Author and Speaker | Business and Marketing Strategist | Guinness World Records® record holder

Book Review: Ctrl Alt Delete, by Mitch Joel

It’s not often that I enjoy a book so much that I feel compelled to write a book review. In fact, if you look back across my blog, I’ve just realized, you’ll find exactly zero book reviews. That’s about to change. From now on, I’ll be sharing my favorite books with you and telling you exactly why I like them so much, plus I’ll be interviewing many of the authors in the upcoming, revamped Business in Blue Jeans Radio show (more on that in another blog post).

For now, though, I’m going to share a book that is definitely up there in the “best of” category, Mitch Joel’s book, Ctrl-Alt-Delete.
Why Ctrl-Alt-Delete Is a Must-Read Book
One of the things you should know before ever reading this book is that Mitch Joel is smart. He doesn’t just think about the now; he thinks about where things are going and where disparate concepts and ideas and movements will converge. In fact, that’s […]

By | |Books I Love|0 Comments
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    Want More Time and Freedom in Your Life? Cut the Cord. Here’s How We Did It.

Want More Time and Freedom in Your Life? Cut the Cord. Here’s How We Did It.

Time. It’s a precious commodity that we never seem to have enough of. It’s the one thing that we all wish we had more of, but can’t create…or can we? Today I’m going to show you how to create time with a single choice—cord-cutting.

Treat vs. Way of Life
Here’s what I know: I know that most of you are old enough to remember what life was like before there were eight million channels to choose from. Why do I know that? Because I study my readers and I know who you are. So I know that you remember when TV didn’t rule your life.

Remember when there were just four channels? It was NBC, CBS, ABC, and PBS. Then Fox showed up. And then cable. Slowly, a thing that used to be a treat became a way of life. And then it became an addiction.
Our Moment of Realization
I’ll admit it: I take advantage […]

By | |Personal Growth, Productivity|7 Comments
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    The Business in Blue Jeans Book Trailer Is LIVE! (and a new web site, too!)

The Business in Blue Jeans Book Trailer Is LIVE! (and a new web site, too!)

The Business in Blue Jeans book trailer is live AND there’s a brand new web site with tons of reader resources, a new business owner and entrepreneur community, and more! Check it out and get your free chapter download at http://BusinessInBlueJeans.com

(Like it? Tell your friends! Share it with your friends on Twitter (click to tweet) or share it on Facebook. Here’s the direct link: http://bit.ly/bibj-book)

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    My Networking Challenge Update (30 Virtual Cups of Coffee/Yerba Mate with 30 People in 30 Days)

My Networking Challenge Update (30 Virtual Cups of Coffee/Yerba Mate with 30 People in 30 Days)

It’s been a week and a half since I started my networking challenge, “30 Virtual Cups of Coffee (or Yerba Mate) in 30 Days with 30 People” and I’ve talked to quite a few people already (and thanks to the good folks at Guayaki, I’ve been fully-stocked with delicious bottles of yerba mate for the entire challenge. Thank you, Guayaki!).

I’ve learned a ton during this week and I’m excited to share my thoughts with you.
What I’ve Learned So Far:
I talk with business owners all the time. Every single day, in fact. Because of the nature of what I do, I’m usually talking to business owners about their businesses and giving them advice and coaching around how to grow their businesses. And I enjoy my work. But carving out some time so that I can talk to business owners in a casual, agenda-free way is also fun. It’s refreshing for me, and I am having a […]

By | |Health, Networking|0 Comments
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    5 Fatal Flaws in Your Productivity and Time Management Strategy

5 Fatal Flaws in Your Productivity and Time Management Strategy

If you’ve ever looked at your watch and wondered where the day went, if you’ve ever had a list of things to do and haven’t accomplished much on that list in your week, if you’ve ever thought, “I have too many things to do and not enough hours in the day,” then you most likely have fatal flaws in your productivity and time management strategy.

I’ve been there.
I’ve had those crazy-long to-do lists and managed to get through a full day where I felt busy and thought I had accomplished a lot…only to discover that the list somehow actually got bigger!

And I’ve had projects for my own business growth that I wanted and needed to get done, but client work took precedence. My own projects were often left behind and incomplete. The most frustrating part was that I continued to generate more ideas, but never had the time to pursue them. Argh!

