The Billionaire Girl

Archive for the ‘sanity’ Category

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How to Add more ING to your Life

In sanity
My friend Gaby just launched a book and needs your support to be on the best seller list. It is actually a book we could all use (though it is a bit geared toward women) and one that would be a great present. A guide to happiness is a perfect start to the new year. She is an amazing speaker and even my friends who are cynics agree with what she says and appreciates her guidance ;)

Enjoy and happy holidays! Thanks for supporting!

ADD MORE ~ing TO YOUR LIFE – A Hip Guide to Happiness By Gabrielle Bernstein
My friend, motivational speaker and author Gabrielle Bernstein is bringing happy back with the launch of her book ADD MORE ~ing TO YOUR LIFE: A Hip Guide to Happiness. This fiery, transformational book provides a new formula for a life you’re psyched to wake up for. Gabrielle honed her approach from personal experience – she put the brakes on her unfulfilling and empty fast-paced New York lifestyle and looked within to find ~ing, a method for clearing the mind and opening a pathway for inner guidance.
You can become a glass-half full kind of person with Gabrielle’s “~ing Equation.” It’s a thirty-day adventurous repetition of physical activity, positive affirmations and creative visualization that will bulldoze your negative thought patterns to create constructive change and move you forward. From releasing romantic illusions to stretching beyond your fears, the ~ing Equation can be applied to an infinite number of areas to reach serenity and set yourself free. For more information about this book visit www.addmoreing.com. To buy the book today visit http://www.addmoreing.com/buy-book


Gabrielle wanted me to tell you… “THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.  I AM ON A MISSION TO SPREAD A HEALING MESSAGE. I TRULY APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT!
LOTS OF LOVE AND GRATITUDE.”
Add More Ing to Your Life by Gabrielle Bernstein

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Business organization tips to orgasm over

In business, leadership, management, sanity

ShoeBoxed and Pre Planning on an index card – no joke. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

Shoeboxed is the Netflix for receipts and business cards. I do my hustle thing, getting sh*t done, place the receipts and business cards in a big shiny blue Postage Prepaid  :) envelope and wahla a few days later I get the most amazing organization of accounting and contacts I have EVER seen. I know too.  I meet A LOT of people.  I used to have my assistant scan everything using Neat Receipts. Even bought their super Desktop machine. But still with all the scanning errors it was costing me to have someone go through every contact and piece of paper for accuracy. Then through the golden gates of resources I met the owner of ShoeBoxed at SXSW. It took me close to a year to actually start using the system. My ego was probably stuck on the $500 bucks I spent on Neat Receipts when I could have been spending only 10 bucks a month with ShoeBoxed and no assistant cost!!! I am telling you. If you run a  business, meet people and don’t use Shoe Boxed you are just simply crazy. You want to be wasting time.

And those simple plain boring INDEX cards are a goldmine of productivity. Don’t believe me? Just look at the famous GTD (Getting Things Done) blog . Yea I was going crazy keeping 10 to do lists on dry erase boards in my office, house, sticky notes, JOTT express, RTM (Remember the Milk) until a friend who seems to get EVERYTHING done said I just write it all on an index card the night before for that day and order them in sequence of priority after I’m done writing each task.  “Come on… that’s it?” I said.  He informed me that keeping multiple to do lists devalues each one and by having to open a to do list in a computer makes it not so accessible. So with an index card in his pocket at all times he just crosses off each task as they are completed.  Then at the end of the day he transfers anything not done to the new index card for the following day and rips up the one for that day.  And let me tell you ITS BEEN WORKING!!!  I complete just about everything.  Only difference. I think I’ll start burning each card when I’m done.  Lots more fun ;)

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F Fear – Defeat your self image and take action, Thank you Alex Maroko

In sanity

I read this today from entrepreneur Alex Maroko creator of Basketball Fit. It’s inspiring.


Fear is built to prevent us from being HURT. But IRONICALLY, it’s our FEAR of <insert your fear> that actually HURTS US, while ACTUALLY acting (or taking action) HELPS US.

