Every day I hear people complaining about their jobs. They don’t like what they do. They don’t like their boss. They don’t like the hours and schedules required of them and they don’t think they are paid enough.

Sure leaving this faux sense of security of being employed can seem scary. And oh yeah, being responsible and accountable for all your actions is a serious and sometimes not easy commitment.

Most of us live in America. The land of the free. No one has a gun next tot your head, who says you have to be employed. We can all make choices to break away from the employment muck zone to being an enterprising entrepreneur where you control your destiny.

If you hate your job or you know someone who does, there is one person to blame. YOU or THEM!!

Monday is Valentines Day. A holiday of celebrating love, admiration and passion. These are all available when you are an entrepreneur. If you are not entrepreneur yet, join us. If you are, then celebrate everyday the greatest place to be in the world.

21 reasons why I love being an entrepreneur!

1. My actions ans choices decide my paycheck
2. I can play tennis at 2PM
3. Or work until midnight
4. Or start at 9AM
5. I can wear sweats and tennis clothes everyday
6. I can’t get fired
7. I can try crazy ideas
8. I can invest in lifetime learning or anything for that matter
9. I can pick my support team
10. I can fire my support team
11. I can break rules
12. I can make rules
13. I can go to the movies at 4
14. I an eat pizza at 10 AM at my desk
15. I can give my self a raise
16. I can buy a new company car
17. I can change my mind
18. I can pick my clients
19. I can take vacations when I want
20. I can start a new business
21. I can work hard, or I can hardly work

View our set up your new business ta-do list to establish the best business structure for you!

It sure can. Research shows that people who are happy are healthier and wealthier. Think about how much more energy you have when you feel great, you got a big new client, you are in love, you accomplished something difficult, it’s better than two shots of B12. And happy people experience less stress and attract other happy people which create a domino effect of momentum.

Identity small things that make you happy and do them  often. You will see a difference in your business, your support team and your life.

Here are a few things that make me happy.

• Going to an awesome movie.
• Hearing one of my favorite songs.
• Feeling the sun.
• Endorphins from exercise.
• Winning a tennis match.
• Smelling garlic cooking.
• Completing a tough project.
• Getting a massage.

The cool thing is, I can make all of these happen.

What are some small things that make you happy?
Now go make them happen.

Also, be sure to check out: Celebrate love being an entrepreneur everyday.

Juggling. I don’t remember ever taking a class on this in high school or college. Yet, as an entrepreneur and small business owner, you must master the skill like a professional circus star. Here are two methods that work well for me that I’ve just figured out through experience.

1) The 90-day strict focus juggling act.
This week and for the next couple months, I’m in serious lock down mode. This means other than sleeping, eating,  an hour or so of daily tennis or some cardio and cranking out quality work and I’m not doing anything else. PERIOD. I don’t recommend this approach often, it’s intense and most of your friends will think you are very weird and may even refer to you as a cave person, but sometimes, this style of juggling is just plain required.

This is a choice I’ve made because the current list of balls in the air that are directly tied to my big life goals. I am very intentional and know clearly what I want based on my core values.

My #1 life goal is: to ensure freedom and independence which are derived from financial, creative and high happy factor success.

My current list of responsibilities: my consulting work, my new book, Brand Turnaround: How Brands Gone Bad  Return to Glory, McGraw-Hill (complete manuscript due by May 1st), my Oddpodz blogging, my speech and trip Saudi Arabia all require big time, deep problem solving and creative thinking. For me, this is what I call the highly-focused juggle act. You keep your eyes and thoughts on specific projects and nothing else. You say no to social stuff, volunteer duties and anything that needs brain cells or attention, unless it’s part of your focused juggling act or really an emergency. Fortunately, I have the luxury of being single and having no dependents, so I can pull this off, this may not be so easy for everyone.

