What is your life’s message? Do you know? Few of us actually see clearly enough to know what our life’s message is, let alone live it out. Our eyesight is dim at best.

To begin to see our life’s message we must first be able to SEE. So, how do we see?

True seeing requires perspective and clear vision. It requires looking up, looking out, looking past, recreating, remolding, reestablishing, replacing.

Seeing clearer requires QUIET.

It requires letting go of old words and replacing them with new ones, brighter ones, ones like possibility and tranquility. (You can’t say tranquility 5x without feeling more tranquil. Try it.)

Seeing requires the backs of your eyes and the depth of your heart. It requires movement, bold generosity, and bravery long since set on a shelf.

It requires opening up to hope, whimsy, love, and I think perhaps whistling or whittling, whichever you choose.

Seeing requires stopping, and marveling, and wandering, and wondering how things work.

When you do these things, something amazing happens. This time when you look, you will start to truly see. You will begin to see you have value, depth, and courage. And you also begin to see that you have a very important message that we need to hear.

What is your message? do you know? Are you brave enough to find out? I believe so.

What do you do when the door to something you’ve been working long and hard on closes? Your business idea flops, you don’t get that breakthrough you were hoping for, your dreams are dashed.

It’s so easy to get stuck in a place of discouragement and feel like you’re the victim. I know, I’ve been there. I’ve learned it is critical to not give up hope. It’s better to believe the door closed for a reason and something better will come along.

A few years ago, Claudia and I were working towards buying the business I was working for at the time. It was a small guitar shop and the owner was looking to sell.

We talked with the owner and everything looked like it was going to work out for us to buy the business. However, we kept hitting road block after roadblock. For four years, we pursued buying the store. There would be hopeful glimpses of progress, and then more discouraging setbacks.

After much frustration, we finally decided to walk down a different path. We agreed the door to this opportunity had closed. I didn’t know what I was going to do for work going forward, but we knew buying the store wasn’t the right direction for us any longer.

Looking back now, we are so grateful that door closed. Not only would the work have been a bad fit for me, we would have needed to take on a large amount of debt with payments equalling all the business’ profits at the time.

It was only after that door closed that our minds devised our current business opportunity which is a much better fit for me and was profitable from day one.

When one door closes, don’t give up hope but know there is another opportunity out there for you, a better opportunity. Just keep pushing forward and have faith that something will come around.

I read this sentence about 9 months ago and was affronted by its bluntness. “You don’t understand,” I wanted to yell at the author who wrote it! “That is just the problem, I DON’T have the time to do what I want to do!”

Then an unexpected thought crept into my head. “What if he is right?” I blinked, scowled, and then let the phrase plunk into the depths of my subconscious and waited.

“Is he right? It can’t be that simple! I mean I have real things that are really taking up my time! I don’t even watch TV; how could I be wasting my time?”

Then I started to notice things. I noticed myself having unscheduled hours here and there. I also noticed I had a habit of scheduling my days with events just so I would stay busy. I noticed I committed to things just because they were good things and other people needed me.

I found myself dawdling on Facebook, or obsessively checking email, constantly looking at Instagram pictures, or texting people when I didn’t know what to do with myself.

I just generally wasted time.

“Rats, he is right!” I begrudgingly admitted. “I do have the time to do what I want to do!”

The real problem Isn’t that we don’t have time. It is this: we are afraid.

I was afraid to commit. I was afraid to face my fears. I was afraid to figure out what I really wanted in life. I was afraid to make a decision and move in a direction.

It is easier to complain than to take action and do something. Action takes guts.

You see when you do things you stand out. You are held accountable and people see you. This is a place many people never venture. It is easier to blend into the crowd. You don’t get criticized there. People don’t question your decisions or see you fall because, well, you never fall.

But if you never fall, you also never have the privilege of getting back up. Your story has no depth, no draw. You just become a non-remembered person.

If we know what we want, then we can do the things which will get us to the place we truly want to go! It is that easy.

I did find the time to do what I wanted to do and I continue to do so. I now get up very early, commit to less activities, plan farther in advance, and plan my free time very precisely.

And the wonderful and truly fascinating thing is I am making progress!!!!! And progress is truly the most fulfilling feeling in the world! I am writing a book one word, one paragraph, one page, and one picture at a time. And it is happening!!!

Here is a progress update:

My writing is complete with the first editing also complete. I realized with my last book, the editing and formatting can take a huge chunk of time, much longer than you think it will.

I am illustrating this book myself which has been fascinatingly fun and scary. The illustrations are almost complete. (Does anyone have advice on transferring artwork to a book? Let me know in the comments!)

I contacted two printers and asked them both many questions about the printing process and then picked the better option.

I now need to transfer my documents from Google Docs to Scrivener for additional editing. I didn’t realize when I started, Google Docs is great for small documents but very poor for writing a book.

Question: Do you have a message you want to get out to the world? Have you ever considered writing a book?

p.s. I have never shared so openly about a project before and I will tell you after it is done whether this was helpful or not. So far, the extra pressure of other people knowing what I am doing has given me an extra push to speed up the process. I do know keeping the idea quiet until the project was well underway was a very good thing!

We affect more people than we realize. We affect the barista at Starbucks when we buy our coffee, our clients and coworkers, and certainly our dearest loved ones. This is a powerful blessing and a huge responsibility and needs to remain in the forefront of our minds.

Claudia reminded me of this just the other day. We had about 100 people together for our music school’s Spring concert. The afternoon was wonderful. The students did a marvelous job and the time was a real joy for me as a teacher and a business owner.

