Discovering Your Inner Samurai Blog

Purple Cow Marketing

One of the first marketing books I read when starting up my small business was Seth Godin's Purple Cow.  What I found absolutely intriguing was his concept of "putting a purple cow into everything that you build and everything you do, to create something truly noticeable."

What he means by purple cow, is to create something that is truly remarkable--a product or service that will be remarked on, remarked about, remarked to.  Something that is phenomenally amazing, never thought about it that way before, over the top fantastic!  Cows, after all, are not remarkable.  After you've seen the black ones, the brown ones, the white ones, and every combination of cows with black, brow, and white spots, you've just about seen them all.  Unless you are on a long road-trip from the east to the west coast playing some 'I spot a . . . .' car game in the middle of the mid-west, cows are not remarkable.  In fact, they are boring. 

Though, imagine if you are traveling along I 81 and your spied a purple cow standing in the middle of a corn field chewing on grass.  Wouldn't that catch your eye?  Wouldn't that make you stop your car, wake up the kids snoozing in the back seat, and get out and oooo-n-ahhhh?  Maybe even take a family pic or two with the cow?  Maybe even call the National Enquirer--can't you just see the headlines:  "Purple Cow Spotted Along I 81 in Rural Virginia"

Well, that's exactly the concept that marketing guru Seth Godin puts across in his Purple Cow book.  In fact, he does it so well that each time one of my clients gets ready to work on niche marketing, I send them a copy of his book as a gift.  One read of this book and my clients are convinced that this is the marketing strategy for them.

The original Accidental Pren-her™

Adding Vroom Vroom to Your Visualizations

Today . . . I am thinking about the amazing results my clients are achieving by adding vroom vroom to their visualizations.

Up until a few shorts months ago, when asked if I visualized I would say, "Yes." Now, when asked if I visualize I say, "Hell Yes!"

What's made the difference?

There is an art to visualization that I call: visualizing from the inside out. Check it out. Below are the guidelines for packing more energetic bang for your buck into your visualizations.

Guidelines for Visualizations

• Set one time aside each day for your visualizations. Ideally, it is the same time each day, in the same place. Make it a formal time. Ritualize it, if you like with a candle or music.
• Set a timer and visualize for no more than 5 minutes. When the timer goes off, time's up. Get up, walk away, stretch, do something else. If you had trouble focusing, forget about it until tomorrow. For now, you are done.
• Always and only focus on the end result, or beyond. Dwell from within, not upon, the end result. Feel it. Amp up as much energy around it as you can. Go crazy!
• Put yourself in the picture. You won't believe how many people don't do this! They focus upon what they want without putting themselves within the experience. Big difference! Put yourself in the picture. And here's the key to it all--while you are sitting in your chair visualizing, get physical. Pick-up the phone with your physical hand. Laugh out loud at the pleasure of seeing a loved one. Move your feet as if you were running along the beach.  Getting physical is the key to amping up the energy! Physical + Emotional = vroom vroom!
• While in the picture, see, hear, touch, smell, taste every conceivable detail. Hear the bird and track it with your eyes. Grip the steering wheel with both hands and feel how she handles. Smell the aroma of the meal you're cooking and then taste it by dipping your finger in the bowl.

This is the fastest way to change absolutely everything, and to draw to you everything you want to inherit.Vroom vroom!Want even more vroom vroom? Check out Shakti Gawain's book Creative Visualization.

So, if your visualizations haven't been doing much for you lately, give these guidelines a shot. And when you do, drop me a comment and let me know how it was for you!

The original Accidental Pren-her™

Mike Dooley's World Tour II

Jambo!

Many of you will recognize this greeting from Mike Dooley's daily email Notes From the Universe. "Jambo" is Swahili and short for hujambo which means, "hi, hello, how are you?" The correct answer is sijambo--"hi, hello, I'm fine." And so began the kick off to Mike's World Tour II--Manifesting Change: It Couldn't Be Easier!"

I had the opportunity to see Mike Dooley during his World Tour II while he was in Virginia Beach, speaking at Edgar Casey's A.R.E.

