Pursuing Our Passion

On Goals And Patience (Or Lack Thereof)

It’s no surprise that we advocate goal setting on this blog. Heck, I love declaring my hopes and dreams because I know that writing things down makes me that much more likely to succeed. I might not succeed in everything, but by listing them for the whole world – well, our corner of it anyway – to see, it gives me extra accountability and the drive to try my very best.

Unfortunately, despite my positive thinking, I haven’t been very successful lately.

The problem is, I’m not very patient. And lack of patience, for me, is very unproductive.

Striving to secure a new client? Somehow, my impatience with the process of obtaining said client makes it so there are hundreds of other “to-dos” before sending that pitch email or scheduling that sales call. I have a blog to write (ahem), tweets to respond to and tax forms to fill out. Ironically, none of these make me any money. In fact, that last one usually loses me money (darn you, withholding).

Starting a 90 day fitness challenge? I am all about that first week, following my plan to a “T” and never skipping a workout. Then, the dreaded impatience sets in. I don’t want to wait 90 days for results, I want them now. And ironically, “I want them now” translates into me no longer following the plan to a “T” and skipping a workout here and there.

Have a goal of writing 1,000 words per day? I try and try and succeed, for a while. Then, that same dreaded impatience sets in. I want this novel finished now but unfortunately, do not possess the magic skills necessary to make it appear before my eyes. So what do I do? Find excuses not to write.

Does this sound at all familiar? Why do we do this to ourselves?

I can sum up the answer in three words: fear of failure.

If we don’t secure a new client, it’s not because they didn’t want us, it’s because we didn’t seek them out. Heaven forbid we put ourselves on the line and face rejection. How embarrassing that would be.

If I don’t meet my shape-up goals in 90 days, I can say, “oh, well, I didn’t follow the exact workout,” rather than having worked my butt off (literally) and failing to see my desired results. How embarrassing that would be.

If I don’t finish my novel by the end of XYZ month, I can blame it on the holidays, family obligations and work rather than finishing my first draft only to have everyone I know think it’s terrible. How embarrassing that would be.

For some crazy reason, my mind has determined that having excuses sounds a lot better than pure failure. I’m slowly realizing that nothing could be further from the truth.

And I’m also – slowly – getting back on track.

At the beginning of February, I embarked on a #FebPhotoADay challenge. You can read more about that here. Although it’s a very small “goal” in the grand scheme of things I hope to achieve this year, I am killing it so far. I have successfully taken and posted a photo a day to my Facebook, Twitter and blog – and I am using my creative juices in way that feels immensely satisfying.

It’s one small step toward accomplishment each day, and I know that when this month is over, I’ll look back on the challenge with a smile, proud of every single image.

There are times where I’m tempted to look ahead and envision what I’ll be snapping a picture of on February 29. But then I remind myself that this is not productive. I work to remember how I feel at the beginning of each day – renewed and ready to take what the next item on the list has to give me.

I’m being patient. And living one day at a time.

Now that’s what I call positive thinking, and it feels amazing.

Have you ever felt impatient while working on a goal? How did you deal with it?

Dream Bigger,

10 Easy Ways to Feel More Inspired

When we first connected with Lauren Levine back in November, we discussed the truth to Jill’s post on wanting to be treated like an adult at work. Since then, I’ve been an avid reader of her blog, Life with Lauren, which showcases her talent and passion for writing while discussing topics that are interesting to all of us: friendships, relationships and ways to create a new identity for yourself once you’ve graduated from college, among others.

I was thrilled when Lauren offered to write a guest post for us, aimed to discuss the ways she finds inspiration every day. It’s no surprise she’s right on the mark, and you’re going to love her advice!

10 Easy Ways to Feel More Inspired

There is nothing worse than sitting in front of a blank Word document just waiting for a good idea to come your way. That bright screen is full of possibility, but it’s so hard to get started. Even if you’re not a writer you know that “blank screen” feeling. You want to create something, you know it’s somewhere in there, but you just can’t quite get inspired. The good thing about the “blank screen” feeling is that it usually doesn’t linger for long. You’ll be in a meeting or waiting for the elevator and suddenly a great idea will just come to you. But if you happen to be in need of a little inspiration, here are ten ways you can kickstart your creative urges and banish the blank screen forever.

