We just returned from viewing the Macy’s July 4th fireworks display over the Hudson River in New York City. It was quite a show and we took some crazy pictures. Check out our fireworks photos on About.com.

And happy Independence Day to all of my favorite corporate escapees and future corporate escapees!

In the current hyper-competitive business environment, persuasive writing skills are more valuable than ever before. That’s why I worked with the American Management Association (AMA) to develop a live 90-minute webinar that teaches the 12 proven techniques for writing persuasively.

The webinar will take place on August 6th from 1-2:30 pm and we have worked hard to pack it with valuable information and exercises that will help anyone be more effective at work — even if writing isn’t a major part of your job. In fact, persuasive writing is an essential skill for managers (write convincing emails and performance reviews), entrepreneurs (write winning proposals and pitches), and career changers and job hunters (write brilliant resumes and cover letters).

Sign up now if you’re interested in learning how to convince, inspire, and influence with your writing. The email just went out the the AMA database and spots are filling up, so I wanted to give everybody here a heads-up now. Learn more about the course.

But back in the 1990’s, Scott Jordan was a miserable corporate lawyer with a wild idea and no experience in clothing design or manufacturing. He took a a risk and walked away from a lucrative and predictable career path to start SeV and pursue his dream.

In this clip from a 2000 episode of Radical Sabbatical (the late and lamented program that ran briefly on the Fine Living Network), Scott shares his escape story and offers a glimpse into his life as a new entrepreneur.

Pretty inspiring stuff. And that was only the beginning. Here’s Scott on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch in 2007 showing off SeV’s products and talking about the company’s success:

And I can’t forget SeV’s funny iPod ad spoof:

Now I’m off to order my SeV Women’s Travel Vest with 21 pockets and lady-friendly design. It’s not quite high-fashion, but it looks like it could save me a lot of hassel and back pains during my runs through the world’s most crowded airports.

I didn’t really think about the Generation X connection until I saw this article by Ted Anthony for the Associated Press. But Farrah and Michael really were the faces of our childhood fantasies and memories.  “These people were on our lunchboxes,” said one Gen Xer interviewed for the AP story.

In fact, I was the proud owner of a Charlie’s Angels lunchbox. It was my very first lunchbox…I think it was for first grade or second grade and that my mother may even have it stashed in a cupboard somewhere.

I remember playing “Charlie’s Angels” in my childhood backyard with the other girls from the neighborhood. We would argue over who got to be Farrah/Jill. Of course, we were too young to really understand why everybody’s big brothers had her poster on their walls.

Years later, I proudly Scotch-taped a Tiger Beat poster of Michael Jackson in my seventh-grade locker (my very first locker). My friends and I had crushes on him just like our little sisters later had crushes on The New Kids on the Block.

He was cute and unthreatening and we loved his music and his sparkly clothes (and if you look at the photo above, how can you deny that he was gorgeous?).  Thriller was one of the first and only albums that I ever owned (along with Men at Work and Hall & Oates if you really want me to date myself).

Michael Jackson was a genius — a troubled genius to be sure, but a genius.  When I heard about his death yesterday, I hadn’t thought about him in a long time. But his songs will always make me stop, smile, and feel like a kid again.

And Farrah Fawcett was a uniquely charismatic pin-up girl who managed to transcend sex symbol status to become a real actress and an important figure in raising cancer awareness.

They both died too young.

I feel sadness, but I can’t say that I totally relate to Anthony’s characterization of what this moment means for Generation X. According to Anthony’s article, today is the day when “Generation X realizes they’re grown up.” I don’t know about everybody else, but I’ve been feeling pretty grown-up for a while. We are a generation that has had to  come of age during the AIDS epidemic, put food on the table through two recessions, and face the horrors of September 11th.

Then again, I always prickle when someone tries to define my generation (or any generation) with a few generalizations. According to the article, we Gen Xers are “cynical,” “disaffected,” “rife with ADD,” and “an oddity.”  Why is it that we always hear good and bad generalizations for the Baby Boomers and Generation Y, but you never hear a positive stereotype about Generation X? Or maybe I missed it somewhere. I certainly have my cynical and disaffected days, but I’m much more than an oddity.

And apparently we are now supposed to wonder if Generation X  “is as passe as the paper and vinyl that its icons’ most memorable moments were etched upon.” Wait a minute! You mean, we just realized that we’re grown-up and we already have to worry about being passe? That’s cold. : )

Quibbles about generation bashing aside, Anthony is a talented writer and he manages to beautifully express what Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett meant to so many of us.

