The Practice of Integrity and Self-Deception
January 31, 2007
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Jane May at Career Ramblings, wrote a curious post the other day titled “The Secret of Success“, before you dismiss it out of hand, she quoted myself and Steve Pavlina. For a young lady, Jane exhibits wisdom beyond her years.
Not because she quoted me, rather, there is insight in her writing. I especially like this quote:
But there is something wrong with getting by, wanting something more and not doing anything about it. When talent meets desire and hard work, anything is possible.
Jane cites Steve’s assertion that both hard work and working hard are required:
Why challenging work? Because challenging work, when intelligently chosen, pays off. It’s the work that people of lesser character will avoid. And if you infer that I’m saying people who avoid challenging work have a character flaw, you’re right… and a serious one at that. If you avoid challenging work, you avoid doing what it takes to succeed.
Task Avoidance Reveals Integrity Issues
Really? Integrity?
Integrity is largely misunderstood in North American society. Integrity is not something you do for others but something you do for yourself.
Integrity is that small voice within you that is nagging you to do that task you have ben putting off. It is that tension and anxiety you feel, knowing you need to pay attention to something you are avoiding. Behind those feelings and nagging thoughts is your ‘integrity compass’.
Your compass is what is pulling and urging you to get moving, to act. All to often we ignore the ‘itch’ and encouragement to be responsible and maintain our integrity.
I agree with Steve’s assertion that it is a character flaw when we ignore work when we know we need to act and do not.
“That is where we sacrifice our future - on the alter of the immediate, aka self-deception.” - Greg Balanko-Dickson
Powerful Planning Made Simple
January 31, 2007
Being a bit of a planning geek, you know I love it when someone takes a complex subject and simplifies it. Well this young man, Emmanuel Oluwatosin, provides excellent points on planning but also on managing a business. Make sure to check out his short and insightful post.
Develop a plan in clear detail and prepare in earnest. Plan the action you must take to attain the goals. While the effort required to reach each sub-goal should be great enough to challenge you, it should not be so great or unreasonable as to discourage you. Do not plan to reach too many goals all at one time. Establish priorities. Clarify exactly what your goal is and set a deadline for each milestone. Acquire critical knowledge and skills. Identify the possible obstacles and difficulties. Via Emmanuel Oluwatosin
My only caution is to make sure you do not just skim the article, take time to stop and think about each paragraph. Then decide what changes you want to make, note them down, and then take action.
Hat tip to Ben from the Carnival of the Entrepreneurs (8th Edition) for including Emmanuel Oluwatosin in this edition. Good pick. Someday I will have to write and submit an article.
Is Greg a Cranky Business Geek? Taking On Business Urban Myths
January 31, 2007
I was listening to a best selling audio book yesterday “Success Built to Last” and I was enjoying the book when the authored states that 9 in 10 businesses fail.
If you have read my blog for any length of time you know that that statistic is blatantly false. In fact it is an urban myth. In fact, I have taken on the Wall Street Journal in “Get Your Facts Straight WSJ Startup Journal” and in “Its Time to Stop Surviving and Focus on Thriving“.
Inaccurate Facts Show You Do Not Know What You Are Talking About
It really hacks me off when people misrepresent the risk of starting a business. The other question that begs to be asked is, “If certain facts of a book are inaccurate how can you trust other statements an author makes?”
Gosh, the reason we buy non-fiction books is because (hopefully) the author has done his/her homework. Why should we have to independently verify and check the authors other statements.
I have stopped reading the book out of principle and have lost trust in the author.
Have I thrown the baby out with the bath water?
Am I overreacting? What is your opinion?
Question of the Day - Business is Easy, Myth or Fact?
January 30, 2007
“The secret of making something work in your lives is, first of all, the deep desire to make it work: then the faith and belief that it can work: then to hold that clear definite vision in your consciousness and see it working out step by step, without one thought of doubt or disbelief.” - Eileen Caddy, writer
There are many self-help guru’s and motivational speakers that wil tell you formula this, manifest that, and then you will enjoy overnight success.
