chris guillebeau Archives - Melissa Dinwiddie | Create the Impossible™

July 17, 2012

My Hiatus, Part 1 (Which Is Really Part 2): the World Domination Summit Diaries, Entry #1

I’m BACK!

I had to hit the ground running when I came home from my not-fully-hiatus-like hiatus — there were Inner Circles to lead and Time to Glow course content to create and client deadlines to meet and technical gremlins to tackle.

Regular life doesn’t grant spaciousness and processing time very readily — I have to grab it with my teeth.

With all that has happened in the past 3+ weeks, that’s a lot of processing to be done. Way too much to share in a single “what I did on my summer vacation” post.

So let’s break it up, shall we? And since Part 2 of my hiatus feels the most time-sensitive for sharing here, we’ll make it Part 1 of what will be a series of report-backs.

Let’s start with:

Part 2 of My Hiatus:

The World Domination Summit Diaries, Entry #1

The whosiwhatsit? you ask.

The World Domination Summit.

The brainchild of my role model and hero, Chris Guillebeau, WDS (Twitter hashtag: #WDS2012) is a conference (though that word feels woefully inadequate to describe the experience) in Portland, Oregon, where 1,000 artists, writers, bloggers, travel-hackers, entrepreneurs, philosophers, creators of amazing charities, and generally awesome people converged to ponder and discuss this year’s theme, “How do you live a remarkable life in a conventional world?”

To set the scene for my WDS experience, I had spent the entire week before the summit completely unplugged, making music in the woods at Jazz Camp West. (More on that when I write about Part 1 of my hiatus…)

After eight days in the redwoods, with no demands on my time except to create, learn, play and have fun, I was highly resistant to coming back to regular life.

But regular life didn’t last long: I was home for a mere four days — barely long enough to recuperate from what I refer to as post-Jazz-Camp-jet-lag (’cause coming home from camp hits me in about the same way as flying home from Europe) — before I hopped a plane to PDX to meet with other world-dominators.

Though I was still kinda wrung out from camp, the World Domination Summit was the perfect injection of inspiration and enthusiasm to recharge me for getting back to living a creative life amidst the slings and arrows and constant demands of regular life.

It’s a blessing that the World Domination Summit came after Jazz Camp. I needed that immersion in “can do,” “change the world” energy, and to be surrounded by fellow artists, creative entrepreneurs and bloggers to remind me that yes, I love what I do (even when it’s not making music and doing dance improv all. day. long.), and wonderful as Jazz Camp is, 24/7/365 of it would be lacking in its own way, not to mention physically unsustainable… (When would I write, make art, lead classes and workshops, do yoga, let alone get time with MB and my cat? Oh, and then there’s sleep…)

So back to the World Domination Summit.

What happens at WDS? Honestly, it is impossible to fully explain the power of this conference to someone who hasn’t been there, and of course everyone’s experience there is different, but here are some highlights from my trip:

Argentine Tango!

Okay, I should clarify that Argentine tango wasn’t a component of probably 997 out of the 1,000 WDS attendees’ experiences, but my own PDX/WDS experience got a dramatic, and dramatically fun, start with a WDS meetup at a tango milonga (Argentine tango dance party), posted on the special WDS meetup page by fellow artist and tanguera Alexandra.

I hadn’t danced tango in ages (years, actually…), and had been revving up lately to get back to it, so when I saw Alexandra’s meetup, I crammed a pair of dance shoes in my suitcase. On Thursday evening, a few hours after landing at PDX, I navigated Portland’s wonderful bus system to get to the Norse Hall where the milonga was taking place.

If you’ve ever danced tango you know the indescribable pleasure of being led on a roller coaster ride by your partner. And since dance is my first creative passion, and one that has been woefully neglected for too long, I can imagine no better way to start my trip off than dancing the night away!

(Now to get myself to a milonga here…)

More Meetups!

I allowed myself to nourish my inner introvert with a quiet morning in my private guesthouse room. Meditation, ukulele and writing in my journal — all comforting rituals from home. I knew the weekend would be chock full of intensely social activities, and I’ve learned from experience that trying to do everything (my usual m.o., due to a chronic fear of missing out!) is a recipe for exhaustion and a feeling that I didn’t get to fully experience anything.

I finally left my room to go register at the early registration spot, where I ran into a passel of folks from last year’s WDS, a handful of whom walked several blocks together to another meetup over a stone-age meal at Dick’s Kitchen. The restaurant was veritably invaded by WDS attendees, who packed the room and kept the wait staff hopping! By virtue of random seating arrangements, I found myself seated next to Anne-Sophie, fellow survivor of an eating disorder, who’s making big world change by fighting anorexia. (I’m hoping to get Anne-Sophie as a guest for an upcoming LACL hangout about body image.)

