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The words we use matter. Here are some examples of words or phrases that are especially powerful.
Once upon a time. The most powerful words in storytelling. No matter how long the story goes, or how complex it becomes, every story has a beginning.
You. Because in business or in life, the more you can focus your efforts on other people, the more they will care about what you say.
“Yes and ...” The two words that keep improvisation going. Hint: they can also keep any conversation going.
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Lately I've felt that I'm doing well at the small things, but failing to plan for more involved work. It's not that the small things are inconsequential—or so I tell myself. If you also struggle with doing small things well but neglecting the bigger picture, it's time to take action. The only way to break the pattern is to force ourselves to look ahead and answer the question:
What, exactly, am I trying to build here?
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For me, everything began with the notion of freedom—the ability to determine the course of my daily schedule and overall life direction. I was very motivated by the opportunity to decide for myself. A normal job didn't fit into those parameters, so I did everything I could to create my own employment and well-being. But that was early on. Freedom is still extremely important to me. I'll walk away from any business deal or career option that restricts my choices or limits future decisions in a way that doesn't feel right ...
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The best part of The $100 Startup was telling the stories of all kinds of people who started successful businesses without spending a lot of money. Happily, the book has been a big success, with more than 100,000 copies sold in the first few months and at least 15 foreign translations in progress. I'm now beginning the research process for my next book, which we expect to reach even more people. This book is about quests—a project of measurable challenge that you work toward over a long period of time.
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Australia is one of my favorite countries out of 188 visited so far, and I was thrilled to have an extended stay of five days there last week. I first went to Melbourne to speak at Darren Rowse's Problogger Event, a gathering for bloggers and other fun people from Australia. The event was well produced by Darren and team, with lots of interesting people working on all kinds of projects.
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The post on unnecessary traffic lights generated a heated debate about rules, laws, and traffic cameras. When I let go of concerns that exist for no good reason, life becomes much easier. When I focus on outcomes and define success on my own terms, I'm able to accomplish goals quicker and more effectively.
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Yesterday I got up early ... and ran 26.2 miles through the streets of Chicago! This was my fourth marathon, but I haven't done one in several years and was somewhat worried. I had been apprehensive after not being able to train as much as I should have, and also after feeling some pain in my right leg on the longest run before the race. Thankfully, all was well yesterday. From start to finish, I felt comfortable. Even at the end, I was tired but not as exhausted as I've been for every other long race.
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Whenever things are going well, it's always good to ask yourself “How could I improve? What could I do better?” Never rest on your laurels! Always be thinking: OK, great. What's next? Yesterday I woke up early and went for a quick run around the park. Then I went for a morning biscuit at Pine State, where I visit a couple of times a week whenever I'm home in Portland. Then I came back and got ready, and then we sold 1,000 WDS 2013 tickets to fun people all over the world. I looked back at the screen and thought, wow, that was exciting. Then I went for sushi.
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Bob Dylan spoke to Rolling Stone recently. I liked these parts:
You've described what you do not as a career but as a calling.
Everybody has a calling, don't they? Some have a high calling, some have a low calling. Everybody is called but few are chosen. There's a lot of distraction for people, so you might not never find the real you. A lot of people don't.
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Let's do this one more time, because it's important. Micro-entrepreneurship is changing the world. The best opportunities in the new economy are centered on creating your own assets. It doesn't matter who wins the U.S. election this fall, at least not in terms of how the economy affects you. No matter what happens, the unemployment rolls will continue to be full. Perhaps even worse, many people will remain underemployed by working at jobs that offer few benefits and little opportunities for advancement.
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If there's something you need to do, but you keep putting it off—or if there's something you'd like to do but don't seem able to push through, there's at least one easy way to fix it. The solution begins with understanding why we procrastinate. The simple answer is: because we can. To solve the problem, therefore, we need to eliminate the ability to defer. If the task is short but dreaded (a phone call you don't want to make, for example), you can simply decide not to leave the room until it's complete.
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Since posting the 2012 Frequent Flyer Challenge, I've fielded a ton of queries from people about how it works, which cards are best for their needs, and the occasional complaint from someone who feels like this information is too good to be shared. The short response is: it works very well. I'll be receiving more than 200,000 miles from my recent applications, in addition to several million miles over the past few years. These opportunities aren't going away anytime soon, so you might as well get in on them if you can.
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I'm back on the road to meet readers of The $100 Startup! After a summer break where I hosted WDS 2012 with a great team, traveled to Yemen and Congo, and began work on an upcoming business project, I'm glad to be hanging out with readers again and talking about freedom almost every night. If you've read the book already, you might recognize the great illustrations that accompany the text. These were created by Mike Rohde, a Milwaukee-based artist.
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Have you ever pulled up to a stoplight and waited ... and waited ... while there was no other traffic in sight?
Three minutes later, the light finally changes, and you pull away ... with no other traffic in sight?
A couple of years ago, this happened to me late at night while I was traveling in the midwest. I sat there and kept thinking: what a useless stoplight. What am I waiting for?
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Happy Labor/Labour Day! If you're in the U.S. or Canada, I hope you're enjoying the holiday. Everyone else, enjoy the lull in traffic while many people in North America are offline doing other things. As for me, I'm heading back out on the road, flying down to San Diego today and then around the U.S. for a few more tour stops over the next two weeks ...
