This Blog's Purpose

The purpose of this blog is help people improve their Mind, Body, Soul (relationships) and their Money.

Monday, September 30, 2013

MMV- Risk and Reward - Matt Hussey

Friday, September 27, 2013

N.E.A.T. - Episode 5 - TECHIE - Mete of Barspot.tv

Mete Ozkazanc is a co-founder of Barspot.tv a website and mobile app that allows users to see what a bar or venues' scene looks like before they enter. Bar owners get the benefit of being listed on their website and allowing potential bar clients to check out their location virtually. 

http://youtu.be/oL1GdTU62ik





N.E.A.T. is a VLOG started by me - D.R. White - in order to focus on my 3 passions - Entrepreneurship, Art and the Tech scene. 

Thursday, September 26, 2013

(ToT) Thought on Thursday - "I'm the smartest man in the room"




In the past 48 hours - and maybe it was more recent than that - I've had the good fortune of being in the presence of the smartest man in the room....

First of all - no it wasn't me - but you already knew that.

I was at an event where the gentlemen who happened to be M.C.ing came off with an attitude that since he had achieved a certain level of wealth he had the right to assume that everyone in the room was ignorant. 

He was there to tell the room how we could be happy in both our business and personal lives and then he proceeded to tell the audience things that I had learned through my own personal study either a few months or a few years ago.

This attitude was in stark contrast to that of other verified wealthy individuals I've had the divine pleasure of meeting over the past few weeks. These individuals' material and mental wealth far exceeded this character's claims of personal wealth.

When I was in the room with them they were constantly asking what I thought although they had  wealth of knowledge beyond what I may ever hope to obtain.

When I was in the room with "the smartest man in the room"  he kept spouting orders and asking questions that he [thankfully] had all the answers to.

 I knew I was in the wrong room when he barked at an audience member for the mortal sin of whispering to (what I believed to be) his mother.

"That's how you control a room!" said the smartest man in the room after silencing the whisper. I'm not sure but, for some reason I felt a little dumber for being in the room in the first place.

Shortly after I left.

- If there's any lesson here I guess it would be this - never automatically assume you're smarter, more talented or better than those in the same room as you. Always assume there is someone smarter than you in the room and you'll save yourself the embarrassment of proving it for a fact.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

T4T - Flashback - How to start a business - internet or otherwise....

 As I prepare for the switch to columnists next week - I thought I'd revisit a great (T4T) Tips for Tuesday - post that went up a few weeks back on starting a business.Internet or otherwise. I hope you enjoy:


I reached out to several Entrepreneurs - many of them Internet-based  - and asked the following question:



"What’s the best advice you can give to someone looking to get started in business, internet-based or otherwise?"


  This was quite possibly my most successful request. From Start-up founders to Start-up coaches to food topping innovators and a couple millionaires - As usual - I was amazed by the responses. 

1) 
Alex Genadinik 
 Founder 
 Problemio



"You must follow your passion. Starting a business is easy, but spending years of hard work to grow it and turn it into a success is incredibly difficult. So if you follow your passion, that will help immensely in getting through the ups and downs.  And when I say follow your passion, I mean it in a broad sense. Having a business itself can be a passion. The competition of being a business owner and seeing something you make grow can be fascinating enough. 


And once you are following your passion, be very disciplined and hard working. Get mentorship when you can, and don't try to do things alone. And be ready to work harder than you've ever worked before, and then some! " 

To learn more please visit Mr. Genadinik's site: problemio.com

2)
David Jackson 
Host 
School of Podcasting


"My advice would be to pick a date on the calendar to launch. Figure out what you need to do and work backward. Then you can figure out what you need to do each day to follow the path to your launch. In the end you need to START. You can't get better at something until you START doing it. So many people get paralysis by analysis. They want things to be perfect before launching. Unfortunately, they never launch because they just need "one more thing." Realize that if you aim for perfect and you miss, you will more than likely land on "very good." Start. Start. Start!"

To learn more about Mr. Jackson - please check out his site: schoolofpodcasting.com
3) 
Lajuan Stoxstill-Diggs
Author/Founder of
Craigslist Hustle




"My situation is unique in that I never intended to start a business. I was laid off by my employer and had a family to feed, so I was looking for ways to make extra income. I was motivated from the beginning to keep a roof over my family’s head and food on the table and that is what helped me get started in business. I suggest taking time to find a situation that motivates you so that you have the initial push to move forward. It could be you’re tired of the long work hours and not seeing your family or the low pay on your current job. Whatever is needed to motivate you in the beginning use it and remind yourself daily of this situation so you can stay motivated. Once you have decided what business venture you would like to pursue I would suggest finding people in the same or similar field who you can grow to trust and learn from.  This will help eliminate a lot of pitfalls that may come in starting a business. If you do not have anyone personally then I suggest reading books that will accomplish the same purpose.  The internet is full of resources from successful business men and women who have poured out years of wisdom into EBooks and paperback books.
 