After a recuperative micro-nap back at my guesthouse (and I have to tell you, letting myself take a break was a BIG DEAL for me!), I got a text from my business partner (and Portland resident), Cory Huff, asking if I was going to Tara Gentile and Megan Auman‘s meetup at Urban Grind.

Up off the bed I jumped, and I’m so glad I did. Not only did I get to thank Tara in person for the Insight Intensive she gave me, but I got to meet some amazing peeps, including art biz coach Alyson Stanfield; Jess Greene, creator of Seek Your Course and the Jumpstart Creativity Tour; and therapist and leadership mentor, Blair Glaser.

Another meetup beckoned, but it was a loooooong walk from Urban Grind, and honestly, my introvert self was kinda needing a break. Jess and Blair were on the same wavelength, so the three of us went to move Jess’s Mobile Creativity Unit (aka her car), and Jess ended up taking us on an impromptu driving tour of Washington Park and the Arboretum. Aaaaahhhhh! A real tonic for the soul, and a precious memory of the weekend.

Salt & Straw, Portland, Oregon — Alas, I have no pics of my pear-blue cheese ice cream, but I did snap this shot of other delectables during our 45-minute wait in line at Salt & Straw. (One has to wonder if anyone actually buys this stuff, though, given the main attraction.)

The following night, Saturday, Cory organized a meetup for a handful of artists over an Italian meal. Among the attendees: Jody MacDonald, Cynthia Morris, Tzaddi Gordon, Anne Broboff-Hajal, Christine Martell, Kelly O’Neal, Alyson Stanfield, Lisa Call, Alexandra, Yamile Yemoonyah.

Our business card swap was especially fun (you can imagine the range of artistic cards I came home with!) As was the ice cream trek to Salt & Straw after dinner. Flavors on offer included such treats as honey balsamic strawberry with cracked pepper, pear & blue cheese, chevre with marionberry habanero jam, blueberry with Key lime marmalade, and lemon basil sorbet. I must have tasted 6 different flavors in eco-friendly stainless steel tasting spoons before settling on the luscious pear in a waffle cone — well worth the walk and 45-minute wait.

Random Moments

One of the things I love about events like WDS is the random, serendipitous interactions that happen.

Like the conversation with C.C. Chapman, who happened to be sitting near me during the first set of presentations on Saturday morning.

And a spontaneous uke jam and 12-bar blues lesson with Josh Kaufman after the last presentation Sunday night, followed by a long conversation over dinner, just us two introverts — perfect.

Plus a few “guerrilla uke” performances over the course of the weekend. (Though this had the unintended result of making everyone at WDS think that Michelle Ward — who performed her funny and touching original song about tackling breast cancer this past year on the main stage on Sunday — was me. She’s a brunette and I’m a redhead, but hey, we both play ukulele, write witty songs, have short hair (recently short, in Michelle’s case), and a name that starts with M… I’m still getting emails thanking me for my boob cancer song. You gotta love it!)

Then there was another uke lesson and long chat with Milo McLaughlin in the park on Monday, before I headed to the airport.

Not to mention girl talk and sharing my tales of being a (former) Dating Queen with the utterly delightful Miriam Crystal in the bar room at the Crystal Ballroom (no relation), with hundreds of enthusiastic Bollywood dancers shaking out the intensity of the weekend and pounding the floor above our heads.

The Conference Itself

You’ll notice that none of the above even begins to touch on the official programming of the World Domination Summit, and here we are at over 1500 words, already.

I’ll sign off here. More soon! Next up: Some of what happened inside Newman Hall and other official conference stuff.

Now I’m off to wrangle with the slings and arrows of regular life.

xo, Melissa <3
PS — Pssst! Know someone who might benefit from seeing this today? Pass it on!

Announcementy Stuff!

Did you know that I’m co-teaching a week-long creativity workshop (we’re calling it a “creative adventure vacation”) in Istanbul this fall? Yep, it’s true! It’s a joint effort with my partner and fellow Poobah of Play, Kelly Hevel. It going to be amazeballs (hat tip to Michelle Ward for that word), and you know the people joining us will be amazeballs too.

YOU could be one of them!

Read more about this trip of a lifetime, and sign up here. Or just visit us at http://playingaroundworkshops.com. We’d be tickled pink to have you join us. And if you know anyone else who might be interested, we’d love your help spreading the word. 🙂

May 8, 2012

The $100 Startup & Shattering Self-Installed Glass Ceilings

Today Chris Guillebeau’s second book, The $100 Startup, was released into the world.

