How I Rescued My Dream From A Busy Life

March 19, 2013 By deacon 2 Comments

The first night home

Do you have a big dream, but can’t find the time to work towards it? Is there something awesome you want to accomplish, but you don’t see how you could ever put in enough time to achieve it? Do you struggle with making significant progress on your biggest dreams because there’s just way too much other stuff to get done?

You’re not alone.

One of the biggest struggles I see holding people back every day is their ability to work consistently towards their dreams to achieve them. When you can’t do that, then your dreams just feel like big fat wishes. And when your dreams feel like wishes, eventually you quit wishing.

But don’t give up.

Because no matter how busy your life is you can still make significant progress towards your biggest dreams. No matter what else is going on around you, there’s a way to get traction.

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What Olympians Overcome To Win

June 26, 2012 By deacon 6 Comments

The last couple of weeks I’ve watched a number of athletes achieve long term dreams. I watched Lebron James battle to his first NBA championship. I watched LoLo Jones make the olympic team in the 100m hurdles. I saw Amy Hastings win the 10K at the Olympic Trials.

I watched dozens of others overcome by emotion when they finally broke through to success. And I noticed something.

They never talked about their overwhelming confidence that they’d make it. They didn’t look back on a perfectly orchestrated ascent to success. They didn’t recount the advantages that took them to where they stood.

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The $100 Startup In Action

June 13, 2012 By deacon 4 Comments

The idea of starting and running a successful business always resonates with people building a Life Stoked. I suppose it’s the freedom that comes with being the guy in charge, and the potential of building something HUGE! And for me it’s the adventure of steering the ship myself.

But even though so many people share the same desire, it’s not easy getting started, and good advice is hard to come by even in the internet age.

And that’s exactly why I was so excited about Chris Guillebeau’s latest book The $100 Startup. Chris’s book was loaded with the kind of actionable advice aspiring entrepreneurs so desperately need.

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How to Innovate at Work

September 29, 2011 By deacon Leave a Comment

Raise 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…]

Thinking Beyond the Obvious

September 12, 2011 By deacon 6 Comments

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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