Claudia pointed out how I am impacting all those people. My students, their families, our teachers, and even the grandparents indirectly. This realization gave me a deeper appreciation for what I do and also a sense of responsibility to use this influence to bless others and make a difference.

What about in your own life? Are you aware of the reach of people you are affecting? It’s probably bigger than you think.

What I want to do and what I encourage you to do is this: recognize the extent to which you are affecting people and use that reach to bless and build others up.

Take a minute and jot down all the different people you are affecting in one way or another. Is their life better because you are in it?

The story goes, a famous trapeze artist was instructing his students on how to complete a performance on the high bar. After finishing his talk, he asked his students to demonstrate what they had learned. One of his students stood looking up at his precarious perch, pictured himself falling, and become completely frozen in fear.

“I can’t do it. I can’t do it.” he gasped. The instructor put his hand on his shoulder and said these words:

“Throw your heart over the bar and your body will follow.” 

For a year and a half now, Michael and I have been on this adventure of entrepreneurship and praise be to God and a LOT of hard work we are doing it!

Well, the time has come for me to embark on another adventure; to throw my heart over a new bar.

Since we started our business I have kept my part-time job at an orthodontists’ office. However, I have been longing to doing something entrepreneurially on my own.

Two months ago, I handed in my notice at work. You see, I have been working on a book (A guidebook for braces) for quite a few months now. It is in the last stages of completion and next month marks the launch date.

How did I decide to do this?

I evaluated my current skills and knowledge and chose a project that was both scary and simple, as Seth Godin recommends. I realized I have an abundant amount of knowledge in the orthodontic field and, therefore, decided to write a guidebook for the process of wearing braces.

I am going to self publish and will be keeping you updated on both the process and my progress (how I am doing what I am doing, and how the process goes as I move forward.)

For any of you curious about the writing and self publishing process, you have come to the right place. I will be learning and sharing with you what I am learning as I go!

So, to start off this series of posts and to give you a little glimpse into the head of someone jumping into something new, here is a recent little interview between me and my head:

An interview between me and my head

Head: “Who says you can do this?”

Me: “Well, I do!”

Head: “Are you sure this is going to work?”

Me: “No”

Head: “Then why are you doing it?”

Me: “Because I want to see how high I can fly and if I never jump I will never find out!”

Head: “But isn’t it unwise to do something unless you are sure it’s going to work?”

Me: “I view it a little differently than you, head. Risk and reward are on opposite ends of the balance beam and you cannot have one without the other. They travel as a pair. ‘This might work,’ or ‘this might not work’, are two phrases which are the fascinating part of becoming an artist and doing something that matters.

If it doesn’t work, I win as long as I learn from it and move on. If it does work, yay! I will have a little party and then move on. The whole idea is to keep moving, keep trying things, and figure out what works and what doesn’t work.

I choose buoyancy as my motto, have you ever tried it head?”

Head: “No, and it doesn’t sound fun.”

Head: “So, what if you fail?”

Me: “You see, head, ‘change’ has a twin sister and her name is failure. The possibility is always there for failure, yes, but there is also the possibility of success. I choose to focus on the fact that change, as a whole, brings growth. Whether I fail or succeed, I grow.

I can’t help but move towards change if I want to keep growing.”

Head: “This is going to be scary!”

Me: “Yup! Isn’t it fascinating?!”

Head: “I can’t do it; I can’t see anything; it’s dark out here!”

Me: “Yes,I know, but it will be ok. Just put one foot in front of the other and don’t stop moving. Oh, and don’t look back.”

Oh, and by the way head, would you mind putting some duct tape over your mouth and blinders over your eyes? It will help us out a lot. Thanks!”

adventure to be continued………..

“You can risk being wrong or you can be boring” – Seth Godin 

p.s Here is some more encouragement about the “The Roller Coaster of Shipping ”

In the video below, I share five key elements which helped me cover our $400 concert expense, get FREE water ice for 100 people, and get FREE printing for all our programs.  All this in only 3 hours of my time!

There’s one thing I don’t mention in the video that was super helpful in coming up with the five key elements.

Before starting, I thought about how I would want someone to approach me as a business owner and ask me to buy ad space. I knew I would want someone to be clear and to the point, quickly explaining the opportunity. And, I would not want to feel “sold” to.

5 key elements of my successful sales presentation

1. Establish credibility - I physically handed them a business card when I introduced myself. This gave me a certain level of credibility.

2. Picture opportunity in their mind – I said, “We’re going to have a whole audience full of families from the area.” They could picture in their mind the exposure they would get.

3. Tell them it is a good opportunity – I said, “I’m stopping by some of the local businesses to see which of them are interested.” I didn’t say, “to see if any of them are interested.” I positioned it as something that businesses are already interested in.

4. Show them exactly what they will be getting – I physically showed them the professional looking program their ad would be in. I clearly laid out the three size options and the prices, $27, $47, and $87.

5. Directly ask them if they are interested – At the end of my 20 second presentation, I directly asked them, “Is this something that interests you?”

I hope there’s something from this story you can take away and apply to what you’re doing. For me, I learned it pays to think through how I’m going to explain something and what it would be like if someone was coming to me with the same offer.

How can you apply what I experienced with selling ad space to something you’re doing in you life or business?

My first encounter with The Rift was when I danced wildly across a stage in high school. I then encountered him while embarking on a journey alone to Colorado. I glimpsed him again while driving through the mountains into Tibet, and later in the red dust of Australia.

Then, something happened and I turned away from The Rift. He disappeared for quite a few years. I was disgusted with myself for letting him go out of sight but it gradually became easier to avoid the places I knew The Rift would be. I never went towards challenge, or fear, or anything new. I never went towards the things I was afraid of and neither did I move towards forgiveness. I new The Rift would be there.

