Accountability and Goal-Setting (Follow-up to WBR Segment 1/13/2013)

My January small business segment on ABC’s Washington Business Report with Rebecca Cooper-Dupin focused on accountability and goal-setting strategies to start 2013 strong. Accompanying me was my accountability partner and personal financial advisor, Anne McCabe Triana, owner of CAM Private Wealth (http://www.camprivatewealth.com). I’ve expanded on those strategies here, incorporating many great ideas from other small business owners.

Feeding Your 4 Food Groups in 2013: Mind, Body, Heart/Soul, Spirit

Forget the USDA Food Pyramid (at least for the next few minutes). The four food groups that truly nourish us are our Mind, Body, Heart/Soul, and Spirit. When we feed these every day, the rest of life takes care of itself.

Here are specific ways you can feed these four food groups in 2013.

Five Ways To Make The Most of Your Holiday Downtime

How we can make the most of our holiday downtime – you know those pockets of time when office productivity is low, laziness is high, and we’re all pressing the reset button to move into the new year? I came across an article by Kevin Daum (http://www.kevindaum.com), a best-selling author, Inc columnist, Inc 500 entrepreneur, and fellow Entrepreneurs Organization (http://www.eonetwork.org) member that answered this question.

I’ve taken 2 of his suggestions and mixed them with 3 of mine. Whether you’re the reflective, spiritual, meditative type, the hyper-focused Type-A type, or somewhere in between, there should be something for everyone on this list.

As an Entrepreneur, 11 Things For Which I am Thankful

It’s always the right time to live life from a place of gratitude. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, today I reflect on what it means to be thankful as an entrepreneur.

Are You a Colossal Entrepreneur?

At last week’s Cadre event (http://www.cadredc.com/), I had the opportunity to hear best selling author Mike Michalowicz (http://mikemichalowicz.com/) speak about his theory of Colossal Entrepreneurship, which is the basis of his book, “The Pumpkin Plan.” Just when I think I have finally mastered the whole entrepreneurship mindset, a new perspective comes along that makes me re-think my whole approach.

This is what happened with Mike. His idea of “The Pumpkin Plan” came from observing pumpkin farmers that grow colossal pumpkins over the course of a year. Those pumpkins don’t magically appear because of a healthy crop season and good luck. These farmers follow a systematic approach to pumpkin growth that differs from the strategies traditional farmers use to grow the maximum quantity of pumpkins possible.

Two Most Common Entrepreneurial Attributes – Not What You Think!

Entrepreneurs know that they require tremendous resilience and energy to recover from setbacks, move through challenges, and inspire others when situations are difficult. I’m often asked how I do have so much energy – especially since I live a caffeine-free/sugar-free life (no coffee, soda – or even chocolate as of October 1st).

I never have an answer because I don’t really understand what people are talking about. I only operate at this energy level. Anything else seems to be in slow motion.

Most entrepreneurs have two common attributes:

ADD/ADHD
A high BS level (always well-intentioned of course.) This could also be known as eternal optimism or eternal positivity

Your Greatest Success Lies Directly Behind Your Greatest Challenges

“Every adversity, every failure and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.”

This is just one of the golden nuggets of wisdom that stays with me from one of my all-time favorite business books, “Three Feet From Gold” by by Sharon L. Lechter and Greg S. Reid. (http://threefeetaway.com/). The book is a synopsis of Napoleon Hill’s philosophies for success (http://www.naphill.org/).

The title conveys that people often give up on their dreams because they believe they can’t succeed, when in reality, their success is within their grasp – sometimes literally three feet away.

Feeling discouragement or even despair when we’ve convinced ourselves that success isn’t an option happens to everyone. So how can we push past the negative thinking? How can we find the strength and resolve to continue for three more feet to find our own pot of gold?

Group Dynamics: Small Stones Cast Big Ripples

Throw a tiny pebble into a pond and watch the ripples reverberate. They cascade outward beyond the point that our eyes can see. The effects occur on the surface and beneath it. Have you ever thought about this change principle in the context of an organization? One of the most disruptive actions regarding a group’s dynamic is the addition of a new member. In an organization, bringing in just one new employee into a company can potentially affect the chemistry and interactions of existing employees, and therefore compromise productivity. Consciously or subconsciously, employees are thinking, “How will this change affect my job?” “How will this person affect how we do things around here?” Their sense of organizational trust may be challenged.