Given how much press the man has (deservedly) received, it’s hard for me to imagine anyone might not have heard of Chris Guillebeau at this point, but then Chris also looms very large in my own world. He is, in fact, the role model who kicked off my journey toward living the fully creative life I really, really wanted, rather than the “not quite” life I’d been settling for.

With his writing, his blog The Art of Nonconformity, and his business model, Chris showed me that yes, people actually can make a living doing what they love. And they can change the world along the way.

Of course Chris is by no means the only person doing this, but he’s the first one who landed on my radar when I was ready to take notice. My life was forever changed as a result. I started this blog. I started looking for the sweet spot in my work, where what I love to do intersects with what other people are willing to pay for. I started seeking out other people on a similar path — a supportive community to help me along the way. I started seeking out tools to get me where I wanted to go.

All catalyzed by Chris. Role models can be that powerful.

I have some more to say about Chris, but let’s get back to his new book for a moment.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advance copy, and what a treat it is. My own mission is not to get people to quit their jobs and strike out on their own — I want to get you creating, doing the thing (or things) that fill you with joy and make you glow with life; I don’t honestly care one way or another if you want to make your creative thing your livelihood as I’ve done and am doing. I just want to see you doing your creative thing, period.

If you do want to build a business doing what you love, though, The $100 Startup is an essential addition to your library. Using dozens of case studies of all different kinds of businesses — from a guy who sells mattresses and delivers them by bicycle, to a professional dog walker who nets over $88k/year — Chris brings together the major lessons he shared in his groundbreaking Empire Building Kit into an easy-to-use (and fun to read!) guide. There’s also a multi-media component, with additional resources over on the book’s website, 100startup.com.

In short, it’s awesome. Highly recommended. Go check it out.

But back to Chris.

Here’s a guy who created a $50k/year business from his website in under a year (279 days, to be exact — and it’s waaaaaaay beyond $50k/year at this point…), who’s published two books, who created an amazing conference (the World Domination Summit, headed into its second year, also highly recommended), and who is well on his way to visiting every single country on the planet before he turns 35 — mostly on frequent flyer miles, by the way — just because.

From that list of accomplishments you might think Chris is some sort of superhuman. The truth is, though, that he’s no more of a superhuman than you or I. There is one big difference between Chris (and people like him) and most other people, though, and it’s this:

Mindset.

In short, “impossible” is not in Chris’s vocabulary. As a result, he doesn’t limit his dreams. He might be scared of them — scared of failure, scared of success (I don’t know, I haven’t asked him) — but he dreams BIG and (just as essential) he takes real steps to bring those dreams to life, to get from dreaming to doing.

Imagine if Chris had thought (and acted on — or rather, not acted because of) any variation on the following:

“I’m not smart enough.”

“I’m not capable enough.”

“Who am I to try to do this?”

“I don’t have enough experience/the right credentials yet.”

“Other people could do that, but it’s just not in the range of what’s possible for me.”

Any of these sound familiar? I’ll be honest, those are the beliefs I’ve held about areas of my own life, beliefs I didn’t even realize were beliefs. I just thought they were The Truth.

Which brings me to one of my favorite metaphors:

The Self-Installed Glass Ceiling

I call these kinds of beliefs self-installed glass ceilings, because they limit possibilities just as much as any rule or policy designed to keep you down.

Your mindset can be a glass ceiling that keeps you hunched over and playing small, or like Chris, it can be a source of incredible power that enables you to accomplish great things.

Which do you choose?

A Note on Sexism and Glass Ceilings:

It’s important to note that, because we (still) live in a sexist culture, the self-installed glass ceiling syndrome tends to operate in different ways on women than it does on men. No matter how much progress we’ve made as a society, there are still unspoken cultural beliefs and expectations about what women should/shouldn’t do, what women are/aren’t capable of.

Those unspoken beliefs and expectations are like a soup we all swim in, and until they’re pointed out to us, we have about as much awareness of them as goldfish have of the water in their tank. It can be hard to recognize them as cultural beliefs and expectations, and as a result, they affect our beliefs about ourselves.

We see them as just the way things are.

A glass ceiling is, after all, practically invisible, but you still bang your head on it when you try to stand up straight. It can take awhile to realize the problem isn’t with YOU (ie, “You’re just too tall, and that’s why you keep banging your head!”), it’s that there’s a sheet of glass in your way!

Men certainly face self-limiting beliefs — I in no way mean to imply that they don’t. But I submit that women have additional layers (or at least different layers) of self-limiting beliefs that need to be peeled away and deprogrammed in order for us to reach our fullest potential. This has certainly been the case for me.

The good news is that beliefs can be changed. Mindsets can be shifted.

