AoL 038: Yoga, How to Measure Creativity, and Being a Better Human with David Rachford

June 2/by JC

Being in business for yourself has many different labels. Solopreneur, Expert, Entrepreneur… the list goes on. Many times we’ve found out that these particular names might not necessarily mean anything other than you have a passion for what you do and you happen to make income doing it.

Most of us go the long way of doing that. Going to school for one thing and then making our business from something else.

I frequently ask myself, could I have learned what I know today about online business without going to school? Would I have been able to help people they way I do today?

While I think that I might have been able to shortcut the process, the truth of the matter is simply this: I wouldn’t have the experience to be able to help people at the LEVEL that I help people today.

The same goes for today’s guest, David Rachford.

David started his career in the military after being an athlete for years in several sports. After getting out of the military, he went to college to become an accountant. Growing tired of that world in 10 years, he found himself at a position that he could do something that utilized those accounting skills, but at the same time, he didn’t want to make that his whole career.

That’s where his interest in teaching others about Yoga and starting the Better Human Show came from.

In this session, we’ll learn exactly how a kid who was too husky to be in youth football started playing all kinds of sports, How his yoga journey started, how he “measures creativity”, and why he started doing his podcast.

Listen to this episode if you’ve ever found yourself bouncing from one thing in your career to the next, thinking about starting a business, or you’re simply curious in what it takes to sit with “strong determination” like monks do in meditation.

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

What kind of sports David played growing up despite being too big to play football. (10:04)
How David got into Meditation, Yoga, and eventually learned how to sit in “strong determination”. (13:48)
David’s advice to someone who says they get migraines when meditating. (20:42)
Why he left the accounting world after doing it for 10 years. (22:50)
How Dave measures creativity. (26:22)
Why Dave focuses on established entrepreneurs for his ideal clients (29:00)
How the Better Human show came into being. (34:38)
Which talks on his podcast have stuck in his mind the most. (38:18)
What’s an occurring theme that he’s gotten from his guests. (42:20)
David’s thoughts on falling back on a safe job (45:07)
What purchase $100 or less has most affected David’s life. (50:43)
What are three truths that he wants to share with others (53:10)
Who are David’s three favorite teachers (56:55)
What Dave recommends in spreading your message into the world (1:03:34)
… and MUCH more!

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

David on Facebook, Twitter, and his Website
Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod (Amazon Link)
Hal Elrod on SPI
Indy Mini
Buddhify
Muse
Other Useful Meditation Apps
Headspace
Sharlotte Bouniol’s Interview
Gary’s Message to Recent Grads
Norwegian Lundehund
Presa Canario

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Installing a Retargeting Pixel on Your Website:

https://www.facebook.com/rachford/videos/1550197105273045/

Travel Yoga Poses on KKFX News:

Couple Yoga Poses on KKFX News:

David’s Norwegian Lundehund, Nikolina checking out a T-Rex!

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

Getting Started on the Web: Choosing the Right Website Building Platform for Your New Business

May 31/by JC

When starting an online brand or business you might be wondering one simple question that has a complex answer, “Where do I get started?”

There’s several parts to the answer of this question, but one of them is to start building your presence online in the shape of a website.

Back in the early days of website development and really even today, you had to have some tech prowess to do it on your own. However, I’d say that using digital devices in general takes a little bit of tech “can-do” attitude.

I think what it really breaks down into is this. What level are your own tech abilities? How much are you willing to pay to make up the difference between what you can make on your own vs what you visually see your site doing? The bigger and more functional the website, the more likely you’re going to have to hire some outside help.

Basic Techie Skills Needed:

I think the first thing to consider when you’re wanting to start your own online business is to ask yourself “how techie” am I? Because really, you’re going to be putting content onto something that REALLY is still based off of techie work. The internet is built on nerd power. Period.

Whether you have those techie skills yourself, or you have to hire them out is going to be a big question in what hats you’re going to be wearing in the early formation of your business.

