Build your future supported by the past

Build your future supported by the past

by | Creativity, Goals, Growth, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Tools

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 25 seconds.

EntreGurus-Book-Habit Changers-MJ RyanTODAY’S IDEA: Build your future supported by the past

— From: Habit Changers: 81 Game-Changing Mantras to Mindfully Realize Your Goals by M. J. Ryan

M.J. Ryan, leading expert and coach on change and human fulfillment, as well as author of Habit Changers, says that a lot of people go to her when they are at a crossroads in their career. “They’ve gotten into a rut and want support in breaking out of it.”

She helps them out by taking them through a process outlined in the book I Will Not Die an Unlived Life: Reclaiming Purpose and Passion by Dawna Markova. “It’s an examination [of] strengths, passions and values, as well as the environments that bring out [people’s] best.”

Once that process is done, Ryan’s clients achieve the clarity they seek. However, she points out, “the problem is that getting from here to there can feel like standing on one side of the Grand Canyon and trying to figure out how to get to the other side. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and stuck.”

So, if you’ve ever been there, on the proverbial one side of the Grand Canyon, looking at building a better future on the other side, but have no clue how to get there or where to start, Ryan suggests looking at your past:

“Build a bridge to the future on the pillars of the past.”

Ryan says, “It’s about remembering to leverage what you’ve already done to create the new. […] Nothing you’ve done in the past is a waste. It’s all grist for your future. Reminding yourself of this will help you figure out how to get from here to there.”

The author explains how she leveraged her book publishing experience when she was branding herself as an executive coach to attract her first clients: they were publishers and writers whom she knew.

Similarly, whether it’s a project that you want to start or a life change that you are about to undertake, think of your past experiences and contacts and build on them to propel you forward.

ACTION

TODAY: What project or change are you about to undergo where you don’t necessarily have step-by-step directions? Think of something similar that you’ve done in the past and draw from there. Or innovate by taking bits and pieces from your past to build something new.

FUTURE: Stay in touch, every so often, with people from your past. Not only is it truly enjoyable to continue to nurture those friendships and acquaintances, but also it is helpful in case you need them to open doors for you or provide assistance or support. I know I am always happy to hear from people with whom I’ve worked or friends that I’ve made in the past, and I’m delighted to help in any way I can. I’m sure your friends and acquaintances will be happy to help as well!

Know someone who is trying to cross over the Grand Canyon? Please share this post with them! Email, Facebook or Twitter.

Setting goals with PICS

Setting goals with PICS

by | Accountability, Goals, Growth, Mindset, Planning, Time, Tools

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 4 seconds.

EntreGurus-Book-The Personal MBA-Josh KaufmanTODAY’S IDEA: Setting goals with PICS

— From The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business by Josh Kaufman

As we near the end of the year, the mad rush to achieve our goals begins. We have to meet Q4 goals and quotas, we want to accomplish those things that we said we would do back in January but put off until now, etc.

What happened?

Very likely, what happened is that we set vague goals.

Josh Kaufman, business guru and author of The Personal MBA, says “Well-formed goals accomplish two things: they help you visualize what you want, and make you excited about achieving it.”

Fuzzy goals like: “I want to climb a mountain” aren’t very helpful, because they don’t give your brain anything to work with. Which mountain? Where? When? Why? Without answers to these questions, you probably won’t do anything at all. 

Well-formed goals pass the “Everest Test.” Useful goals look like this: “I want to climb to the summit of Mt. Everest before my fortieth birthday, and take a panoramic picture to frame on my wall as a trophy.”

In this example, this goal would be easy for your brain to envision: Arranging travel to Nepal, improving your climbing skills, searching for a guide, purchasing gear and equipment, buying a panoramic camera, and so on.

Kaufman goes on to say, “Once you make a conscious choice to achieve the goal, your mind automatically starts finding ways to get it done.”

So, what do we need to set well-formed goals that we can achieve?

