Define Yourself on Your Own Terms

It is not revolutions and upheavals that clear the road to better days, but revelations, and lavishness of someone’s soul inspired, and ablaze. - Boris Pasternak, After the Storm

THE SPARK KIT 2

the fine print

contact

Whitehottruth.com [email protected]

twitter: @daniellelaporte facebook snail: 1424 Commercial Drive, PO Box 21708, Vancouver BC V5L 3X0 Canada

© 2010 Danielle LaPorte. But go ahead, take my stuff. Publish it on your site, tweet links, post it on Facebook, print vast paragraphs in your destined-to-be bestselling book...with attribution credit to yours truly, of course.

Graphic design by: me. In Word. (Because I still need to learn how to use InDesign.) Video: filmed on my MacBookPro, edited in iMovie. All two-way interviews recorded via Skype, using CallRecorder.

THE SONIC FIRE PLAYLIST The following music was listened to obsessively while creating this book:

. Imogen Heap, Ellipse . Hildegard von Bingen, The Fire Of Creation . Glenn Gould, Inventions, JS Bach . Peter Gabriel, Scratch My Back . Sade, Soldier of Love . Matisyahu, One Day . Ben Harper, Life Line . Jann Arden, Free

. Erykah Badu, New Amerykah . Pearl Jam, The Fixer . Metric, Fantasies . Alicia Keys, The Element of Freedom

CLICK HERE to access this playlist on itunes! (USA readers, CLICK HERE)

THE SPARK KIT 3

table of contents

prelude Fine print Table of Contents Getting all you can from this digital experience Gratitude is always the best place to begin VIDEO: Welcome, 2 mins

module 1: strength + desire: define yourself on your own terms

Session 1: The Burning Questions Session 2: Rooting Into Your Present PRINT: pg 23 PRINT: pg 33 WORKSHEET 1: The Burning Questions WORKSHEET 2: Past Purge WORKSHEET 3: Glory Boarding

Session 3: Your True Strengths + The Session 4: The Strategy of Desire Metrics of Ease PRINT: pg 62 PRINT: pg 40 VIDEO: Strategy of Desire, 4 mins VIDEO: The Metrics of Ease, 9 mins WORKSHEET 6: Vocational Feelings VIDEO: The Merit of Self-Centered with Dyana Valentine 10 mins WORKSHEET 4: Passion Play WORKSHEET 5: Very Strong Priorities A word on life purpose

module 2: identity + branding: you are not a box of cereal

Session 5: Integrity branding Session 6: Looking Super Fine PRINT: pg 76 PRINT: pg 92 VIDEO: Bonding + Branding with Elizabeth WORKSHEET 10: Styling Talerman 10 mins WORKSHEET 7: The All About You Interview WORKSHEET 8: Who’s Great? From Michael Bungay Stanier WORKSHEET 9: Ask A Friend Survey

THE SPARK KIT 4

module 3: content + services + promotion

Session 7: Making Stuff That Feels Good to Session 8: It’s All Self-Promotion, Baby Make PRINT: pg 114 PRINT: pg 97 VIDEO: Community + Connection, with Chris WORKSHEET 11: Queens + Kings of Content Guillebeau, 8 mins WORKSHEET 12: Make Stuff Happen WORKSHEET 13: The Shiniest 5

Session 9: Your Virtual Real Estate Session 10: Social Media + Driving Traffic PRINT: pg 122 PRINT: pg 131 WORKSHEET 14: Design Intake VIDEO: Zip Zoom on Social Media, 4 mins

Session 11: Money: More is More. Plenty is Enough. PRINT: pg 138 VIDEO: The Value of Value, 6 mins WORKSHEET 15: Talk Money

module 4: reverie + courage

Session 12: Fear + Other Tough Stuff Session 13: Quittin’ Time PRINT: pg 148 PRINT: pg 154 VIDEO: Loss + Stamina, 8 mins VIDEO: Quittin’ Time, 5 mins WORKSHEET 16: Deconstructing Fear WORKSHEET 17: Comfort Zoning

Session 14: Supporting Characters Session 15: Free Time! PRINT: pg 157 PRINT: pg 164 VIDEO: Collaborative Paradigms, 4 mins WORKSHEET 19: The Perfect 12 WORKSHEET 18: Simpatico Inventory

Session 16: Visioneering Session 17: Be The Giver PRINT: pg 167 PRINT: pg 176 VIDEO: Authentic Dreaming, 2 mins Worksheet 20: Vision Prompters Worksheet 21: Dream Analysis

Session 18: Just Start. NOW. PRINT: pg 177 VIDEO: The Send Off, 2 mins WORKSHEET 22: Future Gratitude

THE SPARK KIT 5

send off

Contributors Self Promo + Ops Interviews, Darling Gratitude

supporting materials

Worksheets Collected: Type Enabled Video Transcriptions Collected

THE SPARK KIT 6

gratitude is always PRE the best place LUDE to begin

COMPONENTS VIDEO: Welcome!

May your heart be an altar, from which the bright flame of unending thanksgiving ascends to Heaven. - St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, Embrace the World

VIDEO: Welcome! 2 mins

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

Enter password: lightmyfire

This book is one part instructive storytelling, one part exploratory workbook, and one part cosmic download. It’s text! It’s visuals! It’s a veritable transmission of love and acumen.

Have you noticed that generous people always have more to give? I think that's the primary principle of innovation: give it all you’ve got. Don’t hold back any ideas, don’t restrain your ambition, and whatever you do, don’t skimp on your intention to be immediately helpful. Because when you do, your creativity gets all stale n’ stiff, and clogs up your arteries of excellence. If you pour it on, there’s always more where that came from.

THE SPARK KIT 7

When I set out to create this program, I decided to just give ‘er. I could have broken this into bits, made a series out of it, sold it off in segments. But that wouldn’t be as much fun. I just wanted to get it all out in one place and see what happens. And so I have

So here’s all I’ve got to give on enlightened and practical entrepreneurship in one fell swoop. I hope you love it. More than that, I hope you start a fire with it. Lots of fires. Hot, blazing, light up the world kind of fires.

Create from the heart. Proceed with intelligence.

THE SPARK KIT 8

getting all you can from this digital experience

1. Read / Watch / Listen in any order. Start backwards if you want.

2. Form a Spark Kit Group. Do some or all of the Sessions with a friend, or a group of happy, ambitious strangers.

I did a private "Fire Starter Seminar" in New York City in 2009. That group still meets regularly, often at the Hudson Hotel by a big fireplace, to jam on everything from site traffic to the law of attraction. Friends make business so much better.

If you start a Spark Kit group, let me know about it! And keep an eye on my site for announcements—word's out that a number of great coaches are going to start leading their own groups.

3. Make your own meaning. Everything is open to interpretation. Do any Session or Worksheet however you want to do it. There is no right or wrong way.

4. Savour it. Give yourself some time to be with it. Put on the kettle. Crank some tunes. Block out chunks of focused time—like you would a home study class or a standing appointment with your professor. Make space to learn and see true and new things for you. My writing tends to be dense, as in packed. I like to say as much as possible with as few words as possible. So it lends itself to grazing.

5. Print it out. I’m extremely eco-friendly. I recycle toilet paper rolls. But if I were you, I’d go get one ream of recycled, 3-hole punched paper, and a three-ring binder, and I’d print this mother out right away. Good content deserves to be a sensual experience. Mark it up with your insights and answers. It’s a workbook. Scratch, underline, get out your highlighter.

If printing out this whole tome seems too daunting, then just printing out the WORKSHEETS should get you on your way. The worksheets are woven throughout the book, and I’ve also put them in a one-stop collection that you can print on its own.

THE SPARK KIT 9

7. Challenge this material. Please, don’t blankly agree with any of the perspectives shared herein. This is an exercise in thinking for yourself. Cross something out if you think it’s bogus wisdom or draw one of those little meanie faces. If you really love something, big stars or little hearts are nice. Telling your friends about it is even better. (Hint: my Twitter name is @daniellelaporte and the hash tag for this is #SparkKIT.)

8. Only do what you’re inspired to do. That’s the whole point…of life.

THE SPARK KIT 10

how it actually works…the beauty of multimedia

Kicking it all off is a Prelude section (which you’re reading now).

There are 4 modules, each of which covers a big theme: Module 1: Strength + Desire Module 2: Identity + Branding Module 3: Content + Services + Promotion Module 4: Reverie + Courage

In each module, there are a number of “Sessions” (chapters). Most of the Sessions have an accompanying Worksheet(s) and a video.

VIDEO: If you click on the video link that’s in each Session, it will bring you to WhiteHotTruth.com to view the video (you’ll have to enter a password, which is “lightmyfire”. It’s the same password for all of the videos. Simple.) When you’re in my site viewing a video, you can also download the video from there so it lives on your own hard drive. It’s all very easy and straightforward.

Every video has been transcribed into readable copy. You’ll find those in a file called “Videos Transcribed.” Cool, eh?

WORKSHEETS: As I mentioned, the Worksheets are inserted throughout the book in each Session. You can also get them all in one file called The Workbook of O' Fire. The workbook is typable, meaning you can enter your answers in from your computer and save them.

RESOURCES: Most Sessions end with a list of suggested reading and links. A collection of all of the resources mentioned throughout the book is available in a file called Resources Collected.

And it all wraps up with the Send Off section.

All links are live, so you can click on any text in blue and it will connect you to its reference. I use Canadian spelling and punctuation rules, because…I'm Canadian.

Light it up!

THE SPARK KIT 11

MOD define yourself ULE on your own terms

I found out that there weren't too many limitations, if I did it my way. - Johnny Cash

1 The ethos of entrepreneuring. STRENGTH + DESIRE A short story of my moment of truth.

We had the corner table at JJ Bean Coffee House on Commercial Drive and 6th. There were loan documents, term sheets, and talking points piled next to my peppermint tea. I was looking to Lance, my investor and mentor, to give me some straight up, sage advice. My company was being torn apart by a clash of wills and motives. It was wretched. Everything was on the line. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, five years of full tilt labour and love, long-term relationships, reputation—a very big dream. I had a lawyer (two of them). I had a business coach. I had a Buddhist shrink. What I needed was a friend with hardcore business acumen—someone who knew the ropes, and who knew me.

I had that deep, desperate crease of "What should I do?" on my face. I was pushing hard for answers, somersaulting over Scenario A or B or…Z. Lance made it clear, with his eyes twinkling. He said:

"You’re freer than you think you are."

Free? I’d never felt so trapped in my life. The pressure was a whole new phenomenon in my system.

"Look, you’re in the jungle. So just play by the rules of the jungle." Lance leaned in. "It’s time for you to take care of yourself, Danielle. You got yourself into this mess because you gave away your power. This is your chance to get the lesson. I want you to get this one so you never repeat it again. Jungle rules. Power rules."

Got it. Free. In the jungle. Meowww. This lesson was deeper for me than Mr. Mentor Man could have known.

THE SPARK KIT 12

"I get it. I do. I get that there’s some bogus propositions on the table. They’re trying to bully me. Jungle shit, I know." I pressed on, the crease in my brow deepening. "But, if I exercise my legal rights, and I know I’m on seriously solid ground here, but if I decide to get all Warrior on this, then some people are going to lose their houses and have their credit trashed. I know playing ‘fair’ will cost me a lot of money. And while some of those folks can kiss my ass on Main Street, I don’t want to wreck lives here. There’s got to be a way…" my voice trailed off. I looked out the window for an answer to ride by on a bicycle.

And then he said it—gently, but emphatically. Kindly, but deadly serious:

"Are you a entrepreneur, or what?"

It was question, not a criticism. And it hung in the air like a sword over a sacrificial altar. I think I heard tribal drums in the background (jungle b-b-beats). It was a test. Door #1: Self-respect. Door #2: Get the respect of the Very Rich, Highly Intelligent, Truly Helpful Investor Guy. And very rich, highly intelligent, truly helpful investor guys are not the kind of people you want to burn bridges with.

My career flashed through my mind like freeway exits zipping by. Lemonade stand at age eight; lobbied to sell tickets to the school carnival; talked bankers into better rates and investors into investing; major magazine spreads and thousands of click-thru’s; hired, fired, and then hired some more; IP, CEO, COO; worked miracles by COB to get an ROI. Of course I’m…

I knew what Lance meant by "entrepreneur." We’d been talking about a recent, high octane article from Jason Calcanis, the founder of Mahalo.com:

You see, there are two types of entrepreneurs in this world: real ones and the folks who play entrepreneurs for some portion of their lives. From a distance, most folks can’t tell who’s who. In up times, when the market is flush with cheap money and unexplained exits, everyone looks brilliant.

The differences between the two types of entrepreneurs become clear when the fan and the manure meet. The faux entrepreneurs run for cover rather than dealing with the storm. They go back to their plush, somewhat mindless jobs as VPs at mega-companies, while the real entrepreneurs suit up and clean up the mess.

THE SPARK KIT 13

Jungle rules. Eat or be eaten. Bite back. Take no prisoners.

I took a deep breath and let the pause gestate. I was prepared for Lance to leave the table, to tell me I was a hopeless romantic, unfit to rule any dynasty. Nice knowing you, softie. But the truth was there, finally, undeniably.

So I admitted it: "I’m a humanitarian." And then I put a fine point on it: "Who happens to be an entrepreneur." And then I declared it. "And I think I can protect myself without fucking anyone else over."

Relief. In that moment, I was okay if Lance walked on me. Because something inside me had clicked into its rightful place: ruthless compassion. Yes, I was done suffering fools. No, I would not make pretty, spiritualized excuses for anyone’s bad behaviour anymore. I would put on my own oxygen mask on first. I would stand in my very immense power. And, I would aim to do it free of vengeance, free of resentment, grateful for all that I had. Inside, I was purring like a panther in her tree. Smiling.

I must have passed the test because Lance smiled right back at me. "Well fine. That’s all we needed to know," he said, almost merrily. "Then here’s what a humanitarian entrepreneur should do…"

And from there, we mapped out my future. Love, jungle rules, and all.

THE SPARK KIT 14

we become entrepreneurs because we can’t stand being told what to do.

We like it our way. We’re obsessed with possibility. We live for the rush of turning a thought, an abstract idea into something real, tangible, touchable, readable, effectual. Profitable. We love to get things done. We do what it takes to make a difference…to make our art. Some of us subscribe to the "winners vs. losers" theory. Some of us play just to play.

I did a solo consulting session with two wonderful women "entrepreneurs". They were all about play. No timelines, no milestones. They had money in the bank, not a lot of worries. I adored them. But half way into our time, I had to say: "You’re either going to love me or hate me for this next question, but I have to ask, with all of the love in my heart, is your business more of, like, a hobby?"

And then—a burst of freshness, "Oh my Gawd! That’s it! This is a hobby! Brilliant! Whatta relief." I was as relieved as they were. "Does this mean we don’t need a freaking advisory board?"

"Nope. Can’t see the need." I confirmed.

"Does this mean that we can focus on doing what we love, on pleasure?"

"Yep. Have fun, ladies. You’ll never have to answer to the bank or investors."

That minor re-frame, that best-fitting label freed and lifted their energy.

Lots of hobbies turn into empires. Theirs did.

THE SPARK KIT 15

It doesn’t really matter where you are on the scale of entrepreneurial drive, or if you’re in the jungle with a machete or a butter knife. You can call it a hobby, a labor of love, or a world domination plan. You can rival. You can float.

You can call it ambition, hunger, inspiration, drive, avocation, food on the table—whatever. You can crush the competition, unify an industry, or change just one person’s life.

If you want to make lots of really good stuff happen, then that’s really exciting—for all of us. If you want to earn a living by doing meaningful things—then that’s exceptional.

This truth is most evident: we entrepreneurs, artists, and change agents define ourselves on our own terms.

THE SPARK KIT 16

the best business advice i’ve ever received

One conversation can change everything. On par with my best gigs and glossiest magazine coverage, the most memorable moments of my career have happened in cafés, airport lounges, and in my car when I pulled off the road to hold my cell in one hand and take notes with the other.

Those were usually very focused, open-hearted talks with people who’d been around the block a few times and wanted to spare me making some gnarly mistakes. They either directly or inadvertently told me precisely what I needed to know at that time. Some of these conversations stretched my perspective, bolstered my strength, or stopped me in my tracks. Some of these conversations changed the course of my life.

Fuck your so-called principles. - Mr. A., lawyer

Some young TV producers and I were very tangled in a very good-for- them but bad-for-me contract. "It’s not about the money grab they’re going for," I ranted to my lawyer. "I don’t care about the money. It’s about the principle of the matter. What they’re doing is so wrong and they bloody well know it."

"So you want to drag this out for months because of your principles?" he said. "You want to sink a few more grand into this because of your principles? I’ve had a lot of clients over the years who have made themselves sick, wrecked their marriages, or drained their finances to protect their so-called principles.

Of course the Producer Girls are wrong. They’re greedy twits. You could countersue and probably crush them. But fuck your principles and get on with your life."

And so I did.

WHITE HOT READING : principles: the perils and the ecstasy of clinging to your ideals

THE SPARK KIT 17

Don’t spend it before you have it. - Melody Biringer, self-proclaimed start-up junkie, founder of over twenty businesses, most currently: The CRAVE Company

This is such a difficult course to stay when the money finally starts coming in, or you get some serious interest from your biggie client on your biggie proposal, or you finally convince the loan officer at the bank that you’re a worthy human being. Hard fact: before you earn it, you don’t have it. Projections and ideals do not equal money in the bank.

Don’t spend it when you get it. - Robert Kent, wildly successful photographer and philanthropist

My last business partner and I were expecting mid-six figures for a book advance. Dreams were ballooning. Family was swooning. Our ship was coming in! The deal wasn’t even sealed and we had picked out a new house and the custom-made sofa to go with it.

"That wave of money is going to come in," Rob said to me over souvlaki, "and it’s going to take you right out with it." My dreams of a Dwell pre-fab house started to crumble.

"Listen," Rob continued. "You need to feel the power of sitting on it, of letting it actually feed your creativity. If you spend it when you get it, you’ll have to catch up with it, and that will sap your energy."

We didn’t listen. We sank most of our advance money into the book and needless company growth. We didn’t need to expand. We needed to deepen, to stay lean and focused. Not long after, we were developing bigger projects to keep up with ourselves. I should have listened to this…

Grow organically. - Rikia Saddy, marketing strategist

Rikia declined to invest in one of my companies because she thought it was the kind of business that should "grow organically…one step leading to the next. Your work needs to build on itself." Those words would echo in my mind when it all fell apart. And when I started my solo, biggest venture ever.

THE SPARK KIT 18

Only do it if it’s fun. If it’s not fun, make it fun. If you can’t make it fun, then don’t do it. - Peter Russell, physicist/philosopher

Ah, sweet Peter. If only I took this jesterly sagacity to heart way back when, I’d have avoided so much agony. This has become my most impassioned mantra. I do only what I want to now, and that’s fun.

Don’t burn bridges. - John Petersen, futurist

At the time I thought this was staid and stodgy convention. Yawn— heard it a hundred times. And how could I possibly stomach being nice to General So & So for being such a such n’ such? I was outta there, wasn’t gonna look back. But John went on to philosophize a bit, and it touched me. "The world is a small town, and you never know when you’re going to circle back and need someone. Besides, it’s rarely worth telling someone off—there’s always something better to do with your time."

Of course, I have burned some bridges. TNT kaboom and obliterated. In fact, I said to one client who accused me of shopping out his proprietary slogans to another client, "You’d best consider this bridge burned. To a crisp." But generally, bridge preservation in work relationships is about basic kindness and dignity to all parties. And that’s always a good thing.

Be daring, be different, be first. - Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop

I was co-running The Body Shop Canada’s Department of Social Inventions. The culture was fresh and progressive—the glory days of new social responsibility. Anita was a Tasmanian devil-angel. Daring, different—I had those qualities in spades. But moxie and uniqueness don’t add up to much if you don’t execute. Getting there first changes everything. Everything.

THE SPARK KIT 19

Know your rights. - Lance Tracey, founder of lots of big companies

Angelina Jolie has this phrase tattooed across the back of her neck. I get it now. When I went through a messy business divorce, I was inclined to jump though hoops and meet all the scary demands being hurled at me, because surely "they" must be "right." Resist submission until you get all the facts.

Follow the money. - Plenty of people

Old business guys love to throw this adage out. It’s so true. If you can find out who’s making the most money and how, you will solve multiple mysteries.

Create a ‘Culture of Yes.’ - Steve Rechtschaffner, game developer

Steve is the former CCO of Electronic Arts, one of the largest game developers in the world, so he knows a lot about getting teams to push their creative limits. You need to surround yourself with people who can trust your creative insanity, people who want to get out of the box more than anything. This is not the same as "yes men," this is about audacity. When dreamers unite, they get a lot done.

Bring your femininity to bear. - Karen Lam, business coach

My very best decisions and strongest maneuvers have been fuelled by what would typically be labelled as "feminine characteristics." This counsel may sound like it’s only applicable to 50% of the population, but receptivity, intuitive guidance, tenderness, and fierce inclusivity are transformative powers that anyone can wield. Our future depends on it.

THE SPARK KIT 20

The boss isn’t always right, but the boss is always the boss. - Dennis Laporte, AKA my dad

My first job was selling hot dogs at my old man’s hockey arena. (I made $4.32/hour, which was enough to keep me in Gypsy jeans and Bonne Bell lipgloss.) As the boss’s daughter, I took the liberty of, uh, like, questioning some of his, like, policies. He had to admire my feistiness, but he was quick to state the facts about who was in charge: him. End of conversation. Now get back to work.

Conclusion: it’s better to be the boss.

the worst business advice i’ve ever received

Really bad advice is just great advice in reverse.

(To protect the identities of the following well-intentioned bozos and mogul wannabes, names are being withheld.)

Constantly innovate. I live to innovate. It’s one of my favourite practices. Howevah… innovation for the sake of innovation is masturbation. Innovation fascination can distract you from what’s already really working. It’s disruptive by nature. The pursuit of new n’ flashy can block you from going from good to great.

Once you have lots of online traffic, then you can figure how to monetize it. That only works if you’re playing a very big league game, and you have stupid amounts of time and money to burn through. And even then it’s incredibly risky. For the rest of us babies, we need to stick to making stuff that people want to pay for—immediately.

THE SPARK KIT 21

Take the money. Most of the time (not all the time) the source of the money is as important as the money itself. When you’re the start-up beggar, it’s tough to be choosey. But remember the rules of nature: otherwise cute and friendly animals tend to get vicious when their territory or, uh, nuts are threatened. Hang with friendly creatures.

Leave your emotions out of it. I had an investor tell me to calm down when (unbeknownst to him but very known by me), the hired fox was robbing the hen house we’d all invested in. And I, being the Head Hen ’n all, had my feathers very appropriately ruffled.

"Look, the best thing for you to do is leave your emotions out of this, Danielle," Dudeboy told me, rubbing the key to his Mercedes and twisting his espresso cup round in the saucer.

Sad but true, this tends to be a male/female thing. A Dudeboy gets angry and it’s cool, it’s warranted. A Chickwoman gets pissed and she’s just "freaking out."

In the quagmire of politics, my "emotions" were the most effective radar system I had—my "emotions" were telling me exactly what was going on, before it could be proved. I let my emotions rule without over- ruling integrity.

Just do one big thing at a time. When it comes to actual time management, I’m a big fan of focus. You need to tune out Twitter and email to make some creative, productive headway.

But in terms of overall development strategy and creativity, the singular focus route has never worked for me. I just can’t do one project at a time. I need to feed different parts of my brain and spirit. And with more than one iron in the creative fire, the fire just gets higher.

It doesn’t matter who gets the credit. Screw that! It matters. A lot.

THE SPARK KIT 22

the burning SESSION questions

COMPONENTS WORKSHEET 1: The Burning Questions

1 A question not asked is a door not opened. - Marilee Adams

Dear You,

This is an invitation to realize what inspires you...and make it work for you—whether that's in fat cash or creative fulfilment. Or both. Both is good.

I like to think that things have already been put in motion for a meeting that will evoke truth and clarity—both creative and strategic. So, in terms of the questions, consider them kindling. And everything qualifies as an answer—feelings, memories, images, domain names…

Here’s to heat propulsion toward success—however you define it. And to be clear: it’s yours to define. {Insert fiery, sizzling sounds.}

Truly, Danielle If you’re in a service business, what can you do to enlist, involve, or entertain your customers or clients in advance of them getting your actual service? When you can do that, your client makes a deeper commitment to doing business with you. They get their wheels turning, their anticipation grows, they think of what they need and want from you. You save time by giving and receiving information ahead of time. You create an occasion to say, “I’m committed, I care, I’m looking forward to being of service.”

THE SPARK KIT 23

WARM HEART : BLAZING PATH

1. When someone at a party asks you what you do, what do you say? (And how do you feel when you say it?)

My Swiss friend, Stefan Zee Hot Swiss Man, tells me that it’s considered rude to ask someone what they "do for a living" as soon as you meet them. "Too forward. How do you say in English…‘it’s tacky.’" I kind of dig that. That approach would leave much more room for conversation about viewpoints and values. But it’s an inevitable query in our society. And personally, I’m intensely keen to find out what someone is up to career-wise.

The "So, what do you do?" question can make some people want to slink out of the room. I’ve worked with CEOs and lawyers who dread this question Stay at home moms/dads with MBAs particularly loathe this question. Big cash-earning consultants who’d rather be working on a hobby farm or writing a mystery a novel also loathe this question, because when they answer, they feel like phat fakers. Faking pride is painful.

Other people are bursting to share what they do. Bursting with enthusiasm. Or calm with confidence in the place that they’ve carved out in the world. Those people have a twinkle to them. Even the tired ones twinkle a bit.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a VP or a new VA, you need to have a genuine cocktail line, an elevator pitch. Note: "genuine." Not the polished chips of truth that puts the "small" in small talk.

WHY do you positively need a genuine cocktail line? When someone asks what I do…

You positively need a genuine cocktail line because: I feel confident, proud, excited. . You could be riding the elevator with your next I secretly enjoy that most people haven't the future customer, lover, funder, or Oprah’s segment slightest idea what my day-to-day work looks producer. Serendipitous promotion is a damn good like.

reason to have a 30-second response for whoever I usually say I work for the city, but then follow it up with the fact that pottery is my happens to ask. passion and my goal is to leave the city and . Your cocktail line is a sacred distilling process do pottery full time.

of your reality, your talent, your dreams, your I feel like I have to qualify what I'm doing to power. Yep. All that in just a sentence or two. convey the fact that I feel I'm under- achieving. . It’s way better for your nervous system, and for everyone involved, if you can say something that And I feel yucky—I'm letting myself down.

you actually feel good about saying. I know that I’m in the right profession, which . Authenticity usually feels really good. And… is a blessing every day.

. Authenticity is magnetic. And… I feel like a rock star. . The world needs more of it.

THE SPARK KIT 24

Clearly, this is no trivial exercise.

Let me clarify: You need to have a description of your current career status that actually feels good to say. It doesn’t mean that you have to feel stupendous about what you’re doing to make your money. If you hate your day job, then you hate your day job.

ROLE PLAY for people with day jobs that they can’t stand: Let’s say that you do hate your day job, and that you’re at legal and political liberty to publicly express it. Which is to say, it’s not going to get you fired, or make company stock prices crash (if word gets out that your 9-to-5 gig blows).

"What do I do? I dig ditches to pay the bills right now. But what really lights me up is the night class I’m taking in import/export law. I also volunteer at the Westside Youth Shelter a few times a month."

ROLE PLAY for people who have no idea what they really want to do yet and are trying to figure it out: "What do I do? I’m a talent recruiter by day and yoga teacher by night. Someday I’ll stop living a double life, but right now, I’m digging for my dream gig. Mostly, I’m interested in wellness, and modern art."

See how amazing you are? How interesting? How much you’re actually doing in life?

Accentuate your interests As we’ll explore in Session 3, your interests are where your true strengths—and the truly magical connections—come to life. Your interests or so-called hobbies are just as relevant as your income- earning status. Interested people are interesting.

Give yourself credit I did some business and marketing strategizing with a woman who introduced herself simply as, "An athletic coach." I thought to myself, "Freelance coach with a local client base." It turned out that she had a crew of coaches working under her that she had trained in her own licensable methodology. She had a thriving team and company that worked with high-performance athletes from all over the world. She was not simply "an athletic coach."