Mike came alive when he stood before us, and with the help of a power point presentation kept us all enthralled and interested. With his unique blend of information, humor, and storytelling, Mike opened his talk with the explanation of how thoughts become things.  He pressed home to us the importance of choosing words wisely.

Here are some of his pearls of wisdom, important for our inner Samurai to hear:

1. Scientists tell us that we think over 10,000 unique thought per day.
2. The reason why some of our thoughts have not come to pass is because others have, and those have gotten in the way.
3. Sometimes, in order for the Universe to move us from Point A to Point B, the Universe needs to take us through uncharted territory.
4. Whenever the unexpected lands in your path, it is always a stepping-stone to where you intend to go.
5. The Universe knows the shortest and quickest way to make your thoughts happen.
6. Never messed with the dreaded "hows."  That is the domain of the Universe.
7. Dwell from, not upon, the space you want to inherit--that is the fastest way to change absolutely everything.
8. Bad things don't happen--there is a reason and perfection for everything.
9. Don't let the summit stop you from starting the journey.
10. There are no train wrecks. Only trains changing tracks.

Check out Mike's tour schedule, and if you get a chance to attend one of his talks, do so.  Mike is interesting, fun, and most importantly . . . has something to say.

Anyone else seen him on his World Tour? What did you think?

The original Accidental Pren-her™

The Face of Entrepreneurship 2017

What will small business look like in 10 years?

And just who will be starting businesses?

My friend and publisher, Yvonne DiVita of WME Books who recently wrote a great blog on innovation, sent me an email last week with "you must read this" in the subject line and "scroll down, read the interview . . . it has stuff you'll like," in the message area with a link to Rethink Pink's web site.

Well, with that kind of subject line, what's a girl to do? I clicked on at once and was immediately immersed in a ton of great stuff from this marketing to women portal. The article written by Karen E. Klein (a Los Angeles-based writer who covers entrepreneurship and small-business issues) particularly got my attention. After a quick "permission to use" email and agreeable response from Karen, I reprinted the salient parts of her interview with Brad D. Smith of Intuit.

Her comprehensive new study has some surprising predictions

Within a decade, entrepreneurs are going to be older, younger, more feminine, and more global than they are today. So says an Intuit-sponsored study from the Silicon Valley-based Institute for the Future. Brad Smith, senior vice-president and general manager of the small-business division of Intuit spoke recently to Smart Answers columnist Karen E. Klein about how the study was conducted and what it means for entrepreneurship. Edited excerpts of their conversation follow.

Q:  Small-business owners generally fly under the legal and regulatory radar, and as such are notoriously difficult to study. What prompted you to sponsor this report, which is called The Future of Small Business?

A:  We had been in the process of working on an 18-month strategy study with the Boston Consulting Group that turned up some surprises. One was that 10 million people said they are considering starting their own businesses in the future. That's the biggest number we've seen in 25 years. The second surprise was that 6 million people actually followed through and started those businesses, and one-third of them are doing business globally. We thought those figures merited further study.

Q:  What are some of the findings from the interviews and observations that surprised you?

A:  One is the phenomenon we called "accidental entrepreneurs." There are 20 million businesses—out of the 26 million businesses total in the U.S.—that have no employees. We found that a good portion of them don't call themselves small-business owners, but freelancers or hobbyists.  There's a tremendous wealth of economic activity happening in these sole-proprietor, home-based businesses—whether the owners consider themselves entrepreneurs or hobbyists or a little more than that.

Q:  Aside from age, how will gender figure into the small-business mix in a decade?

A:  We will see the continuing and strengthening presence of women in entrepreneurship. The study puts them into two groups. There's the classical, professional woman who's networked and experienced but decides to break through the glass ceiling by creating her own empire. Kind of what we called the Oprah phenomenon.

Click this link to read the rest of Karen's article on The Face of Entrepreneurship 2017.

So what do you think accidental pren-hers? 

Sounds like there are exciting times ahead for those of us jumping ship, by choice or other, huh?

The original Accidental Pren-her™

Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

I don’t have a web master, never have and probably won’t.

When it came to getting my business web site up, I hired a web designer to do the banner and template, then did the rest myself. I know, call me crazy.

It’s not that I had such amazing html skills when I started, or like I had ever before built a web site as extensive as mine is. Rather, I was short on money and long on time, so I thought to myself, “how hard can it be to do it myself?”