Kaufman suggests framing the goals in a Positive, Immediate, Concrete, Specific (PICS) format:

Positive: “Refers to Motivation: your goal should be something you move toward, not away from.” If you have a goal like “I don’t want to be fat anymore,” the author says, “You’re reinforcing the negative instead of [changing] your mind’s prediction to get excited about improving.”

Immediate: “Refers to time-scale: your goals should be things that you decide to make progress on now, not ‘someday’ or ‘eventually.’ If you don’t want to commit to working on a particular goal now, put it on your someday/maybe list and focus on something else.”

Concrete: “Means you’re able to see the results in the real world. Goals are achievements—you should know when you’ve accomplished what you set out to achieve. Setting goals like ‘I want to be happy’ don’t work because they’re not concrete—how would you know when you’re done? When you reach the top of Mt. Everest, you’ve achieved something concrete.”

Specific: “Means you’re able to define exactly what, when, and where you’re going to achieve your goal. Climbing Mt. Everest on a certain date in the near future is specific, which makes it easy for your mind to plan exactly how you’ll go about accomplishing it.”

While all of this is very important to set goals, the part that I find even more important is when the author explains, “For best effect, your goals should be under your control. Goals like ‘Losing twenty pounds’ are soul-crushing because they’re not directly under your control—losing weight is a result, not an effort. If your weight randomly moves up a few pounds on a given day, it’s easy to feel defeated, even though you had no choice in the matter… make your goals actions that are within your [control], like thirty minutes of exercise every day and controlling the number of calories you consume.”

Keep track of your goals using whatever system works for you, whether manually or electronically. There are myriad ways to do this: the simpler, the better.

Lastly, Kaufman also reminds us that “it’s perfectly okay to change your goals. Sometimes we think we want something, only to find out later that we don’t want it so much anymore. Don’t feel bad about that—it’s called learning. If you find yourself working toward a goal you no longer feel good about, work on something else.”

And now, I will let you go work on framing your goals for the rest of the year. What are you planning to do? Let me know in the comments here, I’d love to hear what you’re up to.

ACTION

TODAY: What are you looking to achieve during the last two months of this year? November is almost here. Take some time to reframe your goals using PICS to ensure you can achieve them. If your goals are too big, break them down into subgoals that you can indeed achieve in 60 days.

FUTURE: Kaufman asks, “If you haven’t, can you set an arbitrary end state for now, leaving yourself open to course-correction as you progress?” As we move along on our goals, we learn and we course-correct all the time. Be disciplined with your actions to make your goal happen; but be flexible as time goes by and you course-correct (based on your experience of working on your goal), that way you can reach your destination sooner, faster, better, etc.

Know someone who is going trying to achieve a goal in the last 2 months of the year? Please share this post with them! Email, Facebook or Twitter.

Akrasia

Akrasia

by | Accountability, Goals, Growth, Habits, Mindset, Productivity, Tools

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 3 seconds.

EntreGurus-Book-The Personal MBA-Josh KaufmanTODAY’S IDEA: Akrasia

— From The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business by Josh Kaufman

Have you ever had the experience of knowing or feeling that you should do something that is in your best interest, but you just can’t bring yourself to do it?

That is not procrastination. There is a different term for that: Akrasia. (Pronunciation)

“Akrasia is one of the most widespread and persistent barriers to getting things done.”

In The Personal MBA, business guru Josh Kaufman helps us understand the difference:

Procrastination occurs when you’ve decided to complete a task, but you keep putting it off until later without consciously deciding to do it later. If you have “answer e-mail” on your to-do list, but you browse the Internet for hours without answering any e-mail, that’s procrastination.

Akrasia is a deeper issue: it’s a general feeling that you “should” do something, without necessarily deciding to do it. The “should” feeling doesn’t lead to decision or action, even if the action seems to be in your best interest. Most people experience Akrasia when considering changing habits they no longer want (“I should quit smoking”), taking a new action (“I should donate to that nonprofit”), or contemplating an uncomfortable topic (“I should look into life insurance and talk to a lawyer to write a will”). The “should” feeling sticks around, but never leads to action, generating intense frustration.