So let’s look at some of the traits I think that you need possess in order to build a website:

Can See the Big Picture:

Have you seen a site that you really want to emulate? Perhaps you’ve seen a few that have different parts that you’d like to include into your own?

Unlike where you might have last worked, it’s up to you to think how you’re going to from nothing to something.

What’s that path look like? Have you created a roadmap for yourself? I’m strictly speaking about your site here.

You have to think with the end in mind. So, know what that ending looks for you.

Got it? Good.

Moving on…

Online Searching Skills:

Now that you have the target in front of you, you’ll have to figure out how to get there. In the world of the modern day entrepreneur, no one is going to tell you exactly what you need next as you’re getting your business off ground. That’s going to be up to you.

Personally, I didn’t have much of a reason to have website creation skills when I was in school. In fact, everything that I have ever learned about doing website stuff, I didn’t know at one time. Most of what I know now about website development I’ve learned as I’ve needed it since I graduated from college in late 2009.

How did I learn all this is such short of time? Well, for one, I had to utilize the skill set that I had going through school. Using Google and YouTube to find answers I had questions for. I also followed Pat Flynn as he built SPI to what it is today. I remember when he was still working on the site when he was holed up into the side of his apartment.

Figure out the Details:

Pat and people like him (including more recently the squad over at Fizzle) have helped me shape my roadmap. However, it’s up to me to figure out how I’m going to get from Point A to Point B. Can I walk? Can I take a car? Or do I need a plane?

As you build your roadmap back from the final target, you’ll need to figure out the mode of transportation that works best for you:

Highly detailed work – Mostly everyone can walk. But it’s going to be slowest option. Details that are at this level are usually reserved for those that are highly analytical and want control over every little piece of their project.

Detailed Work – Why walk when you can drive? This is about as fast as you can go on your own. However, just because you can drive doesn’t necessarily mean you should all the time.

Hire Someone Else – Most people can’t fly a plane – but you need a result faster than you could do it! In this case, you can call in a specialist to do the heavy lifting for you. But it’s going to cost you.

What type of “transportation” you’re going to use will be based off the next two traits…

Fortitude:

This trait is essential when working out the details on your own. You must realize that going into a project you’ve never done before will result in something that isn’t perfect. There’s a good chance you’re probably going to break something as you learn how to use it. The thing with software and most hardware, these days, is that you can always reset things if you start going in the wrong direction.

Also, as you learn from past attempts in doing something, you get a larger and larger picture of what it is that you need to do to make something do what you want it to do.

From something as complex as coding all the way up to something as simple as dropping in graphics to your site, all of these things need some amount of “I’ll try again if I screw this up” thinking.

Patience:

I think one the of biggest traits that goes hand in hand with fortitude is patience. Not only with the process, but with yourself. If you’ve never been a technical person, you have to give yourself the time to become one… at least to the level that your site is going to need you to be.

Take Consistent Action:

As your site starts to take form, you’ll need to keep working on it until it’s done. For me, it took me about a month or so to get New Inceptions exactly where I wanted it to before I started writing.

Likewise, if you’ve never touched the backend of a website, then you’re not going to know what you’re looking at. It’s going to take some time to figure out what you need to know versus what’s just extra. If you’re familiar with Cpanel, most of the things that are in there I haven’t touched. However, there are a few things that I’ve used plenty of times and know what they do.

Your ability to how much you can work on the site initially (and when things come up) along with the other traits listed above are the factors that you need to consider when choosing an actual solution to what you’re going to build your site’s foundation on.

Remember when choosing one of these solutions, you’re essentially going to have on one side a ton of flexibility to other side, a simple solution that you can simply just plug things into and call it a day.

Let’s look at some of those solutions real quick.

Website Development Solutions

HTML 5 Website Development:

“From scratch” sites (using HTML 5 , CSS, and PHP). This is definitely highly detailed work. To get a finished result, this is going to take a ton of all of the above traits. You’ll have to learn how to code or learn how to use a program like Dreamweaver (or something else) to do precisely what you have in mind. While this might give you all kinds of flexibility and is the backbone of today’s internet, it’s probably not going to be useful for you – unless your business is making websites for other people. Then you might want to get familiar with some of this.