The reason that we feel fear is that it is our way of psychologically preventing ourselves from having a self-image crash…our ego can’t stand the punishment.

We have to see things AS THEY ARE, and therefore FREE OURSELVES of the threat to our self-image, since we understand that there is no CORRELATION between our self-image and reality.

The more that we acknowledge where we’ve deluded ourselves for the sole sake of preserving a FALSE self-image, the more we can IMPROVE ourselves in the REAL WORLD, and not just IN OUR HEADS.

Step back, let go and live. F fear.


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The Secret Sauce at Zappos made public #Zapposlive

In business, ethics, leadership, management, sanity, social media, viral marketing

brian solis

My new friend @Ribeezie direct messaged  me, (also known as “DM”), on Twitter this morning and told me to “Now bring back some of that good stuff and share :-) ” about Zappos Insights inaugural conference.  Zappos, a billion dollar online commerce destination, is known for their leadership in customer service.  Insights was created as an educational forum to guide entrepreneurs to successfully attain milestones. It was a privilege to be a part of their LIVE event, a revolution in leadership and corporate happiness. One of the speakers at the event, social media maven Brian Solis,  said it perfectly, “In the end we’re measured by our actions, not our words.”

Three huge takes aways from the event that will transform the productivity and efficiency in our organizations.

  1. Share….Stop self promoting and start listening. Share information that you know delivers value because you have been listening. Whether it be employees, personal relationships, twitter followers or facebook friends. The way to effectively intrigue people to  take action is fueled by being inspired.
  2. Discover your foundation before you start building.… The most crucial component in determining success in a company and in your personal development is first discovering what matters to you most.; Your core values.  It starts with you, outside of your professional life. The business owner behind closed doors.  When you look in the mirror what do you see? Integrity, Transparency, Adventure… Deceit…? In order to grow we must be honest with ourselves.  It is so clear to me now that if I had taken the time to discover, write down, and share my core values with my team  it would have reduced management, increased productivity and complimented my company vision. But instead I found ego was something in my company that created road blocks for our success. What’s interesting is ego is so far from my personal values. If I had taken the time to write down what’s important to me, I would have quickly discovered my team mate  strayed from our core values and that situation could have been remedied with eloquence and efficiency.

Zappos Core Values: Direct Link

  1. Deliver WOW Through Service
  2. Embrace and Drive Change
  3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
  4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
  5. Pursue Growth and Learning
  6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
  7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
  8. Do More With Less
  9. Be Passionate and Determined
  10. Be Humble

3. Half of the world is searching for the other half of the world, but don’t know how to find them.  Brian Solis emphasizes that before even planning an online marketing strategy establish your identity. Most brands don’t even strategize, they just jump on a band wagon. But lets say you are developing a strategy, before that DISCOVER your identity that you plan to communicate in this strategy. I LOVE that Brian reinforced this. I hadn’t even thought of charting out my brand identity before planning. I figured my identity is obvious. Surf brand means you’re a surfer right? No, not necessarily. You must establish your brand to stand for something. A Cause. Something bigger and selflLESS than selling a pair of board shorts.

Establish your brand identity

Establish your brand identity

believeability

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The power of positivity and possibility will make you all the cash you need, promise

In business, sanity

I read “The Alchemist” when I was 14 and it was then that I began to make my way of life -  ‘if you believe in something with all your heart and it is backed by good, the whole universe will conspire to bring you the tools you need to achieve that dream.’

No one has any special power or ability over and beyond the next person. Seriously. I know that it’s easy to make up victimizing excuses like lack of – money, connections, experience, resources.  But then explain Oprah, Neale Donald, JK Rowling, Marshall Mathers. Or how about these brands… Have you heard of them; Whole Foods, Coors, APPLE (Yup!) , Nordstrom, DELL.