When it comes to starting an internet based business and you are low on finances, then I suggest you invest time learning from others and doing it yourself. When I wrote and self published my book The Craigslist Hustle I didn’t have a clue as to what was needed to get it out into the market place. So, I spent a lot of time on Google and YouTube learning from other self published authors, as well as learning how to use Photoshop and other computer programs so I could bring the EBook to the marketplace. Once the EBook became a success, I went back and learned what was needed to bring the book to print. If your business offers a service or product and you are short on time, then I suggest you barter in exchange for someone else doing the things you are not familiar with in the beginning to get your business off the ground. Craigslist is a great place to find talented graphic designers, publishers, lawyers, and others who would be willing to barter their services in exchange for your services or product.  I hope this has motivated you the reader to pursue that business that you’ve always wanted to pursue and I look forward to reading your success story in the near future!"

To learn more please check out his site:  mrcraigslisthustle.com

4) 

Julie Busha
Founder 
Slawsa Gourmet Topping



"1.  Be financially prepared.  Starting a business is a very daunting task as many people find it difficult to take that leap of faith in leaving a secure job with benefits for one that is truly unknown.  While some companies can grow slowly as a "second job," others will require "all-in" efforts.  If you don't have complete control of your financial life before you decide to start your business, you will find that you're not able to throw your whole self into your new business.  Be financially prepared to not take a salary for a few years if needed and know what impact that will have on your life.  Be prepared to not take those vacations or enjoy those weekends with family.  Remember, greatness does not come without sacrifice and while most people will never understand the feeling that sort of sacrifice, it's the entrepreneur that loves their life the most because, regardless of those sacrifices, they wake up every day to make this one better than the last in growing their business. 

2.  Be the jack of all trades.  One thing I've been very proud of is the fact that I can write press releases, balance the books, update our web site, handle logistics of orders, be active on social media and pitch to retailers all in one day.  Many people consider themselves good at a few things but weak in others.  If you're starting out on your own and cannot be reliant on support from others in areas where you are weak, you're at a huge disadvantage.  Even if you can delegate later, you have to know your business inside and out and perform all tasks associated within.  In the beginning, you'll probably have to do everything on your own anyway.  You'll find that as you grow your business, you'll be met at some point with empty promises from people who say they will, but ultimately won't…then it becomes yours to fix.  Never say you "can't" do something because you're not good at it.  Simply learn how to do it and do it.  There is no excuse for you not being able to perform any task associated with growing your business."

To learn more about Ms. Busha's secret sauce - please check out:  slawsa.com
5)


Max Teitelbaum
Co-Founder
What Runs Where



"Just jump in. The biggest thing that holds people back is fear. Fear of
failing, fear of losing something or even just fear of trying. The best
way to get started is to get your hands dirty."

To learn more please check his site:
whatrunswhere.com


6)
Aaron Kahlow
CEO & Founder 
Online Marketing Institute


"Simply stay focused on building a great product first. Then properly marketing that product. Then building the team to grow. In that order exactly, otherwise, failure looms".  

To learn more please visit: onlinemarketinginstitute.org
 
 7)
Amy Schmittauer
Savvy Sexy Social Blog
Vlog Boss Studios 


"Live for the no. Learn why. Move on. If you're going to think about quitting every time you get turned down you're never going to make it. And for every no you get, you're closer to the most fulfilling and wonderful yes yet."

To learn more about Ms. Schmittauer please visit: savvysexysocial.com
8)

COREY POIRIER



“Don’t go into a business you’re not passionate about. Operating a business won’t be easy and you will encounter many challenges along the way. After interviewing over 2500 high achievers and discussing the importance of passion, I’ve rarely encountered a leader / business person who has achieved astounding success in any field or area of business they are not passionate about. If you’re passionate about the business, you’re more likely to stick with it during the lows, and to make the most of the highs. I would also add that you should be willing to fail, and to make mistakes (as there is no better way to learn and grow then in the trenches), to invest time and money in personal and professional development, to select and learn from the right mentors, and to become and remain completed focused on whatever task you’re working on at a specific time.”

