Getting Wired In: How to Get Focused and Get Your Work Done Effectively
"He's wired in." There are a couple of scenes in The Social Network (the movie about Facebook's creation) where someone describes one of the movie characters as being "wired in." The character is shown typing code, headphones on, a bottle of highly-caffeinated soda...
I don’t want to run a marathon
I have a confession: I don't want to run a marathon. Running a marathon is a pretty common item on peoples' Someday Lists (a.k.a. Goal Lists, Bucket Lists, etc.). It was on mine, too. Until today, when I realized: I don't have the slightest desire to actually run a...
How to email a busy person: Six tips for effective emails
As admin, secretary, assistant, or Can-Do-Ologist, I've worked inside the very full inboxes of several very successful (and very swamped) folks in both the offline and online business worlds. A couple of times, people asked me for tips on getting responses from those...
What do you like about Fail?
What do you like about fail? Not the subjective experience of failure, but the fact of fail: the rather objective declaration that what you'd aimed for, projected, expected or worked toward did not, in fact, occur, appear or come to be. At first blush, the answer is...
Giving myself permission
I want permission... To do it my way. To do it wrong. To say, "I don't want this," without giving any further justification. To bask in the spotlight. To frolic through the meadows of off-brand-ness. To be angry. To grieve--still. To let go on my own time. To ask the...
Figuring out what to write about when you think you have nothing to write about
When you're stuck on what to write, or what to teach, it's rarely because you actually lack good topics or enough knowledge... even though that's the conclusion most of us draw when we have trouble coming up with a topic. You're probably sitting on a treasure trove of...
Riding the Entrepreneurial Coaster: Eyes Open & Exhale
I started taking yoga classes in college, and I was immediately impressed by the dramatic effect focused attention on the breath had on my body as a whole. Before the poses themselves came to mean much to me, the breath and awareness of it really hit home. The summer...
Forward From The Precipice of Completion
The Rush of the Start Getting started on something is easy in a lot of ways. There's the excitement of a novel undertaking, the rush of charging headlong into a new foray. There's a lot to learn (my favorite part), a lot to explore for the first time, so much to...
Hiring an assistant or team member: How do I know when it’s time?
Hiring an assistant or a team member isn't about identifying the "perfect time" to do so--there is no such thing. It's all about knowing when you and your business are ready. Here are three significant clues you might encounter, especially if you're a creative...
Bippity Boppity Bullshit: Lessons from Cinderella, Midnight & Moxie
I used to believe that success in small business was all about the Bippity Boppity Boo. You know, the whimsical little chant that Cinderella's Fairy Godmother invokes as she magically changes Cinderella's rags into a beautiful frock, her rodent friends into mighty...