From here, I map out a very clear working plan.
This includes: daily objectives and needed tasks, support team and a detailed time line to accomplish all.  From here, I schedule daily blocks of time (the night before) to work on each of the four balls, (sometimes I even use a food timer to limit how much I spend on any given ball) stay very discipline so I don’t break my train of focus with non emergency distractions – like taking non urgent calls, checking email etc. – and I make sure I give clear instructions and expectations to any team members who is supporting me. Plus, when I do this highly-focused juggle I also do my rituals, read my affirmation as I eat right, don’t drink too much and visit my master goal list daily, so I’m so clear on where I’m headed.

When time is not such a critical factor, I use this more balanced juggling act formula, which produces great results.

2) The 365-day juggling act.
Stay calm.
Be happy you have balls to juggle. It’s much better than the alternative. Don’t view the balls that you are juggling as scary time bombs, but as great opportunities. Try to limit the number you juggle to 7 to 10 max or you are headed for the loony house soon.

Embrace balance.
Mix up your work load with non work stuff. Enjoy life, since it’s not a dress rehearsal.

Work from plan.
Write out daily objectives and needed tasks, identify who you need to support you and a develop a detailed time line to accomplish all.

Celebrate your achievements and be grateful.
Hourly, daily  and often.

Have fun, juggling is not a root canal.

Don’t forget to check out: Torn between two lovers, no different than business priorities.

As entrepreneurs we have no shortage of challenges, setbacks and bumps in the road to our dream. That’s why it’s so important to celebrate your achievements even when they are small.

I had an amazing day.
It started with waking up, breathing and walking. I am so grateful. My brain and body parts all work.

I did a 30 minute show for FOX TV on the Super Bowl commercials. It was rocked. I have great chemistry with the anchor, did my homework, was smooth and had a blast. To learn about Super Bowl marketing, see my previous post.

My literary agent accepted the offer from McGraw-Hill, an international publisher to publish my next book, which will be called Brand Turnaround: How brands go bad and return to glory. It will be printed in hard back and potentially read by business people from around the globe. Look for it some time this next year.

I invited my men-tee, Jess English CEO of Simply-sitters from UT to shadow me at the TV station, it was cool for both of us.

I received a certified package from South Africa from the US Post Office. It was a copy of Entrepreneur Magazine, the South African edition with a big feature on me that ran in the US last year.

I closed three really cool speaking assignments with Pizza Hut, Saudi Airlines and Duchossois. That #1 Google listing is really paying off.

And I won my tennis match against a girl that usually beats me!!!

All my days are not this sweet. But, I always celebrate them like they were national holidays.

5 Ways to turn your achievements into a national holiday.
1) Treat yourself with something. I get massages. A nice bottle of wine, some chocolate or even a nice meal out can work too.
2) Extend your celebration to Saturday. The banks are closed, it could be for your national holiday.
3) Remind yourself how you did what you did, you’ll be impressed.
4) Blog about it, tell some friends, add it to your bio or the about section of your website.
5) Take the day off, give your self a cash bonus and enjoy the joy of being an entrepreneur!

For more on holidays, be sure to check out: 3 gifts that should be on everyone’s holiday wish list.

Running shoe is by Newton.

I’m still in Houston and today is the Chevron Marathon. Thousands of ambitious runners are headed for the finish line as they run, walk or crawl 26 long miles. Achieving this goal after months of training and preparation is huge.

The day will be painful, challenging, rewarding, joyous and emotional for most. Sounds like a day at the office when you are entrepreneur. I’ve recapped 26 steps that these runners have taken and you can apply to reach your goals.

1.) Start. Set your goals.

2.) Create a simple, doable plan – how will you get to your goal?

3.) Develop a working schedule that covers: research, training, execution and anything else that needs to be done.

4.) List out all your smaller milestones that are needed to meet your big goal. Make sure you set accountable measures and deadlines.

5.) Design a wellness plan that includes diet, exercise, supplements and stretching rituals.

6.) Re-think your sleeping zone, your bed, the noise and the lighting so you can sleep for 7-8 hours every night.