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"Let me just state the facts, for you, as if I were you," I told her, about to give her a whole new cocktail line and perspective on her empire. "I have an athletic performance company called Power Racing. My coaching team and I design training programs for athletes…mostly IronMan competitors, but we do take on other types of cross athletes, and from anywhere in the world, actually. It’s part science, part motivation."

"Wow. I sound great!" she said. "And, it’s all true." Not only is it true, it’s impressive.

Let someone see the full scope of what you’re doing. You can be modest and powerful. Factual and engaging. Facts + feelings = genuinely compelling.

2. How do you make your money? What are your revenue streams? What makes you the most money?

If you don’t know what your revenue streams are, or what’s making you the most money in your business, then you need to burn these pages, or shut down your computer and walk away. That’s all I’m going to say about that.

There are always new revenue streams to consider.

Considering what else there is to make/create/give/sell, what can be optimized, spun off, or phased in, is the essence of innovation. It doesn’t mean you’re going to execute on all of it. Just flesh it all out and pick what feels the most promising.

Add it up Interesting factoid: I’ve asked this money question of hundreds of entrepreneurs. And predictably, it’s the men who answer with the most specificity. They name dollar figures, they list off each revenue stream, they put it all in order of profitability. That kind of awareness and openness is not only impressive, it’s effective. What gets measured gets attention. What gets attention grows.

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2.5. How much money would you LIKE to be making?

As Naomi Dunford put this question to me, "The best way to think about this question is this…we want the number that would make you happy. Not resigned. Not elated. Just happy. Somewhere between eating ramen noodles and buying a yacht. For many people, this number is about the salary they would be making if they worked outside the home."

Aim for that.

3. What do people thank you for most often? What do they come to you for, or say about you most frequently ("positive" or "negative")?

The gratitude you receive is a reflection of your genius.

Create a habit of noticing where and when appreciation comes at you in your life and work. It’s part of the feedback loop of strengths and talent that you need to invest in, in order to thrive and feel fulfilled and effective.

4. When do you feel powerful, passionate, free, incredibly useful, excited, inspired?

You want to live and earn from this sweet spot, right? Please say yes.

5. What do you think your form of genius is? What are you amazing at (work or life related?)

It’s always useful data to see if there are gaps between what other people think you’re great at, and what you think you’re great at. (See question #3.)

It always breaks my heart a little when someone doesn’t think that they’re particularly amazing at anything in particular. If that’s the case, then you need to start focusing on building your muscle in areas that interest you. Interested + amazing go hand in hand.

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Of course, I smile big when someone owns how hard they rock it. Like these fiery clients of mine who clearly declare:

I can inspire others to take action when no one else can. I’m an excellent systems creator. I’m deeply insightful. I can see problems in a few seconds and something in me can quickly draw a path to the solution. I’m the best gift-giver, ever. I always know what someone will love. I’m a fabulous loving mother. I can tear up the dance floor. Breaking down an extremely complicated process so pretty much anyone can do it. Making something complicated look really simple. My form of genius is using my intuition with most everything I do. I am the choreographer of awesome customer service. When I am in process with someone or a group I am "on" and am guided to move and speak to the context in front of me. My system senses and then I make choices based on this intuition. I could sell ice to an Eskimo. I "see" blocks of energy as form and density. I never hold back. I feel the energy within and in the field around someone and act accordingly. I meet people right where they are and coach them into breakthrough terrain. I can tell stories that make big (even overwhelmingly big) issues relevant to people.

ADMIRATION : RESONANCE

6. Professionally speaking, do you have any competition or peers? Is there anyone else who does what you do?

I don’t really buy into the concept of competition in the conventional sense. I think there’s room for everyone and that focusing on beating the competition drains your best creative resources. That said, I also think it’s "good to hold your enemies close," as the old art of war boys might say, and/or find ways to either differentiate or form alliances.

7. Who do you think is really cool, or elegant, or powerful?

You are what you’re attracted to.

The Top 7 client answers: 1. Angelina Jolie 2. Oprah Winfrey 3. Barack Obama 4. Someone’s own mother 5. Someone’s own father Honorable mentions: Pema Chödrön. Natalie Goldberg. Seane Corn. Queen Latifah. Gandhi. Susannah Conway. 6. Audrey Hepburn Ellen. Seth Godin. Meryl Streep. Mother Nature. Tal Ben- 7. Maya Angelou Shahar. Carolina Herrera. Chris Guillebeau. Holly Becker. Satish Kumar. Colleen Wainwright. Martha Stewart. Coco Chanel. Steve Jobs. Brené Brown. Jim Collins. Anita Roddick. Susan B. Anthony. Jennifer Lee. Gaudí. Mary Oliver. Tom Peters. Meg Wheatley. Lance Armstrong. Anaïs Nin.

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8. What books have inspired you?

I ask this because it tells me so much about a person at a glance. If you are what you’re attracted to, then you are most definitely what you like to read.

You can explore all of my most recommended and favourite books on business and consciousness, in my personal AMAZON Store.

FEAR : GROWTH

9. What's chronic, repetitive, or inflamed in your inner or outer life?

All things in life are interconnected—without exception, I believe. Somehow, someway, your back pain is related to your creativity, is related to your cash flow, is related to your brand. Recurring relationship issues have a way of showing up in how we manage our time and value ourselves.

Sometimes, when a client answers this question, I can’t "see" anything that’s useful or telling. Other times, clients will have their own epiphany while answering this for themselves. "I’ve been trying to forgive my father for years for cutting me out of the will. And guess what? I’m always inclined to go get a loan instead of going to just earn more of my own money."

You get the idea.

REALIZATION : POSSIBILITY

10. What's always in the back of your mind?

You are what you think about all day. - Allen Ginsberg

11. What would you like to stop doing?

One of my favourite results when working with any client is helping them decide what they’re going to STOP doing. It makes me giddy. It often goes like this:

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I’m going to STOP:

Being the administrator. Worrying so much. Under-selling myself. Working with that client. Every time I see her name in my inbox, I get a sick feeling in my stomach. The money isn’t worth it. Doing everything myself. Answering every single email from the public. Checking Twitter obsessively. Feeling the pressure to be so successful. I’m going to discontinue that summer line—it costs us too much money to produce for just a few buyers. I’m done with trying to please so many types of clients—I want to focus on my tribe. I’m going to stop using my cousin as my web designer.

WHITE HOT READING : what’s on your ‘stop doing’ list? : stop doing list: part 2—whereby I dictate what to stop

12. So…what would you like to do with your life and career? (Money is no object. Dream.)

This is the relief, the finish line, the fuel. And let me tell you, reading about someone’s dreams is a sacred honour that I will never take for granted.

WHITE HOT READING : wonder what their dream is

13. What's happening for you right now, in this very moment? How do you feel? What's crossing your mind?

Sometimes, this question evokes something that is leaning on someone’s psyche. Energy, doubt, fatigue, anticipation. Sometimes it just reminds them that they’re late to pick up their kid from soccer practice.

This question is a great presence meter. It helps clarify if someone is "in" the experience of the questions. And when that kind of presence does occur, there is a greater openness to ideas, dreams, blockages— awareness happens.

14. Is there anything in particular that you want me to pay attention to when I check out your current website or plan? Is there anything specific that you’d like to take away from our session?

I always skip ahead and read this answer first. If I can give my client precisely what they want, then I am joyous to do just that. And every so often, I give them what they didn’t know they wanted, but needed. And that requires some courage and openness on everybody’s part.

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WORK the burning SHEET questions 1

WARM HEART : BLAZING PATH

1. When someone at a party asks you what you do, what do you say? (And how do you feel when you say it?)

2. How do you make your money? What are your revenue streams? What makes you the most money?

2.5. How much money would you LIKE to be making?

3. What do people thank you for most often? What do they come to you for, or say about you most frequently ("positive" or "negative")?

4. When do you feel powerful, passionate, free, incredibly useful, excited, inspired?

5. What do you think your form of genius is? What are you amazing at (work or life-related?)

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ADMIRATION : RESONANCE

6. Professionally speaking, do you have any competition or peers? Is there anyone else who does what you do?

7. Who do you think is really cool, or elegant, or powerful?

8. What books have inspired you?

FEAR : GROWTH

9. What's chronic, repetitive, or inflamed in your inner or outer life?

REALIZATION : POSSIBILITY

10. What's always in the back of your mind?

11. What would you like to stop doing?

12. So…what would you like to do with your life and career? (Money is no object. Dream.)

13. What's happening for you right now, in this very moment? How do you feel? What's crossing your mind?

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rooting into your SESSION presence

COMPONENTS WORKSHEET 2: Past Purge WORKSHEET 3: Glory Boardin’ 2

You can’t change the world from the rear-view mirror. - Anita Roddick

Facing forward Before we get to unfolding your most marvellous future, we need to put your past in its place. Let’s do it now, no dilly-dallying.

When I run a live group, we go around the room and introduce ourselves to kick things off. Here’s what I request of people:

When you introduce yourself, please give us: . Your cocktail line. Describe what you do in a sentence or two. . One word that might describe your "brand"—don’t worry if nothing comes to mind, or if you’re compelled to throw out some strange word like velvet or spicy. Just go with it. . Your current business challenge. It could be cash flow, life balance, writer’s block or staffing—whatever. . Here’s the catch: You can’t talk about your past. It doesn’t matter how many Masters Degrees you’ve earned, or how the economy walloped your sales last year. Focus on what you’re doing now, on who you are today.

Here’s why. (WARNING: instructive, but unsympathetic cynicism ahead.)

When I hear a business introduction that starts like this, I can predict that cash flow is stuck, or that work-life balance is way outta whack:

"I’m Jane. I have a widget company that I started eleven and a half years ago (fails to mention name of the actual company). Shortly after I started the business, which I used all of my savings to do (that’s what entrepreneurs do—you won’t get

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much sympathy from this crowd), I got divorced (sad, but irrelevant). That really affected my debt load. I started with six staff and then cut back to two, and now I work more than I really want to (your choice). My widgets are the best on the market (this is quite possible, but it’s getting harder to believe), but I haven’t had time to get a great distributor (you haven’t made time)—it’s so hard to find good help, you know? (if you believe it is, then it is) I’ve worked with a number of distributors, but had to fire them because they didn’t really believe in the product. So my challenge, I guess…is…distribution, which of course affects cash flow. So I guess my challenge is really cash flow." (No kiddin’.)

No, sweet Jane, your challenge is that you’re stuck in the past and you’re chronically complaining about your present. It's a drag.

Face forward. We want to look ahead with you. Look backwards, and you lose us.

Try this, love:

"I’m Jane Smith, the founder and CEO of Wild Widgets. Industrial Magazine named us Top Widget Maker of the Midwest, which was a huge honor in our business. I’ve scaled back from six to two staff and am looking to build back a really strong team so I can live more of my life. I’ve struggled to find really crackerjack distributors—they are critical to going from a $1 million dollar company to my vision, which is $10 million within the next 2 years. So my challenge is identifying the winners—the right people to get on board. And if you need widgets, you can find us at WildWidgets.com. Thanks."

Jane! Baby! I’m so impressed with your clarity and stamina that I want to help you find a legion of those magic distributor elves, right now.

The past is never as relevant as we might think it is.

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Stand in your present power Not relying on your glory days or curriculum vitae forces you to draw power from who you are today. It’s cleaner fuel. It’s less about proving (which burns energy), and more about trusting in all that you are, today.

I was once late to a swanky advisory meeting for a board that I sat on. I rushed into the dining room and pulled up my chair. "Perfect timing Danielle," said the CEO. "It’s your turn to introduce yourself." Sure thing.

"I’m Danielle LaPorte. You can find me at WhiteHotTruth.com where I write about self-realization and entrepreneurship. I’ve got a weekly commentator gig on CBC TV, and I advise entrepreneurs how to rock their careers in what I call ‘Fire Starter Sessions’, and I’m working on my next book."

Concise, right? Just the way I like it. I clocked in at about 30 seconds. Good finish. I presumed everyone else was eager to get into the Brie and champagne.

Then, each of the six women who introduced themselves after me proceeded to list their very impressive accomplishments, from Harvard degrees, to millions of dollars raised for start-ups and charities, to how many children they had. It was a power tour of who done what. Though it wasn’t as obnoxious as I may be making it sound. It was proud and thorough and appropriate in that context. It’s just that I’d missed the memo and I felt like a total unaccomplished loser by comparison.

Ohhh…we’re doing those kind of intros. I thought. Humph. If I’d only known, I would have pulled out my most sophisticated ammo:

"I ran a future-studies think tank in Washington, DC, had my own communication agency for years promoting Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and some old pop stars. I raised a bunch of money for my high-profile lifestyle company. I wrote a book—it was an Amazon bestseller, Oprah producers called, lotsa photographers took my picture. I went seriously renegade from my last lil’ empire, and now I’m like, a power blogger with awesome clients. And BTW, I gave birth to my son in our living room, and can run ten city blocks in heels."

The ego loves a good resume. I took a breath and decided to be sophonsified with who I was in that moment. Easy. They could like me, or not. Or they could inquire for more. And besides, my past pales in comparison to my future. So does yours, I bet.

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WORK past purge SHEET

definitions + synonyms: 2 pick whatever works for you

failure: it sucked hard; didn’t work; tanked; was rather regrettable; most definitely rough; painful; oops; bad move; ouch.

career: vocation; livelihood; work; wealth; money; income; creativity; career; job; calling; philanthropy; contribution.

lesson: live and learn; made you better; much to be grateful for if you really think about it; something to laugh about, in a strange way, once you get far enough away from it; strength and character-building; consciousness-raising; karma; life, experienced.

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Write down your past failures, mistakes, hurts, tanks, in the REALM OF YOUR VOCATION + LIVELIHOOD. Get it out of your system.

Pick your 3 favourite screw-ups. What did you learn? Can you see a pattern in the lessons you learned? Describe how the lessons have made you a better person:

Best screw-up Lesson Pattern Betterment 1

Things you could do when you’re done the purge: Write HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! in big letters across the page. Tear it up into teeny tiny pieces. BURN IT! Start a fire with it! Mail it to yourself with a love letter extolling all your many fabulous virtues.

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WORK glory boardin’ SHEET

WRITE OUT YOUR VICTORIES + ACCOMPLISHMENTS. Sing your praises. If you’re feeling too shy to blow your own horn, 3 answer like your BFF or your mama would—or the other person who loves you most in the world. Go back as far in your life as you need to for evidence of greatness. Let me throw out some prompts to get the glory board sailing:

I inspired:

I founded, started, initiated:

My diplomas, degrees, certifications:

Great things people have told me about myself:

Published, written:

Produced, directed, executed:

Raised, earned, rallied:

Documented, recorded, archived:

Travelled:

Invited:

Motivated:

Earned:

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Keep going. What else have you done or been or created?

Things you could do when you’re done the glory board: Post it where you can see it. Read it before bed and notice your dreams. Tuck it in your day-timer, read it before a big meeting. Rewrite your bio. BURN IT! Set it free! There’s more where that came from.

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your true strengths SESSION + the metrics of ease

COMPONENTS 3

VIDEO: The Metrics of Ease, 8 mins VIDEO: The Merit of Self-Centered, with Dyana Valentine, 10 mins WORKSHEET 4: Passion Play WORKSHEET 5: Very Strong Priorities

If poetry does not come as naturally as leaves to a tree, then it better not come at all. - John Keats

I’ll always remember a Bruce Springsteen interview I saw on MTV in the 80s. The Boss was hitting his zenith of success. Born in the USA had non-stop radio play; people were lining up days in advance to buy concert tickets. In the interview, the VJ was asking Bruce about his mega album sales and growing fortune. Smooth and humble as ever, he just shook his head. "You know, I just can’t believe I get paid for doin’ somethin’ that comes so natural to me," he paused, "with so much love." I want what he’s got! I thought. I want my fortune to be who I am. I want it to be that easy.

And that’s the stride—the life cycle of talent and return that I’ve been angling for my whole working life. I want the "privilege of a lifetime," as Joseph Campbell called it, "of being myself."

Your most valuable currency is what comes most naturally to you. Cash in.

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Once upon a time, I thought being well-rounded was the aim of the game. I wanted to be able to work any room, to be the first pick for every team, to know enough to impress anybody I sat next to in business class, or partied with at a rave. I pushed myself to keep up with what was happening in the Middle East and New York Fashion Week. When my boss said I needed to master QuickBooks to be a "more well-rounded," member of the team, I pulled all-nighters to figure it out. Another boss told me I needed to be more restrained, yet more outspoken. (huh?)

From then on, I constantly weighed my every opinion, always scanning for the right time to insert myself into conversations. Hemmed in. Folded.

I do not want to be folded for where I am folded, there I am a lie. – Rilke

I tried to become adept at bookkeeping, cooking, sewing (I initially pursued a career in fashion design, until I noticed I had raging headaches every time I sewed or pieced together a pattern). I tried to brush up on my knowledge of wine, and new physics, and the predictable interpersonal dynamics of teams. It was an anxiety-inducing curriculum of people pleasing. Identity Refinement 101. Subtly frantic.

Eventually, I started giving up trying to be good at stuff that made me feel bad...

...task-by-task, attitude-by-attitude. The things that were fun and joy- inducing in my career were getting harder to resist—begging for my fuller attention. I learned what it meant to pick my battles, and I couldn’t bear to battle with my instincts anymore. I wanted to feel in sync with The Force, not at odds with it. "Up for a challenge" was no longer cool—it was mostly annoying. I stopped criticizing myself for not being enthusiastic about learning certain things. Getting shit from bosses proved to be entirely unavoidable, so eventually, I got back to being my own boss.

A "jack of all trades and master of none" is a master of…well, nothing.

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Every admission about the things I loathed to do felt like a giant step forward for ambitious humans everywhere.

Screw Excel! It’s ugly and inflexible. I’d rather figure out how to make thousands of dollars than how to count the pennies. I want to lead people, not manage them. So many meetings are flat-lining and unproductive. Count me out.

But…confusion and second-guessing rose up…I was actually pretty decent at figuring out IT systems and making them work. I was good at motivating staff and getting the best out of people. I was a great meeting dominatrix and could get priorities outlined with lightning speed. I was generally very competent, thank you very much. Couldn’t competent-to-great counterbalance the lacklustre feelings? Wasn’t the grind part and parcel for achievement and grown up-ness?

A chill but insistent voice kept reminding me: "You didn’t sign up for good enough in this lifetime, you signed up for AWESOME." Right. Got it. Awesome.

Conclusion:

Being well-rounded is highly overrated.

Who are you trying to impress? What do you have to force yourself to do? What would you like to never, ever do again?

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declare your superpowers

Most seagulls don’t bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight— how to get from shore to food and back again. For most gulls, it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight. More than anything else, Jonathan Livingston Seagull loved to fly.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull…was no ordinary bird.

- Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull

When I read Marcus Buckingham’s The Truth About You, I was so pumped that I called all my girlfriends: "Hey, get this. You know what a strength is? A strength is what you do that makes you feels strengthened! It’s not necessarily what you’re good at, or what you’re capable of—it’s what feels amazing when you do it!

And...it gets better! Do you know what a weakness is? A weakness is stuff you do that makes you feel weakened!"

Deceptively simple. Revolutionary. Marcus Buckingham, I love you.

True strength is not necessarily about skill or adeptness. It’s about vitality.

Why does this make me wanna do backflips? Because this changes everything, friends. And it goes back to my root theory in life—that our actions are driven by desired feelings (much more on that in Session 4). It means that all that stuff that you may be good at, but don’t really love to do, you get to dump it...mostly. No more faking it to make it.

According to Buckingham, and I couldn’t agree more, we will never be great at the things we have to try to be good at. But we can be outstanding at the things we’re easily great at. I vote for outstanding. Can I get a witness?

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So when do you feel amazing? What activities cause you to feel useful, vital, better-than-before? What lights your fire? When do you have that "there’s more where that came from" feeling? What feels so good and so easy to give that you give it generously? What do you do best—that gives you a rush while you’re doing it?

Masters focus on what they do best. That’s how they become masters. They stay in their zone... and the zone is what feels good. Damn good.

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"competent" is a quiet killer

Forget about good. Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. As long as you stick to good, you'll never have real growth. - Bruce Mau, designer

You’re probably incredibly, thoroughly competent at a number of things. Don’t we entrepreneurs pride ourselves on being the chief cook and bottle washer? You hire, fire, charm loan officers, and change printer cartridges before most government workers have put the Creamo in their first coffee. You do it all because, in the early days, you simply must to do it all to survive. But surviving isn’t the goal— thriving is.

I used to tell my staff, "Be careful what you’re good at—you could end up doing it for years." Take Ginger. She started working for me as a bookkeeper. When she came on board, receipts were bulging out of neglected envelopes, tax time was looming, and I was playing one credit card off the other (a science in and of itself, as many start-up founders will attest).

Ginger was competent, very. And she was as earnest and committed as the day is long. She sorted the mess, set up maintainable systems, and even brought tulips into the office. Over time, it became radiantly clear that Ginger had a great, creative mind hiding behind her calculator. She came up with story ideas, she made connections to the brand and the market that I hadn’t yet articulated. She thought in terms of multimedia and repurposing. She shone when we pulled her into creative jam sessions.

Eventually the business outgrew Ginger’s bookkeeping skills and we needed to outsource to a company with a wider skill set (and faster; Ginger was never in a rush). By that time, we had enough cash flow to pay her to contribute to the creative side of things. During the transition, she responsibly volunteered to keep doing the books until we found a suitable new money manager. "No!" I blurted out. "Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Don’t do us any favours. I can’t bear to see you slogging it anymore…

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And besides, good isn’t good enough anymore. We’re growing so quickly, we need you to be great. We only have time for amazing."

I dare say, saying goodbye to competent and hello to getting paid to be her naturally talented self might have been the happiest day of Ginger’s professional life.

If it doesn’t light you up, you’re not the right person for the job.

Would you rather be sufficient, or masterful? Would you rather be bright, or a freaking supernova? Would you rather be well-rounded, or on your own leading edge?

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work your passion

So what about good, old-fashioned sweat and determination? It’s essential, of course. But there is a remarkable difference in slogging to fit the bill, and pushing yourself to break the mould. There’s having to run hard vs. wanting to run hard. There’s duty, and there’s passion. And you can’t fake passion.

Passion will always move you in the direction of your authentic self.

It guarantees you a place in the Heroes’ Journey action course. It helps you know what to say yes or no to. No more trying to be a marketing genius when what you do best is negotiate with vendors or pump up the sales team (hire a PR genius). No more trying to come up with blue- sky, five-year plans when you’re a short-term, focused details guy (get a coach or a visionary friend to help you see the big possibilities).

And passion doesn’t need to be all fiery and consuming. Genuine curiosity and sincere interest are hot coals that can warm you for a good, long time.

Your curiosity is your growth point. Always.

You grow most in your areas of greatest strength. It sounds odd, but you will improve the most, be the most creative, be the most inquisitive, and bounce back the fastest in those areas where you have already shown some natural advantage over everyone else— your strengths. This doesn’t mean you should ignore your weaknesses. It just means you’ll grow most where you’re already strong. - Marcus Buckingham, The Truth About You

This is akin to what Stephen Covey called "sharpening your saw" in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I adore this concept: get better at what you’re best at.

Go deeper. When I deepen my interests and stretch my talents, the world feels bigger. I’m able to see more, grasp more, catch the nuances of my psyche, and make connections with the greater whole. When I’m honouring my passion, I’m more compassionate. Ironically, when I strive for mastery, I become more accessible, more vulnerable in the act of aspiring. It’s that kind of openness that is essential to learning.

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I try to collaborate with people who operate from their true strengths so that I can learn from the best—from people who are being their best. And so I can be seen and called out when I’m shrinking, faking, or faltering.

How can I tell if someone is in his or her zone? Easy.

They show up because they’re compelled to— they can hardly resist.

They ask really good questions because they’re always scanning for the right fit.

And they’re almost always incredibly generous.

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invest in your second nature

Your original self and all its great capacities are present from day one.

Jungian analyst James Hillman calls it "The Acorn Theory". You arrive with the acorn of your full potential in your DNA. The gift of that potentiality may lie dormant until the right time—until your life conditions create an environment for you to sprout, until you’re big enough to run the race or argue your point, or until the right teacher comes along to whip you into shape.

Can you remember the time before you believed what the world told you who you "should" be?

My interests were apparent when I penned my first love poem in grade one, became Class President, and played the fortune-teller at pyjama parties. I wrote. I spoke. I heard things that people weren’t saying.

Cultivating these second nature "gifts" is my first priority now. I work with Gail Larsen, a transformational speaking coach and a seasoned TV producer, to hone my message and refine my rhythm. I work with a creativity coach, Dyana Valentine, to push me and to instigate my innovation when I’m making stuff (like this book!). I’ve worked with a voice coach, high-minded editors, and powerful intuitives. I totally get off on showing up for a workshop or a coaching session to say, "What do you think can be better? How did I suck? Give it to me straight."

Sometimes the feedback twinges the nervy edges of my ego. Then…Pause. Breathe. Expand. Push through to somewhere closer to my potential.

That’s the kind of hard work I’m interested in.

If you’re able to be yourself, then you have no competition. All you have to do is get closer and closer to that essence. - Barbara Cook

Before I went on my last book tour a few years ago, I hired a stylist, a hoity-toity image consultant, and a top-flight media trainer. "What are you doing that for? You ARE an image consultant, and you’ve done lots of TV already," some friends said to me. "I’m aiming for impeccable." I said. "It’s way more fun that way." The rush is in the aim.

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approve of your weaknesses

When you cop to your shortcomings:

You become accessible. What, you’re not superhuman? Well then, let’s be friends. Humanity is charming.

You make space for other people to perform, shine, and operate from their true strengths.

You foster teamwork and collaboration.

You get the benefit of other people’s greatness.

You create a genuine connection.

You get help. People support you.

You actually don’t have to do it all. Go figure.

You give yourself permission to pursue your genius.

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yep, it can be that easy

VIDEO: The Metrics of Ease, 9 mins

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

Enter password: lightmyfire

When you focus on building on your natural strengths, on doing what comes easiest to you, you get some serious momentum.

Less friction = greater velocity.

Using the "ease factor" as a metric for making right choices is counter-culture, of course. It’s been drilled in to us to work hard. Blue collar, white collar, dog collar—hard work pays off. Pay your dues. Put in your time. Prove yourself. Check the right box. Stay the course. Meet expectations. Train in pain, and then reap the rewards.

Doing what comes easily to you isn’t about shortcuts or cleverness, and it’s certainly not about making mediocrity acceptable. It’s about leverage. It’s about casting your seeds on the most fertile soil. It’s about your best chances for success.

The need to be normal is the predominant anxiety disorder in modern life. - Thomas Moore, Original Self

Genuine excellence is not "normal," by the way. Most amazing people are a tad eccentric or obsessive. A little off-kilter. Driven. Devoted. (Nowhere in the definition of "devoted" do the words "balanced," "measured," or "normal" appear.) Freaky excellent people do not have subtle strengths, they have PRONOUNCED talents or proclivities, and they have a rabid dedication, an ardour for what they do so well. They dig it, and they dig it hard.

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Though unmitigated, unapologetic stupendousness is the exception rather than the norm in our culture, champions of authenticity can be found in every profession or calling. Bakers, day care teachers, technologists, activists—everyone has some form of genius to rock. And when you’re letting your genius fly, you make it look so natural. Because it is.

An integral being knows without going, sees without looking, and accomplishes without doing. - Lao Tzu

what’s right for you?

VIDEO: The Merit of Self Centered with Dyana Valentine, 10 mins

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

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enthusiasm saves lives

Enthusiasm is a great indicator of your true strength. The immediate "I love it!" response, the game you’ve got to get in to, the cause you can’t walk away from, the idea that makes you pause and then nod, "Oh, this is a good one, a really good one." Enthusiasm evokes a determined "no matter what-ness". It wakes us up in the middle of the night with fresh ideas. Enthusiasm creates a flurry of connections and marvellous events that often starts with this powerful little phrase: "What if…"

Enthusiasm is a heightened state of consciousness, and it’s one of the best feelings there is to feel.

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enthusiasm (noun) Great excitement for, or interest in, a subject or cause. A source or cause of great excitement or interest.