Well the answer was . . . it was pretty darn challenging! Though, like I said, I was short on money and long on time, so I did what all good figure-it-outers do, I read. Since I like the look, smell, and feel of honest-to-goodness bound books in my hand, I scoured the physical and virtual bookshelves for something to read that was relevant, understandable, and easily applicable.

One of the most helpful “how to” books for me on web site design was Don’t Make Me Think! by Steve Krug. It’s a short, easy to read and comprehend book (200 pp), that practices what it preaches. It has many pictures, is humorous, and filled with relevant examples and links that actually go somewhere. In it, I found ways to:

• design pages for scanning, not reading,
• make the “click here” actions on my web site clear and obvious,
• design my home page to my reader’s advantage,
• perform an inexpensive and effective usability test,
• and work with cascading style sheets.

In addition, Steve also has a user friendly web site called Advanced Common Sense and a Don't Make Me Think: The Workshop you can take.

If you are at the beginning stages of web design, this book is perfect for you.

If you already have a web site up and running, this book is perfect for you.

Either way, Steve’s book is a valuable pren-her read and has earned a spot in the Pren-her Reading Room.

Anyone else read Don’t Make Me Think! or other great books on web set-up and design?

The original Accidental Pren-her™

Anita Campbell on Small Business Blogging

Variations of the "Why Do You Blog" tag game are spreading all around the blogosphere, and today . . . I am reading Anita Campbell's Five Reasons For Small Business Owners To Blog.

Anita, the Editor of Small Business Trends and the Small Business Trends newsletter, and host of Small Business Trends Radio, begins by asking the question:  "Why do small business owners write on blogs?  With millions of people worldwide doing it, blogging has become a major phenomenon of our time."

I thought her answers were interesting.  The Reader's Digest version is below:

1. A faster and better way to create newsletter articles.
2. A strategy for getting published.
3. A low-cost way for a small business owner to market on line.
4. A method to communicate and connect--especially important for business owners.
5. Satisfaction of some inner need to share.

For the full blog check out Five Reasons For Small Business Owners To Blog.

So why do you blog?

The original Accidental Pren-her™

Earth and the Inner Samurai

Are you familiar with the four elements?

You know, Fire, Earth, Air, and Water?

This is the last blog of a four-part blog series on the four elements and their transformational power and importance to the Accidental Pren-her.™ If you would like to get caught up by reading about the first three elements, you can do so by following these links:

• Element of fire
• Element of water
• Element of air

Last up--earth!

The alchemical process associated with earth is conjunction, because all matter results from some sort of conjoining, or coming together. It is the final step in the transformational process and is the most nurturing and creative.

Earth is the archetypal element representing divine fertility and sustenance. Coming into contact with earth means encountering immense creative power, and is best done with humility and humbleness.  (The word humility comes from "humus," meaning earth.)

Whether we are walking upon the earth, planting in the earth, or making mud pies from the earth, coming into contact with the earth is an act of co-creation. Psychologically, the conjunction of two things occurs in order to create a new state of consciousness. According to alchemist Dennis William Hauck in The Emerald Tablet: “From an individual’s viewpoint, conjunction is the birth of a new reality through the union of thought and action that [creates] a completely new way of looking at things.”

Conjunction is the final step that we all take along the path from Accidental Pren-her™ to entrepreneurial woman and with it comes the permanent state of enlightment of our inner Samurai. The first step, fire, forms the foundation, the second step, water, forms the inner wisdom, and the third step, air, forms the inner truth of our inner Samurai. With the final step, earth, a co-creative partnership with all the rest of the elements completes the transformational process, thus forming the philosopher’s stone of our Accidental Pren-her.™

Often preceded by an activating or life-changing event, conjunction is the natural process that occurs when we have taken in and fully integrated all that has happened along our journey. As a result, the life-changing event that rocked our world and turned everything upside down becomes the instrument of change that transmutes our lead into gold. As a result, we have been changed from the inside out and in the process become more of who we really are.

Have you had a life-changing event that rocked your world?

What was the transformation process like for you?

If you’ve had a life-changing event, or are currently having one--this is the place to talk about it.

