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I’ve been writing books since I was 21. But, I didn’t find my true author’s voice until I was about 25. It comes with the territory. Whether you’re a rock star, a artist or a business owner, you’ve got to “get the shanks out.” LESSON LEARNED: be willing to suck in the beginning. Dare to do it badly. Seek progress, not perfection. Spend some time paying (or playing) your…

1. Hang with it. Keep daily appointments with yourself. Clear it. Set aside time to just think. Encourage your mind to get better by doing creativity exercises. 2. Feed it. Read more books; watch less TV. Go for more walks. Exercise rhythmically for 30 minutes a day to flood it with endorphins and expand its idea-generating prowess. Have regular conversations with super-smart, creative people. 3. Listen to it. Figure…

Today is day 2,500! Man, that’s almost seven years. Wow, what a ride it’s been so far! Can’t wait to see what the next 2,500 days brings! Anyway, I’ve been saving this post for just the right occasion… * * * * Last night I asked my friend Maria, “What was the major contributor to your success?” She told me that when she married a man from a different…

Yes, all that positive attitude stuff is TOTALLY corny. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. I say: Believe in whatever makes you more focused. Believe in whatever makes you more motivated. Believe in whatever makes you more productive. Because if you have a negative attitude, all the nametags in the world won’t make you more approachable. Which means: It’s about your thinking. It’s about your questions. It’s about…

Companies who GET talked about GET business. That’s why you need to differentiate with remarkable service. See, in a market with infinite choices, the only thing that stands out in customers’ minds … is something cool. Something unexpected. Something worth talking about. Because (unfortunately) … nobody notices normal. SO, HERE’S THE KEY: seek to create insistent – not just satisfied or loyal – customers for life. One suggestion is…

The major problem with your website is that it’s an earthworm. It only reaches out in one direction. You need to be more like an octopus. Reaching out in multiple directions. I believe this is the single biggest online mistake made by businesspeople today. They have a web-SITE … when what they really need a web-PRESENCE. Consider these three C-trends: COMPETITION. The web is no longer the property of…

My kitchen sink clogged up the other day. No problem, I thought. I’ll just call a local plumber to help me out. Hopped onto Google. Typed in St. Louis Plumbers. And I was presented with several excellent options. The first hit was a plumbing company located a few miles from my house. Naturally, I called them first. And nobody picked up. So I tried the next hit on Google….

Let’s talk about freedom. BUSINESS freedom. That’s what entrepreneurs want more of, right? Right. JUST REMEMBER: business freedom is something that needs to be EARNED. Here’s a list of eight ways to do it: Freedom comes from FOCUS. If you’ve carved out a niche, a narrow slice of the market, you will earn the freedom to charge a premium and be selective about your client base. THE KEY TO…

A few months ago I was giving a speech to a group of hotel employees in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I told them about the first day I started wearing a nametag (November 2, 2000)… On that day, I exited an on-campus seminar and noticed everyone throwing their nametags away. So, I decided to leave mine on, just as an experiment. And for ONE day, the response was so…

DID YOU KNOW… That Einstein’s Theory of Relativity sat in his mind (and his notebook) for ten years before it saw the light of day? DID YOU KNOW… That Marcian Hoff’s Intel processor took about eighteen years to come to fruition? DID YOU KNOW… That Gordon Gould, the inventor of the laser, waited twenty-seven years before collecting ANY royalties on his patent? DID YOU KNOW… That Bob Gundlach’s groundbreaking…