Entrepreneurship

The Last Thing You Should Rely On Is Your Resume

Your resume is not so much a testament to what you’ve done, it’s a timeline of where you’ve done it. The world doesn’t need to take your resume’s word for anything, it can find out more about you in three clicks of a mouse than you can tell in twenty perfect bound pages. When I…

Lessons From The $100 Startup + Win A Copy

Sometimes you get to the end of a book and struggle to remember a key message from it. Although The $100 Startup is written for people who aspire to live a life like the author Chris Guillebeau, (who still in his early thirties, has visited more than 175 countries and never had a boss), there…

Begin With The Possibilities, Not The Limitations

When you’re scoping things out. When you’re strategising, or planning how to get from here to where you want to be, you often start by asking the wrong questions. You put your first focus in the wrong place. You start by thinking about what went wrong last time. By telling yourself what you can’t do

The One Thing You Need To Learn From The World’s Greatest Marketer

Yesterday I did something I don’t normally do…I Googled Seth Godin. Not because I never have cause to, but because I have Seth’s blog on speed dial in my toolbar. The results made me chuckle. You see Seth has been circled by over 95,000 people on Google+ and he has never posted a single update…

Why You Need To Change How You Think About Success

From the outside looking in success looks so easy. Successful people make it all look a bit like falling off a log. It’s easy to think that success happens in the moment, or is catalysed by one major event. Like being stranded while travelling, deciding to charter a flight and then selling tickets t

The World Is Calling You. Be Ready

The Idea Execution Blueprint

The best-laid plans are no substitute for and idea that’s done. Just do it! Image by Jeff Daly.

Why You Need A Mission More Than A Website

Nine times out of ten when I consult with clients they are impatient to get to work on the tactical side of spreading their idea. They wonder about what website and social media platforms to use. They worry about design elements and website functionality. Maybe you do too? Of course you want to get

How To Guarantee Failure

Do nothing. Don’t start. Sit on the fence. Avoid taking the first step. Stay in analysis. Stand still. Never ship. Look for ten different opinions. Act on none. Stop trusting your gut and feeling like gold dust. You are. Image by Christa Lohman.

Trust And Excuses

The next time you don’t quite manage to do what you said you’d do, send your apology and stop there. Don’t be tempted to say I’m sorry……and. Excuses actually don’t change how the other person is feeling about being let down by you. Making excuses simply justifies your inaction to you. Excuses don’t

Most People

Most people believe that the day starts at nine and ends at five. That you need the permission of others to start. Most people believe that rules are made by others. That their horizon is a definite line. Most people believe that work must be difficult. That life begins in the two weeks when they…

It’s All Been Done Before

This is what I call ‘the pioneer’s lament’. It’s been my personal lament many a day. It goes something like this… You have a great idea. It could be for a product, service, a book, blog post, or a new kind of dog food. You start planning, taking notes, visualising the impact of said thing…

21 Ways To Nurture Your Ideas

Your mountain is waiting. So… Get on your way. ~ Dr Suess 1. Create an idea saving system. Find tools that work for you, Moleskine or Evernote anyone? 2. Be ready to capture ideas anywhere. J.K. Rowling tells the story of how Harry Potter “fell into her head” on a train journey. 3. Step away…

If Only

If only there were 26 hours in each day. If only they understood. If only the competition didn’t compete. If only there was more space. If only the economy wasn’t in such a mess. If only chocolate didn’t taste so good. If only the gym wasn’t so far away. If only they hadn’t launched first.…

What Does Success Look Like?

Is it starting or finishing? Getting there in a hurry? Or stopping to take in the view on the way? Is success the elimination of failure or growing with every experience? Big deals? Or a series of tiny impacts? Is success really a destination or more of a journey? One big blinding flash of brillianc

What For What

I gave, now it’s your turn. Quid pro quo. Now we’re even. That’s how business is supposed to work. Exchanges of like for like. A trade. Transfer of ownership. Profit and loss. Transactions that can be measured. There’s no room for generosity in business. Unless it’s your business. Because that’s how

Embrace Your Singularity : An Anthem To You

The secret of the most successful brands and similarly the most fulfilled people in the world, is that they know what they’ve got and they are not afraid to show it. They embrace their uniqueness and singular ideas, then tell the best story they can to the right people. Do you? That’s how I started…

If : A Love Note To Entrepreneurs

If you’re doing your best work. If you touched one person. If it makes a difference to a handful. If you’re building a legacy, not just an empire. If your values are front and centre. If you’re launching ideas from the heart. If you understand why you’re doing this. If it doesn’t have to matter…

Why Learning To Say No Matters

When you started out you were so glad to get email enquiries, calls and visitors. Getting people through the door, even a virtual one was the best feeling! Someone was interested in what you were doing. Your idea wasn’t going to flop, your services were needed and more importantly wanted. You weren’

The Truth About You

Labels are for filing. Labels are for clothing. Labels are not for people. ~ Martina Navratilova If there’s one question you can guarantee to be asked within the first five minutes of meeting someone it’s, “so… what do you do?” We all know it’s coming so why are we so ill prepared for it? During…