Horse pucky!
Business is hard work. You work hard, make some headway start to feel like you are starting to figure it out, and go to bed. You wake up in the morning and are greeted by more, work.
You Must Believe
Without knowing why you are in business the hard work will drag you down and beat you. On the otherhand, when you are connected with who you are and your business is an simply an extention that - it is effortless, easy, fun, and fulfilling.
Have you found your bliss? Keep looking until you find it. You will know when you have found it, because you will feel like you are walking on air.
If you have found your bliss you are most fortunate, go and share it with the world.
Can and do we manifest our desires? All, I know for sure is that the more diligent, passionate, and connected I am with my life purpose - the more I manifest. So called, overnight success is preceeded by years, even decades of hard work. Do not faint, loose hope, or quit. Press on.
Remember what AnnLanders had to say, “Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work so most people don’t recognize them.”
Diligence
January 30, 2007
A short video I created about diligence in business.
More business related podcast’s and video’s can be seen and heard at Daily Thoughts for Business.
Diligence
January 30, 2007
Dad, when we were running, it felt like I wasn’t disabled anymore.
January 29, 2007
Via Steve Farber and Strongest Dad in the World: KarmaTube is this compelling and inspiring story of a father and son team. It will make your day and make you proud to be a father. It just blows my mind…
He’s pushed his disabled son’s wheelchair through 85 marathons. He’s also towed Rick in a dinghy, swimming the 2.4 miles before pedaling with his son in a seat on the handlebars as they completed stages of triathlons. It’s all part of this extraordinary father-son effort to transcend disability. When technology allowed Rick to type, he said, “Dad, when we were running, it felt like I wasn’t disabled anymore.” That sentence changed Dick Hoyt’s life. He and his son qualified for the Boston marathon in 1992, finishing 35 minutes shy of the world record. Then somebody suggested a triathlon. So far, they’ve done 212, not to mention four Ironman contests. Someone suggested Dick try racing on his own. “No way,” he says.
New Blog ROI Standards? Blended RSS Feeds and More
January 29, 2007
One by One Media reported that “Forrester releases their Blog ROI whitepaper–positive blog ROI exists” which came by way of Charlenes Blog and a post dated January 25th titled New ROI of blogging report from Forrester:
While blogging’s value can’t be measured precisely, marketers will find that calculating the ROI is easier than it looks. Following a three-step process, marketers can create a concrete picture of the key benefits, costs, and risks that blogging presents and understand how they are likely to impact business goals. Via New ROI of blogging report from Forrester
Tris Hussey mentions that we now have a good model to measure the effectiveness of social media.
Unlike “traditional” websites, a blog offers so many different inputs into the system that good models have taken a while to create. Looks like the model has been created and it makes good logical sense to me. Via One by One Media
I think this is a great starting point and I think worth some time to think about and discuss. What do you think about this chart?
Blended RSS Feeds and Other Community Tools
I just discovered how to create a blended RSS feed. Anyone using this? It creates a river of news feed from multiple RSS feeds. Ok, so river of news is not new, but I was reading over at Instabloke about his plans to use this blended feed to keep track of blogs he wants to read and comment on to build relationships.
The challenge is trying to keep up with all the feeds you have bookmarked, dialogue and write new posts on your blog and leave comments. I love how MyBlogLog works because it alows me to see who have come by my blog and allows me to check out their blog and build relationships.
I figure why not visit the people who are visiting me? With the FeedBlendr service I can read a river of news of my own creation. I will report back on my experinces. So far I am quite happy with MyBlogLog and The Good Blogs widgets.
Anyone got any suggestions or experience with FeedBlendr, MyBlogLog or The Good Blogs to share?
Question of the Day: Listeners Win
January 28, 2007
“Every man should periodically be compelled to listen to opinions which are infuriating to him. To hear nothing but what is pleasing to one is to make a pillow of the mind.” - St. John Ervine
Who is in control of a conversation the one speaking or the one listening?
