Entries from December 2007 ↓

Today at the New Year’s edition of MyTropicalEscape we have the fourth installment of the weekly ‘Ten Questions With’ interview series and I am pleased to have the amazingly talented Yaro Starak, of Entrepreneur’s Journey, as my guest. If you missed the first three installments in this series you might also find my interviews with Leo Babauta, Cameron Low, and Skellie interesting.

Yaro Starak is an intelligent, creative, and tireless entrepreneur who runs the incredibly successful BlogMastermind.com mentoring program, which is aimed at those interested in Internet business and Blogging. Recently, Yaro sold one of his websites, Betteredit.com for a reported six figures while also trying to purchase a new home and buy a car. After reading the interview if you would like to learn a little more about what he is about then I strongly recommend that you grab his free report - The Blog Profits Blueprint, where he outlines the most important points about how to make money from blogging. You can download it from http://www.blogmastermind.com/blueprint/.

1. As someone who coaches and trains people, do you think successful entrepreneurs are created (business school), born (right out the womb), or conditioned (life circumstances)? Other than fear, what do you think holds most people back from becoming an entrepreneur?

Continue reading →

If I had a quarter for every time I heard the statement, “You Can’t Do That“…well I would still be stuck in the same dead end job packing boxes in a warehouse.

Photo by Luciano Meirelles

When I first decided to start chasing personal freedom back in the 1990’s (and including all the way up to today) I distinctly remember all of the typical responses that people would have when I explained what I was planning to do.

However, one response in particular stands out. Below I have listed abbreviated versions of conversations so you can get the gist of what I think a lot of people face when they decide to pursue a path that is slightly different than the norm.

Here is how the discussions have typically gone:

I am going to go back to school and finish off my degree - YOU CAN”T DO THAT

I am going to quit my job and go to South America for three months of independent travel - YOU CAN’T DO THAT

I am going to join the Peace Corps and volunteer in Papua New Guinea for two years - YOU CAN’T DO THAT

I am going to get a Masters degree and finish in one year - YOU CAN’T DO THAT

I am going to move to the South Pacific and get a job - YOU CAN’T DO THAT

I am going to leave the South Pacific and get a job in the Caribbean - YOU CAN’T DO THAT.

I am going to quit my job and open my own business - YOU CAN’T DO THAT

* Coming up for 2008 - I am hoping to start a successful blog network - YOU CAN’T DO THAT - you don’t think so huh?

My 2008 Mission Statement, pretty simple - I will continue to quiet the detractors and non-believers!!

What is your 2008 mission statement? Are you interested in changing jobs, traveling the globe, owning your own business, or starting your own website? How do you quiet your detractors?

Editor’s note: speaking of someone who has quieted his detractors, tomorrow I will be posting my ‘Ten Questions With’ interview with Yaro Starak of Entrepreneurs-Journey.

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Did you read any inspiring, interesting, or motivating posts during this last week of 2007?

We have been pretty busy with the holidays so I did not have that much time to read as I much as I like to. However, there were a couple of gems that I think you will find worthwhile:

Seth’s Blog - Post Only Two Years Left - The always ingenious Seth Godin asks us, “Why not be great?”

IttyBiz - Post Brand Vs. Image: What’s The Difference, Anyway? - Naomi writes a fantastic description on the differences between brand and image, and she includes a good dose of humor, too.

Jarkko Laine - Post 303 Insanely Interesting Links From 2007 - Jarkko provides a tremendous list of 303 links to posts that he thinks you might enjoy. This must have been a serious undertaking.

Tim Ferris - Post New Year, New You: How to Travel the World with in 2008 - Tim reprints and discusses a chapter from Dan Clement’s book, Escape 101.

Brian Clark - Post The Best of CopyBlogger 2007 - Brian lists some of his most popular articles for the year.

If I have missed any must read articles please list them in the comments.

The other day I just happened to be thumbing through a magazine that had an article on women’s rights and female mutilation. The article had one quote that really caught my attention, it stated, “Bearing the pains of mutilation is believed to toughen girls for childbirth and wife-beating.” Truly, an almost unfathomable thought.

During my life I have had the very good fortune of being able to travel to a lot of countries and sample completely different cultures. Extended periods of travel, or even your standard yearly vacations, are a tremendous way to broaden your horizons and increase your global knowledge.

However, one sad detail of world travel that has always amazed me are the hardships that many women (on a global scale) face on a day to day basis. In many countries women are the primary caregivers, the house cleaners, the cooks, the water fetchers, and the garden tenders. For most of us in the western world I think we would crumble under the weight of their duties.

Life is hard and it can be a struggle to survive everyday.

As stated above, life can be difficult, and if you include domestic violence or other forms of abuse, such as being treated like a third class citizen, then living can almost be unbearable.