I carried things, heavy things. They rolled around in my head and weighted my steps. I let them fill my mind with doubt and fear, anger and indecision. I let these things distort my thoughts, my marriage, my life.

You see, The Rift says things like, “Come fly with me,” “Let go of the past,” “Let go of your fear.” He is usually on the other side of a long dark tunnel or at the top of a precarious mountain path. He habitually looks wind swept and mystifying; his long coat flapping in the wind.

He never stays in one place very long but beckons from the high places.

His clothes which fit his sinewy body appropriately look as though the very dust which sticks to them is full of unspeakable adventure. What stands out most about The Rift, however, is his eyes. They are as clear and blue as a mountain lake and just as calm. They sparkle like a thousand diamonds in a single rock, and life glistens from their corners.

You see, The Rift lives in the space between. He dwells in the corridors of the unknown and the uncomfortable. He travels lightly and always moves quickly.

I recently met up with The Rift again. I spotted him when I first held my new born little boy. I glimpsed the corner of his long flowing coat slipping around the corner on the path just ahead. Then, I glimpsed even more of him when Michael and I lept into the world  of entrepreneurship. It was fascinating to see those diamond eyes again.

I saw him when we put our house up for sale and when I quit my job. I am seeing more and more of The Rift these days because I am choosing to jump more and more often.

The fascinating thing about The Rift is you never quite know where you will end up when traveling with him. But the journey, oh the journey is truly divine and a life lived without The Rift is a sad life to live.

Question: Have you met The Rift?

Recently, I gave a free class at one of our local libraries. My purpose was to build the student base at our music school. I have done these classes in the past and they have been extremely valuable for us. We have actually gotten more than half of our students this way!

The classes have worked out so well because they are a win-win all the way around, for the students, the library, and our music school.

For this particular class I had been preparing for a couple of weeks. I was planning on doing something a little different and had thought through how to add more value for the students and parents. I was excited to see how it would work out.

I had also thought long and hard on how to best present our lesson service to the parents so they would clearly understand what we do and how we could help them.

I got up at 4 AM the morning of the class and was confident of the great presentation I had prepared. I believed parents were going to sign up for lessons in droves at the end of the class!

It didn’t quite go that way. We did have a great presentation prepared, but never had a chance to actually present it. No one showed up! Not one single person. It was a huge disappointment. I had put a lot of work into preparing for this class and had high expectations for it!

As I left the library, I remembered the quote,”If you haven’t failed, you’re not trying hard enough.” Gradually it dawned on me that it was actually a good thing the class was a flop. This failure was proof that I’m trying things. It’s proof that I’m not just sticking to the safe and secure. I’m taking risks in an effort to grow, both in our business and personally.

After giving myself a couple of hours to be down about it I decided to get over it. I let it go.

Today I want to encourage you to take risks. I want to encourage you to try hard, and yes, perhaps fail.

We’ll never know the capacity of the gifts we’ve been given until we boldly reach out to those outer limits.

Your playing small does not serve the world… We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. - Marianne Williamson

Question: Have you failed recently? 

A teacher needs to prepare for a new year of students, a farmer needs to plant new crops and feed hungry animals, a writer finishes one book and begins another one. The cycle continues.

Eleanor Roosevelt in her book, You Learn By Living, says feeling both useful and needed are the necessary requirements for happiness.

“Usefulness, whatever form it may take, is the price we should pay for the air we breathe and the food we eat and the privilege of being alive. And it is its own reward, as well, for it is the beginning of happiness, just as self-pity and withdrawal from the battle are the beginning of misery.

It is easy to slip into self-absorption and it is equally fatal. When one becomes absorbed in himself, in his health, in his personal problems, or in the small details of daily living, he is, at the same time, losing interest in other people; worse, he is losing his ties to life. From that it is an easy step to losing interest in the world and in life itself. That is the beginning of death.”

We function best and are happiest when we feel both useful and needed.

So what does this look like?

Well, for example, writing this blog post today makes me feel both useful and needed. I know you will be expecting it and I hope you will find encouragement from it. I, on the other hand, am a much happier person when I write. You see, we all need each other. You need what I have to offer and I need what you have to offer.

So, what is it you have to offer?

Being needed looks like presenting the world the things we are good at. When we share these things we feel needed and useful because we are needed and useful.

Do you see the marvelous way this all works?

Whatever you’ve got inside of you, no one else has! No one else has the exact genetic makeup you have. The world needs each of us and the things we do best.

Fulfillment comes when we choose to boldly offer what we do best, when we step up, step out, and offer ourselves. Here I am, and this is how I can serve and be useful. This is what I bring to the table.

We need you! What will you offer?

One of the things we realized once again on this trip was the value of meeting people in person. Blogs and social media are great and all, but your relationships and opportunities strengthen and grow when you share a cup of coffee or a bit to eat.

Watch this short video to find out with whom we had the opportunity to spend time!

video note: Sohail Khan 

Try this out for yourself. Over the next two weeks, get out and meet someone in person you’d like to get to know better.

Buy them coffee, attend a seminar, keep an ear out for when people are going to be in your area and ask them if you can buy them lunch.

You never know what might come of it.

“I’ll get to you and everything else another time.”

The thing is, we can choose what to be busy with. We often don’t take the time, however, to evaluate if what is keeping us busy is the stuff we really need to be doing.

Is our busyness helping us become the people we want to be? Is it pulling us towards generosity, towards the things that are truly valuable? Is it fulfilling? Does it touch the place deep in our souls which say, “Yes, I am doing what I was put on this earth to do!” Does it?