The original Accidental Pren-her™

Interview with Accidental Pren-her Moschel Kadokura

Today I wanted to share with you the wonderful story of Accidental Pren-her turned entrepreneur Moschel Kadokura and the innovative product she is launching that will keep kids on task and keep parents from nagging: On∙Task On∙Time for Kids.

I did a podcast interview with Moschel last week and will have that ready for you at a later time.  Before I do, though, I thought I would give you a little preview of what is to come.

My friend and colleague, Life Coach Carol Satterlee, first introduced me to Moschel and her product a month ago. She told me about On∙Task On∙Time for Kids, an innovative product that helps children complete their daily routines with less parental nagging.  I was skeptical, so I called Moschel up to see if it was true.

Indeed it is! Moschel, mother of four, came up with the idea 12 years ago, while struggling to get her then-five-year-old triplets to kindergarten on time. Finaly, after lots of research, testing, support from family and friends, and along with the help of designer Alison Anne Barnsley and graphics artist Cindy Wen, On∙Task On∙Time for Kids made its debut launch last month.

Moschel's triplets, now seniors, used the first prototype until they were in third grade."Because it had moving parts and was dynamic, it kept them engaged and somewhat entertained. They turned their morning routine into a game and a race." By creating On∙Task On∙Time for Kids, Moschel took herself out of the nagging role, and the triplets developed the independence and self-esteem to get ready for school. As an added benefit, Moschel found herself feeling relaxed and in control of a household with three triplets--imagine that!

When her younger son started kindergarten, Moschel thought it would be easier to get him off to school each day. Instead, she found herself nagging him to get ready every morning. She created another prototype, started using it again, and immediately appreciated the value of having a tool to help with transitions.

Realizing that getting through morning routines and transition times such as coming home from school or getting ready for bed are difficult for all parents, Moschel began exploring how she might make On∙Task On∙Time for Kids work for other families. More than 20 families helped test the product and raved about its use!

"I think this is a clever and genuinely useful product. This is a must-have tool for parents who are developing organized and self motivated kids," said Ben Chang, who tested a prototype with his children, David, 7, and Grace, 6. He added, "This simplifies normal routine chores, removing the need for regular parental nagging."

Moschel is introducing On∙Task On∙Time for Kids through online sales. It is available at www.TimelyMatters.com, and retails for $49.95. Timely Matters, Inc. is a family owned business dedicated to helping take the stress out of parenting.

The original Accidental Pren-her™

Going Through a Life Transition?

If you are going through a life transition, whether it be a career change, divorce, loss of parents or significant other, a natural disaster, or physical illness, Sue Monk Kidd's When The Heart Waits will be a helpful book to read.

Sue Monk Kidd, author of the New York Times Bestseller The Secret Life of Bees, writes this book from her own personal life journey and midlife experience. In it, she grapples with the sacred questions of life as she walks through her own transformational process. She talks a lot about waiting. The importance of waiting. And describes waiting as: "the passionate and contemplative crucible in which new life and spiritual wholeness can be birthed."

Transformation is very much part of the inner Samurai journey.  It comes when we least expect it, and, seemingly, unasked for. It's as if we are summoned to an inner transformation, to a crossing over from one identity to another. From what to what may be unknown. Though, the call is unmistakable. The calling is to undertake a new passage along our spiritual journey.

We've all gone through these transitions, and often more than one.  Carol McClelland, of Transition Dynamics is a transition expert. In her most recent Seasons of Change blog, Carol talks about how much the definition of transition has changed over the past 20 years:

In that era, the word transition brought to mind someone passing away or going through menopause. Furthermore, the definition in the dictionary didn't help. It noted that a transition was a noun...but not a verb. So the dictionary recognized that transitions exist, but there were no words to describe that we moved through transitions or how we did it.

I think Carol makes a great point--until recently, there hasn't been a lot of help available to those going through a transition. Fortunately, now there is, and Sue Monk Kidd's book When The Heart Waits is good place to start and earns a place in the Samurai Reading Room.

What was, or is, your transition experience like?

