Taking this warning to heart, I’ve been systematically building processes and tactics into my business to deal with the problem up-front. Planting seeds of success, doing one thing every day to help bring in future business, is a great discipline. Another tactic I’ve been developing for some time now is fairly unusual for programmers and web-folks.

Talking to people, making friends

I’ve been an active member of Toastmasters Intl for quite a while now, which has been a great way for me to learn to speak to people about business topics with confidence. Now, I am going to be joining the Portland Business Alliance, to take a big step up in my offline business development activities.

I’m really looking forward to this, even if – however unlikely – doing so never directly nets me a new sale. Over and over in my life, I’ve noticed that people tend to earn about the same amount of money as their friends. I think it is a complex feedback system, partly based on whom you choose to be your friend, and partly on “things in common”. I wouldn’t have a lot in common with a welfare family, but I would with a small businessman.

So, in the best Keith Ferrazzi approved way, I will focus on expanding my business networking through friendships and involvement with interesting organizations rather than superficial business-card-exchanging.

Technorati Tags: networking, web-design, portland

This is the first time in my life I’ve quit one job without having another fulltime one lined up to replace it. It is truly a leap of faith for me to go 100% on my own.

The Universe hasn’t let me down

Contract jobs and opportunities are lined up to the point where I can pick and choose. I literally could not do all the work offered to me, were I to accept it. I’m not saying this to brag, although I am proud of it, but because it is validating a belief I’ve been building for some time. Take a committed step, and the Universe will arrange itself to fulfill your needs.

I have two more days to finish up at work and then I will be working from home full time. I am so eager to get going, and to regain some family time. You see, that’s how I knew I was ready to transition from employee to consultant, when I’d made more consulting in my off-hours than from my job. I needed to do it, to make sure I enjoyed the work and to build my portfolio, but the toll on my family life was more than I want to bear in the long term. I just can’t take 20-30 hours a week away from my family and stay happy for long.

Technorati Tags: consulting, freelancing, resignation

I know they would not have happened if I was playing World of Warcraft. Just this week, I was reading a discussion on ask metafilter, where one person eloquently phrased my exact feelings:

Several years from now, no matter how you spend the next several years, there will be many, many things you wish you had accomplished between now and then. Playing WoW is an obvious way to make sure you don’t accomplish things that you’ll one day wish you had. It’s a regret factory.

Regret Factory

“It is a regret factory”, what a great turn of phrase.

I have friends who play, and I have had a similar addiction in the past. I used to play Ultima Online, and vividly remember how much of my life was quite literally wasted amassing enough gold to buy an in-game house. Then I went on vacation, didn’t login for a while, and my house disappeared. Poof. In one instant, I didn’t even have the thin enjoyment of a pretend house to show for my months of effort.

Or Success

Contrast that event with what I’ve received from a similar dedication to business. In the last few months, I’ve made several thousand dollars from clients. I’ve made contacts with interesting people who I can help and who will be able to help me in the future. I’ve learned so much about marketing myself, commitment to myself, and believing in myself.

The wonderful thing about all that is that nothing can take those accomplishments away. Yes, I could spend the money. But all the learning doesn’t go away. The contacts wouldn’t fade if I went on vacation for a couple weeks. It is additive, and positive.

Even more interesting, and totally from-the-heart-true is the fact that it is thrilling. Actually, it is just as thrilling, only in a more deep-down way, as the rush from beating a boss in a video game. Landing a client feels simply amazing. Getting that multi-thousand dollar check feels unbelievable.

Similar Effort

My point here is not to try to talk people out of playing games. That’s foolish, and would never happen. What I’m trying to convince you to do is to take a long hard look at what is obsessing you. Is it building to the future? Or will it all evaporate the moment you stop paying attention to it?

If it is the latter, maybe you should reconsider your passions.

Technorati Tags: world of warcraft, warcraft, wow, mmorg, business

I first read about “the phenomenon” from Dan Kennedy’s book “No B.S. Wealth Attraction for Entrepreneurs”. In a nutshell, it is when you make more money in 12 months than in the previous 6 years.

Now, I haven’t done that yet, but I’m beginning to see how it might happen for me. I’ve more than doubled my normal income in the last month, and that’s with only one foot in the stream.

OK, so maybe that is a bit of crazy metaphor. Still, I’m only starting to apply effort to my consulting business, and already I’m seeing a shocking amount of interest. I can see how this could seriously take off for me and for my partners.

This could be the springboard into “the phenomenon” for me. I’m working flat out, 100% committed to seeing just that occur. I think it might be the most thrilling and terrifying thing I’ve ever done in business. The key, for me, has been working with partners.

Almost instantly, when I joined with two like-minded individuals, we began seeing a surge in interest. How incredible that a guy who has always tried to do everything on his own is finally learning that things are so much easier and more fun when you have help.

Technorati Tags: phenomenon, wealth, entrepreneur

However, I’ve really outgrown him. I think he is wrong in his insistence that debt can never be used as a tool. But more importantly, I think he is psychologically and spiritually wrong to be so obsessively focused on debt. To really build wealth, you must be building toward something, not away from debt.