7.) Relearn the importance and practice of breathing often and in a full cycles.

8.) Research and buy the best equipment you need to achieve the ultimate performance.

9.) Decide who your positive support network will be including business associates, friends and vendors.

10.) Kindly lose any negative, non-achieving friends, business associates and vendors from your world.

11.) Exercise your mind by using both sides daily. From crossword puzzles to something creative like doodling.

12.) Hydrate daily with water, not wine. Wine can be consumed in moderation, but water needs to be drank at least 6 times a day.

13.) Establish daily learning rituals from reading the WJS, to listening to podcasts and watching webinars and practice what you’ve learned.

14.) Work on improving mental toughness every hour. Shake off mistakes and disappointments. Believe in the power of your mind.

15.) Push yourself beyond what you think you can do.

16.) Identify a handful of people that inspire you, follow them and learn from them. Whether you know them or not.

17.) Carefully assess your competition, their strengths, and weaknesses.

18.) Seek out legal advantages that will accelerate your journey to the finish line.

19.) Keep your eyes and ears wide open for potholes and flying objects.

20.) Practice, train and be disciplined everyday.

21.) Recover, refresh and revitalize often.

22.) Show gratitude and appreciation to people you know and people you don’t know.

23.) Visit, read and recite your goals every day.

24.) Affirm in writing what you believe and can achieve. This is your story that you own, read it out loud everyday.

25.)  Stay laser focused on your goals and dreams.

26.) Don’t waste emotions on feeling guilt, worrying, dwelling on the past or things you can’t control.

Bonus step

27.) Be proud everyday of every little step you’ve taken.

For more on entrepreneur list-styles, view:
Celebrate loving being an entrepreneur everyday.
Can being happier change your entrepreneur results?

Yesterday I attended a planning meeting at the University of Tampa. I serve on the advisory board for The Entrepreneur Center. Lead by Dr. Rebecca White, the goal of The Entrepreneur Center is to be a nationally recognized program for students seeking an education and experience so that they can be a happy and successful entrepreneur, and to have the needed skills and resources to start and grow sustainable, fruitful and rewarding businesses.

Yesterday was unique. We were brain storming and planning a new initiative, an accelerator program for students and alumni to learn, leverage resources and fuel the local Tampa entrepreneur scene and economy. Our group was a mix of experienced entrepreneurs, academics and UT students and Alumni.

Many excellent ideas were generated and the planning session was a success. But the coolest takeaway for me was collaborating with three young, emerging entrepreneurs from the campus. They included: a recent graduate of UT, Jess English who leads a babysitting referral company called Simply Sitters, Bobby Soroory, an MBA student at UT who is a principle with Legacy Development Company and Arthur Linares Jr.,  a current student of UT’s entrepreneurial studies and co-founder of Greenskies, a renewable energy venture.

Their insight, energy and entrepreneurial spirit was contagious and inspiring. It made me reflect on my start when I was 22, and how it felt being a business newbie, an outsider to the real game of commerce with limited resources. And most importantly how critical it was and still is to have a network of trusted advisors and mentors.

I left the meeting with a renewed appreciation for the program and a commitment to stay connected and help the next generation of entrepreneurs.

No matter how busy you are as an entrepreneur, if you’ve got skills and experience under your belt, share them. Reach out to the local entrepreneurial program in your community, get involved or take a young, emerging entrepreneur to lunch every quarter. You will both walk away with new juice and simulation.

If you are a seasoned entrepreneur in Tampa and want to get involved with this program, contact me.

For more on student learning, view: How to connect with the campus consumer.

In the new economy unfolding before you, it’s your ideas that are highly valued–not your time.
The fact remains your clients and prospects have an abundant choice of alternatives to you. There are far too many competitors in the marketplace today. Being good, even great at what you do is not enough to differentiate you from the slush pile, and get your business to the next level–where you’re compensated for your value.