Wix.com: If you want to use more of a drag and drop approach to building your website, I’d check out Wix. While I wasn’t a big fan of it back in 2008 when it was still using Flash, they’ve moved over to using HTML 5 as their base platform.

I will mention that Wix is a freemium solution, but you’ll have to pay for many of the features that you’d get free in CMS Solutions – such as WordPress.

Here’s the Wix Wikipedia page for more info.

Content Management System (CMS) Solutions:

WordPress: Ok, so you’re totally happy with giving up some flexibility so you don’t have to start from scratch. Cool. There’s plenty of solutions that will still give you tons of flexibility. Most of the time what you’ll find out there is in the realm of content management systems. Here’s a list of all the solutions that are out there.

Out of all of these, WordPress is by far and away the most used one out there. This is the option I chose. There are several reasons why:

Opensource
Flexible
Inexpensive
There’s information all over the net in how to use it.

That said, you’ll probably have to have a high level of all the previously mentioned traits to be successful at using WordPress. I will say that you’re interested in going down this path, it’ll take a bit of detailed work to get things done. In fact, it might take a month’s worth of time to design, create and master your site. If you have that kind of time, I highly recommend it. If you don’t, you’re in a rush, and have some money to spend, then I’d go to another solution.

Squarespace and Kajabi

Squarespace and Kajabi are also popular CMS solutions. However, I haven’t had the opportunity to play with them too much.

Both are much more expensive than WordPress in the long run (especially for business) and they might not have as much flexibility as you like. That said, if you want to get rolling quickly or are already making some kind of income doing what you’re planning to use them for, they might be good solutions for you to “just get on the web”.

For more info on Squarespace, you can check out this Wikipedia entry.

And here’s the entry for Kajabi.

Action Steps:

For you to figure out what you want for your website, you’re going to have to have a true conversation with yourself. If money is an issue, I’d go with WordPress and learn what you need to to get a basic site up.

If time is an issue and you want something up, but you don’t have the resources for something custom, I’d go with Kajabi, Wix, or Squarespace. (If you’re in the information industry, I’d go with Kajabi.)

If you’re wanting the cream of the crop, want something custom, or simply don’t have the time to build your own site, then you’re going to hire someone. If you don’t know a developer personally, the best place to do that is over at Upwork.com

If you already have a website up and going, let me know how you made the process in choosing the platform you’re using and some of the pros and cons of using it!

AoL 037: Writing at the Jack Kerouac House, Branding Yourself, and Early Social Media Marketing with Erik Deckers

May 26/by JC

When people get to a certain level of success, it’s really hard to leave it behind. It takes so much time and resources to get to a certain level. That’s one reason why many professional athletes find it really hard to leave the game they’ve known since they were a kid. They’re not sure about what’s coming next and that can be very difficult.

For me, when I left academia and started figuring out what I wanted to do, I didn’t know where to start. The one thing I did know is that I had to put myself where opportunity would find me. So I started networking – A LOT – in Indianapolis. Getting to know many people that would ultimately have success themselves. Also getting to know people who would crash and burn and start rebuilding, or in some cases, give up on their passion altogether.

One of many people I met was Erik Deckers. I have to say that when I first met Erik, I thought that he’d be a good guy to get to know as we connected on a ton of things. Like me, he’s somewhat of a natural creative. He loves to write… and type (he has a collection of typewriters). And he’s able to help other companies do that through his online business: ProBlogService.com. Which he’s essentially a online ghost writer for other businesses. Needless to say that that particular service and him networking got him well known in Indy. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he wrote a few books with some prominent figures when he was here as well.

Anyway, fast forward a couple of years, I find myself back in Indy looking to reconnect with some folks that I knew from 2010. And I find that Erik is down in Orlando, FL! Having to essentially use the information he put into one of this books all over again.

