Comments as creative, NYC, the stories we tell.

Hi Friends!

Happy summer. Here in the Pacific Northwest, summer starts in July and lasts through September, so we’re feeling the heat these days and I love it. ☀️

I’m back with the second edition of the Co-pilot newsletter—and I’m sure glad you’re here. Since I last wrote, I hit a personal milestone: riding 50 miles on my road bike, something I hadn’t done since I was 25. I trained all winter for a race in June, and when the day came, I got separated from my riding partner and found myself pedaling solo through a downpour. That’s when I remembered those famous words from UCLA’s most beloved coach:

Every early Peloton ride I logged this winter mattered. It reminded me that leadership is the same: you plant seeds, show up with consistency, and trust that the effort will bear fruit—even if it takes a season (or three).

I also had the chance to spend time in my husband’s home state of New York. While I’ll always be a West Coast girl (that Portland green and Pacific sunsets are hard to beat), NYC was, as always, electric. The talent, the hustle, the sheer energy of the city—it’s intoxicating. It reminded me why I started Co-pilot in the first place: to build something where I can help bold leaders show up with clarity and confidence. I came back more motivated than ever to dig in this second half of the year.

🌱 If you're thinking about how you want to show up this fall, now’s the time to start planting. I’ve got space for one more Full Engagement this September.

Today, I’ll be sharing what I’m loving, reading, practicing and, as always, shining a light on great people. I use this newsletter as a tool to give you insight into how I’m helping leaders navigate a saturated digital landscape with intention and candor.

If you’ve ever wondered how to build a visible, trustworthy presence online—without sounding like everyone else, this is for you.

But if this isn’t your thing, no worries—you can unsubscribe here.

Let’s dig in.

Jess

What I’m Practicing

It’s very easy for me to overthink. How about you? I talk to a lot of people in a week and consume a lot of content. When you start to synthesize it all, it can feel overwhelming. Sometimes that can be paralyzing and other times it can feel like you have a thousand ideas you want to go after all at once. I don’t know which is worse 🤣

How do you quiet the mind? (I think Tim Ferris called it “monkey brain.”)

Props to my daughter, who gave me a care package about this very thing. In it was a curated Spotify playlist, a squishy ball and this beautiful quote. 

I’ve also developed a strategy around changing up my environment. As much as I adore my home office, sometimes getting out into the world with other bodies and fresh energy can refocus me. Good Coffee in Portland’s Slabtown neighborhood is a fave.

Got an over-analyzer in your life? Forward this to them. 

What I’m Asking Myself

What is the story I will tell? 

I love the saying: It was either a great time or a great story. 

While we were in NYC earlier this month, it was hot and humid (to be expected in July). We fared well for most of the trip, but one night, we’d slated a shopping trip through SoHo. Within 20 minutes of getting off the subway, rain began dumping from the sky. My pants were soaked, the coffee shop my daughter was dying to try was closed for HVAC repairs. Later, the AC in our hotel room started leaking onto the floor so we had to move to another room.

That could be the story I tell.

Alt angle: Both kids found outfits they loved at a SoHo store we don’t have back home. We met a close friend for dinner at a fantastic Mediterranean restaurant, Shuka, all laughing about the weather outside. And our hotel room was upgraded to a higher floor with more space. To boot, the new room also had the best NYC skyline view I’ve ever seen.

Pro Tip: There is always more than one angle. Choose the story you’re going to tell.

What I’m Loving

2️⃣ Things this month. One is big and strategic and one is micro and instantly useful.

The BIG. Many reading this have heard of Gary Vee. He is in the same stratosphere as Seth Godin or Jay Baer. A long-time digital marketer, social media expert and entrepreneurial firecracker. Recently, I stumbled on an interview Gary did with Cody Sanchez, another entrepreneur and financial educator I follow. This episode of The Big Deal is one of the few podcasts I’ve ever listened to twice.

It led me to Gary’s 47 slide deck. Gary’s deck is the CliffsNotes (for those younger than 35, go Chat GPT this) to his latest book “Day Trading Attention.”

📄 Read: Day Trading Attention (47 slide summary)

If you are in a position where you are creating digital content, specifically on social channels, whether this be for a brand, your client or yourself- you need to read this deck. Specifically, I’ll call out Gary’s Comments as Creative section. It’s the easiest way to get active on social media without having to start from scratch. Check out how I did this below and got a response from one of the most prominent CMO’s of our time: Frank Cooper of Visa.

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What?? And then this happened!

Pro Tip: Try this out this week. (The worst that can happen is they don’t reply.)

The micro. I’ve discovered a new AI-ish tool called Wispr Flow. It’s a voice dictation app that traverses across any app, platform, anywhere on your computer or phone. And it’s highly accurate. You hold down your button of choice (for me, it’s command on a Mac) and speak as long as you need to.

Wispr Flow learns proper names, punctuates correctly, and includes spacing. It just works. I use it daily. By 2026, there is a good chance I may have forgotten how to type altogether. And their free version is good for up to 2000 words per week. Another killer way to create social posts, podcast outlines, blogs or email newsletters in a quarter the time. (These guys should be paying me to write this.)

Pro Tip: Be willing to experiment with new tools and free trials. You could save hours of time and discover something you can pass along to colleagues or clients.

Shining a Light

⚡ One of the things I teach my clients is the practice of atomization.

What is atomization?

It’s the idea of creating a core asset and cutting it down, modifying it or atomizing it so it can be used in other digital platforms (social, email, podcasting, blogs). You’re maximizing your effort by beginning with the end in mind. Not rocket science, but something many of us just don’t think to do. 

This month, I want to spotlight my friend Robb Hittner. And I’m putting atomization to work. The post I shared about him on LinkedIn was my top performer over the past 30 days. 👏🏼

So not only do I get to love on my friend, Robb, but I also am atomizing content I created for my social media practice in my email newsletter. Win-win.

Check out Hackett Brooks, Robb’s new agency, here.

ICYMI

🎙️ I was honored to guest on 8️⃣ podcasts last winter. Many of us don’t have time to listen or watch something for 30 minutes, so we had some fun making short social cut downs of a few punchy sound bites. I’ll be sharing these on social media over the next month, but below is an early preview. Listen to my full interview with Carolina about emotional intelligence on her TEQ YouTube channel here.

Where’s Jess?

Last month, I shared a sunset shot with my youngest daughter and I in… Charleston, SC. Big shout out to Catt Kuerbis for being the first to guess the location. Well done, Catt!

This month, I’m somewhere new. This place is hard to get through in one day and also where I discovered clothing from a guy from Minnesota who knew his way around a 🎸. 

(PS: Look how cute that couple is behind me with their matching outfits!)

Where am I? 

The first person to reply with the correct answer gets a shout out in next month’s newsletter.

Thanks for being here.

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➡️ Got feedback? Hit reply and tell me what you think. I’m always looking to level up.

See you next month!
Jess