Guest Posts
How Long Should Writing Cook?
How Long Should Writing Cook? by Mike Loomis How do you know when a writing project is “finished”? We’re not just talking about a 50,000-word book. Tweets, emails, and blogs impact our brand, our relationships, and bank account. Have you ever hit the “Send” button, and within three nanoseconds looked for the “Un-Send” button? I’ve even had authors tell me they wanted to un-publish a book! Let Your Words Bake It’s a rare treat when first drafts are “ready to eat.” This is exactly why I’ve learned, sometimes the hard way, to put my writing back in the oven. Better flavor, fewer regrets, and more influence can result. Of course, it’s different for each form of communication, each audience, and each writer. Suggested times… Tweets: Allow to simmer for 2 hours Facebook posts: Most tender after 4 hours Blog posts: Slow cook for 2 days (or freeze for months) Important “first contact” emails: Let them smoke for 3 days Sensitive email replies: To avoid burning, stir often for at least 4 hours, or 1 day if possible Book Proposals: Carefully measure all ingredients and cook for 3 months Book chapters: Bring to a boil, then “can” for 2 weeks These recipes are not excuses for procrastination. But fast-food publishing has created more noise, and lower quality writing. I’ll admit, this is TOUGH to do! Hungry? My hope is to write fewer words, with more taste. I’ve opened the lid on my manuscript edits after two weeks and wondered, “Who wrote this terrible mess?!” Yeah, I’d rather post or send while I’m still intoxicated by my creativity, but I can’t tell you how often this perspective has made the difference between “forgettable” and “fruitful” communications. What are your “cook times” for words? What outlets give you the most trouble? About the author: Mike Loomis helps people launch their dream projects and books. He’s strategic partner to bestselling authors, non-profits, publishers as well as startups, and aspiring messengers. He and his wife live in the mountains of Colorado with their pet moose. www.MikeLoomis.CO Creative Commons Attribution:...
Read MoreBuilding Your Financial Plan
Building Your Financial Plan by Casey Lewis The room went dark. After a few hours of humor and wisdom pouring from the stage, the crowd of 600+ people at Jon Acuff’s Start Conference grew silent. We were given these tiny finger lights and told only to raise it in the air when something we saw on the screen resonated. The black screens only projected a new phrase with white letters once every 15 seconds or so. “You’re not good enough.” “There are others that already do what I do.” “You’re too old to start.” “You’re too young to start.” “You’re not smart enough.” This simple idea was to have a visual representation of the voices of fear that speak so powerfully into our lives, and then to provide comfort in knowing we’re not alone as the room was lit sporadically by hundreds of finger lights. But then, this flashed across the screen: “I don’t have enough money to chase my dream.” The room lit up faster than the end of Silent Night at a Christmas Eve Candle Light Service. It struck a nerve. To financial guys like me, this wasn’t a huge surprise. A recent Wall Street Journal report tells us that 75% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. The National Consumer Law Center says that 14% of Americans age 65 and up have a negative net-worth at the time of retirement. The idea that someone doesn’t have enough money to chase after a dream isn’t a theory. For many it’s a cruel reality. But because you may not have $30,000 sitting in a savings account or you aren’t completely debt free doesn’t mean that you can’t make strides toward your dream. It actually means the opposite. It means you can hustle harder than you ever have before to clean up your financial mess and that by doing so you are actually doing one of the best things that you can to see your dream come to life. Right now, today, you may think your financial situation is hopeless and that you’ll never be able to give up your day job for a dream job. And right now, today, you may very well be right. But lets fast forward 18 months and see that you’re debt free and have six months of your expenses sitting in an emergency account. In addition to that, your dream job or business or side hustle or whatever you want to call it is bringing in a couple thousand dollars each month. Now, do you feel hopeless? Of course not! All we need to do is put you in that financial position and here’s how: A plan. It’s that simple. You just need a financial plan to get you to where your finances become your biggest contributor instead of inhibitor to chasing your dreams. Here are 4 simple money steps to set your dream up for its best chance. Step 1: Create a cash flow plan. Yes that is a fancy way to say budget. You need to make a plan for your money. Step 2: Reduce expenses & Boost income. If your dream really is as important as you say it is, you don’t need cable TV or to be eating lobster. Slash your expenses as much as you can and then have a garage sale to get rid of your extra “stuff.” Step 3: Kill Debt. It’s very difficult to leave a day job for a dream job when you have monthly payments siphoning away all of your money. Use the debt snowball method to eliminate all your debts. Step 4: Build your “Dreaming Savings Account” All that extra money you’ve been throwing at paying down your debts can be thrown into a savings account once you get rid of debt. This dreaming savings account allows you the freedom to walk out of a job you hate when the boss yells at you one too many times. It gives you the leverage to leap to your dream without the worry of your electricity being shut off. By hustling to get your...
Read MoreBuilding a Blog
Whether you’re an author, business owner, speaker, singer, or anything in between, a blog can play an integral part of your brand. You need a place to share new ideas with your clients and readers. You need a place to direct your social media accounts to and to offer a product or some sort of advice. Before you dive in to the blogging world, there are some things you need to know. Know Your Name. The first thing you need for your blog is your name. This should be short, simple, and to the point. You want something that people will remember. This is what your whole brand will be built around. The easiest choice is your own name. This will eliminate any problems if, for some reason, your niche changes down the road. Know Your Purpose. Why are you blogging and who are you talking to? You need to know who your audience is and offer them something that no one else can. What is unique about you? What are you passionate about? Know Your Competition. A little competition can be helpful. Don’t look around at what other bloggers are doing to copy them. Watch what they’re doing to learn from them. What does their design look like and why does it work? What are they sharing on their Social Media platforms? What are they offering that keeps their readers coming back? Know Your Commitment. Take into account how much time you can invest into your blog. Have several posts ready to go before you launch to avoid writers block on day two. You’ll also want to stay consistent. If you know that you can’t offer more than 2 blog posts a week, then keep it that way. Your readers will get used to your routine and know what to expect from you. Blogging is hard work. Not many bloggers become famous over night. It will take time, trials, errors, joy, and pain. Have patience. Keep going. Know Who Owns You. Before you launch, you need to know that you get what you pay for. There are some great free blogging sites that can help you get started. But, you need to remember that if you use free hosting, your blog is not your own. They can shut you down whenever they please. If you are considering keeping your blog around for the long haul, you will want to be self hosted. Starting out self hosted is much easier than transferring a blog down the road. If you’re ready to launch your self hosted blog, you can see how to do it in less than 20 minutes over at TribeBloggers.com What’s keeping you from starting your blog? If you already have one, what do you wish you knew before you started? Corie is a wife and mom to 3 kiddos. She’s been blogging for 4 years and loves help people find their purpose and live it out. She blogs over at CorieClark.com and she helps bloggers build community at...
Read MoreThe World’s Best Catch Player
by Jennifer Kaufman His mom often wonders if she shouldn’t have named him Joseph – after another famous believer in dreams – because for Ethan Bryan, it all started with a dream. As in, the kind you have while you’re sleeping. He woke one morning with the vivid images of playing catch for a cause with some of baseball’s finest. Once he got his thoughts on paper, he began to wonder just how he could make his dream a reality; he knew just what cause he wanted to support. As this feature goes to press, Ethan will be in the middle of what he hopes is a record-setting game of catch just outside of Kauffman Stadium, home of Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals. A long-time baseball player himself, Bryan clarifies, “These throws have nothing to do with ego. [They] are more than just for the sake of fun and community. These throws are to make a difference in the world.” Everyone that participates will be encouraged to donate at least $1 to raise money for Team Not for Sale, to fight modern-day slavery. Not for Sale is an organization with a presence in various countries around the world, using business creation, supply chain evaluation and aftercare aid, creating enterprise opportunities in vulnerable communities, offering social services to survivors and those at-risk to human trafficking and working to ensure that no one is for sale.1 Ethan had the pleasure of meeting a missionary who works in Romania near a NFS location, and will be donating 100% of money raised at today’s event in his honor. Ok, but why baseball? Bryan has always had a passion for the game. After playing most of the way through high school, he recalls with pride a coach who told him that, despite having a good deal of talent, he made the team first and foremost because of his heart. He eventually realized his size might keep him from playing in the big leagues – but that didn’t stop him from being “the best benchwarmer the team has ever seen”. He says he feels fully alive when playing a game of catch, and wants to connect that passion with another. In 2010, Jeremy Affeldt, pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, reached out to Not for Sale to see how he could make a difference. Today, Team Not for Sale has over 30 professional baseball players – in addition to other athletes around the world – using their on-field achievements to pledge monetary donations to the cause. Many of them also feel called to use their platform to further engage their fans and communities. Ethan has absolutely no indication of how many people might show up to play catch today. The Kansas City Royals are in the playoff hunt for the first time in over 10 years, forcing his game of catch to a much more obscure location to make extra room for parking. There are many hurdles that they’ll have to overcome to reach his goal of 1000 participants, but that’s not stopping him. His passion and dedication for this project has led to a bit of “who’s who” (or who-knows-whom, more accurately) and he’s even received some interest from a current player who hopes to stop by. Perhaps that dream of his that started it all might be coming true! His goals have changed a little with time, but all with the same end result in mind. In addition to today’s world record attempt, Ethan has high hopes of playing catch with the president and with any celebrities he can track down, with goals to sell autographed balls to raise more money and awareness. His current story – the quest to become the world’s greatest catch player while working to end slavery – will “end”, at least on paper, in December. It’s both exciting and terrifying though that he isn’t quite sure how it will end… or where the road will take him after his book hits the shelves. Ethan says his throwing skills may have gotten a bit rusty since high...
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