The original Accidental Pren-her™

DeMarr Zimmerman's Tips for Success

Today . . . I am contemplating an email from DeMarr Zimmerman, Sr. Executive with SendOutCards.com, and thinking about tips for success. In it, he talks about what has made him successful: "My success has come from learning from the best and using the best ideas that work for me."

Here are a few tips DeMarr has learned over the years that are applicable to all Accidental Pren-hers and small business owners:

• What ever you do keep it simple!
• Be a product of the product!
• Learn the things that work for you and don’t stop doing them when success starts to come your way!
• Don’t be afraid of a good idea as long as it doesn't take you out of your game!
• You may have to spend a little money to make some!
• In order to be great you need to be good first! In order to be good you may have to be bad first! In order to be bad you have to do something!
• Jim Rohn says, "Where do you start? Throw a rock up in the air and where ever it lands that is where you start!"
• Be bold! Great and mighty forces will come to your aid!
• Life begins at the end of you comfort zone!

So what do you think about these tips?

If you were going to add a tip or two of you own, what would you say?

BTW, if you are interested in SendOutCards.com and want to know more, let me know!

The original Accidental Pren-her™

Air and the Inner Samurai

Are you familiar with the four elements?

You know, Fire, Earth, Air, and Water?

This is the third blog of a four-part blog series on the four elements and their transformational power and importance to the Accidental Pren-her.™ If you would like to get caught up by reading about the first element, fire, click here. And the second element, water, click here.

Third up--Air!

The alchemical process associated with air is separation. It is the third step in the transformational process, and often the one that is the most severe.

Air is the archetypal element of the wind, and, like the wind, has always been associated with spiritual forces. Air is the life force itself, the primordial chi in Taoist philosophy. Psychologically, separation represents the discernment of what is important and of value in your life from what is not. According to alchemist Dennis William Hauck, “if we do not reject old habits and beliefs when confronted with the possibility of a better way of being, we end up imprisoned by a tyrannical ego complex that will perpetuate any illusion just to keep control.”

Separation It is the third step that we all take along the path from Accidental Pren-her™ to entrepreneurial woman and forms the inner truth of our inner Samurai. With the first step, fire, forming the foundation of the inner Samurai, and the second step, water, forming the inner wisdom of our inner Samurai, this third step, air, brings us closer to the transformational completion of the philosopher’s stone of the Accidental Pren-her.™

Often preceded by an activating or life-changing event, separation is the natural process that happens as part of the inner discovery of what is true and right for us in our lives. Effecting our finances, relationships, health, family, work, career, and living situations, the air of separation helps us to find our inner truth, so we can go beyond what was, in order to become what is.

Have you had a life-changing event that rocked your world?

What was the inner discernment process like for you?

If you’ve had a life-changing event, or are currently having one--this is the place to talk about it.

The original Accidental Pren-her™

Anyone Else Feel Like They Are Being Jerked Behind Two Oxen?

Don’t you just love change?

Most of us don’t notice change until it becomes an event--something unexpected or unanticipated that was not planned for, or was planned for though not as we thought.

When change becomes an event, we notice it. We notice it and either do one of two things: either we try to go with the flow, or we react to it by trying to slow it down.

The trying to slow it down part brings to mind the image of a farmer walking behind a pair of oxen while plowing his field. He is going along just fine until he wants the oxen to go another way. Inevitable, he digs his heels in, leans back, pulls hard on the reigns and shouts “whoa!” in a futile attempt to make them stop. Instead, they keep plodding monotonously along, leaving the farmer alternately straining against the reigns and being jerked along in order to keep up.

In order to avoid the jerked along behind the oxen movement that occurs when we resist change and move into the natural ebb and flow of change, it is important to recognize change is a process. In 1982, Drs. James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente developed a Transtheoretical Model of Change that beautifully outlines the five stages of change. I wrote an article about this model and how it applies to starting up a small business that WorkOnTheInternet.com published here. In it, I outline the five stages of changes:

1. The Precontemplation Stage (Not Currently Considering Change)
   
   This stage could really be called “the precursor-to-change” stage. This is the
   stage when individuals may not even be thinking about becoming small business owners.
   This stage’s motto is: Ignorance is bliss.
   