Please learn more about Mr. Poirer by checking out one or both of his sites: conversationswithpassion.com or coreypoirier.com



 

9)

Robin Hallett
Intuitive Healer, Rock Star Reader, 

Creator of Sacred Bling

 "Self care is my #1 tip for Entrepreneurs who want to rock their business like they really mean it. You and your needs are the priority - NOT the business, NOT the soon-to-be-clients. YOU are the priority.  Your body is the only container you’ve got for all that creative juice.
We’ve become masters at ignoring what matters most. Important things like feelings, and the physical needs of our very own bodies. We blow ourselves off usually because we feel stressed and pressed. Because there are Really Important Things you need to do and you don’t have time. I know. I hear this a lot from Awkwardpreneurs (read, entrepreneurs who are NOT rocking it like they mean it). 

My philosophy: Taking breaks for meditation, exercise, and proper diet aren’t options, they’re musts.

 These practices make up the fuel that help us rock our work like we really mean it."

Please check out her website: robinhallett.com

10) 

Mitch Joel
 President
Twist Image



"If you're looking to get started in any business, learn that business inside and out. Thankfully, the Internet is here to help. Set-up Google Alerts for everything related to that industry: key terms, key leaders, key clients and more. Subscribe to any and all relevant industry trade publications – this includes the physical magazines as well as e-newsletters and more. Read every book on the subject that you can find. In short: become an info-vore. Love it more than your competitors. Love it more than anyone. Then, once you're eyeballs deep in it, start blogging. Start doing the hard work and critical thinking about what needs to change in the industry and what your perspectives are. Pushing that further, attend all industry events and (better than that) get active in your industry." - 

Please learn more about Mr. Joel's business check out his site:  twistimage.com/en

10)
Jim Palmer
The Newsletter Guru


"Follow the Money



Successful entrepreneurs know the importance of following the money. When their customers ask for something, these entrepreneurs find a way to supply their customers with whatever they want. That’s what following the money is all about—go where the money leads. After all, you’re in business to make a profit.



Successful businesses continue to expand their offerings. They continue to follow the money. Since it’s easiest to sell to your top customers—the hyper-responsive ones—that should be your focus as you follow the money.



Become intimately familiar with his or her customer list. To begin with, you should not only identify your top 20%, you should also segment your list by identifying the top 10%, top 5%, and even your top 2 %.Your top 2 to 5% of customers are not your typical customer. They should receive different marketing messages and even different offers than the typical customer. If your goal is to sell as much as possible and achieve the highest possible profits (and that’s a worthy goal), this can be made much easier by selling to your repeat customers in unique and different ways.



If you’re not exactly sure which products or services can be profitably added to your arsenal, here’s a very easy way to find out: Ask! Go back to your customer list and focus on your top customers. Create a survey to bounce your ideas off them, and measure the responses. It can be as easy as listing your ideas with a one to ten scale, and have them rate how likely (or unlikely) they’d be to buy or use it.Your current customers are the ones most likely to buy from you again. Find ways to sell more to them.



Follow the money: Find out what else your customers want to buy and find ways to provide it for them.

Please check out Mr. Palmers site at: thenewsletterguru.com

11)

Dane Maxwell
Founder
The Foundation.io



"The smartest thing anyone can do is get out of their realm of expertise and knowledge. Don't go with what you know. Get out of that. Go into markets blind and Find The Pain. If you make your business about finding pain, you can then put experts in place to solve that pain and take a cut. The smartest businessmen in the world do just this. MindValley, Appsumo, etc. We don't believe in being experts at subject matter at The Foundation. We believe in being the experts at finding pain, clearly defining it, and then putting experts in place to solve that pain. 


If you do anything, Find The Pain. Don't focus on being an expert. You'll live a much more free life. Who wants to spend years becoming an expert at something, when you can launch a business in weeks using this method? I've launched multi-million dollar companies like PaperlessPipeline using this method. I just Find The Pain in markets, and put experts in place to create products around that pain"

To learn more about Mr. Maxwell please check out: thefoundation.com

12)
Laura Betterly
Founder
Yada Yada Marketing 



"The best advice would be to "START"  I know that sounds a bit simplistic, but I've worked with 100's of entrepreneurs and it's common for each of them to be stuck with fear and uncertainty--What I all the what if syndrome.  What if I get a question that I can't answer--what if my website isn't beautiful enough?  What if I don't have the right business card,  what if I make a mistake?  Truth is we all make mistakes, find questions we can't answer etc. but getting paralyzed and not doing something because of that fear only guarantees failure by proxy.  Go into your new business willing to make mistakes and just start.   Taking that first step is the hardest, but the rewards of having your own business are limitless."

