“Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.”
Salvador Dali
Some days writing is effortless, fun and comes like breathing, easy and without much effort.
Other days writing can be really hard. It’s like climbing the tallest mountain with no sight of the top and brutal weather beating up every inch of your soul.
We live and breathe technology. Smart phones, dumb text messages, notebooks, PDFs, videos, virtual meetings, cloud computing and all the "apps for that".
All this stuff has certainly added convenience to our lives, however, its also created a society of gadget addicts. And Heaven forbid, there is no Internet connection for 10 minutes! Someone call 911 and order me a respirator. IT withdrawals are worse than needing a crack fix.
Technology has had a profound impact on how we function and communicate.
This new world order has also zapped the tangible factor in many business connections. The days of touch, hold in your hand marketing and ink on your fingers are gone. We are now a digital domicile. A planet of wifi, plugs, chargers and adapters.
Being stumped is an essential part of the creative process. Step beyond discouragement. For the past 6 months, I've been thinking about my next book. I want to travel more globally, and I want to [...]
Creativity is the fuel for all progress in life and business. And the good news, CREATIVITY is within everyone's reach. While some people are born with a stronger creative twist to their thinking, creativity is a skill that can be learned.
Developing a deeper creative mind is one of my favorite passions in life. I'm always looking for new resources and thought leaders that can help me produce more creative juice so I can enjoy my journey and achieve my goals.
Here are three books on the subject of creative thinking and enhancement methods that have helped me be more creative thus adding more value to what I offer the world, my clients, followers and friends.
If you are looking to boost your creative power, I highly-recommend you check these out.
Recently I've been forgetting things. Last Friday I headed to Chicago. When I got to the ticket counter at the airport I had a flash, did I remember to pack my Apple power cord for my laptop?
No, I didn't. And because I've bought so many of those silly $100 replacement cables and lost them too, I was not about to hit the road without it. So I quickly phoned up my driver to see if he could run back to my place, get it and bring it to me before my flight left. Like a champ, he said no problem.
So how does a list-obsessed traveler like me forget stuff like this? By moving too fast.
This past weekend I attended the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago. This show hosts over 100,000 attendees from over 100 countries.
The mix included suppliers, restaurateurs, the media and entrepreneurs, like myself, hoping to tap into this lucrative 600 billion market. For the past year I've been building restaurantbrandingroadmap, an e-learning product, a web site and business that serves up marketing and branding help to this niche market of independent restaurateurs. I hope to launch the first product within the next 60 days. To date I have built a membership model website and a robust blog.
I asked Lauren where her mom was? She explained her mom, her grandmother and 111 people were killed in the United Flight #232 plane crash 23 years ago. I had never met anyone who lost friends or family in a commercial plane crash, so I was curious and inquired more. Lauren, where were you? She replied, "I was there too. I was one of the survivors. I was thrown from the plane and ended up in a corn field".
Lauren was 6 at the time. After being in a coma for nearly a month she was given a second chance to live.
This weekend a friend of mine shared an article about how Tampa Bay is trying to figure out their brand message as they near the city's hosting of the Republican National Convention in August. The event will attract millions of eye balls, thousands of delegates and at least 15,000 members of the media.
Reading the article not only wore me out, but it brought back memories of projects I've worked on that had the same odor—branding by committee.
Sure consensus is important, doing collaborative research is key and hearing out many perspectives, that's part of the process, but winning brands are created when one leader steps up, makes hard decisions and champions the movement. This is why we never see statues of committees in our parks or public spaces.
Being a successful entrepreneur is no candy-coated, sweet-cake walk. It's often more like a grueling marathon. If it were an easy ride the unemployment rate would be less, fewer people would be upset about capitalism and they wouldn't occupy streets in America being the 99% frustrated over the economy. Instead they'd be focused on finding 99 solutions to grow their business. Nothing against the protest, that's a great American freedom, it just seems like no mission, no message, no plan.
We all make choices and if you've made the choice to be a successful entrepreneur and love life with all its ups and downs, do read on.
Entrepreneurship is a highly challenging game. To win you've got to be fit and possess a sustainable, sharp, entrepreneurial competitive edge to thrive.
Here are 5 tips that have made a difference in my journey.