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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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Speaker 1: Today's tip is to feed your mind. Just like our bodies,

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Speaker 1: our minds need varied nourishment if we are going to

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Speaker 1: produce our best work. I have been thinking about how

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Speaker 1: I feed my mind since I interviewed Mary Laura Philpott

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Speaker 1: for my other podcast, Best of Both Worlds. Mary Laura

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Speaker 1: is the author of the memoirs I Miss You When

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Speaker 1: I Blink and more recently, Bomb Shelter. As I learned

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Speaker 1: from our interview, Mary Laura is not only a prolific writer,

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Speaker 1: but also an avid reader. Mary Laura spends her morning's writing,

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Speaker 1: but by early afternoon, even though it's still the work day,

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Speaker 1: she says, my brain can't write. Instead of spending the

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Speaker 1: afternoon writing and rewriting the same sentence or aimlessly deleting emails,

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Speaker 1: Mary Laura's practice is to read with a pencil in hand.

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Speaker 1: She reads broadly, not just essays about family life like

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Speaker 1: she's known for writing, but also biographies, poetry, thrillers, anything.

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Speaker 1: As she reads, she makes notes about what other writers

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Speaker 1: are doing well and how their craft sparks ideas about

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Speaker 1: what she could do in her own writing. Mary Laura explained,

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Speaker 1: when my brain can't be actively producing, it can at

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Speaker 1: least be sort of passively absorbing things that make me

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Speaker 1: better at my job. What a smart practice. Even the

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Speaker 1: most productive of writers can't write all the time, and

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Speaker 1: to be able to produce rich, creative, interesting work, writers

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Speaker 1: need to study the work of others. Plus, reading is fun,

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Speaker 1: which is a relevant motivation too. Just as Mary Laura

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Speaker 1: is a writer who reads, other people would be wise

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Speaker 1: to consume what they aim to produce as well. Listen

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Speaker 1: to podcasts if you're a podcaster, play video games if

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Speaker 1: you're a game designer. Go shopping if you're a buyer

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Speaker 1: for a gift shop. Enjoy others work just as you

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Speaker 1: hope that people will enjoy yours, and, like Mary Laura,

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Speaker 1: reading with a pencil in hand, pay attention to others craft.

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Speaker 1: What makes the podcast or game compelling or what makes

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Speaker 1: the shop inviting? Are there elements of others work that

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Speaker 1: prompt you to explore ideas for your own work? In

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Speaker 1: addition to consuming what you aim to produce, consume broadly.

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Speaker 1: Two ideas not directly related to your craft can still

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Speaker 1: enhance your work. While I write nonfiction about productivity and time.

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Speaker 1: I love reading classic literature and The Economist, in addition

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Speaker 1: to my colleagues self improvement books. If you write professionally,

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Speaker 1: you'll get ideas from all sorts of writing that strengthen

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Speaker 1: your own writing. But even if you don't write for

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Speaker 1: a living, reading is a great way to take in

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Speaker 1: new ideas. Reading broadens our thinking, and you don't need

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Speaker 1: to stop there. See art, go to the theater, travel,

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Speaker 1: talk with interesting people. Engage your mind and your senses.

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Speaker 1: When you dorish yourself, you nourish your work. Even when

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Speaker 1: you are not actively producing. You can still fuel your

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Speaker 1: professional work by seeking out interesting material. As you absorb it,

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Speaker 1: you can see where it takes you. How do you

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Speaker 1: feed your mind? I'd love to hear about it. You

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Speaker 1: can reach me at Laura at Laura Vanderkamp dot com.

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Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

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Speaker 1: That's b E. The number four. Then Breakfast p o D.

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Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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Speaker 1: podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled

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Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much. Should I

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Speaker 1: look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a

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Speaker 1: production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from my

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Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Ye