Allow Me to (Re)Introduce Myself

Hello from the other side, Brightside familia! 

Today marks my first two weeks out of Corporate America. There are lots of new faces here, so today I’m dropping in with a little reintroduction.

Thank you all for the love, support, and encouragement after announcing my transition to Brightsiding full-time. I was talking to my therapist the other day, and I was like, is this what people feel like when they get engaged?! It felt so fun to have news to share and celebrate, and I haven’t felt so LOVED in … a long time. Thank you for making me feel so good about this decision.

It’s been a great few weeks - I’m making great progress on building out my corporate workshop offering, doing lots of tactical things like learning how to invoice, etc., and voraciously working through the Founders podcast archive. Even if you’re not a founder, these stories are seriously INCREDIBLE! My favorite so far was the episode on Anna Wintour.

Anyway - let’s get into it!

Who am I?

My name’s Erica, but you can call me Bogs (short for my last name, Bogdan).

I’m a Leo with a big heart, bigger dreams, and an embarrassing affinity for Justin Bieber. I’m passionate about helping others see the world through the same sparkly lens that I do; through my newsletter, podcast, and workshops. In my downtime, I can be found rollerblading at the speed of light down the West Side Highway or singing loudly on a drive to Rockaway Beach. 

WTF is Brightsiding?

Brightsiding is the unwavering determination to choose joy, despite life’s unpredictable mix of challenges and beautiful moments. 

More simply, Brightsiding is about asking yourself, (as my beloved Helen would say) - is it shit or fertilizer? Sometimes it really is the former, and the beauty of Brightsiding is having the power to make that call … and keep it moving. 

How did this all begin?

I sent my first newsletter out on a dark and cloudy night in December of 2019, in a desperate attempt to reclaim my intrinsic optimism after a very, very challenging first year at Google. I was 25 years old and completely unprepared for the politics and complexity of such a massive organization. I’d come from the agency world where my team was an extension of my family (you know who you are!!), and the difficulty I felt forging that same sense of connection with my new co-workers reinforced my feelings of imposter syndrome. 

By the end of that first year at Google, I’d strayed pretty far from myself and was having a hard time connecting to my confidence and self-expression. I’ve always loved writing and reading other people’s blogs (reading the stories of women a few years older than me always seemed to fill an older-sister void I had in my life). Right before I started this newsletter, I listened to an interview with Mollie Chen, and she talked about her newsletter (which I still follow to this day, it’s great). This was right before the advent of Substack as we know it today, and I was very inspired – I loved the idea of putting myself into my friends’ inboxes. What had always discouraged me from keeping up with blogs I’d started in the past was that no one was reading them. This solved that problem, and felt very fun and interactive. 

I sent my first newsletter out to 12 of my best girlfriends, who encouraged me to keep writing. Then COVID hit and I had to think about what it meant to be putting out a newsletter called “The Brightside” at such a shitty moment. It helped me realize that the work isn’t about a destination at all - but about the practice of brightsiding - accepting the reality in front of you and choosing how to respond. 

Let me be clear - brightsiding is not about JUST focusing on the positive. It’s about embracing the full spectrum of experiences we face, and still connecting to hope and optimism. 

Anyway, I kept on writing, my audience slowly grew, and then I turned the concept of Brightsiding into a workshop for Alphabet’s Mental Health Conference in 2021 (hair toss!!!). I had such a blast and kept refining my content and running the workshops for more and more teams. Eventually, it’s all I wanted to do, and now here I am - jumping into this full-time. 

Where’s it going from here?

Good question. I have big dreams, and I hope this platform continues to grow. I’d love to experiment with more interviews, and keep writing about what it means to practice brightsiding in all sorts of contexts. I’m keeping an open mind and trusting that this will evolve in the direction it’s meant to, as long as I keep showing up.

Why is this newsletter worth opening?

This all started as an outlet for unapologetic self-expression, and that’s exactly what you can expect. Lots of embarrassing anecdotes (exhibit A, B, C), Brightsiding reflections, some pop-culture obsessions, and always, always, always – my “Don’t Let Me Buy This” of the week, which you are welcome to chime in on as you see fit. 

I know you get two billion emails a day, but I promise, this is the one you’ll get every week that puts a smile on your face. 

I’m like, the friendliest person you’ve ever met, and I WELCOME conversations if what I’m writing about resonates with you. Please, never hesitate to reach out. I promise I will respond with the enthusiasm of a 13-year-old girl at a Justin Bieber concert.