September 2007

We all know people who created a business which turned into a monster and ate all their time and energy. This is lame and it doesn’t have to happen to you.
As you become successful, you enter a potentially dangerous time. In our culture, it is easy to get caught up in the myth of More […]

Sometimes working so hard at a thing, you become used to struggle.
Abundance is flow, it’s the thing happening at the right time, better than you expected, glorious and full.
And when it happens, you have to let it in. You have to let it become your new reality. let go of the pain of the struggle. […]

Happiness is not a secret. It’s a goal.
The reason I am happy, as a person, is that I just can’t stand to be unhappy. It irks me, and whenever I’m not happy, I work continually until I figure out how to wrestle my life (or relax my life) back into that peaceful state of flow.
There […]

This morning, I nervously contemplated this question: “If I asked my business what it really needs right now, what would it say?”
The answer came back:

a bookkeeper
a tax advisor
a full time programmer

Oy. Well you can guess why my business isn’t getting these. All my issues!
Letting people look at all my money dirty laundry is scary. Trusting […]

I’ve been growing and expanding my business and life in all kinds of ways in the past month, so I was puzzled this morning that I was not feeling happy. Instead I felt like I had a loooong to-do list and I felt tired and grumpy.
So I took a long walk, stared at some ducks, […]

What is Codependency?
Robert Subby defines codependency as “An emotional, psychological, and behavioral condition that develops as a result of an individual’s prolonged exposure to, and practice of, a set of oppressive rules.”
The term comes out of treating alcoholics and their loved ones, who developed codependent patterns to cope with the alcoholic’s behavior. Codependency is a […]

Darren over at ProBlogger speaks about The Secret of Sustainable Blogging being making sure that your blog not just serves your readers but you as well, or else you will burn out and get bored of it.
This applies to any business I think, and it’s the only beef I have so far with The Four […]

The last time I moved, I was looking for boxes on craigslist. I saw a guy posting an ad “$1 per box, I deliver anywhere in Portland”.
I thought to myself “Yeah–but there are all these postings for free boxes, why pay $1 if I can get them for free?” So I jotted down the time […]

We’re all addicts.
Tim’s book The Four Hour Work Week has an entire section devoted to “Elimination”: getting rid of distractions that keep you from being effective. The biggest offenders are “work fidgets” - things we do that we don’t really need to do but they fill time. Like checking email 20 times a day.
Recognizing myself […]

Sometimes I get lost in focusing on money and business and lose sight of my playful side. I start feeling grumpy and sluggish and think “Why am I so obsessed with money?” But the truth is I’m not: money is this great game to me, as long as I’m connected to my sense of play with […]

Right now I’m reading Tim Ferris’s book The Four Hour Work Week, and I’m deep in outsourcing mode. I’ve got an Indian company that I’m courting to redo my accounting system and I’m testing out VA (virtual assistant) companies.
Here are my tips so far:
1. Don’t get desperate and try to unload the store on someone. […]