Word History: The source of the word comes from the Greek adjective entheos, "having the god within". Over time, the meaning of enthusiasm became extended to "rapturous inspiration like that caused by a god" to "an overly confident or delusory belief that one is inspired by God", to "ill-regulated religious fervour, religious extremism", and eventually to the familiar sense "craze, excitement, strong liking for something".

Whenever there is enthusiasm, there is a creative empowerment that goes far beyond what a mere person is capable of. - Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth

Eckhart Tolle suggests that enthusiasm is the highest form of "Awakened Doing". Buddhists call it mindfulness. Professor Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi calls it Flow. Peter Senge calls it Presence. For our sparking purposes, let’s call it High Entrepreneurship.

Eckhart outlines three modalities of awakened doing: acceptance, enjoyment, and enthusiasm. Acceptance means being in the situation and doing what must be done willingly. Enjoyment happens when you are fully present and not just doing what you’re doing as a means to an end. It’s not what you do, but how you do it. Enthusiasm means that there is a deep enjoyment in what you do, plus a goal or a vision you’re working toward. Enthusiasm knows where it’s going.

Is that not cosmic fabulousness? So elegant and simple. So obviously essential for High Entrepreneurship.

Of course, you can’t be in a continual state of enthusiasm. You’d fry, fall, and lose your grounding. But before you commit, sign, take the stage, take the meeting, take the gig, or take your place in the intentional unfolding of your life, enthusiasm must be present. Ideally. And we’re going for ideal here.

Enthusiasm is the genuine Yes! that will uncork your genius, signal your muses to come down, and magnetize the resources you need to be within your reach. Enthusiasm is the beautiful beginning that changes everything.

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know thyself

Personality tests

The Strengths Finder's Test (you have to purchase the book to take the test)

Strong Life Test, Marcus Buckingham’s new test for women

The Enneagram, a free test

Myers-Briggs, a free humanetrics test

Myers-Briggs, a paid-for assessment

My favourite astrologers & intuitives

Nancy "Scooter" McMoneagle

Tali & Ophira Edut, The AstroTwins

Heidi Rose Robbins

Hiro Boga, Intuitive

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resources

The Truth About You: Your Secret to Success, Marcus Buckingham www.tmbc.com I @mwbuckingham

Now, Discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham

Do More Great Work, Michael Bungay Stanier Domoregreatwork.com I @boxofcrayons

A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle Eckharttolle.com I @eckharttolle

The Creative Habit, Twyla Tharp

The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron Theartistsway.com

The Soul’s Code: In Search of Character and Calling, James Hillman

The Zero Hour Workweek, Jonathan Mead IlluminatedMind.net I @jonathanmead

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WORK passion play SHEET

Your true strengths are living right HERE.

You go to the best cocktail party ever. It’s a life-changing event 4 because you meet the most with-it, interesting, empowered people, and each of them can contribute to your career and interests in some way. Who was there? What kind of information did they share with you? What did they ask you? How did they offer to help you?

What are you intensely interested in? While you’re at it, include your moderate curiosities.

If you could go to five free conferences or events this year, which ones would you go to, or what would they be about?

What could you talk about late into the night with like-minded people, or to an audience of rapt listeners hanging on your every word?

What activities make you feel really useful, alive, and strong? When do you feel like a rock star, a gifted contributor, a very cool and purposeful human being? In terms of things that you do, when do you feel most like yourself?

What do you want to be known for?

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WORK very strong SHEET priorities 5

What actually needs to get done in your business? For example: copy writing, accounting, space upkeep, vendor negotiating, shipping, client service, marketing + promotion, purchasing, website management, public speaking, graphic design, research, competitive analysis, scheduling…

STEP 1. The following activities have to happen in order STEP 2. My competency level for each to make my business function + thrive: (whether you do activity, whether I greatly enjoy doing or not, these activities or not, they need to get done). is: (Circle)

: ______Lame competent to good great brilliant

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: ______Lame competent to good great brilliant

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STEP 3. From Step 1, capture the activities that make STEP 4. What can you do to develop these strengths and you feel strengthened, vitalized, and more alive when you interests? Coaching, classes, courses, training, events to do them. Write them below. Open your heart and mind attend, books to read, people to connect with, mentors to when you scan the list. You may not be stellar at an pursue, sacred time to set aside… activity, but it could feel inspiring when you do it. And you might think that an activity is perhaps "beneath" you, yet you feel strengthened when you do it. In my True Strength Conditioning Plan, I will develop I feel strengthened, vitalized, and more alive when I’m: and foster these true strengths by:

: : ______

: ______STEP 5. 3 actions I will take today to make my True Strength Conditioning Plan a reality: : ______:______

: : ______

: ______

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STEP 6. From Step 1, capture the activities that don’t STEP 7. What can you do to decrease your time spent really light your fire, or outright annoy you. Write them on activities that drag you down and don’t feed your true below. strengths? Find a Virtual Assistant, phase it out of your business, stop right now, quit, hand over the baton, hire an expert...

I feel weakened, drained, or lacklustre when I: In my Make Way For My Excellence by Getting the Draining Activities Off My Plate Plan, I will:

: : ______

: : STEP 8. ______3 actions I will take today to put an end to the draining stuff: : ______: ______: ______: ______: ______: ______

Be you, be true, be strong.

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a word on life purpose

So many people are looking for it: their Big Life Purpose.

Becoming YOU is your purpose.

YOU are the very purpose of your existence. Realizing what lights your fire and floats your boat—THAT’s your life purpose. What else could it be?

If it gives you true joy (not the seemingly happy-high that is fleeting, but the reliable, always-there kind of satisfaction) to rock that guitar, to make people laugh, to discover the world, to make things a little more beautiful wherever you go, to feed, to stir it up, to clean it up, to execute the plan, to bank the cash, compassionate citizenry, non-stop exploration, or pure pleasure-seeking…then, that’s your life purpose!

Your life purpose is what you say it is.

Who could tell you otherwise?

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the strategy SESSION of desire

COMPONENTS VIDEO: Strategic Desires, 4 mins WORKSHEET 5: Desired Feelings 4

As is your desire, so is your will. As is your will, so is your deed. As is your deed, so is your destiny. - The Upanishads

This could be the single most important take-away from this book. Here it is:

How do you want to feel?

…when you walk through the door of your studio or your office? When you unlock your store, ship your product, and pick up the phone? When you cash the check, accept the award, finish your masterpiece, or make the sale…

How do you want to feel?

That question is the answer to your strategic mapping, your to-do list, your business plans, your objectives, your prioritizing.

Knowing how you actually want to feel is the most potent form of clarity that you can have. Acting on generating those feelings is the most creative thing you can do with your life.

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VIDEO: Strategy of Desire, 4 mins

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

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Let’s zoom in.

You’ve got a to-do list, right? Quarterly objectives? Raise your hand if you set yearly goals. Five-year goals? Now, who has a list of how they want to feel in their life? Whenever I ask this question to audiences, only a few hands sprout up from the crowd. A few more if we’re on the west coast.

Culturally speaking, I think we have the whole ambition, life- planning thing backwards. We come up with our goals and visions, and we intend that actualizing them will make us feel successful, worthy, satisfied. And of course that’s predominantly the case—we set a goal, we reach it, we feel great. Unless of course, we feel empty, or flustered, or anxious that what we’re doing isn’t working to fill the hole—that we’re still missing something.

How can you distinguish between the goals of the soul and trying to live someone else’s dream?

How do you know that you’re reaching for a goal that will be truly satisfying when you achieve it? You can’t. It’s impossible to predict. But it is possible to stack the odds of fulfilment in your favour.

First, you get clear on how you want to feel. Then, you do stuff that makes you feel that way.

Without exception, everything on our to-do, to-get, to-experience lists originates in desired feelings. Without exception. You eat what you eat, make what you make, hang with the people you hang with, say what you say, because you believe that those actions are going to create a reaction inside of you. We do stuff to feel good.

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When it’s bad, is it really bad? Even when we do stuff that’s "bad" for us (glazed donuts when you’re on a diet, doing a 50/50 deal with a totally lame business partner, selling a crappy product), we’re still feeding that part of our psyche that says, "Right now, doing X will make me feel Y. And Y will make me feel, good, better, relieved, safe, alive…" The donut feels good going down. The mistakes look like the best decisions at the time.

To keep this honed in on entrepreneurial pursuits…if my "core desired feelings theory" is on the mark, then it would follow that a solid, make- it-happen strategy should be grounded in the awareness of how you want to feel. It’s a fundamental point that most action plans and goal setting systems overlook. Ready-Aim-Fire begins with inner clarity. It’s logical, if you ask me.

Feelings are magnetic You can call it the power of positive thinking, you can call it self- fulfilling prophecy, or the law of attraction. Attitude is driven by emotion and emotions are beacons. Gratitude creates more reasons to be grateful. Generosity creates a generous response. Power stirs up strength. What we focus on expands. So choosing to focus on the feelings you want to feel is a sure way to create the experience that you want to experience.

Own it I think that the better part of the mortal coil is snarled in reckoning with how we desire to feel, and what we can't bear to feel. Knowing how you want to feel is half the journey to liberation. But a funny thing often happens on the way to clarity. We get clear on how we want to feel, and then we muck it all up with self-judgment. A story...

I was jamming with a client whom I adore. She's kind-hearted, she's willing to look at her shit and her gloriousness, and she's excellent at what she does. And, as it tends to happen, I slid in one of my favourite backwards burning questions:

"So in terms of 'success' how do you want to feel?" I asked.

"I...I want to feel important," she admitted. And then it came, the back-paddle, squashing of desire: "But is it wrong to want to feel that way? Shouldn't I want to feel something else? It’s a bit arrogant."

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Freeze frame. Is it wrong to want to feel a certain way? Why would it be wrong? Who says? What would happen if you let yourself feel a certain way? How about starting with being okay with wanting to feel a certain way and seeing where that leads you?

Back to the convo:

"Is it wrong to want to feel important?" I echoed back to her. "Well maybe some therapists would think so. Could be your wounded inner child 'n all that, but let's work from here and now. In terms of your business, what would make you feel important?"

"Celebrity X would be photographed in my product. And the editor at that big magazine would decide to put me on the cover for the next issue. I'd be front and center at the gala. And my cheap clients would stop pestering me for cheaper product, and I would be working with the people who really value what I do." She was on a roll. Her voice was clear. I imagined she was sitting up straight.

"Uh-huh. Well, that sounds like a rocking business to me. So, what do you need to do to help ensure that you feel important?" And with that, a very concise to-do list rolled off her tongue and the future looked brrrilliant.

"You know, just talking about what I'm going to do to make myself feel important makes me feel...important," she concluded. That's what happens when we take control of our desires. Moving toward gratitude helps you feel grateful. Aiming for power gets your power circuits firing. Planning for love makes you feel warm and fuzzy. And so it goes.

I used to have intense guilt for craving creative freedom—and then life forced me to go solo and I learned in one fell swoop that my guilty craving was a very divine calling—with all the rewards I was hankering for.

Enough with feeling guilty for wanting to feel the way you want to feel. Follow your desired emotion. Don't analyze it too deeply. Just let it roll and rumble a bit. It may be there to humble you, expand you, heal, surprise or reinvent you. Anywhere it leads, it's there for a divine reason.

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Feelings + Time Management If you have goal lists or vision boards, write your desired feelings on them—front and center. Stick a note of your key feelings into your day- timer.

I have a sticky note inside my Moleskine day-timer that says:

And that teeny note, those few words, are the rudder of my ship. (Worksheet #6 is an exercise in identifying your core desired feelings for work.)

Imagine my thrill when I read this article in The Huffington Post by productivity expert David Allen (Getting Things Done):

"How do I set priorities?"…I have a radical point of view: learn to listen to, and trust, your heart. Or your intuition, or your gut, or the seat of your pants, or whatever part of your anatomy is the source of that mysteriously wonderful "still, small voice" that somehow knows you better than you do, and knows what's better for you, better than you do.

Letting your feelings be your time management guide? Radical indeed.

Open heart, open mind. When you’re clear on how you want to feel, you can be more open to what life wants to give you—this is based on my assumption that the divine intelligence is always conspiring for you to win—even if you’re not playing along with the fulfilment program. When you’re focused on the feelings, the form and the timing of how things come into your life are less important.

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Let’s say that a business project comes your way. You immediately click with the people involved—you feel a great sense of harmony. When you see yourself working on the project you feel enthusiastic, creative, and useful—all of the things you want to feel most in your work life. But! The project is in an industry you never expected to be working in—you may have even considered it beneath you at one point in your career. Normally, you’d immediately say: Sorry, I don’t work in textiles, or with food companies; I’m focused on the kids and the non- profit sector.

But you can’t deny the good feelings that the project elicits. You say yes. You feel good. You expand.

(BTW, this same theory applies to romance. You always "pictured" your true love as tall and well-invested, but the guy who makes you laugh your ass off and feel closer to Life is short on inches and a few bucks. Wouldn’t it be a shame to let those good feelings pass you by? It’s the feelings, not the package.)

"Feelings first" is really the essence of simplified living—a focus on what matters most.

Now we’re going to talk about actually generating those feelings and experiences in your work life. This is where the theory meets the practice, where the desire gets realized.

Start with the feelings. Do whatever you need to do to create them—even if it seems unrelated to the task at hand.

Let me use myself as an example. One of my core desired feelings in work is affluence. I want to feel fluid and influential—and that’s in terms of ideas flowing, a spirit of generosity and effectiveness in all I do, as well as phat cash flow.

Of course, I want to create a big-picture, ongoing experience of affluence for myself. Ultimately, that would mean lotsa readers and buyers, big audiences, being able to make life-changing connections for people, creating financial freedom for myself, and generously sharing everything I have to share. When I think of my desire in those sweeping terms, I feel excited. But, "excited" doesn’t necessarily translate into actionables or knowing where to start. Start with feeling good.

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So this is how it goes: What can I do today, or even right now to feel affluent?

I can: re-tweet someone’s blog post and help send some traffic their way; make a donation to Women for Women International; wear killer shoes and my favourite gold cocktail ring; go test out the Herman Miller Aeron Chair that I’m saving up for—just sitting on one of those babies makes me feel smarter and richer; get a pedicure while I’m tapping away on my laptop; re-read some love letters from readers or clients; transfer fifty bucks into my savings account; buy a burrito for the homeless guy on the corner; buy local; wear perfume even if I’m not leaving the house; send some thank you cards. It’s endless, really.

Life is full of opportunities to feel exactly the way you want to feel.

Small things. Doable things. Intentional things. Actions. Generating your core desired feelings doesn’t just happen with affirmations you stick on your bathroom mirror, or from sitting in lotus position and OHM’ing your way into an altered state. Mindfulness and contemplation is only half of the equation. You’ve got to take some ACTION, Jackson.

Back to me and my pursuit of affluence and world domination…so how does putting fifty bucks into my savings account, or sitting in a high- priced office chair that I haven’t bought yet help me rock my business and really get stuff done? When I feel affluent, I act, think and radiate affluence. My mind expands to accommodate affluent thoughts and strategies. With the pleasing sensation of affluence in my heart—from the simple act of making a phone call to helping someone get a job to asking for a better interest rate, I tap into more ideas and strategies that are aligned with the energy of affluence. Most simply put:

When I feel good, I act smarter.

If you act out in anger, things usually don’t go so well. I’m talking about acting out in affluence, in lovingness, in innovation, in vitality, in connection—in whatever feeling it is that you want coursing through your cells and out into the world and back at you again. Because that feedback loop of vibes is exactly how intentionality rolls.

So if there’s an opportunity that comes my way and it isn’t going to make me feel the way I know I want to, then it’s a no, thanks.

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Deconstructing success In Worksheet 6, you are asked to write out how you want to feel in your vocation, and then guided to narrow those feelings down to just three of five specific feeling words, terms, or phrases. It’s really a cool exercise (potentially life-changing, I dare say). But, before you go there, we need to talk about success.

As a term, "success" is up there with "nice" and "plastic"—it covers just about everything, but doesn’t tell you much at all.

Even the dictionary definition is weak:

suc·cess (noun) 1. the favourable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavours. 2. the attainment of wealth, position, honours, or the like. 3. a successful performance or achievement. 4. a person or thing that is successful.

But whatever it is, we all want it, and we want it bad. But (here I go again), what does success actually feel like? What does it sound like, smell, look, and taste like? Contrary to what the progenitors and propagators of the (North) American Dream would tell you, success is actually a very personal thing.

You’re allowed to desire any feeling you want, of course. But for the purposes of this exercise, do yourself a favour and strike "success" from your vocabulary. Beneath "successful" are likely juicier, more lucid and poignant emotions that you’re desiring. Dig deeper.

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WORK desired feelings SHEET

definitions + synonyms: 6 pick whatever works for you

feelings: sensations; emotions; inner states; consciousness; inner world. career: vocation; livelihood; work; wealth; money; income; creativity; career; job; calling; philanthropy; contribution. goal: Everything you work towards; the objective of your strategy; the whole point.

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STEP 1:

How do you want to feel in the realm of your career/livelihood/ vocation/work/wealth?

Do a stream of conscious riff. Concepts, words, feelings, images. This is about optimal, positive, nourishing, and good—very good—feelings. Put them all on paper. Fill up both sides if a tsunami of desire floods you. Invest in yourself. Want what you want. Go.

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STEP 2:

Pattern recognition Study your list of desired feelings in your vocation/work/career/wealth. Read it over a few times. Read it out loud if you’re inclined. Sleep on it. Take it for a walk. What jumps out at you, feels warm, feels YES!, feels really important and valuable?

Circle the words or concepts that really turn you on.

The objective of this exercise: narrow your list down to 3 to 5 desired feelings.

Whittling it down, making tricky choices: Having a tough time choosing between, say, "creative" and "artistic", or "strong" and "powerful"? Try this:

Look up the definitions of words. Each word is its own planet and knowing the actual definition and origin can be instantly illuminating.

Repetitive questioning. This is a potentially annoying, galvanizing little mind trick: keep asking yourself how a feeling feels. Get underneath its skin. Like this: "So, what does confidence feel like? (Answer with the first thing that comes to mind.) It feels like winning. What does confidence feel like? It feels like being certain. What does confidence feel like? It feels like…clarity. Bingo. What you really desire to feel is clarity.

Write each word you’re considering on its own sticky note, even if it’s ten words. Stick them on the fridge for a day, or rimming your computer monitor and see how they make you feel. You’ll start to see how "confidence" is really summed up with the word "strong," or how "beautiful, classy and elegant" are present in one word: "graceful." Toss the sticky notes that don’t make the cut and see what you’re left with after a few days.

Set a deadline for yourself. "By Saturday, I’ll be clear on my core desired feelings in my career, and that’s that."

Don’t sweat it. This isn’t a test. You can change your mind Make it somewhat later, have an a-ha moment, recalibrate it all when you wake up. official. Write your 3 to 5 most desired feelings for your work on the next page.

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In my career + wealth, I desire to feel:

Act the way you want to feel 5 to 10 career accomplishments or experiences that will make me feel this way:

3 things I will do today to generate these feelings in my work:

3 things I will do this week to generate these feelings in my work:

3 things I will do this quarter to generate these feelings in my work:

3 people to collaborate with who help me feel this way:

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identity + branding: MOD you are not a box ULE of cereal

If I'm going to sing like someone else, then I don't need to sing at all. 2 - Billie Holiday B R A N D I N G

Building "trustworthy" brands is the business conversation du jour because so many of us have forgotten to trust ourselves—and each other. Understandably. You never know if someone’s face is their real face; if reality TV is real; or if a celebrity’s tweet about "just had the best burger at Carl’s!" is out of genuine taste or a paid, covert endorsement. (Some celebs can command up to $20,000 for tweeting about a product. Uh-huh.)

And then of course, we have our own age-old conundrum of fitting in and standing out. It’s the divine human dilemma of simultaneously wanting to be especially unique and profoundly wanting to belong. That will never change. On top of that deep driving psychology, we pile on social "norms" like dress codes and executive titles, salary structures, everything the goddamn Joneses are doing, and the popularity contest that is social media itself, and well...it’s the makings of an identity crisis.

Oh, and let’s not forget about the plethora of popular experts that publishers love to publish and we love to consume, scanning for the new best advice from the leading edge of new best smart people.

Press PAUSE. If can you tune out the noise of "how-to" and "10 steps" and "proven tactics", you will be able to hear your own spidey sense— genuine, sincere reflexes, and it will tell you that: You are the expert on you.

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This is a discussion about personal brands, integrity brands.

If you’re working in the marketing department of a major blue chip firm crafting eco-friendly slogans to cover up your toxic waste, or at an ad agency devising sexy images about how cans of sugar are going to make us feel groovy—then, well…actually…you wouldn’t be reading this anyway. So, disregard.

If you’re just a solopreneur acting like you’ve got a big team on payroll, with your offices on the top floor, when you’re really a one man show rocking it out from your kitchen; if your personal bio says things like "Jane graduated top of her class and strives to provide her customers with excellence"; if you’re feeling even slightly closeted, cloaked or hemmed in by your own professional image, then come closer. In fact, I want you to sit at the front of the class and pay very close attention. There will be a test. And a party.

Do you really love what you love? Are you who you say you are? Who are you, anyway?

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integrity branding SESSION

COMPONENTS VIDEO: Bonding + Branding, an interview with Elizabeth Talerman, 10 mins WORKSHEET 7: The All About You Interview WORKSHEET 8: Who’s Great? from Michael Bungay Stanier WORKSHEET 9: The Ask-A-Friend Survey

5 Never sing in chorus if you want to be heard. - Jules Archibald

Some days, I’d love to obliterate the word "brand" from the entrepreneurial lexicon. I wish it was never coined. Of course, it’s a useful term. It might even be more effective than "image", or "persona". But it’s a concept that we may have gotten too carried away with. It’s what I rile against in business, especially small business. Because, it’s a setup. It positions us as packagers first and creators second. If we’re not courageous and grounded, branding can set us up to manufacture an image that we hope will sell. And that’s all backwards, people.

Your brand is your reputation, your character, the impression you make. It’s who you are. Ideally.

integrity branding = you, suited up and showing up.

Selling something that is inauthentic is not only exhausting (practically, financially, and spiritually speaking)—it’s dangerous.

Image is a fragile thing. Sincerity is rock solid.

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Integrity brands are:

Self-referencing They begin with their offering and then look for their audience. The starting point is Who am I?—not What will sell? The What will sell? question is crucial—you can’t sell what people don’t want. But your foundation has to be built on your talents and values and what you want to do with your time. You can focus and refine and package from there.

Rooted in their genuine strengths + passions Because you can’t fake passion, and passion persuades.

Consistent "Do me a favour," I said to a former business partner, "just be yourself on a regular basis—it’ll be a lot easier that way." Authenticity is incredibly efficient. Consistency builds velocity. When you’re who you really are, people know what to expect of you, and that’s a beautiful thing.

Proud I have never met a successful artist or entrepreneur (and by "successful" I mean prosperous, kind, and in touch with the meaningfulness of what they’re doing) who has apologized for being perfectionistic, mercurial, unrelenting, or whatever their hallmark, slightly controversial characteristics were. Personally, if I start apologizing for being all new age and mouthy, then I’m not only going to shrivel up and die, my tribe will head south without me. I’m okay with any push back because I’m happy and committed to shining (AKA proud).

Your most pronounced qualities are the through-line of your story, and they articulate your gifts and your challenges. They command attention and, sometimes, respect. If you round out those edges, you, well...lose your ‘edge’.

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Transparent Show me who you are, even if it’s a bit risky. (risk = momentum) Show me why you got into this business. Explain why you believe in your product or service. Tell me your story. Care more about being accurately, precisely who you are than what anyone might think about you. Be daring enough to tell us—your customers, your fans, your people—about your ambitions because we’ll be the ones to help you fulfil them.

People want to hear your story. They really do.

Be open to the possibility of offending some people, of losing a few customers or readers. Be open to being worshipped, adored, revered, respected, and profitable.

Emotive.

Emotional labour is available to all of us, but it is rarely exploited as a competitive advantage. - Seth Godin

That’s right. Integrity brands are emotional. If you don’t emote, you’re remote. Emotion is the chemistry of resonance. People, clients, customers, audiences say yes! when they feel the vibe.

Integrity brands express their feelings—psychological, political, spiritual, and material. We stand up and say things. We lean forward. We risk. We laugh out loud, show our true colours, and speak our minds. We make declarations.

We are charming. We’re not charming to everyone, of course. Not everyone is going to fall for your shtick or want to buy your goodies. But we’ll charm the people who relate, or want to relate to us. And you know what that is? That’s love.

In summary, integrity brands are: 1. Self-referencing 2. Rooted in genuine strengths 3. Consistent 4. Proud 5. Transparent 6. Emotive

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Distinguishing you

If you are offering Then your distinction shows up as: SERVICES and/or PRODUCTS created by YOU, Your brand reflects your personality and drive, you as a creator, an authority, the expert. reliant on personal image

Prove your expertise by telling the story of how you

developed your work, and/or the passion behind your FOR EXAMPLE: product. Give first-person accounts, interviews, share

the timelines of your growth and anecdotes of what you

Personality-driven SERVICES learned and perfected along the way. coaching, business consulting, training, teaching First class imagery of you: great photography, film

clips of you being interviewed, doing your thing, creating (Think Big: Tony Robbins, Pam Slim, Brian your product, using your product. You are at the center Tracy, David Bach, Suze Orman, Andrea Lee) of this. Visual connections are instant relationship-

builders.

Personality-driven PRODUCTS books, courses, designer goods, art The visual style of your packaging should match your

personal style. It’s pretty simple: does your business (Think Big: Donna Karan, Julia Cameron, packaging match your taste in fashion or home décor? Tony Hawk, SARK)

If you are offering Then your distinction shows up as: SERVICES and/or PRODUCTS created by someone else, Emphasize your leadership in your realm of business delivered by you e.g. We are one of the Top 10 Bakers of Mrs. Fields

cookies in the country.

FOR EXAMPLE: Tell the story of what brought you to this opportunity

and the "magic moment" when you knew you were a fit. Licensed/Certified e.g. I’d been practicing yoga for years, but when I went training + instructor programs to my first Bikram class, I knew I’d found my calling.

Franchised Describe how you’ve built community and focus on from Bikram’s Yoga to Jiffy Lube… your locale or genre-specific presence.

e.g. We’ve helped raise over $50,000 for downtown Distributorship eastside projects. this covers most forms of wholesale/retail

Profile your team.

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If you are offering Then your distinction shows up as: SERVICES and/or PRODUCTS created by YOU, NOT reliant on your Packaging that is aligned with your market—which means you have to ask your market what they want. It’s personality, a total appeal to their sensibilities. delivered by someone else A declaration of your values. Culture and values can speak through the market-aligned brands, without being FOR EXAMPLE: attached to a visible, front-and-center personality. Think Big: Ben & Jerry’s, Stonyfield Farms, Simple Shoes, Dr. Products that are not personality driven, that Hauschka. you do not sell directly to the public, but rather, are wholesaled or distributed to consumer-level merchants. This covers everything from food products to home décor to electronics and clothing—huge.

VIDEO: Bonding + Branding with Elizabeth Talerman, 10mins

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

Enter password: lightmyfire

Rock your authenticity all the way to the bank.

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clarifying your identity: how to find + polish the diamond of you

Get interviewed. Properly. Ideally, on video. Hire a writer, someone with the listening skills to pry and evoke your best stories and intelligence from you. Can’t afford a writer? Ask a friend to interview you. Hell, interview yourself! Channel your inner Charlie Rose or Barbara Walters and get in there. Pretend no one is listening. Pretend you have a rapt audience of millions.

When you are properly interviewed, you will hear things you didn’t hear before. You’ll let it flow from the depths and the heights. You’ll think harder. You’ll surprise yourself.

Tell your writer what your objectives are: I want a new story. I need a new bio. I want to outline my next talk…

Get it on video. This is a really powerful exercise. When you see yourself on tape, you will laugh, cringe, swell with assuring confidence. Consider it cheap media training. You’ll notice how many times you say "Um, uh, well…" You’ll notice your body language—when you slouch (fear), when you get animated (strength), when your breathing flows (inspiration), and when it doesn’t.