Here is where I truly believe the magic is…

(be sure to read this article from a Canadian paper that went out last week… “We started with nothing but an open mind“)

  • Define your core competency (What’s one thing you are really good at?)
  • Explore what your dream professional lifestyle would be (… to be in a music studio? marketing brainstorm sessions? attending networking events? cooking? working on cars?…)
  • Consider the possibility that your work CAN be your passion
  • Now think up where what you are good at meets what excites you

So for me, what I am good at is networking/connecting/giving and what excites me is business. The structure and growth of an organization is mind blowing.  Effectively orchestrating people, skill sets and innovation really makes a powerful impact on the economy,  individual dreams and the good for humanity. For me, that is true magic.

I apply this by looking within my own company to focus on partnerships that would be mutually beneficial between people and companies in order to compliment the growth of my business and the businesses I work with.

  • What’s key is to maintain positivity

What we focus on expands. So lets consider the “possibility” of “positivity” in order to find solutions when it seems as though none exist. At times like these, with our world in flux, it’s hard to keep your head high. I know some of you are worried about losing your jobs or have already. Banks have gone bust. The atmosphere is deteriorating.  But will all these dark thoughts lead to more light?

  • Implementation

It’s up to you to make your dream life happen. No one is going to do it for you.

  • Keep a quality team surrounding you

The people who surround you, define you.  So in order to reach your desired goals you need a team to keep you strong and support you along the way.  It’s not easy going after a planted seed before it has begun to grow and you can’t yet physically see it.   So one by one start to chose teammates who embody the qualities you desire and make those people your silent mentors and partners in your success.  Maybe one person is amazing at finances and another is great at understanding the investment world and a third is an expert in legal and a fourth is an entrepreneur in the same industry you want to pursue.  It’s important all these people maintain a positive attitude and can be your support during the hard times.

  • Giving back

And remember its not a one way relationship. It’s just as important to give back, as it is to believe and to implement.  The energy and productivity that stimulate from giving back is magnetic. If you don’t believe me just read “Go-Giver” by Bob Burg and David Mann.  This book was given to me by a wonderful woman who attended one of my seminars and said that she felt moved to gift the book to me. Thank you Gretchen.

GoGiver

  • Lastly, it takes work to live the dream.  Don’t be fooled. In order to become an “overnight success” you need to work at it for a while.

Just read this article that went out last week… “We started with nothing but an open mind“

Halifax News Net
We started with nothing but an open mind

By Lori McKay – The Weekly News

Lawn Care
Opening your own business can be a challenge. But at 15, Phil Duffenais of Cole Harbour has decided to give it a go. The Grade 10 Auburn Drive student had been cutting his neighbours’ lawns for the past three years, and this spring he decided to make it a full-fledged business. He started DC Lawn Services and opened it through the Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stocks. “I have three employees under my belt, we are paying them competitive wages, we pay taxes, and we started with nothing but an open mind,” Duffenais said in an email.

He was granted a small loan of $2,500 through the Students in Business program, and he made the cash go a long way. He bought a few lawn mowers and everything else he might need for lawn maintenance, including a truck to transport his equipment.

“It’s not the easiest thing to get a loan when you’re 15, and I’d like other youth to know that there are opportunities like this out there. Maybe some other kid might decide to start up a business, too. They wouldn’t be our competition, there’s lots of work out there,” he said.

Duffenais isn’t old enough to get a driver’s licence yet, so he brought on his friend Evan Cunningham, 16, to work with him. Cunningham is also set to become co-owner of the business next season.

Before this spring, Cunningham had never cut a lawn before, but says he is getting his fill now. They are currently working six hours most days after school and 14 hours per day on the weekends.?After they get caught up and school is out for the summer, Duffenais said they should be able to go down to five hours a day and only on weekdays. Duffenais said next year he’d like to get another crew going with a few guys and another truck.

“But we’re focused on getting a handle on this season first,” he admitted.
At the moment, DC Lawn Services has 35 full-time clients and are on track to make between $25,000 and $35,000 (before expenses) over the summer.

In addition to mowing lawns, the company also does gardening, mulching and lawn makeovers. “We do everything from planting trees and edging to laying sod,” said Duffenais.