They were bigger than life, celebrities of the sort that we just don’t see anymore. Goodbye Farrah and Michael. Thanks for the inspiration, the music, and the memories.

NYC Start-Up is a full day of seminars, panels, and presentations by small business experts –  including venture capitalists, successful entrepreneurs, technology and finance experts, and New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Economic Development.

Learn what you need to do to start up successfully in this economic environment. Attendees will also have the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to venture capital experts and network with speakers and fellow business owners.

Admission is $95, but you can score a 20% discount if you enter the code MUL624 when you register.

– Michael Jordan

I love this quote from Michael Jordan. For months, I have been researching the best practices of the most innovative companies and the most successful entrepreneurs. The most dramatic success stories all  include lots of failure stories along the way.

Fail and learn from your failures and keep moving ahead. Be like Mike.

Let’s call my driver Jack. Jack was an up-and-comer with Lehman Brothers for years and worked for the firm in New York, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. When he agreed to pack up his life to transfer to the Las Vegas office, he never expected that the firm would implode and leave him stranded without a job in Sin City.

You see, Jack invested in Las Vegas real estate and is unwilling to walk away and take a loss on his home. But there aren’t many financial services jobs to be had in Las Vegas. Not that Jack isn’t flexible. He recently traveled to San Francisco for an interview with a major international bank and met with a condescending 30-year-old manager (Jack is a well-seasoned 50-ish). Don’t call us, we’ll call you. But they never did.

So Jack spends his days driving a taxi around Las Vegas. It’s not so much that he’s desperate for the cash. Luckily, his wife is still bringing home a regular paycheck. No, Jack became a taxi driver because he couldn’t stand sitting at home in his depreciating Las Vegas home and thinking about the job market and how he got screwed over by Corporate America.

It’s better to have the distractions of Vegas traffic, talkative tourists, and slow-moving construction workers. “She’s pulling in six figures just to stand there holding that sign,” he grumbles after beeping, cursing, and exchanging hand signals with a sluggish woman in an orange vest.

Jack’s a pretty good cabbie and an even better story teller. But he doesn’t want to do this forever.

In between shifts, Jack is keeping an eye out for promising job listings (they are few and far between) and waiting for a break.

In the meantime, if you hail a cab in Las Vegas, you might find yourself accused of liberal leanings by a gruff, bearded, former Lehman Brothers broker. He will get you to the airport on time and even help you with your bags. Tip generously.

It’s one of the best articles on the subject that I’ve seen lately and not just because it quotes me. Reporter Kimberly Palmer also spoke with Tim Ferriss (I know many of you are 4-Hour Workweek fans) and Michelle Goodman (who gives great advice for freelancers).

I think the piece provides a nicely balanced picture of the pros and cons of starting a business right now.  Do you agree?

This is the sort of adventure you just can’t enjoy in a corporate bathroom.

Then again, my home office bathroom is blissfully free of rude and smelly co-workers.

I think I’d rather deal with the occasional deluge of plaster and old paint (and nothing else, luckily).

Today marks the one-year anniversary of my book launch party for Escape from Corporate America.  I would have totally missed marking the occasion if the lovely Sherrill St. Germain hadn’t reminded me.

Sherrill was my go-to financial planning expert for Escape and she wrote a lovely post about the party and the book today on her great new blog, The Career Change Financial Planner.  She brought back some fond memories of a fabulous party (mojitos, Soho House, and lots of fun people) and an amazing year of media appearances, speaking gigs around the country, and lots of other cool new experiences. Thanks to everyone who has supported me during the ride. You’re all on the invite list for the next party.

Sherrill has also used her blog to designate June as Pink Slip Lemonade month. Check out her post about turning layoff lemons into pink slip lemonade. Sherrill sure has a way with words for a finance geek, doesn’t she? : )

Now I’m off to try to complete my monstrous to-do list before I jet off to Vegas for a week.  It’s a work-related trip that will hopefully include some time for fun too.  I promise to come back with lots of good stories. It will be my first vacation in a while (okay, it’s a working vacation, but still…) and I’m ready to kick back by the pool and maybe eat some faux French food at the faux Eiffel Tower.

Here’s to a year of celebrating Escape from Corporate America and more than five years of celebrating my actual escape from Corporate America (about a year before I wrote this post and started this blog)! Tonight, I’ll raise a toast of pink slip lemonade with Absolut Citron to celebrate.