You’ll capture content! If you ramble for 20 minutes about you and your business, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll say one zinger line that turns out to be your slogan or tag line. And in your rambling and riffing and storytelling, you may hear a manifesto or your magic formula. Article ideas will leap to the surface. Your home page copy or next speech will appear. New names and idea connections will start to spark.

And since you have the camera rolling, look your best. If you can grab a 2-minute clip out of your interview that you could use on your website as a home page introduction, then so much the better.

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Tell your own story, yourself For the love of God and the information highway, please write your bio in first person—we all know you wrote it anyway. The most highly trafficked page on many small business websites is the ABOUT page. People are hiring you, paying attention to you, coming to see you. So they want to hear from...YOU.

This is the stale, old 90s approach: "Danielle is a former think tank executive and communication strategist. She now works with entrepreneurs to develop their careers." This is the new, magnetic/heart approach: "I ran a DC-based think tank for futurists, helped put a few authors on the map, and now I work with entrepreneurs to help rock their careers." Who would you rather hire?

If there is no "we" to your company—if YOU are pretty much it, then just say so. Small is agile. Boutique is beautiful—even the smart corporations who want to work with you know that.

Don’t hide your truth—leverage it Being qualified is overrated. (Disclaimer: this vocational approach does not apply to heart surgeons, shrinks, or pharmacists. Or the guys who engineer bridges.)

I took a survey once looking for "unqualified successes". I was trolling for crackerjack people who had bypassed the diploma, the pecking order, or the security guard to get to the top of their game.

Here's what surfaced:

The Top 30 College Dropouts Who Made It Big In Business list, which includes: billionaires Bill Gates, Richard Branson, and Steve Jobs—who, by the way, took a Calligraphy class in college...and then dropped out.

. Jimi Hendrix couldn't read music. . Rachel Ray never went to cooking school. . John Fluevog went from working in a shoe store to his own shoe empire. . Vera Wang was a fashion writer. . Coco Chanel had no formal training.

And this was my favourite client story from Tanya in New York— she "traded risk management software to Investment Banks and on Wall Street...with only a fashion design diploma from South Africa." Yeah.

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I'm The Poster Chick for Unqualified. I never went to college— except when I was in diapers. My mother, being eighteen when she had me, took me to school with her so she could complete her degree is social studies. I doodled in psych textbooks and played with my dollies at the back of the class. You could say I got my B.A. by osmosis. To be clear: I juuust made it the Right Side of the Tracks, and I then ran like hell.

I figured out very early on to use my lack of education to my advantage, as part of my "brand." When people asked me where I went to university, I just said, "Didn’t." (Okay, I was a tad smug in my earlier days.) But it always led to intrigue and conversation. And credibility.

I did a 1-on-1 Fire Starter Session with an interior decorator who’d been in the business for over a decade. She had a thriving design firm, and accolades out the wazoo. And yet, she still felt a niggling need to go to school to get certified.

"Why would you want to waste your time doing that?" I asked. "You have a waiting list for your clients." "Well, I’d feel more legit," she said. "You are legit. You made over a hundred grand last year and your clients refer you all the time." She was resisting, so I ramped up my persisting.

"You know what you should say in your bio?" I said to her. "I think you should say that you’re self-taught, in bold type. That you never set foot in a design college because you were too busy sewing your own drapes and shopping for textiles with your grandma, and learning how to build cabinets after school with your dad. Self-taught says ‘extra amazing’. Self-taught says ‘natural talent’. Work it."

She skipped school.

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WORK the all about you SHEET interview 7

(This is a cheat sheet for whomever is going to interview you. These actual questions shouldn’t necessarily show up in the interview itself, but they are good prompters for storytelling and flashes of insight.)

Why do you do what you do?

What has been one of your most memorable experiences in your career? How has your relationship to your work deepened over time?

Tell us about a client/customer/experience that challenged you but inevitably made you a better person.

One word: breakthrough. What comes to mind?

What were the indicators in your childhood or growing up that you were made to do this kind of work?

What have your hard knocks been?

What lights you up about your work?

"It’s a good day when…"?

How have you seen people/communities/industries be affected by what you have to offer?

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Know your influences The creative influences of visual and performance artists are often analyzed. You can see Goya in Julian Schnabel, and hear some Prince in Alicia Keys. Because the consciousness of artistry is less frequently brought into the business milieu, we don’t tend to look for the influences behind policies and procedures, or brands. But they are there just the same.

Your intellectual and spiritual influences show up in your big decisions, in the ideas you love so much that you wish you’d thought of them, in the ambitions you aim for. Your influencers can come from within your industry or they can come from outlying, totally unrelated sources.

If you’ve ever asked your self, What would so and so do? Then that person is an influencer. You simply think they’re great.

The next Worksheet is brought to us from Michael Bungay Stanier’s terrific book, Do More Great Work. I just couldn’t top the simple elegance and utility of his "Map 4: Who’s Great?" And I told him that. So he was kind enough to throw it into our fire.

My Who’s Great List:

1. Anita Roddick 2. Seth Godin 3. Eve Ensler 4. Bono 5. Oprah

And… Alan Watts J. Krishnamurti Ray Anderson Wim Wenders Twyla Tharp Pema Chödrön Ellen DeGeneres Donna Karan Sojourner Truth

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Excerpted with permission from Do More Great Work by Michael Bungay Stanier:

Completing the map Think of eight heroes, role models you think are inspiring for one reason of other. They can be famous or not (George Clooney; your mother), real or not (Queen Elizabeth, Buzz Lightyear), alive or not (Desmond Tutu, Gandhi). Scan your world, and think about people whose stories capture your imagination, folks you’ve always held in high esteem, who embody something you think is impressive-You might even be a bit envious of them. (I know, eight is a lot. But stick with it.)

The role models don’t even have to be people. If it resonates with you, a hero could be an object that you admire or that sparks your imagination (for example, the Mini Cooper or a Ford truck) or even a company or organization that you think does great work (for example, Apple or Greenpeace or Google).

Narrow that list to five. Choose the five you feel are most compelling, about whom you’d be most likely to say, Yes, I’d like to embody what they’ve got, and put a name at the top of each of the circles. For each hero, list four of the characteristics that are so inspiring to you. These can be behaviours exhibited, qualities you sense, or situations he, she, or it has created.

Getting insights from the map There are a number of ways you can use this map: Look for patterns in your line-up of role models. Recurring themes or words can give you a clue about what you believe is important, how you’d like to behave, and where seeds of your own Great Work might lie. For example, if variations on a theme of creativity keep recurring in the description of your heroes, that’s a big clue that your Great Work will involve and engage your own creativity.

When you’re feeling discombobulated and unsure of your next move, bring one of your role models to mind and ask:

How would [insert hero’s name] behave right now? What would [insert hero’s name] do? Doing that might help you get out of your current mind-set and reveal alternative ways to approach the situation at hand.

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WORK the ask-a-friend SHEET survey 9

Oh would some power the gift give us, to see ourselves as others see us! - Robert Burns

Asking someone who cares about you how they actually perceive you is an act of deep vulnerability and courage that could open a new route to your fullness. Objectivity + care can rewrite your whole storyline.

Sometimes another perspective can create a quantum leap for us. So take a deep breath and...just ask.

The prerequisite is this: only send these questions (or make up your own) to someone whom you respect, makes you feel more like yourself, and actively adores you. This isn’t about being critiqued or gutted. The purpose of this exercise is to see yourself more clearly so that you can rise to your own fullness.

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Dear Friend,

I’m taking a leap. Reaching out. Trolling for insights, reflections, objectivity…from you—so that I can see myself more clearly.

: What do you think is my greatest strength?

: How would you describe my style?

: What do you think I should let go of?

: When do you feel that I am at my best?

: What do you wish I were less of, for my sake?

: When have you seen me looking my most fabulous?

: What do you think I could give myself more credit for or celebrate more?

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Know the rules to break the rules Authenticity tends to break the rules. But in order to break the rules, you need to know what the rules are—otherwise, you look like a flake, or worse, a fraud. You can’t write a two-page unconventional business plan without knowing what traditionally makes up a mega business plan.

A publishing story: typically when you want to get a book deal with a publisher, you need to start by getting a literary agent. The agent then "shops" your book proposal to publishers until someone loves your work enough to throw a contract at you.

Literary agencies have submission guidelines. They want a two-page query letter, double-spaced, no more, no less. Some will even dictate which font to use. I could hardly bear it. My work partner at the time said, "We can’t do this two-page conservative thing, it’s pathetic." True. So rather than a standard letter, we made a beautiful booklet. Linen bound, embossed, accordion fold out. It cost about a hundred bucks to put together. I wrote it in prose.

"This is the most beautiful presentation I’ve seen in ten years," said the prospective agent. "I took it home with me as soon as it came in. I’d love to look at a full proposal from you." We used a similar packaging concept for the proposals that went out to Random House and others. We landed a sweet deal. Did we get a signed by that agent because we had a pretty package? Of course not—but by stepping out of bounds, we got the door open.

Do your homework. Know how it’s done in the old school. Don’t be rebellious. Be outstanding.

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Know your hedgehog. Jim Collins wrote the mega seller, Good to Great, which features "The Hedgehog Principle". The Hedgehog Principle has been one of my mightiest tools for clarity and purpose-driving. It is deceptively simple. I don’t bust a move without referring to it.

The Hedgehog Principle consists of three questions: What are you most passionate about? What can you be the best in the world at? What drives your economic engine?

For more information on the logic of The Hedgehog Principle, watch these videos on jimcollins.com. Better yet, read Good To Great. Or, for a quick scan, read this extended article I wrote comparing my personal hedgehog to that of retailer lululemon athletica.

WHITE HOT READING : 3 keys to un-branding…and why I changed my twitter name : 3 simple questions to simplify success

My Personal Hedgehog I am deeply passionate about: Liberating truth There’s a double entendre to that: there’s the act of freeing the truth, and there’s the kind of truth that frees. I’m interested in both.

My purpose is to inspire authenticity—freeing talent, ideas, voice, opinions, consciousness, in life, work, creativity. It’s a journey to freedom. It's a cellular-level commitment. And when I've diverged from that path in the past, the cost was high. When I stay the course of my truth, and support others in doing the same, I prosper in every possible way.

I can be the best in the world at: Sharing my journey Telling my story and inviting other people to relate. I racked my noggin' on this one. But eureka! It came to me...no one can tell my story or share my acumen like I can. My experience is what I sell and the more I show up, the better.

My economic engine is driven by: Multimedia I make money by packaging my wisdom in as many forms as possible, and some of those forms become passive revenue streams.

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lookin’ super fine: SESSION the aesthetics of business

COMPONENTS 6

WORKSHEET 10: Styling

Style is the perfection of a point of view. - Richard Eberhart

Style is everything. Writing style. Speaking style. Leadership style. Style is the way you say it, the way you do it, the way you live it. Sometimes it is an appearance. Sometimes it is an attitude. Style is the lighting of life. It accentuates, delineates, and conceals. At its best, style reflects the soul.

It is a currency—of fashion, of technology, of ideologies—that has birthed nations. Style arouses emotion, triggers deep instincts, changes people’s minds and persuades.

Every choice we make is an expression of our beliefs. On a daily basis, we make material and aesthetic choices that tell our stories. Bold or subtle. Polished or rough. Secluded or central. We compose our identity with sensory messages and symbols. In effect, by conveying ourselves in a particular way, we tell the world how we want to be treated.

Style is a state of mind I used to do a bit of interior design work. One client showed up with some French stationery, a brown glass bottle stopper, a white seashell, and a mocha-coloured velvet ribbon. "I want my living room to feel like this," she said. And that’s all we needed to put together the entire space. Style is about an emotional response—whether it’s your living room, your blog, or your storefront sign.

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Name what inspires you. When I was designing my website, I knew that I wanted it to feel like a contemporary black and white photograph. It then became a process of building up the options (logos, type faces, trims), and stripping it down (no logo, thinnest possible font, no trim). That "black & white photo" touchstone kept me on track when I was tempted to punch in more colour or zippy doodads. Restraint is essential in all good design.

When you’re considering your aesthetic expression and visual brand, put the rules on hold. The experts will help apply good design rules and make logical choices when it’s time to do that. The beginning of your conceptualizing has to be fuelled by inspiration and emotion, and in that context, there is no right or wrong—there’s just attraction and inklings, and breaths of fresh air.

WHITE HOT READING : magnetic attraction analysis 101

My Styling:

Donna Karan’s beach home Urban Zen B+W photography Tattoos Daily Poetics White space Dwell magazine The Creative Habit, by Twyla Tharp everything by Edward Tufte Listography Arboretum by David Byrne The Cool Hunter Miranda July SoulPancake Leonard Cohen Patricia Larsen

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Manifesto of Style from Style Statement:

Live By Your Own Design (my first book, BTW)

1. Communicate who you are in all you do. Consistency is power. When the various parts of your life reflect your essence, your life moves in the direction you want it to. 2. Style is multidimensional. Visual and sensual choices are driven by self-perception. Our image is a composite of our beliefs, history, and desires. 3. Style matters. The design of your life can inspire you or mire you. Every aesthetic and material choice sends a message to the world about who you are, and the world responds accordingly. 4. Authenticity is energizing, economical, and efficient. The better you know yourself, the clearer 10. True style is not dependent on wealth, and your choices. Self-awareness leads to true style. wealth does not necessarily create taste. 5. Accentuate the positive. Give your attention to the Authenticity is not dependent on funding. On a best in you and around you, and the best will budget or on easy street, you owe it to yourself to flourish. find a way to be genuinely you. 6. People are like snowflakes—uniquely beautiful 11. Cheap is expensive in the long run. Why buy because of the details. To compare snowflakes is twice when you can buy once? Commit to quality not very productive. Instead, celebrate what sets you and it will commit to you. apart, what's most particular and true for you, and 12. Use your best every day. Life is too short to wait your own specialness will become clear. for a special occasion to bring out your finery, your 7. Pay attention to what attracts you. One of the treasures, your brilliance, and the best of your love. most powerful questions you can ask is: what am I 13. Choose from your heart, and your life will fill up drawn to? with things you love. What works is what feels 8. Working from the outside in can create deep right. transformation. Surface changes have the power to 14. Beauty transforms. Its capacity to generate alter your inner landscape. (So yes, sometimes a pleasure, healing, and connection is divinely new hairstyle or a work of art can change your life.) powerful. Beauty affects its maker and beholder 9. Feel free to change. When you discover something every time. true about yourself, put it into action, regardless of 15. It's always a good time to be yourself. And it's who you were yesterday. never too late. Possibility exists all the time, everywhere. You haven't missed your chance to be your most beautiful. 16. Only love is free—everything else costs. Whether it's with time, space, emotion, or earthly resources, we pay for what we choose. Be selective about what you need. 17. Creativity + restraint = beauty. Overdone style leaves little room for newness, appreciation, or reciprocity. Hold back a bit. Allow for breathing space. Trust in the power of subtlety. 18. Contrast makes things interesting. Too much sameness dulls the senses. Create a twist. 19. Living is sensual. Engage life with all you've got. 20. Make more choices—moment to moment, day to day. You are the designer of your life. Be selective, creative, and intentional in every possible way.

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styling WORK SHEET

If your website were an outfit, what would it be wearing? 10

If your logo were tattoo that you wanted to have on you body, what would it be?

If your workspace were a country, what would it be?

If your company culture were a flavour, what would it be?

If your copywriting voice were a novel, what would it be?

What natural elements do you resonate with? (e.g. moss, New England beaches, Moroccan deserts, fresh green grass, eagles’ nests, poppies)

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In the field:

5 CD covers you adore, and why.

5 book covers you adore, and why.

3 magazines you like the look of, and why.

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making stuff that MOD feels good to make ULE

It's like a great high school athlete…at some point he will have to commit to one sport over the others. He'll weigh out a lot of factors: what comes naturally to him, what does he enjoy the most, in which sport does he have a natural advantage?

But in the end the choice should be based on pure instinct and self-knowledge. What sport does he feel in his muscles and 3 CONTENT + SERVICES bones? What sport was he born to play? + PROMOTION

- Twyla Tharp, The Creative Habit

This module is a biggie. Here’s an overview of the notes we’ll hit:

CONTENT : is what you give, your stuff, your offering, your goods, your message—it’s the heart of your matter. This covers all information, inspiration, wisdom, training and teaching material. It also covers all forms of media that you use to communicate: from your promo copy on your home page to your blog articles. Bios. Manifestos. How-To’s. All of it.

SERVICES : are traditionally things that you do, perform or conduct for others. Sometimes you get paid for your services—from coaching to landscaping. Sometimes elements of your service are free— volunteering, mentoring, advising…

PROMOTION : is anything that you do—directly or indirectly, to raise your visibility.

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content creation SESSION

COMPONENTS WORKSHEET 11: Queens & Kings of Content WORKSHEET 12: Make Stuff Happen

People who earn the label “creative” are really just people who come up with more combinations of ideas, find interesting ones faster, and are willing to try them out. The problem is that most 7 schools and organizations train us out of those habits. - Guy Kawasaki, Reality Check

When it comes to our innate authority and our expertise, many of us are like fish swimming in water. We’re so acclimated to our environment, to the knowledge that buoys us, that we don’t even notice it. Consider this: you could be taking your genius for granted.

You know stuff. You know stuff that other people don’t know. And when you know stuff that other people do not, you’re in a position to be of service. You are a knowledge broker. You have the flint for people who are need a fire.

I’ve worked directly with almost 500 entrepreneurs in the last short while and I’ve said this to at least half of them: You’re sitting on an empire of knowledge and creativity. An empire, baby!

The Empire of You.

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i  travel writers: a case study of content development

I recently spoke at a travel writers’ association about branding and making money online. I love talking to writers because they tend to be wry, and of course, articulate. And when you have a room full of them, you’re guaranteed to get some wonderful quirkies and stubborn folk. I especially like the stubborn ones. But I digress…

Some of the journalists were expressly pissed with this “damn blogging” phenomenon. “All this free content, blogging for free, and what the hell is a freemium anyway? I need to get PAID to write.” Some of these birds were seasoned reporters who had cut their professional teeth on typewriters, in the days when you actually MAILED your story to your editor in a manila envelope, and then you waited to get your cheque back in the mail two weeks later.

…juxtaposed with some of the other writers in the room who were tweeting what I was saying in real time, and buying new domain names while I tossed ideas out at them. But that guy wearing the Shakespeare Festival sweatshirt and taking notes in his reporter’s notebook, and the chicklet bookmarking stuff on her iPhone had the same concerns:

How do I use my knowledge to grow my business? How do I stand out? How do I actually make money online?

Here’s how: You leverage what you know with what you’re passionate about. You put it in every format that you groove with. You work your ass off doing it.

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So here’s what I asked my audience of curmudgeonly and leading edge sassy writers:

What business are you really in? (This is a trick question.) Ray Crock, the founder of McDonald’s asked a class of MBAs what business they thought he was in. “Restaurants, food, hamburger,” they answered, predictably. Nope! Ray’s answer: “Real estate.” McDonald’s success was predicated on standing up actual restaurants in as many locations as possible. The empire wasn’t so much about the Big Mac, as it was about giving people places to easily get to the Big Mac. Location, location, location.

Personally, I’m in the wisdom business. Not the information business. There’s a big difference. Information is data. Wisdom is interpreted information and experience. I offer my wisdom for my livelihood. I put in every format possible (books, articles, strategic consulting, speaking on stage, video, stationery, seminars, tweets…) and I either give it away or I sell it.

You may be an event planner who is really in the business of trends, or the business of stress management. Some doctors are more in the business of information dispensing than caretaking. The best hair stylists I know are actually in the healing and empowerment industry. Thriving yoga studios are often as much community builders as they are wellness instructors.

What is the experience that you’re giving to people? What do you do for them that changes their life, if even for a moment?

That’s the business you’re really in.

My audience of travel writers started taking notes. “Try this on for size,” I said. “Forget that you’re ‘writers.’ There’s a bigger story to your story. Some of you are in the business of adventure, travel, social critique, observation, inspiration, promotion, global community-building, making dreams come true, storytelling.”

What do you know about? What’s your knowledge base? “I’ll tell you what you know!” I exclaimed, getting all Tony Robbins and animated at this point. “You know…”

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. How to get published in multiple media outlets. . How to structure a sales piece without making it too sales-y. . How to properly interview someone. . How to write the same story ten different ways. . How to meet deadlines and generally work under great time pressure. . Various creativity tricks to keep your brain fresh. . How to work with difficult editors, and editors who are junior and senior to you. . How to write a query letter to a magazine. . How to copy edit or find a great copy editor. . How to write killer narrative. . How to write for conservative media outlets. . How to write in multiple voices. . How to ghost write without losing your soul. . How much the industry has changed in ten years. . Which are the best books on the craft of writing and journalism. . Which are the best courses and instructors on craft of writing and journalism. . Who the best writers are in your business. . How to fact check. . How to accrue and use air miles. . How to get good deals on travel. . How to sweet-talk concierges. . How to actually get paid to travel. . How to plan complicated and last-minute exotic trips. . How to connect with other writers. . How to find a good photographer. . What to charge for a 500 word article or a 3,000 word essay— from Vanity Fair to your local newspaper.

Heads were nodding. Hell yeah, we know all that, and more! Next question and answer:

Do you have a specialty? (Everyone has a specialty.) The travel folks were bursting with specialties: travelling with children; Olympics coverage; sports; creative writing; fashion week; budget travel; eco-friendly tourism…

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What’s your message? (Everyone has a message.) What do you stand for? This question doesn’t have to be scary or difficult to answer. What’s the first thing that comes to mind? What is it that you want people to know, see, understand, “get”? What are you always going on about?

What are the vehicles for your knowledge? Thanks to technology, the possibilities are grand and unlimited. Here’s my riff on content formats for the lovely journalists:

DEAR READER: You’ll find this juicy list and all these questions organized just for you in the WORKSHEET coming CONTENT FORMATS and up! VEHICLES OF LOVE + CASH (Some of which are for pure expression and visibility/promotion; some of which can be monetized!)

. Writing, creativity or “freelance business” coaching for up-and- coming writers. And workshops! In person or online, live or pre- recorded. For free or for big bucks. Do them! . Who wants to start an association, a formalized tribe for your specialized area? . Consulting or advising to the public (on planning trips), or to your industry, say, to magazines on the future of travel and travel readers—you’re in the trenches, they might pay for your perspective. . Video content, your own travel show on your website. . e-Books! Sell ’em on your site and put them into Kindle format. . If you have already published books, can you go back to your publisher and get the electronic rights to your books? How could you re-purpose your old material in new ways? . Interviews and more interviews. Interview twenty of the top travel writers (yes, your “competition”) or travel fanatics, or travel agencies. Turn it into an e-book, a report, a magazine article, a talk at a conference or 20 individual blog posts. . Top 10 Lists, book recommendations, link love features. . Host a forum on your own site or another site. . Editing and copywriting services. . Ad placement on your blog/site: Lonely Planet books, luggage companies, sun block, travel agencies, tour guides… . Affiliate kickbacks for Amazon books, personal development programs, related e-books, travel products… . Flickr streams of all of your travels. Stock photography.

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. Write a novel or a memoir about your life as a writer on the road. . iPhone Apps. . Speaking gigs. . Mentoring. . Be a spokesperson/get a sponsorship deal from a travel clothing line, energy bars, airlines. . Host a writing contest…

Dollars signs and overwhelmedness were in the air.

Who wants what you’ve got? The answer to this is very rarely “everyone”. There are two ways to approach this: who shares your values or interests, and/or lifestyle aspirations.

Who needs what you’ve got? The answer to this is often the same as it is to “who wants what you’ve got?”, but some of your potential customers may not know yet that they need you—and it’s your job to reach them and point that out.

What’s your latent dream? “This is where it gets really fun,” I declared to the writerly people. “Do you want to win a Pulitzer? Write a top-ranked blog from a hut in Bali? Teach inner city youth the inner workings of politics and journalism?”

Build your big dream into your business plan.

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WORK queens + kings SHEET of content 11

What would someone pay you $100/hour to tell/teach/inform them about?

What are you repeatedly telling/showing/explaining to your clients? What do they want more of from you? What are they always asking for?

What do you know about? What’s your knowledge base? What do you know that other people don’t?

What business are you really in? How does your service/offering/product make people feel? What problem does it solve, or what state does it create?

What’s your message? (Everyone has a message.) What do you stand for?

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What are the vehicles for your knowledge? (hint: it’s potentially huge. Check out the Super Listorama of CONTENT, LOVE + CASH on the next page.)

Who wants what you’ve got? The answer to this is very rarely “everyone”. There are two ways to approach this: values + lifestyle, and “types” of people.

Who needs what you’ve got? (Even though they may not know it yet.)

What’s your latent dream?

OKAY. That was a lot of deep-diving in one worksheet. Come up for some air. Because on the next page, you’re going to go diving for your many treasures.

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THE SUPER LISTORAMA OF

1-STOP DYNASTY CONTENT, MAKING. YEAH! LOVE + CASH

WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS, TRAINING, COURSES, INTENSIVES, RETREATS What’s the theme of your workshop, course, etc.? Is it a series that builds on each segment, or stand-alone topics? If it’s free of charge, what are you selling or pitching at the end? Who can you collaborate with on the content itself or to market it? Is this a package deal; are deposits refundable; will you do a sliding scale; pay upon registration or the day of; is there an early bird registration? Is this a limited time offer? Who do you need to help pull this off? What do you want to get from it (revenue, client referrals, intelligence that you can turn into a book, a program, articles)? FORMAT + DELIVERY LOVE + CASH: Info or wisdom that you give away or sell. In person: How many people do you need to break even? “Limited space” or group exclusivity Individuals or groups could be a selling feature. Is the space that you’re meeting people in impeccable? Can you record elements of this to use on your site, as a demo reel, for learning purposes? Will you have feedback forms for participants? Video seminar or Is this interactive or lecture style? Can questions be sent to you in advance or teleseminar: during the event? What will you send participants in advance or afterwards? If Live or recorded you’re doing video, stage your background (no home office backdrops of recycling bins and the dog bed). Can you record this event and make it available for free or for pay? Can participants receive a recorded version—will you email it to them, or send them to your site to retrieve it? How will you thank people for participating? Is there a charitable component?

Checkout: Patti Digh’s teleseminars Susannah Conway’s Unravelling eCourse Chris Guillebeau + Pam Slim’s $100 Business Forum Gala Darling’s Podcasts

COACHING FACT: According to my stats, 7 out of 10 coaches are looking for a term to call themselves other than a “coach.” Just call yourself a coach, wouldya? It gets the point across. FORMAT + DELIVERY LOVE + CASH: Info or wisdom that you give away or sell. In person: How do you begin and end your sessions? Do you have a referral program? Is the Individuals or groups coaching private and closed to an exclusive group, or is it a session that can be recorded and made available to the public? Is the group size limited or unlimited? Is there a screening or qualification process to join? Video or telephone Telephone: If you think you can only coach or advise in person, that you won’t be as effective on the phone, please rethink that. Surprisingly, the phone creates a kind of virtual shelter and people can be incredibly accessible and open on the phone. Making yourself available via phone blows your potential customer base wide-open, from local to global. You also get to work in your jammies if you like, and save on overhead costs of a swanky office. All calls should be recorded. In some cases, there are legal considerations with this, but if you have the capability to record, then it’s another way to be of service to your clients. You could also offer transcription services for the recording. Video: Skype is a beautiful thing. Combine Call Recorder with it to record (and edit) your video recordings and voilà!

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CONSULTING, ADVISING, STRATEGY FORMAT + DELIVERY LOVE + CASH: Info or wisdom that you give away or sell. In person: Are sessions recorded, filmed and/or transcribed? Is there advance prep for your Individuals or groups clients, such as surveys, self-audits, inquiry or Q&A processes, fun exploratory or reading assignments? Video or telephone Are your “report” materials graphically designed and branded? Is there any up-sell that you can do when you deliver your service or advice?

Do clients have phone or email access to you or your team between sessions? Do you provide them with a private online space? Do you have a values statement or confidentiality agreements? Licensing Can you train, license, or certify others to do what you do?