The one listening because they are able to make judgements, draw conclusions, and form questions to lead a conversation. Listen more, talk less.
Other Listening Tips
- Listen Up Move Up, 12 Tips of Good and Poor Listeners.
- Improve Your Listening Skill, tips you can use to network more effectively that you can adopy quickly.
- Shh! Listen, Don’t Just Hear, six tips on how to listen more effectively.
- Communication Skills for Bloggers, tips on assertiveness and active listening.
- Three R’s of Influence, my top three tips to building rapport and trust.
Live Large!
Question of the Day: What do you believe?
January 28, 2007
“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” - Stephen A. Brennan, American basketball coach
We can not anticipate or expect that which we do not believe. Successful salespeople simply have a level of conviction, belief, and desire that fuels their expectations and builds their confidence.
What Others Say About Success and Belief
“I’m a big believer in growth. Life is not about achievement, it’s about learning and growth, and developing qualities like compassion, patience, perseverance, love, and joy, and so forth. And so if that is the case, then I think our goals should include something which stretches us.” - Jack Canfield
“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve._ Mary Kay Ash
“There are many qualities that make a great leader. But having strong beliefs, being able to stick with them through popular and unpopular times, is the most important characteristic of a great leader.” - Rudy Giulian
“I believe through learning and application of what you learn, you can solve any problem, overcome any obstacle and achieve any goal that you can set for yourself.” - Brian Tracy
What do you believe? What forms the foundation of your beliefs?
How much is what you believe based upon your own experience, ideas, or thoughts or based upon what others think?
If you would like to learn a process that will help you learn to become more internally focused, visit 7 Steps to Achieving the Results You Want.
Live Large!
The Demographic Double Dip
January 27, 2007
Do you use a Virtual Assistant? Do you need one?
I stumbled upon a website of a Virtual Assistant (VA) last week that caught my eye. Tonight, I was thinking about how easy it is to go into business and was reminded of a study that discovered that a small business could get started for $8,000.
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
Just because it is relatively cheap to get started in business does not translate in a good reason to start a business because depending on the size and behavior of your market it could be a really good time to start a business or a really bad time. It is all has to do with demographics and the birth rate.
I have been researching and thinking a lot lately about demographics. Reminding myself that I need to be coaching my clients to be looking at the demographic ‘curve’ to see if they are ahead or behind the curve - most importantly, which side of the curve they are on - the upside or the downside?
Looking at this demographics chart I see a problem, the baby boomers are getting older. From my experience, the people I saw using Virtual Assistants were baby boomers. They used them because many were not computer literate, did not know how to type, or were from the old school that an assistant was a necessity.
Is there still a market for Virtual Assistants?
I guess there must be, because when I searched Google I found 23,400,000 pages for Virtual Assistants. However, I am pretty sure their biggest market (baby boomers) is shrinking daily.
A baby boomer (born 1945-1964) turns 60 every eight (8) seconds, Gen X’ers (born 1965-1984) turns 40 every 9 seconds, and the Gen Y’ers (1985 +) turns 20 every 7 seconds. (Courtesy KGC Direct)
Surfing VA sites I noticed they they all looked like they were from the X generation (age 21-42 in 2007). My other observation was that many seemed to be drinking the same koolaid as they all had very similar content and everyone seemed to be in the ‘web site building business’ and one had a page where she referred to herself as a ‘coach’.
One was selling an book and another was offering to help you write ebooks. Back to the VA selling an ebook, she had the prescribed sales page with testimonials. When I checked out the websites of the people giving testimonials they were all VA’s. So I suppose that if one has an itch they all scratch it?
I realize I am coming down pretty hard on this helping profession but I felt so sad because I just could not imagine that they could all be making a go of it. At least not without learning some hard and expensive lessons.
Decision Time: Was I Going to Be Part of the Solution?
