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Entrepreneurs are notorious for being too close to themselves. Too close to the business, too close to the product and too close to their own perspective. And the problem is, when they’re in too deep, inhaling their own fumes, they start seeing things that aren’t really there. Like a mental magic trick, they create optical illusions that obscure the truth and delay the execution process. I remember writing a…

Hiring ourselves has never been easier. Thanks to accessibility, democratization and instantaneity of the web, artists and entrepreneurs now have the ability circumvent many of the power structures that used to prohibit us from executing, sharing, promoting and selling our work. If we want to write a manual, start a podcast, create a blog, host a television show, curate a collaborative novel, open an online art gallery or launch…

The decision to play a bigger game changes us. First, it modifies what matters. We let go of what kept us small. We surrender what kept us comfortable. We walk away from what we assumed was important. And we blow up what would otherwise box us in. Next, it shifts our posture. We start to operate from a possiblitarian mentality. We engage the muscle of yes. We give ourselves…

Toto didn’t just pull the curtains apart. He pulled our fears apart. He proved that when the voice doesn’t scare us, when the reputation doesn’t intimidate us and when the smoke doesn’t dissuade us, everything changes. All we have to do is question everything. To spot the ideas that are too convenient to be killed, and let the creative, curious part of ourselves take a risk and pay attention…

If the first step in selling is stopping the eye, the first step in service is meeting it. When I walk up to the counter to put in my order, you don’t have to read my mind. You don’t have to perform a miracle. I just need you to care. Instead of being completely preoccupied with yourself, stop using your phone, stop surfing the web, stop talking to your…

When it comes to your prospects, information is invaluable. If you can find out who they are, what they read, where they work, what they do, how they think, what’s important to them and how to reach them, you’re off to an awesome sales start. In light of the digital revolution, however, there’s another piece of information that might be even more valuable than any of those: What they’re…

Everybody has an agenda. Even if we say we don’t, that’s still an agenda. But there’s no reason to feel guilty about that. If we want something, there’s no shame in making some noise, letting whoever has it know that we want it, and respectfully reminding them why we deserve it. When we start our phone calls or emails with, “Everybody has an agenda, and here’s mine,” we still…

Not unlike travel agencies, record stores, post offices, encyclopedias, newspapers, movie rentals, yellow pages, television, bill paying, book publishing, photography, pornography, video games, terrestrial radio, real estate and journalism, there’s no reason to think your industry won’t be completely flipped on its head too. But if you help the industry make contact with the future, if you skate to the where the puck is going to be, you might…

1. Good brands are bought, but great brands are joined. Why do you think your employees join yours? We’ve created a culture of complete honesty, friendship and leading with love. We’re never unkind, my door is never closed and I have never walked in the office in a bad mood. That’s deeply unfair to my colleagues. We do whatever it takes to make each other as happy as possible. There’s…

The draw of social media is automatic listenership. Which makes sense, considering people are lonely and want to be listened to. And when they can scratch that itch for free, instantly and everywhere, it’s hard to resist. But the number of followers, friends and subscribers you have doesn’t necessarily mean people are listening. This calls for a heroic dose of humility. Do people actually care about your feelings, or…