Career & Purpose

07 May

Posted at 23:35h in Career & Purpose, Entrepreneurship by

Career advice from Warren Buffett

“Take a job that you love. I think you are out of your mind if you keep taking jobs that you don't like because you think it will look good on your resume. Isn't that a little like saving up sex for your old age?”

- Warren Buffett [Tweet this Quote]

The Power of Continued Education

On Friday night I walked into the Omaha Marriott to check in for the weekend. The first person I said hello to was Bill Gates (yes that Bill Gates). He didn't exactly respond to me by first name, but the brief exchange (and shot of adrenaline that came with it) reminded me of the potential of the weekend ahead. When in Omaha you never know what's going to happen. That's why I go. The next day I spent over eight hours with Warren Buffett. What I learned blew my mind…

17 Apr

Posted at 19:49h in Career & Purpose, Entrepreneurship, Influence & Negotiating by

"Find what makes others successful. Follow closely. Watch what happens." ~Unknown Entrepreneur ***** Today's the third (and final) part to our "Building Your Thriving Online Audience" series, so we're going to talk about the things you absolutely must do if you're serious about building a following online. Because, as...

20 Mar

Posted at 23:05h in Career & Purpose, Influence & Negotiating, Productivity, Simplicity by

5 best books of all time to reread

"The difference between who you are now and who you are five years from now, comes down to the people you meet and the books you read."

~Anonymous [Tweet this Quote]

The Link Between Reading and Success

It's no secret that when I get into things I tend to obsess. In the past few years I've read hundreds of books. No joke - I keep track of every title during my weekly planning process. I owe much of who I am to the things I've read. Just about the only benefit of my absolutely miserable first (and only) 'job' after moving back from Spain was that I had a 45-minute train commute every morning and night. That travel time became sacred. And that was when I became absolutely obsessed with reading. So much so that I took a few speed-reading classes and I even became the head San Francisco instructor for one of them.

13 Mar

Posted at 05:37h in Announcements, Career & Purpose, Entrepreneurship by
I hate my job

"Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come."

- Victor Hugo

**Urgent Announcement: Today is the official launch of Version 2.0 of Live Off Your Passion: A award-winning career course to help you find passion and build a career around work you love. Over 700 changes, big and small, and a redesigned 72-page workbook. Can't wait to see what you think! Check out all the details plus a couple fun v2.0 bonuses here. *****

Lessons from Creating the #1 Personal Development Product of 2011

I want to start by saying THANK YOU! To all you massively passionate and loyal readers, supporters and those of you who have purchased Live Off Your Passion in the past few months. Somehow, thanks to all of you, Live Off Your Passion was voted The #1 Personal Development Product of 2011!! Wow! Seriously, I was blown away to hear this. I didn't even know it was being considered until I heard the big news. And the only reason it happened was because of all you. The contest was held by Steve Aitchison of Change Your Thoughts, where over 20,000 people from around the world were asked to nominate and then cast their vote. Seriously, thank you! I poured my heart and soul into this course (as you likely saw from the surveys, product checklists and all else). The project technically started about 6 months ago but in reality it began nearly 8 years ago...

07 Mar

Posted at 13:15h in Career & Purpose, Emotions & Happiness by

i hate my job

"If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you always got."

-Mark Twain

Let's talk about why people keep doing work they hate.

By now I'm sure you know the terrifying stat: Over 80% of people don't enjoy their work and nearly 75% don't know their passion.  These two numbers kill me. But thanks to our work here at Live Your Legend, it's getting better by the day (congrats to so many of you who've made massive change - it's not easy, but I bet it was worth it)! But for the rest of the world, it's crazy to think that so many people are willing continue to act in a way that doesn't make them happy. And trust me, by now I feel like I've seen it all...yet I continue to be surprised.

21 Feb

Posted at 19:06h in Career & Purpose, Influence & Negotiating, Productivity by

taylor swift becoming famous

"If you're lucky enough to be different, don't ever change."

~Taylor Swift

Today I want to challenge you to be different. Not necessarily better. Just different. To stand out in a way no one has. I challenge you to do something that causes people to say: "What the */$# are you talking about?!" The path to this type of recognition (and even fame), be it business, social or whatever, is not as complicated as you think.  So why is it that some people seem to crush it while so many others flail around in mediocrity? Somehow the lucky few become overnight-famous, while the rest spin their tires. *Side note: by now I hope you know that nothing meaningful happens overnight - we seem to like to think it does for others, but it's really all in our head. I've made a study of the ordinary vs. extraordinary since as long as I can remember. And spending time with all kinds of relatively well-known Living Legends, exposed some interesting results. And I have good news.

15 Feb

Posted at 18:07h in Career & Purpose, Influence & Negotiating, Life on Your Terms Interviews by
Simon Sinek Start with Why

"The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe."

- Simon Sinek, Start with Why

Early last year I came across one sentence that turned out to be the single most profound business concept and tool of 2011 (and perhaps my lifetime). It caused me to fully rebrand and reposition Live Your Legend as well as my investment business. I believe it has everything to do with why Live Your Legend has experienced the rapid growth and success it has. It's only fitting that I share this with you as the closing to our "Monetize Your Passion Online" series. The man who taught me this lesson was Simon Sinek.  In 2009 he wrote a book called Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. Within a few years that book, and the concept behind it, literally swept across the world. Simon Sinek is now considered one of the preeminent thinkers both on leadership strategy and passionate work around the world. He often speaks upwards of 20-25 times a month and does much of his work with the United States Military. He's been invited to do work with groups like Microsoft, Dell, SAP, Intel, Chanel, various government groups and Members of the United States Congress. He's also presented his ideas to the Ambassadors of Bahrain and Iraq, at the United Nations and to the senior leadership of the United States Air Force. This guys' the real deal.

01 Feb

Posted at 14:33h in Career & Purpose, Entrepreneurship by

You will you help the world

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

*Note: This is the third article in the “Monetizing Your Passion Online” series. It's also a little primer to some of the big ideas Jonathan Mead and I are going to cover in our free webinar/online presentation.  ****

I have a little secret...

It took me a while to learn it. Ready? Most blogs don't make much money. With how many there are, that might seem obvious. But I'm talking about the moderately big ones too (and even some really big ones). I know quite a few sites with thousands of followers and even tens or hundreds of thousands of monthly page views, that hardly make any money. And it's not because they're doing it for charity either... On the other hand, I know even more friends and mentors who have even smaller blogs and sites, but yet make more money than they'd ever need. Contrary to what many early stage business builders believe (and I was just as guilty as any), it is not all about size. The truth is that even the small guys can kick some major ass.  It just requires the right offering.