To learn more about Ms. Betterly - yadayadamarketing.com

14)  
Jeremy Frandsen
Co-Founder
Internet Business Mastery Podcast

"After over 8 years of working with freedom business beginners, seeing their struggles and their success, we now know what it takes to successfully get a business started.  First is defining your Single Motivating Purpose, then you need to choose the Audience you would wake up excited to help for at least 10 years.  Finally, you have to very specifically figure out the solution you will give that audience, solving their #1 pain or irrational desire.  It's a simple formula, but it is what it takes to start a highly successful Freedom Business."

Jeremy Frandsen is Co-Founder and Co-Host of the Internet Business Mastery* learn more about the podcast here: internetbusinessmastery.com

15) 


Nick Peall
Internet Marketer 
Public Speaker  



"You must be willing to make mistakes daily and find the lessons in each of them. Some people remain paralysed in the research phase of their business because they're afraid of failing. But failure is something that happens a lot when you're in business so you just gotta expect it and make the most of it. Nobody has success overnight with their first idea, it takes years of trying and failing before the winning formula is found. 


The other piece of advice would be don't confuse activity for action. Some people are spending their time appearing to be working, but not getting an real results from it. You must be able to identify what the core tasks are then delegate the rest. Reading and networking and researching are valuable, but if they are not producing profits each week you have to focus on the main task that will generate cash flow."
To learn more about Mr. Peall please check out his site: nickpeall.com

*on a personal note I've been listening to Jeremy and his partner Jason since shortly after the launch of their podcast and it's an honor to feature them here.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

(TOT) Thought on Thursday - Take that risk

Last week I had some extra free time on my hands and I spent much of it coaxing myself into scary and/or risky situations. Although it's 4:00 AM as I type this I still have a smile on my face because the risk taking has paid dividends.

As a result of some of the risks I took - i.e. Cold calls. - I have:
  • Sat down for coffee/water/lunch with 3 wealthy individuals.
  • Found what one wealthy individual would pay $100,000 for.
  • Gotten advice on where to direct my energy from another wealthy individual. 
  • Gotten an offer of possible funding of business ideas from another. 
  • Found a possible untapped need in a market - that I'm testing out.

Now granted, one of these individuals is a relative but, with that being said - I have the opportunity to meet with yet another individual I hold in high esteem in the next several days who hangs out in the C-Suite of the company he helped build.

It's so funny how risk adverse we are when what we consider risky would have likely been shrugged off by our ancestors.

I can only imagine what my ancestors - who were slaves - would have thought if I told them that the only thing between me living like a slave and living like a master was talking to a bunch of people I don't know and enduring a difficult conversation or two.

I cannot fathom to deal with what they had to deal with or for that matter what man's prehistoric ancestors had to deal with when their biggest concern was

"Will I get eaten by a Saber Tooth Tiger Today?"

And not

"Will someone use a 4-letter word to describe me because I interrupted their day?"

It's laughable how we describe risk today and for that reason - if I have time today (after I take a nap) I will be making some cold calls.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

New Direction for Motivating Minutes

In the next few weeks - you may notice some changes with this blog - Motivating Minutes.

In particular we'll be featuring some new monthly columnists that focus on the areas of improving the MIND, BODY, SOUL & peoples MONEY.

I'm excited about it and I hope you are too!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

(TOT) Thought on Thursday - Facing a Quarter Life Crisis - By Keith Dodge

Today we are lucky enough to have a guest post provided by fellow blogger Keith Dodge. Keith writes the movie blog - Oscarology. You may notice he is much more talented writer than I.  If you're in your late 20's or early 30's you may be struggling with a  Quarter life crisis. Keith's post explores exactly why you should NOT panic!

-Dee 
 



Celebrating the “Now What?” feeling

By: Keith Dodge



You are 28 years old. You have:



Learned to walk



You have graduated preschool, kindergarten, grade school, middle school, and high school (with

honors)



You were in lots of sports, plays, clubs, scout troops, and church groups, and you did all that

community service everyone wanted you to do.



You learned to drive a car and didn’t kill anyone.



You did that stuff so you could apply for lots of scholarships and get into a good college.



You were accepted to that good (great) college.



You partied your ass off.



You graduated.



You got a job.



You moved out on your own to a new city.



You met the one.



You got married.



You bought a house.



You’re working on having kids, or already have a few.



NOW WHAT?



