Erin Weed

25 years ago today, my sorority sister Shannon McNamara was murdered in her college apartment. She was only 21 years old and fought like hell that night.

I was 23 at the time, and was distraught. I missed a week of work for her funeral and got fired from my job in TV production because of it. My life was, in every sense, crumbling, and I knew I had a choice to make:

Let the darkness swallow you, or shine brighter.

At her wake, standing next to her casket, I met her mom Cindy for the first time. Cindy shared her greatest fear, now that her daughter was gone:

"I just don't want Shannon to be forgotten."

I was a recent graduate, with zero life experience and no connections. But there was no way I was gonna let that happen.

With the support of the McNamara family, I started a company called Girls Fight Back, teaching women's safety and self-defense assemblies in high schools and colleges around the world. Between 2001-2013, I self-published a book for college women, wrote a personal safety column for CosmoGirl magazine, did a ton of media interviews, and traveled more than any reasonable person should for over a decade.

My speaker team taught more than a million women (at live events) to become their own best protectors. Some nights, GFB programs were running in multiple states at once. Today the work continues and keeps getting better under the leadership of Nicole Snell, CA.

Last week Dann and I were in Chicago to have lunch with Cindy and her friend Britt, who Shannon used to babysit. (see photo) Spending time with them took me back a quarter century and it was a reminder...

Time passes, but people don't break.
Yes, sometimes they die.
But they fight too.

Twenty-five years later, Cindy — and she hasn't been forgotten. Not even close. And she never will be. 🪽

An excerpt from my book is featured in today! Super Age is a movement dedicated to helping people build a long and healthy life–with over one million subscribers strong. 💪

In this 3-minute read about authenticity, I explain how everyone has 3 truths living inside of them simultaneously: a factual truth (I think), an emotional truth (I feel) and a desire-driven truth (I want). When you learn to name and claim all 3, you have a clear message and a recipe for real connection.

Sending a huge thank you to my friends and colleagues at Super Age and Optimism for supporting me and my work for 6+ years now, in so many creative ways! 🙏 Heather Hurlock, David Harry Stewart, Nathaniel Koloc, Nicholas Pardon, Sean Devlin, Liz Barhydt, CMA, CPA, Eduardo A. Braniff, Charlo G Walterbach, Sylvia Baptista, Alexander Sadowski, Justin Sanders (and many more...)

https://superage.com/get-real-express-your-authentic-self-by-telling-these-3-truths/

With over 1 million subscribers, Nice News has been a revolutionary force to bring positivity to the inbox, even in a time that feels dark. Check out the amazing article that Rebekah Brandes wrote about my book (which gets released TOMORROW, May 19)! And while you're at it, consider subscribing for a daily dose of goodness.

https://nicenews.com/humanity/erin-weed-just-one-word-purpose/?ck_subscriber_id=2597387786&utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=What%20word%20defines%20your%20life?%20-%2021790533

Last week I keynoted about Authentic Leadership for the amazing humans at the Colorado Department of Law and the Colorado Attorney General's Office. Witnessing their passion for justice inspired this post, to simply to say THANK YOU to all the civil servant leaders out there. We see you, we see your hard work (often under impossible circumstances) and we appreciate you. 🙏

My book has been years in the making, and I want to invite you to celebrate it. If you're in Colorado, I'd love to see your face at Boulder Bookstore on Tuesday, May 19th at 6:30pm. This is the official release event of Just One Word.

I'll be talking about the book, The Dig process, so many amazing human stories and the wild, beautiful journey that brought it all together. Then signing books. Then an after-party in downtown Boulder (details coming soon).

This book exists because of so many people who believed in it before I did. And for the record, this isn't going to be a common thing. I'm not one of those authors already thinking about their next book. The whole process has been quite lovely but even so, if you ask me when the next one's coming out, the answer will be "never." 😆

It will likely sell out, so grab your spot soon. Your ticket includes a $5 coupon good towards a book purchase.

Erin W**d -- "Just One Word" Erin W**d will speak about and sign her new book, "Just One Word," at Boulder Bookstore.

Headed into the studio for day 2 of recording my audiobook. I’m a rookie at this but grateful for the challenge! Gonna do my best to take the advice of my my friend (and legendary podcaster and author) Jonathan Fields:

“Don’t screw up.” 😆