In this session, we’ll learn more about the move to Orlando. We’ll also find out how he got into writing in the first place, how several of his books were conceived, and his thoughts on what the best ways are for people to be found on today’s internet.

If you’ve ever found yourself having to restart your career from scratch, you’re simply curious about what it’s like to write in the Kerouac House and what it’s all about, or just want to catch up with Erik, then you should get something out of this chat.

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

More about the Jack Kerouac House (6:41)
How the Jack Kerouac House has changed the scene of the Orlando literary scene. (13:00)
How Erik got into writing (13:25)
How his writing process is different than others (15:06)
Why formats can play a big role in how you deliver your message. (16:13)
How engineering is very similar to building a business (20:16)
How one of the first big Twitter marketing books was created (21:57)
How Erik played a vital role in helping Kyle Lacy meet his eventual wife, Rachel. (24:41)
Where the idea for Erik and Kyle’s book, Branding Yourself, came from. (25:52)
Why Erik likes to work with others when making books. (26:57)
What book he’s been working on at the Kerouac House (29:20)
Where Pro Blog Service came from (31:59)
What Erik helps clients of his with (34:01).
How people can become known on today’s internet (38:43).
How Erik got involved in speaking at a TEDx event (45:22)
Where Erik gets his passion for speaking (46:32)
Who he thinks would be best suited to fight off a college sorority if they ever wanted to take over the world. (55:39)
Who Erik would consider an example of success in his life. (1:01:42)
What are some thoughts on starting a content based business (1:05:35)
…and MUCH more.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Jack Kerouac House in Orlando
Pro Blog Service
Twitter Marketing for Dummies co-authored with Kyle Lacy (Amazon Link)
ExactTarget (Now part of SalesForce)
Branding Yourself (Amazon Link)
No BullShit Social Media co-authored with Jason Falls (Amazon Link)

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Erik’s TEDx Presentation in 2012:

How Not to Talk to Your Children About Sex

10 Professional Writing Secrets:

Intro to the book “Branding Yourself” with Kyle Lacy:

Erik’s YouTube Channel

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

AoL 035: A Mission of Exploration – How Daniel Postma Became a Serial Entrepreneur by Age 20

May 12/by JC

The current education system is broken. It’s hard to deny it. With college professors suggesting that students aren’t ready for college, and employers saying that graduates aren’t ready for the real world, there’s really too much evidence that something has to be done.

For me personally, I did what I was supposed to do. Go to school. Get good grades. Graduate.

What didn’t happen for me was the “Get a Good Job” part.

I would say that it’s partly my fault. By the time I was finally looking for a job, I wasn’t really interested in being another cog in the machine. In fact, I knew that I wanted to work at a startup.

However, most startups that I spoke with seemed like they were fish out of water. They approached entrepreneurship like a job. They didn’t have much of a reason why that they were doing it. They just knew that they were good at what they did. Maybe it was because it’s what they did before the recession of 2008. Maybe it’s because they thought they could make more money on their own.

Whatever the reason was, it didn’t seem to be working.

I think a big part of that was that the school system that most of us have grown up with program us to be followers. However, we need new leaders more so than ever. Be it in government or in the private sector. One way to get there currently is to homeschool students. Another way is to be mentored by people that are already leading.

Today’s guest, Daniel Postma has done both. Which means he’s well on his way to be one of tomorrow’s leaders.

In this session, we’ll learn all about homeschooling and find out how he was able to acquire the mentorship he’s had in his life. We’ll see what his time as an of apprentice of Dane Maxwell did for him. And we’ll also discuss how he got into the business of medical massage therapy.

If you’re interested to know more about homeschooling, experiential learning, or simply need some guidance in what you should do after you graduate, I think you’ll get a lot out of this conversation.

