Some of us make attempts to accomplish a few life and business goals. But how many people do you know who put everything on the line to pursue their deepest, most life-changing dreams? How many don’t wait until “someday” to go after the things they want? Read more »
When there’s so many different things vying for our attention, and especially when we’re feeling more than a little burned out with our current efforts, a little “stick-to-itiveness” can go a long way. Here are a few ideas for developing the trait. Read more »
Generally, we come up with plans, ways we’re going to market our businesses, manage them, and keep things growing and moving along smoothly, but what are we missing? Are there blind spots that could potentially be fatal to the success of our companies? Read more »
The past few months have been filled with dilemmas; I’ve found myself struggling to find solutions to them on occasion. While figuring out how to move forward with something can be frustrating, there are a few strategies I’ve stumbled on to help me get unstuck. Read more »
Recently, I stumbled across a new service called Alice that lets you buy all of your household essentials online. Alice is awesome, and as soon as I figured out just exactly how awesome Alice was, I couldn’t wait to tell everyone I knew about the service. Read more »
AdAge bestowed a major honor on Apple on Monday, naming it the first marketer of the decade for this millennium. There’s no denying that Apple’s brand is stronger than ever right now, but how did it get there, and can it stay that way? Read more »
ambition, n.: an earnest desire for some type of achievement and the willingness to strive for its attainment
Thinking about ambition reminds me of Steve Jobs’ 2005 commencement address at Stanford. The words “stay hungry” have followed me ever since reading them. Read more »
At the end of the day, we look at our to-do list list, but there’s one item that didn’t get completed, so we move it to tomorrow’s list, but tomorrow, the same thing happens, and it keeps happening. I call these items a “moving to-do list” Read more »
If you’re reading this post, chances are good that you have a business that you’re trying to get off the ground, so it’s likely that one of the main questions you ask yourself fairly often is, “How can I make my business a success? Read more »
The entrepreneurial spirit is infectious. I caught the bug quite a while ago, but this morning, the chronic (although at times dormant) symptoms reared their heads again, so I thought I’d share the inspiration and hopefully stir that spirit in you, too. Read more »
My friend Betsy Talbot and her husband Warren are forging their own path and making their own way. Two years ago, they decided that they wanted to travel the world. Life was too short, they decided, to wait for that dream. Read more »
Is there an area of your life or business where you just can’t seem to get a grip? I was thinking about this recently over something that’s been frustrating me for quite some time — not consistently sticking with an exercise routine. Read more »
You’ve come up with your big idea, and now comes the hard part: Getting the word out about your business and, more importantly, hanging in there while you get the word out about your business. The hard part now becomes not giving up too soon. Read more »
As more demands are placed on you, tasks that once seemed extremely important become trivial. You have one hundred things to do and a limited amount of time to do them in. So the question becomes, what do you give up? Read more »
In this two-part post, I’m going to talk about managing “busy-ness,” or what Timothy Ferriss describes in “The 4-Hour Workweek” as “working for work’s sake.” As your business grows and your workload increases, it becomes more and more important to manage “busy-ness.” Read more »
There comes a point in your business when you reach a Catch-22 situation. Your workload is maxed out, you want to continue growing, but you’re at a difficult point where you can’t quite afford help, but you can’t survive and grow successfully without it. Read more »
My last visit to an Apple Store was a week ago when I picked up my new iPhone 4 and, though I’ve visited the stores plenty of times before, waiting in line reminded me of what makes Apple’s retail plans such a success. Read more »
Small business owners are still optimistic and confident, both in themselves and in their businesses, and if you were to ask any of them, they would each have unique lessons to share, things they know for sure. Here are some things that I know for sure: Read more »
I just finished one of several big projects I’ve been working on lately. It was probably one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done, and several times throughout the project, I could easily see why most of us don’t take on big challenges at all. Read more »
I’m not going to let myself off the hook with this one by saying that I have no regrets; that all my mistakes have led me to this point. There are lessons I’ve learned; if given a do-over, there are things I would have done differently. Read more »
I’ve been complimented by several people recently about my work ethic, and while I appreciate those compliments, I’m still trying to figure out whether that work ethic is a blessing or a curse. Really, what is a good work ethic? I’ve heard a lot over the […] Read more »
Many readers expressed an interest in knowing more about my accountability partnership, so here’s a follow-up to my previous posts, answering the questions that were raised. Q: Is an accountability partner the same as a business coach? A: I don’t think so. While they have similarities, […] Read more »
Do you somehow still doubt that the App Store is a huge money-making enterprise, at least for a lucky few? Then consider the news that Tapulous, the development studio behind the wildly popular Tap Tap Revenge rhythm game franchise, rakes in a cool million every month. […] Read more »
Yesterday, I wrote about the value of having an accountability partner. This is the perfect time to set up a partnership with someone for the New Year. Here are a few tips to help you make the most of the relationship. Read more »
An accountability partner is someone who can help you stay on track toward reaching your goals and creating a life and business by design rather than default. January marks three years that my accountability partner and I have been meeting, and I cannot say enough about […] Read more »
Some of us thank our lucky stars for staying busy throughout this year, with the occasional period of being overloaded. But I’ll take feeling overwhelmed with client requests over famine any day. I often say that I’m lucky with my business. However, the truth is that […] Read more »
I’ve spoken with a lot of entrepreneurs lately about how they’ve built successful businesses, and have also seen through my own experiences that success really comes down to two things — finding your sweet spot and doing a few core actions over and over. Read more »
When did Noah build the ark, Gladys? Before the rain. Before the rain. – Nathan Muir, Spy Game In recent months, I’ve become acutely aware of how life and business can easily conflict with each other. It seems that the work involved in creating a successful […] Read more »
When you think about growing a business, you think about how to attract customers. You might build a web site, create marketing materials, and look for ways to get your message to the masses, but have you ever considered ways to repel clients? Separating the wheat […] Read more »
“Know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, and know when to run.” – Kenny Rogers, “The Gambler” Our impulse is usually to try to do everything. Opportunities present themselves, and we think, “If I turn this away, I may […] Read more »