Elsewhere I’ve talked about the 3 ingredients that together lead to the fastest mindset transformations:

1) An inspiring role model (like Chris has been for me)

2) A supportive community

3) An effective toolkit

Those are the ingredients that have made the most difference in my own self-installed glass-ceiling busting. (Click here for a blog post and video in which I talk about each of those ingredients in a little more detail.) And not coincidentally, they’re the ingredients I’ve brought together in my new program for women, Time to Glow, which you can read about here.

Perhaps even Chris Guillebeau had to bust through some self-installed glass ceilings to get where he is today — I don’t know, I haven’t asked, though it would be interesting to find out! I kinda like to imagine he did, even though his glass ceilings might be different from my own, because the fact that he shattered them would make him an even more awesome role model.

Not that he needs to be any more awesome than he already is. Love ya, Chris! Congrats on the book launch!

I’m curious, have you shattered any self-installed glass ceilings in your own life? What made the difference for you?

xo, Melissa <3

If you’re ready to bust through your own self-installed glass ceiling, to dream bigger and go from dreaming to doing, join me in Time to Glow, my program for women who want to answer the call of their heart, tame the gremlins, and finally live the fully creative life of their dreams. Doors open tomorrow, May 9. Click here for more info and to sign up.

PS — Pssst! Know someone who might benefit from seeing this today? Pass it on!

January 15, 2012

Why the **** Did I Buy That?? Marketing, Brand Archetypes and Ulterior Motives

Why? by Ksayer1 at Flickr

We now interrupt this blog about living an awesome creative life to bring you an object lesson in marketing. (Yes, marketing. It’s fun — trust me.) In fact, it’s a sociological study of what makes a person (in this case, me) choose to buy, or not.

Why? Because marketing is part of living an awesome creative life as an internet entrepreneur. (Or any kind of entrepreneur, actually.)

Think of it as the business side of creativity. Or the creative side of business. Or something. It’s actually pretty fascinating when you start getting curious about it. (Trust me.) Even if you’re not personally interested in running your own business.

(Or just come back next time — after all, if this isn’t your thing, another blog post [on an entirely different subject, no doubt] will be coming out in a few days.)

Oh, and be advised, if you proceed, that affiliate links abound below. They won’t bite you, but if you click on one and end up making a purchase, I’ll earn a commission. Just thought I should warn you.

Onward…

El made a comment on my last post that really got me thinking over the past few days about what makes people buy.

Specifically, in this case, what made me buy… and not buy… when two very similar products came out within a couple of months of each other.

A Tale of Two Publishing Guides

When I got an email from Chris Guillebeau back in mid-December that his new Unconventional Guide to Publishing (aff [that means “affiliate link,” in case you were wondering]) was coming out on January 10th, I knew I wanted it, and unless it was just crazy expensive, I knew I was going to buy it.

Before I even saw the details about it.

This in itself wouldn’t be so notable, except that just a few weeks before Chris’ announcement, Danielle LaPorte of White Hot Truth launched a very similar offering — Your Big Beautiful Book Plan, co-created with Linda Siversten — and though I had looked at the sales page, and I had thought seriously about getting out my credit card…

…I ultimately nixed it.

As El pointed out, the two packages look very alike from the outside — they both have lots of insider tips, real-life examples of winning book proposals, interviews with industry veterans, and fairly comparable pricing: the price point of Chris’ top-tier “Hemingway” package clocks in at $129, just $21 less than the $150 that LaPorte and Siversten are asking for Your Big Beautiful Book Plan.

And yet I have to say it was pretty easy for me to say no to one, and a total no-brainer for me to say yes to the other.

Why the difference?

Marketing 101

Besides being strangely fascinating (to me, at least), the answer is also an object lesson for any entrepreneur, because it has everything to do with one of the maxims that appears in every basic marketing class or book:

People buy from people (or businesses) they know, like and trust.

I know both Danielle’s and Chris’ work (though, granted, not Linda’s). I know from past purchases that they both produce excellent products, and hold themselves to very high standards, so I trust that they have each made another excellent, high value product. I’ve even met each of them in person (though to be fair, Danielle only briefly), I like them both, and I strongly resonate with the big vision message they each bring to the world.

Know, like and trust are all covered, then. So what else would explain my purchasing decisions?

Beyond Know, Like and Trust

Ultimately, just knowing, liking and trusting wasn’t enough — I bought the product from the business that I felt more strongly connected to.

You can get a snapshot of my connection by my reactions to the news of the product launches:

When I saw Danielle’s announcement about Your Big Beautiful Book Plan, my first thought was, “Hmmm, I definitely have a goal of writing a book, so this would be useful… but I’m not ready to write a book right now, so there’s really no reason for me to shell out $150 at the moment. I can always get it later.”

On the other hand, when I got that email from Chris saying that his Unconventional Guide to Publishing was coming out in a few weeks, my first thought was “OMG, I have to buy that!”