According to Amnesty International, “Women and girls suffer disproportionately from violence - both in peace and in war, at the hands of the state, the community and the family.” Currently Amnesty International has a program aimed at Stopping Violence Against Women which focuses on 5 key areas to help empower the global improvement of women’s lives. The key components are as follows:

• Pushes for the implementation of existing laws that guarantee access to justice and services for women subjected to violence including rape and other forms of sexual violence
• Calls for new laws to be enacted that will protect women’s human rights
• Demands an end to laws that discriminate against women
• Urges the ending of violence against women perpetrated by a state and its agents
• Works to empower women

If you care about women’s rights please visit the Amnesty International website and support this organization.

The year 2007 is just about done and in the books, which means we will all get to start over in 2008 with a clean slate and a new set of goals. This is truly fantastic because a lot of times goals can be like fresh produce! For the first couple of days they are all sweet smelling and perfect, with no flaws or blemishes. But, as time moves on the fruit (like some goals) becomes spoiled and eventually goes rotten. Only to be thrown in the dumpster, or tossed in the trash.

image source: twenty5pics

How many plans have you tossed in the trash?

I read some really great articles this year about ‘how to achieve success’ and almost every author stated that you have to create a viable and executable plan. However, most did not elaborate on what constitutes a good plan, so I am going to describe my general planning process here.

Really, this is the next evolution in my continuing series of articles as you work to seek personal freedom and remove yourself from a negative situation.

For some, a viable plan needs to be an actual written set of suggested activities with definable dates, milestones, and a predetermined project life cycle. While I do agree with this technique I have never really written down my plans, instead I prefer to visualize success.

Using visualization as a tool for achieving successful plan

Whether I am looking to make a life change (like escaping the cubicle ), improve my blog, or even lose some weight I believe that I have more success if I concentrate my energy on visualizing the steps that are required to see my plans through to fruition.

As opposed to the standard recommendation of writing down every minute detail. Specifically, I find if I can navigate the plan visually in my mind then I don’t necessarily need to have all of the steps to success written down, which can also lead to great flexibility.

In most cases, plans are long term beasts and not short term animals . Successful completion of plans, on any level, require:

• Hard work
• Persistence
• Dedication

Here is my blueprint for a successful plan.

When I was just about ready to complete my term of service in the Peace Corps I realized that if I did not acquire appropriate technical skills I would most likely suffer in the job market when it came time to look for employment. Listed below is my typical ‘plan creating process’ which should go hand in hand with the three items listed above.

Blueprint for planning success STEP 1: Define your problem
You cannot create a viable plan if you have not accurately defined your problem. For me, it was a lack of technical skills, but for others, especially during this time of year, it might be weight loss, or to quit a dead end job.

Once I defined the problem it was easy for me to create the goal, which when completed would allow me to overcome my technical shortcomings.

Blueprint for planning success STEP 2: Identify your goal
With my problem now defined it was rather easy to create the goal. To overcome my technical deficiency I decided to pursue a Masters degree in a technical field (Geographic Information Systems) while undertaking studies in an academic field (Geography and International Development) that I would be passionate about.

If you prefer the weight loss example here is where you would determine how many pounds (or kilos) you would like to lose (e.g. 50 pounds).

Blueprint for planning success STEP 3: Formulate the process
For me, once I have a problem and a goal identified I begin to formulate the processes and steps that will be required for me to achieve success. In the case of graduate school (for the Masters degree) I started to analyze whether my grades were good enough for acceptance, if I needed to take any standardized tests, and how much this was going to cost me (i.e. financial analysis)?

If you are following the weight loss example now is when you would start thinking about how you will reduce caloric intake and what type of exercise routine you might enjoy.

Blueprint for planning success STEP 4: Take action
OK - After you have defined your problem, identified your goal, and formulated your process, it is now time to take action . Now was the time when I started applying to graduate schools, attending interviews, and of course, getting accepted into various programs.

As far as weight loss plan and goal is concerned, now is the time to make the commitment and get out there and exercise more and eat less (the only true way to lose weight!).

Have I missed anything? What do you do to ensure that a plan is completed successfully?

I just happened to catch this story ‘ Casual blogging not just lunch money now ‘ while checking my email earlier today. The story focuses on Zach Brooks, of Midtownlunch.com, who is earning about $1000 a month from his blog. I often wonder how people like Maki, from DoshDosh, and Darren Rowse, of ProBlogger, feel about these kind of hokey, made for the media stories…?

The article does list some general stats from 2006:

“According to 2006 survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 39 percent of Internet users, or about 57 million American adults, said they read blogs, up from 27 percent in 2004, or 32 million.

That doesn’t mean bloggers are suddenly flush with money. For every blogger earning a decent side income like Brooks, countless others will never earn a cent.

But with the right mix of compelling content and exposure, a blog can draw a dedicated following, making advertising a low-hanging fruit.”

But, other than that it does not really offer any viable information…

What do you think about the Midtown Lunch Yahoo article?

Editors note: The following people have won a prize from last weeks comment contest in the Skellie interview: Al, Karen, Lid, and Tina. Please email me so we can arrange the mailing of the prizes. Additionally, as today is Christmas the Yaro Starak interview will run next week. Today I will give a little ‘Ten Questions With’ recap.

Someone recently emailed me and asked what inspired me to create the ‘Ten Questions With’ interview series?