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

How being homeschooled has been a big help in who he is today. (9:07)
What homeschooling looks like from the inside. (10:51)
Why his parents opted for homeschooling him. (14:47)
How he believes homeschooling prepares students. (16:37)
Why Daniel chose not to go to college. (22:57)
What’s his thoughts on different kinds of education (25:17)
What kind of mentorship he’s had in his life (30:01)
His experience as Dane Maxwell’s apprentice for a month (34:11)
When Daniel knew he wanted to start his first business (39:59)
Why Daniel enrolled in The Foundation even though at that point it was icing on the cake (41:54)
How he’d reach out to others to get out of their comfort zone (43:56)
How he got into Medical Massage Therapy (46:48)
How his family has been able to help him with business (44:55)
Why Daniel’s superpower is being able to utilize everyone’s strengths in his life (52:35)
What he’d tell the younger versions of himself. (58:08)
…and MUCH more.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Daniel Postma on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
Ginger Trying a Granadilla
School Sucks Podcast
Myr Bacun’s AoL Episode (Session 18)
The Foundation
Ginger’s TEDx Talk
Samantha Brown
99Designs – Run your own design contest and get great results in 7 days or your money back! Try It Out!

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

What to do After College (NSFW) – Gary V.:

What Daniel Got out of Being Around Dane Maxwell in 3 Minutes:

Daniel and Terril Interview Clay Green:

Daniel Singing in Snow… Winter in April:

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

4 Quick, Simple, and Immediate Steps to Take Action in Your Work

May 10/by JC

Whether you call it analysis paralysis or overthinking it, why is it that we spend so much time trying to do what we know that we should be doing? Many of us go to workshops, classes, and even big events to get over this issue.

Even when I was in college, I started realizing that I’d think about how I’d want to do something before I actually tried. In retrospect, it probably cost me some good opportunities here and there.

Here are some of the reasons that people might over think something:

Worried about what other people might think.
Don’t want to start something else that they believe they might fail.
Not sure what the next step is.
Don’t want to waste time that could be used more productively.
Know what many next steps might be.

Do these sound similar to thoughts you’ve had? I know that for me, I’ve struggled with all of them at different points and continue to at times.

Needless to say overthinking things can happen at any level. Let’s look at how we can hack ourselves out of these thoughts that keep us in our comfort zone.

Look Beyond Yourself.

This is one that most of us struggle with as teenagers and early 20 year olds. We wonder if we’re good enough to go on the date with the cool guy or the pretty girl. We wonder if we’re good enough to get on the team. We believe that if we aren’t perfect at school or whatever that we take seriously, that other people won’t take us seriously in the future – meaning that we won’t get into that great school or land that awesome first opportunity.

Personally, for me, I lived in this cage for a good part of my life. I think I started caring when I was constantly bullied in school. And I have to say that really made me worry what others thought of me until 2011.

Then I was given a task to do: make 100 cold calls a week.

That’s what it took to break me out of my mold.

When I was doing those calls, I stopped worrying about what others were going to think of me. What I started to think about was what I was going to be able to do for them.

Here’s the key. When you don’t want to care about what others think of you, you need to realize that you taking action can help others. Sure, it can be people you don’t know with products you believe in (that’s key). But it can also be your friends and family.

By setting the example to do something new, you’re being an example of what’s possible.

However, you might have a deeper issue than that. Sure, you want to be a speaker on a stage sometime, and you realize how many people that would help. But you don’t see yourself as a speaker. In fact, you might have a speech impediment that’s keeping you from getting your message out.

However, it’s still possible for you to become that speaker.

How?

Well, for one, there are some speakers and comedians that have overcome some major hurdles in their lives to do the role that they do. Some of my favorite personalities are those who don’t see their disability as a disability – they see it as a way that sets them apart from the crowd.

One example of a comedian who does this is Josh Blue who has cerebral palsy. (If you want more, he has a special on Netflix.)

Another comedian that I love is Zach Anner – check out his YouTube channel here.

Yet another example is a Christian motivational speaker that you possibly might have heard about is Nick Vujicic who doesn’t have any limbs.

How did these guys get over their hurdles?