Even though I was no more ready to write a book than I’d been a few weeks before.

Yep. Strong connection.

I suppose that “strong connection” could be said to fall under the “like” category, but there’s a distinction I think is important. For me, feeling strongly connected is more than just liking, and comes down to a couple of different things:

1) How much I resonate with their brand

2) How personally connected I feel (which falls under the “know” category, and is in turn strongly tied to how much I resonate with their brand)

Brand Archetypes

In Action Studio, a month-long intensive course I took with Sinclair over the summer, I learned about the idea of brand archetypes. Sinclair has her own proprietary take, but the concept of archetypes has actually been used by corporations for decades to help them define their brand personality. (A quick Google search on “brand archetypes” yields over 785,000 results.)

Kitty Kilian turned me on to The Storybranding Group, which has its own, very similar archetypal system (and a free inventory you can take to determine your personal archetypes). You can dig into their website (and all the other archetype systems out there in the Googleverse) for a more in-depth look at the whole concept, but as a quick shorthand, here’s a chart from the Storybranding Group system’s creator’s website of the archetypes of a dozen different individuals and organizations:

Archetype	Individual	Organization
Innocent	Dolly Parton	Disney
Everyperson	Jimmy Carter	Gap
Hero	Lone Ranger	Nike
Caregiver	Mother Teresa	Campbell’s Soup
Explorer	Amelia Earhart	Starbucks
Lover	Rudolph Valentino	Victoria’s Secret
Revolutionary	Che Guevara	Apple
Creator	Martha Stewart	Crayola
Magician	Martin Luther King	Calgon
Ruler	Alan Greenspan	Microsoft
Sage	Carl Jung	Discovery
Jester	Tina Fey	Ben & Jerry’s

Think about the feeling you get from Dolly Parton, say, versus Tina Fey. Or Apple versus Microsoft. Totally different personalities and associations, right?

Some on this list you probably resonate with a lot, others maybe not so much. When a brand (which could be a big company or a solopreneur, or anything in between) is in perfect alignment with you — when you totally dig what they’re about, why they do what they do and how they do it — you’re what the wise and brilliant Havi would call that brand’s “Right People.”

My decisions to buy (in Chris’ case) and not to buy (in Danielle’s and Linda’s case) revealed to me that I am very much Chris’ Right People, but I am Danielle and Linda’s not-quite-exactly-Right People.

The reason lies in their archetypes.

Ruler?/Sage?/Magician?

I don’t actually know what Danielle’s primary brand archetypes are, but the ones that seem most likely to me are archetypes that contain a certain amount of distance, such as Ruler, Sage and Magician. Her brand (or my perception of it — yours might be totally different) sets her apart from her audience, up on a hill, invulnerable. While that form of leadership is powerfully compelling for many, it doesn’t really resonate for me.

Although I’d love to emulate her business success, her reach, and her consequent power to positively impact the world, I don’t want to emulate her brand. I’m a heart-on-my-sleeve type, I can’t relate to her super-polished packaging.

Again, I LOVE her message and mission, but I honestly find her web presence, the super-professionally-produced (and can’t-take-your-eyes-off entertaining!) videos, a bit… intimidating. And since I’m so much about making people feel comfy, all that polish feels off-putting to me.

I’m an authenticity junkie. I don’t want to see your mask, no matter how beautiful; I want to see your humanity.

(I should note that when I met Danielle at the World Domination Summit last June, she was the essence of warmth. I introduced myself in the bathroom line and stuck my hand out for a shake, and she said “Oh, honey, hugs, please, I don’t do handshakes” and wrapped me in a genuine embrace. Her stage presentation also emanated a warmth I personally don’t perceive on her website. But again, your perception may be entirely different.)

None of this is to say that there’s anything wrong with Danielle’s brand. It’s perfect for her, and she clearly does not lack for customers. In a single day, her book, The Firestarter Sessions, hit #2 on Amazon — right behind Steve Jobs’ biography. The woman kicks ass (and I bought the book, btw.) She’s one of my heroes.

I’m just not quite her Right People, from a brand/customer perspective.

Explorer?/Hero?/Everyperson?

I also don’t know what Chris’ primary brand archetypes are, but apparently they’re archetypes that my own relate to with a lot less friction. I’d guess he’s got elements of Explorer, Hero and Everyperson.

These archetypes — and his entire way of being — resonate more fully with me.

He’s visibly human. He allows himself to show vulnerability. He shows his imperfection, doesn’t try to mask it. His style of leading is more, “Hey guys, let’s do this! Come join me!” than “I hold all the answers, so come partake of my great wisdom.”