Because today is Christmas I thought that I would give a little recap of how the series came to be, and provide some information on the past three interviews with Cameron Low of NorthxEast, Leo Babauta of Zen Habits, and Skellie of Skelliewag.org.

Why ten questions?

Before I started seeking out interviewees, I thought about this quite a bit. Even though I have no quantifiable evidence Ifelt ten questions would be the perfect amount of inquiries. I knew that I could get some great information with only five questions but with ten I can throw in some unique questions that really help me (and the readers) get to know the interview subjects on another level.

Where did the ‘Ten Questions With’ idea come from?

When I first started my site I had no idea that there were so many talented, creative, intelligent people writing online. Like most, I assumed the typical blog was focused on discussing the author’s everyday life. Boy, was I wrong! Soon I discovered, and started reading, many blogs that are authored by all kinds of successful people from all over the world.

So, I thought it would be great if I had the chance to go out and have a beer with these people what would l like to ask them to discern how they became who they are as entrepreneurs, influential marketers, motivators, and creative writers. Hence, the idea for the series was born.

Has anyone turned down an interview request?

Surprisingly, I have had tremendous success with respect to people saying yes, and agreeing to be interviewed. I feel quite fortunate and I owe all of the people who agree to answer the ten questions a HUGE debt of gratitude.

When asking people for their time, of course not everyone can commit, so yes, I have been turned down. But, instead of dwelling on the negative I even wrote a post about how to handle rejection with grace and dignity. Also, I try to see my request for the interview from their point of view. Whether we like to admit it, or not, sometimes when you are busy you have to ask yourself, what value can this interview add to my life, or projects? For some, they do not see the value and that’s okay. I just move on to the next person :)

Fortunately, I have some amazing people coming up in the series to include; Yaro Starak, Darren Rowse, Michael Martin, and many others that you will just have to check back for. Because it is the New Year I am also going to list some people that I would really like to interview to see if I can get some assistance from the readers. The people are (in no particular order) Brian Clark from CopyBlogger, Muhammad Saleem, Lance Armstrong, Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, Aisha Bain, and Ishmael Beah. Please let me know if you have other bloggers, entrepreneurs, or interesting people that you would like to see interviewed.

I would like to thank my first three guests again, and if you missed any of the first three interviews you can view them here; Cameron Low, Leo Babauta, and Skellie.

Do you let people know that they matter?

I am not usually prone to post about such topics but recently I was the recipient of an amazingly thoughtful gift that while not expensive, really made me feel like someone cared - “that I mattered.”

the gift that inspired this post!

Then I realized, do we spend enough time letting people, even strangers, know that they matter? Kindness is FREE, it doesn’t cost a penny.

Well, being a firm believer in the saying, “it starts with one person to make the change” here are ten simple ways to show people that they matter as we head into the New Year.

This is the list that I have come up with so far as I strive to be a better person in 2008:

*Smile
Smiles cost absolutely nothing and there is a good chance you might just brighten someone’s day and change their whole outlook.

*Do a random act of kindness
I am constantly amazed at how many people will not even hold the door open for folks entering the same building. A random act of kindness does not have to be a huge gesture, but even letting someone cross the street, or giving way to an oncoming car, can have an impact.

*Listen
Listening is a great way to let people know that they matter. If someone comes to you seeking your input on an issue, don’t dismiss them and hope that they will go bother someone else. Have a little patience and take the time to truly listen.

*Help someone who is less fortunate than you.
The people of the world are more productive and wealthy than ever before. However, there are an amazing amount of global citizens who are having a very difficult time trying to survive from day to day. If you have the chance, even if it is in your hometown, go ahead and help a person (or family) who might not have as much as you.

*Give someone a chance
I know it is a big step but if you know of an individual, or even have an acquaintance, that has been trying to become your friend, or get to know you better, then go ahead and give them a chance. You never know, they might become your best friend.

*Assist a neighbor
In this day and age, at least in the U.S. many of us don’t even know our neighbors. I wonder if this is true for all of the world? Next time you see your neighbor, especially if they are a senior citizen, give them a hand or offer to carry in their groceries.

*Respond to an email
With respect to the interview series that I am currently running, I have to send many emails, whether it is an initial inquiry or a follow up to determine if someone will participate. If you receive emails (from anyone) take a few minutes out of your busy schedule to reply. Or, better yet, send an unsolicited email to an old friend, or someone who posted something that made you think, or smile.

*Don’t be judgmental
I realize that this can be difficult at times, and we all have preconceived notions when dealing with people, however, make an effort not to judge the people that you come into contact with and I am sure many will appreciate your efforts.

*Give a simple gift
Without a doubt, the best gifts are free. To let someone know that they matter try giving a simple gift (a note, a picture, etc).

*Be nice
I cannot quantify this with any scientific proof, but I would have to believe that it takes far less energy to be nice to people than it does to be mean or angry towards them. So, the next time you have the opportunity be nice to someone and I am sure it will come back to you many times over.

What are your suggestions to let someone know that they matter?

Happy Holidays!! And remember kindness doesn’t cost a penny :)