Deep thots from 90 days of twittering

I am active on Twitter (@coachdavender), using it as a place to record thoughts and to interact with other cool thinkers. Twitter is a "micro-blog" where entries are limited to 140 characters. Here are some original "thots" that I've blogged on Twitter during the last 90 days (date of search: 31-Jan-2009)


coachdavender: Thot: Resources may be finite, but resourcefulness is infinite. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: The only SEO that counts is the one that optimises the power of word of mouth. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Once you stop talking like a salesbot and start communicating like a human, the world will beat a path to your door. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Money is the measure of your client's commitment to the impact you promise them through your offer. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: if "free" is the new Internet (eg. Facebook, Twitter, Google etc), are these the first steps to a Star Trek economy? · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: We cling to money as if it was finite and waste time as if was infinite-should it be the other way around? · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Luck means settling for what fate decides to give me. I don't want to settle! · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Success doesn't come from achieving a goal, it is what you learn and how you grow by reaching for it. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: To succeed with a goal, first define a Big Compelling Project that gets you there, then let go of the goal and focus on execution. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: The world needs more creators and less speculators. Our core values need to shift from consumption to consciousness.· View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Always underpromise and overdeliver.If you think you've given too much, give even more.There's no such thing as too much chocolate. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: The best way to create positive cashflow is to first create positive change. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: If you don't have a dream, you can't spot opportunity. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: What business needs is not a bailout of cash, but an infusion of cause - to rediscover a purpose beyond just making money. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: The danger of a to-do list is that it becomes infinite. Once a week, take a moment to dump 20% of it, then you can add. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: In committees, talking about politics makes you feel important. Focusing on getting things done makes you important. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Don't be scared by structures, systems and discipline: the crucible from which you can create great things. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Real, sustainable profit only comes from making a positive difference in people's lives. http://is.gd/eEwL · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Urgent vs important? Important tasks move me towards my priorities, urgent is responding to other's priorities. Choose wisely. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: I judge the competence of someone not on the answers they give but on the quality of the questions they ask. http://bit.ly/TDw9 · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: In whatever you do, start the way you want to finish. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Courage is a muscle that requires exercise, just like weight training, by pushing to the point of failure. Repeat to build strength. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Take time on this last day of 2008 to live a Perfect Day - and set the tone for the next 365! · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: A successful entrepreneur is more than an optimist. Who cares if the glass is half-full, there's a whole ocean out there! · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Goals are simply excuses to move into action now.Set a goal that excites you, then act "as if". Success is a choice. Dream big! · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Roadmap to Success in '09: 1.Define the change you want. 2.Launch a Big Hairy Gutsy Project to produce that change 3.Execute-execute! · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: The best gifts are the ones that change people's lives... · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot (VISION09): If a goal does not energize you to act NOW, then toss it and find a new one. Great goals stimulate massive action! · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot (VISION09): As you take stock of '08, it's not the results that count, but the lessons learned and emotions lived in creating them. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: People DO NOT want your products or services. What they really want are the benefits. Stop talking features and focus on benefits! · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Champions know it takes many years of disciplined action to achieve overnight success. The sooner you start, the sooner you win. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Before making your offer,know 3 things about prospect: greatest need or desire,success criteria to satisfy it & readiness to act now · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: If you had one opportunity to reinvent yourself, what would you change? Actually, don't wait until Jan 1 to change it...start now! · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Difference between pessimists and optimists? Pessimists want everyone else to change, optimists know change starts with self. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: To create a new result, make space by destroying a current situation. If it works, break it! Creative Destruction Rules! · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: You are doing your best work with the right people when past clients become current colleagues. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Adrenaline makes us feel alive. Two ways to create it: destructively thru drama, or constructively through purpose. Which way for u? · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: When you let people talk, they come around to your point of view so much faster! · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Entrepreneurs-Ordinary people doing heroic things by relentless focus on getting the right things done @guykawasaki http://is.gd/5gcn · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Overcome the inertia of fear with bold goals and massive action. Ignore the chatter. Value creators win. NOW is the time to act! · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Master networkers ask "What can I do for you to make YOU more successful?" ( @lizmarshall w/ @guykawasaki http://snipr.com/61f78 ) · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Financial freedom is a mirage. True abundance is the freedom to act, a mindset. It's what you do, not what you have that counts. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: The road from competence to excellence passes thru mastery of the art of personal relationships. Nice people really finish first. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Brevity communicates clarity. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Setting a goal? Make it one foot within comfort zone, one foot out. Check how it feels. Winnable goals inspire, energize. Go for it! · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Leadership: the alchemy of transforming goals into gold. Time is the crucible and passion the catalyst. What will u create today? · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Effective communication is about shortening the distance between what I am thinking and what you understand about my thinking. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: Effective communication is about shortening the distance between what I think and what you understand. · View Tweet

coachdavender: Thot: "Instead of defining success as the size of your empire, define it as the size of your impact." http://snipr.com/4y7u3 · View Tweet