Kaufman goes on to say, “Akratic situations can take many forms: eating a cookie vs. ‘becoming healthier’ by sticking to a diet. Browsing the web vs. exercising. Staying in a bad relationship vs. moving on. Dreaming about a new business idea vs. testing it. Whenever you ‘should’ do something, but resist doing it, you’re experiencing Akrasia.”

Akrasia is a Greek term, and this problem was already being discussed in ancient Greece by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. And even though philosophers have discussed this for centuries, there is no cure. “Akrasia is a slippery problem,” says the author, “and there’s no easy, universal solution.”

But not all is lost: Kaufman points to many strategies and techniques that are useful in preventing and resolving akratic situations. “In order to spend your time making progress vs. fighting both sides of a battle of will, it’s useful to have a strategy for recognizing and combatting Akrasia when you recognize it.”

The most important thing, I believe, is to be aware of it. Now that we know it exists, we can point to it, recognize when we’re feeling Akrasia, and move forward to do what we should do.

You can read extensively about the strategies to recognize and combat Akrasia in Kaufman’s book online. (Kaufman has one full chapter—54 pages—devoted to “Working With Yourself” to combat Akrasia, procrastination and other maladies that impede our own progress as well as become superfocused and productive). Or if you don’t have the time now, you can take a quick look at these posts (each takes less than 5 min to read) that will help you shake Akrasia and move forward towards your goals:

Happy un-Akrasing!

ACTION

TODAY: Take some time to see where in your life you’re experiencing Akrasia. We all do, and it behooves us to tackle it to move forward on our goals. Now that we know that Akrasia exists, it’s easier to be aware of it and start taking action.

FUTURE: Keep in mind that we’re all human and we all experience Akrasia. The best way to find out why you’re having Akrasia about something is to ask yourself why 5 times. Once you get to the bottom of it, you’ll be able to move forward.

Know someone who is going through Akrasia about something? Please share this post with them! Email, Facebook or Twitter.

The New Niche

The New Niche

by | Creativity, Goals, Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Tools

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 43 seconds.

EntreGurus-Book-Lingo-Jeffrey ShawTODAY’S IDEA: The New Niche

— From LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer’s Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible by Jeffrey Shaw

In today’s world, where we often hear that we must “niche down,” because “the riches are in the niches,” Jeffrey Shaw, entrepreneur, coach, podcaster, and author of Lingo, says, “Ditch the niche and diversify!”

Whaaaaaat??!

He explains: “It’s not that niche marketing is inherently bad; it just needs to be redefined.”

He goes on to say that most of us, as the creative thinkers that we are (creative here defined very broadly), “need freedom from the shackles of a tightly narrowed offering and market. We’re multipassionate warriors and we don’t want to be stuck doing one thing.”

So, what should we do about this?

In Jeff’s podcast and community of Creative Warriors, he refers to following all our passions as chasing squirrels. I own a dog who has tried to climb trees to chase squirrels (!) so I know how crazy this can get… Further, as an entrepreneur myself and a mentor for startups and small businesses, I know that our business minds tend to chase many squirrels too: the (in)famous shiny-object syndrome or SOS that tends to distract and derail us if kept unchecked.

Shaw says, “I’m not saying chasing squirrels is productive. But I am saying the creative thinker is going to do it anyway. Rather than make them feel ‘sinful’ for something inherent in being creative, why not figure out how it can be productive? We can make it productive by using the connections between them to unite the squirrels into a herd and then setting that herd off in a productive direction. We can cultivate a new niche.”

And here’s the key to the New Niche: “The New Niche is not the one thing you do or the one segment of a market you serve. The New Niche is the space you own, or, you could say, the area of expertise for which you are known.”

Note here that Shaw said “area,” because your expertise includes many things, so it’s not just constrained to the one thing you do.