This quote summarizes my thoughts brilliantly well (italics mine):

It’s simple. Your field of focus determines what you find in life. Focus on opportunities and that’s what you find. Focus on obstacles and that’s what you find. I’m not saying that you don’t take care of problems. Of course, handle problems as they arise, in the present. But keep your eye on your goal, keep moving toward your target. Put your time and energy into creating what you want. When obstacles arise, handle them, then quickly refocus on your vision. You do not make your life about solving problems. You don’t spend all your time fighting fires. Those who do, move backward! You spend your time and energy in thought and deed, moving steadily forward, toward your goal.
–“Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” (T. Harv Eker)

Technorati Tags: eker, millionaire mind, millionairemind, debt, ramsey, dave ramsey, daveramsey

Family Goals

Driving (endlessly driving) back from Nebraska when coming home from vacation this summer, we talked for hours about our family goals. One of our biggest goals was to live out of the country for at least six months sometime in the next few years. We’ve talked about that one for years.

We’re planning to live in one of Dustin’s father’s houses in Mexico, most likely in San Miguel de Allende. It is a gorgeous town, with plenty of amenities for expatriots. Most importantly, we already love the place. We love Mexico in general, and both agree that of all the places we’ve visited in the world, Mexico is one of the few places we can imagine making home.

Reading the excellent article about bootstrapping your business in Argentina, I realized that despite agreeing on the goal, we have not been taking any steps to accomplish it. If we seriously want to do that, then we need to let it guide some of our choices. For example, our house.

In the few years since we’ve owned our latest house (my fourth), it has increased in value by nearly $250K. Theoretically. It would certainly be worth that if we put some effort into presentation and curb appeal. It could easily be worth another $100K if we made strategic upgrades to it. It is in a wonderful, desirable neighborhood in Portland, and should be fairly resistant to any “plateau” or “bubble” effects. At least, as long as we sell in the next couple years.

If we are going to move like that, we should probably also not buy any large items. At least we should not but anything which would be hard to resell or which would lose a lot of value. In fact, we should work diligently to pare down some of our too-much-stuff from the storage room in the shop.

Language is a harder question. Neither of us speak spanish, yet it would be simple to just enroll in an intensive course such as the famous Warren Hardy School. My father-in-law thinks taking courses here would probably not really give us much of a jump up on the learning process.

Of course, one of the big things is a source of income. If eBookTribe is a success, then we’ll be well on our way to filling that need. If not, then I’m simply going to need to learn to freelance. It is about time.

Decisions

We’re going to move ahead with this goal. It felt great to talk it out with Dustin and decide that we’re really going to do it. The kids will benefit so greatly from it, and we’ll all have a blast.

One life goal, coming up!

Technorati Tags: goals, mexico, expatriot

This month, my “actively reading” list is:

• “How to make $2,000 a Week Selling Information By Mail” (Russ von Hoelscher). Purchased based on a recommendation at The Warrior Forum, haven’t started reading it yet.
• “The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism” (Robert Thurman) – A good book I am resuming reading before bed. I really like the visualization of the Jewel Tree.
• “iCon Steve Jobs : The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business” (Jeffrey S. Young, William L. Simon) – Won this book at InBubbleWrap, which gives away books every day. I’m quite interested to read it, actually.
• “Time Power: A Proven System for Getting More Done in Less Time Than You Ever Thought Possible” (Brian Tracy) – Mr. Tracy is one of my personal heroes, I unreservedly recommended his books.
• “Web Copy That Sells: The Revolutionary Formula for Creating Killer Copy Every Time” (Maria Veloso) – just picked this up last week and started reading today. It looks stunningly good, and is exactly what my business needs.
• “The Irresistible Offer : How to Sell Your Product or Service in 3 Seconds or Less” (Mark Joyner) – excellent, motivatingly great, strips everything down to the essence.
• “Grow Rich! : With Peace of Mind” (Napoleon Hill) – One of the most recommended self-help books of all time, a great grandaddy of them all. It is worthy of all that praise, in my opinion.
• “Pandora’s Star” (Peter F. Hamilton) – Just picked up, I like Hamilton, but I haven’t started this yet.
• “Deadhouse Gates : Book Two of The Malazan Book of the Fallen (Malazan Book of the Fallen)” (Steven Erikson) – So far, not as gripping as the first book, but still very involving and interesting. I like the exceptionally detailed world.
• “Interface” (Neal Stephenson, J. Frederick George) – just picked up for my vacation trip, but didn’t get to it.

From audible, I am listening to:

• “Thou Shall Prosper” (Rabbi Daniel Lapin) – This is a long audiobook, which tries to show “Jewish money making wisdom” from the Torah and tradition. Conservative, but interesting so far.
• “The Ape in the Corner Office” (Richard Conniff) A really fun book which makes for great conversations. I particularly like the Alpha Male CEO stories. Seriously, urinating in a sink during a board meeting?

Last month, I finished:

• “Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Vol. 1)” (Steven Erikson) – One of the best fantasy novels I’ve read in years.
• “Rhinoceros Success” (Scott Alexander) – Purchased for $0.26 at a Thrift Shop, so I didn’t risk much. Repetitive and not very motivating for me.
• “Maximum Achievement: Proven System of Strategies & Skills That Unlock Powers” (Brian Tracy) – A life changing book for me, one of the books I am crediting with helping spark my recent explosion of personal development.