I’ve been getting better lately at recognizing some of the dark voices in my head. Recently, Robin and I were having a deep conversation, but Robin didn’t want to continue it. I felt Robin “pulling away from me” simply because Robin didn’t want to have a conversation with me at that very moment. I experienced this as a threat of withdrawal of love. And I realized in that moment, this...
From my perspective and my own life’s experiences, there is only one thing that separates those that achieve great things from those that don’t; those that achieve take action, and the ones that don’t only dream. My own life forever changed because of an action I took when I was only 12 years old. I walked into a business and asked for a job. When they declined, I didn’t take no for an answer and...
I’ve been on a “news diet” for several years now. This practice has come to mind again with all the turmoil and world events, which can seem quite overwhelming. We used to live in a world where news was delivered by newspaper once a day, and nightly TV news. Then in the 1980s that changed to 24 hour news channels (that needed content to fill). That expanded, and expanded again...
There’s a quote on my wall. It’s unattributed and I don’t know the origin. When I Google it, nothing much comes up. I don’t even remember where I got it from, but it made enough of an impact I wrote it down and put it on my wall. It says: Give people what they need, not what you want them to have. There’s so many times in my life, every day, that I want so much for people. And the cold reality is...
I’ve been getting more and more clear about what my investing strategy is. For the most part, if we talk about “Heart vs Mind” decisions, I go with my heart. Even if someone could make mathematical arguments about how some things can generate more money, that doesn’t move me. Here’s a breakdown of ways I invest my money. In myself. Between psychotherapy, couples therapy, deep...
This past week I participated in an exercise, and was asked to come up with a 6 word mission. This is what immediately came out of me: Share my story, change the world. I was struck by how true that simple statement is for me. How I’ve been living in to it. You are a part of it. Every week I share my story. I do it because for too long I ran from telling my own story. It took me 14 years to...
Here is a capture of the Ask Me Anything I hosted on January 3, 2022. It was an experiment of me testing myself, showing up in a different way, sharing my wisdom in whatever way it was called upon, and kicking my year off in a strong way. Topics included Blue Ocean Strategy and using “pain” in your marketing, amongst anything and everything else that came up. I was very...
A mentor I worked with many years ago had an antidote to the inertia a lot of self-employed people feel coming out of the holidays. It’s not hard to let the holiday slowdown continue for weeks into the new year, or even months. He came up with a concept called The Big Drive, which was a challenge to kick off the new year with a huge amount of momentum. He would compare it with a skier going to...
I was asking myself what’s a way I can support the Frolic 100 get 2022 started in a big way and I have decided to host a Zoom where you can “Ask Me Anything”. Would you like help creating your most profitable year ever? I will help you with mindset. I will help with tools and strategy. Would you like for me to tell you whether I think something is a good idea or not? I will tell you whether I...
Every time I think about how I chose to release my most recent book, of not needing to do anything more with it, of trusting that it is now out in the world doing its work, the word that comes to mind is “liberated”. By changing the rules of how a book is released, and what my expectations are, I liberated myself from all sorts of pressures of what I’m “supposed” to or “should” be doing now...
I was chatting with a reader of my recent book (Unorthodox Success, Secret Shame) and they shared something with me. “Reading about you wrestling with your shame made me reflect on where I had shame in my own life. I realized I’ve been too ashamed to admit I’ve been in an abusive relationship. I was too ashamed to admit it to anyone, including myself. Once I realized that, I left my boyfriend.”...
This past week I was reconnecting with a colleague and she shared her difficulty with scheduling creative time. “I find I fill it with busy work, not particularly creative”, she said. I realized in that moment I never schedule creative time. I simply allow myself enough free, unscheduled time, to seize the creative spark when it hits. For example, today, as I’m writing this, I have a single thing...
I’ve been very intentional about how I refer to the expectations of my book. I had a “release”, not a “launch”. The book has a 10 year mission. I will evaluate its impact and success only after 10 years. I’ve asked readers to share the book with the people in their lives that will benefit from reading it. I’m giving the book the space it needs to let that...
Most traditionally published books’ successes are measured with how well they sell within their first 9 months of release. Just like with movies, it’s seen as either a hit or a flop immediately. Most publishers and agents won’t even speak to you about publishing your work unless you have a built-in audience of social media followers (hundreds of thousands or bigger) that you can sell your book to...
This quote is most often attributed to the late founder of Apple, Steve Jobs. It popped in my head last night as I move on to the next phase of my book. I received the feedback from the last of 5 beta readers. Each of them had suggestions to make the book better, and none of them found huge fundamental problems with the book. It means that after spending another day or 2 with my book, I’ll be...
A couple of weeks ago I handed over the first draft of next book (Unorthodox Success, Secret Shame) to my wife, Robin, to edit and review. When she was done, she had sent me the file back with notes. The next morning as I reviewed the notes, I immediately began to start doubting myself. What were Robin’s constructive and instructive feedback, I saw as evidence that I had bitten off more than I...
There’s a feeling I trigger often in people. Maybe you’ve experienced it yourself. When you’ve been in the audience for one of my events, one of my Zooms, read one of my articles, or watched a video of mine. I didn’t even realize I was doing it, until very recently. It was instinctive in me, I make myself feel good when I do it, without realizing it. My superpower is: I elicit awe in people. I do...
I was sharing with someone this week some advice. If I had to share only one thing, it would be these 3 words: “What scares me?” That prompt is responsible for so many of the big stories in my life. I did the scary thing, and something incredible happened. And here’s the actual scary truth of it: Once done, that thing ended up being no big deal. It’s amazing how big a...
Every time I get caught in a thinking trap about what I’m thinking I “should” be doing or am supposed to be doing, it’s because I’ve fallen into comparing myself with other people. I’ve never sold a company. I don’t know how to “exit”. Everything I’ve ever done in the past I ran until I was complete and I moved on and did something else. I abdicated instead of delegated and reduced my role...
I’m really practiced at gratitude. It’s with me all the time. I took an entire year to practice gratitude and that lesson has stayed with me in an automatic way. These past couple of weeks there’s been a lot of articles and discussions marking the anniversary of when everything changed from covid. My local newspaper had a headline that I found particularly striking:...
After writing for my blog for over 3 years and 170 articles, I have come to some truths about myself. I value peace and freedom in my life above everything.I’m in a privileged place where I don’t have to do anything (I recently started thinking of myself as “retired”).I live a decelerated life.I like using technology, but try to avoid being used by it. That means I don’t use any social media...
There are 92 people on the email list for this blog. Of that, approximately 35% open each email. That gives me a weekly readership of 32 people. By any standard metric that seems tiny. Email lists are generally measured in thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions. Followers on social media sites are measured the same way. 32 people reading what I have to say barely...
During the years I felt like an imposter, I was under tremendous fear of my ideas being ripped off. I would go through such lengths to hide and obfuscate my innovations. At the time I believed it was the only thing I had. That if someone copied it, I was useless/worthless/replaceable. Recently I watched someone share in public their business building strategy. I know this person, have spoken to...
I was inspired to create this tool by how I’ve been choosing to see 2020 as one of the best years in my life, and how I might be able to share that with others. I know a lot of people can’t wait to get out of 2020, but what if it were possible to transform how you see it? I also realized how creating lists has been such a powerful tool for me. To be staring at the overwhelming evidence in front...
I’ve had an incredible 2020, there is no getting around it. On every metric – personal, financial, business, mental, family, health, happiness, everything has come together this year in a way I’ve never experienced before. I don’t claim perfection, everyone will have their challenges, but I do practice focusing on the positives and this year has been an incredible one for me. That...