Or, is it simply filling the space between who we are and who we are afraid to be?

We wear busy like a badge of honor. The appeal is attractive. It beckons us, the lure of the group. Everyone is doing it, so we join in.

But busy is no badge if it blinds us to the music of our life.

If busy blocks opportunities to leave the world around us richer, then we need to seriously consider why we are doing what we are doing.

Let me explain.

You see, urgent things are things like email, paperwork, phone calls, social media, busy work, etc. Important things are the real meat of your life. They are always directly tied to your long-term vision and goals. Important things are the things you dream about getting around to doing but never actually do.

For me, doing urgent things often makes me feel temporarily fulfilled because I am DOING something. But, it is pointless doing all the urgent things in the world if they are not leading me where I ultimately want to go in life.

One very important thing for me is setting aside time to review my goals each month. I can think of a dozen other urgent things I could do with these hours but I take the time, go to the library, and pull out my long-term goals. I then evaluate whether I am on track with where I want to go in life.

This month, however, I planned to review my goals a week ago. I put it off to do some things with my business that I was falling behind on (urgent things.) So, I planned on taking a couple of hours to do it another day. Well, that day rolled around and again I thought of a dozen or two reasons (good urgent reasons) why I should put it off again.

You see, it’s hard not to be distracted by email, little to-do’s, and random projects because they are so urgent. It’s easy to jump in and get them done.

However, it’s more challenging for me to review my goals because it is not so cut and dry as sending a quick email. It takes time, energy, and a lot of introspection. And, I will say guts. It takes guts to face your life and evaluate how you are actually doing.

When I do look over my goals and decide what is really import me, however, I get a new sense of clarity and vision for my life. I am then able to quickly identify things I need to be working on that will have the long-term payoff I am looking for.

Working this way feels much more fulfilling and satisfying than just doing the urgent which will forever be before me. I don’t get the immediate gratification of an empty inbox, but I do get something way more important, I get the gratification of knowing that I am doing the really important things in life.

I am being strategic with my life and this is deeply fulfilling. All the urgent in the world is not going to keep me from the truly important things life.

Working on important verses urgent things reminds me to work smarter not harder.

Is it just me, or is it sometimes hard for you too not to let the important things get crowded out by the urgent things?

I am listening to Julia Child’s audiobook “My Life In France,” and am finding it intriguing to say the least. When Julia was 36 she had the opportunity to move to Paris with her husband Paul. Open and willing to embrace the opportunity before her she sailed to her new home across the ocean.

Little did Julia know France would release something in her she never even knew existed, a captivating adoration for French cuisine! This discovery transformed her entire life.

She eventually became a household name by bringing French cuisine to the American public.

Imagine if Julia Child would have refused to go to France. What if she had been unwilling to embrace the change which knocked at her door? Would her relentless passion for cooking have ever been born?

I tell you this story not because we are all as fascinated by French cuisine as Julia was, but because something interesting is revealed in her story. Julia was an obvious devotee to change. Had she been resistant to the opportunity of moving to France who knows if she would have found her “life’s calling,” as Julia later called it.

Life is always changing and each change offers opportunity to develop, expand and flourish. Change can be thrilling if we are willing to view it that way.

To be honest, I have never found myself more alive than when I am in the midst of change. I find I feel wildly alert and keenly engaged in life when I intentionally seek out and embrace change. I don’t always find it easy, but I love the shapeliness it gives my life.

Without it I revert to mindless motions and feel a gray numb spreading it’s cold fingers over my mind and spirit. With change, however, my senses re-awaken, my sight is transformed, and weariness disappears. I have fresh ideas, and change puts an energetic spring back in my step.

Perhaps a little change is just what you need to gain a fresh perspective on your life. Perhaps change will open your eyes to new opportunities or new ways of viewing your current situation. And maybe, or most likely, change will help you gain clarity, vision, and courage to move in a new direction.

Perhaps a little change could be your ticket to a full and rewarding life. What do you think?

Can you relate to the thrill of change?

However, there are a select few that impacted me on an even greater scale. These are the ones I reread and refer back to over and over again. I call them my pivotal books. One these is Zig Ziglar’s classic, See You At The Top.

As someone who is relatively new to the world of entrepreneurship and business, there are many leading entrepreneurs I look up to. I decided to ask a few of them to share a pivotal book recommendation and why it made such an impact in their lives.

Here is the recommended reading list I received from 20 leading entrepreneurs.

Seth Godin - sethgodin.com

Pivotal book: The Republic of Tea by Mel Ziegler and Patricia Ziegler

“It exposed the long hard road for what it is… a journey worth taking.”

Derek Sivers - sivers.org

Pivotal book: Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield

“It was the right message at the right time for me. About facing fears, eliminating excuses, losing your ego, and getting back to work.

He kept calling himself an author, but had never finished a book. So he rented a cabin in the woods, and vowed to finish it. My favorite quote: ‘I didn’t talk to anybody during my year of turning pro. I didn’t hang out. I just worked. I had a book in mind and I had decided I would finish it or kill myself. I could not run away again, or let people down again, or let myself down again. This was it, do or die. I had no TV, no radio, no music. No sex, no sports. I didn’t read the newspaper. I was truly productive, truly facing my demons, and truly working my [stuff]. That year made me a pro.’

That’s what I’m doing now, partially because of this book.”

Lewis Howes - lewishowes.com

Pivotal book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

“The Alchemist really helped me to understand that it’s not about reaching some big goal right now, rather it’s important to strive for big goals but appreciate the entire process along the way.”