First off, they realized that doing what they felt they were being called to do was more important than what others might think.
They also realized, as we talked about before, that doing this new activity would make a difference in people’s lives.
But I think the main thing is that they were able to ask themselves this question: “What’s the worst thing that can happen from this?” and realize that while they might get the occasional heckler, not many bad things can actually happen from doing what they love to do.

Another way that you might be able to get over what others think of you is to simply focus on doing things that you know you have control over that are related to the task that you’re wanting to do.

When I was trying to get over my fear of doing cold calls, I started doing something I knew I could do. Call people that I already knew. That got me used to talking with people.

From there, I would call warm leads that I didn’t know. People that responded to an email that had already been sent.

During that time, I realized that not all those people had actually seen the email. So after a few of those, I realized that essentially I was doing cold calls anyway.

Well from there, I just started cold calling using a line similar to “Hi, this is JC in response to the email that <insert name> showed an interest in. Are they available?” This usually got me past the gatekeeper. From there, if they didn’t know what I was talking about, I just simply said “Oh yeah. Well, basically it was talking about this <insert topic>. Do you know how knowing how to do that would impact your business?

If you’re looking to become a speaker, maybe you can become a member of a nearby Toastmasters group?

Get Help From Others

Perhaps your problem isn’t so much the fear of doing something, but you currently don’t have the knowledge to get the task accomplished on your own. You don’t know what to do next. Or maybe you just don’t have the time to get proficient at yet another skill. This is when you ask for some help.

The first thing you can do is simply see what other people in your situation have done. When it comes to New Inceptions, you guys know I usually seek help from Fizzle. If there’s no answer there, I’ll go on over to SPI. If Pat doesn’t have an answer, I’ll check elsewhere.

Chances are that whatever you’re wanting to do, someone has probably already done it and they’ve made their success available on the internet.

That said, John Maxwell regularly talks about knowing your strengths and bringing in people for your weaknesses. Sometimes you have to do that. You have to delegate for others to make the decision.

You already do this in your life. Like me, you probably already have a mechanic for your car. Why is that? Because you don’t know how to fix your car.

Do you have an IT guy to fix your computer? Maybe you do. Maybe you don’t. Personally, I’m my own IT guy for the most part.

While I don’t have to pay anyone to do this, there’s a ton of down time when I have to put that hat on. When it comes to the website, while I might be able to figure out how to make it more robust, there’s a big chance that when we do add additional features that I’ll need to hire someone else to work on it.

Accomplish 3 – 5 Things Daily

In the last segment, we discussed getting help to do things you don’t know anything about. However, that’s only going to get you so far.

Perhaps you know everything you should be doing, but because you’re busy doing other work, you find yourself not getting to the core work you should be doing.

The fix here is to set priorities by identifying what your objectives are. Ask yourself these kinds of questions:

What does your ultimate outcome look like?
What does success look like along this path?
How will you know if you’ve reached a goal?

Now figure out what the process is to accomplish these.

John Maxwell says it’s helpful to have a Rule of 5.

Simply said, if you find yourself trying to do everything, then nothing you do is going to be done well.

To solve this problem (which Chris Ducker calls Superman Syndrome) there’s going to be a time when you have to ask someone to do some of the work you might enjoy doing.

For example, I know I enjoy getting out and doing yard work. I think it comes from all the years that my mom and I did it. However, I realize that as New Inceptions becomes more popular, that I’m not going to be able to do all the work that I need to around the house. I know that while I do enjoy doing it, I’m going to have to delegate that work to a professional.

Similarly, I’m going to do the same with the editing of my podcast. While I love working on each talk, eventually I’m going to have to hire it out so I can get my main 3 to 5 things done.

Daily Practice

As the above segment says, you have to do things daily to reach your goal. It’s not so much that that you have to be perfect at your work (we never are), but you should focus on being “Highly Ok”.

Pick which activity you’re going to do until it gets done. Don’t look back after choosing that activity. Do it until you have a stopping point.

And above all else. Set a hard time limit to get your 3 to 5 tasks done. Give yourself “working hours”.