Fast and cheap.
As an early-stage entrepreneur, it’s important to remember most clients will place a low value on your time–and a high value on theirs. Consequently, these are the clients who get things done fast and cheap. The bottom line is you’ll only get the gig if you’re the fastest and cheapest. In a commoditized market, any price will be perceived as too high. You’ll always be vulnerable to lower cost providers, and have little if no power influencing the procurement of your services.

Only two things release you from the bondage of trading your time for money–
-       the level of demand for your available time.
-       the financial value people place on your ideas.

Time is finite, valuable ideas are infinite. Entrepreneurs, who can sustain their focus and attention on creativity and innovation in how they bring value to the marketplace, will be the beneficiaries of all the new economy has to offer. Those who stay stuck in a commoditized market, billing their time by the hour, will doom themselves to order-taker status.
Get yourself free at last from the hourly rate mentality.

We are at the very beginning of a new global economic order. In the wake of this transition, we are witnessing the destruction of old systems and structures. For many businesses and the people they employ, the effects have been nothing short of devastating.  As the dust settles from this disruptive reset, and in the midst of all this uncertainty, they are many entrepreneurs who are thriving!  Proof that prosperity doesn’t care about the economy.

Would you like to know what makes these creative businesses rock, and how you can get your scene to rock at the next level?  Here are some ideas that may help you reframe your thinking so you can break free from the physics of running your business by the clock:

Do what really matters to you, and really matters to some people.
In order for you to sustain the energy required to innovate remarkable value for your clients, you must engage yourself in only those ideas, activities and relationships that really matter to you. The lines between work and play must be dissolved.  Passion, and the emotional labor that naturally comes with it, are prerequisites for thriving in the idea economy.

More importantly, what really matters to you must serve a specific group of people–not everyone. Your expertise must be highly specialized in what you love and serves the higher emotional needs of others in the marketplace who are just as passionate about your thing as you are. The days of the generalist are over.  Where ever your passion lies, get famous for it!

Good is the new slush pile.
Nowadays, everything and everybody is good. Good enough. Your talent and expertise is the ante, merely the price of admission. Many people can do what you do–some even better! Become highly valued for your thinking and your contributions of value– not through your skills at implementation or managing process. It is the only way for you to break free from the restrictions charging by hour sets on your income and the size of your future.

Be really different. Make a real difference.
Properly positioning the value you represent in the minds of clients is the source code to your financial freedom. You must invest in building your personal brand, and have it represent something genuine, remarkable, and highly valued from the alternatives in the marketplace.

Make a difference (and create opportunity) by providing your value to those you wish to serve first. Share your expertise–don’t sell it. Most of all provide more “use” value to your clients than they are paying you in cash. In other words, whenever your clients value the benefits they experience working with you more than the value of the money they are holding, you’ll have made a difference.
Stop writing proposals, start making them.
Writing proposals is for suckers. How many times have you written a proposal for a client-to-be and then you wait, and wait, while your client shops around looking for a better fit at a lower price? Stop writing proposals and start making them.

Your proposal is the expertise you share in conversation with your prospective client about how best to solve their problem. After you’ve had the opportunity to assess how best to solve their problem, simply explain in a deeper conversation, what course of action you’d suggest, explain the financial investment required of them, and then say ”if we have a deal, I’ll have my office send you written confirmation of our conversation and we can begin immediately”!  Your proposals are the words coming out of your mouth–not something that gathers dust languishing on someone’s desk!

Create once, and then reap the rewards again and again.
Many solo professionals build their practice/business around solving the same kinds of problems for different clients. Their relationships are consulting based, not transactional. If this is true for your business, you probably have tremendous expertise that can be leveraged and offered to many clients at the same time, indefinitely. Your specific expertise can be made available in forms where many more clients can benefit from your value while you are drinking wine in Paris.