Looking at those sites reminded me of my own naive attempts at business when I did not know, what I did not know. The more I thought about it, the more I knew I needed to speak up and begin a dialogue.
The Demographic Double Dip
Here is the deal, the baby boomers are aging quickly and starting to retire in significant numbers and I do not see them needing VA’s in retirement. The second kicker is that the Gen X’ers (age 21-42) is a much smaller generation - so no matter how you look at it the market for VA’s is shrinking.
Perhaps the best approach for these VA’s is to reposition themselves to help boomers organize for retirement?
Big Lesson for Everyone
No matter what business you are in the question is the same for you. Which side of the demographic curve are you on? Are you getting caught in the “Demographic Double Dip”?
Invest some time to look at your cutover base to determine the average age of your customers and then look for ways to adjust your approach, augment your product lines, and if required reengineer your products and services to fit what the aging baby boomers now need.
Don’t forget about the Gen X and Gen Y. The Gen Y is the biggest of them all at 100 million strong and growing.
So how do you think this shift in demographics is going to impact your business?
Question of the Day: What is the Price of Truth?
January 26, 2007
“Nothing is more dangerous than the certainty that one is right.” writes Franois Jacob, winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine, “Nothing is potentially so destructive as the obsession with a truth one considers absolute. All crimes in history have been the result of fanaticism of one type or another. All massacres have been carried out in the name of virtue, of true religion, of legitimate nationalism, of proper policy, of right ideology: in short, in the name of the fight against somebody else’s truth.” - The Logic of Life, Penguin 1989.
When you think of being right or knowing the truth, how far are you willing to go to defend it?
Other ‘Truth’ Resources
Live Large!
Publishing Articles Online Is It Worthwhile? Are you giving away your Intellectual Property?
January 25, 2007
Ben Yoskovitz from Instigator blog wrote a post titled “Publish Articles Online to Generate Buzz and Traffic” and I was going to comment on his blog but decided to trackback instead due to length, importantance of this post, plus I wanted to make sure my readers got my take on this issue.
Ben is a great guy whom I respect. If you haven’t had the opportunity yet, you should visit his blog and add his RSS feed (here) to your reading list.
This post is not a critique or criticism of Ben or his post - it is simply my opinion, experience, and what I have learned writing online since 1998.
Except for one occasion I have never posted articles on another site unless I knew exactly what they were going to do with my content. In his post Ben links to EzineArticles.com. It has been a long time since I had looked at that site and decided that it was time to look it over again.
Today, I checked out the Author TOS at EzineArticles.com and in item number three (3) of their Author TOS they require that you give them “unconditional permission for your articles to be reprinted in other ezines, websites and print publications”.
Which is probably I have never used their content or shared my content there.
Many Concerns: I have a number of concerns with item three of their Author TOS including getting penalized with Google’s duplicate content filters (due to other people using your articles on their website), not to mention the common practice of people that could use your content for splogs, blackhat SEO, and giving them and their users permision to use it as they see fit.
Lack of Control: But the real kicker is that if someone uses your content for a splog or other unsavory use “is at your risk and cost and not ours.” They are not required to help you deal with those situations. It is all dumped in your lap. If you have to assume that type of liability why bother?
You might not think that is a big deal, but as Dolly Parton once said “I want to own as much of me as possible.” I say controling the distribution of your intellectual property is more important than a few clicks, visits, or inbound link.
My One Big Mistake
Back in 2000 I got involved in a community (smallbusiness.com) where I posted 282 pieces of advice and I provided them a similar license to do with as they pleased. After they shuttered the site I discovered that the founder had another business which happened to be in the magazine and print publishing industry. They have since relaunched as a wiki and all the content that used to point back to my site is gone or has been repurposed, edited, or who knows what?
Be Cautious Because You Never Know…
When I started writing online I never dreamed of writing a book, yet since 2005 I have written two business books and am working on two more.
Today, I am much more careful what I put online and make sure I know who is controlling my content and what they plan to do with it.
