The author on finding energy in adversity, the book that changed her life and her favorite motto.
Thrive Global: What’s the first thing you do when you get out of bed?
Amy Ephron: Umm — make coffee. Unless someone else has already made it.
TG: What gives you energy?
AE: Well, that’s a complicated question. Love, learning, exercise, being needed, laughing; also conversely: Sometimes if someone tells me that I can’t do something, a little bell goes off and I go, watch this. Sometimes in really difficult situations or adversity of some kind, you have to find a kind of energy, too.
TG: Name a book that changed your life.
AE: ”The World as I See It” by Albert Einstein. (Note: Out of print, find the original, not the weird un-copyrighted version.)
TG: Tell us about your relationship with your phone. Does it sleep with you?
AE: I lose it a lot and then it comes back to me sometimes in magical ways. (This can also be expensive, leaving your phone in a cab for example and having to find the driver and talk him into bringing it back to you.) It does not sleep with me.
TG: How do you deal with email?
AE: Sometimes I respond by phone. I wish I understood better how to put things in “email files.” I think there should be an email class (and an iPhoto class.)
TG: You unexpectedly find 15 minutes in your day, what do you do with it?
AE: Write. Stare at the ceiling. Have a lovely cup of tea if I’m out. Stare at the ocean or the trees if there are any in proximity and see if I can see any birds…
TG: When was the last time you felt burned out and why.
AE: I don’t believe in that. Get some rest. Take a minute off. And start all over again, if you have to.
TG: When was the last time you felt you failed and how did you overcome it?
AE: I don’t believe in that. You don’t overcome something like that, you learn from it, move on, and try not to dwell on mistakes or inadvertent failure. Next!! Excellent motto.
TG: Share a quote that you love and that gives you strength or peace.
AE: This is a rough translation of the beginning of Jose Marti’s poem Una Rosa Blanca: “I cultivate white roses for the honest friend who offers me his hand.”
Read the complete interview here:
