It can be a difficult thing, running your own business. We’ve got to figure out how to get things to break our way without pissing off the very people that we depend on for our business. Learning how to do this is an important skill, and one that takes time to develop. To paraphrase Tim Ferriss (from his amazing book …

Everyone sees things differently. That’s not some great revelation to most of us, but it is something to ponder when we’re working in our businesses. We see things from a different perspective than our clients. This may be the 5000th time we’ve checked out someone’s roof, but it’s likely the first time for our client who’s buying their first home. …

Obsessing over short-term goals is something we all do well. It’s easier than looking to the future. The short-term is right there, in front of us. We can feel it; we can touch it; we can do things now that affect it. The long-term just seems so far away. I’ve got plenty of time before then… And then it’s here …

We’re all afraid of something. Deep down inside us, there’s that one thing that we want to avoid at all cost. We do everything in our power to keep from having to confront it. But it’s still there. Waiting. It’s not going anywhere. So, if we know it’s sticking around for the long-haul, why do we expend so much of …

We often spend an inordinate amount of time fussing over the smallest of decisions: how our logo looks, what our company colors will be, or how we’ll sign our email messages. But, when it comes to the big decisions, we’re often at a loss. We feel so uninformed, so inept, so unprepared to choose what to do that we simply …

We find comfort in the status quo. Everyone is content when things stay the same. There’s comfort in repetition. But if no one ever tested the limits, tried to walk outside the boundaries, went where no one has ever before tried to venture, we’d never experience progress. Things would always remain the same. We evolve when someone is brave enough …

Many jobs out there are cookie cutter: easily replicable by someone else in the industry. We’re all doing (pretty much) the same thing across our field. So, what is it that proves to be the difference between someone who’s wildly successful and someone who’s just another schmo schlepping the same stuff as everyone else? The real difference is just that …

It’s not too difficult for someone to be forced into a situation they’re unfamiliar with, where they end up looking like a clueless, bumbling buffoon. However, if they’re able to stay within the confines of their expertise, it’s pretty easy for them to look like a genius. For us (as the president of the business of ourself), the most important …

Confident people are unwavering in their beliefs. They’re sure that they know exactly what it is they’re doing. Prudent people are also confident in their beliefs, yet smart enough to know that those beliefs may need to be modified whenever new information comes along. It’s good to have confidence. It’s better to be humble enough to realize that we don’t …

What’s our job really for? It pays our bills so that we can live our lives. It gives us something to do (to help keep us from getting into trouble). It allows us to construct an identity for ourselves so that we believe we’re a nurse, a lawyer, an agent, an inspector… It makes it possible for us to contribute …