WRITING + PUBLISHING FORMAT + DELIVERY LOVE + CASH: Info or wisdom that you give away or sell. Where can you re-purpose your content? Who else has a similar audience? Where else does your audience hang out? Write there, guest post, get interviewed, offer giveaways, leave comments, show up. Can your content be translated into multiple languages or made available for the hearing impaired? e-Books The future is digital, baby. e-Books are no longer just 10-page PDF files that you pay $9.99 for. They can be substantive, multimedia experiences. (like this one!) If you’re going to create an e-Book, use the multimedia tools that are so accessible and mostly free to create a product that goes beyond bookshelf dimensions and speaks every media language possible: type, video, audio, hyperlinks, interactive interviews, rich graphics… Who else can you involve in your content creation? Each of them is a potential ambassador for your product.

Check out: Chris Guillebeau has a series of eGuides and manifestos—he’s the guy to learn from. Dave Navarro and Naomi Dunford, are the scientists of digital launches, and their How to Launch the **** Out of Your eBook is golden. Media Bistro, eBook Newser Kindle, eReaders If you publish something and get an ISBN number for it, you can get into the Amazon.com scene, and on Kindle, etc. The playing field is wide open. Check out: ISBN Magazines Print is not dead—it just costs gobs of money to create and sustain. How would your “blog” change if you thought of it as a magazine, with regular columns, featured writers, editors, advertisers, and ace visuals supporting a core brand? Printed books, WHITE HOT READING self-publishing : the first questions of publishing pursuits

Check out: the dozens of "publishing" articles I've tagged on my Delicious page Jonathan Fields’ Tribal Author Kelly Diels’ epic series, How To Get A Book Deal Printed books, “Vanity press” is an old-school term that I still like to use. It’s a book printer who will vanity press also help edit, package, print and distribute your book for a fee.

Check out: Dan Poynter knows EVERYTHING you needs to know about self- publishing and middleman presses Printed books, conventional Watch this interview with Erica Harris and me where I summarize why I think the publisher future is digital and why, although I had good success with my last published book, I decided to go renegade and do this book myself.

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Check out: Linda Sivertsen Janet Goldstein Vooks The term “vook” is so new that there’s some debate about what it means and what kind of publisher owns rights to use this terms. Vook.com takes books and makes them into mini-movies. (Anne Rice even joined on.) Those are most definitely vooks. One could argue that a digital book driven primarily by video content is also a vook. Time will tell how this medium gets defined. Novel, non-fiction, memoir, Got a book in you? Blogs can be a great laboratory for what might become a book. plays, one-person shows I turned the first six months of my WhiteHotTruth site into a book proposal. Check out: Bindu Wiles, Creativity Coach

ARTICLE TYPES ONLINE or PRINT How-to’s “How-to” is one of the most highly searched for terms on the Internet Newsletter If you’re going to do a newsletter, you have to do it RIGHT for people to take notice these days. We’re so use to having daily access to information that monthly and bimonthly publications can get lost in the background. If you’re doing something that’s mainly for promotional purposes, make sure that at least 50% of your content is useful, inspirational and applicable so people will actually engage with it—don’t just sell your stuff or talk about what’s new in your business.

Check out: Communicatrix’s monthly newsletter, which is pure fabulousness. Rock Paper Scissors monthly does a great job of combining storytelling, resources, and self-promotion. Recaps or digests Monthly digests are a good option for your readers who want to stay in touch, but don’t want the frequent in-box content.

Check out: Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project digest

Think pieces Don’t want to blog your face off? Does the thought of writing three articles a week make you want to pass out with exhaustion? Then don’t do it. But do show how intelligent and informed you are with 4 or 5 “THINK PIECES” that we can also access on your site, each like its own little product—just like in the old days when people wrote essays and monographs that we passed around in the office or read in paper journals. Reports, surveys Do some research. Take a poll. Write about your findings. Interviews Interviews are such a lovely phenomenon because: a) they help you create compelling, substantive content without straining yourself for originality, b) they help promote other fine people c) when you promote other fine people, those people help drive traffic back to your site. Interviews are one big love fest. Top 10 + Best of lists Our culture is list crazy. Book, event + product When you give measured, thoughtful reviews of things you’ve actually read or reviews experienced or used, you build credibility and do a real service to people. Any kind of product review (if it’s positive and in integrity, creates an opportunity for affiliate kickbacks.) Reviews that you give as favours or obligation are dangerous. A year ago today This is a great kind of format that allows you to point back to your old, buried but still relevant content. Check out: Unclutterer.com Link love features Doing a roundup of sites or articles you love is a great way to build goodwill and community. User-generated content How can your audience contribute? How can you not only engage them in contributing, but equip them with the know-how to help spread the word about your site? Subscriptions + These take time to build, but the payoff can be terrific. memberships Check out: Third Tribe News aggregation Information is power—information aggregation is a valuable service. Check out: FUTUREdition

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IMAGES FORMAT + DELIVERY LOVE + CASH: Info or wisdom that you give away or sell. Photography + graphs A powerful image can suffice as a post itself. As for images to accompany articles, go the distance to get just the right photo—cheesy shots and lame clipart distract from quality writing. Graphs and charts can be nice change up from text copy with extra viral potential. Check out: Charlie Gilkey Kind Over Matter

TELEVISION + VIDEO FORMAT + DELIVERY LOVE + CASH: Info or wisdom that you give away or sell. Online Vimeo, Viddler, YouTube…do you want your video content to live on your site or be more widely accessible? (In which case, YouTube is the way to go.) Video can be a great alternative for people who don’t like to write. My rule of thumb is the shorter the better, especially with opinion pieces (vs. how-to or instructional). You tend to lose people after about 4 minutes—the length of a typical video. I’m also a fan of editing—trim the fat, give people the best, no filler.

Can you involve other people in the video content? It will become more viral that way. Check out: Dooce’s Momversation series. Television If you have aspirations to be the next Rachel Ray or get your own gig on ESPN, and you’re not going to journalism school, then start your own show on your site, and get yourself on every local show in your area. You will need a library of clips to get in the door with any agent or producer. Just start. SOCIAL MEDIA Social Media is the means to promote and therefore monetize your stuff. There are applications (eg., iPhone apps) and software that are monetizeable social media tools themselves. Here's a crash-course of how to get started: FORMAT + DELIVERY LOVE + CASH: Info or wisdom that you give away or sell. Twitter 8 Useful Tips To Become Successful With Twitter Facebook How to Use Facebook to Promote Your Blog Linked In Top 10 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog Using LinkedIn Digg, Stumble, Delicious Why Bloggers Should Consider Social Bookmarking Sites Like Digg iPhone Apps Happy Tapper will be launching a personalizable iPhone app later this year Mobile Roadie is a build your own iPhone and Android app PROMOTION + ADS + AFFILIATES FORMAT + DELIVERY LOVE + CASH: Info or wisdom that you give away or sell. Advertising If you think you’re going to be able to quit your day job based on the money you’ll make from advertising on your blog, think again. It’s a big numbers game and not many people have the savvy or the stamina to win at it, and even those who do take a good while to see a decent return. That said, it could be a minimal to moderate revenue stream for well-trafficked blogs, if advertisers are paying for ‘rented space’ vs. pay per click-thru.

Check out: Federated Media Glam Media Ad free badges from Keri Smith Problogger Affiliate archive Advertorial You write about how much you love the new Shiny Shampoo, and Shiny Shampoo pays you for it. Tricky stuff. External affiliate programs: Affiliate kickbacks are the way to go. The most illustrative and long-established theirs affiliate system is Amazon.com’s. Study how it works. There are hundreds of other

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web-based major retailers also willing to give you 5 to 20% of every sale that comes through your website. Check out: Commission Junction

For me, the most fun (and most prosperous) affiliate opportunities come from the quality information products and programs that my friends are creating. The commissions are great, and I feel terrific about supporting useful, substantive material. I’ve mentioned some throughout: Chris Guillebeau, Naomi Dunford, Pace & Kyeli Internal affiliate programs: Setting up your own affiliate program is easy-breezy. Know that 20% of your yours affiliates will bring in 80% of the affiliate revenue, so feed your best ambassadors with motivation and inspiration. Check out: e-Junkie 1 Shopping Cart Sponsorship If you’re an industry leader or have a thriving niche audience, there may be sponsorship possibilities for you—which could take the form of free gear and experiences, or ad placement. Reach out. Contests Submission fees for contests, sponsors for contests, joint ventures…contests can happen as successfully on a grassroots level as they do with major outlets. What can you host? What can you get donated to give away? What can you give away of your own? What will the product of the results of the contest be? Free advertising If you’re planning to have advertising on your site eventually but have just launched, then give some ad space away to friends and colleagues. Let your users know what they can expect from their online experience with you from the beginning. Badges for love Superfans might like to help spread the word for you. Create branded badges that they can download from your site.

SPEAKING GIGS When you have something important to communicate, your delivery is powerful only when you find what is real and heartfelt to you. Then your words are backed by purpose and passion. You create a connection with others when they don't just listen—they hear what you're saying. That is real speaking. - Gail Larsen

FORMAT + DELIVERY LOVE + CASH: Info or wisdom that you give away or sell. On stage, telecast, Speak everywhere you can—from living rooms to the Rotary Club. Film yourself, agented/unagented, get testimonials, train to be an amazing speaker like an athlete trains for a race. paid/unpaid Even if you’re just starting out but you’re ready to the land the gigs, start promoting yourself as a speaker immediately. All you need is a one-paragraph topic description on your site, and ideally two topics or talks that you give.

Check out: Gail Larsen, Transformational Speaking TED Talks (I try to watch a few TED Talks a week) Confessions of A Public Speaker, by Scott Berkun COMMUNITY + NETWORK BUILDING Associations, forums, think How can you create other communities and networks through your business? What tanks, focus groups, tribe are you leading, organizing, informing? alliances, networks, clubs PHILANTHROPY + ACTIVSIM Give because you can. Give because it feels good. And never force it or fake it, but know that philanthropy is a great opportunity for building community, good will and visibility. Put a charitable cause at the centre of your project, and doors are easier to open. Fundraisers, drives, Can you have a one-time or seasonal fundraising drive for your cause? How can donations you tithe or automate your giving procedures? e.g. 10% of every purchase goes to

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a charity. How can you involve your customers in your efforts to raise the stakes? Can you designate or brand one of your products or services as a fundraising tool? (Think: the (RED) campaign, MAC’s Viva Glam lipstick, proceeds from both of which go to AIDS research.) Check out: Artist Cheryl Sorg’s Thumbprint Project Spokesperson Can you commit to becoming a spokesperson for a particular cause? Use the power of your platform for raising awareness.

resources

These are the tools I use and I dig them all. I use them because I frequently go to all my biggie power blogger friends and ask, “What’s the best this n’ that?” and then I just do whatever they tell me to do.

. AudioAcrobat for recording calls. There are plenty of free systems out there (Audio Acrobat is $20/month) but I like this one because it allows me to control the call —I don’t have to send out a new teleconference number to each client, which is a big admin hassle, and I have a user-friendly archive of all recordings. . AWeber for contact management and sending out my website posts. I debated between MailChimp and AWeber—AWeber won because of its superior auto-responder system, which is essential if you plan to sell multiple products launching at different times. . 1ShoppingCart for all e-commerce management. LOVE IT. They have two programs: one where payments are done through PayPal; and a merchant status program where all credit cards are accepted. (You have to jump through a few hoops to qualify for the latter.) . Skype video calling. Get on it. . Call Recorder for recording my Skype calls and videos (which I can then edit in iMovie if I so choose). . Transcription services Verbalink. . HootSuite This is my favourite Twitter app. . The Logitech Wireless Mouse. This lil’ guy changed my life. . WiseStamp This is an e-signature app, and I like it so much that I actually donated some money to them.

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WORK make stuff happen SHEET Pick 5 FORMATS from the LISTORAMA that you want to seriously rock.

1 12 CONTENT OFFERING

3 2 CONTENT OFFERING CONTENT OFFERING

MY CORE MESSAGE

5 4 CONTENT OFFERING CONTENT OFFERING

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Actions required Resources required OFFERING 1

OFFERING 2

OFFERING 3

OFFERING 4

OFFERING 5

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it’s all self SESSION promotion, baby

COMPONENTS VIDEO: Connection + Community, an interview with Chris Guillebeau, 8 mins 8 WORKSHEET 13: The Shiniest 5

The market for something to believe in is infinite. - Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody

Let me get right to it—if you’re in business for yourself, everything you do is self-promotion. Everything. Your voicemail, your email signature line, your business card. It’s the personalized note that you tuck into your product shipment, it’s how you introduce yourself to the receptionist, it’s what you wear, what you re-tweet, who you hire, the tip you leave, and the thank you cards you send.

You are constantly sending a signal to the world. And the world responds accordingly. So shine clear, pulse strong, be bright about it.

The top 4 reasons people hate self-promotion, and why they need to just get over it:

“It makes me feel like I’m pushing something on someone.” Passion is a force—and an essential one at that. If you're not passionate about your service or your product, you shouldn't be selling it in the first place. If you're not passionate, you have to fake it, and that'll just make you feel like a sleaze ball. You want to be a passionflower or a wallflower?

“But I’m shy.” You have three choices here: a) Get over it. There’s nothing like the necessity of putting food on the table, or the drive to achieve your life dreams to cure shyness. Successful people do

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it all the time. b) Let someone else do the selling for you—a writer, a rep, an agent, a virtual assistant-type. c) Pray that opportunity will knock on your door. This tactic, on its own, never ever works.

“But it’s not a talent of mine.” See #2. Get over it.

“But I’m afraid that people will think less of me. That I’ll be seen as less of an artist, social steward or a true professional if I’m hawking my wares or blowing my own horn.” You think Picasso wasn’t actively promoting his artwork when he sat in the front row of the bullfights for everyone to see? Or that Steve Jobs isn’t building his personal brand by wearing that same damn black mock neck shirt and Levi’s all the time? Do you think all the power bloggers are tweeting all the time just to be of service to the unified twittersphere of love?

Pro.Mo.

So here’s where to start with it all. Anchor in to this reality and truth (and I’m taking the liberty of assuming that, because you’re hanging out with me, that this is the case): you are offering the world something that you wholeheartedly believe in. Repeat: you're anchored with integrity to purpose and meaning. That being the case, and the premise for everything I'm about to say after this, let’s proceed with passion-based, values-driven, do-good-things-in-the-world, unabashedly proud self-promotion:

radiate your passion + clearly state the facts of what that passion generates, and the results it brings for you and your customers = really happy self-promotion

Don’t burn too much energy trying to assume how people will perceive you What some people will read as enthusiastic stamina, others will interpret as pushy intrusion. (This is not something you’ll hear in marketing class.) It's your job to show up as you, passion and all, and let the right customers make up their mind about you.

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Go for the low-hanging fruit. Who already loves you, baby? When you’re setting out to promote or sell yourself, just start where the love is. It’s so much easier that way—and easy is efficient. Go to your existing clients and customers. Go to your friends and family. Sell them. Ask them to talk you up, refer you, bring friends to your opening party, give you a testimonial...

UP-sell them. Ask them what they love about your product or service. Ask them what they want more of from you—and listen to them. Develop upgrades, exclusivity, deeper programs, add-ons, advanced courses, communities. Give them kickbacks, share the wealth. Ask them what dream they would dream for you.

Coopertition Who is your so-called competition? Who’s in your industry? For instance: you’re a business coach—business is your speciality. Who are the relationship or creativity coaches that you respect and admire? How could you team with them to create an event, offering, product or program?

When you collaborate you: Enrich creative thinking Gain access to someone else’s audience, database, network Create an immediate referral system Give and receive all sorts of support

The key to successful collaborations is respect, admiration, and the intention that you’ll make something better together than you would apart. If you do it out of expediency or usury, it never works.

Use what you’ve got from Day 1 At the start of your business, sometimes all you have to sell is passion and promise (AKA a dream). You haven’t proven your business model, you have no customer sales or actualized projections. All you’ve got is Believe In Me and Step Right Up! hoopla. And sometimes, that’s enough.

If you’re loving what you do and believing that it’s going to make a positive difference in people’s lives—whether it’s your wedding photography, your coaching methodology, or your zero point energy invention—then you my friend, are ahead of the game. You’re lightyears down the path from the sorry sods who are grinning and bearing it in soul-sucking j-o-b-s.

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So please, don't devalue your currency. I’m so emphatic about this, I’m willing to get all Hallmark on you: a gift isn’t a gift until you give it away. (Psst...you’re the gift.) Put a bow on yourself.

VIDEO: Connection + Community, an interview with Chris Guillebeau, 8 mins

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

Enter password: lightmyfire

juicy mind, happy product: a meditation for self + product promotion Meditation can take many forms. You can write this out in a journal, talk it out with a friend, or do the traditional sitting meditation. You're the master. Either way you choose to tap in, settle your mind and focus. Take three deep breaths. Inhale and exhale. Slowly. Fully. (This is going to be fun, BTW. Avoid dry mind. Choose juicy mind.)

PHASE 1 Imagine that you’re in an empty room. It’s your ideal room, so maybe it’s plush and luxy, or austere and Zen. You love it and you’re comfortable.

Waiting outside the door to that room is your business, product, service, artwork—whatever you call what you offer for your livelihood. How do you feel knowing that it’s outside the door? What is the flavour of your anticipation? (Anxious? Smiling? Dread? Blessed and blissy?)

Now, invite your business/product/service/artwork to join you. Do it ceremoniously or simply. Notice how you extend the invitation. (Sheepishly? Commanding? Open? Playfully? Hesitantly?) How does your business/product/service/artwork take form? As a ray of light, blueprint plans, a mighty robot, a peacock, a quivering beggar, a pile of gold, crates of bestselling books? How does your business/product/service/artwork feel to you?

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Just noticing how you extend the invitation and the form that your business/product/service/artwork took will be useful cosmic data. If you want to stop there, do so. Put the mediation on pause and come back to do Phase 2 another day.

Or, go further...

PHASE 2 Ask your business/product/service/artwork if it has a message or a gift to give you. Receive it. Notice how you receive it.

Ask your business/product/service/artwork how it would like to be shared with the world. You may hear or see specific strategies (like, “e-books in the fall”) or you may just feel the how—like feelings of integrity, innovation, steadiness.

Now (and this is important), let your business/ product/service/ artwork enter into you. You can breathe it in, you can imagine opening your heart and letting it climb in, you can envision jacking into it and downloading it into your cells like an electrical current. The point here: you and your business/product/service/artwork are entwined and grooving together—in unison.

Now, just...glow. Radiate. Vibrate. Hum your sonic powah, baby. Envision your creative light making its way into the world effortlessly and being received with great appreciation. Allow the ease. Honour the excitement and intensity.

WHITE HOT READING : when does the idea fairy like to visit you?

Say thank you for what’s on its way to you. Go meet it halfway.

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55 ideas to promote yourself to the max

1. Post client testimonials on your blog, with a reply of gratitude. 2. Offer yourself up for blog interviews: “Hey! Interview me for your blog! I’ve got smart and inspiring things to say.” 3. Commit to a yearlong experiment and write about it or make a film about it, e.g. The Happiness Project, No Impact Man, The Year of Living Biblically, The Julie & Julia Project. 4. Read mediabistro. Get an AvantGuild membership. 5. Get a publicist. They have connections, they know people. 6. Get a Virtual Assistant who will help you rock your social media. 7. Talk about what you’re working on: “I’m writing this book”, “I’m researching a cure for the common cold”... You never know who’s listening. 8. Call in some favours. Someone you know knows an editor or a producer somewhere. 9. Do a prelaunch. 10. Start your own TV show on your website. 11. Pitch a magazine to run your article or do a story on you, even if you know you won’t get picked up, but just to work your self- promotion muscle and to know that you will survive rejection. 12. Speak to a high school class on Career Day. Those kids have credit cards, and parents with credit cards, and they tweet. (I’m joking about preying on teens with Visas...you know that, right?) 13. Have a grand opening party—even if your launch is online. 14. Party just because. To say thanks. Be generous. 15. Launch on your birthday—people will feel more obliged to buy. 16. Have a pay-what-you-can day. 17. Don’t be shy about all the awards and accolades you’ve earned—create a special section on your site’s About page just for that. 18. Have ongoing giveaways on your site to engage customers, generate content, and build up subscriber base. e.g. “Answer Today’s Q&A and you’ll be entered to win the Awesome Gift of the Month.” Get cool people to donate the Awesome Gift (or Service) of the Month and they’ll help with the buzz. 19. Host a Story & Poetry contest that’s related to your industry. You could take the best submissions and turn them into an e- book, or you could partner with a print magazine and the winner would get published. 20. Pitch a monthly column to a blog in your industry. Six to twelve months later, use that column as traction to pitch a column to a print magazine. 21. Beef up your Twitter profile with a more descriptive bio line. 22. Link your Twitter feed to your LinkedIn page. 23. Get arrested. 24. If you’re selling anything on Amazon.com, you can upload a sales video to go with it. 25. Join forces with the competition. 26. Offer a teleseminar with the cost going to charity.

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27. Join forces with a local artist to make beautiful stuff. 28. Commission art. 29. Host a old-fashioned fundraiser that makes you sweat: a yoga- thon, a read-athon, an account-athon, a coach-athon, a knit- athon. 30. Give it away free. 31. Profile other people on your site, in your book, at your event. Make them look good. 32. Host events in your city: other speakers, workshop leaders. Be a maven. 33. Start an advice column. Make it slightly hilarious. 34. If you had 5 minutes on your local noon hour news show, what would you talk about? Turn that into an email pitch. Create the show for them—spoon feed them. Email the producer. 35. Volunteer. 36. Get your stuff into swag bags at fancy events. 37. Create a referral program. 38. Do brown bag luncheons—short talks during lunch breaks at companies and schools. In, out, packed with inspiration. 39. Say yes to every single interview or writing request. 40. Find a way to sell what you’ve got to the phenomenal demographic called Mommy Bloggers. Their power is not to be underestimated. 41. Have a contest for designing your new logo, packaging, or book cover. 42. Optimize your e-signature. 43. Just about anything you can do that includes nudity is effective PR. Just about… 44. Say thank you. Mean it. 45. Start an award. 46. Set it up your blog posts so that they’re automatically fed into your book page on Amazon.com. 47. Create a password-protected area of the site for retailers and prospective alliances to access a virtual sales kit that includes video instructions, printable materials, and relevant news. 48. Create case studies for your work—tell your success stories. 49. Create a welcome video for your site. 50. Do something really radical and send handwritten notes. 51. Create a free screensaver. 52. Make a free motivational movie. 53. Create a Google commercial. 54. Write a theme song for your company. Record it. Put it on iTunes. 55. INVITE THE PRESS. Keep inviting them.

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WORK the shiniest 5 SHEET

Choose 5 promotion ideas that feel both fun and doable within this year. 13

Actions required Resources required PROMO IDEA #1

PROMO IDEA #2

PROMO IDEA #3

PROMO IDEA #4

PROMO IDEA #5

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virtual real SESSION

estate

COMPONENTS WORKSHEET 14: Design Intake 9

Technical skill is mastery of complexity, while creativity is mastery of simplicity. - Christopher Zeeman

I asked some very experienced web designers (with good taste and who happen to be really nice people) to give us their brilliant bytes on sites. Prepare to be INFORMED.

Paul Jarvis twothirty web design & development @mojaveband

5 things you should

have before you contact a web 3. A realistic timeline. Tomorrow is not realistic for a website. Neither is next week. designer But if you have a product/service launch or marketing push, it’s good to plan a few 1. Know what features and functions you months out to sync up a website launch too. want on your website. If you have a site- map or a list of what elements go on each 4. If it’s a site redesign, a list of what you like page, that's even better. The more specific (and want to keep) and what you don't like you can be about how you envision those (and why it's not working). features and functions working, the easier it is to quote on. 5. A start on content, even if it’s rough. With 90% of the projects he does for 2. A list of 5-10 sites of your direct clients, Paul is done way before any of the competition and a little bit about what content is actually finalized. It takes longer you like and don’t like about their sites. than you think to write compelling web Plus a list of 5-10 websites you like the look copy. of and what specifics you like about each site.

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7 ways to be a nightmare web Lauren Bacon design client. Raised Eyebrow Web Design @laurenbacon

1. Think of the web as an extension of print (or television, or any broadcast medium). The web is a conversation, a self-publishing medium that 5. When asked when you need to launch, reply thrives on interaction. The hyperlink is its basic with “Yesterday.” Seriously, this drives me currency. It demands an entirely different mode crazy. I get that you’re trying to be funny, but I of thinking. Your website is not a brochure, or a actually need a real answer. Thanks. press release, or a book, or a press conference, or an advertisement. 6. Neglect to set aside budget for upkeep. Online communication is the ultimate iterative medium. If you spend all your cash on the start- 2. Show us your favourite website and tell us up costs, you’ll have nothing left over for you want the same thing, EXACTLY. Not only maintenance. Much like a car or bicycle, your is it illegal for us to copy someone else’s website needs regular care in order to be as design, perhaps more importantly, your website fabulous as possible. Keep something aside for should be an expression of everything that tweaks, enhancements, and ongoing advice. makes you unique. Imitating your competition (or your inspiration) is a sure sign you haven’t 7. Jump straight to implementation without figured out your unique selling proposition, and thinking about strategy. Case in point: your visitors will sense that immediately. Let us “Everybody has a blog, so we need a blog!” No. help you find your niche. First, ask yourself WHY you want a blog. Maybe another tool could achieve that goal 3. Design your own website and ask us to more effectively. Bring us your questions & build it. If you’ve got ideas, great—please goals and we’ll advise you on tools. If you start share ’em. But please respect our expertise and with the tools first, you’ll wind up with a roomful experience enough to share them as of toys and no time to play with them (and quite suggestions, not dictation. We want to do our probably no one to play with you). best work for you and in order to do that, we need a bit of breathing room.

4. Obsess over your site stats. Numbers are important, yes. But if you’re spending hours of your precious time staring at analytics reports: You. Must. Stop. Figure out the numbers that actually matter, focus on those, and then make sure you’re doing everything you can do to make your visitors’ experience with you as awesome as possible. Give them amazing customer service. Invite them to spread the word about you. Make them feel special and loved. Not like a number. Get it?

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4 questions you’ll need the answers to once you contact a web designer

1. What have you done recently? Check their 3. Who will be working on my website? A lot of portfolio, ask questions about specific projects people don’t think to ask this, but many design that catch your eye, and find out exactly what companies outsource their labour overseas. they did for each client. You'll learn a lot about That keeps prices low, but has the potential for their process this way. communication breakdowns, inconsistent quality, and of course, exploited workers. You 2. How does your pricing work? Different also want to know whether the person you’re designers cost their work differently: some talking to is going to continue to be your primary provide fixed-cost estimates, others bill hourly, contact over the course of the project. They and so on. They should be able to explain how should be able to explain the whole process to they calculate their estimates and help you you so that you know exactly what you’re understand how and when you will incur costs. getting into and how the process will roll out.

4. Can you give me contact info for two references? Every good web designer will have a roster of happy clients you can talk to. Always, always do the reference check.

5 things that make a site a disaster

1. Too many “priorities.” Pick one. You have don’t keep all the good stuff behind a pay wall— one #1, most important, biggest, most urgent show us your best work or we won’t know the priority for your website. And then you have the fees are worth it.) other stuff. Apple.com works because the home page has one, giant, beautiful featured item— 4. No interaction. Give your visitors lots of and lets you click deeper to find other stuff. opportunities to interact with you, whether it’s When you have six (or fifteen) competing filling out a simple contact form, commenting on messages on a single screen, you remove the your blog, rating & reviewing your products, visitor’s ability to notice or care about any of calling you toll-free, finding you on Facebook… them. So pick one. (You can always change it you get the idea. Options are good, too. Some later.) people don’t like the phone and would rather talk to you via email first. Some people type 2. Ancient, rotting content. We’ve all been guilty slowly and would rather call. Respect that your of this (myself included), but do whatever it visitors are intelligent beings who have takes to remind yourself to update your website interesting things to share with you and invite copy and your social media feeds regularly. them to do so. Your business relationships will thrive and that’s great for your bottom line. 3. Too much member-only content. Information wants to be free. When you put up barriers 5. Flash for everything. I never liked Flash sites between your visitors and your content, you and now there’s just no excuse for them. Flash send a message that you are less than is bad for search engines, bad for people with generous. It’s okay to charge for some of your disabilities, bad for bookmarking, and usually stuff, but make sure you’re giving away at least really hard for you to update. Easier to quit the twice as much as you’re charging for. (And Flash habit before you even begin

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5 ways to make your website sticky-sweet Sarah J. Bray S. Joy Studios @sarahjbray

Sticky websites keep people coming back for more. They're like a jar of honey with a little bit drizzling down the side. You can't help yourself—you swipe up the drizzle with your fingers, lick it off, and then start looking for excuses to put honey on something. (Honey goes with toast, right?) Not to mention that the honey literally will not let go of you without lots of intentional scrubbing.