The young entrepreneurs have high hopes for the business and are still looking for new properties in Dartmouth, Cole Harbour and Eastern Passage.

lmckay@hfxnews.ca
For information, call 222-5023 or visit www.DCLawnServices.com.

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The secret to Billions is Delegation

In business, leadership, management, sanity
Ahhh the beauty of delegation

Ahhh the beauty of delegation

I discovered the value of delegating somewhere between reading Four Quandrants by Robert Kiyosaki and The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss.  Kiyosaki explained the differences between someone self employed and a business owner (see image below). That if a good business owner leaves their company the productivity maintains. A key owner injects advancement in the organization, not maintenance.  Then in Ferriss’s book he shares that when he stopped being so hands on and started trusting a team by delegating, his company actually increased revenue and he had more time to do other things.  If each owner of McDonalds had to be in daily attendance Mickey Dees wouldn’t be known for the effective automated hamburger franchise it is today.  That being said, each day I think of ways to delegate. This isn’t to be lazy. Not at all. Delegating enables me to scale my businesses more efficiently.  I try to find a common theme in my various ventures that will allow the same team to mimic their core competencies in each project so that I don’t need to find a new team each time I start something new.  Needless to say, its very exciting and allows a lot more time for me to focus on my own core competencies. After all, there is only so much you can do if you try to do everything yourself.

4 quandrants

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I’ve been inspired by @Garyvee – Launched my LIVE segment “Resource Report”

In business, sanity

So it’s Saturday. Why I’m in the office – because I won’t take no for an answer and so in order to have more leverage when speaking with clients I need more content. But you know me and everything I do needs to be useful so today I created the “Resource Report“. The show is for you.  I want to share what resources I’ve discovered to be more effective at a fraction of the cost and save you all the time and anguish I spent trying to figure it out.  My first webisode aired today. Please let me know what you think.  It covered managing voicemail.  I discussed the different options I’ve tried out from Jott to Google Voice and how they worked for me. Just let me know the various topics you’d like me to address and I will make a segment about it.

Live Video streaming by Ustream

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This is a thank you to Paige Craig and my LA Tech community

In management, sanity

These last few weeks have been really tough for me.  I miss being in a relationship, spending time with girlfriends, traveling. I’ve given up just about every ounce of personal life I’ve had over the last decade for the freedom of being an entrepreneur.

Truly there is nothing more rewarding than knowing I have the power to turn a dream, a speckle of a thought, into an oasis. There is so much magic in seeing my dreams come to fruition. And the fact that my teammates get to see their dreams come true in tandem with mine.

With that being said it leaves me little time to, well, be me. The me that’s hidden behind my company. Light hearted. Adventurous. Romantic. Vulnerable. Scared.

In being a part of the LA tech community I have not only found new friends who (like my childhood friends) accept the sacrifices I make, but these new friendships can empathize as well. They are risk takers and business owners themselves.  They know what it is like to have your employees be dependent on you, to have  everything on the line from leveraging real estate and lines of credit, to spending all your savings,  to have pressures from venture capitalists and the complexities of legal contracts. They know what it is to hire and fire. To strategize knowing failure is no option.  They know what it is to lose friendships and have family question your life. They know what it is to feel alone just the same as they know the joy it is to have your company featured in a periodical or TV show. They know what it is to close a major deal. They know what it is to be Magic.

I have the blessing of having all these wonderful people in my “neighborhood” to see at any time… I just want to say thank you.

For a little LA Tech smiles and gossip check out Lalawag :) and for some of the most down to earth and informative business upstart videos go to Mixergy.

LA Tech community at SXSW in Austin, Texas

LA Tech community at SXSW in Austin, Texas

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdlasica


Nothing like a little Snoop Dogg to put some Zappos in my day

In business, sanity


Ahhh the thrills of being a business owner. Thank you Zappos, Snoop Dogg, Start Ups Live and most importantly my team for all the inspiration.