Join me in the Great Conversation! http://twitter.com/coachdavender

Pump it! Pump it good!

Here is your thought of the moment:

"Courage is a muscle that requires exercise. Just as weight training builds muscle by pushing it to the point of failure, build your courage by pushing yourself to the edge of your comfort zone. It's there you will find your true strength."
- Coach Davender

I read recently that most people "live their lives like they are in endgame. They think they know everything they need to know, they don't have the time nor inclination to learn anything new, and are quite happy about it". (Peggy Dolane, http://is.gd/htDd ).

Sticking your head in the sand and refusing to be open to new ideas, techniques or data may work if you are in a secure job, but in the world of the entrepreneur, it is a recipe for disaster. (And, as recent news demonstrates, it's not so great for the wage-earner either.)

I'm living my 15th year as a solopreneur, and I've lost count of the number of times I've changed my direction, my mind or my focus because of new information or new opportunities. And I'm so glad I did. It is a fiction that when you create a plan, you need to be a slave to it. Look where the famous five-year plans led the old Soviet Union. The moment you set a goal and act on a plan, you challenge the status-quo as you knew it. Move one step forward, your perspective changes, eventually you can see around that tree or over that hill to discover something new that you hadn't counted on. So continuously re-evaluate where you are and where you are going. Be open to new ideas, people and situations.

Challenge and discovery are vitamins for the entrepreneurial soul. It is our nature to create something that did not exist before: which means we need to be continously testing the edges of our comfort zone. The fun part about this adventure is finding that our walls are not made of hard brick, but rather of sweet, soft, gooey marshmallow!

How will you live at the edge of your comfort zone today?

Upcoming events: Referrals, Accountability, Better Clients

Here are some upcoming teleconferences and internet audio shows:

Friday, January 30, 2:00pm-2:30pm Eastern
Book Yourself Solid Radio
Tool Time Friday with Coach Davender: Talking Referrals with Coach Luann Allen


Join Certified Book Yourself Solid Coach Davender Gupta and his fellow Certified Book Yourself Solid Coach Luann Allen as they talk all about Referrals - how to give them and how to get them.

The whole point of the Book Yourself Solid system is to generate good referrals for you, people who are looking for what you offer and who are ready to buy. And to do so, you also need to know how to give good referrals. By implementing a good Referral Core Self-Promotion Strategy, you will succeed in getting more clients than you can handle... even if you hate marketing and selling!

Luann is The Success Fanatic. She has been an entrepreneur for most of her life, owning different types of small businesses ranging from nightclubs to real estate. As a Book Yourself Solid Coach, she helps coaches and service professionals fill their practices while planting the seed to make them start planning for the next level of their business. Luann’s approach is to blend humor with the BYS system to make the process easy and enjoyable.

Listen live through the web at http://is.gd/htKe or check out past shows with hosts Davender Gupta and Trish Lambert at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bookyourselfsolid


Tue, February 3, 2:00pm – 2:30pm Eastern
"Get More And Better Clients" Accountability Group with Davender

30 minutes of Laser-Focused Accountability: Report your successes big and small from the previous week, and share your Big Hairy Audacious Action Step for the next seven days! Your action step should be focused on Getting More and Better Clients.

With Coach Davender
Conference Dial-in Number: (218) 339-4600 Participant Access Code: 191192#
(live teleconference, not recorded, FREE – you pay the long-distance toll to the conference number)

Tuesday, February 3, 8pm-8:45pm Eastern
"Get More and Better Clients" Open Telecoaching with Coach Davender

An open discussion about various aspects of attracting More and Better Clients so you can Power your Big Dream from Passion To Profit... without selling your soul!

Topic of the Week: What do you mean by "Better Clients"?