We want our websites to be sticky. Not even because we want people to drool over them—though that's delicious, too. Sales are rarely made on the first visit. Communities are impossible to build on one go-round. People must keep coming back, and your website must compel them to return.

5 ways to make your website sticky For my purposes, quality means the usefulness, originality, and entertainment value of my content. 1. Make your content the main thing. This doesn't Consistency means that I'm constantly working on mean "blog". Think of your website like a ground- new amazing material. And calendar-adherance breaking magazine. A magazine with no content, no means that I publish on the same days and/or matter how beautifully executed, will never be times. successful. Further, a magazine with the content hidden in a "blog" section is missing out on that If I can get the first two down, then the fact that I huge chunk of your potential audience that will publish on a Wednesday instead of my usual never find it. And the ones who do find it mostly Tuesday doesn't make beans of a difference. ignore the main part of the site anyway. The content is where the party is. 3. Train people to expect new, exciting things from you. Always be working on a secret project. 2. Get yourself on a consistent publishing Always be launching. Always drop hints and keep schedule. This will take on a different look people excited about what's to come. depending on your goals. A few things to keep in mind: 4. Build a list of people who want to know about - The more often you publish, the more eyeballs your new stuff before anyone else. If you only get you'll get around to building one list, make it this one. This is - The better the quality, the more sticky your site will where the majority of your sales will come from be when you launch a new product or service. - The more personal you are, the easier it is to build community 5. Use Re-tweet and Facebook buttons, but seriously evaluate the value of other social You have to weigh that knowledge with how you sharing plugins before using them. Web work best, what your site's goals are, and the entrepreneurs tend to overdo it with the plugins and resources available to you. In order of importance, the sharing. We want people looking at the stuff my priorities are always: Quality > Consistency > that's getting us closer to our goals...cluttering up Adherence to my calendar. your site with a bunch of social media integration stuff makes the really good stuff harder to find.

Before including anything on your website, ask yourself if it's useful, original, and/or entertaining. If it's none of those, then skip it and put something there that can pay its rent.

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3 reasons why Wordpress is God Mynde Mayfield myndemayfield.com @myndemayfield

WordPress is God. Period. This could be the end because it is just that short and sweet. But let me just elaborate briefly on why it would be silly to consider using anything other than WordPress for creating and managing your web presence.

1. You don’t have a ton of money. You aren’t rich, yet! The good news is you can grow your business easily using WordPress—meaning you start out with one blog post and one page with no way for anyone to pay you (it’s a 20% start) and grow into churning some serious cashola through a highly customized, full-of- automation-and-integration web presence— and WordPress will handle it all.

2. If you can use email, you can learn WordPress. Honestly, there are a few sharper corners to turn, but with the right help, you can be in control of much of your own web presence because WordPress really is pretty easy to use. And again, if you don’t have deep pockets starting off (and who does?), then you are gonna be faced with some amount of DIYing it. You might not always do your own web creation & maintenance, but you must know how to do some of it. You must be accountable to your own stuff happening or it just won’t happen. Knowing how to do some of it helps you collaborate more effectively with the team of people who might one day be helping you with it. Not to mention, you end up inspiring yourself with brilliant new ideas because you are having so much fun getting your tech-savvy on.

3. WordPress help is everywhere. In all forms. In all shapes and sizes. With all kinds of personalities. @JohnnyBTruant, @caffeinatedelf, @Mandalove @sarajbray… Go to Google and search for WordPress Video Tutorial and have a buffet-styled feast of figuring it out yourself. Or sign up for a class. Or hire someone to help you with the learning curve and show you how. I teach and train my clients how to do it themselves. That is as much fun as helping them get it created.

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10 Ways to Design a Successful Blog Ad Kate Caprari adswithintention.com

1. Trust that customers want to see your ad. We all love finding a great new product that makes our life easier or more beautiful. Set a clear intention for your ad – plan from the point of view that you have a fantastic product, and people will be excited to learn about your work.

2. Be authentic in your communication. Never feel that you need to trick someone into clicking your ad. A small square on the side of a blog might not seem like much, but it can have a big impact if it’s designed to engage your audience in a dialogue.

3. Find your niche. As more blogs develop loyal followings of readers, online advertising has become an incredible way to target your product to the perfect audience. No matter how remote your specialty, chances are there’s a group of readers interested in what you have to sell.

4. Don’t be intimidated by costs. The beauty of all these small niche blogs is that advertising becomes very affordable for small businesses. Contact the blogs you like, and see if they’ll negotiate a deal for slower seasons or a longer ad run. Even if you only have $200 in your ad budget, you can still make something great happen.

5. Design a gorgeous ad! If you’re savvy with graphic editing programs, like Photoshop, you may be able to do this yourself. Otherwise, it can be affordable and enlightening to hire a designer.

6. Follow these guidelines: If you’re selling a product, always include one or more high- quality photos. Do remember to include your company name in the ad, but you don’t necessarily need to give up space for your logo or web address (the ad will click through to your site automatically).

7. Keep it simple and stunning. Many online ads use blinking headlines and flashy gimmicks to attract their audience, but luckily there’s an alternative. I recommend keeping ads simple in message and lovely in design.

8. Measure your results. Some blogs will offer you statistics on your click-through rate (how many people viewed your ad vs. how many people clicked it). You can also install software on your site to measure traffic. Above all, keep track of sales, and see if there is a correlation during times when you’re advertising on the web.

9. Have fun and experiment with new ideas. Try designing new creatives, featuring different products, and advertising on various websites. If you have a great product, then success will stick!

10. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Not every business owner will be good at designing online ads or developing an ad plan, and that’s totally fine. Concentrate on your true strengths, develop the best product or service you can, and hire people who are excited and inspired by this work.

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Danielle’s 8 Do’s for smart design

1. Create a 1-stop web space that incorporates 6. Please have a decent headshot. Pictures everything you do. I’ve set out to create global taken at parties where you’re looking vibrant paradigm shift in how people think about their and sexy but you have to crop out the friend “websites” and their “blogs.” Here’s my take on it: hugging you...are not good. Same goes for any you have an online presence. Period. Repeat after photograph of you that includes kids, dogs, cats me: I have an online presence. (especially cats), clowns or silk flowers.

We need to stop thinking about sites and blogs as 7. Deadlines make all the difference. If you don’t separate entities. There are exceptions to my have an audience clamouring for your brilliant theory, of course (like if you have a dog food new site or software, then you may feel like you company and a lingerie store, then you should have all the time in the world to finesse and edit probably have two separate, distinct and unrelated and tweak your virtual masterpiece. But you websites. Kibble and thongs are a bad combo.) won’t really know how great your work is until There needs to be a paradigm shift whereby you launch it. So... entrepreneurs create ONE online space for themselves that includes the “brochure ware” that is 8. Just launch! the critical purpose of their sites, and regularly updated, juicy and informative content, AKA a blog.

Having a site with a “BLOG” button that pushes users out to a totally different space (usually not even reflecting the aesthetic brand of your primary website) is like having one clothing store that just sells pants, and sending your customer down the street to your “other” store to buy a shirt.

Keep your customers under one umbrella so that they can explore and utilize your entire universe. You never know what someone is there to buy, or what they’re open to discovering once they get there—to read inspiring stuff, to buy a product, to hire you as a speaker, or for a service you provide. The more they know, the better. If you architect it with logic and simplicity, you can accomplish a lot in one space. 2. Erase the word “blog” from your consciousness. Think in terms of regular, engaging content that you can deliver.

3. Automate late. Don’t add bells and whistles and functionality until you have to, until your people are begging for it, until your system will bust if you don’t throw some development dollars at it.

4. You can likely get it for free. In the dozens of sites I’ve stood up, I’ve rarely had to pay to have a special piece of code written.

5. In terms of service and expertise, you get what you pay for. Experienced geeks get paid what they’re worth.

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WORK SHEET design intake

What’s the #1 priority of your site—most important, biggest, urgent? e.g. to sell your speaking gigs, to clear out the old line of products so you can have the cash flow to create a new line, to bolster your reputation as a leader in your genre, to build community, to grow readership, to generate ad revenue

What features and functions do you want on your website? e.g. social media tagging, private group registration, downloadable video content, a Twitter feed, a forum, a topic-searchable archive

List 5-10 sites of your direct competition. What do you like and not like about their sites?

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List 5-10 websites you like the look of. What specifically do you like about each site?

If you want to do a site redesign, list what you like (and want to keep) and what you don’t like (and why it’s not working).

What’s your plan for creating content? Will you write it yourself? Are you involving a copywriter or editor? Will you be creating any video content? How long are you going to give yourself just to create the content?

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social media + SESSION driving traffic

The Internet is just a world passing around notes in a classroom. - Jon Stewart

Corbett Barr of ThinkTraffic.net originally published “17 Traffic Building Tips from Some of the World’s Most Popular Bloggers”. Knowing a good thing when I see it, I approached Corbett about extending and expounding on his original list of greatness. This is the very cool result:

An anthology of practical, far out, and all ’round effective traffic tips from 26 of the world’s most popular bloggers by Corbett Barr of ThinkTraffic.com, with Danielle LaPorte

Give your very best content away. - Josh Hanagarne, World’s Strongest Librarian

CORBETT’S TAKE: It’s a great way to get attention, for sure. If you’re trying to sell something on your blog though, I would add to Josh’s statement just a little: “Give your very best content away, then create something even better to sell.” Always give your best and keep raising the bar for yourself.

Find people wherever they hang out and bring them back home. If your audience likes to use YouTube, then create videos; if they are businesses, then check out LinkedIn; and if they are mostly consumers, then put effort into engaging them on Facebook and attract them to your blog from there. - Chris Garrett, Chris Garrett on New Media

CORBETT’S TAKE: This is really the foundation of marketing and promotion. What good is great content if the right people don’t know about it? You have to go out and find your audience where they already hang out, at least in the beginning.

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Make your content unmissable. Think “How After you hit ‘publish’ on your next blog could I make all of my content be viewed as post, head on over to Google blogsearch something that can’t be missed?” That may and find other people who have written mean writing when you can’t not write. It might about the same thing. If it is fairly popular, mean killing a lot of mediocre ideas. But it’s there will be quite a few blogs which have mostly about deliberately choosing to only covered the same subject recently, so go to publish content that makes people hungry for their posts and join in the conversation by more. leaving a comment. Anyone who clicks on your - Jonathan Mead, Illuminated Mind comment from that site will find very relevant content, as if it is an ‘extension’ of the site they were just reading, and they’ll probably stick around for quite a while. - Glen Allsopp, ViperChill

One of the often-overlooked ways to build traffic online is by leveraging offline strategies & tactics. By that I mean things like: * Attending conferences for networking opportunities * Speaking or presenting at relevant events * Handing out business cards with your website URL …and any activity which positions you as an expert in your field offline. National press exposure (or even local press) usually results in huge spikes of traffic and it’s one of our main strategies for the Location Independent network this year. It’s often overlooked because people naturally focus on the online world — which, let’s face it, is actually relatively small, incestuous and often we’re all talking to the same people! Expanding your outreach to focus on spreading the word and your message to audiences who aren’t already online is a great way to build high traffic quickly. - Lea Woodward, Location Independent

CORBETT’S TAKE: At first, when I thought about this advice, I immediately thought of how much time and effort it takes to meet people offline. How could spending that much time meeting each person possibly help you build an online audience? By creating raving fans and deeper connections. When you meet someone offline, they get the full “you” experience, which can be far richer than they would get online. If that person really digs what you’re all about, they could become one of your biggest fans. And big fans usually tell lots of other people about you.

Focus on what you do best and then find partners (or outsource) for everything else. On Wise Bread, we assign specific people to take care of tech, marketing, sales, linkbait writing, etc. The faster you can delegate, the faster you’ll grow. - Will Chen, Wise Bread

Here is an uncommon tip to generate traffic: leverage April Fools’ Day. That is right, if you pull a crazy enough prank on your blog, it might go viral, and the traffic will be huge. Last year, I invented a service that would let Internet users download the whole Internet to their hard drives….! - Daniel Scocco, Daily Blog Tips

Go the extra mile to be unique. Traffic (like referrals and retweets and shares) comes from being exceptional and different. Nothing boring or standard ever went viral. Fight to be exceptional. - Glen Stansberry, LifeRemix.net, LifeDev.net

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The best thing that has worked for me is to avoid incestuous blogging. Most blogs live in a small circle of influence—they write about other blogs in the circle and other blogs in the circle write about them. To really increase traffic beyond the same group of readers, you have to establish multiple spheres of influence within a variety of industries. This is contrary to the old idea of “do one thing well”. - Chris Guillebeau, The Art of Non-Conformity

DANIELLE’S TAKE: Great council from one of the Internet’s finest gentlemen. This requires a lot of independence and integrity—two things that are often out the door when you’re rabidly trying to build traffic. This high-integrity approach pays off, always. Your content stays pure, and your credibility increases exponentially.

CORBETT’S TAKE: This is so crucial. Once you’ve established connections within a certain circle of influence, it’s so easy to keep going “back to the well” to write for and about those other blogs. But you only end up reaching the same audience. Chris has been a master of connecting with all kinds of people in different places, and his efforts have paid off in a huge audience.

Visualize it. Imagine. Chant. Pray. Believe. FEEL what it will feel like to hit your traffic goal. Do whatever woo-woo thing you’re inclined to do that is about the energetics of what you’re aiming to achieve. It’s amazing how many practical ideas—and synchronicities—will happen when you get away from your to-do list and into an affirmative mindset. - Danielle LaPorte, White Hot Truth

CORBETT’S TAKE: It works for golfers and other pro athletes, right? Visualization can be a powerful exercise, if you work that way. I’ve been taking an opposite approach lately, and that is to let go of the results. You can’t control an outcome, but you can always put your best work into the process. Focus on doing what you know it takes to achieve your desired outcome, and forget about the results. Try it both ways and see what works better for you. I have found that when I visualize results too much, I become obsessed with them to the point of half-assing the process.

Focus on one topic, write great content, My approach is simply to try to provide as interview great people who are also in your much value as I can. I don’t view blogging as a niche = overnight success! job—I’ll go weeks without posting sometimes —I - Everett Bogue, Far Beyond The Stars only do it when it’s something I find interesting or useful, and when I do post, I’ll often spend 5 CORBETT’S TAKE: Everett has started one of the hours researching and crafting a good post. fastest-growing personal development blogs on the web. He is obviously doing a lot of things right, and Another thing that is integral to your success is has over 3,000 RSS subscribers to show for it after to build relationships with other, established just six months. Watch him and learn how to really bloggers who inspire you. From there, you can start to guest post on the most popular blogs connect with people and form strong relationships related to your niche—frequently the biggest through writing. source of new traffic—and enlist others’ help on your projects.

- Cody McKibben, Thrilling Heroics

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Video is all of the rage these days, not only with people, but with search engines too. If you’d like to drive both direct and search engine traffic to your website, I’d recommend using video as part of your traffic generation arsenal. If you have a blog post, or a certain page on your website that you’d like to drive traffic to, create a short video that complements the written content on your site. Upload it to YouTube, and make sure the name of the video and all of the tags are related to the keywords of the specific page on your blog, and be sure to insert the URL into the description of the video as well. Embed the video on your webpage, and make sure all backend meta, video description data all contain the keywords as well. Your blog post or webpage will now climb the ranks of the search engines, and you’ll also have direct/search traffic coming from the YouTube site of things as well. Additionally, you may end up on the first page of the SERPs for the video results related to those keywords as well. - Pat Flynn, The Smart Passive Income Blog

DANIELLE’S TAKE: YES YES YES! I think it will be a user expectation in the next year or so that most sites have a “welcome” type of video on the home page. Video is a language that we all need to learn to speak.

CORBETT’S TAKE: Video is a great way to connect with your audience on a much deeper level. I have been talking with a lot of bloggers about why video hasn’t become more popular yet. Gary Vaynerchuk has shown how powerful it can be, and yet very few people produce anything over video. Why is that? Is it fear? Is it because video takes more effort to produce? Is it because people don’t see the benefit in it, or don’t think their audience wants video? Whatever the case, I would love to see more people at least run some experiments with video. There’s so much potential that everyone working online owes it to themselves to at least try it out.

I purposely don’t read the big names. I’ve Be everywhere, all at once. It’s a strategy never read Penelope Trunk, or Seth Godin, or used to launch new Hollywood stars or models anyone else who’s considered an A-list or movies, in fact. When something or blogger, and I do that on purpose. I don’t want someone gets plastered all over the media, to be influenced by what they’re saying— people pay attention. Their brains think, ‘This consciously or unconsciously—and want to person has to be pretty important to be all avoid recycling the same information over and over like this.’ Then they think, ‘What’s this all over again. By not following their conver- about, anyway? I don’t want to be the guy who sations, I’m better able to produce my own doesn’t know what’s going on.’ They’ll want to original content, which I think is one of the learn more to stay informed—and it doesn’t biggest reasons why I’ve gained so much take long before they do that, either. Instant traction in so little time. Original, bold, and traffic! exactly what I think. Blogging favors strong - James Chartrand, Men With Pens opinions—not wishy-washy, maybe this or maybe that. DANIELLE'S TAKE: Gretchen Rubin of The - Ashley Ambirge, The Middle Finger Happiness Project summed it so sassy-like: Project "Ubiquity is the new exclusivity."

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Reply to every comment from day one. stuff, spin news or rehash and mash, turn off When someone comes by your blog and takes your computer, step away from your screen, the time to leave a comment—it demands get a big, fat, up-off-your-ass life, do amazing, recognition. Think about it—there are millions cool, whiz-bang, provocative, meaningful, of blogs out there—we’re inundated with significant stuff...then, come back and share it. information—so for someone to come to yours Do that. Again and again. And, you’ll have to and take the time to respond, whether they work a lot less at driving traffic because agree or disagree—that means something. people won’t be able to shut up about the life Make an effort to respond to every single you’re living and the content you’re sharing. comment that comes through, and when you - Jonathan Fields, JonathanFields.com respond to each comment, work to continue the conversation—follow up with another question. It may fall flat, they may never come back and read your response—but in order for a blog to be successful, the conversation Don’t always focus on your own niche to needs to go beyond the post itself. Budget find readers. Chances are whatever you blog time in your blogging schedule to make every about, there are people who enjoy that topic effort to encourage an ongoing dialogue—give too, even if they don’t blog about it. For people a reason to come back again and example, I write about travel. I connect with a again. lot of travel bloggers but they aren’t the only - Matt Cheuvront, Life Without Pants people who enjoy reading about travel. The entire planet does. To expand my readership, I CORBETT’S TAKE: Replying to comments on have guest blogged on finance websites your blog is a great way to build community talking about how to save money when you and encourage more comments. It can also be travel and blogged on lifestyle design sites a huge time commitment, so it may not be about living independently. Just don’t focus on realistic when your blog gets really big. When your own niche! Branch out and get people you’re starting out though, you need to show who might not have ever come across your people that you value their readership and website! contributions. - Matt Kepnes, Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site

The easiest way to build traffic is to make your posts go viral. You know, having other people broadcast them because…well, that’s the secret of creating a viral blog post. And it’s a really simple secret, by the way: people retweet, post to Facebook, Digg, Stumble or reddit a blog post, because it makes them look good. Try to write your blog posts from the Be undeniably interesting for perspective of a guy who would want to years. retweet them: how will broadcasting that blog - David Heinemeier Hansson, co-author of post make me look? If the answer is ‘good’, ReWork you have a just created a viral blog post. - Dragos Roua, Brilliantly Better Get off your damn computer. Instead of writing posts that comment on other bloggers’

Cultivate relationships with love, not strategy. People—the best ones, the shiny, lovey-dovey ones—will line up to be your champions. Your beloved blog will bloom stars, moonshine and money. And then you can do the same for the next crop of young ’uns coming up. (And if all of that fails, write a lot of quirky and incendiary guest posts for big-name blogs.) - Kelly Diels, Cleavage

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We all know a picture is worth a thousand words, and many other There are two ways that you can bloggers are searching Flickr and build traffic. The first is to do what iStock to lead their post with everyone else is doing (list posts, pictures. An alternative way that’s feel good stuff, regurgitating what been a great traffic generator for people want to hear, etc.), which is me is to find creative ways to super effective but soulless. The express my ideas with graphs, second is to write what you feel charts, and other visual ways to and don't apologize for it. Once express the concepts you’re you’ve done that, go out and find talking about. If people can people that think like you and want see your idea, they can get it—and to hear more. You can do this with they’re more likely to share that strategically placed guest posts idea with others. and getting down in the - Charlie Gilkey, Productive trenches…talking to people. Flourishing Grassroots works for bloggers in the same way that it works for politicians. - Nathan Hangen, Nathan Hangen

Systematize it. Write down what you’re doing to get traffic. Figure out how well your system works; measure your return. Test test test: calibrate and recalibrate to maximize traffic with respect to effort. - David Doolin, Website In A Weekend

CORBETT’S TAKE: I like that. So many people use a shotgun approach and never really know which efforts are paying off. Measuring your return is key, because blogging takes so much effort.

Build traffic by offering to provide high-quality, relevant guest posts at other blogs. (Again, try to look outside your own niche.) Don't just regurgitate the same old stuff, though. Instead, give your guest articles a personal spin, and try to focus on just one idea that you find especially important. Many guest posters make the mistake of offering articles that are just too basic or general for the target audience. A high-quality guest post at a site outside your own niche is a great way to get new readers. - J.D. Roth, Get Rich Slowly

A blog is the same as any traditional brick and mortar business. You should strive to have the best content and the best experience in your genre. Always aim to be the Zappos.com or French Laundry Restaurant of the blog world. - Erin Doland, Unclutterer.com

VIDEO: Social Media Zip Zoom, 4 mins

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money: SESSION more is more. enough is plenty.

COMPONENTS VIDEO: The Value of Value, 6 mins WORKSHEET 15: Moula Meaning WORKSHEET 16: Revenue Streaming

The trick to money is having some. - Stewart Wilde

What do you need money for?

“My Purpose for Money” list is taped into my day-timer. I wrote it nearly eight years ago and, at the time, I was living hand-to-mouth and was unsure if I wanted to go to art school or rob a bank. Every single word is intentional and prayer-soaked. And because of that, the list still holds true today.

. Rapidly create a lasting empire of hip-consciousness products + writings…beautiful communication. . Travel with my man, our child, friends and family, widely and freely. . Create and invest in socially responsible ventures. . Generously and frequently gift family and friends. . Be a high-level philanthropist. . Own a beautiful home in Vancouver. . Time and luxury space in Santa Fe (or elsewhere…) . Buy beautiful art.

Get clear on your desired life, then you’ll be clear on your purpose for money, then you’ll be clear on matching your purpose with your action.

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Where to start? FIRST: focus on doing what makes you the most money, the fastest The question I get asked the most in terms of monetization and priorities is about what to focus on first. Here’s the only mantra you need:

Get the money in the door.

That’s it. I see too many people worrying about getting their business cards printed, or being “ready” for the sales rush, that they forget the whole point of the first three years of business: SURVIVE.

What can you do in your business to make money RIGHT NOW? Today? This week? And the week after that? Do it. I’ll bet you it doesn’t rely on having the perfect logo or the right suit to wear. You might even able to get the cash moving without having a website and by just picking up the phone.

Let me recap: No money, no business. Go get the money.

Simultaneous to doing what makes you the most money the fastest, your next strategy is:

Sales solve everything. - Mark Cuban

SECOND: focus on doing what makes you the most money The fast money may not be the Big Money. But you need to make time to work on the Big Money-making projects, though they tend to take longer to manifest.

So, for the first year of a start-up or a new project, you might want to spend about two-thirds of your time focused on the revenue streams that will allow you to survive and move toward thriving.

At the same time—and this is why the hours can get ca-razeee—you need to carve out time for the big money stuff. At first, it could be about a third of your time, until you can get the big money projects launched and bringing in coin. Eventually, the pendulum will swing to concentrating solely/soully on the bigger money, biggest love projects. This is where money really does start to equal happiness.

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Claiming your value

rec-i-proc-i-ty. (noun) : given or felt by each toward the other; mutual: reciprocal respect : mutual or cooperative interchange of favours or privileges : benefit, consideration, earnings, honorarium, payment, payoff, premium, profit, : reward, salt, satisfaction

Selfless giving is a beautiful and transformative force of nature. But so is healthy opportunism. If you don’t take a stand for your inherent and explicit value, then you can’t expect anyone else to up the ante for you.

What form of reciprocity would you like to receive? Greater revenue? Public recognition? Constructive feedback? Industry awards?

I find it quite curious and distressing that the wage gap—the disparity between what men and women make—captures so much attention, when the far more insidious problem is our own proclivity to settle for less.

The real reason under-earners are in denial is that they are afraid. An admission of truth makes us accountable to change. Denial keeps us stuck. Recognition sets us free. - Barbara Stanny, Secrets of Six-Figure Women

VIDEO: The Value of Value, 6 mins

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Slip into your Money Shoes I was putting in a proposal for a ghost-writing gig with a very big company. They had deep pockets and millions of dollars in their marketing budget. My plan was innovative and solid, and knew I had a great shot at getting the project. Because this was a new kind of gig for me, bigger in scope than any freelance gig I’d ever done, I knew that I was in danger of under-pricing myself.

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So I called my super solid successful business friend, Suki, who had done similar work. “Suki, what should I ask for this project?” She told me her story.

“When I first starting doing big accounts like this, they were a lot more than I’d ever made before. I knew that my corporate clients had gargantuan budgets and, while the project price tag was huge to me, it wasn’t so big to them. My first job was worth $100,000, but that was about $70,000 more than I’d ever made before!—a massive leap, even though I knew the value of my work and that I was 100% capable. Yet I just wasn’t comfortable walking around in $100,000 shoes yet. It wasn’t about how much I could ‘get out of them’, it was about what felt right for me.”

I pictured trying on my own new big money shoes, like Cinderella slipping into the glass slippers that changed her life. Suki went on, “I knew that in my early days, I was leaving money sitting on the table. But it was more important to feel at ease in my ‘money shoes’. You need to be comfortable in your money shoes or things just won’t go right. You’ll wobble at some point.”

We both agreed that I could cost the project out at close to $200,000. But what I felt comfortable with—solid, aligned, very pleased—was $120,000. Comfy. I could ratchet up if I took on another similar project. When your money shoes fit, you can dance better, freer, longer.

