Meet Mary Rarick

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mary Rarick a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mary, thank you so much for making time for us today. We can’t wait to dive into your story and the lessons you’ve learned along the way, but maybe we can start with something foundational to your success. How have you gone about developing your ability to communicate effectively?

Although I studied communications in college and managed multiple publications over the next two decades, it wasn’t until I started volunteering for Pete Buttigieg’s primary campaign in 2019 that I found my voice and learned how to communicate effectively. What I found was that when I spoke about issues and policies they didn’t land; but when I shared stories of how a specific issue had impacted my family, people were receptive and eager to talk about their own family’s challenges. Once I understood what mattered to and motivated a person, it became much easier to have a conversation. And that’s the point: to have a back and forth, not to talk *at* someone.

My platform of choice these days is TikTok, because of the ease of creating and cultivating a community. It reminds me of Twitter back in the aughts. And just like Twitter helped me distill a message to 140 characters back in the day, TikTok has forced me to refine my message so that I can hook, engage and persuade my viewers in under a minute.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

After 18 years as managing editor of multiple local and international publications I branched out on my own to design customized content marketing and digital strategies based on an understanding of my clients’ key consumers’ challenges and motivators. I billed myself as a caffeine-addicted shoe lover, recovering perfectionist, content and digital communications strategist, trainer and social media enthusiast with an emphasis on compelling content, customer service, company culture and community engagement. My passion was helping organizations communicate fearlessly to connect, build trust and develop lasting relationships with their customers, employees and communities.

A serial volunteer for causes ranging from adult literacy to domestic violence prevention, in 2019, leveraging my guilt and rage hangover from 2016, I crawled out of my introverted shell to volunteer on a political campaign. This led to a position as the Oregon state lead for Pete for America. In between flights to Iowa and Nevada, I began implementing an innovative statewide program that focused on community building and integrated relational organizing strategies to turn excitement for Pete Buttigieg into a robust grassroots infrastructure.

When Pete’s primary race ended, and the pandemic surged, I moved my political conversations online. I’ve interviewed countless candidates running for office and multiple high-profile political operatives including Dahlia Lithwick and Lis Smith.

Through this process I’ve met people who’ve changed my life, including Gary Carter Green who taught me how to be on camera and produce videos for his YouTube channel, You Can’t Beat Blue. I also connected with a woman who’s now my best friend, Finale Norton. I’ve flown to Virginia three times to work on grassroots political organizing projects together.

This year, as I approach my 60th birthday, I’ve begun reflecting on the extraordinary experiences from my life and dreaming about what’s next. How did a quiet, well-behaved girl, raised by conservative right-wing fundamentalists on a dairy goat farm in the Midwest, grow up to be someone who talks to everyone about politics? In February, inspired by Jane Fonda, I leaned fully into fear and started a podcast, My Act Four, to share the lessons I’ve learned in an effort to figure out what’s next for me. Every week as I sit down to write I’m terrified that I won’t have anything to say. But I always do. Regardless, there’s a huge payoff in showing up, making mistakes, and doing your best. And that by being vulnerable, I give people permission to do the same, to take action and change.

You can subscribe to the podcast, My Act Four. Follow me on TikTok at @MaryRarick for politics and @MyAct4 for figuring out life.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1. Make difficult decisions sooner.
2. Embrace change and failure.
3. Tailor your message to your audience.

Advice:
1. Remember that you can do hard things.
2. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. It’s exhausting. Be yourself.
3. Perfection is overrated.
4. You can’t push a rope. Stop trying to change people.
5. Let go of the illusion that things should have been different.
6. Decide on what hills you’re willing to die.
7. Ask for help. Identify your personal board of advisors.
8. Say the unpopular thing. You’ll be surprised at how many people are thinking it.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

As a recovering perfectionist I find myself constantly faced with overwhelm. The single best strategy I’ve found is to do the next best thing. Ten years ago I was working on HUGE client project which involved interviewing seventy plus people over the course of a month and a half, evaluating the data and drafting a report which was due to the client the beginning of October. Not a problem. I’m a planner and I love laying out a project step by step. I don’t even mind deadlines. I’m one of those weirdos who always had her undergrad term papers done a week early. And I majored in English AND history, so there were a lot of papers.

My best friend, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer the previous spring, was just beginning to feel like herself again thanks to an aggressive chemotherapy regimen. So we decided to make a day of it and drive to Hood River to drive the Fruit Loop and enjoy the fall colors. We picked a Friday in early October, and my husband agreed took a vacation day to chauffeur us and participate in the merriment.

I had a meeting with my client the Thursday before our grand day out, but I wasn’t worried because the report was 99.9% complete. I figured I’d attend the meeting, make a few minor edits and deliver the report by the end of the day aiming to surprise and delight the client, since the report wasn’t due until the following Tuesday.

Thursday I attended the meeting and soon realized that the client wanted a complete rewrite of a large section of the report, to include information which he had yet to send me. There were numerous other revision requests as well. And they’d like the final draft first thing Monday morning.

I considered rescheduling with my friend. My husband had already requested and received the day off work. They’d both be disappointed. I was disappointed. I’d been working my ass off. I was exhausted. The project’s schedule had shifted several times. What if it were to shift again and I’d have to reschedule again?

So I decided to take the day off as planned. And I was going to enjoy every last moment of it. Because life was short, My friend’s cancer was terminal, and none of us really know how much time we have left. This was what was important.

So we did it. We laughed and we bought chestnuts and pears and pies. And we laughed some more. It was a wonderful day. A perfect day.

And the next day I reviewed at the emails that had arrived in my absence. I organized my thoughts, all of the sections of the report, all of my notes and all of my client’s requests. I prioritized them and then I got to work on one thing at a time.

Whenever I felt like I couldn’t do it or that I didn’t know what to tackle next I’d ask myself, “What’s the next best thing?” And that’s what I’d do. Until it was done. Then the next thing. And I completed the work on schedule.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rarickmary.podbean.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryrarick/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryRarick
• Other: https://linktr.ee/maryrarick

Image Credits

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