Mon, 5 May 2008 For this week's podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing Gary Schoeniger, founder of the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative.
Gary has a really interesting story -- from dead broke desperate handyman to successful entrepreneur. Over the last 15 years, he has interviewed hundreds of successful
entrepreneurs to discover which skills are critical for starting and
running a business. Many are not what you think. My favorite advice from the interview:
I like that Gary's views make me think. I have been in "do what you love (and work and work and work and work) and the money will follow" mode for so long that the "problem/solution" model was very intriguing. Comments[1] |
Mon, 14 April 2008
My friend Alexandra Levit just wrote a book called "How'd You Score That Gig? A Guide to the Coolest Jobs- and How to Get Them."
Her book bubbled up from lots of conversations with friends at social
gatherings where inevitably one person would describe a cool job that
no one had heard of.Despite what you may think of my opinion based on my blog's name, there are certainly times and places for a "job," rather than striking out on your own. If you have to be your own venture capitalist for awhile, you might as well do it in an interesting profession! The more time that goes on, the more I see that feelings of liberation erupt from your own positive thoughts and beliefs, no matter your work configuration. I interviewed Alexandra for my podcast where we discussed not just the contents of her new book, but also what it is like to be a successful self-employed writer. She gives some tips for choosing book topics that are not just interesting to write, but that may pique the interest of publishers. Comments[2] |
Tue, 11 March 2008 Sometimes I feel a bit schizophrenic, on one hand encouraging people to not stress so much about leaving their corporate job to start a business, and on the other hand feeling extremely uncomfortable about all the "start a business in 30 days in your bathrobe" nonsense that permeates the internet. Sparked by a blog post my good friend and fellow entrepreneur coach Philippa Kennealy wrote called Can you maintain your income as an entrepreneurial physician? , I invited Philippa as a guest for this week's podcast on realistic expectations for making money in your startup business. Like anything in life, you will have people at every end of the spectrum, some who get lucky making tons on money in their first year, and others who take a decade to make serious cash. In this 38-minute interview, I talk to Philippa about:
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Tue, 26 February 2008 If you want to grow as a human being, you could climb really tall mountains. Or run marathons. Or study the great written works. Or study yoga in an ashram. Or ... you could put your entire livelihood at risk and become an entrepreneur. I don't think running a business is for everyone. But I do think that it is the best way on the planet to learn about yourself. In this episode, I list 5 reasons why I feel so strongly about this. Listen in to see if you agree or disagree, then share your opinion with me at the blog! www.escapefromcubiclenation.com Comments[0] |
Mon, 20 August 2007 You may notice that the closer you get to your right life and business, the more frequently coincidence, synchronicity and serendipity occur. Once thought the purvey of mystics and dreamers, more and more business people are embracing insight and intuition as a critical business skill.
In this episode, I share:
Technical note: This is the first podcast I am recording with my new iMac, and I saved the audio file in a different format than usual. Let me know if you have problems listening by leaving a comment here, and I will make sure to address it. Thanks! Comments[9] |
Tue, 17 July 2007 Even the most optimistic and motivated aspiring entrepreneur will reach a point where frustration or anxiety grinds progress to a halt. This is otherwise known as "hitting the wall."It can happen when doing things you hate such as:
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Tue, 3 July 2007 It is often tricky to know when it is safe to call yourself an expert in your field. If you have done any research in marketing and PR, you know the benefits of an "expert" designation: free press and the trust and credibility of potential customers, leading to more sales.But it can feel a bit presumptuous to call yourself an expert, right? This episode provides questions you can ask yourself to test your expertise, which go beyond the traditional formula of years of experience + number of academic degrees + number of books written = level of expertise. Please share your thoughts about when it is safe to call yourself an expert on the blog at www.escapefromcubiclenation.com. Comments[3] |
Mon, 18 June 2007 I was stunned and awed this weekend when I read a great book on creative blocks called The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. Best known as a novelist of books such as The Legend of Bagger Vance, Gates of Fire, Tides of War, and The Last of the Amazons, Pressfield writes a short but exquisite analysis of the source, purpose and solution to creative blocks. It was published in 2002, but is a timeless classic for anyone who feels blocked from starting anything.I chose a few key concepts to explore, including:
"Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work. It will perjure, fabricate, falsify; seduce, bully, cajole. Resistance is protean. It will assume any form, if that's what it takes to deceive you. It will reason with you like a lawyer or jam a nine-millimeter in your face like a stickup man. Resistance has no conscience. It will pledge anything to get a deal, then double-cross you as soon as your back is turned. If you take Resistance at its word, you deserve everything you get. Resistance is always lying, and always full of shit." I am very curious what your experience has been with creative blocks, and what you have done to move past them. Please share at the blog! www.escapefromcubiclenation.com P.S. Yes, you heard a little bit of 2-year old screaming in the back of this episode ... I didn't have the time to re-do or edit the recording, so forgive my imperfection as a sign of DO-ING to slay the dragon. :) Comments[1] |
Tue, 5 June 2007 People are drawn to entrepreneurship for a variety of reasons including work/life flexibility, the opportunity to contribute something meaningful to the world, the chance to make a lot of money or the platform to get known as an expert in your field.Regardless of your intentions, chances are you want to make money at what you do, and use the benefits of press and publicity to market your efforts. In my shorthand, I call this getting rich and famous, even if in your humble definition this means being able to pay your light bill on time and getting a one-line mention in your local paper. Many first-time entrepreneurs struggle to balance the effort it takes to get rich with the effort it takes to get famous. So in this podcast, I share 5 tips including:
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Mon, 21 May 2007 A blog reader recently wrote an email and shared his frustration at being stuck in a corporate job and hating it, but not knowing how to begin a new business in a new field.To answer this question, I outlined a number of steps you can take to go from vague and fuzzy idea to concrete business concept, highlighted here:
Please share your thoughts on this topic, and what has worked, or not worked, in your own businesses at www.escapefromcubiclenation.com. Comments[0] |

For this week's podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing
My friend Alexandra Levit just wrote a book called "
You may notice that the closer you get to your right life and business, the more frequently coincidence, synchronicity and serendipity occur. Once thought the purvey of mystics and dreamers, more and more business people are embracing insight and intuition as a critical business skill.
In this episode, I share:
Even the most optimistic and motivated aspiring entrepreneur will reach a point where frustration or anxiety grinds progress to a halt. This is otherwise known as "hitting the wall."
It is often tricky to know when it is safe to call yourself an expert in your field. If you have done any research in marketing and PR, you know the benefits of an "expert" designation: free press and the trust and credibility of potential customers, leading to more sales.
I was stunned and awed this weekend when I read a great book on creative blocks called
People are drawn to entrepreneurship for a variety of reasons including work/life flexibility, the opportunity to contribute something meaningful to the world, the chance to make a lot of money or the platform to get known as an expert in your field.
A blog reader recently wrote an email and shared his frustration at being stuck in a corporate job and hating it, but not knowing how to begin a new business in a new field.