Is there such as thing as having "Better Clients"? What does "Better Clients" mean to you? Explore four criteria to use when looking for clients who value who you are and who are ready to commit to what you have to offer!
With Coach Davender
Conference Dial-in Number: (712) 432-0800 Participant Access Code: 556643#
(live teleconference, recorded, FREE – you pay the long-distance toll to the conference number)

See the full updated calendar at
http://www.visioneering-institute.com/calendar

Greatness is never a given - it must be earned

Much has been said and written today about how President Obama's oratory "inspires" and "moves", how what he says and how he says it encourages us to be better people.

But what about you? If you spoke to inspire the people around you, how would your world change? Would others take you seriously? If not, why not?

As entrepreneurs and solopreneurs, we must first focus on making sure we are an example for others to follow. By "being the change we want to see" in the world, we start to build our tribe, our community of people who value what we have to offer and who are ready to commit to it, with their time, their energy, and their hard-earned money.

We are in the situation we are in, because too many tried to take shortcuts, a fast-track to riches. Instead of doing the hard work, they discovered that growth by steroids leads to a cancer of the soul.

I have no doubt that being elected President of the United States, of course, involves lots of power-play, money and back-room politics. However, I do believe that at his core, the 44th President has always stayed true to his values and his vision. This is what gives the power to his words - it is clear that he speaks from integrity, that he truly means what he says, that he walks his talk. I hope and pray that he can continue to be grounded, even in the bubble that is the White House.

How can you and I aspire to have as much impact in our little worlds as President Obama has in his?

Walk your talk. Speak from integrity. Be the model of the kind of person you yourself would look up to. Be generous. Demand excellence from yourself. Explore your full potential. Under-promise and over-deliver. Be the kind of person who is the reference, the standard, the example for what being a good citizen is all about.

I especially was moved by this part of President Obama's inaugural address (emphasis mine):

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less.

It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.

Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West, endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died in places Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed.

Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

Full text of President Obama's inaugural address (NYTimes.com): http://is.gd/gCpm

What you say may come back to haunt you

I love my new Rogers 3G Internet Stick (Novatel MC950D for you geeks). So much of my business depends on me having internet access, I felt limited always chasing down Wi-fi hotspots in order to get my mail, update my blog or douse wildfires between meetings. The Stick with my Eeepc 701 Netbook makes for a great anytime, anywhere combination.

Rogers had a great promotion in December '08 where they offered the stick for free ($299 value) if I signed a one year contract. Although data rates in Canada are horrendous compared to the US, they have a flex rate package that is not too bad ($30 for 500MB, $35 for 1GB, then tiers up to 5GB/month for an absolute max of $100/month, resetting each month at the lowest tier). These rates are for anywhere in Canada – don't even think about crossing the border unless you get a second mortgage.

Okay, now for the point of this post. Since I am already a Rogers customer for my cell phone (a Sony Ericsson W810i which I love), I was hoping to get the data package on the same account so I would not have to pay the bogus charges for 911 (50 cents a month) and the "system access fee" of $6.95/month extra. I went into the same store where I got my cell phone, and asked the salesman about putting the data account on the same as my phone account. “Of course” he said. When he printed out the contract, I saw the charges listed on it, which I pointed out again. He said that those charges will be waived. I crossed them out and initialed on my copy of the contract and his, and pointed it out a third time. I left thinking that I got a great deal.

So when I got my first bill I was just a bit surprised to see that I got dinged for the 911 and System Access Fee charges twice (once for my voice line, again for my data stick). Although I expected that I would have to pay, I still went to the store to point this out. They said there is nothing they can do. I apparently accepted the contract in its entirety and not I nor them could make changes. And since I'm past the 30 days cancellation period, I am now stuck for the whole year contract.

Now I understand where Rogers is coming from, being that the 3G stick has its own cell phone number, therefore triggering the 911 and system access fee charges even though you can't make a voice call on it, and it is on the same bill as my voice line. So yes, they are right and I am wrong. But I still have to pay the bills, as I am reminded every month.

I can't help getting a bit of this disgusting feeling that I got misled somewhat by the sales guy and therefore snookered by Rogers. Even though I love the service and depend on it for my business, it leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. Millions of dollars of advertising and marketing, wiped out because one employee didn't pay enough attention to what was said.

The problem is that Rogers just lost a bit of my loyalty and goodwill. And the competition is no better, whether it be Bell or Telus or any of the branded networks (Koodo, Virgin, etc). And no matter how hard they try, my respect for them has eroded.