Mitch Gordon - gooverseas.com

Pivotal book: Influence by Robert Cialdini

“Robert Cialdini’s book influenced me in a meaningful way. Startups test and measure tangible metrics on a daily basis. However, it’s also important to understand how your users/clients think. Cialdini does an excellent job of giving the entrepreneur insight into what influences the decisions we all make, both from a practical and evolutionary perspective.”

Chris Guillebeau - chrisguillebeau.com

Pivotal books: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl and Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder

“Among others, I especially appreciated Man’s Search for Meaning and Mountains Beyond Mountains. Both of these books helped me understand that serving others is not only necessary, but it helps us find our own fulfillment and place in the world.”

Forbes Riley - forbesriley.com

Pivotal book: The Artist Way by Julia Cameron

“The book required that you write each morning 3 pages called “morning pages” which is a random outpouring of your thoughts on paper and I was so impressed how big a difference it made on mind and my thoughts. The second piece of work the book required was to “take yourself on a date.” For me as a young woman, I had never considered treating myself the way I would treat others. I found myself going to movies, parks and museums and spending countless hours self-reflecting and dreaming. You read each chapter for one week and by the time I got to week 7, my life had changed.

Another book that profoundly changed my life was Og Mandino’s The Greatest Salesman in the World – I devoured this book and have reread it more than 100 times. It’s an eye-opener, the teachings practical, useful and doable. And apparently with more than $2 Billion dollars in sales of health and fitness product – it must have worked!”

Chris Brogan - chrisbrogan.com

Pivotal book: Business Stripped Bare by Richard Branson

“Business Stripped Bare by Sir Richard Branson was the first business book where I felt like Sir Richard had built his company out using the same frame of mind that I would use. I clearly have a much smaller enterprise, but the mindset I employ is very similar.”

Yaro Starak - entrepreneurs-journey.com

Pivotal book: The Perfect Store: Inside eBay by Adam Cohen

“The Perfect Store: Inside eBay, was one of the most influential books for me, especially back ten years ago when I read it. I was just beginning my foray into online business and the eBay startup story was inspiring and educational.

One of the most important concepts I learned from in it was the principle of “many-to-many”, where a business can service many customers by using technology to link them to many suppliers (like with online auctions). If you control the technology that manages the transaction, you have the potential scale as big as you can without actually providing the product or service yourself, which I really liked.

I still recommend the book today because eBay is one of those companies that has stood the test of time as a true internet success story.”

Derek Weber - goBRANDgo.com

Pivotal book: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

“The Lean Startup put a roadmap and structure to a loose collection of ideas I had in my head and turned me on to do additional research on Toyota’s Lean Manufacturing. Armed with this fundamental information, we were able to retool our entire web design and development process cutting production time by nearly half, increasing the quality (and therefore price) of our sites, and having happier more engaged clients…a win, win, win.”

Chris Ducker - chrisducker.com

Pivotal book: Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk

“For me one of the books that really made me DO SOMETHING from recent years was Crush It, by Gary Vaynerchuk. The whole personal branding thing just really resonated with me, and I ran with it - big time!”

Jaime Tardy - eventualmillionaire.com

Pivotal book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

“The most pivotal book I ever read was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It was a book about purpose, and how nothing should stop you from achieving your aim. It’s a short read, and fiction, but it put so many things into perspective. I highly recommend it.”

Brenton Hayden - renterswarehouse.com

Pivotal books: ReWork by Jason Freid and David Hansson and Traction by Gino Wickman

“I have two books, and really only two I really, really believe in. ReWork written by Jason Freid and David Hansson. It is written as a software self-help book, but I use the same principles in my property management business and in many of my other entrepreneurial ventures. I even read the book cover to cover with my advisory board, and they too enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed chapters; emulate drug dealers, and be more like chefs. Obviously the titles are catchy, but the chapters are full of easy use and intuitive advice that every entrepreneur can use and learn from.

The other book I really stand behind is Traction by Gino Wickman. I first heard about the book from my CEO club, Entrepreneurs Organization. Nearly all 78 CEO’s I was involved with all raved about this book. As a newbie to the group, it was hard to ignore that sort of endorsement. So I read the book, and immediately hired their high price consultants to put it into play with my entire team. At first I was struggling to justify the expense, however now I feel it was one of the best moves I made in 2012 was to implement what they teach in the book.

This books teaches you to get organized and measure your business’s growth in more than one way, and on top of that, they will teach you to grow as well through their Level 10 meetings.”

Dane Maxwell - thefoundation.com

Pivotal book: Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz

“It taught me about how Self Image is the driver for all of my decisions and how to shape mine so I can be unstoppable.”

Guy Kawasaki - guykawasaki.com

Pivotal book: If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland

“If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland was pivotal for me. It encouraged me to write books when few people, including myself, thought I was capable of writing books. It changed my life.”

Amy Applebaum - amyapplebaum.com

Pivotal book: Loving What Is by Byron Katie

“Byron Katie’s book was pivotal because it taught me to question whether my beliefs about life, business, everything are true. We spend so much time blindly believing things/ideas that limit us from our potential without questioning. “I can do this, I can’t do that because of X.” Time to say, “Is that even true?” My whole life and business changed when I started to question.”

Patrick Roche - thinktankportland.com

Pivotal book: Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

“This may seem a bit antithetical, but Siddhartha by Herman Hesse continues to be a seminal book in my life.

Not only as a human being experiencing life as a journey, but also as a business owner who strives to put human capital first. As the founder and director of Think Tank Coworking, I’m in the business of encouraging collaborations and cultivating a social workspace that brings great minds together for big ideas and big ventures.