“Space is expansive, even limitless as far as we know and so are the possibilities and creative freedom you have when you become known for the space you own. When you or your business are recognized for the space you own, you gain creative freedom. With clarity about the space you own, you can diversify your business and create multiple streams of income.”

Shaw goes on to explain the idea of the New Niche and the meaning of owning a space: “The space you own—as a solo creative entrepreneur or as a company—is what you are known for. It answers this all-important, fundamental question: Of what will your ideal customers say you are the expert?”

Further, Shaw urges us to imagine overhearing the tail end of a conversation on the street in which a person asks another one for a referral, “Oh, [your name or name of business] is the go-to expert for ___________.”

Fill in that blank. “If you don’t know almost immediately how to fill in that blank, then you don’t own a space yet.”

In his podcast, Creative Warriors, Shaw interviewed Christopher Lochhead, co-author of the book Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets. Lochhead refers to owning your space as being a Category King and emphasizes “the importance of not only being the ‘king’ of a category but also being the first in that category.”

To this, Shaw says, “Being the Category King can certainly give you an advantage. However, for many entrepreneurs, it’s less important to be first. It’s more important to create a unique category for which you can be recognized and stand out.”

So, what is your New Niche? Let me know in the comments here.

ACTION

TODAY: Answer this question about yourself or your business: “Oh, [your name or name of business] is the go-to expert for ___________.” What is the space you own? What is that New Niche of yours? If the answer comes easily, congrats! If not, no worries, give yourself time to think and to come up with the best answer for you.

FUTURE: Claim that space as yours… it is indeed! Make sure you are passionate about it, and that it is marketable, and you’ll be golden. Here are some additional posts on this subject: How to apply the Law of the Category to your benefit and Own a word in the prospect’s mind.

Know someone who chases squirrels? Please share this post with them! Email, Facebook or Twitter.

Little things make all the difference–Part 2

Little things make all the difference–Part 2

by | Creativity, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Marketing, Mindset, Miniseries, Planning, Tools

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 37 seconds.

EntreGurus-Book-Anything You Want-Derek SiversTODAY’S IDEA: Little things make all the difference-Part 2

— From Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur, by Derek Sivers.

Yesterday we learned from Derek Sivers some of the things he implemented to make his customers smile during his days as CEO and Founder of CD Baby, an online store for indie musicians.

The key is to be thoughtful—it’s the little things that make all the difference—and provide the best service you can in a consistent way.

Let’s continue to learn directly (verbatim) from Sivers the stories of some of the awesome things that he did to turn his customers into raving fans:

Sometimes, after we had done the forty-five minutes of work to add a new album to the store, the musician would change his mind and ask us to do it over again with a different album cover or different audio clips. I wanted to say yes but let him know that this was really hard to do, so I made a policy that made us both smile: “We’ll do anything for a pizza.” If you needed a big, special favor, we’d give you the number of our local pizza delivery place. If you bought us a pizza, we’d do any favor you wanted. When we’d tell people about this on the phone, they’d often laugh, not believing that we were serious. But we’d get a pizza every few weeks. I’d often hear from musicians later that this was the moment they fell in love with us.

At the end of each order, the last page of the website would ask, “Where did you hear of this artist? We’ll pass them any message you write here.” Customers would often take the time to write things like, “Heard your song on WBEZ radio last night.” “Searched Yahoo!” “Found it here.” “I’d love to have you play at our school!” The musicians absolutely loved getting this information, and it always led to the customer and musician getting in touch directly. This is something that big stores like Amazon would never do.

Also, at the end of each order, there was a box that would ask, “Any special requests?” One time, someone said, “I’d love some cinnamon gum.” Since one of the guys in the warehouse was going to the store anyway, he picked up some cinnamon gum and included it in the package. One time someone said, “If you could include a small, rubber squid, I would appreciate it. If this is unobtainable, a real squid would do.” Just by chance, a customer from Korea had sent us a packaged filet of squid. So the shipping guys included it in the box with the other customer’s CDs. See the customer tell this story himself in this great video.