His videos are so obviously “homemade,” so obviously not polished and professionally produced, and that’s part of what I like about them. He seems not like a High Priest With All The Answers, but … like me! And I like that.

I like it enough that I’ve sent a lot (a lot) of money his way. And I fully anticipate sending him a lot more.

I also follow and admire Danielle (and again, I’ve bought some of her stuff), but I follow more from a distance. Chris brings me along for the ride.

A Bit More Marketing 101

Even if I resonate with your brand, of course the product has to be a good fit, too. It has to answer a need or solve a problem of mine, otherwise I won’t buy it. Not all of Chris’ offerings are up my alley, so I’m not a True Fan in the pure sense of the word (ie, a fan who buys every single thing you produce, from this post on the concept of 1,000 True Fans).

Sometimes, though, even if the offering itself isn’t a perfect fit, my resonance with the brand may lead me to buy for other, more “meta” reasons.

Take Pace Smith and Kelly Kingman’s Way of the Peaceful Entrepreneur.

Just over a year ago, having discovered Pace and her partner Kyeli (not to be confused with Kelly) through Johnny B. Truant and Lee Stranahan‘s interview “course,” Question the Rules (aff [and another one!]), I bought Pace & Kelly’s previous joint venture project, a collection of excellent interviews with a dozen or successful e-course creators, called Engaging E-Courses (aff [omg, will they ever stop?]).

I loved it.

And though I can’t say I’ve been a devoted follower of either of their blogs, I pop into Pace and Kyeli’s (again, not to be confused with Kelly) Connection Revolution every so often, and always love what I find there. I love their message and mission (sound familiar?) and I also love their style of transmitting it — with humanity, humor, vulnerability, and total authenticity.

(Check out this video of Danielle LaPorte & Linda Siverten, and this video by Pace and Kyeli, to get a sense of the difference in styles I’m talking about here.)

Let’s face it: I just think they’re really cool.

And as with Chris Guillebeau, I want to emulate not just their success, but their manner of creating it.

Meta Meta Meta & Ulterior Motives

My archetypes (Lover/Creator/Hero – you tell me which one you think is primary), resonate with the archetypes I perceive in Pace (Hero?/Rebel?), so when she and Kelly (not to be confused with Kyeli) announced the Way of the Peaceful Entrepreneur (and yes, it’s still an affiliate link, in case you’re wondering), my ears perked up.

And even though I’m well beyond the just-starting-out (or thinking about it) level the course is aimed at, I decided to hand over my credit card.

Why? Two reasons:

I suspect there will be value to be gleaned in a review of business basics from Pace and Kelly’s unique perspective
I want to learn from them with my teacher hat on

As a teacher/leader/creative entrepreneur myself, every course I sign up for I take with at least two different hats: my student hat (in which I learn from the actual content presented), and my teacher hat (in which I learn from the way the content is presented: what do I want to borrow? what do I want to make sure I don’t do in my next class or offering?)

Plus here’s a secret I’ve learned from experience: taking courses is a great way to grow my own network. I get to develop or deepen my relationship with the instructors, and I’ve made some amazing, lasting connections with other participants in the interactive courses I’ve taken online.

The Real Ulterior Motive Part

One lesson that Jon Morrow brought home in his awesome Guest Blogging Apprenticeship (amazingly, this one is NOT an affiliate link — Jon, if you take affiliates, can I sign up?), is that one surefire shortcut to building a relationship with a blogger (though of course this applies to anyone, not just bloggers) is to buy it — take an interactive course from them (and interact); pay for coaching or consulting.

Believe me, I have a much stronger relationship with the members of my Creative Ignition Club, and Creative Ignition Circle, and one-on-one coachsulting clients, than with subscribers to my blog who haven’t actually worked with me. Duh, right?

Yep, Pace and Kelly, if you’re reading, full disclosure: part of why I’m signed up for the Way of the Peaceful Entrepreneur is ’cause I want to get to know you better! (And yikes, how scary and vulnerable does it feel to admit that? Like saying “Will you be my friend?” to the intriguing stranger kid on the playground. Can you say “I’m a dork”?)

The Upshot

All this is to say, if you run a business, or are thinking of doing so (this includes solopreneurs), your business has a personality, and the image you present will determine what kinds of people you attract, and who ultimately buys your stuff.

So make sure your mission, message, brand personality, graphics, copy and everything else you put out in the world is consistent and says what you want it to say, in order to self-de-select your not-Right People, and to attract your Right People.

Simple, right?

Um, yeah. Have fun spending the next few decades getting it right.

That’s exactly what I’m working on doing.

If you’re ready to start — or grow — your business in a humane, peaceful way, I’d love to have you as a classmate with me in Pace and Kelly’s course, the Way of the Peaceful Entrepreneur. Tuesday is the last day to get in — registration closes on January 17th.