Nothing like a little snoop dog

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Zappos.com – “The Road To A Billion And Beyond”

In business, leadership, management, sanity

I am absolutely exhilarated to to be visiting the Zappos headquarters tomorrow in Vegas. My company team has been vigorously studying the phenomenal Zappos culture which we do our best to emulate each day. I have personally been a fan of Zappos since about 2002 after discovering the site was the fastest loading site on the web. Being the geek that I am I was fascinated and had to know how they did it. I think their upload time was under 3 seconds and with a homepage full of graphics. Completely impressive.

Zappos.com is all about their WOW effect “delivering ‘WOW’ through service”. From their lightening speed delivery times, Monopoly Game, Culture Book, sending flowers to a grieving customer, 100% satisfaction guarantee free return policy, upload times, in house Life Coach – Dr Vik! and now Zappos Insights helping businesses achieve “The Road to a Billion and Beyond.”… Zappos WOWs me.

A little something from their Monopoly “Wow” cards:

“Take a leap of faith on a new venture, pay each player $50″

“Take a step outside of your comfort zone, collect $150″

“Reap the reward of taking a risk, collect $50″

"The Road to a Billion and Beyond"

"The Road to a Billion and Beyond"

Future Billionaire Girl in the making!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo_sBQGiRLc]

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Snoop Dogg and Boddingtons Pub Ale – Nothing like a way to start an entrepreneur’s day

In sanity

So I stayed up all night researching Twitter tools after attending So Cal Action Sports event with big wigs in tech like Chris Brogan and in Action Sports, Oakley, Sheckler, Draven and then after a morning cat nap I cooked up some delicious food and decided on a beer. Boddingtons Pub Ale it was. The team was already at my office which is only a block away since I moved so I thought why not hang with them while I eat and take the beer to go. I foregoed paper bagging it and hoped no cop would harass me for walking around with an open bottle. It looks like it could be a Monster Energy drink anyway right?! I thought Ah Ha! Why don’t I cut through the alley and dodge any truly public areas making for a drama free afternoon. I saw this building across the street from my office and thought maybe they have a door that I can cut through to the other side. Boddingtons in hand on the right with my cabbage hamburger concoction on the left I ask the reception if she’d mind. I say “Who doesn’t like a beer with their meal. Just don’t wanna get busted you know.” And then as I make my way to the pearly white gates Snoop Dogg says “What’s going on”. Ha! Not kidding. And I nod, freak in my head and say whats up back. So cool. And was I excited to share with my awesome team.

PS Thanks @Valerotti for leaving the beer in my fridge!

snoop-dogg

Snoop Dogg's Twizzle - Fo Shizzle

This could be a Monster Energy drink, couldn't it?? :)

This could be a Monster Energy drink, couldn't it?? :)

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Ian Sanders “JUGGLE! Rethink Work Reclaim Life” is an entreprenuers bible

In sanity

There is so much I want to say about Ian’s book “JUGGLE! Rethink Work Reclaim Life” but I am in the middle of juggling so I am limited on time :) This book taught me how to clearly see my core competency and even better how to capitalize off of it. We are all very hectic in our social media injected, family loved,  professionally swamped lives. How do we swim through it all? Ian teaches us that …

  1. Remember we are an athlete; Make ME time, drink plenty of water, eat well and get proper sleep.
    • I think just about the first thing I sacrificed when becoming a business owner was food, showers and sleep. Ha!
  2. Keep lists and break them down into projects in order to increase efficiency.
    • All I have to say is JOTT, http://jott.com. Best list system I have found to date.  My 3 computers are in sync and I have everything broken down by project.  They also have a cool iPhone app. Sadly I don’t use iPhone but I do text in notes sometimes. Just today I signed up to have my voicemails transribed into email/texts.
  3. Most important – become a Juggler. Define your passion which does need to be in line with what you are best at.
    • For me it’s connecting people.  Most introductions I make the people connected end up capitalizing off projects together.

So with that I have already reorganized my list broken them down into specific projects, worked out this morning, ate my vegetables, showered ;) and I think I’ll change my business card to “Connector”.

