Welcome to The Funknown™

Hello all - Today's newsletter is a guest post from Kari Ginsburg of Uproar Coaching. I connected with Kari about her book "Hey Glitterbomb!" and her coaching approach to helping people break out of "beige expectations" to be their bold selves. You can sign up for Kari's newsletter at uproarcoaching.com. Enjoy!

~ Bridget

You know that weird in-between space where everything feels unsettled? Where you're not exactly stuck, but you’re not exactly moving forward either? Like something big is rumbling under the surface, but you can’t quite name it yet?

That, my friend, is The Funknown™. And it’s more powerful than it looks.

You're not misreading: I am writing the words ‘fun’ and ‘known’ together — The Funknown™. The Funknown™ is the in-between. It is the liminal space between where you are today (the as-is) and where you want to be (I want). It’s a place of exploration, of play and of discovery where there’s no one way of doing things, only opportunity. It’s the place where you’re becoming your fullest self. It’s not chaos, but it’s definitely not the neat, bullet-pointed version of success you’ve been sold. It’s the playground of possibility. A swirl of curiosity, experimentation, and becoming. In The Funknown™ we exuberantly explore what we want for ourselves. Is the phrase a little cutesy? Sure. But so are you. So cute. The Funknown™ is the messy middle. 

If that sounds terrifying, yeah. It can be. But it can also be thrilling. Liberating. Necessary.

Because the truth is, the career you designed a decade ago might not fit the person you’ve become.

Especially if you’re a creative, mid-career misfit who’s done everything “right” and still feels... beige. You’re not ungrateful. You’re just ready for something different.

What most people miss in the mess

You don’t have to blow it all up to get your mojo back. You do have to start experimenting.

Not “strategically optimizing for outcomes.”

Not “trying harder.”

Not “waiting for clarity before you move.”

Just… play.

Start with one weird, delightful, illogical thing that lights you up. Something that feels slightly ridiculous, slightly brave. That taps into the parts of you that have been buried under deadlines, titles, and client decks.

Let yourself suck at something. Let yourself be bad at it. Let it be awkward and freeing and entirely yours.

That’s what one of my clients did when she signed up for flying trapeze lessons. Not because she wanted to become a circus performer. But because it scared her in the right way. And week after week, she kept showing up. Wobbly, unsure, curious. That experiment built new muscles. Not just in her arms, but in her sense of agency.

Soon, she was saying yes to ideas before she had all the answers. Taking risks in meetings. Letting go of “what makes sense” in favor of “what feels aligned.” She didn’t reinvent her whole life. She just stopped editing herself out of it.

That’s what The Funknown™ offers

A place:

• To be raw and radiant at the same time
• To quit chasing the “right way” and build your own instead
• To try without demanding perfection
• To want things simply because you want them

Now, if you're thinking, “Sure, sounds great, but I'm scared out of my damn mind,” cool. That means you’re human.

Fear isn’t a stop sign. It’s a spotlight. It tells you what matters.

So let’s try this:

Name one thing you’ve been curious about. It doesn’t have to be career-related. It doesn’t even have to make sense. Maybe it’s taking a pottery class. Maybe it’s pitching a project you’re not “qualified” for. Maybe it’s turning your phone off for two hours a day to finally hear yourself think.

Try it.

Give yourself a week to dabble.

Let it be clunky.

Let it be fun.

Because clarity doesn’t arrive fully formed. It’s sculpted, moment by moment, by what you’re brave enough to try.

Welcome to The Funknown™.

Make a mess.

Make it yours.

Make it matter.

Because glitterbomb? No one is coming to rescue you from yourself. 

Helping you catapult from lonely to legendary, one step in The Funknown™ at a time,

Kari

Kari Ginsburg, MCMP, PCC (she/her)

• Unconventional Executive Coach at Uproar Coaching
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• Snag a copy of my book