Ideas & Writing

The Latest Project: Cosmopolitan Bias

2020 was a challenging year, but I'm excited to share my newest project - The Cosmopolitan Bias Podcast. A platform for nuanced conversations about culture and society.

LMHQ Breakfast Panel: Visibility in the Workplace

Had the incredible pleasure of discussing visibility in the workplace with Hannah Wolf of Spotify and Kelly Fitzpatrick of Blue Park Kitchen.

Home for the Holidays: On Legacy and Digital Authenticity

Reflecting on legacy, promises kept, and why who you are and what you stand for matters - whether it's IRL or on Instagram.

Make 'em Laugh, Make 'em Cry... Make it Rain!

Sharing slides and insights from my presentation at the 2018 Nonprofit Tech Conference in New Orleans with Steve Jacobs of Precision Strategies.

All of Your Heroes Die - A List to Remember

Things I wish someone would have told me on the journey to being my best self. Lessons on kindness, mental health, and finding your path.

How Not to Pick Yourself

An exploration of why we don't know how to choose ourselves, and how to change that. Because the first step is understanding why you stopped going after what you want.

How to Solve the 'It's Not My Problem' Problem

When the Sanitation Worker decides that a broken bag is 'not his problem,' it ultimately becomes a bigger problem than it's worth. On becoming a fixer.

Perfect Isn't Part of the Plan

Stop focusing on things that don't matter. Stop waiting until you have a perfect idea, the perfect job, and the perfect life. That's not real.

Normal People Suck & You Shouldn't Listen to Them

The minute you try to do something adventurous, or challenge the status quo, you start to make people nervous. Here's why you shouldn't let them hold you back.

Hurricane Sandy & How I Became a 'Woman of the Week'

Live from New York... With power and heat. Thoughts on Hurricane Sandy and an unexpected interview on The Cunnington Shift.

Why Not?

Why not you? Why not here? Why not now? You have exactly one life in which to do everything you'll ever do. Act accordingly.

Guest author: Joel Runyon

The Awful Truth About Being the Best

Here's the secret: IF YOU WANT TO MAKE IT, IN ANY FIELD, AT ANY THING, YOU HAVE TO PUT YOURSELF IN THE SITUATIONS THAT MAKE IT MOST POSSIBLE.

Art Looks Better When It's Naked

RAW. UNADULTERATED. UNTAMED. The most honest art is the art that bares itself completely.

Dare to Be Different

It doesn't matter if people get it right now or ever. If it's authentic and you're doing it for the right reasons, people will find you and love you for it.

The Road to Awe

Instead of putting a monetary or sales goal on my creation, I set a less tangible, and less attainable goal for myself: Inspire people and create wonder.

Don't Give Up

I'm still trying to figure out why I'm an artist. I'm the only artist in my family, and one of very few in my circle of friends. I've had 1,000 opportunities to do something else.

Being a Lighthouse

I knew that this website would either be my largest success, or my truest, most undeniable failure. I didn't take putting my name on this site lying down.

Stop Looking for Customers

I'd rather have one hundred people look at this site every day, than one million consumers. When did people become customers?

Waiting for Your Rocket

If you're in this business for a magical handshake that is going to change your life, you might be shaking a lot of hands in your lifetime.

Every End Has a Beginning

Publishing isn't dead, it's evolving. Those who don't know what it's evolving into are having a difficult time. If this is the end, I can't wait to plant my flag on the new world.

Bad Days

For an artist, a lot of times there aren't any other options when we're having a wretched day. We either work or we don't. And not working is not an option.

How Do I Know I'm Supposed to Be an Artist?

You're supposed to be an artist when you accept, fully, that there will be a struggle… And you like the idea of it.

Be Your Own 'Karma Police'

Do good things to build your brand, do the things you're proud of. Most of the time, it's the stuff no one else wants to do anyway.

The 'Brand' of Kristina

I don't really think about that. I just try to be the best possible Kristina Villarini I can be every day. What's your brand and who are you building it for?

Reasonable Doubt vs. Unreasonable Expectations

Doubt is a vicious thing. It takes what we know to be true and distorts it. The strongest counter to doubt is to set realistic expectations.

Leave Flattery to Corporate America

Flattery is for sub-par people you don't want to offend, not for the beautiful ones you're lucky to have as friends.

Finding Your Reason to Do This

Find your reason to do this, and make it a good one. The true reason is the weapon you'll be using for the rest of your life to combat your self-doubt.

What is Art?

Tolstoy said that art must create an emotional link between artist and audience, one that 'infects' the viewer. Never forget that there is no more important responsibility than to create good art.

Credibility and Hype

Artistic credibility is the validation of your work. It's your Grammy, your SAG, your Oscar. Being credible is also accepting that you may not ever get to that level.

Dating Your Audience

If your plan is to steal the audience from other artists, then be prepared to do everything that other team is doing longer, faster and better.

Create. Contort. Repeat.

At some point, the 'little voice' we have ignored our whole lives starts to dictate how we write. We stop doing what is organic and start chaperoning ourselves.

The Hate/Hate Relationship

My relationship with writing is a lot like the one I used to have with women: I hate it sometimes, and it hates me all the time. But I still spend most of my time trying to figure it out.