There has never been a more profound opportunity for you to exponentially increase your impact, influence and income than right now!  Ideas are the currency of the new economy. Build your brand around what you love, share your knowledge for the good of all, and create high value for others first, and you’ll never fill out a time sheet again!

Think about how you create value, and in what ways you might be selling yourself short.

Editor’s Note: This post is a small taste of the concepts and ideas we will engage ourselves in during a year-long series of four 2-day White Hot Center Quantum Leap Workshops beginning in March 2011. Right from the beginning, you’ll have greater clarity and confidence to define a compelling vision for your future– and set the foundation to achieve your goal of taking your business to the next level in an easy, relaxed, and joyful way. If you are interesting in attending and would like more information, email me directly!

Be sire to check out: Smart tips: word of mouth

It’s hard, emotional and down right difficult, picking the one when you like and want both of them, or selecting the business priority, when they both seem so important. They all have benefits and potential rewards, YIKES what does one do?

I’ve been struggling with this for a few months. With 10-14 hours in a day, seven days in a week and only so many productive brain cells to dedicate to a project, I often feel torn, stretched and pulled at all ends.

My consulting practice business has had a huge consulting project this year that required full time and solid mental focus. When I took on the assignment I made a commitment to give 300% to achieve the program goals. My speaking obligations have also been active too and there is more pull  and stress there, and then there is my unfinished challenge of turning around a start up that had bumpy beginnings, Oddpodz.

Do you try to do it all?  Some a little half-ass? Do you self-inflict extreme stress and pressure, by trying to be superwomen or man and work 20 hours a day and address all of it?

NO!!! You’ll burn out.

It won’t work. You must pick priorities and focus. Finish your business that you have committed to and then shift gears to handle your other priorities with the same full commitment. Especially if one priority means cash flow that will allow you to take on the next priority soon there after.

YES, push yourself a bit, but don’t get crazy with unrealistic goals with two many projects or something will suffer.

Beyond my primary duties that I was committed to ,  I carved out about 15-20 hours a week to my secondary project, Oddpodz. I dedicated to writing my blog, doing some marketing and most of all learning  new things that could help Oddpodz and my consulting clients. It became a win, win instead of a overwhelming spin out feeling.

Still stuck on how to decide what is your real priority and what gets kicked under the bus?

I’ve mentioned in the past, I’ve been working with one of Tony Robin’s coaches. Her name is Jayne Jewel and I love working with her. She’s just the right amount of tough love and a real-friend likable buddy,  that you don’t want to disappoint.

Last month this struggle of priorities was on the agenda. Jayne helped me with some great decision making tools. She pointed out that when you make decisions you must look at your:

• Desired outcomes
• Your options
• What the consequences can be
• Then evaluate
• Then mitigate
• and resolve

As I processed through this list, it became much clearer on what was my #1 priority. The good news on my Oddpodz turnaround is there is no hard pressure deadline, other than what I impose on myself. The company is growing, we’ve made solid progress, some sales and I have a plan that will take us to the next level.

Accepting what is, being at peace with your doable goals and your time frame is a much better place to be than operating in a complete stress zone and feeling “how can I get to all this at once”.

Decisiveness will set you free to focus and then achieve priority milestones,  then empower you to take on the next one and do it right with 300% of you.

Stay tuned. . . January will be a new beginning.

Also, check out: How Facebook saved Buddy’s life.

Three topics that interest me and all have some synergy.

Seth Godin is one of my favorite smart guys. He’s a best selling author on business and marketing, The Purple Cow, Permission Marketing, Linchpin just to name a few,  a prolific speaker and a great thought leader. I so admire his insight and style. I regularly visit his blog, his books and videos for inspiration. Seth and his work always challenges me to notch my work up even higher.

He like I were both born in Buffalo, New York in 1960. So that gives us, give or take a few months, 18, 250 days of life experiences to tap into when we tell stories, make points and or argue about something we don’t agree with.

Our backgrounds are quite different and very similar. Seth went to Tufts University and studied computer science and philosophy, I went To Bauder to study fashion.