When I do publish my content elsewhere, I negotiate to retain control, copyright, and the right to re-purpose the content as I see fit. Me, not the publisher keeps the rights to re-purpose my content.
Things Change
I now find myself thinking seriously how I can release one of my new books as a free online resource and still publish the book like they did at Naked Conversations.
No matter, I plan on pulling a Dolly Parton who says, “I just want to be the best that I can be.” and “I want to own as much of myself as I can.” except for the parts I choose to make available to the world as my way of giving back to the small business community, which I already do here and on my orther blogs.
Hey Ben, thanks for all the work you do to make the blogosphere a better place. What do you think of my position?
Do your actions inspire others?
January 25, 2007
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” - John Quincy Adams
Aspiring to be a leader is a great thing. personally, I did not ackowledge being a leader until people began to tell me that I inspired them and all I did was live my life!
I have learned that inspiring others is something that happens as you go about your daily business and happens by when I am just myself.
What has been your experience?
How to Get Ready to Write A Business Plan
January 25, 2007
This is a video I did a long time ago about business planning and how you can make the most of your time spent writing the plan. It covers the executive summary and what should be included in each section of your business plan.
It is a good introduction that will have you well prepared to write your business plan.
Great Achievements: Quote and Question of the Day
January 24, 2007
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” - Robert F. Kennedy
What great vision, idea, or concept have you been sitting on?
Links to Help You Live Large
- Strive for Greatness from the Motivated Entrepreneur.
- How to Make it to The Top about blind Everest summiter Erik Weihenmayer and the book The Adversity Advantage.
- Everyday Hero from A North American Patriot
What is your favorite story of great achievement?
Add to the dialogue post a comment. 
Live Large!
Action is Omnipotent
January 23, 2007
Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and… it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly… The great end of life is not knowledge but action. - Thomas Huxley
In the 1990’s I remember hearing about the new economy and the information age. It was the birth of the World Wide Web and people everywhere were talking about how it was going to change everything.
I was looking at my old Business 2.0 magazines from 1999-2000 and there sure was a lot of chatter about it.
People were dreaming about what might be possible to outright speculation. There was very little reality or even post-facto rationale at that time. Everyone was talking about the World Wide Web and, was only a small minority that were actually doing something.
I am reminded of Gothes’ challenge:
“Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one’s thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world.”
Now Goethe knew nothing about the World Wide Web, he did know that our action(s) speak louder than what we say. What is it that shapes our actions?
Our world view and our will shapes our perspective, viewpoint, and thoughts - which we use to decide whether or not to get into action.
Artificial or Natural Action?
Depending on your situation, view, and will is what shapes your opinion of what is possible. If you take the view that something is possible and you have a persistent intent and purpose you will move toward your goal because your aim, view, will, and intention are in alignment. Your actions will seem effortless and natural because you are in the flow.
Whenever your view, will, and intention are out of alignment with your essential self you easily end up in an endless loop churning, processing, and trying to figure out what to do. Therein lies the problem, trying. It is artificial to ‘try’, you must do. As Yoda the Jedi Master said
“Do, or do not. There is no ‘try’.
When we try we examine, test, or attempt to prove something instead of actually striving and straining to ‘do it’ we are experiencing what I call the ‘churn’ and you go through all the motions of trying to figure it out instead of actually getting something concrete accomplished.
The problem I have with the word ‘try’ is unless we actually do something tangible to move forward we can end up experiencing a work stoppage, hindrance, and rejection - at worst the non-achievement of churn. Plus there is no tangible, measurable ‘intent’ in ‘trying’ to do something. As Nike said, “Just do it!” and for that you need an incentive, motivation.
Motivation is the Precursor to Action
I remember someone asking me, “How do you motivate salespeople?” and my response was, “The best salespeople are already motivated.” They have their own emotional, intellectual, and material reasons for getting up in the morning and going after what they want most.