2. The Contemplation Stage (Thinking about Change and Researching Options)
   
   In the Contemplation Stage, individuals are aware that a change is needed and they actually desire to make a change. This stage’s motto is: Just sitting on the fence waiting to see what will come along.
   


3. The Preparation Stage (Ready for Change and Making Plans)
   
   This stage of change is readily apparent by the amount of activity, decisions, and overt action that is taking place in preparation for a small business start up. This stage’s motto is: I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.
   


4. The Action Stage (Making Change and Taking Charge)
   
   This stage is characterized by a considerable amount of steady, forward movement. The motto for this stage is: Carpe Diem.
   


5. The Maintenance Stage (Continuing Forward Movement toward Goal)
   
   By this stage, individuals are firmly ensconced in the forward movement and momentum of launching their new small business. The motto of this stage is: Westward, ho!

I found this model helpful because it clearly outlines the stages of change and how one stage flows into the other. When we feel as if we are being jerked along behind the steady flow of change, it is because we have skipped a level or two along the change continuum. When that happens, we quite naturally want to shout “whoa!”

Anyone else have the experience of being jerked along behind two oxen?

The original Accidental Pren-her™

Anyone Else A Rilke Fan?

Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet is one of the most inspirational books I can recommend to Accidental Pren-hers wanting to get in touch with their inner Samurai.

I fell in love with this book many years ago when I was just starting out as a young musician.

Given to me by my high school piano teacher, I spent many a day under my favorite spreading oak tree lingering over Rilke’s words. His delicious turns of phrases and his advice to a young poet artist seeking his guidance is still music to my ears.

Just the other day, with my favorite grandmother’s quilt wrapped around me, a fire burning cheerfully beside me, and a cup of hot chocolate resting within arms-reach from where I lay, I re-read this wonderful gem of a book. Here are some of my favorite inner Samurai words of wisdom:

• Work from necessity and your compulsion to do it.
• Work on what you know and what you are sure you love.
• Don't observe yourself too closely, just let it happen.
• Your inner self is worth your entire concentration.
• Allow your art to make extraordinary demands on you.
• You are not a prisoner of anything or anyone.

Anyone else out there a Rilke fan?

Which phrase is your favorite one?

Anyone else read Letters to a Young Poet?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences reading Rilke.

The original Accidental Pren-her™

Why I Blog?

Today . . . I am playing tag.

My friend and publisher Yvonne of Lipsticking tagged me the other day to play the “5 Reasons Why You Blog” tag game. Always up for a bit of fun, I decided to play along.

To read my reasons, see below. Though first, read Yvonne’s reasons here--I especially like her #4.

Thanks Yvonne!

I blog because . . .

1. . . . I like to be on the leading edge.
2. . . . it’s a creative way to connect with others, share ideas, and create community.
3. . . . there are no boundaries and no rules to the flow and exchange of thought.
4. . . . doing so provides a witnessing presence for my life and the lives of others.
5. . . . tomorrow will soon enough become yesterday, so I blog to remember who I am today.

Tag, you’re it . . . Dana, Carol, Andy, and Carol . . . carry on by sharing the "5 Reasons Why You Blog" with the world.

The original Accidental Pren-her™

Water and the Inner Samurai

Are you familiar with the four elements?

You know, Fire, Earth, Air, and Water?

This is the second blog of a four-part blog series on the four elements and their transformational power and importance to the Accidental Pren-her.™ If you would like to get caught up by reading about the first element, fire, click here.

Second up--Water!

The alchemical process associated with water is dissolution. It is the second step in the transformational process, and often the one that is the most empowering.

Water represents the unconscious and is symbolic of the impermanence of all things, and the glorious power of change. Psychologically, dissolution represents the cleansing and dissolving away of the old, outmoded ideas and ways of being that no longer serve us. Water provides the important transformational element needed to let go of the old in order to make way for the new.

Karen Mattern has placed her master's thesis, divided into neat, easy to read segments, up on her blog. I found her description of water's transformational quality during grief particularly relevant to today's blog, find it here.