In a big corporation, where's the accountability? The sales guy got his commission, and he figured he would never see me again in person (why would I go back if everything is fine?). The corporation has me locked into a contract, so they're happy. What am I going to do, sue over $84 dollars a year? If the sales clerk had simply explained the situation up front, and not made a promise he could not keep, I would still have signed up for the service (it's that cool), and the goodwill would have stayed intact.

The cell phone business is brutal, and I would not want to be working in it. There is no customer loyalty, because the pricing structure of the whole cell phone is warped, with great free offers to get you on board but nothing to thank me for being a reliable customer for ten years or more because you are a captive for the life of the contract. The big corps have more loyalty to shareholders and executives than they do to the customer paying the bills.

The big advantage that we as solos have is that when a client talks to us, they're talking to the boss. We can create that personal connection. Our word is our bond, and you can be sure that your client will take you literally. Especially now with the integrity breaches and trust violations that have poisoned people's perception of business, real connection is a rare and valuable resource.

Remember that whatever you say, whatever you promise, people will remember to the letter, no matter what is in the written contract. If you are not sure, check it out. Always underpromise and overdeliver. And if you think you've given too much, give even more. There's no such thing as too much chocolate.

Call me naive, but Rogers (and that cell phone store) went from a business that I would enthusiastically refer to others, to just another "meh". And that's too bad, because the need for businesses we can believe in has never been greater.

Book Yourself Solid Radio: Talking about Teleclasses with Cara Lumen

Join Certified Book Yourself Solid Coach Davender Gupta and his fellow Certified Book Yourself Solid Coach Cara Lumen as they discuss how to launch your own Teleclass!

This show will take place on Friday 16 January at 2PM Eastern. Listen live or get the podcast at http://tinyurl.com/9hzx5n

Teleclasses are a powerful way of demonstrating your expertise, and are a way of implementing the "Speaking and Demonstrating" Core Self-Promotion Strategy of the Book Yourself Solid system. Cara has extensive experience in leading productive Teleclasses, and will be hosting a special teleclass on "How To Develop And Deliver A Magnetic Teleclass" on January 20. If you want to extend your reach and build you brand, Teleclasses are the way, and Cara has the answer!

Cara Lumen, The Vision Distiller, helps resourceful, passionate women entrepreneurs with a burning desire to stand tall in their service of others uncover the clarity of purpose that will get them booked solid. A Certified Book Yourself Solid Coach, Certified Guerilla Marketing Coach and experienced international author, Cara is a lifelong learner and inspiring teacher. Working with your deepest passion, your greatest skills, and your conscious choice, she helps you focus your business into greater purpose and profitability. Cara helps entrepreneurs move their passion from vision to venue and attract the people they are meant to serve. She is the answer. What is your question?

Find out more about Cara through her website at http://successmagnets.com/

Listen to the show live at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bookyourselfsolid . This show is also available as a podcast after the live air date.

Book Yourself Solid Radio is a webradio show based on the bestselling book by Michael Port, focusing on helping you get more clients than you can handle... even if you hate marketing and selling! The show takes place every Friday at 2pm Eastern. Hosted by Certified Book Yourself Solid Coaches Trish Lambert and Davender Gupta, they interview fellow Coaches to help you succeed in filling your practice. Check out the latest guests at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bookyourselfsolid

Date:	Friday 16 January 2009
Time:	2:00pm - 2:30pm EASTERN
Location:	Book Yourself Solid Radio
Site	http://tinyurl.com/9hzx5n

It's not the medium, it's the message

I have a new friend on Facebook, Kneale Mann.

When he sent me his Friend Request, I Googled him and found a very interesting article he wrote, here are two quotes that I liked:

"Microsoft Word does not make you Hemmingway. Whether it’s an ink dipped feather or a blackberry, if the message is of no interest to its recipient, the instrument is irrelevant."

and

Content, context and community are powerful forces we cannot ignore.[...] Are you creating an atmosphere that will satisfy people's inherent need to belong? [emphasis mine]

With all the hype about Facebook, Twitter, the Social Web, whether it's better to write or podcast or put videos on YouTube, to succeed you need to go back to the basics: is my message one that someone wants to hear?

I'm getting a bit tired of the Social Web stuff, especially with Twitter, because it is becoming one big echo chamber, where people are RT'ing each other (repeating tweets or messages) in a bid to climb higher on some popularity algorithm. And that's when I'm not being bombarded with tweetspam.

What I crave is to exchange smart ideas with smart people: that's the community I want to belong to.