 The “Now What” feeling can be scary. You can suddenly feel unsatisfied, unfulfilled. You’ve been grinding it out, day by day, minute by minute, working toward becoming an adult. And suddenly, you are one. You have been coloring, counting, studying, working on group projects, taking tests, applying,



proofreading and planning your wedding since 1989. 24 years. You were promoted from baby to child, appointed to teen and elected as chairman of young adulthood. However, you are now officially retired from growing up. Technically, you have nowhere else you have to be; there are no more boxes to check off. You suddenly realize that you aren’t getting graded anymore. Well, you’re getting performance reviews at work maybe, but not grades. In hindsight, you can see the glittering path of achievement and all the hallmarks of an upper middle class hardworking Midwestern upbringing in your rearview mirror.



You’ve been driving for hours and you’re here. Now what are you supposed to do with the next 60 year of your life? Whatever you want, right? That’s what they say. But, what do you want?



You’re not really sure.



You have everything you think you wanted. Still, you’re not feeling fulfilled. You begin to wonder exactly how this can possibly be; you have done everything you were told to do, and you didn’t smoke crack or end up in prison. You have all of your teeth, and you’re not a hoarder or a crystal meth addict, so you most certainly have a high score in the Game of Life, which, by the way, is nothing like you anticipated as a kid when you spun that multicolored wheel and ended up with a pink and a blue stick baby in a car headed for a hollow white mansion on a broccoli lump of green plastic.



You need a barometer for adult life. Where are the teacher comments? Am I getting a red check mark in “drinks one shot too many and ends up puking at most get-togethers?” Am I getting a plus in “maintains a remarkable level of swag for the low level of their paycheck?” Who is the teacher now anyway?



Wherein, you suddenly turn an unflattering, sickly shade of green envy.  Although you are absolutely unable to go more than five minutes without checking in, liking, or hashtagging, social media turns on you quickly, because suddenly, you develop an acute case of Facebook Fatigue or LinkedIn Leprosy. 



If you have spent 30 minutes or more scrolling through a “People you may know” section and instantaneously developed a crippling sense of panic and failure, you may have LinkedIn Leprosy. Ask your doctor if hysterical crying and a Dairy Queen Blizzard are right for you.



I mean, shut the front door! Am I right? The girl who was that girl almost every single night is now an Account Executive at a big name PR firm in Chicago? The dude that always had slobber dribbling down his chin is now a District Sales Manager? And you, the one who always beamed with self-righteous pride at awards assemblies, the one whose description of their favorite vacation to Myrtle Beach was always put up on the overhead as an example of outstanding descriptive writing, are a lowly customer service representative?



Thus, depression, self-loathing, paranoia and anxiety settle in for a long winter’s nap. You put your past under the microscope and scrutinize your every move, as if Kirk Herbstreit was taking an invisible yellow marker to your formative years and pointing out you zigged on that play where you should have zagged.



I have been there. I have done this. And I’m here to tell you that this is no way to be. You need to take a deep breath and not be so hard on yourself. You need to tell yourself over and over (and probably over and over a few more times) that you have not failed. You haven’t even started. You are finally on your life’s journey, after all of that hard work, and it’s just beginning. You may have 4-5 years of work history under your belt, but guess what? There’s at least 35 more. Here’s some perspective for you: you have more time left to work than you have even been alive. That kind of sucks. Then again, it doesn’t.



You worked for more than 20 years to get here. You trudged through multiplication, bullies, detention, leaving your back pack at home, being dumped at Homecoming, forgetting black socks for band,overdrawing your bank account, hanging up on angry calls from the US Department of Education, and now, it is your time.



Now is when you will decide what you truly want in your life. Now is the time to chase your wuh-wildest and craziest dream, kid. You now have everything you need, and you have arrived. You still have your whole life before you, and unlike when people used to say that to you, you’re actually in the LIFE part now. You don’t have anywhere to be but where you want to go. You are giving yourself your own grade. You are only failing if you’re not really who you want to be. And you hate failing. So go out and be who you always wanted to be. Use that jealousy and do something with it. Lose that weight. Get a new job. Get close to God again. Write that blog. Date that girl or guy. Move.


Celebrate the “Now What” feeling. Realize that you have arrived at your first destination, and start your course towards a new one. Don’t look back. Look forward. The “Now What” feeling is nothing to be afraid of.  It is a realization that you have completed one chapter, one level, and you're ready to start working on the next. People used to ask you, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The exciting part is that you don’t have to wait until “when.” When is now. Now you can begin working on the “what do you want to be?” part of life.


 What do you think? Have you faced a 1/4, 1/3 or Mid-Life crisis yet?