My hope is that those ventures will be built around core values of meaningful, sustainable growth and common decency, not just capital gain.

There’s a chapter in Siddhartha, “Among the Child People” that recounts the Buddha’s time spent as a wealthy merchant – a time ultimately devoid of public service. My hope is that as I continue to build this business (and others) that I can do so in an equitable, fair and ultimately uplifting way…”

Steve Kamb - nerdfitness.com

Pivotal book: Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson

“My pivotal book would have to be Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson. Highly entertaining, well written, and [very] inspiring. It took me from thinking ‘hey, this is a pretty fun little company and community’ and shifted my thinking to ‘how can I change the world with my company?’ Thanks Mr. Branson!”

Aaron Schwartz - modifywatches.com

Pivotal book: Peak by Chip Conley

“Chip Conley is the founder of Joie de Vivre Hotels and a student of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In Peak, Conley shares insights into how to unlock the higher-order “needs” of customers, investors and employees. It’s very easy for entrepreneurs to worry about the bottom line; and we all take pleasure from building a big strategy and executing it.

Peak opened my eyes to think much more about how to create happiness – and meaning – for all of Modify’s stakeholders.”

John Saddington – john.do

Pivotal book: Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson changed my life because it not only planted a seed for a future product and trajectory for one of my ventures, but it also gave me a new perspective on how I even pick and choose between opportunities that appear often.

The book helped declutter my mind and helped me focus on the things that mattered the most which directly resulted in quitting a dozen or so half-baked projects and refining my attention on the really good stuff that had real potential to change the world.

Jon Dale - jondale.com

Pivotal book: Tribes by Seth Godin

Tribes by Seth Godin changed the way I think about business and launched me into a new career helping organizations apply the principles in the book.

What about you?

What has been a pivotal book for you and why?

Leave your response in the comments. I’d love to know!

I can remember stopping in the hallway as a tall, gangly, and very shy freshman and saying to myself, “No one knows me here. I can become anyone I want to.” I decided then and there I no longer wanted to be known as timid and shy. I wanted to be bold. I wanted to make a difference in the world. I wanted to have a strong voice; I wanted to do things of significance, weighty things, things that mattered.

(Ok, so maybe I didn’t know I wanted to do all of those things in that moment but I did know I was tired of being the person everyone else expected me to be. I was tired of being fearful and spineless and unnoticed. I was tired of feeling unimportant.)

Months passed and I never knew the brevity of that decision until the day I had decided to try out for the school musical “You Can’t Take It With You.” It would be my 4th and final attempt (the previous 3 having been complete failures) at a chance to shine on stage.

Throwing all caution to the wind

This time I had decided to do something different. I planned to throw all caution to the wind and go all in no matter what. I figured it was better to go out in a blaze of glory rather than continue my tradition of semi-bravely trying, but never quite making the cut.

As my tryout time drew near, I was given a script and quickly read over my lines. I remember a feeling of dread slowly climbing deep within my chest like a lumbering giant which wrapped its burly arms around my lungs so tight I could barely breathe. I swallowed rapidly through my parched throat. The part I had been given was that of a skittish and giddy ballerina named Essie. Essie was quite obviously delusional. She was obsessed with ballet, wearing a tutu constantly, but was completely unaware of her dreadful lack of talent.

Panic overtook me as I realized I was expected to dance or thrash about across the entirety of the stage while spouting lines as I went!

This posed a major problem for me. You see, though I had decided I wanted to change, at this point I was still shy. And shy people don’t just throw themselves across a stage in front of strangers, let alone peers! They hide in the back of the room and try to blend in.

I realized I had two choices:

I could either hurl myself across the stage in wild abandon, putting on a shocking display of my newly uninhibited passion. Or, I could meekly tiptoe about, spinning in a half-hearted style, murmuring lines as I went.

As I pondered my course of action, I knew which one I had to choose. I wanted to become a different person and the only choice that would allow me this chance was to dance across the stage with wild abandon.

Time became sluggish. An elephantine amount seemed to elapse as I stood there alone, facing the open stage. My heart throbbed noisily in my chest.

I reminded myself of the pact I had made with myself in the hallway, “I can become anyone I want to.” I edged my foot forward and then with a swiftness that shoved all hesitancy aside, I did what I had never done before. I threw myself across the stage in true and wild abandon!

I felt like I was leaping off a cliff. I didn’t know how a lousy ballerina who thinks she is awesome danced, but I twirled and leapt through the air as only a delusional ballerina could. I felt my long legs splitting the silence in the auditorium, my hair spraying about like a cascade of water around my face. For a moment in time, I lost all cares. I was free! I was unencumbered by fear or worry of what others might think. It was fascinatingly and wildly wonderful!

The moment passed in a flash but the glimmer of freedom which I felt is still palpable today. The day I danced across that stage is the day I came alive. It changed my life forever. Not because I wanted to be an actress, no, it was deeper. I was finally able to glimpse who I was capable of becoming.

When my time in the spotlight came to a close, I stood gasping for air. I broke out in a cold sweat trying to comprehend what I had done. I had moved mountains that day, and the air I was breathing felt new and rich and it teemed with life!

I had learned one very important lesson:

I needed to pick myself before anyone could pick me. That was the day I decided to step into view.

I chose to throw myself across the stage knowing this was an action I needed to take to become the person I wanted to be. ”Here I am, this is my very best. I am holding nothing back! What do you think?”

A few days later, I saw my name printed in vivid black letters on a paper taped to the window in the music room. My awkward gallop across the stage had indeed hooked me the part of Essie the ballerina. I have never been the same since.

