What follows is a great conversation with the one and only Dyana Valentine about breaking through the Dastardly Dip. You know the dip…the event that seems to happen, as if on cue, every time you set out to tackle a new project. You’re excited about the outcome, stoked about the process and can’t wait to celebrate completion.

So you get going, committed to minimize your time on Twitter to 30 minutes/day, inbox at zero, and a new playlist on the iPod. And off you go. Working, working, working. And you hit a block. You deke it and keep on going. But you notice that the adrenaline has started to fizzle. Even Beyoncé can’t keep you going. So you’re sitting there with a half-completed project, less sleep and more stress. And no celebration in sight.

The Dastardly Dip.

So what can you do? Push through? Quit? Phone a friend?

Here’s what the Mighty Dy has to say about it.  She does, after all help “self-starters self-finish, one project at a time”.

I adore her. I suspect you will too.

(And if BTW, you’re interested in the backstory of this video, please see the text BELOW…this was no easy feat!)

Taking on the Project Dip from Dyana Valentine on Vimeo.

The BackStory

One of the many “you oughtta’s” I’ve been hearing from every corner of my life has been: “you oughtta have a video of yourself on your site”. I tend to shelve most “oughttas” until the right time (and the right reason and the right partner) comes along. So when I asked Dyana to weigh in with some thoughts on the Dastardly Dip for a post a month or so back , and she offered to videotape a chat, I was over the moon.

MY FIRST VIDEO! With DYANA VALENTINE, no less!!!!

We had some techno-glitches (on my end) and with some patience and lip gloss, we finally got ‘er done.

While the vain girl in me is less than in love with the way I look at times in this video (exhibit A, the screen shot), I am thrilled with having broken through, and am grateful that Dy was my first!