It’s no wonder that CD Baby created a legion of fans around them. Sivers and his team were thoughtful, creative, imaginative and always focused on the customer, to the point of going the extra mile to send cinnamon gum and even squid! And “the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved “Bon Voyage!” to [the] package, on its way to [the customer]…”  ←This is another post about Sivers you don’t want to miss. He’s all about making the customers happy.

As you can see, it doesn’t take too much money or too much time, and a little playfulness and creativity will take you a long way. Sivers says, “Even if you want to be big someday, remember that you don’t need to act like a big boring company. Over ten years, it seemed like every time someone raved about how much he loved CD Baby, it was because of one of these little fun human touches.”

What little things can you do to make your customers happy? Who has made you happy and how? Let me know in the comments here.

ACTION

TODAY: Review your customer’s journey and focus on the many touch points that exist. How can you improve upon those points to make your customer happy[ier]?

FUTURE: As your customers become happier and happier, capture those moments as testimonials in writing or video. This will help prospects make a decision to go with you/your company for its outstanding service, and that way you can perpetuate a virtuous cycle.

Know someone who is always making the customers smile? Please share this post with them! Email, Facebook or Twitter.

Little things make all the difference–Part 1

Little things make all the difference–Part 1

by | Creativity, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Marketing, Mindset, Miniseries, Planning, Tools

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 42 seconds.

EntreGurus-Book-Anything You Want-Derek SiversTODAY’S IDEA: Little things make all the difference-Part 1

— From Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur, by Derek Sivers.

“If you find even the smallest way to make people smile, they’ll remember you more for that smile than for all your other fancy business-model stuff,” says Derek Sivers, entrepreneur and author of Anything You Want.

Sivers was the founder of CD Baby, a very successful online website for indie musicians to sell their music (he sold it later for millions). As a pioneer in this field, he learned many lessons, and one of them was the importance of little details to make people smile.

He shares some of the things that made a huge difference on the CD Baby website. I’m adding them verbatim below, since I think Sivers writing conveys the stories very well. Enjoy!

Because we shipped FedEx at 5 p.m. each day, customers would often call and ask, “What time is it there? Do I still have time to get it sent today?” So I added two little lines of programming code that counted how many hours and minutes remained until 5 p.m. and then showed the result by the shipping options. “You have 5 hours, 18 minutes until our next FedEx shipment.” Customers loved this!

We answered our phone within two rings, always—7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Phones were everywhere, so even if the customer service rep was busy, someone in the warehouse could pick up. All anyone had to do was say, “CD Baby!” Customers loved this! Someone actually picking up the phone at a company is so rare that musicians would often tell me later at conferences that it was the main reason they decided to go with CD Baby—they could always talk to a real person immediately. All employees knew that as long as we weren’t completely swamped, they should take a minute and get to know the caller a bit. Ask about her music. Ask how it’s going. Yes, it would lead to twenty-minute conversations sometimes, but those people became lifelong fans.

Every outgoing email has a “From:” name, right? Why not use that to make people smile, too? With one line of code, I made it so that every outgoing email customized the “From:” field to be “CD Baby loves [first name].” So if the customer’s name was Susan, every e-mail she got from us would say it was from “CD Baby loves Susan.” Customers loved this!

Please come back tomorrow for Part 2 because the things that CD Baby did to make people smile get even better! As you can see, thoughtful details can turn clients into raving fans. What details can you modify or implement to make your customers smile?

😀

ACTION

TODAY: Think about the positive feedback you get from your customers (customer is broadly defined here). Can you replicate that to make everyone smile? What can you do to always implement those thoughtful details that made the customer smile in the first place?

FUTURE: Make a habit of examining the feedback you get to always be improving your attention to detail. Having customers turn into lifelong, raving fans is a wonderful achievement.

Know someone who is always making the customers smile? Please share this post with them! Email, Facebook or Twitter.