1.) Jot your thoughts: My friend is a songwriter and he literally never goes anywhere without a mini tape recorder. That way if he comes up with a song lyric or melody he can just speak/sing it into the tape recorder and not run the risk of losing it. You can do the same thing with a notebook or even the “Notepad” section on your phone. Just have someplace where you put all of your ideas so you don’t have to rely on your memory. You never know what thought or phrase will end up becoming important for future projects.

2.) Give your mind a break: When you’ve had inspiration strike in the past, where did it happen? Probably in the shower or while you sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic, right? I had a great idea the other day as I was sitting waiting (and waiting and waiting) for my plane to take off. A traffic jam and your shower may seem unrelated but they actually have something in common: while you’re there your mind is free to wander. Your brain isn’t forced to remember things, (over)analyze something your boss said, or try to be creative in a non-creative mindset. When your brain is on overload it’s hard to get it to pump out something witty. But give yourself a chance to zone out and all of a sudden you’re full of fabulous thoughts. It’s kind of like that (annoying) advice your friends give you about meeting someone, “You’ll meet someone great! You just have to stop looking!” You’ll find inspiration as soon as you stop making your brain work too hard.

3.) Say goodbye to stress: When you’re stressed, you’re just trying to get through the day. It’s like survival mode. There’s no room for any type of thought other than, “This must get done. Now.” That’s why stress management is so important if you want to see an increase in inspiration. Practice yoga or meditation. Stay super-organized. There is nothing worse than having to scramble frantically through dozens of files just to get through your work day. Delegate tasks when possible. It’s also a good idea to write down your “to do” list for the next day before you go to sleep. That way you’re not lying awake thinking, “Okay, I absolutely can’t forget to call Susie tomorrow.” You can free up your mind for more inspired thinking.

4.) Stop judging yourself: As Sylvia Plath once said, “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” If you want to get creativity going, put something out there without worrying about exactly how it looks or sounds. For example, if you’re a writer, write without worrying about punctuation or choice of words. You can go back and review that stuff later. If you’re a singer, just sing! If you’re constantly worried about making each note perfect you’ll feel stifled. It’s easy to be your own worst critic. Let yourself enjoy the process. Don’t worry about perfection right away.

5.) Find inspiration in anything: You don’t need a million dollar idea or a stroke of genius to write a great article, come up with a solid business plan, or sketch a beautiful illustration. Use your everyday life to inspire you. What makes you happy? What makes you mad? What would you like to change about the world? What do you want to know more about? What advice can you offer to other people? What do you hear people talking about? Use these questions to trigger ideas.

6.) Study others: What better way to feel inspired than to study others who are doing what you love? Read a blog about your passion. If you’re an artist, go to an art museum or local art show. If you’re a writer, read a book by a terrific author. If you’re a fashion designer, go to a fashion show. Observe others who are practicing your craft well. If you can connect with other people in your industry, that’s even better. Social media makes it easy to do this. Invite someone you admire out for coffee, send a tweet, connect on LinkedIn, put yourself out there.

7.) Make your space inspiring: Nothing squashes creativity more than a “blah” space. Boring white walls, a cluttered desk – these things don’t lend themselves to ground-breaking ideas. I used to hate spending time at my office at work and I couldn’t really figure out why. Then I realized it was because I’d inherited the space from someone who had left it in bad condition. The paint was peeling and I was left with a huge set of plastic shelves that looked like they should be holding American Girl dolls. The office did not exactly ooze professionalism or creativity. I quickly ordered some posters, printed some pictures, and got rid of the charming shelves. I’ve also created a mini “inspiration board” which is where I put pictures of people I admire and things I’d like to achieve. The board helps motivate me and makes me feel good when I need an extra boost of energy. Think about how your work space is making you feel. If it’s anything other than excited, it’s time to make some changes.