That’s […]

By | |Productivity|1 Comment
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    A REAL Business Networking Challenge: 30 Cups of Coffee (or Yerba Mate) in 30 Days

A REAL Business Networking Challenge: 30 Cups of Coffee (or Yerba Mate) in 30 Days

After writing my recent post about how people do networking so, so, so terribly badly, I realized that for the last year, I’ve been caught up in a whirlwind of one project after another. First it was the “Break a Record with Susan” event. And granted, because of that event, I broke a Guinness World Records® title, which was awesome. But then it was my book, Business in Blue Jeans, which is coming out a month from now, on May 15. Also, a very cool thing to focus on. And ever since I finished the book and sent the manuscript off to my publisher, it’s been webinars and trainings for clients, speaking engagements, prepping for the book launch…and ultimately, the truth is, I just realized that I’ve been neglecting my own networking!

It’s not that I haven’t networked at all in the last year, but rather that I just haven’t made a point of […]

By | |Business, Networking|3 Comments
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    Business Networking: 7 Warning Signs You’re Probably Doing It Wrong

Business Networking: 7 Warning Signs You’re Probably Doing It Wrong

Most of my client work, even with my corporate clients, happens on the phone. I rarely go out for work—for my personal life, sure, but not for work— and I can’t remember the last time I went to a business networking event. Why? Three reasons:

Most of the people I network with are scattered globally. 
I have very little time outside of my client work and writing to go to networking events.
Most people do business networking wrong. And it drives me bananas.

You, there. Yes, you. You’re probably doing your business networking wrong.
How do I know? I know you’re probably networking wrong because most people do it wrong. Most people literally have no idea how to network the right way—and by the “right way” I mean, “the way that gets results.” And by “the way that gets results,” I mean, “the way that builds relationships with other people in a way that […]

By | |Business, Networking|3 Comments
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3 Small Tweaks to Get Rid of Your “Brain Junk”

Mark your calendars! My new book, Business In Blue Jeans: How To Have A Successful Business On Your Own Terms, In Your Own Style, is being released on May 15 (Want to be reminded? Sign up for my weekly emails on this page, or pre-order now). This blog post references the topic of the first chapter, entitled ‘Brain Junk.’ That chapter covers everything in this blog post and much, much more. 

I’m often asked, “What’s the first thing a business owner needs to do to take his or her to the next level?” My answer is almost always the same: get rid of his or her “Brain Junk.” Yes, brain junk is that evil stuff that gets in virtually every entrepreneur’s way—the mental baggage that we all carry that tells us, “You’re not good enough,” “You’re not worthy,” “You don’t deserve it,” or “You’ll never make it.” It’s ugly, it’s stinky […]

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    How to Fully Embrace Your Branding (Or, the Duck Commander Guide to Brand Depth and Consistency)

How to Fully Embrace Your Branding (Or, the Duck Commander Guide to Brand Depth and Consistency)

Branding is a funny thing. It’s a full, comprehensive experience that goes far beyond coming up with a catchy name and cool-looking logo for your business. Today we’re going to talk about brand depth and consistency and we’re using…wait for it…the company Duck Commander, a duck call company featured in the show, “Duck Dynasty,” as our example of how it’s done right.
Understand Your Target Market
Most important to any brand is a clear understanding of your target market. Often, this comes (at least in part) from being a member of your target market. Duck Commander was started by Phil Robertson, who himself was a duck hunter who used duck calls regularly. Phil’s ability to “tune” a duck call was legendary among his friends, who would have him tune theirs. Finally, he decided to launch his own duck call business.

As a member of his target market, Phil understood what duck hunters […]

By | |Branding, Business Profiles|0 Comments
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Yahoo Cancels Telecommuting: More Creative, Collaborative, and Fun? Probably Not.

This week Yahoo announced they’re canceling all telecommuting (working from home) time for employees. The idea, according to their spokesman, is to make their company more “fun” and to make work more collaborative and efficient. My guess is that the result won’t be an increase in collaboration, efficiency, or fun, but rather in disgruntled and unhappy employees. Here’s why.

Why Telecommuting /Working from Home Is More Efficient
Many, many years ago, when I worked in a corporate setting, my day often included frequent interruptions. These interruptions included coworkers stopping by my cubicle or office to ask questions that would’ve been answered more quickly and efficiently by email, a stupifying number of male coworkers who insisted upon clipping their nails at their desks, and meetings that were largely unnecessary and took up way too much of my time that would’ve been better spent actually doing work, rather than talking about it.

As a business owner […]

By | |Business|2 Comments
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