The Self-Employed Life

We say "time is money", but we often don't act like we really get the intrinsic link between time and money. Or at least, we don't act like we do. Because if we did, if we really understood that how we feel about one affects the outcome of the other, then we'd be on our way to a prosperous life. Living and making decisions from the understanding that time and money are linked will lead to having t...

Do you feel like you've been making all the right choices in life, but you're still unhappy? Chances are you're making compromises and not choosing for yourself. Sometimes we make choices because we are told it is the right route, or make choices for our families. In the end, however, we need to make choices for our own goodness first. It may sound selfish, but it's not. When you find your own hap...

Being a Creative Warrior requires efficient use of your time so that you can put your attention towards the areas of your business where you can create maximum value. To do your best work. The best way to be productive and stay ahead is what I call Preemptive Productivity. And yes, you want to stay ahead so that you can create space for great things to come along unexpectedly.  The Talking Stick i...

If you have two identical companies, selling identical products, with the same marketing strategies, chances are one of them will make it and the other won't. Why is that? The power of words. How we say things can have a huge impact that can either make or break us. If you enter into a conversation with confidence, knowledge, and a way to get people to trust you you'll have far more success than s...

At the end of my book LINGO, I offer 3 mindsets and 3 daily practices that will help you unblock yourself so that when you apply the strategies offered in the book, you don't get in your own way. The first of these mindsets is asking yourself whether you truly believe there are forces working on your behalf. One of the ways forces work on our behalf is not providing us with what we think we are re...

Fear is one of our biggest obstacles. It's often times the thing that holds us back, especially as creatives. It's easy to take the safe road in life, but when we go down that path we never get to challenge ourselves. Progress is about pushing our own boundaries. Fear is perfectly natural, yet it's something we've been taught to suppress. We get mad at ourselves, call ourselves a chicken, and beat...

Sales is a fundamental aspect of all business. However, today when we think of sales  the images that we conjure up aren't usually too nice. We think of someone who is pushy or maybe even sleazy. The fundamentals of a good salesperson, and what it takes to achieve success hasn't changed over the last hundred years. Unfortunately, the way people try to get there has shifted in a more negative way....

Lessons in life come in various forms. Even through food! What you do when nobody's watching says a lot about your character. That includes what you cook, and the way you cook it. If you really want to cook amazing dishes, you've got to be an optimistic person. Food is all about the energy that gets put into it, and the way it is prepared. On this week's episode of Talking Stick we are joined by C...

When you're in business all speaking is public speaking. The reality is that whether you realize it or not, every time you have an encounter with someone or a group you are stepping to the front of the room. To be an impactful business person you must master the art of speaking in every situation. Whether it is one-on-one, in a group, or even in your writing, when your messaging is unclear people...

Years of studying yoga taught me some interesting business lessons. There's even a lesson in that for you. Always look for every opportunity to learn something about your business from a different perspective. This invites innovation and a different way of thinking. Sometimes the best differentiator in business is thinking differently. These are 5 valuable lessons you can gain quite a lot from.  T...

In this world it is so important to do what you love. Finding your passion is what will lead you to a beautiful and fulfilling life. Following your passion means you're waking up before your alarm goes off because you can't wait to get started instead of hitting the snooze button five times. Some people become excited about something, only to drop it a few months later. In truth, passion is just a...

In this workshop-style episode, I'm going to ask you 4 questions that will help you align with your ideal customer. Not being aligned with your ideal customer is like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. You will exhaust yourself and not get anywhere. Use this episode to help you discover exactly who you are meant to serve.   The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be...

When people come to you to buy something they aren't trying to fulfill a basic need. They may come to you with what sounds like something basic, but it's your job to find and understand the deeper need they are seeking. For example, when I was in the photography industry people weren't just looking for a picture. They were looking for a magical moment. Maybe it's a mother looking at those photos a...

My primary interest in this episode was to talk about a pattern I've been seeing that I think is important to point out. One that may make or break businesses moving forward. But in looking at this pattern, I couldn't help but notice the process of noticing patterns in the first place. Whether they exist on their own or we project what we want to see. In the end, it's about noticing in the first p...

Most companies shy away from social media, because they are afraid of complaints. They are worried an online presence will give opportunity for their brand to be tarnished by trolls and people who just want to complain about things. However, social media is a great place to engage customers. Using these outlets gives your consumers a voice that they want heard. Instead of making them bottle up the...

Why is it so hard to ask for what you need? Does it even occur to you to ask for help? And if it does, are you clear on what to ask for? Learning to ask and believing there is a world of support available for you are essential to your success. This episode is practical and also, hopefully, inspiring. In order to get what you want out of life, you have to learn to ask. The Talking Stick is in your...

Every business needs consumers. They are what use our productive, and ultimately decide if they are coming back. What we really need to focus on are super consumers. Superconsumers are the people who are always at opening weekend every time a new Disney, Marvel, or Star Wars movie comes out. They are the ones constantly buying canned nacho cheese. They are something we look at as an anomaly, and w...

When determining your prices or what you should charge for your services, you probably think about your time, material cost, and overhead. In this episode, I discuss a few costs to you that you deserve to be compensated for that you may not think of. Hidden costs that you must consider. Costs that take a toll on you and your life that should help you be more confident that you are worth so much mo...

If someone you knew and loved messed up, would you call them an idiot? Would you tell them how stupid they are? Of course not. You'd tell them it was ok, and you'd support them to learn from their mistakes and move of. So why do we talk to ourselves that way? The way we talk to ourselves has a really strong impact on how we think about ourselves. If we tell ourselves we're an idiot, we will start...

While hunkered down at a friend's house last weekend to wait out massive Hurricane Irma to make landfall on my home in Miami Beach and all of the state of Florida, I had a lot of time to think. What occurred to me was the similarities between the experience of a hurricane and business. Things like how to manage fear, what it means to be prepared, and the importance of our time. It also proves ther...

Happiness is a tricky subject. We all want it, and we never feel we have enough of it. So many people feel happiness is something that magically comes into their life from time to time. If you want to be happy, or happier, you have to work at it. Every now and then we do get lucky, and something comes into our life that bring us joy. We can't and shouldn't count on chance to be happy. There are lo...

Too many times we put our minds in the wrong place when it comes to building and growing our business. We try to create the perfect product, then search out clients based on what we've made. Or we try to find someone just like us to lead and build our business. When you want to create a business you need to find out what your future clients want and need. Then you need to learn the lingo of the in...

It's not a coincidence that the word "worth" has to do with how you feel about yourself and money. The best way I know of to overcome money issues is to increase your self-worth. To understand that you are worth more than the nonsense of being stuck in money issues. Sure, you can change your mindsets about money and improve your spending habits. Both are good ideas. But above all, you need know th...

As creatives we have this mentality that rejection is the worst thing that can happen. We spend all of this time on our passion, perfecting what we're doing, and really trying to make everyone happy. One piece of criticism can easily ruin our day. Rejection means progression. Everything should be a learning experience. It should be a part of the creative process, and one you are excited to take on...

Rejection is a part of life as Creative Warrior. But it shouldn't become a fear that holds you back from creating and risking. So let's get real about rejection and break it down. Is it real? Do you have proof that you have a legitimate reason to fear rejection? Are you giving rejection more meaning in your life than it needs? In the end, it's still in your power to decide how you respond to your...