Full disclosure (again, in case you didn’t see the multiple other times I mentioned this): if you click through that link (or any of the Way of the Peaceful Entrepreneur links [←like that one]) and buy, I’ll make a commission. Which would, of course, make me wildly appreciative.

So much so that I’d love to thank you with a 3-month membership in my Creative Ignition Club as a special bonus. Yep — take the Way of the Peaceful Entrepreneur with me (using one of my links to sign up, of course), and you get 3 months in the Creative Ignition Club.

However, if for whatever reason you want to take the course, but don’t want to send me a commission, or get exclusive access to the Club, just do a Google search, and I won’t ever know the difference. 😉

Do you have any examples of brands you love, and brands that don’t quite do it for you? What works for you about the former, and what doesn’t work for you about that latter?

xo, Melissa <3
PS — Pssst! Know someone who might benefit from seeing this today? Pass it on!

PPS — If you got all the way to the bottom of this verrrrrrry loooooong post, I’m guessing it means you liked it. If you haven’t already subscribed, just use that nifty form at the top right, and all my blog posts (usually 2x/week) will land in your very own inbox.

photo by Ksayer1 at Flickr

January 11, 2012

So You Wanna Write a Book? Here’s Your Secret Weapon

How to Publish Your Book

2012 is my year of Self-Compassion, Untangle(ing) and Practice. Within those three overarching themes, however, are lots of much more specific goals.

Busting clutter, for example.

Under the theme of Practice, and in keeping with the spirit of my 15 Minutes-a-Day Creative Challenge, 2012 is also shaping up to be my Year of Writing. And more specifically, my Year of Publishing.

Sure, I publish a couple of times a week right here on the blog, but publishing a book is a different animal.

So what am I doing to make this my Year of Publishing?

In addition to my blog-writing time, I put time in every day on writing for publication. I’m starting with an e-book (or ebook? or eBook? the debate rages), coming out via ASpindle later this year. When that’s done, I’m working my way through several real-life projects in Lee Stranahan‘s Digital Publishing Boot Camp. (Super-awesome course, btw — highly recommended!)

With Kindles and e-readers (e-readers? eReaders?) becoming all the rage, self-publishing is a whole new world, with gobs of potential that simply didn’t exist before. (The days of “Vanity Publishing” seem quaint now.) It will be very interesting to see how it evolves.

The big, E ticket goal for many, though, is still to get published, by an already-established, honest-to-goodness “Real Publisher.”

The 80% Dream

It turns out a LOT of people dream of writing a book — some surveys have shown that fully 80% of people have “write a book” on their list of life goals.

The world of publishing, though, has always been a big, opaque mystery. How does one even go about trying to get published? Do you need an agent? If so, how do you get one? How do you write a query letter? How do you craft a strong proposal? If you’re so lucky as to land a contract, how do you navigate the legalese?

The unknowns seem endless.

No wonder very few of that 80% actually ever follow through on their dreams of writing a book and getting published!

Chris Guillebeau to the Rescue!

If you’ve been here awhile, you may know that Chris Guillebeau was the unwitting catalyst for this blog. He’s been an inspiration to me in so many ways, starting with being a model of living the life you really, really want — doing what you love, making an impact, and making a damn good living at it.

He’s also created numerous amazing products that I’ve found incredibly helpful, and have used as models for my own offerings. (The Empire Building Kit, the Unconventional Guide to Art + Money, the Travel Hacking Cartel, to name just a few.)

Now, drawing on the experience of publishing his best-selling book, The Art of Non-Conformity (#8 on Amazon in its first week out), and his 2nd book (coming out in May), Chris has a new, comprehensive guide that anyone with “write a book” on their bucket list would be smart to get their hands on.

The Unconventional Guide to Publishing

Like most of Chris’ offerings, the Unconventional Guide to Publishing is a multi-media package, at the heart of which is a 45,000-word guide by Chris’ own literary agent, 20-year publishing industry veteran David Fugate.

Fugate and Chris have teamed up to offer a comprehensive solution to understanding the publishing industry, and I’m VERY excited about it!

In addition to the 45,000-word e-book (ebook? eBook?) are lots of supplemental interviews, recordings and transcripts, including:

Sample query letters and a sample agent + author contract
How to find an agent (and why you need one)
How to craft a strong proposal that will get editors excited
Questions to ask when considering an offer
The three clauses in every book contract you should pay close attention to (Warning: if you miss these, you’ll regret it later)
Everything about money—advances, royalties, foreign rights, auctions and more

There are three package options — “Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Austen” — and through Friday only you can get the top tier “Hemingway” option for a discount, plus more special rewards:

For 3 days only, early purchasers get:

A 25% discount on the $129 tier (discount price: $97) (This is the one I bought!)
An extended Q&A conference call with David Fugate, veteran literary agent and author of the guide
A personal review of the buyer’s community-building plan with Chris Guillebeau himself

It’s a pretty slick offer, but it’s only available until midnight PST on Friday, January 13, so I wanted to let you know about it asap! Click here to get your discount and rewards.