Listphile

Listphile

Any professionals BIBLE! Buy It!!!

Any professionals BIBLE! Buy It!!!

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2473 Emails! and counting… How do I effectively get through them all?!?!

In management, sanity
Ahhhh Attack of the Emails!
Ahhhh Attack of the Emails!

Okay so this week at South by Southwest I went to “Getting Things Done the Simple Way” taught by John Zeratsky. I was not going to miss it. I rolled out of bed forgoed brushing my teeth or an awesome Austin shower to rush to the panel in order to achieve the treasure hunt of eliminating my email count and all my “contacters” feeling victory in receiving attention to their email. I mean if Tony Hsieh, CEO of the greatest customer service company ever Zappos.com and one of the most attentive entrepreneurs I’ve meet Gary Vaynerchuk can resend to 1000 plus emails a day, well then so can I! So I will keep you posted on what system I figure out works for me so I can “put a little Zappos in my day,” BUT in the meanwhile watch this. A little treat from Gary Vee and my tech crush Kevin Rose. (Who doesn’t crush on Kevin Rose?)

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Southwest has Wi-Fi! “JUGGLE” by Ian Sanders is a must and SXSW is the go to conference of the year

In sanity

All I have to say is WOW. Today has been magic.  I started my day not worrying about my flight time knowing on Southwest if you get to the airport within a reasonable hour from your original time of departure they’ll do their best to put you on the next flight. So I casually wake up at 9:30am for my 10:55am flight. And how could I not experience the lush Austin water hit my skin one last time in the shower. Around 10:15 I accept nope not gonna make that 10:55, but it will be fine.  And boy I wasn’t kidding. First Ian Sanders, author of “JUGGLE! Rethink Your Work, Reclaim Your Life” went out of his way to leave me a copy of this book which the Radisson kindly delivered to me. I am really excited to read it on this flight. Not only am I in desperate need of balance as my leaning tower is consistently tilting toward work but it has a fabulous book cover and endorsement by the “It” ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi. Next I go downstairs to hail a cab to the airport and I ask this women if she would like to share the ride. She says she has a car and offers me a lift. Turns out she’s in charge of customer relations for one of my favorite companies, NetFlix. Talk about customer service ;) So we shared a fun conversation about when luck meets opportunity in business. And if you just persevere lucky will eventually strike. Then as if things weren’t already going perfect Southwest said no problem to getting on their 11:15 flight as I stood at the check in at 11am! Lastly and the reason I am able to right this now – um hello. SOUTHWEST LAUNCHED WI-FI > today!   Can you believe it.  I believe it’s all because I started my day with a positive attitude and just “let go” and let fate happen.  To add a cherry on top this wonderful loving couple offered me a window sit on the packed flight so that they could sit next to one another. All I have to say is WOW. If there is only one conference you go to make it South by Southwest.

Oh and PS LOVE my MAC Book – wait have I already mentioned that. :-)

PPS Thank you @Garyvee from www.winelibrary.com for the insane amount of traffic you’ve sent to this blog.

A Must Read

A Must Read

Wi Fi on Southwest Airlines!!!!

Wi Fi on Southwest Airlines!!!!

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Web Marketing Therapy. Stop “shoulding” yourself and start taking candy pills

In marketing, sanity

Lorrie Thomas from Web Marketing Therapy is GREAT! Met her tonight at a SMARTYS event held at my favorite place Blank Spaces. Tonight Lorrie prescribed me her “Chill Pills” AWESOME. You see the bottle is empty so those delicious teeny chocolates definitely got me in the sweetest direction once again. It is a breath of fresh air when a marketing “expert” these days is actually INNOVATIVE. Ha!

Prescription for an Internet Entrepreneur

Prescription for an Internet Entrepreneur

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OMG Blackberry efficiency, Thank G-d for forums! Plus voice activated email.