WHITE HOT READING : life is subject to change: what happened when I raised my rates

Talk money We need to talk more. About all of it, really. Sex, politics, faith, money. Conversational engagement demystifies, equalizes, and fosters clarity. We can’t give or receive if we’re in hiding. Come out into the light. Here, I’ll go first:

. My accountant is $270/hour. My business lawyer is $150/hour. My immigration lawyer is $350/hour. They are the best at what they do and save me a bunch of money. . I’m on track to make $300,000 this year. That’s more than I made in five years combined in my last company. Going solo was a very good idea. . I left my last business with over $70,000 in bad debt because I personally guaranteed a bank loan. Three months after I was asked to

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"change my role in the company" (and l left,) they closed down the business and sold the company’s intellectual property and web assets off in parts via an auction. That left loan guarantors on the hook—me being one of them. Now, when I make my monthly payment to the banks for that old debt (about $1500,) I say a little prayer that goes like this: “Dear Life, I’m stoked that I have the means to take care of this.” It keeps me from being bitter and reaffirms my capacity to make the cake. . My 1-on-1 Fire Starter Sessions are $1000. I work with 8 to 18 clients per month. And I’m retiring in July 2011 (with love + gratitude) to focus on book-writing + speaking gigs. . Proceeds from my consulting and this program go to Women for Women International or The Acumen Fund. . The most I’ve ever paid for a pair of shoes is $450. Good things always happen when I wear them. . The most I’ve ever paid for a pair of sunglasses is $20 bucks. I lose them. . I vehemently resent paying roaming charges. . I never, ever pay full price for a hotel. (PriceLine.com, darling.) . My most broke experience: I once had to return beer bottles to the store, to get some money to pay for bus fare, to go pick up my paycheque from work. . I used to be jealous of trust fund babies. (Okay, I’m still jealous of trust fund babies.) . Amount of money I paid out to service providers last year—graphic and web designer, consultants, coaches, shrink, accountant, VA—over $19,000. . What it cost to launch my website, because a) I work with the best, and b) I wanted it done fast, and c) I was very particular about the extra features and design: $6,000. . I did a 4-week experiment last year whereby I was open to trading my services for stuff. I got some fabulous artwork, a week in Baja, a silk duvet and a mind-blowing astrology reading. I declined offers for silver jewellery (I wear gold), and psychic readings (I’m my own psychic). . Cost to create The Spark Kit: about $4,000 (creativity coach; VA; 1ShoppingCart, PayPal, and Dropio fees; web design; some graphic design; copy editing; ink cartridges; Adobe Acrobat software; pizza delivery). . My biggest financial and life lesson: cheaping out on myself. Cheap is expensive in the long run. I used to buy 3 stylish-but-crap- quality sweaters that were toast by the end of the season, instead of one gorgeous quality piece that would last for years. I used to round up the truth a bit, pick up the slack for the slackers I worked with, and make do with B+ service providers. I don’t do that anymore. Sometimes I slip, I compromise, I get nervous. But not as much. And it’s funny— the more I value myself, the more prosperous my life becomes.

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The only that time that doing it for the money works… is when you have a light at the end of the tunnel and an unwavering commitment to yourself to transition into doing work that makes you happier, or selling product that you’re 100% proud of. At any given time, I can be juggling what I call a ‘soul job’ and a ‘ho job’. Soul jobs speak for themselves. Grace, joy, cash, all in one. Ho jobs for me are doing work for other people that isn’t directly building my personal empire, but it’s great money that helps finance my soul jobs.

If you need to suck it up and take a gig to pay the rent, just do it and spare yourself the "artistic integrity and compromise" judgment. Paying the rent is a good thing. Being hounded by credit card collectors is a bad thing. When you suck it up for your own greater good and keep your personal vision front and center, you have the stamina to do what needs to be done on all fronts…and depending on how soon you want to stand your dream up, “what needs to be done” is a LOT. The ‘Soul + Ho’ combo is a double-time gig. And the return can be priceless.

Invest in the right tools Because the upstart of most new ventures can be high on vision and low on funds, we up-starters are lean, mean, frugal machines. We skimp, we scrape, we borrow. Brilliant. But…we can also cheap out on ourselves where it matters most. Don’t skimp on the tools that are critical to you performing your job or making your product— computers, printers, software; dye-cutters; a clean car to drive your clients around in; the best paint brushes. If you keep “getting by” with the subpar quality gear and people, you’ll grind down your momentum and cut into the excellence that your success demands. Also, when you invest in the right tools, you up your own stakes. Do right by your stuff.

Consider radical pay structures Pay-what-you-want systems. Free for two hours. Sliding scale. Twofers. Trades. Donations. Limited-time offers. Unlimited availability. Honour systems. We need to think as innovatively about how we get paid as about what we make.

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Raising money

All the best things I did at Apple came from a) not having any money, and b) not having done it before, ever. - Steve Wozniak

Raising money? Don’t do it until you have to. And then question if you really need to. And then think twice about it. And then get a second opinion.

The boys from ReWork (Jason Fried + David Heinemeier Hansson) sum up my sentiments on raising money perfectly. Allow me to paraphrase:

. You give up control. . “Cashing out” begins to trump building a quality business. . Spending other people’s money is addictive. . It’s usually a bad deal. . Customers move down the totem pole. . Raising money is incredibly distracting.

When raising money is the right thing to do: get mentors; start sending your banker chocolates; prepare to be out of your company at least 30% of the time. Take your vitamins.

How do you feel about debt? Some people can’t bear to carry a balance on their MasterCard. Others can be comfortable with tens of thousands of dollars in debt in order to finance their vision. Debt is neither good or bad—it’s how you feel about it that matters.

Worst-case scenarios Having a worst-case scenario liberates you. The process of going to the worst possible thing that could happen if you bomb helps expel the monsters of fear from your psyche. I can sum up my worst-case scenario in one phrase: “I can always sling beer. I have people in my life who love me and my kid.” That’s it. If it all went dark, a shambles, a wreck—man gone, reputation shot, zero in the bank account, my primary survival concern would be feeding my kid and myself. That’s it. And I could do that with a bar job. If I were disabled and couldn’t do that, I know that the loving people in my life would take care of my boy. That’s the darkest of the dark. Everything else from there is up, right?

Onward!

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resources

Books + information that influenced the way I think about making money:

The Four Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss Florence Scovel Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki The Millionaire Mind Workshop, with T Harv Ecker Ask and It Is Given, Esther and Jerry Hicks

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WORK talk money SHEET

15 How much do the key providers in your business charge you?

How much are you on track to earn this year?

How much debt do you have and how do your feel about it?

What do you want to charge for your services/product vs. what you are charging?

What are the charitable components of your business?

What’s the most you’ve ever paid for a luxurious item or treat?

What’s a common item that you happily cheap out on?

What do you wildly resent paying for?

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What do you never pay full price for—you always find a deal?

What’s your most “broke” experience?

In terms of wealth, what are you jealous of?

What did you pay out last year to people who helped your business function and grow?

If you have a website, what have you, or will you invest in it in terms of cost?

What have you traded your services or products for, and how’d that work out for you?

What’s your biggest financial life lesson?

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reverie + courage MOD

ULE Once there was a young warrior. Her teacher told her that she had to do battle with fear. She didn’t want to do that. It seemed too aggressive; it was scary; it seemed unfriendly. But the teacher said she had to do it and gave her the instructions for the battle.

The day arrived. The student warrior stood on one side, and fear stood on the other. The warrior was feeling very small, and fear was looking big and wrathful. They both had their weapons. The young warrior roused herself and went toward fear, prostrated three times, and asked, "May I have permission to go into battle with you?" Fear said, "Thank you for 4 showing me so much respect that you ask permission." C O U R A G E

Then the young warrior said, "How can I defeat you?" Fear replied, "My weapons are that I talk fast, and I get very close to your face. Then you get completely unnerved, and you do whatever I say. If you don’t do what I tell you, I have no power. You can listen to me, and you can have respect for me. You can even be convinced by me. But if you don’t do what I say, I have no power."

In that way, the student warrior learned how to defeat fear.

- Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart

VIDEO: Loss + Stamina, 8 mins

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fear + other SESSION tough stuff

COMPONENTS WORKSHEET 17: Deconstructing Fear WORKSHEET 18: Comfort Zoning 12

There will always be suffering. But we must not suffer over the suffering. - Alan Watts

Fear management vs. fear leadership Here’s an understatement for you: being true to yourself is not always easy. Maybe that’s why they call it the road less travelled. Maybe that’s why Sinatra belted out I did it my way with such righteous, bad-ass pride.

For fear of not being accepted, we tailor our personality, mince our words, and carve our opinions to fit in. It takes courage to be real—and it takes stamina, because if you want the best out of life, it will demand the best of you—time and time again.

When you choose to be real, there will likely be tough choices and 11th-hour changes. There will be misunderstandings, uncomfortable silences— and sometimes, there will be isolation. There will be plenty of things to fear.

The song of an entrepreneur: Secretly, I’m afraid we won’t raise the money. But it’s okay. I can plough through that fear. We’ll raise the money and everything will be okay. We’ll raise the money and stand the business up. We’ll have to hit our targets, get the customers in the door, run hard with the marketing plan. Yeah, it’s scary. What if they don’t come? What if they come, but don’t buy? What if they buy, but not enough? It’s okay, I can manage that fear. It’ll work. I’ll make it work and everything will be okay. We’ll do this.

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What if you don’t do it? What if you actually “fail”? Does that mean that fear wins? How much do you need to be more than “okay”?

While we’re busy managing fear, fear can be managing us. It’s still creeping in, grabbing at our pant leg, begging to be paid attention to. And fear can always find a reason to get your attention—that's it's job—to get you to feed it. But what about the flu? (feed me!) But what about the market? (feed me!) But what about ten years from now? (feed me!) But what will they think? (feed me!)

Beyond coping with fear, there is fearlessness. Because here’s the white hot truth: if you go bankrupt, you’ll still be okay. If you lose the gig, the lover, the house, you’ll still be okay. If you sing off-key, get beat by the competition, have to hand in the keys, you will still be okay. Ask anyone who’s been through it. They’re more than okay. People survive and they learn to thrive. It’s life. It’s business.

Don’t manage your fear. Lead your fear. Take charge. When fear climbs on your shoulder and starts nattering in your ear, here’s what you do: You stand as a master. You tell Scaredy Cat where you’re going—risks and all—and you convert Scaredy into a champion to help you get there. You say, lovingly but firmly (because ultimately, the Scaredy Cat in you just wants some love and you’ve got plenty of it to give):

“Yep, we may fail, it’s possible. This is risky shit. But we’ll still be okay. Because that’s who we are. We’re the kind of people that are okay, no matter what.

So remember that invincibility and let’s get to work. There’s a new land to discover and the only way to find it is to keep going—cliffs, cash flow, agony, adulation and all. If you keep your mouth shut and your eyes wide open, we’ll get there sooner. We’re doing this. We’re doing this because we want to. Because this is what it means to do life."

And then watch what Scaredy Cat does. She'll look perplexed for a minute. She’ll nuzzle up, as if to say thank you. And then she’ll strut down the street to help you recruit some new business.

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Love your failures

The things you are fired for are often the things that, in later life, you will be celebrated and given lifetime achievement awards for. - Francis Ford Coppola

What’s “odd” is often revolutionary. Change happens at the edges— beware the majority. Artistry rarely compromises, it just looks for a new place to express itself. “Good” will never, ever, ever be as deeply thrilling as giving it your all, come hell or high water.

Trace the path from your bombs and flops and rejections to where you are now. What did you learn? What nasty curveball put you on a new path to something better? What’s the gift from the grind?

WHITE HOT READING : doozers and losers: my favourite business mistakes

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WORK deconstructing fear SHEET

Getting clear on what you’re scared of can instantly diffuse ticking anxiety and fear bombs. Naming the fear can bring it out into the light where you can see that the boogeyman is really a sweetie 16 pie, or that you’re just being endearingly neurotic and you’ve got better things to do.

So this is where you get your career + livelihood fears out of your system. Bankruptcy, unfulfilled potential, trashing your reputation. And then (because we just can’t stop there), you’re going to apply some simple analysis to it. You may have nothing to fear after all.

In my Career + Livelihood, I’m afraid of: Because:

How do you feel to see the reasons behind your fears? Now this would be a great page to burn, don’t you think?

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WORK comfort zoning SHEET

The thing about being scared or in crisis mode is that we can get so spun out that we forget where the emergency exit or the ripcord is. 17 Where’s your bridge over troubled water? Who ya gonna call? How do you spell “relief”? Lunch with your best friend, a visit to church, a call with your mastermind group, a few laps in the pool, silence.

Make a list of your soul vitamins and refer to it when the hooey hits the fan.

When I do the following, I am guaranteed to feel close to, if not 100% improved, lighter, focused:

When I do the following, I will likely feel a sense of relief or improvement:

Even though I pretend to think that doing the following things will bring me relief and comfort, they actually aren’t helpful at all:

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quittin’ time SESSION

COMPONENTS VIDEO: Quittin' Time, 5 mins

Without deviation, progress is not possible. - Frank Zappa

VIDEO: Quittin' Time, 5 mins

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The euphoria of admitting when it sucks Some very cool things happen when I’m jamming with clients. Aha's, elevated perspectives, connections. But my favourite phenomenon is when someone decides, with a nudge, to give up on what’s not working. Throw in the towel. Close shop. Call it quits. I’ve witnessed store closings, blog unpluggings, staff fires, complete re-namings of brands, and some serious slashing of product lines. YES! Making way for sustainable success!

You don’t have to have a storefront in order to be a wildly successful retailer. You don’t have to get up early in the morning to beat the competition. You don’t have to keep staff who are slacking because you’re a humanitarian or unionized. (Besides, cutting someone loose so they can go hone their truer talents and bliss is profoundly humane.) If it's not working, you get to give it up—quickly, just like that. Quitting can be a form of enlightenment.

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A lot of the time, it’s better to quit than to be the hero. - Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, co-authors of ReWork

Yes, success is gritty business and you’ve got to hustle your bustle. You’ve got to eat intensity Wheaties for breakfast. But there’s a difference between happy rigor and inane slogging. Slogging doesn’t work. It just doesn't. You can’t plant misery seeds today and expect to get a juicy crop next season.

I hear this time and again: “If I just hang in longer…maybe she’ll come up to speed.” “It might sell in the summer.” “If I dig deeper, I’ll learn to love this kind of work.” Fess up—it ain’t workin’. You’re smart if you see it. You’re brilliant if you move on.

The clues can be so generic that we just plough them over with duty and ego and fear. But vitality is a sensation, and it requires a sensitivity to signals and surroundings—and the courage to flow and shout and stomp your feet in sync with the signals of life.

Don’t worry about how you’re going to fix what’s broke. Just notice what sucks with ruthless honesty. Then—and only then—will solutions emerge.

It’s a momentary rush when you get that real, even

when the truth bites. It’s I Know It Sucks Euphoria.

And when you’re high on the truth, you’ve got a new Indicators of when it simply is vantage point of where to go next. Turn the lights off not working: 1. You use “it sucks” in a when you leave. Announce your new destination. sentence to describe any aspect of your situation. 2. You “drag your ass” to it. 3. Sunday night anxiety (dreading Monday). 4. Dismal sales (yes, the universe speaks to us through cash flow). 5. The bleak absence of synchronicity. 6. Not a whole lot of thanks coming your way. 7. Your best friend is your best customer. 8. Seething resentment.

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WHITE HOT READING : the goddess of grief: getting to the other side. and there is always another side. : 11 tips for dealing with criticism : inhale suffering, exhale compassion: tonglen meditation : the “i don’t know” conspiracy

resources

The Dip, Seth Godin The Places That Scare You, Pema Chödrön When Things Fall Apart, Pema Chödrön

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supporting SESSION characters

COMPONENTS VIDEO: Collaborative Paradigms, 4 mins WORKSHEET 20: Simpatico Inventory 14

There is no union except in the same high effort. - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

VIDEO: Collaborative Paradigms, 4 mins

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

Enter password: lightmyfire

You deserve your tribe As Seth Godin defines it, “a tribe is any group of people, large or small, who are connected to one another, a leader, and an idea…you can’t have a tribe without a leader—and you can’t be a leader without a tribe.”

You may be the leader of the productive, eco-friendly guys in their thirties with kids tribe; or the tribe of beauty and old-fashioned manners; or yoga and self-expression; glamorous self-love; happiness for singles; fashion that cares; art that heals; business with heart; punk rock illumination…leading others to what you love and believe.

When I hang with my tribe, I feel invigorated, not to mention recognized and understood. One of my definitions of a friend is someone with whom you feel more like yourself after spending time with them. Tribe is like that. And you can’t underestimate the powerful effects of being fortified in that way.

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What are the characteristics of your tribe? What do they read? Where do they hang out online and in the world? What are they trying to revolutionize?

Seek out your people. Offer your assistance, your ideas, your experience, your moxie. Bring them your questions, your conundrums, your struggles. Your tribe is an opportunity to realize more opportunities.

You can’t be playing with your tribe all the time. You need to bump up against the contrast and creative tension of different cultures and paradigms and building styles. That fact is just Life 101, globalism, learning, essential. But when you have your tribe on speed dial, you’ve got all the resources you need to fuel up, fly straight, and head back out to bump up against the world at large.

Advisory boards, objectivity + rah-rah Advisors are people who like you enough to not charge you for their immensely valuable advice. Advisory boards can be formalized and regulated, or they can be breakfast a few times a year with a seasoned millionaire who’ll tell you why you’d better cut bait or launch before your money dries up.

My own advisors have taken many forms over the years: a former professional skier who knew a lot about teamwork and raising money, a business coach, a spiritual counsellor, a girlfriend who had both an MBA and a Bachelor of Social Work (which is a wicked combination of greatness). I’ve called on magazine editors, Venture Capitalists, a political consultant, and astrologers to help me navigate.

I’ve made cold calls: “Hi. I’m a fan of your work and I’d like to have tea and here’s precisely why…and I’m not a crazy stalker, I’m actually pretty accomplished and insightful…and I respect your time…and your wisdom. How’s next week look for you?” I’ve called girlfriends in tears: “My place, tonight. I’ll order in. Please help me solve this by midnight.” I’ve hosted fancy advisory meetings with croissants and mimosas and voting procedures. And even though some support relationships fizzled, and I got some sour advice a time or two, my advisors were, and continue to be, lamplighters on my trek.

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It’s good to have advisors lined up before you think you really need them. So often we think, Oh I’m doing fine, growing right along, and maybe you are, until you’re not anymore—until the market or your destiny throws you a curveball. Develop your support system before crisis comes down and check in with them fairly regularly with updates—even if you think you’ve got all of your bases covered. The right people will be adding value when skies are blue and in the pitch of night.

Conscious partnerships No one gets married to get divorced. Business unions are no exception. You’re high on possibility, you’ve signed the lease, you love that your strengths and weaknesses “complement each other.” You’re in it to win it. What could go wrong? Everything.

If my betrothed asked me to sign a pre-nup, I’d probably walk the other way. But when it comes to the business of making art or money, you gotta hollah for a pre-nup, sugar. Get your terms of understanding in writing. Here’s why, just for starters:

The mere exercise of developing a partnership agreement will illuminate the unspoken fears and foibles that usually stay hidden until things get fractured—as well as the beautiful synergies and intentions that make the union so potentially rewarding.

When you invest in the process, you affect the outcome. It may take you months to work through the essence of an agreement. I’m not talking necessarily about identifying percentages and shares and who gets to take vacation when—though working through that nitty-gritty can be a big reality pill. I’m talking about the spirit of the relationship. Who’s in charge of what, where you want to go, how will you deal with conflict, tragedy, setbacks…and success?

In my last partnership, we assumed that we’d always be on the same page, in agreement. And it wasn’t so much that entrepreneurial bliss had us too starry-eyed to create a bona fide and binding partnership agreement, as it was the fear of confronting some very sensitive leadership and lifestyle issues.

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If you can’t face your present-day fears directly, you won’t be prepared to face the future. And that’s the prickly, uncomfortable work that needs to be done when co-creating agreements. You need to take into account your concerns as they relate to someone’s history. (“Historically speaking, you don’t complete things. If you don’t finish projects, how are we going to handle that?” Not an easy conversation to have.) And tragic possibilities. (“If you get hit by a bus and your company shares transfer to your spouse, there’s no way that they can take a role in the company.”) If you can make it through the agreement-building process, you increase your chances of success in business exponentially. And you sleep better.

Domains of responsibility I’ve had some beautiful collaborations. We were like a small sailing team, each knowing when to pull the ropes or grab the rudder. We cruised. I’ve had some wonky unions where we were the blind leading the blind, stumbling on expectations and co-dependencies, but still making progress in the world. And I’ve been one part of a duo that looked picture-perfect but had some dark, cluttered corners.

Through them all, I learned that domains of responsibility are the way to go for me. It goes like this: the buck has to stop with someone.

Consensus can create mediocrity. When you and your partner(s) agree that you have to agree on everything, it can stymie decision making, slow you down, foster risk aversion, and can generally make for weak strategy.

When you agree that you have to agree, you tend to avoid things that might cause disagreements. And that’s not good.

When you agree that one person has the final say in a particular area, here’s what happens, ideally: the person with the final call is extra- thoughtful, they weigh the options out, they do their homework—trust is nurtured. Teamwork isn’t about harmony at all times, it’s about covering all the bases so you can win the bigger game by letting each person exercise their true individual strengths—and carrying the success and the failure together.

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So figure out who’s in charge of what—the marketing, the money, the staff, the front end, the back end, the brand. Allow for creative tension, and enough space for everyone in charge to leap, to lose, and to take their charge to a whole new level.

Expert help = quantum leaps I love experts. Masters. Focused generalists. Deeply knowledgeable and widely informed people who know their very particular stuff.

Expertise can be expensive. Strapped for cash and overworked, it’s completely understandable that so many of us hunker down in the early days of our businesses and try to do it all ourselves. But…

In the last year alone, I’ve hired a creativity coach, a writing coach, I’ve consulted with experts in e-book launches, publishing marketing, book proposals, book deals, and naturopathy. And I’ve spent good money for plenty of how-to stuff. And I’ve pleaded for trade secrets from some digital superstars. I already know a lot in these areas, but I’m looking for leading edge information and informed wisdom in the areas that matter most to me. I want it current, and I want it now.

The right advice could save you, or make you thousands of dollars, or cut months off your learning curve. Sometimes you pay big bucks for it (usually worth it), and often there are ways to get that kind of expertise for free—sometimes it’s as simple as asking.

WHITE HOT READING : take ‘em up on the offer: saying yes to help : who's your support group?

not so much looking for the shape as being available to any shape that may be summoning itself through me from the self not mine but ours - Margaret Wheatley

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WORK simpatico inventory SHEET

What kind of support or expertise do you need to take your career + livelihood to the next level? 18

Check off 5 expert types that could be critical to your success. Which experts do you have to pay for, could you take a class from, read their books/websites, watch their videos, or ask out for coffee? Which expert types are already in your life in the form of friends, colleagues, family? How can you formalize those expert exchanges? Who will you make strides to connect with this month?

MOTIVATION + STRATEGY  Business coach SYSTEMS + CREATIVE REPRESENTATION  Life coach  Financial planner  Talent agent  Partnership coach  Investment advisor  Literary agent  Money coach  Accountant  Speaking agent  Voice coach  Bookkeeper  Publicist  Therapist  Publisher  Spiritual advisor  Graphic designer  Mentor  Web designer  SEO advisor WELLNESS + IMAGE WHO ELSE IN YOUR  Healer/doctor  Lawyer INDUSTRY?  Intuitive  Trademark agent  Nutritionist  ______ Astrologer  Virtual assistant  Naturopath  Personal organizer  ______ Massage therapist  Personal trainer  Marketing strategist  ______ Fitness instructor  Branding strategist  Childcare provider  Copywriter  ______ Ghostwriter  Stylist (clothing)  ______ Hairstylist  Editor  Personal shopper  ______ Handyman  Housekeeper  House boy/chick who feeds you grapes while you’re checking your email

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resources

I know some people.

 Life + Business coaches: Lianne Raymond, Ronna Detrick, Dyana Valentine, Tanya Geisler. Susan Hyatt, Michelle Ward, Chela Davison  Writing + Creativity Coach: Bindu Wiles  Partnership coach: Pearl Mattenson  Money coach: Lora Sasiela  Voice coach: Adwila Verdejo  Branding + Copy writing genius: Alexandra Franzen  Spiritual advisor: Navjit Kandola  Intuitive: Hiro Boga  Astrologer: Tali & Ophira Edut  Astrologer: Heidi Rose Robbins  Astrologer: Nancy McMoneagle  Naturopath: Dr. Diane C. Chung (works virtually)  Graphic designer: Reese Spykerman,  Graphic designer: Natasha Lakos  Illustrator + designer: Jessica Swift  Web designer: Paul Jarvis  Web designer: Sarah Bray  Web designer: Raised Eyebrow  Web designer: Matt Cheuvront  Web designer: Amanda Farough  Web designer: Three Square Design  Web Ad designer: Ads With Intention  Virtual Assistant: Stacey Brice at AssistU is a VA matchmaker and has a DIY search system as well!  Copywriter: Pema Teeter

For a full list of my referrals, CLICK HERE.

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free time SESSION

COMPONENTS WORKSHEET 21: A Perfect 12

The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once. - Albert Einstein 15

A digest of my time management riffs

WHITE HOT READING : the ‘stop doing’ list via live TV The things you get off your list can empower you to do what’s most powerful. We have a hard time getting concrete about getting things off our lists.

WHITE HOT READING : what’s on your ‘stop doing’ list? If I’m to realize my intentions, what I stop doing is just as important as what I start and continue to do. Stopping = the white space. Stopping = room to run free and create from the deepest place of being without restraint or compromise. Stopping = more time for what matters most.

WHITE HOT READING : we know you’re busy. now shut up about it. Tell me something I don’t know. Gimme something original. Stop whining. “I’m too busy” has become a contemporary anthem.

WHITE HOT READING : 11 productivity tips that creative types already know We tend to be driven by inspiration (when we’re not obsessed with looking good on paper, or to our parents—who still can’t figure out how we make a living). We get there in our own way and when the ‘flow’ works, we’re so smokin’ productive that pert charts and to-do lists cringe in the wake of our creative productivity. Creatives have a thing or two to teach The Linears and The Planners.

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WHITE HOT READING : entrepreneurial time management: how I rock it I’ve tried every day-timer. I’ve trained with Covey himself. My BlackBerry is synced with my universe. My get-stuff-done-system is a mix of systems. But by far the greatest booster to my productivity has been the Entrepreneurial Time Management system, created by Dan Sullivan. I stumbled across an article last year, and it was a Eureka! moment. And now I just do it, almost religiously, simply.

WHITE HOT READING : creative quickies: the wonders of 15-minute time restraints If the good stuff so often surfaces at the end, then the trick is to end it sooner. Quit while you’re ahead. Short idea intervals work wonders.

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WORK a perfect 12 SHEET

Abraham-Hicks has a beautiful exercise that I love to do a few times a 19 year. You envision your ideal twelve hours. Where would you be, what would you be doing, who would you be with? Describe EVERYTHING that would go into twelve hours of blissdom for you. And of course, feel free to bend some material laws on this (e.g. In my ideal 12 hours, I wake up in my own bed in Vancouver, write something electrifying, hang with my loved ones, and make it to Paris for lunch. I also took the liberty of creating a few different versions of my “ideal 12 hours”.)

My ideal 12 hours:

The WHOLE point of this exercise is to actually create those ideal 12 hours—or as close to it, even if it’s just fifteen minutes, as frequently as possible until that idealism is spilling into your everyday reality.

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visioneering SESSION

COMPONENTS VIDEO: Authentic Dreaming, 2 mins WORKSHEET 22: Dream Analysis WORKSHEET 23: Vision Prompts

There are always flowers for those who want to see them. 16

- Henre Matisse

Forseeing: how to tag your dreams with strategies

VIDEO: Authentic Dreaming, 2 mins

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

Enter password: lightmyfire

Cop to any dream fatigue you may be experiencing Sometimes you just get worn out from thinking big—’specially us go- get-’em entrepreneurs. Years of hard work, mid-course corrections, failures that lead to success, success that leads to failures. I’ve had a few times in my career where, after I left a venture, I could hardly bear to think about profit margins and wheeling deals. I just wanted to write sutras and make soup. The fog of dream fatigue starts to lift when you embrace it. Take stock, integrate your lessons—your new facts— and then move on, wiser for the wear. You cannot stop dreaming. You must, you must, you simply must dream a new dream. Let’s move on to the fun part...

The antidote to exhaustion isn't rest. It's wholeheartedness. - David Whyte

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Dream extreme How would your outlook change if you believed that anything was possible? (Anything is NOT possible, but we’re going to suspend all pragmatism and practicality for the purposes of this exercise. Cynicism be damned!) What could be unleashed if you felt like a superhero when you were mapping out your New Year, or writing your business plan?

Stay with me.

What if you, like, dropped some acid or drank some magic mushroom tea, and then tripped on your livelihood, creativity and career? I call this the psychedelics of strategic planning. It doesn’t actually require any illegal substances. It just requires that you get the hell out of your mind and tickle the potentiality in your DNA.

Loosen up. Unleash. Go wild. BE IMPRACTICAL. Get out of your box and stomp on it. Try egomania on for size.

You’ve got to cross the old boundary lines to retrieve new information. If you want a vital outcome, you need vitalized input. You gotta dance, shake it up, go extreme, get off your chain, and then come back to center, where both possibility and pragmatism synergize.