Unless you’re Gary V., don’t be busy for busy’s sake. Don’t worry about hustling… unless you love the chase. In fact, you might want to consider having an anti-hustle lifestyle.

For even more on Anti-Hustling, check out this episode of the Fizzle Show:

Action Steps

The next time that you find yourself overthinking about a specific subject. Remember that there is a resource (here) that might help you from stopping. Try out the recommendations that I’ve suggested. However, if it doesn’t help – I want you to come back and let me know where it’s failing. I’ll personally help you think of a strategy and then add to this resource about what we did!

4 Ways to Become More Disciplined

May 3/by JC

Have you ever struggled to get things done? To finish what you have started before moving on to something else?

Maybe, if you’re like me, you’ve found yourself motivated to do something at one point, do it a few times, and possibly even come to a point where it’s a habit. However, you eventually you lose your ability to muster up the strength to do it again.

You’re definitely not alone. Time and again, I’ve seen this issue in several groups I’ve belonged to in the past. The number one problem that I see people struggle with is consistency. Or really, just the lack of focus. Things get jumbled up in their priorities and they’re really never able to finish what they’ve begun.

Becoming More Disciplined:

The term disciplined has such a negative connotation to it. When I think of the word, I think of someone getting scolded by a coach or parent. Or perhaps a dog getting yelled at for doing their business in the house.

However, the term has two meanings. What I just gave examples for is one definition. The other definition is a branch of knowledge, typically one studied in higher education.

In effect, when someone becomes more disciplined, they’re essentially becoming more masterful at something.

Also, I should mention that a 2014 study showed that “engaging in personally interesting activities not only improves performance, but also creates an energized experience that allows people to persist when persisting would otherwise cause them to burn out.”

So instead of thinking of being more disciplined as a bad thing, let’s look at it from a skill building perspective. The more disciplined you are, the better you are at a particular task or type of work that you enjoy doing.

Now that we have that definition, let’s look at the 4 ways of gaining mastery at something.

Method #1 – Build Accountability:

There’s a few ways that we can build accountability. I’m sure you’ve probably heard of accountability buddies. These are people who are on the same or similar path to you. You’re both working for the same goal.

In my personal development circles, a group of this kind of person that meets regularly is a Mastermind.

This past year, I’ve been hosting a mastermind that is based on business building. Not only does this group provide a place for people to talk about what they’ve done in the past week, but it also gives them a place to discuss any problems they’re having and help with any decisions they’re having problems with.

Another way of building accountability outside of people that have similar goals in a mastermind is just learn how to celebrate small wins. This was always something I struggled with – especially in college. What I’ve come to realize since then, though, is that the more you celebrate your small wins, the more incentive you’ll have to stay on track in achieving bigger and better things!

If you’re looking for a way of building accountability that isn’t done with other people is to use a journal. In the past, I’ve talked about using The Five Minute Journal. There are similar ones out there. But this is the one that I’d recommend. After going through my first physical one, I’m now waiting on an Android version! 🙂 However if you have an iOS device, you can get that version already.

Method #2 – Remove Distractions:

This one is probably one of the hardest ones to deal with in today’s world. We are programmed by the world to want to interact with everything that is shiney, vibrates, makes a notification sound, or is annoying.

How much work could you get done if you could eliminate everything from your life that did those things?

So if you’re really wanting to focus on something, turn off or lower the volume on the TV, listen to music that’s lyrics don’t get you too hyped, and keep away from social media when you’re actually doing work. (If you have trouble with that last one, there’s actually some plugins for your browser that will help you with that.)

If you’re in a position where you’re constantly getting bombarded with emails, here’s a thought: don’t pay attention to them until you’re ready. And when you are ready, check it once and then turn it off for the evening. Personally, I do a couple of things in the morning that I have to do before I ever check my email.

As someone that’s trying to do your own thing, you need to spend unbroken time on your projects. Don’t let email become your new boss.

