Me giving advice to a 22-year-old is a lesson in irony; because I know that the 22-year-old me wasn't good at listening to other people's advice. I'd like to think that I've gotten a little better over the years, but I'm a work in progress. Feel free to take or leave what I have to say. So I guess that's my first piece of advice: decide on your own who and what to listen to. But after that, I guess my second thought would be: Don't try to change the world - Try to change yourself The earth has been here for over 4 billion years and countless humans have walked its surface. It takes a lot of hubris to think that it needs you to save … [Read more...]
The Magic Closet for Entrepreneurs … That Unfortunately Doesn’t Exist
If you grew up watching Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, you'll remember his daily ritual at the beginning of each show. He'd walk into his house, sing a song, go into his closest, change his sweater and shoes, and then go about his day. Of course, at the end of the day he'd go back to that closest to change back into his street shoes and sweater. And then off he went. (Though, come to think of it, no one really knows where he went...or why he had a second home that he stayed at during the day...) That outfit change while he was singing held a lot of significance. It's like he was changing into his work uniform. He went to his closest and … [Read more...]
Zumba, Mistakes, and the Trick to Public Speaking
I was reading through Scott Berkun's Confessions of a Public Speaker and I came across the line: Know that your response to a mistake defines the audience's response. And I thought to myself, "Dude, you couldn't be more right." The Audience Only Cares if You Do I've spent most of my professional career speaking in front of people as a sales trainer, keynote speaker, and meeting emcee. Often people ask me about the trick to being successful when presenting to a group. I've found that of all the skills and techniques that are valuable for any public speaker, the most important is confidence. But it's a special form of confidence. It's … [Read more...]
Leadership Lessons from The Commitments
When people ask me about my favorite movies, they're usually unprepared for one of my top choices, The Commitments, the tale of a scrappy Dublin soul band struggling to break away from the travails of working class life. Even though many people haven't seen (or have even heard) of it, the exploits of Jimmy Rabbitte and his band have deeply influenced my approaches to music, business, and life. The fact that it's also full of witty Irish repartee and has a solid soul soundtrack helps a little bit. There are some powerful lessons on leadership that can be pulled from the story. Are you putting together a soul band or a new … [Read more...]
Small “v” Victories
Do you want 2 million people to show up and celebrate your victories? Unless you are a major league sports team like the Chicago Blackhawks and you just won the Stanley Cup, you might be waiting a while. Don't Wait for the Big Wins For most of us, that's a problem, because we keep waiting for the huge wins in our life to acknowledge our progress. We think that we can only feel successful on the days when something big happens like a graduation, a promotion, or a project completion. And so the feelings of success are few and far between. (You will still feel the rush of graduating only a handful of times in your life, for example, even … [Read more...]
Act a Little Happier than You Feel
A quick tip you won't find in most business books: Act a little happier than you feel. Whether you are talking to a client or prospect, sending an email to your boss, or attending a networking event, make your disposition a little cheerier than you normally would. Smile a little more, be a little more animated, and when someone asks you how you're doing, say "Great! Thanks for asking." Attitude Has Impact Two things I want to point out. I'm saying act a little happier. I'm not saying that you should be inauthentic and Pollyannaish. But if you are having a bad day, it doesn't mean you have to be completely gloomy and whiny. How … [Read more...]
Non-Linear Growth for Entrepreneurs
There's a question that comes up a lot when working with clients who are struggling to build their businesses. What causes entrepreneurs to fail? Even new business owners who are doing well often feel that they are close to the edge of insolvency. They get frustrated by how quickly (or rather, how slowly) their businesses are growing. Obviously, starting and growing a new enterprise is challenging, or everyone would be doing it. By where does that challenge come from? Aside from the many logistical obstacles (capital, training, economic viability, etc.), one of the main struggles is psychological. This is an area that most new … [Read more...]