Although Kneale doesn't speak specifically about Twitter [UPDATE: Now he does through his blog http://onemann.blogspot.com !], his message applies directly to what you and I are doing as passion-driven entrepreneurs: instead of getting lost in how things look, let's focus on what we are communicating through what we do.

Read the rest of Kneale's article here (via Humble Howard's blog http://www.humblehoward.com)
(ContentContextCommunity part 1) http://is.gd/fmUe
(ContentContextCommunity part 2) http://is.gd/fmUu

How to get your phone ringing after vacation

I thought this is a good piece to repost - this is what I'm doing this morning to get the phone ringing again! See the original article here.

One of the biggest problems that solopreneurs have when coming back from vacation or an extended absence is that the phone is not ringing and the bills are piling up.

Here's a quick little game to get things moving again.

Take a piece of paper, and make a little list of ten people whom you can call right away (or when you get back from vacation).

These can be past clients, networking colleagues, or even among all those business cards you have collected and which are still not filed.

The object of the game is to find at least four people on this list who are willing to meet with you over coffee or lunch in the next five working days, for a little "discovery" session.

Share with your coffee partner your goals for the next ninety days, and what kind of clients you like to work with. Encourage your partner to do the same. Do a little brainstorming, aim to come up with at least one referral name for the other person and for you, then do the same with the name referred to you.

The key to making this game work is the two-level request for referrals: first with the person that you contact, second with the person that is referred to you, whether that person is a potential client or not. If the referral is truly ready to work with you, they will do so and give you a referral right away!

This will start to stir the energy around you, and before you know it, that phone will start ringing again with clients who are looking for what you have to offer.

That is, if you make that list right now... Do it! This little game can pay off big. Once you've made your list, and your calls, you've won!

This article is published on EzineArticles.com: http://ezinearticles.com/?id=1649237

An attitude for success from Mr. Buffett - not Warren, the other one

Was blindly following some Twitter links and came across this quote from Jimmy Buffett in the song "Cowboys in the Jungle"

We've gotta roll with the punches
Learn to play all of our hunches
Makin' the best of whatever comes your way
Forget that blind ambition
And learn to trust your intuition
Plowin' straight ahead come what may.

What a great attitude for success!

Ten Attitudes To Adopt To Prosper In Difficult Times

I've been following Scott Anthony who blogs on HarvardBusiness.org, and he calls the period we are now living "The Great Disruption". I like this term, because this period of economic difficulty is more than a slowdown, a recession or a depression: it is a complete collapse of all of the ideas we have taken for granted about how we live, trade and prosper.

To succeed as a solopreneur in this chaotic age requires more than hard work, it requires new attitudes, new ways of thinking. Here are ten attitudes to adopt in order to prosper in these uncertain times.

1. Declare Your Independence

Set up your life and lifestyle so as not to be dependent on any one person, client, revenue source or situation. Focus on minimizing your debts, so that you are not a slave to the bank or credit card. Diversify your income sources so that you are not a slave to any one client or job. Clean up what you are tolerating so that it no longer holds you back. Simplify your life so that you are not a slave to the whims of others. Declaring your independence means making hard decisions and taking action so that your independence is meaningful and practical.

2. Ignore Conventional Wisdom: It's All Wrong Anyway

A major cause of the current turmoil is that people thought they had it all figured out, that by following the “conventional wisdom” they could beat the odds. In reality, if you do what everyone else does, you will get the results that everyone else gets. What's so cool about today's situation is that you now have the freedom to act differently, because there are no charts for where we are heading. Those who succeed in this transition time are those who are willing to risk it all to invent a new future.

3. Cozy Up to Chaos

The more you try to hold on to the secure and the familiar, the harder it is to hold on to, because the secure and the familiar is disappearing. The rate of change continues to accelerate. Events halfway around the globe can impact you right here. Accepting that chaos is the new normal, that you cannot predict what will happen around you tomorrow, and set up your plans to adapt quickly to new situations.

4. Get Digital

If you're not online, you'll be in the bankruptcy line. The Great Conversation is happening right on the Web. Get your website up, start your blog, create a professional Facebook presence, get on Twitter, join the discussion! Connect with authors, leaders, role models and peers who you respect and who inspire you. By plugging in to the global meeting of minds, you will get great ideas and join forces with other forward-thinkers and doers who also want to succeed.

5. Express Your Personal Brand

Your personal brand is not just a slogan, it is a message that inspires people to improve their own lives. Stand for something that people value, and use it to stand out from the crowd of "me-toos". People are looking for leaders, for new ideas, and are attracted to people who take action.

