With so many feeds in my reader, it took me a while to notice I wasn’t seeing any posts from my favorite local political writer: Jennifer Wagner.  At first I thought she was on vacation, but suddenly realized I hadn’t seen any of her biting humor in several weeks, so I am a bit behind the times, when I tell you she has stepped down from her role at the Capitol Watchblog.

While her replacement seems adequate enough, he doesn’t have her sense of humor or “bite” so I will miss her, and probably stop pulling the feed completely. But I wanted to share excerpts from her last post, because her advice is appropriate for small business owners as well as politicians and media players.  She says:

• Love what you do, but don’t fall in love with what you do. It will never love you back.

• Some people will like you. Some people will hate you. Assume that the latter is universally true, and you’ll never mistake your enemies for your friends. You’ll also be the loneliest person on the planet, but that’s what good wine is for.

• Trust your gut.

• You will screw up, possibly in a way that feels colossal to you. Ninety-nine out of a hundred times, no one will give a rat’s behind. Make your apologies, learn your lessons and move on. Dwelling on your mistakes will consume you.

• Get away from the madness every so often and clear your head.

• Be yourself.

• Look out for yourself.

• Follow your heart.

• Take chances.

• Smile.