It is the second step that we all take along the path from Accidental Pren-her™ to entrepreneurial woman and forms the inner wisdom of our inner Samurai. With the first step, fire, forming the foundation of the inner Samurai, and the second step, water, forming the inner wisdom of our inner Samurai, this is the first half of a transformational process that will eventually form the philosopher’s stone of the Accidental Pren-her.™

Often preceded by an activating or life-changing event, dissolution is the natural process that happens as part of the integration process we all go through after the occurrence of a major life event. Effecting our finances, relationships, health, family, work, career, and living situations, the water of dissolution helps us to let go of what was, in order to become what is.

Have you had a life-changing event that rocked your world?

Now that you know about the dissolution process that occurs after such an event, what were some of the things that you had to let go of in order to become who you now are?

What was that letting go process like for you?

If you’ve had a life-changing event, or are currently having one--this is the place to talk about it.

The original Accidental Pren-her™

Rilke and the Inner Samurai

This inspiration for this blog comes from painter, Robert Genn. He writes "Twice-Weekly Letters" for his Painter’s Key blog site that I find quite interesting, inspiring, and fresh. He graciously gave his permission for me to share portions of his blog with you. Rilke’s words are very much at the heart of the Inner Samurai. Enjoy!

Letters to a Young Poet

In 1903, the poet Rainer Maria Rilke responded by letter to a young man seeking his advice. Rilke eventually wrote ten letters now collectively known and much published as Letters to a Young Poet. They are heartfelt advice from a successful (though still struggling) artist to another who was deeply mired in self-doubt. The classic language of these letters soars in beauty as well as lofty good sense. His idealism is applicable today to all who might pursue any sort of creative activity. Here, partly in direct quotation and partly in condensed summation, are some of Rilke's ideas:

• Your work needs to be independent of others' work.
• You must not compare yourself to others.
• No one can help you. You have to help yourself.
• Criticism leads to misunderstandings and defeatism.
• Work from necessity and your compulsion to do it.
• Work on what you know and what you are sure you love.
• Don't observe yourself too closely, just let it happen.
• Don't let yourself be controlled by too much irony.
• Live in and love the activity of your work.
• Be free of thoughts of sin, guilt and misgiving.
• Be touched by the beautiful anxiety of life.
• Be patient with the unresolved in your heart.
• Try to be in love with the questions themselves.
• Love your solitude and try to sing with its pain.
• Be gentle to all of those who stay behind.
• Your inner self is worth your entire concentration.
• Allow your art to make extraordinary demands on you.
• Bear your sadness with greater trust than your joy.
• Do not persecute yourself with how things are going.
• It's good to be solitary, because solitude is difficult.
• It's good to love, because love is difficult.
• You are not a prisoner of anything or anyone.

Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) was born in Czechoslovakia and died in Switzerland. Dogged by fragile health and the constant search for inexpensive and healthful accommodation, he anxiously moved from one climate to another. Considered the greatest modern poet in the German language, Rilke counseled the young poet, known only as Mr. Kappus, over a five-year period. No evidence exists that they ever met.

The original Accidental Pren-her™

Anyone Else Out There Have Time Management Issues?

I know I do!

Sometimes I am really great with how I manage my time, and at other times . . . well, I’m a disaster!

If you take a quick look around the blogosphere at what other folks are saying about time management, you get everything from the 43 Folders blog about Bob Parsons’ (CEO and founder of GoDaddy.com) Hardass Time Management to Penelope Trunk’s (columnist at the Boston Globe), article on 10 Tips for Time Management in a Multitasking World.

Time management seems to be a pretty common issue for most of us. On the one hand, we can breath a sigh of relief knowing that “we are in this together,” and on the other hand, we can run kicking and screaming from the plethora of books out there on the subject. Though there obviously isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to our time management issue, some authors have come closer than others at finding one that does.

Dave Lakhani’s book, The Power of an Hour, is one of those that comes closer. In his book, Dave does a pretty good job at outlining a process that works. In an easy to read, easy to follow format, Dave applies his process to relationships, finances, self-improvement, creating a master life vision, sales and marketing, and, of course, time management.

I’ve been using his one hour action plan and fearsome focus for about a year now. I used it to write the first draft of my book, launch my web site, and find my business focus. Now, I’m using it for time management--imagine that! It’s such a straightforward and versatile book that I just had to share this gem from my pren-her reading room.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

The original Accidental Pren-her™