Laura Rubin spent 15+ years running a marketing boutique after leaving a top job at USA Networks, then shut it all down to bet on AllSwell Creative and a belief that journaling had a PR problem. Today she's a Simon & Schuster author (The Big Unlock), a New York Times feature subject, and has led hundreds of science-backed workshops at Adobe, Goop, Google, and the CAA (Creative Artists Agency). We cover the day she cried at her desk over a "dream" promotion, why she gave her agency away instead of selling it, the 4x4x4 method for reluctant journalers, the UCLA research on men and journaling, when journaling can do harm, and the creative block that hit her the moment the book deal was real.

The inaugural Womansplain Summit is October 16 at The Malin Chelsea, NYC, keynoted by Robinhood CIO Stephanie Guild. 120 seats, most already spoken fo ...