Behave Boldly

Your Dreams Won't Chase Themselves

Elise Russell

This isn’t a fairy-tale book about achieving your wildest dreams. It’s a real-life, warts-and-all book about having the courage to chase your dreams—even if they seem too big, too outlandish, or too elusive to reach.

Author Elise Russell had a (quote-unquote) “dream job” as a professional creative working in advertising. She was earning a good salary, winning awards, and making a name for herself within the industry. And it was killing her spirit.

In this personal, refreshing, and ultimately inspiring book, Elise shares her story of giving the middle finger to the nine-to-five and setting out on her own as a creative entrepreneur. Still building her creative boutique company Pony Friday, Elise offers a perspective on the creative entrepreneurial life that is not often heard: the on-the-ground account of someone still very much in the trenches.

Frank, funny, and disarmingly honest, Behave Boldly charts Elise’s journey as she builds a company, brand, and life that rejects labels, and aspires to being bold, unconventional—and utterly unique.

Elise Russell is a quick-witted creative director known for her twisted sense of humor, attention to detail, and sass. Her work has been recognized by many of the world’s top advertising award shows, including the most coveted three: Cannes, D&AD, and The One Show. Often called candid, blunt, and ballsy, Elise is a woman of action who prefers a cut-to-the-chase approach. She has no patience for unnecessary meetings or people who talk in circles, so she told traditional agency life to take a hike and launched Pony Friday: a hybrid creative boutique and motivational lifestyle brand. She currently lives in Calgary with her human companion and four-legged shedding machines.


ISBN 978-1-7772342-0-1
$32.00 CAD $24.00 USD
Published August 11, 2020
6 × 9 184 Pages
Hardcover, ebook