8.) Cut out negativity: Negativity does not lend itself to productivity. When was the last time you met someone who complains all the time but is also determined to make things happen for him/herself? Probably never. Even if you have a terrific attitude, the people around you have a sneaky way of rubbing off on you. Be picky about who you spend time with. Your friend who has a “crisis of the day” every day is probably wonderful but may be zapping your energy and optimism. You don’t need to cut her out of your life, but you also don’t need to spend an hour on the phone with her every time she calls.  Sure, many of the greatest artists of all time were tortured souls, but don’t you just feel like kicking ass and taking names when you’re surrounded by other happy people? No need to dwell on negative thoughts or pessimism.

9.) Make time for your hobby: This sounds easy, but it’s important. When you have a to-do list that’s a mile long it’s easy to put your passion at the bottom, especially if it’s not making you money…right now. But focus less on the money and more on the fact that this thing makes you happy. Everyone needs to do something that creates joy during the day. Even if you can only write for twenty minutes or practice piano for half an hour, make sure you schedule that time in just like you would schedule in a doctor’s appointment or a trip to the store. You’ll feel more inspired and motivated about your passion when you’re actually devoting steady time to practicing it.

10.) Chart your progress: I recently discovered a site called Ohlife.com, and I’m obsessed. It’s basically an online journal and a progress checker. Every day it e-mails you and asks you how your day went. You reply to the e-mail with as much or as little text as you want. This site is perfect for someone who’s trying to achieve a goal or get better a skill because it makes you feel accountable. Every day that little e-mail is sitting there asking you about how things went. You don’t want to let it down by telling it you did nothing related to your passion today. The site also reminds you of past posts and lets you read through everything you’ve written. It’s a great way to see how far you’ve come and also to see where you need to keep focusing your energy. The fact that it’s all done through e-mail is nice because it’s not time-consuming. You can set the prompts to come as often or as infrequently as you’d like, but I like to do them every day.  It’s a free service, so check it out!

Feeling uninspired from time to time is completely normal. Even the best writers, artists, designers, and musicians hit a slump at some point. But if you find inspiration in everyday life, get rid of clutter in your living space and in your mind, and let yourself enjoy the creative process, you’ll be able to shake off that “blank screen” feeling for good.

Check out more from Lauren on her blog, Life with Lauren. You can also follow Lauren on Twitter and like Life with Lauren on Facebook.

Dream Bigger,

How To Succeed In Show Business Without Selling Your Soul To American Idol

Meet Colin.

He may kill me for posting this picture from high school – but this is the lovable, goofy guy I remember.

Not only did Colin and I spend many Saturday mornings together on a school bus (traveling to speech meets across Minnesota), but we also spent hours together rehearsing for multiple high school drama productions. We were “those” geeky chic kids and we loved every minute of it.

Sadly, I hung up my drama hat at the end of high school to move into the (equally dramatic) world of fashion design, but Colin continued to hone his acting skills, eventually moving to London post-drama school to pursue his dreams of becoming a writer, actor and producer.

I was nothing short of delighted when I received a Facebook message from Colin six months ago, catching me up on his life and letting me know that, along with a few friends, he was launching his own production company – Untethered Films.

Impressed that he’d turned his high school passion into a full-fledged career, I sent Colin some questions. I think you’ll find his answers both inspiring and motivational!

What is Untethered Films?

We are a film production company based in London, UK. Our specialty is stories with a cross-Atlantic sensibility – i.e. principal characters are from both the UK and North America. We’ve also recently started producing music videos.

What first inspired you to start the company? 

The four of us that founded Untethered went to drama school together. None of us trained as filmmakers. We began by making shorts mostly so that we could act when we were out of work, but we quickly realized that we enjoyed the process of filming itself. There’s nothing like being on a film set – whether it’s acting, directing, holding a boom microphone, or getting everyone’s teas and coffees. It’s a really exciting and pressurized environment.

Once we agreed that we wanted to form a production company, it was a matter of figuring out how we would separate ourselves from other budding film companies. Half of us were American, half were British so it seemed logical to produce material that featured characters from both countries. The added bonus is it’s helped us develop audiences on both sides of the pond who relate to the stories in different ways.