In Crackberry, sanity

So I love my Blackberry.  Well it’s a love hate relationship really. I wish we didn’t have cell phones at all. But since we do and land lines are becoming a thing of the past why not have the most effective tool. Some of you prefer iPhones. I prefer Blackberry. But I must admit when it come to simplicity of use iPhones take the lead. I just can’t stand the touch screen. Anyway for you Crackberries out there here are a couple tricks that took me all night to find.

How to STOP receiving SENT messages in your email – argh!: Click here for the solution. (Insert Huge Happy Face)

and… to respond to my monstrosity of emails overtaking my inbox with my voice – JOTT, (www.jott.com) . So affordable and so great! (Thank you Jerome at BlankSpaces for recommending this life saving software) And sure its not perfect. A typo here. A typo there. But hey at least I tended to that contact and have extra time for beach volley ball. I mean do we really want to spend all our hours behind some form of technology rather than living?

Voice activated emails

Voice activated emails

For you Google App users like me you can only use Jott through the Blackberry mail system so you will need to configure your account onto your phone but that’s when the tip above comes in handy.

And for TMobile fans. T Mobile just launched the Unlimited Loyalty Plan lowering your bill to $50 bucks.

Lastly, Google updated their mobile apps to include a tracking system on the map app. Yup now if you really want to stir up some drama in your life with that ex you just “can’t seem to get rid of “ just add him/her on your map app ;)

Google Updated Mobile Apps

Google Updated Mobile Apps

Now for a big sad face. I didn’t realize new google sync syncs your email address book with your phone. I wasn’t prepared for this and now I have all this junk in my phone book. SUCKS. :(   Anyone know how to undo? And no I was not clever enough to back up my phone before I started playing with all the new additions. Where is the “Time Machine” like they have on MACs.

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Acknowledgement – that’s all anyone wants. And it doesn’t have to cost a thing

In leadership, sanity

This morning my new roommate posted a Happy Birthday message on my bathroom door I got to wake up to. It made my day. And reminded me of so many great and important life lessons.

1) How we choose to start our day sets the tone for that day. Every entrepreneur should be a leader and to deliver the right message to your team but in order to do so it must start with the entrepreneur embodying power and positivity.

2) Sometimes a consumer or client just wants to be acknowledged. Whatever the situation or even better non situation, expressing random thoughts of gratitude aka acknowledgment could stimulate them feeling good about choosing your company to work with or purchase from and a desire to do business with you again.

3) Lastly, sometimes as entrepreneurs we get caught up in being so focused on our businesses we forget to have a life outside of work. That’s me. And I am so lucky that I took a leap and moved out of a rural area to the city to be closer to friends and then to open the door and meet this incredible roommate of mine. It’s just the perfect birthday gift.

Happy Birthday to me!

Happy Birthday to me!

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Waiting in suspense…. Richard Branson mayday!!!! VAustralia here I come, but will the KIIS FM turbulence bring the plane down?

In ethics, sanity

[digg=http://digg.com/business_finance/KIIS_claiming_error_on_Virgin_Australia_s_contest_winner]

Branson please save the day!

Branson please save the day!

Richard Branson is my hero. Everyone who knows me knows that. So you can imagine the volume of my screaming excitement when I won a trip to Australia on the inaugural Virgin Australia flight this Friday out of LAX. And on my birthday weekend! What better of a dream could have come true. Now KIIS is saying they made an error. “An Error!”

So they just called back and said opps our system messed up. Can you believe it!!!!! I go on saying how this is not how Virgin handles business. Why I love VIRGIN is their care for customer service and their code of ethics.  KIIS FM’s response QUOTE “This is the KIIS FM contest, we’re doing the contest, not VIRGIN” …  “WHAT!!!!!” I told them, “What am I supposed to think when I read a message that says …

From: 41027
Sent: Feb 25, 2009 12:40 AM
Subject: KIISFM: Congrts ur textr 102!

KIISFM: Congrts ur textr 102! You’ll b flyin VAustralia THIS FRI for a 4 day/3 nite trip 2 Sydney Australia. We’ll contact u @ this # soon”

Are you freaking kidding me!!!! And I grew up in LA so I trusted KIIS. Why would I think they would dupe me. Branson please make right of this strange situation and make my birthday dream come true.

