Life Stoked

create a life you're excited to live!

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031: Finding your way to success in business and life (with Corbett Barr)

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When you stray off the path into the thick, wild jungle things get really tough really fast. It takes a tremendous amount of effort to move just a few feet at times, and there’s the constant question of whether you’re even heading in the right direction.

That’s what it’s like to be an entrepreneur.

Many of us turn back after just a little time in the jungle and never make the progress we dreamed of.

Whether your jungle is starting your own business, launching a new product, or trying anything new, Corbett Barr has some awesome wisdom to share with us to help you power through that transition.

Corbett shares with us:

  • The challenges of making the jump from corporate world to entrepreneur
  • What he did after his startup failed that led straight to what he’s doing now
  • The mindset that fueled it all

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The 4 Simple Principles of a Lifestyle Business

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lifestyle-businessWe’ve been conditioned since a very young age to believe we have to work our lives around the obligations of a career. We take scheduled vacations, we play with our kids in the evenings after work, and we save a trip to the movies for Friday night.

It’s the way things have always been.

Because let’s face it, no matter how badly you want to be at home with your little ones or how much you want to travel you’ve got to make some money, and that means having a steady job.

Steady, reliable income means working steady, reliable hours. You can’t just come in when it suits you, or take off on a whim. Your work doesn’t care if there’s a great deal on a flight to California, and it doesn’t matter if your family needs you in Dallas.

Your work needs you here. And you need your work.

But innovations in business and technology are helping some people change the all of that. A new breed of entrepreneur is emerging that builds their business around their life, instead of their life around a job.

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Five Books That Changed My Life

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books that changed my life

Readers are leaders, who doesn’t know that? It was the mantra of educators and public service commercials throughout my entire childhood.

But I hated to read. I “read” when I had to at school. Jane Eyre, The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter – I hated it! What good is this ever going to do me?

Is this really the reading that makes leaders?

In my humble opinion, no. Not even close (and I’m not just saying that because I couldn’t pass a simple quiz on any of them).

The reading that makes leaders does so because it changes their lives. It shapes them. It gives them new ideas and helps them learn from the paths of others.

The bad news is I was in my mid twenties before I discovered this type of reading. The good news is that is plenty early for it to radically change my life.

And that’s exactly what it has done. After reading over a hundred books in the last few years, here are five that literally changed my life for the better.

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The Work Only You Can Do

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are you filling your role in life

Last summer I attended Quitter Conf with 200 other people pursuing their dreams. The host, Jon Acuff, challenged us, “Give yourself permission today to be your secret self.”

Just for the day. Just at the conference. Let yourself be the person you deeply wish you were.

What would you be? What would you be like? We all have this desire inside us of what we ultimately want to be, but we don’t show it.

Whatever the reason is (and there always is one), something keeps us from letting that desire transcend from our secret-self to our true-self.

When you want to be an artist and your dad reminds you “You can’t make any money doing that.”

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7 Little Known Ways To Be More Productive At Work

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7 Little Known Ways To Be More Productive At Work

We’ve all got work to do, and these days the people who can do more work, better than anyone else rise to the top. The only problem is most of us go about productivity all wrong. Our multi-tasking, always-on culture may feel like we’re getting things done, but it’s contrary to the way our brains function.

These seven principles will help you maximize your productive capacity and work better, faster, and more effectively than you have in years:

1. Prioritize Early

Surely you’ve heard it before, but here’s some science to back it up. The human brain requires massive amounts of energy to think through complex ideas. Ever wonder why you feel physically drained after trying to get your head around a big problem?

Prioritizing tasks is one of the most intensive activities for your brain because of the number of complex ideas it must keep top of mind. You have to understand how working late on a project could impact your kids practice, as well as the long term implications of shorting one or the other.

If your mind isn’t fresh it’s harder to make these decisions efficiently.

To make the most of your day prioritize your days tasks in the morning when you’re fresh.

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Making the Most of My Commute

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The average commute in America is 24 minutes each way. That’s approaching an hour a day; 5 hours a week. Maximizing this time has helped launch me in new directions and helped me create a life I’m excited to live!

In this video:

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How to Innovate at Work

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how to innovate at workRaise your hand to ask a question. Form a single file line. Color inside the lines. From the earliest age we’ve been cultured to follow instructions. We’re rewarded for following directions. But unfortunately those things that make a great student are holding you back in your career.

If you want to be valuable to your business you must become a innovator. If you want to become truly remarkable you must, must, must be the guy who moves things forward. This is the way you thrive in todays world.

Easier said than done, I know. I spent years of my career piling up great ideas in a box and never doing any of them. I was the guy who had a better way, but waited for someone with “power” to execute. Don’t follow this path and expect results.

You need to be indispensable – a linchpin. Your training starts now: [Read more…]

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Is It Time to Fire Your Offensive Coordinator?

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do something differentFans shook their heads in disbelief as the Longhorn Offense disappointedly trotted off the field and was replaced by the punt team. The familiar sound of booing grew out of the stands.

Third and nine, down by two scores, and we played it safe. Again.

We’d seen this too many times. Year after year we sat in the stands and stared in disbelief at the predictable, unimaginative play calling.

Roasting the Texas Offensive Coordinator was a favorite pastime amongst the Longhorn nation. It’s been too many years of the same thing.

We’re sick of it!

Sick of throwing one yard passes.

Sick of playing every game “not to lose.”

Sick of expecting to be good, but never executing.

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Love Your Work in 48 Days

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It’s Monday again, but I probably didn’t need to tell you that. Only five more days of work until the weekend! We’ve just got to get through this work week and then we can get back to our real lives next weekend.

Does this sound familiar to you?

Well what if you could change that? What if you looked forward to your work? What if you woke up energized each morning excited to head to the office?

No seriously. Imagine getting paid good money to do something you love. What would that be like?

I can tell you from experience that it’s awesome! I don’t mean to brag, but I love what I do and the company I work for. Every day I have the opportunity to do work I’m passionate about with an amazing team.

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Thinking Beyond the Obvious

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Creative solutions to problems

Being successful isn’t that hard really. You just find something you’re good at, practice until you’re the best, and then profit. At least that’s how I hear it described a lot.

Unfortunately life isn’t that simple. There’s no extra time in my schedule to find something I’m good at. There’s no extra money to pursue a hobby. I don’t have the energy after a full work day to take on anything harder than the couch. It’s just not for me I guess.

I’ve read plenty of success stories, but those people didn’t start in the mess I’m in. They’re not working with my budget and time commitments. I really am stuck.

Dan’s Parable

Dan Miller tells a story in his book No More Mondays that’s always stuck with me and I’m want to share it with you:

Many years ago in an Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to the village moneylender. The old and ugly moneylender fancied the farmer’s beautiful daughter, so he proposed a bargain.

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