No I’m off to work on my e-book/ebook/eBook.

Full disclosure: I’m an affiliate partner with Chris, so if you click through and buy via one of my links, I’ll receive a commission. (Actually, for Chris’ stuff, I’ll only receive a commission if mine is the first link you click. So if you want to send that commission to someone else, go click on their link first!)

More full disclosure: I’m actually an affiliate partner with dozens of companies, most of which I never mention here. I only ever promote products and services here which I think are relevant to you, and which I can fully stand behind. (If you’re interested in other stuff I use, love and wholeheartedly recommend, click here.) In Chris’ case, even though I haven’t had a spare second to even skim through my copy of the Unconventional Guide to Publishing yet, sharing it here was a no-brainer.

Every single thing I’ve ever bought from Chris has been top-notch. I don’t even think anymore before purchasing from him — if it’s up my alley, I buy it. Period. I’ve never been disappointed with one of his Unconventional Guides. (If you buy the guide on the strength of my recommendation and are unhappy with it, you can complain to me about it — that’s how confident I am. Plus Chris offers a 100% Effectiveness Guarantee.)

Tell me, is writing a book on your bucket list? What steps are you taking to make it happen?

xo, Melissa <3
PS — Pssst! Know someone else who wants to write a book and could use a secret weapon? Pass it on!

December 8, 2011

The Flinch, The Tower, and Your Legacy

You’re a Creative. You ~~want~~ you need to express that inner creative drive. In small ways, in big ways — it doesn’t matter.

For Creatives, the act of creating — whether it’s painting or drawing or writing or making music or anything else — is essential. You have to create to feed your own soul. If you don’t, you feel like an animated mannequin, plastic and hollow.

But deep down (or perhaps right on the surface), you also want to touch someone (or even better, many someones) with your creations.

Let me ask you this: when you take your leave of this planet, what would you have to have accomplished in order to look back with pride?

I just read two free manifestos — both released yesterday — that address this very question. If you want to leave a legacy, if you dream of being like your success heroes, download both and read them today.

The Tower, by Chris Guillebeau

The Tower

Chris Guillebeau is my Success Hero #1, for the simple reason that I discovered him at a critical moment, and as a result he became one of the big inspirations not only for this blog, but for embarking on the quest to create the life I really, really want. The title of Chris’s latest manifesto, The Tower, comes from a computer game he got hooked on while flying to Europe on one of his many jaunts across the globe.

The game became a bit of an obsession for him, and when he ruminated on why that was he realized,

The feelings we receive from a well-designed game closely replicate the feelings that we want to have in life.

The tower game gave him a clear goal, the ability to make continuous improvement over time, rewards and achievements, specific deliverables, and influence over the world contained within.

Yet aside from entertaining Chris, there was no good reason for any of it.

What if, he wondered, the laws of a simple game could be applied in real life? What if, instead of applying motivation to building imaginary worlds, we could learn to harness it for something truly useful?

We must work on our lives the way we would work on any other project. Instead of knowledge, pleasure, or happiness, the purpose of life is to create something meaningful that will endure after we’re gone.

The rest of The Tower focuses on how to go about doing that.

The Flinch, by Julien Smith

The Flinch

Another of my Success Heroes, Jonathan Fields, posted an interview yesterday (worth watching) with author Julien Smith, who just released a two-word-title free manifesto of his own, The Flinch.

Smith urges readers to a similar result — do great work! leave a legacy! — but where Chris Guillebeau’s The Tower manifesto inspires you to aim high, The Flinch offers some boot-camp-style training for getting past what gets in the way, so you can make a difference.

He starts out describing a boxing gym, where he goes to watch people fight, and where he notices a fundamental difference between real boxers and everyone else: if you hit them, the guys who have trained don’t flinch.

The Flinch is all about how to train yourself not to flinch. How not to let our instinct to draw back or shrink from the hard, the painful, the unpleasant stop us, so that we can do the important things we want to do.

I’ve written elsewhere that the only difference between you and your heroes is that they just do it. Smith puts it this way:

Fact: Those who face the flinch make a difference. The rest do not.

“There are enough viewers,” Smith writes.

There are enough cheerleaders. There are enough coaches and enough commentators. What there isn’t enough of are players.

His goal, with The Flinch, is to turn you into a player.

—

Download and read these free manifestos now. Then come back here and let me know your reactions.