Birthday Wishes and Caviar Dreams!

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Costume change to “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket”

In business, fundraising, sanity

Considering this blog was always intended to be a positive resource for business owners, aspiring entrepreneurs and just plain and simple geeks I’ve altered the title a bit. It was called “I’m Gonna Get Funded Damnit” as a satire to all those people who are overly concerned with raising money rather than making money. Lets forgo business models and focus on fundraising! – What! Hello, businesses are here to do two things;  Solve a problem and make money – Done.  So I changed the name to something a bit more mystical. Seeing that so many people search the term “golden ticket” maybe that’s what we’re all looking for. But don’t you see the Golden Ticket is within us all if we just forge ahead and trust our instinct. Sometimes it may be scary and other times exhilarating, but if we never try how will we know if we would have succeeded. Okay, enough with the Gandhi talk.  Hope you find the tips, tools and perspective you need from this blog and enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

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So the journey is the destination eh?

In sanity

Yea it takes guts glory and perseverance to own a business. Do you have what it takes? I know I do. Remember when you are magic your world is magic. Negativity just promotes more darkness. If we all have a choice (even though it feels as though we don’t ) what would you choose? Each day I make a conscious effort to find the light. To embrace all opportunity.  There is always a way. But if you don’t look, you will never see the open door.

Door of opportunity

Door of opportunity

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Okay kiddies… here is the Golden Ticket of Business Resources

In business, leadership, management, marketing, sanity, social media, technology, viral marketing

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Brought to you by your very own Willy Wonka. Here is a comprehensive resource list from great affordable personal assistants to how to get your new web business off the ground (and not some dumb BS sales pitch, but what I have actually touched smelled and made love too JK) Yea, I’m kinda a business junkie.  Anyway, here it is.

Ive got the golden ticket...

"I've got the golden ticket..."

I made it a “page” so it is always right there if you need it. I will finsh it later in the week. I’m exhausted right now.

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Realizing a Vision

In sanity

So this weekend I ditched Halloween to get up perky Saturday and speak at Realizing a Vision at Vanguard University with incredible women like Latina Media Dynamo Nely Galan, (Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice), who surpassed her reputation, former Entrepreneur Magazine editor Rieva Lesonsky, Tish & Snooky Bellomo founders of Manic Panic (which brings me back to my pink hair punk high school days), Style Network’s Finola Hughes and all sorts of other phenomenal business women. We got together to educate and inspire high school girls to go after their dreams and “realize their visions”.  It was an amazing experience and I am thankful.

The top lesson for me that stood out was to “go toward the light”, so to speak, rather than stay in the dark. For instance, we all keep people in our lives who waste our energy or stay stuck in situations that drain us. Why? Why not just choose to recognize, detach and go back to smiling.  I mean isn’t it really that easy when you just take a step back and examine with clarity rather than foggy “baggage” glasses. Anyway, that’s just my two cents. So I am making the change. I plan to be laughing a lot more and stressing a lot less.

Thank you to Tish and Snooky for your kick ass Venice Beach shop opening party that night. I love my green nails and pink hair extensions ! Your gift bags rocked and I am already wearing my new shirt.  What a great way to start off the new liberated me.

Inspiring tomorrow's leaders

Inspiring tomorrow

Nely Galan and Espree Devora

Nely Galan and Espree Devora

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKNHxFlZLGs]

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Harnessing Entrepreneurial Manic-Depression: Making the Rollercoaster Work for You

In sanity

Tim Ferriss once again brings clarity to our entrepreneurial life in his newest post about sanity.  A big thank you to Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape, for clearly defining my mental state.  the reaction from my business partner when he read this post – “For the most part, I could have written that blog post, and titled it my friend and partner Espree” Ha!

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/10/03/harnessing-entrepreneurial-manic-depression-making-the-rollercoaster-work-for-you/


Hello world!

In sanity

“Money flows freely and frequently” stop bitching and start chanting.

- Quote from “The Secret”