We all get a chance

We all get the chance to dance, but few choose to expose themselves to the winds of change and risk. We fear looking foolish or making a mistake.

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” ~Theodore Roosevelt.

Since that day, I continually dare myself to leap, and twirl, and throw myself into the scary places. To step up, to choose to matter.

Do I do it all the time? Nope. But that’s OK. Each time I leap my legs get stronger. The interesting part is I have not found the leap to be any less scary. Thrilling, yes, but no less scary. The part that has become easier is recognizing when I need to leap, leaping quicker, and trusting the outcome will always provide opportunity for growth no matter what happens.

I still break out into a cold sweat when doing scary things, even while writing this. Or posting over here.

These things are scary, but we have to do them.  The true value lies in who we become when we do them.

Something beautiful happens when we choose to jump, choose to matter. All of heaven seems to come to our aid. Life is sweeter, fuller, and opportunities abound.

Tell me, have you jumped recently? How did it help you to grow?

It makes sense. You’re not much good to anyone if you’re running on E, not firing on all cylinders. Take care of yourself first so you can serve others better.

I think it’s interesting that in the times when I am most rundown, I am the least likely to do the things necessary to get back to full capacity. And it doesn’t just affect me either. I make poor decisions, become near-sighted, and get short with my wife, Claudia.

One of the best ways I’ve found to stay sharp and living my best is to everyday invest time alone to do three things: think, read, and plan.

1. Think

Take time to think about what’s most important in your life and in your day. It’ll give you confidence in your business ventures and in life. My favorite way to think is with pen and legal pad in hand doing anything from doodling to writing out a list of pros and cons.

2. Read

Fill your mind with new thoughts and ideas. Commit to reading at least 30 minutes everyday. It will inspire and energize you. It’s said who you will be in five years is determined by the books you read and the people you spend time with.

3. Plan

What gets scheduled gets done. As entrepreneurs, we often have a lot on our plates because we’re chasing big dreams and juggling many things at once. In addition to long-range goals, set monthly, weekly, and daily goals.

Make time for the things that are actually important rather than having your days crowded out by the immediate and urgent.

Take care of yourself first so you can serve others better.

Are you investing the necessary time to be operating at full capacity? How much more affective could you be if you had a clear vision and plan?

The answer to this question pinpoints something in each of us which makes us squirm inside. As we face this question and mull it over in our minds, we feel jumpy. The question feels weighty and difficult, and yet we feel a spark of life in the corner of our eyes when we think about it. We quickly blink it away trying to pretend we didn’t notice the gleam.

“You can’t just throw around questions like that and get answers!” A voice chirps from somewhere in the back.

Or can you?

Another voice declares, “You can’t just pursue what you really want; that is selfish. You are better off doing something that is safe and selfless.”

So, we go about doing things, anything to fill the void. We do things that make us feel safe, untouchable. We do it for money, we do it to please or appease others, we do it because we were told it would make us feel happy, safe, and successful. We do it because we have kids in college and debts to pay for piles of stuff that now sits like a putrid pile of manure under our noses. It never made us happy anyway.

It doesn’t work. We stare at the ladder we just climbed, realizing with horror, it was the wrong ladder.

A different story emerges when we decide to face the question, “What would I do if I wasn’t afraid?”

A long stream of etherial music starts to emerge from our lives. It may start off a simple rasp and creaking groan but as we push forward a single note emerges with such clarity and resonance it cannot be ignored. We are enraptured. We run, we fall, we get up again. The music keeps playing.

Facing fears becomes something we do instead of something we don’t do. We start to emerge from our ulcer-ridden, cowering selves and become the strong oaks we were always meant to be.

There will always be more fears to face. One will be conquered and another will rise, a mountain, steep and unmapped.

We will constantly fight against the part of all of us which strives to one day arrive, safe and comfortable forevermore. But comfortable has never changed the world and we know deep down this is not us anyway. We know were were made to ride on into the sunset. To figure things out, to fight valiant battles, to open closed doors, and to climb the tallest mountain before us. We are good till we die!

When we look at our own lives with practical eyes, we see walls, we see barriers, we see unanswered questions. We see long, dark corridors.

But if we let our focus change and use our eyes of possibility, if we use our creativity and passion and mind to actually THINK through the question, “What would I do if I wasn’t afraid” rather than scurry about constantly asking others what we should do, we see a different life. If we turn the question over and over in our minds like a rotisserie chicken allowing every avenue exploration and ideas room to settle in and take root, the walls and barriers start to go away.

We see answers right if front of our eyes. We see paths open up. We see opportunity waiting to be stepped into. We see ourselves victorious. We see strength where weakness used to dwell. We see light, and hope, and vigor. We see generosity and engagement.

We see ourselves at the end of our lives smiling, knowing we lived as brave and as full a life as we could. We smile because we loved without limits, we forgave freely and we let go. We smile because we moved forward and reaped the rewards. We smile because we pushed as far and as hard as we could, we explored the depths of our possibility, and we faced what we needed to face head on. And, we smile because we lived a brilliant life.

Let us not forget brilliant.

It is there for the taking. Brilliant feels like growing younger from a life which exudes courage. It feels like a gust of cool wind, the freedom of change. It sparkles as water deep and unknown, gloriously reviving. Brilliant quenches our deepest thirst to make a difference. Brilliant cannot be ignored.

This is where we are headed, dear friends, if we are willing to lace up our running shoes and step out into the unknown. To face the fear knowing that this is the thrill and the blessing of our journey!