How many people are working on this project full time (aka have no other job)?

There are currently five of us on the producing board. We all work for Untethered full-time, but it’s notoriously hard to begin making money as a film company when you’re still a start-up, so we all have other full-time jobs. It’s a bit insane having the energy to do both, and it often feels like we’re juggling about 12 balls each. Thankfully nothing’s come crashing down yet, and we love it. We wouldn’t put in this much time and energy if we didn’t.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned since launching?

Plan to spend a lot of time planning.

Since we’d all been on film sets as actors previously, we knew the many ways in which your time can feel wasted and abused. I find it really surprising the number of young filmmakers who aren’t prepared for what can go wrong, and it’s really damaging to their reputations. Nobody wants to work with someone they can’t trust to deliver.

From the start, we agreed that we’d make every effort to have our sets run as efficiently as possible, while still being fun to work on. This has meant mountains of preparation. You basically have to think of all the possible problems that could arise and plan accordingly. The result has been that our sets generally wrap on time (a rare commodity in the film industry) and people comment that it feels like we’re a family on set. There’s a nice rhythm to the way we get things done, and when people say they enjoyed working with us, we’re over-the-moon.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome since launching?

Having people take us seriously. The arts are a funny place. No one’s really interested in you until you’re a sure-thing.

I’m sure the same can be said of most businesses, but people are very afraid to take a risk with new talent when it comes to film. Who can blame them? So much money goes into making one that the potential for financial loss is massive. We’ve always taken ourselves and our work seriously, even when we just starting out with bad equipment and didn’t have the strongest sense of what we were doing. Friends, families, and industry professionals are now on our side, but we first had to prove that we weren’t just a group of kids messing around with a camera.

It’s been earned; we’re still earning it.

What’s been your biggest accomplishment since launching?

During the summer we made five short films with a shoe-string budget. With our additional full-time jobs, it was an incredible amount of work.

We pulled in more people than we’d ever worked with before and had locations throughout London. Along with a focus on creating amazing films, we were also determined to make sure that our sets were run effectively and that people had a positive experience working with us.

We had our screening night in October, and it was standing room only. It was deeply satisfying to have the fruits of everyone’s labor being viewed by an eager audience. At the end of the screening, I got to go up to do the ‘thanks for coming’ speech. It took a while to quiet everyone down. The applause and cheers for what we’d done were overwhelming. It was one of the most gratifying experiences of my life.

What advice do you have for other aspiring entrepreneurs?

Know that you’re not going to be an overnight success.

When someone seems to emerge from nowhere as ‘the next big thing,’ they’ve probably been working on developing their ideas for a long time. Thanks to the Internet we feel like if something doesn’t happen in the blink of an eye, something’s wrong. In reality, it’s an uphill battle.

Success, no matter how you define it, takes time. If it’s something you love, it’s worth the work.

Colin – the above picture pretty much sums up my feelings on your new venture. I was proud to know you then and I’m proud to know you now. We can’t wait to see what amaing adventures and accomplishments are in store for you and your team!

For more information on Untethered Films visit www.untetheredfilms.com. You can also follow Colin on Twitter and like Untethered Films on Facebook.

Dream Bigger,

Five Fabulous Posts Worth Reading

There is never a shortage of valuable content and posts worth reading these days. If we had it our way, we’d be sharing links left and right, 24/7, but since one might argue against the productivity of such a task, we’ll settle for sharing five especially fabulous insights with you today.

1. The Power of Asking the Right Question. Michael Hyatt’s posts are always worth a read, but this one in particular got us thinking as it relates to job searching and knowing your worth.
2. The Greater Good (Or What Passion Is Really All About). Our friend Matt Chevy provides great food for thought that is best summed up in his last line: “Define yourself not by your own pursuit of happiness,but by the happiness you bring and the contributions you offer to others.”
3. “Embrace your good fears.” We look forward to every post from Amber Rae and the team at revolution.is, but this one in particular resonated with us because Kristin and Shannon’s story felt so similar to our own. Not to mention their business, {r}evolution apparel, sounds amazing!
4. How to manage a career in 2012. The ever insightful Penelope Trunk provides three great pieces of advice for making 2012 a year focused on planning for the future, setting boundaries and constantly learning new things.
5. Good Culture Is In, Inflated Salaries Are Out. This post from Alexandra Levit made us do fist pumps. It provides a ton of statistical credibility to what we promote with DreamChamps – the idea that a company that focuses on keeping its employees happy is viewed as more important and favorable than a company who simply provides a high base salary.