We both have written books, are serial entrepreneurs and speakers. Seth gets the volume badge on book sales. But, I definitely score higher on the more hair award.

I’ve thought about Seth Godin, Buffalo, NY and being 50 this week.

In the Seth case, it’s because I often analysis other people with commonalities to me, and ask, I wonder what their biggest, best break through moment, day or decision was in their life that resulted in reaching significant goals? I also think about what was their most profound failure that contributed to their current success? All high achievers have a collection of both.

Buffalo, I hate to break it to you, but, usually when I think about you, like I did this week was when I’m dipping my hot wing in some blue cheese dressing, and for a nanosecond, I think thank goodness for Buffalo and The Anchor Bar and that they discovered this extraordinary culinary delight.

And my last item of interest, that I’ve thought about this week,  being 50.

I was playing tennis last night. And my body was really sore. I’ve played everyday this week and my joints were screaming. After making a smoking point from serve, I made a comment to one of my team mates about this pain, and she voiced back. “Well, you know you are not as young as you used to be, Karen.”

There was silence. I looked around, remembered that I did not play tennis 10 years ago and that I was in the best athletic shape of my life. I stated back, “Oh, but  yes I am”.

The results of my pondering mind this week.

Identify people you admire and observe them often (This is not the same as stalking).
1) Pick 2 or 3 colleagues in your industry and learn from them. This can happen without ever meeting them in person. I’m lucky, I’ve met most of Muses. Never compare their wins or defeats with yours, they are equally as important, but do challenge what you are doing with the inspiration you garner from them.

Honor your place of birth, even if it’s related to a high fat food item.
2) Seriously I love Buffalo. And I’m grateful that it provided my mom a nice place to give birth to me and others like Seth, Tim Russert, Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, Wolf Blitzer and Rick James.

Own your own story. Don’t buy into what others may believe.
3) My tennis pal may be feeling like she’s getting older. She can buy that story. I feel like I’m getting better and younger. That’s my story and I’m stickin to it.

Be sure to check out: You know you are engaged when you take your laptop and Seth Godin to the bathroom.

5 convincing reasons rituals can put you on a winning track.

Rituals are one of the most important tools you can use to achieve balance, mental toughness and your goals. Repetition of habits creates an awareness of your values and what’s most meaningful. Disciplined patterns of thinking and acting can enhance your ability to respond to pressure, recover from mental and physical depletion and concentrate on your goals.

In Jame E. Loehr’s New York Times bestselling book, Stress for Success, Jim works with and interviews top Olympian athletes, business leaders and people with extreme pressure cooking careers. He noted they all follow daily routines or rituals, enabling their health, happiness and performance to go to a new, higher level.

Studies show that rituals:

1. Help us shift gears to oscillate between stress and recovery.
2. Increase personal control and facilitate living a life consistent with our deepest values.
3. Bring order and structure to chaos and change.
4. Stimulate past emotional states by activating sensory memory.
5. Help us execute complex tasks with perfection—mentally, physically and emotionally.

I’ve always had rituals. You probably have some too. But I’ve recently created a list of them and consciously go through them daily. I’ve found in doing this my productivity has significantly risen and I’m feeling a lot less stressed and much more fulfilled.

Below is my daily list. I’ve thrown it in a chart and actually mark off the rituals as I do them everyday. And when I think about blowing a ritual  off, I ask myself, what would Michael Phelps, Madonna or whoever I admire do? The answer is they would do the ritual, and that’s why they have been so successful. When I have a big event to do,  give a presentation, speech or tennis match, I add other items that are specific to those situation. For instance, when I speak, I practice a number of times before the gig, and imagine a room with a standing ovation. For tennis, I perform mental and physical exercises before I walk on the court and talk to myself and tennis ball.

What are your rituals? Have you had any experiences that you can share?

Also view: 4-simple habits of champion goal-getters.