We will never get to where we want to go unless we dive deeper and go farther than we have gone in the past. Doing the same things, acting the same way, and making the same decisions won’t get us where we need to go. It is like staring at the ground hoping a tree will grow which has never been planted!

The fear will never go away. But, learning to use it to propel us ever onward gets easier. Fear shows us where we need to go, if we are willing to continually jump into the void before us.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous- actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. 

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. 

It is not just in some of us: it is in everyone, and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

~Marianne Williamson 

What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

Inspiration from: The Art of Possibility by Benjamin and Rosamund Zander, Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson, The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightengale, Icarus Deception by Seth Godin, Char, and Angel.

The Big 5, Daily 5, and Nightly 3 Practice

The Big 5: Ask yourself, “What are five things I need to do before the last hour of the last day of my life here on this earth in order for me to feel like I have lived a truly extraordinary life?”

Write this down somewhere and review it at the beginning of each month while you’re looking over your monthly goals. Plan your goals and your life around your Big 5.

The Daily 5: Every morning, ask yourself, “What are five little things I can do today to make today a valuable day?”

For me, sometimes this is playing with my son for 15 minutes before he goes to bed, or go for a walk with my wife, Claudia, or smile and say hi to a stranger.

Write these down in your journal and refer to them as needed throughout your day.

The Nightly 3: Every night before you fall asleep, ask yourself, “What are three things I am grateful for today?”

As entrepreneurs and those who want to live a life of purpose and passion, it’s critical to keep a healthy perspective. I think of the Persian proverb, I cursed the fact I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.

It doesn’t matter if you had the worst day ever, you can always find at least three things to be grateful for. It might be as simple as your health, and having a bed to sleep in, some people have neither. Again, write these down in your journal always ending your day with your mind focused on thankfulness and gratitude. You will find yourself becoming a different person because of it.

I challenge you to join me in doing the Big 5, Daily 5, and Nightly 3 Practice for one week. I think you’ll reap the same positive benefits of more meaning, purpose, and happiness as I have and decide to make it a regular practice.

Possibility is an eager leap into what lies ahead. It is unabashed, plucky, and animated.

Possibility rings with hope and shiny newness. It stands out from the crowd with a bold smile and a striking remark which wakes us from our stupor. The lies we robotically repeat to ourselves are replaced with clear words of vision, newness… possibility.

Possibility recognizes every day as a clean slate, therefore today is a door wide open.

Possibility makes our eyes glimmer.

Possibility means we can adjust, reshape, revamp, transform, change.

Possibility makes our hearts beat swiftly, and changes the face of every struggle into one of opportunity. Opportunity to become, absorb, discover, understand, and change.

Possibility inhales crisp clean air which is infused with hope.

Possibility looks like a child, rosy-cheeked and robust, bursting in from the frigid outdoors. Her eyes shimmer with excitement, her smile as wide as a chasm and as free as the wind. Wisps of her hair float above her and her expectant face is turned upward and quivers with delight at what is to come.

Possibility wakes us and says, “What will this spectacular day offer?” and “How can I contribute to this spectacular day?”

Possibility is incomparable when whispered or spoken in a hushed tone. For mystery surrounds her as mist over a barely visible path. A whisper encapsulates the passion which lies deep at the heart of this word… possibility.

Speak it gently and your heart will beat faster, speak it in a whisper and you will find your eyes crinkling with joy and expectancy at what might be.

If there is possibility, we can raise our heads from our pillows each morning facing the day with engagement, joy, and trust. We can cast worry away and pick up our responsibility for now it feels lighter and easier to carry. It also looks a cheery shade of yellow where yesterday it seemed to display itself as a dull shade of gray.

Possibility is here and she is beautiful,  intriguing, fiery, bold, excitable, wise, and wide-eyed with wonder. She pauses, thinks, then moves briskly forward, wasting no time. She dances through heartache, she winks at trouble, she turns mud puddles into lush gardens and ordinary to breathtaking.

Where heartache drowns, possibility brings pebbles where your toes lead on new shorelines.

Where discouragement wraps you in weighty chains, possibility is lighter than a silvery soft melody.

Where perspective whacks you across the face, possibility tenderly turns your face and unearths the path to a new journey.

Possibility breathes deep and is the color of life, it is the color of your life, if is the color of my life.

Question: How are you embracing possibility today?

Here are 3 examples of the power of hustle.

1. A friend of mine who needed to find a job quickly made his own opportunity by hustling. He reached out to 30 companies, unaware if they were hiring or not. Over the course of a few weeks, had five or six great offers to choose from. This was possible because he had a plan and hustled to execute it.

Incidentally, he decided to not accept any of those offers but negotiated with his favorite companies and became an independent contractor for them. He’s crushing it making great money with more and more work coming in every day.

2. A little while back, a group of about 25 of us experienced the power of hustle together in our 30 Day Focus Challenge. Together, we focused for 30 days each of us planning to achieve individual goals. We kept each other accountable in the process and what we achieved was nothing short of amazing! One of the participants actually used the 30 Day Focus Challenge to complete a similar project of his own called Hustle Month.

3. Lastly, this guy wrote an entire book about the importance of hustling. His book is called 48 Days To The Work You Love. And the best part about it is it works! He then went on to build a whole business around the concept presented in the book.

Want to experience the power of hustle for yourself?

Ask yourself these two questions:

1. What is one area where I could hustle and make significant progress over the next 30 days?

2. How can I daily track and measure my progress while hustling? (This will give you visual motivation and encouragement.)

A little hustle is a powerful tool. It gives you a burst of forward momentum and when you have momentum, anything is possible!

Have you ever hustled? What’s one area where you could give it a try?