Dream zone: The phone rings. It’s Oprah. Her staff has been reading your blog and they want to fly you to Chicago next week. Buddy in the café overhears you talking about your business plan, and wouldn’t you know it, he’s a Venture Capitalist looking to unload some coin before the tax season ends. Your product is flying off the shelves. Bestseller. Soulmate. Awards. Radiance. Empire. The cover of Fast Company magazine. TED Talks. Adulation. Overnight success. Euphoria.

Take a minute right now and trip. You should probably turn the lights off and lie on the floor. You should probably close your eyes. Go ahead, I’ll wait for you.

What’s your far-out dream? What’s so big that you feel just a bit shy to even consider it? Where’s the thrill? Go to the edge, beyond reason. Feel the high of the extreme dream. You should be peaking right about now. (You'll get more of this in the WORKSHEETS coming up.)

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While you’re still tripping on the Milky Way of potential, imagine hanging out with the Superheroes of your industry—the leaders, your idols. Now assume that you are their contemporary and you’ve earned your place beside them. Ask for their grittiest stories and advice, like you would a new best friend. Jam with them. Observe. Tell them your ideas, give them your pitch, sing them your song. Pay close attention to how they respond. What do they tell you?

Now, wind it down. Come back to earth. Ease your feet back to the ground. You may have found some courage or sagacity on the other side of the extreme dream. You may have imagined new possibilities. You may be thinking waaay bigger, or maybe much smaller, or more precise. Either way, you’ll be closer to knowing what superpowers you want to focus on developing.

Bill Moyers to Joseph Campbell: Do you ever have this sense when you are following your bliss, as I have at moments, of being helped by hidden hands?

Joseph Campbell: All the time. It’s miraculous. I even have a superstition that has grown on me as the result of invisible hands coming all the time— namely, that if you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.

Get crazy real After you’ve tripped the light fandango, you need to put on your sensible walking shoes and start where you are. Baby steps, if you must. How much money do you have to work with now—not the projections of how much you might have next month. What is guaranteed income and what can you get access to if you ask? Are contracts signed? How tired are you? What else requires your attention and energy? How committed is everyone involved? Are you taking into account your learning curve and possible curveballs?

Being practical doesn’t preclude being really ambitious. But big time ambitiousness may call for some extreme measures and radical focus.

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For example, is it “practical” to launch your product three months from today? Let’s say that intention falls in the category of “CRAZY”. (I love Crazy. Crazy gets stuff DONE. Crazy eats impossible for her afternoon sugar fix.) Then how can you accommodate Crazy? Radical focus. Clear the decks. Tell your friends they won’t hear from you for the next few months. Forgive yourself in advance for missing birthdays and social gatherings. Put your favourite sushi takeout place on speed dial. Cancel your cable TV subscription. Alert anyone and everyone involved in your Crazy Project that it’s go-go-go! time.

That kind of radical focus is the practical response to Crazy Ambition. What’s nuts—as in, unrealistic and delusional, kind of insane—is thinking that you can do big, fast, amazing professional things while keeping the rest of your life in a pretty-looking state of balance. It doesn’t exist. Crazy ebbs. And sanity flows. Part of being practical is knowing just what it takes to make amazing stuff—it takes a lot of fantastic, hard work. Plan for the fantastic hard work so you can dance with your relationships, your community and the rest of your life with equal intensity and love.

Share your dream Our dreams and desires define us. Be they broken, scarcely remembered, on the verge of reality, or in full bloom. They pilot our choices. Dreams have the power to shape the entire landscape of our lives. Because they tend to be so precious and potent, many people keep their dreams and aspirations to themselves.

A dream is a very sacred thing to share.

If you knew someone’s dream, you might look at that person very differently—with more tenderness, more respect, more familiarity, and more wonder than before. Dream-sharing melts boundaries and it calls forth resources and commonalities.

Look at everyone you meet this week and actively think to yourself, “I wonder what their dream is?” Ask at least one person this week what their dream is. You can do it subtly and traditionally, like, “Where do you see yourself in five years?”; or “What did you want to be when you were growing up?” Or you can just go for it, playfully and momentously, and ask, “So, like, what’s your big dream?” So many people never get asked that. And even fewer are really listened to. And for those who

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are stumped by the question, I guarantee they’ll be thinking about it for days to come. Just the asking of that question sets essential things in motion.

The guy in the cubicle next to you may be working on novel about unicorns and espionage. Your sister might be fantasizing about her own cabaret breakout performance. Your postal carrier may be patenting the next great invention. Make no assumptions about your partner, your workmate, or the bus driver.

Small, mighty, seemingly impossible, or simply pure...when you know what someone’s dream is, your perspective leans toward openness. And every dream needs space to run.

Oh, and my dream stream? That The Fire Starter Sessions (April 2012!) is a stunning success in every way possible, and I’m wearing suede boots and big gold hoops on stage and laughing “you-know-what-I’m sayin’-dontcha?” laughs with thousands of people.

And I dream of Morocco and France and a koi pond in the backyard of my mod pre-fab house. Collecting art. Magazine coverage. I dream about communion. I dream of sitting ’round a fire with leaders and lovers of progress. Being able to give yeses and make phone calls that open doors and new dimensions for people.

I dream of children being taught mindfulness in school, and a movement of conscious birth choices and parenting, and technologies that heal. And I dream of invitations that humble me, and more magical connections with people whom I recognize on a cellular level, and we band together to leverage change, and to support and care for each other in the way that reminds you how great it is to share space and time. And I dream of feeling more electric and sweet every single day.

But mostly, I dream of being amazed.

How ’bout you?

WHITE HOT READING : how to make the most of being toast: embracing burnout : what’s the ‘big real’ of what you’re doing? : the suck factor of life balance + passion as a cure to stress : say yes to your dream: how frank gehry made the leap

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WORK dream analysis SHEET

What’s your far-out dream? What’s so big that you feel just a bit shy to even consider it? Where’s the thrill? Go to the edge, beyond reason. 20

Imagine hanging out with the Superheroes of your industry—the leaders, your idols. Now assume that you are their contemporary and you’ve earned your place beside them. Ask for their grittiest stories and advice, like you would a new best friend. Jam with them. Observe. Tell them your ideas, give them your pitch, sing them your song. Pay close attention to how they respond. What do they tell you?

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Left side: Let your dreams flow. Right side: Answer why you want that dream to happen. Dig deeply. Are your dreams rooted in your soul? Have they been with you since the beginning? Were they planted by your own hand, or the status quo, or what your parents want for you?

My dreams: Because why:

What if none of these dreams are close to your heart? Which dreams make you flush with excitement, or still with peace? What dream will you choose to realize?

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WORK vision prompts SHEET

My dream is to:

5 reasons why my dream is unreasonable or the odds are stacked against me:

5 ultra-optimistic and positively affirmative thoughts that instantly dissolve the bad vibes associated with the so-called “unreasonable” nature of my dream:

5 persuasive, potentially outrageous actions that will create forward traction:

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Who will you share your dream with?

Who already knows about your dream?

Whose dreams do you want to know more about?

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be the giver SESSION

If you're breathing, you have something to give.

If you’re not interested in changing the world, you can skip this Session. If you’ve had just about enough of my righteousness, you should proceed to the next chapter, because I’m about to lay it on, thick. 17

If you had the smarts and the means to purchase and read/ watch/experience this e-book, then there’s probably more means of intelligence, love, and coin where that came from.

Just be The Giver. The mentor, the advisor, the motivator, the donator, the lover. Over deliver. Find a way to make what you do matter for more people. You’ll feel good. You won’t miss the money. You’ll find the time. You’ll smile more.

And don’t wait. Don’t wait until your stuff is selling or you’ve got enough of a cushion in your bank account, or you’ve got the time. Give now.

. Spread awareness. . Give a scholarship away for your service or program. . Donate your product to people who can’t afford it. . Trade. . Mentor. . Volunteer. . Choose one product of yours to be a fundraising item. . Sponsor a yearly fundraiser. My Favourite Charities: . Give clients or customers a choice to donate to a Women for Women International charity of their choice through their purchase. The Acumen Fund 1% for the planet Kiva

Make generosity part of your growth strategy.

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just start. now. SESSION

COMPONENTS VIDEO: The Send Off WORKSHEET 25: Future Gratitude

You make road by walking. - Antonio Machado 18

Make mistakes of ambition. Not of sloth. - Machiavelli

Ready, aim, fire? Fire. Fire. Fire. - Peter Senge

Start at the top If you aim for perfection, and your arrow sways a bit, you’ll still be in the range of beautiful. So just go for the best. The best suppliers, collaborators, designers, tools, materials, team. Just aiming for the top raises your vibration.

Be excellent Dissatisfaction is a divine imperative. Keep striving. We can always and only get better. But…

Bag perfection If you wait for conditions, timing, or circumstances to be just right, well...don’t bother getting back to us on how that works out for you—we don’t have that long. If you’re forcing and grinding every last detail into its apparently perfect place, well...where’s the fun in that? Perfection is an illusion. Every novel ever written might have been better. Every piece of technology, every masterpiece, every day—it all might have been even better. So just launch and learn. Because…

Everything is progress As any ol’ astrophysicist will tell you, the universe is always expanding. That includes you.

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Keep it pointed to where you want it to go Do more of what you really want to be doing until eventually, most of what you’re doing lights you right up. Make today reflect your ideal tomorrow.

Believe in your best intentions Sometimes we have to toss a dream up in the air, like releasing a homing pigeon, and trust that it’s going to come back to us with some mission-critical information. We can’t control the outcomes of our wishes, we can only control the wishing. We have to leave room for surprise, and new longings, and unplanned diversions, and the odd disaster to happen. All you can be sure of is that you’re here to be you and to do some good. That simple truth will be your North Star.

WHITE HOT READING : the power of being positively doubtful : the ‘as in the beginning’ buddha rule : cake walks + fire walks: beginner’s mind : what’s it going to take?

VIDEO: The Send Off, 2 mins

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

Enter password: lightmyfire

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WORK future gratitude SHEET

You are in the perfect position to get there from here. - Abraham-Hicks 22

Next month, next year, or 5 to 20 years down the road, what or who will you be valuing? Why will you be filled with appreciation?

Be practical or big dream-a-delic. For example: It’s one year from today and I am so grateful that I own this new home with big windows. It’s my 35th birthday and I am rocking out in Paris. Next week, I’m totally thankful that my dad and I finally had that talk. My health is excellent and the love of my life is by my side. It’s 2012 and my phone is ringing off the hook after winning the Nobel Peace Prize (finally!) …

I will be so immensely grateful for:

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How THE SPARK KIT just got started I wasn’t planning on writing this book—not for a while, at least. I had been working on another book, called Desire: An Action Plan, for about six months. One day, about 12 weeks ago, as I was really pushing out the Desire content, it struck me: The Fire Starter Sessions (now called THE SPARK KIT, as you well know.) for entrepreneurs. NOW! Do it right now. Stop the pushing and throw yourself in the direction of the fire. I took a heaping spoonful of my own “let it be easy” elixir.

It really was a Eureka! moment. I felt relieved, excited, ready to do some hard-core practical, big time dreaming.

I walked into the kitchen and said to my man: “I’m doing a new book. And it’s going to be so freaking multimedia, it’ll vibrate. And I’m going to launch it in twelve weeks.”

“Yeah, I know, you’ve been working on Desire all year,” he said, eyebrow raised.

“Nope. This is a new book.” Another one? Mr. Man’s expression said to me.

“Yep. But it’s already written! I just need to pluck it from the ether and put it on the screen." Ah, the idealism of an artist with a mission. I cancelled trips, I called my naturopath, I meditated on how fabulous launch day was going to feel.

Doing what it takes can be the sweetest feeling in the world. It’s been gruelling, utter bliss—100% worth doing. And in this process, I have felt the presence of angels—on Twitter, in my inbox, in my heart, angels here and angels out there. Rooting me on. Asking for more. Inviting me every single day to just start.

So this took me (40 years of living +) nearly 12 weeks to create. In that 12-week bubble of artistic intensity, there were IT learning curves (I’d never even done a video on my own computer before), some computer problems, a funeral, the purchase of a condo, preparations for moving to said condo, more IT learning curves, a graphic design disaster (my own damn fault), and the tulips came up and then passed on. Life. It went like this, kinda:

Week 1 Set ridiculous launch goal. Email my VA to tell her to gear up to rock n’ roll. Clear space in my life to be consumed. Week 2 Outline complete. 1Shopping Cart system in place. Write first draft of sales copy. Apply for ISBN. Consult astrologer on best date to launch. Start designing cover.

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Week 3 Do a launch schedule. Simultaneously start taking notes for another book idea that’s cropped up. Announce on site that it’s in the works and “you should all interview me”. Secure 30 interviews in the first day. I call Dyana Valentine and say, “Holy mother of God, I can’t do this alone.” We start jamming. With Amanda Farough’s help, I teach myself to work iMovie in an afternoon. I commit to a pricing structure that feels elegant. Week 4 Cover done! Icons designed! Affiliate copy written. And I keep writing my tail off. Week 5 I’ve now been wearing the same jeans for a month. I miss writing deadline for The Huffington Post, and a friend’s birthday. Technology and formatting nightmares PRE- ensue two days before the pre-order launch. I wish I smoked, or drank scotch. ORDER The sneak peek chapter goes live! Sell $11,000 in the first 11 hours. Went off LAUNCH! without a glitch or a hitch. The love is thick. I tear up with relief. Hey, only 16 more chapters to write and 12 more videos to film and edit! Week 6 I actually leave the house to have brunch with Chris Guillebeau. We congratulate each other on great launches (we launched programs on the same day). We smile lots and exchange notes. I start filming more segments. I’m still seeing a few Fire Starter clients a week. When it’s my turn to cook, I order pizza. Week 7 Yep, still writing. Week 8 Regretfully cancel a workshop that I’d been so looking forward to attending. I don’t know what I was thinking—thinking I could launch the biggest project of my

life and then take off the next day to an island with spotty Internet access. Keep on writing/filming/editing. Week 9 Entire book is laid out into chapters. I’ve turned the corner. Secure a copy editor. Start feeding videos to transcribers.

Week 10 Still haven’t really left the house. Pizza delivery guy knows me by name. Promise my kid that, “We’ll go somewhere fun when Mama’s done her book.” His response: “How come you’re writing a book if I can’t even read yet?” Graphic design nightmare. Light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter every day. It's all intense but my heart is very happy. Week 11 More of the same. Start to experience the runner's high even tho' my ass has been anchored to my MacBook. Pre-launch well wishes pour in. Bustin' with gratitude and high expectations. Week 12 LAUNCH!...well, this week is a mystery at the time of this writing, because the book gets wrapped before I know how this ends. To be continued…!

WHITE HOT READING : the fire is lit: behind the scenes of launch day

You're stronger, and you're better, and you're ready for whatever. - Alicia Keys

If you haven't already done so, you can listen to samples from the SONIC FIRE PLAYLIST, a collection of the tunes that are the soundtrack of this digital experience.

CLICK HERE to access this playlist on itunes!

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gratitude is always SEND the best way OFF to finish

I forged you with my speech, No longer bereft, you blaze. - Emily Warn, Shadow Architect

contributors

Dyana Valentine I Dyanavalentine.com @dyanavalentineFrom Dy’s site: “I am an instigator. Seriously, I’m not for the weak of heart. I look closely and work intensely with clients who are truly ready to make something happen. In over 10 years of working with hundreds of clients, I have come up with tools and conceptual approaches that help self-starters become self-finishers. My work is heavily based in the principles of Community Psychology, including, but not limited to: we are all motivated; my clients are the experts; and, we may have resources at hand to solve our own problems.” See why I adore her?

Elizabeth Talerman I Nucleusbranding.com @etalerman …founded Nucleus to help clients activate the potential of their brands throughout their operations and in their commun-ications. Elizabeth’s recent experience includes a feasibility study for the Prince of Wales’ global expansion for his Duchy Originals brand, brand architecture for Gilt Groupe, launching nine new brands for the merchandising division of Martha Stewart, developing campaigns for Audi and Levis, re- positioning both the MSN and Yahoo! brands, and creating digital work for IBM, NBC, Gillette, The Food Network, Met Life, and Credit Suisse First Boston.

Chris Guillebeau I chrisguillebeau.com. @chrisguillebeau …travels the world and writes for a small army of remarkable people at chrisguillebeau.com. From 2002-2006 he served as a volunteer for a medical charity in West Africa. After returning to the U.S. in 2006 and entering graduate school at the University of Washington, Chris began actively visiting countries like Burma, Uganda, Iraq, and Pakistan. On his personal quest to visit every country in the world, Chris has currently made it to 125 countries (only 67 to go!). He is a regular contributor to CNN.com, BusinessWeek, Huffington Post, and other outlets. When not roaming elsewhere, Chris lives in Portland, Oregon.

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Corbett Barr I ThinkTraffic.net @corbettbarr …is an entrepreneur and blogger who recently launched Think Traffic, which helps its clients and readers build high-traffic websites and blogs. He also blogs about life as a digital nomad and what it's like to live part-time in Mexico at Free Pursuits.

Michael Bungay Stanier I Domoregreatwork.com @boxofcrayons …was the 2006 Canadian Coach of the Year. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, and holds a Masters of Philosophy from Oxford, and law and arts degrees with highest honors from the Australian National University. He created Get Unstuck & Get Going on the stuff that matters, a multi-award-winning coaching program, The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun, The 5 3/4 Questions You’ve Been Avoiding, The Great Work Movie, and The Alchemy of Great Work short internet movies that have been seen by over a million people. They can be viewed at www.BoxofCrayonsMovies.com.

These web designers made the “Virtual Real-estate” Session incredible.

Paul Jarvis I twothirty web design @mojaveband …has designed websites and for record companies, non-profits, major retailers and news outlets. When he's not coding, he's playing guitar with Mojave, or on a surfboard on the coast of Vancouver Island.

Lauren Bacon I Raised Eyebrow Web Studios @laurenbacon …is the co-founder and lead designer of Raised Eyebrow, a web design firm that "helps mission-driven organizations to use online tools more effectively—and keep making the world a better place. She is the co- author of a blog on women and business at laurenandemira.com, and a book, The Boss of You: Everything A Woman Needs to Know to Start, Run, and Maintain Her Own Business.

Sarah Bray, S. Joy Studios @sarajbray …is the founder and Creative Director of S. Joy Studios, the Prospector Extraordinaire of the e-course, The Gold Mining Excursion: Mining Your Website for Untapped Cash Deposits, and the creator of LiteSites.

Mynde Mayfield I MyndeMayfield.com @myndemayfield …takes an " An Optimystical Approach For Expanding Yourself Or Biz" as a webdesigner and coach, from rocking WordPress to social media systems for entrepreneurs.

Kate Caprari I AdsWithIntention …is a web designer and digital ad expert who works with small businesses to perfect their online presence. Her clients include Design*Sponge and The Sartorialist, along with many other bloggers, artists, authors, and visionaries. Her new company, Ads With Intention, specializes in designing digital ads for small businesses.

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The following power-bloggers contributed to “An anthology of practical, far out, and all ‘round effective traffic tips from 26 of the world‘s most powerful bloggers."

Josh Hanagarne, World’s Strongest Librarian; Jonathan Mead, Illuminated Mind; Glen Allsopp, ViperChill; Lea Woodward, Location Independent; Will Chen, Wise Bread; Daniel Scocco, Daily Blog Tips; Glen Stansberry, LifeRemix.net, LifeDev.net; Chris Guillebeau, The Art of Non-Conformity; Everett Bogue, Far Beyond The Stars; Cody McKibben, Thrilling Heroics; Pat Flynn, The Smart Passive Income Blog; Ashley Ambirge, The Middle Finger Project, James Chartrand, Men With Pens; Matt Cheuvront, Life Without Pants; Matt Kepnes, Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site; Dragos Roua, Brilliantly Better; David Heinemeier Hansson, co-author of ReWork; Jonathan Fields, JonathanFields.com; Kelly Diels, Cleavage; Charlie Gilkey, Productive Flourishing; Nathan Hangen, Nathan Hangen; David Doolin, Website In A Weekend; J.D. Roth, Get Rich Slowly; Erin Doland, Unclutterer.com

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self promo + ops

If you liked, enjoyed, were informed, duly instructed, inspired, motivated, rocked to the depths of your soul, or move by THE SPARK KIT, then please…spread the word! I'm a one- woman publicity department supported by…you…aided by the phenomenal powers of social media, good favour and love.

10 easy ways to help spread the spark: 1. Send me a testimonial and I may place it on the site. Include a link to your site and twitter name if you like, totally optional. Ideally, I'd love a photo of you or you logo to include. 2. VIDEO! If you're really fired up, please do a quickie "Why THE SPARK KIT is useful" kind of video testimonial and I'll post it. Be sure to send me links to your site and twitter name. 3. Camera shy? Audio testimonials are cool as well. 4. Tweet! Tweet out quotes from the book with @daniellelaporte and/ the #SPARKkit hashtag. Tweet that you're reading it. Tweet that everyone should get a copy of their own. 5. Mention it in your Facebook page with links to my site. 6. Interview me on your website (in print, audio, or video.) 7. Do an e-book review on your site. 8. Run a brief excerpt from the book on your site. 9. Every article on White Hot Truth is up for grabs (with credit, of course.) Feel free to re-publish or distribute. If you add link- backs, all the better. 10. If you're friends with Oprah or Ellen well…you know what to do.

become an affiliate, share the love, make some coin THE SPARK KIT affiliate offering is exclusively for people who have purchased the program, or 1-on-1 clients, or seminar participants of mine.

How it works: Your affiliate share of every sale that comes from your link is 30% of $150 USD ($45). That sure beats getting a nickel

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on every Ad Sense click-through. We pay out affiliate appreciation monies on the 1st + 15th of every month, directly to your PayPal account. Getting passive income delivered right to your inbox feels so good!

To get enrolled: fill out this form, and we'll give you access to the various stylin' badges and promotional copy. It's incredibly easy to get set up. And we've got a great little Affiliate Thrive Kit for you.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

for coaches: start a spark kit coaching group Some practicing coaches have been asking about guiding a group of their clients through The SPARK KIT over a period of time. My answer: Sure! Yes! Please do! Go for it!

It's a completely open and organic process for the time being. The only stipulation at this time is an obvious one: each individual needs to purchase and download their own copy.

If you do organize and lead your own group, let me know how it goes!

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I speak to people interested in creating authentically powerful lives + careers

For seekers, creatives, mavens, entrepreneurs ... for the lost, the found ... the established or those at the beginning of a dream, we explore:

1. Using your core desired feelings as your strategic drivers. "When Danielle LaPorte speaks, 2. Respecting your own genius and limitations. people listen. She had the audience 3. Getting real and righteous, so you can send the world a at Church, my Style hanging on her clear message about what you want, deserve, and have to every word, bringing inspiration, offer. motivation and a few laughs. We 4. Simplifying your goals so that the great stuff has room to have never seen an audience give show up. their complete attention to a 5. Style as an intentional expression of values and essence. speaker like they did to Danielle. 6. Making presence your practice, and expanding, rather than In fact, if she'd asked them to constricting, to accommodate challenges. 'drink the Kool-Aid' we would have 7. Using your so-called contradictions as creative leverage. had a situation on our hands. Further to Danielle's hypnotizing I also speak about the strategic aspects of : presence, she was a gracious guest, easy to work with and came to us 1. Authenticity-driven branding. ready to present. Be warned: you 2. Building marketing platforms ... from guerrilla to top tier may end up having a crush on campaigns. Danielle LaPorte. We do." 3. Every aspect of publishing - from big book deals to on-line - Jason Krell + Kim Flanagan, revenue generation. Church, my Style 4. I especially love to do live jam sessions with entrepreneurs about their ideas and strategies, so interactive forums are fantastic experiences for everyone involved. "Danielle LaPorte was impeccable on our stage. She infused every EMAIL ME DIRECTLY ABOUT YOUR EVENT. participant with magic, love and possibility. I am so deeply honored I usually speak for one hour or ninety minute segments, and and grateful for her presence and her can bring components into a presentation to create a more in- message. She is pure magic. Words depth experience. can't do justice to the honor, care and heart she not only brought to our We can work together to tailor something meaningful and audience, but to the entire event as a engaging for your audience or group. whole. I'm in love, love, love with her and have already booked her work Click here for more info. with us again!" - Marie Forleo | CEO, Rich Happy & Hot

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interviews, darling, interviews!

If you haven't had enough of me yet, there's more. Thanks to some very thoughtful, pointed and practical questions, there are some real gems in here.

READ : Comfort Queen : Rowdy Kittens : Red Slice Branding : Sophisticated Woman & Mama : Rock.Paper.Scissors. : CRAVE Business : Rock. Paper. Scissors. : Big Bright Bulb : The Mathematics of Glamour : Limitless Living : LaFemme Sabotage : Journal of Cultural Conversation : Jenny Munn : Lady Rogue Business : JustBLiving : Visionary Mom : Hritz On The Edge

WATCH : Erika Harris Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 : Susannah Conway : Unicorns for Socialism : Nathan Hangen : Womanz World

LISTEN : Hiro Boga : YourCourageLife.com : Red Dress Studios : Ideal Life Design : Carmen Torbus : Koko Graphix : New Parent Finances

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gratitude

How each of the following people propelled me, inspired me, saved my ass, and set me straight, is the stuff of legend. I need to write a whole other book about that. But for starters…

For my Fire Starter clients. I feel privileged to have heard so many dreams, and longings, and truly brilliant ideas. Being entrusted with your visions has been one of my most nourishing experiences ever. Deep bow.

In 2009, I took my show on the road and hit sixteen cities with my Fire Starter groups. People opened their homes to me and to the lovely strangers who showed up for the groups. From Dallas to New York, I experienced great kindness, vibrant people wanting to do good things in the world, and plenty of questions that sharpened my mind and softened my heart. For everyone who hosted and attended, thank you so very much.

My partner, Scott, held down the fort, cooked, cradled and steadied the ship for so long. This offering is founded in his steadfast ways and it simply would not have been possible without him. My magic son brought me pebbles with sticky paws, and kept me fuelled with pure love and gummies and no-matter-what-happiness.

Dyana Valentine is the sophisticated, fiery voice of wisdom and “you can do it-ness” that I’d only faintly believed was possible to have in my creative life. She kept me honest, faithful and lit up. My appreciation of her is profound.

Web designer Paul Jarvis just gets the job done and that’s that. Copy editor Abby Anderson polished it all up and done made me look real smart.

Chris Guillebeau for true friendship and sharing his playbook. Naomi Dunford for the straight goods and serious expertise. Amanda Farough, Glen Stansberry, Brett Kelly, Jessica Swift, Mynde Mayfield, Reese Spykerman, Erin Anderson, and Steve Gordon, answered my panicked WTF!!!? IT and design calls and came to the rescue like 911 but with more laughs and cheerleading.

Lianne Raymond reminded me about the poetry of my calling. Karen Lam reminded me about High Magic. Bindu Wiles reminded me of the beauty of natural disasters. Hiro Boga reminded me of my future.

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Candis Hoey reminded me that it’s all pretty simple when you get right down to it.

And my mom, Annabelle McCorquodale brought to my attention that I always seem to pull it off and that this time would be no exception and that’s all there is to it.

Dr. Diane Chung made sure my chi went cha-ching. And Michael Barden made sure my soul went cha cha cha.

Dozens of very bright and well-prepared people volunteered to interview me and let me show up on their websites talking about me, me, me. Thank you for the stage. And the expertise of some very bright and in-demand people graces these pages—they shared so generously.

At one point or another, sometimes repetitively and very loudly, Stephanie Corker-Irwin, Samantha Reynolds, Randi Buckley, Linda Sivertsen, Ronna Detrick, Michelle Ward, Ishita Gupta, Jonathan Fields, Lee-Anne Ragan, Karis Hiebert, Dolly Hopkins, Michelle Pante, Tammy Mazak, Kelly Hoey, Joshua Pettinato, Janet Goldstein, Kelly Diels, Adam Baker, Jonathan Mead and Kate Northrup, told me to rock the fuck on!

And You! You! Holy smokes. I feel the fire of gratitude in my cells. Thank you so very, very much for being here.

With Great Love,

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Enough of these phrases, conceit and metaphors, I want burning, burning, burning. - Rumi

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