6. Be The Center Of Your Own Network

Your network determines your net worth. Build a strong network of personal contacts who know who you are, what you stand for and where you are heading. Invest in your network by helping them succeed also. Find out what are their dreams and goals, what they offer and what they want, and invest the time, effort and money to help them.

7. Be Selfish: Take Care of Number One

If you are not feeling great, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, it is very difficult to create the results you want. Hold yourself up to high standards in your fitness, your surroundings and in the relationships that you have. Make “being healthy” part of your job description. The healthier you are, the more you can help others.

8. If You Want More, Give More

The natural response when times are tough is to cut back, retrench, think and act small. By doing the opposite, by being generous, open, helpful, charitable, and supportive, you will attract attention and gratitude. You become more valuable to the people around you, and you will be rewarded with clients who value what you offer and who are ready to reciprocate.

9. Know Thyself

Prospering in the Great Disruption means that you need to have a strong internal guidance system: to understand who you are, what is the impact you want to create around you, and what drives you to action. Plunge into personal discovery and development and be willing to ask yourself the hard questions. The stronger your internal compass, the better your ability to navigate through uncertainty and difficult times.

10. Live Your Passion

Make sure you are doing what you love, and do it first because you love doing it. Life is too short to spend it doing The more passionate you are about the positive change you wish to create around you, the more you will attract clients who value who you are and what you offer, and who are willing to commit their time, energy and money to you... no matter what condition the "economy" is in.

The reality is that this is a great time to focus on becoming stronger, smarter and more successful. The momentum you create now will give you a strong foundation to build success, no matter what happens in the future.

Focus on your Higher Purpose, and you will succeed in accelerating your Vision from Passion to Profit, no matter the economic conditions!

On Resolutions and Resolve - Make Today A Model Day

Make this first day of the New Year a model for the kind of day that you want for each of the next 365.

I know that there are some things on my "To Get Started On" list that I have been delaying and delaying for several weeks, telling myself that I will get to it in the New Year. Well, the day has arrived, the excuse ship has departed.

Today, right now, I resolve to adopt three daily practices of personal transformation:

1. Let go of something - What is a habit, a situation, a task, promise or commitment, or even a relationship, that is not serving you? That is preventing you from expressing your full potential? Every minute that you tolerate something that is holding you back, you are paying a price, that of not living your full potential. So whether it is something simple such as tossing that unopened junk mail sitting on the side of your desk (okay, it's now done!) or something big like closing down a project that is going nowhere, do it now. You now have made space for the next step.

2. Transform something else - What is a something that could be improved? Many times what is holding us back is that our tools, systems or habits are not quite serving us. What action can you take today to improve your surroundings or your systems so that they work better? For me today it is finishing a writing draft that I started a few days ago but never finished, and getting it out the door, hence this blog post.

3. Adopt something new - This is the fun part for me, because I'm a forward-looking kind o' guy. What is a new habit, situation, tool or project you can adopt that will help you to move forward, faster? For me today the new practice I adopted this morning is do to my pushups and abs exercises as soon as I get out of bed (my goal is 100 pushups and the equivalent in abs exercises)

By adopting these three principles and making small adjustments each day, big changes can occur over time.

Why is this important?

I love the feeling when I go to bed at night and I know I have played to the limit, leaving all of my energy and my efforts, all that I had to give, on the playing field of life. That I did all I could do, no excuses, no regrets. That I've taken a step further along the path of "Creating the change I wish to see in the world".

Resolve to make this year the best. It may sound corny, but I mean it. All those great promises one makes to oneself, especially near the end of the year, well now is the time to live up to them. Create a physical, spiritual, mental and emotional environment that supports you to perform at your best.

The media are doing a great job at pushing people into an emotional depression. What the world needs more than ever right now are role models of people acting with purpose. You and I need to look forward, think and act big, to be irrationally and foolishly optimistic, for beyond that glass half full there is a whole ocean waiting to be explored!

May your 2009 be full of great adventures and challenges, heartache and happiness, humor and sadness, disappointments and accomplishments, and above all, growth towards your full potential, towards Who You Really Are. For you are the sum of your experiences, so resolve to make those experiences as real and as fulfilling as humanly possible. There is a message to be heard and a lesson to be learned from every one of those 86400 seconds we receive each day.

I look forward to supporting you on your journey to greatness, as you support me on mine.

Bonne année mes amis! Happy New Year, my friends!