We hope you’ll check out the links above and find them as inspiring and helpful as we did. If one (or more) particularly strike you, we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Happy reading!

Dream Bigger,

Five Business Lessons We Learned In 2011 That We’ll Carry With Us Forever

We’ll be the first to admit that 2011 (our second year as entrepreneurs) was more difficult than our first. That said, it’s undeniable that we walked away from it with thicker skins and some great lessons. They say that mistakes are golden if you can learn from them. We certainly did.

Source

1. Customer Needs Change – You Need To Change With Them

When we launched our first business – POP! Social Media – in 201o, we didn’t fully understand how great the market was for our services. It took us only one month to find and land our first big client. Social media was still relatively new, but was also the shiny market that every business wanted to get into. What benefitted us most (although we didn’t fully comprehend it at the time) was the large business need for outside social media consultants. In 2010, digital media was still new enough that no one had hired anyone in-house. Instead, they tested the waters by seeking outside help.

Fast forward to the present day, where this is no longer the case. Our market has changed, as large businesses have hired in-house help for most of their social media needs. While small business are still seeking outside help, they often do not have the budgets needed to hire someone and often hand the responsibility over to an intern. As I’m sure you can guess, this shift has caused us to re-think our offerings and target customers. It’s been a challenge, but has also taught an invaluable lesson – just because a market exists, does not mean it will exist forever.

2. Feast or Famine

This is a concept we’ve talked about with many entrepreneurs, but one that never seems to be blogged about. As you can guess from our above learning, there were certainly times in 2011 where income wasn’t coming in as easily as it had in 2010. We consider ourselves lucky to have budgeted as we did. Without it, we would have been in trouble some months.

While it’s true that entrepreneurs are notorious for finding creative ways to bring in funds, there are just some months that it’s not going to happen due to a lack of client needs, late payments or other uncontrollable factors. You need to plan for this. Every entrepreneur does. Be grateful for good months, but remember that there will be bad months ahead and that a padded savings account is the best gift you can give yourself.

3. Talk To Your Potential Customers Before Building a Full Product

We blogged about this back in June, but it was an important (ahem, expensive) enough mistake that we wanted to touch on it again. As many of you know, DreamChamps has come through quite a few business models to get us where we are today. At one point, we spent quite a chunk of money building a full site that we thought would be a huge hit with potential customers. Since our market is so niche, we didn’t want to pitch anything before it was perfect.

Turns out, we should have done the exact opposite. While there were aspects of the site that our potential customers loved, there were even more aspects that they didn’t. We learned a ton about what problems they were looking to solve and what they would spend money on – all valuable information that we used to build our most current site. The moral of the story? You don’t need a perfect product to get feedback. Start lean with a mock up and only build what you know people will buy.

4. The Difference Between Running a Consulting-Based and Product-Based Business 

Now the owners of two companies, we learned a lot about the differences between running a consulting-based and product-based business over the last year. Here are the biggest differences we’ve found to date.

Consulting-Based Business (POP! Social Media):

• There is much less overhead involved with a consulting-based business. You can likely work from home, which negates the need for office space. Your product is your brain, so besides continued learning, you don’t have to fund something before you can offer it to clients.
• Growth is limited to the number of bodies you have consulting. Your time is your business and one person can only handle so much. To scale this type of business, you need to hire a bigger team.
• You always need to be selling. It doesn’t matter if you currently have a full client load, as they could go away tomorrow. On-boarding clients is a long process and one you should strive to always be in the middle of.

5. How To Ask For Help 

This is one we’re still w