It is this ‘motivation’ that moves them to make plans, take certain types of actions, do what needs to be done. It is this internal motivation plus a clear vision of the goal that actuate and incite them into action. You cannot build what you cannot see, which is why having a clear vision makes such a big difference.
Vision Precedes Motivation
The biggest mistake I see people make is to set goals before they have a clear vision or know what exactly is required to make their goals a reality. It matters not whether your objective is real or imagined because your mind cannot tell the difference between your imagination or a real experience. This means your mind will fire up your motivational juices to get you moving.
Remember, the achievement of a goal is simply the point the time that terminates your behavior of the intended end result. The only real question is whether or not you get their automatic pilot or by conscious choice.
Will = Conscious Choice
Automatic pilot is something we have all experienced, for example, have you ever jumped in your car and started driving when you suddenly realize that you can’t remember the last few traffic lights? That is an example on automatic pilot.
What happened was after you begin to drive you start thinking about something that consumes your conscious attention. The experience of being on autopilot is just as common at work and business - not a real good habit - common just the same.
I should clarify that the goal of athletic training is to train muscle memory and is a form of autopilot. What differentiates muscle memory training is the athlete makes a conscious decision to train in muscle memory whereas being on autopilot is the result of our socialization.
As Martha Beck says we are “social creatures” and between our parents, schooling, and others expectations - are socialized to behave in certain ways. Our social senses are so strong that we will do something that is not good for us for fear of shaming and being ostracized.
The challenge in becoming more conscious and aware is the people who have trained and socialized you may not like it. Why? Because you begin to make decisions and take actions that are unexpected at least from their viewpoint.
You have to make up your mind and determine your path and follow it - for your own reasons. That is what they call integrity and you will be rewarded with a sense of wholeness and unity. You are undivided, focused, and in action moving toward your objective.
Sounds like a little piece of heaven on earth to me. What do you think?
If you would like further reading or to explore this topic further stop by and check out “7 Steps to Achieving the Results You Want” which will walk through a powerful seven step process to achieve the results you want and develop your vision.
Live Large!
Insight: Quote of the Day
January 23, 2007
“Most of us don’t get epiphanies. We only get a whisper - a faint urge. That’s it. That’s the call. It’s up to you to do the work of discovery, to connect it to an answer.” - Author Po Bronson in Fast Company
What whispers or urge have you been ignoring? What can you to to explore more?
Other Insight Resources
- Power of acute observation and deduction; penetration; discernment; perception.
Do you have any resources or blogs that you have found insightful? Feel free to leave a comment and share a link in the comments.
Live Large!
Home Office Set Up
January 22, 2007
One of the key elements of starting any business is your office. I suggest that you make it a high priority and focus on function, organization, and comfort.
You do not have to spend a lot of money.
What’s more important is to make sure you feel comfortable in your office and that you have everything you need to do business.
Get a computer, printer, fax machine, filing cabinet, bookshelf, dedicated phone line, scanner, and calculator and don’t forget that you need a desk, chair and office supplies.
Your Own Office
- What is your favorite office set up?
- Have you done any customization or remodeling?
- What is your greatest challenge working from home?
Question for Monday: Reflect
January 22, 2007
“We need quiet time to examine our lives openly and honestly… spending quiet time alone gives your mind an opportunity to renew itself and create order.” - Susan Taylor
What can you today to create some quiet time and quiet space to reflect?
I Love The Discipline of Reflection
I have learned to love my quiet time and actually cherish it. It is a discipline and practice I highly recommend. Here are some other interesting links, take some time to visit these links and then pause and reflect.
- Reflection: “I have come away with two main hunches: 1) that most folks just don’t write much about when they were wrong, and 2) that most businessmen must need an exercise in reflection, because they sure don’t seem reflective in their books!”
- Quotes on Reflection: tons of quotes from the famous and unknown.
- Self Reflection Leads To Greater Success: Three great tips on using reflection to improve your performance.
Live Large!
Greg Balanko-Dickson
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Getting the Price Right
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My Books on Amazon