Method #3 – Focus On One Thing

A book that I haven’t had the pleasure of reading yet is called The One Thing, Many of the podcasters and bloggers that I follow love this book. So I have a good understanding of what it’s about.
One of the quotes that I’ve heard a couple of times from it is this:

The path of mastering something is the combination of not only doing the best you can do at it, but also doing it the best it can be done. – Gary Keller

The gist here is simple. Don’t try to multitask. No one is really good at it. Get into a zone and focus on using a superpower of yours.

Pat Flynn, who I think talks about the book the most, says that the way he does this is by block scheduling his day. In fact, he did a recent write up that goes step by step in what his schedule looks like right now.

However, just having certain things due each day is only part of the equation. You might be running a little late in a given day. Does that give you permission to stop early?

Nope! It means that you’re staying and getting stuff done until you get it done OR if you have kids that you make time for, you play with them until they go to bed and then you start cranking the midnight oil. Finish Strong!!

Method #4 – Be Aware of the Negative, but Don’t Act of It:

I was just listening to a podcast (it might have been this one?) where the guest that was being interviewed said that we shouldn’t spend energy trying to avoid negative in our lives. We are designed to be problem solvers, so, therefore, our brains our naturally looking for things that they can fix. That’s just what we’re made of.

However, there are times when you need to ignore the negative that comes into your life – especially if it doesn’t come in the form of constructive criticism. There are some people out there that their way of building themselves up is by being critical of other people.

These are trolls. Don’t feed them. Don’t let them get to you. They call you “dumb” or “weird”, then they’re probably “weird” themselves. Don’t let the one bad review shadow over all your compliments!

Many people are not going to get ahead today simply because they don’t know how to ignore other’s thoughts. John Cleese explains in this video:

Also, don’t let yourself be your own worst enemy. If you find yourself coming up with more and more excuses on why you can’t do something (it’s not the right time, someone else has more luck than you, or you don’t have the right skill set), FIGURE IT OUT. Actually let that brain do its job of putting the pieces together! Heck, you might even find a way to collaborate with someone who needs your skillset.

Action Steps:

Now that you have a few tools that you can use to get more skillful at your work, pick a few to start implementing as soon as possible. Which is one that you can start today? How about in 15 days? Perhaps a month?

For those of you who do use some of the discipline techniques above, what are some of your results of using them? Do you have any suggestions that I missed?

AoL 032: Making It as a Full-Time Online Woodworker with David Picciuto

April 21/by JC

There are multiple ways to make money online. Most people know of information entrepreneurs. These are your Thought Leaders, your Teachers, and your Mediapreneurs. Others might think of software makers – called engineers. Or even more, you might think of someone who has a store and sells other’s items – these are Retailers. These are all part of the 10 Archetypes.

One type that I didn’t know too much about was The Maker. How does someone that makes a living producing crafts get online besides selling their physical goods online?

That’s where today’s guest, David Picciuto, has been able to make the connection. He makes YouTube videos showing how to make stuff!

Rather fascinating guy that I’m glad I got to know more about him and his craft.

In this chat, we go into how he got into woodworking as an online business, explore his successful YouTube channel and podcast, and why he believes it’s necessary to diversify your brand online.

If you love working with your hands and have been wondering what might be a good idea for an online business, this talk is just for you. (If you’re like me and have other ideas, you’ll get plenty out of this talk too. David is actually a lot like many of us when he first began!!)

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

How David stumbled into woodworking as a business.
Where his creative flair came from.
One way to get through the imposter’s syndrome.
When he realized he had to “grow up” and get something other than a job at Target.
How he knew it was time to strike it out on his own from a great job as a developer/designer.
How he makes an income doing YouTube videos.
Why he changed the name of his business from Drunken Woodworker to MakeSomething.TV.
What lead David to write his Bandsaw Box book.
What David does with all the products he makes on his show.
Why it’s important to diversify your brand online.
How and why he has such nice looking videos.
How the podcast ended up coming together.
What he is or is not looking forward to in the future!
…and MUCH more.