce, etc.
- Mayyyyybe I’ll go to the little barre class I’ve been taking in the late afternoons
- Or maybe I’ll take a jog
- And then he and I are likely to attempt a hilariously bad dinner that sometimes turns out good
- But no matter what, the best part of my day is the moment when I know I succeeded in making something fabulously creative, that day. There’s no better feeling.
Seriously, you can’t help but want this chick in your life, but the next best thing is having her book in your life. So, do yourself a favor and get your sweet ass over to Amazon right now!
