Being Intentional With Your Technology

Veronica Kirin is here today to talk about being intentional with your technology. Veronica is the author of Stories of Elders: What the Greatest Generation Knows about Technology that You Don't. This is a fascinating look into “The Greatest Generation” (born before 1945) and the last generation born before the digital revolution. Veronica is an anthropologist turned entrepreneur. She is a Forbes notable graduate of Grand Valley State University and a 40 Under 40 Business Leader. She is the founder of GreenCup Web Design and an entrepreneur coach to LGBTQ business owners. She is known for her Self Care Through Scaling™ program, and she is the founder of the Fempreneur Forum. It’s her passion to help entrepreneurs scale their businesses to reclaim freedom and time. Show Notes [03:11] Veronica is still an anthropologist. Anthropology is the study of people. She is a cultural anthropologist which studies current people. [04:15] Anthropology marries perfectly with entrepreneurship, because it teaches you to have insights into others especially those who aren't like you. [04:26] To understand your target client, you really need to predict their needs and wants. [05:56] Veronica's book is a bridge between anthropology and technology, as she noticed technology was starting to change her behaviors. She noticed she was sending texts instead of face to face interaction and also growing more depressed. [07:39] The elders in Veronica's book have lived approximately a lifetime without technology. She wanted the contrast between these people and younger people who only know technology. [08:19] People who grew up without tech have a completely different perspective on what is happening now. [08:51] She discovered that the elders had a deep sense of intentionality, and they wanted to choose whether they wanted this technology in their lives or not. [12:12] 25 is an important age because that is when the brain is fully developed. [13:31] One of her favorite stories in the book is Edwin Gould's story who engineered the first spy satellite for the country. The leaps we have no show the amazing shift. [16:16] Veronica did 100 interviews which amounted to about 8,000 years of stories for her book. She worked with an author coach which was really helpful. [18:07] She was also inspired by the author Racheal Rose Steil who wrote Running in Silence. They became friends and collaborate on different projects. [20:14] The book took three and a half years from inception to publishing. [24:00] To get these interviews, Veronica drove 12,000 miles through 40 States in 6 weeks. It was a very stressful experience, and she learned how important self-care really is. It took her six months before she could start processing these interviews. [25:51] She also learned to be more intentional about her technology use. She doesn't look at the phone first thing in the morning. She allows herself to walk away from the computer. Our bodies are designed to move and stop looking at screens. [27:27] She also has tech free monthly brunches. [30:51] Veronica used Kickstarter to fund her book and it became a staff pick. Technology has been critical in the production of her book. [34:28] Digital marketing has played a huge part in the promotion of her book. [35:42] Being an author is being an entrepreneur. If you don't have the marketing skills, hire someone who does. [36:59] Having a coach and mentor is so important. [37:37] To Veronica, success feels like moving forward and moving the needle. She also loves the energy derived from her client work. [39:05] If you want to do something, just start. You have what it takes to find what you need and make it happen. Links and Resources: Stories of Elders: What the Greatest Generation Knows about Technology that You Don't GreenCup Design Veronica Kirin Veronica Kirin on Facebook @vmkirin on Twitter Veronica Kirin on Instagram Veronica Kirin on LinkedIn Identity Publications Angles of Lattitude Podcast Paper Raven Running in Silence