A Coke poster redone

It turns out I had heard these songs before, as they were Chinese takes on American melodies. They covered the likes of Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson, with traditional Chinese musical stylings. (Or at least what I imagine to be a traditional Chinese “style”.)

***

Why are musical remakes so well received? Because they’re a perfect blend of familiar and unfamiliar. A new take on an old story.

Up-and-coming musicians sometimes get their start by remaking an old classic. Sometimes it fails badly, but breathing life into a classic is can be a great way to get an artist noticed.

Recent savvy internet startups have been using this method successfully. Here are a few:

Domains: Domainr
Travel: Hipmunk or Kayak
Online banking: BankSimple

These startups are gaining lots of traction because they’ve taken over a tired, unusable and worn out online industry. Who hasn’t struggled with their bank’s website before or spent hours trying to find a unique domain name?

Consider using the “cover” approach on your next project. Take something that’s broken–but familiar–and fix it. There’s no shame in borrowing concepts if you’re going to make them better.

As the proverb goes, there’s nothing nothing new under the sun.

Photo by Coca-Cola Art Gallery.

Sure, there are variations to this rule, but the biggest issue with running on roads with cars is making sure the cars know you’re there. Makes sense, right?

A couple weeks ago I took a trip to Arkansas and did some running while I was there. Arkansas is one of the most beautiful states (in my humble opinion). The landscape is hilly and steep, complete with winding roads. It’s really a treat to run on.

However, the problem with hilly and steep roads is that oftentimes your view of oncoming traffic is obstructed. In fact, often there were times running where neither side of the road was safe to run on. So if you can’t see the cars coming in front of you, you’re in trouble.

Now, I could continue the story and tell you how I almost killed myself, ran off a steep ditch and twisted an ankle (all true), but I’ll save you the gory details. The fact of the matter is I was dumb and trying to adhere to running norms in a landscape that was anything but normal. But as I hobbled the last half mile home, I came upon this (painful) revelation: rules aren’t really all that great.

The Dangerous Rules

Each hill, each bend in the road is different, and you’ll need unique and specific solutions to get around them. Not a generic, outdated rulebook. There is no right or wrong way to do most things; professional or otherwise. And you should be wary of people who tell you there are.

My partner in crime Brian has had to bend software in weird ways on our latest project because we’re using the software in unconventional ways. That’s the beauty (and scary part) of being an entrepreneur: often we’re forging into uncharted territory.

Sometimes with running–as with life–there is no “Golden Rule”. Sometimes there are no rules at all, and you have to make them up as you go along. There are no guidebooks, best practices, or anything that can be Googled.

Don’t try to apply conventional wisdom. You have to improvise and act quickly on your feet, otherwise you’ll get run over (literally or figuratively).

What about you? What situations have you found yourself in where conventional wisdom or rules didn’t work? I’d love to hear them.

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I’ve recently taken a shine to Google+. You can follow and interact with me there as well. Anyone else found (and loved) Google+ like me?

Photo by MRHSfan

Watching the entire process of a tiny person grow inside of my wife’s belly has been a real mind bender. I also can’t help but notice similar qualities between babies and new companies. For both, the processes are namely creating and shipping, with copious amounts of support.

Amiright?

Ok, maybe that’s oversimplifying the process. Yet, there are some crucial similarities between growing a business and a baby. (Aside from, you know, the fact that they’re “new”.)

I’ve been working on a tiny side project for a little longer than my wife has been pregnant, and it’s also about ready to be “born”. This is what I’ve learned in the process.

You’ll never know what to expect

We have no idea what to expect about our daughter. Who’s nose will she have? Will she have her mother’s beautiful laugh? Right now, the only thing that we can know with certainty is that she will break my heart, many, many times over.

Just like a business, right? (Especially the heart-breaking bit.) You’ll never know what your business will turn into. The idea for our little project has taken about three right turns and a hard left, arriving neatly in the middle of nowhere we expected.

But the journey sure has been fun. And we haven’t even started.

Time flies

Pardon the cliche, but it really does seem like yesterday that my wife sat me down on the couch and told me that I was going to be a daddy. As much as I thought 9 months would be an eternity, it’s literally flown by. Doctor’s appointments, buying baby stuff, baby showers, buying more baby stuff… all of the activity surrounding having a child has made the process go incredibly quick.

The same is true with tiny businesses. Time flies when you’re working on something. In fact, time slips through your fingers if you let it. Feature creep sets in, keeping you from actually shipping. (That’s one way a baby is different from a company: The product ships whether you’re ready or not.)

Great partners make everything smoother

If I were married to some harpy, this process would be much, much worse. Fortunately, my wife is–in my humble opinion–the best. She’s handled the pregnancy with grace, ease, and we’ve had a lot of fun in the process. I’ve heard far too many horror stories about the effect of pregnancy hormones. My wife is incredible.

A company of one can be successful, but having a great partner in your business endeavors can make all of the difference. It helps when your partner has all the qualities you wish you had. My co-founder is a champ, and his best qualities are my biggest weaknesses. This is what makes our fledgling company awesome.

There’s tons of crap you don’t need

My parents constantly remind me that when I was born, they didn’t have all the fancy things that parents today have. If you’ve ever been to a Babies ‘R Us, you know that there is an entire industry built on crap you don’t need.

Fortunately, there are some things that you know you’re going to need, the essentials. (Think: Diapers.)

The same is true in small businesses. People will tell you need to spend $XX,XXX on designs, programming, advertising, or a billion other things. Here’s a hint: if you don’t have a product yet, you don’t need it. You only need the equivalent of Business Diapers in the beginning these days, if you’re starting a lean company.

Excitement grows when you can see results

If my wife just went nine months and without showing any sort of bump and suddenly went into labor, my reactions would probably be along the lines of losing control of my bodily functions. I’m pretty positive the gradual growth is the Good Lord’s way of preparing couples for drastic life change.

Not only does seeing progress give you a way to prepare yourself, it gives you a chance to reflect on how far you’ve come.

The best advice we’ve gotten during the process was to take lots of pictures. The same should be true for new companies. Celebrate tiny milestones, take lots of “snapshots” of progress. When you can actually see progress, you’ll stay motivated and excited.

Photo by massdistraction

In fact, a couple of years ago I abandoned a project that was 95% completed(!!) because a huge company entered the space and was touted as the “total solution”. (It turns out that the service was mildly successful and never gained market share or lived up to the hype. Ouch.)

But instead of just finishing the 5% that was left with development, trusting in what I had built, and releasing the product anyway, I threw up the white flag. Hindsight tells me that had I actually released the website, it probably would have been pretty profitable.

Needless to say, it was a valuable lesson for me. No longer would I turn and flee at the first sign of competition. In fact, these days I’m running towards the competition.

***

I’ve created a short video that kind of describes why competition is so hard, and why as entrepreneurs we tend to run away from it. I also explain my thought process now when it comes to choosing ideas to work on with respects to competition. (Hint: I don’t really worry about it.)

Running Towards the Competition (Instead of Running Away).

I reference a company called Saddleback Leather Company as a company who’s not afraid of their competition. Why? Because they list rival companies prominently on their site with this disclaimer:

Do you think that our competitors would actually put a link to our website on theirs? I’m so confident that you’ll find our classic look and over-engineered durability so hard to resist that I want you to shop around. Go ahead… the more you shop, the better we look.

Awesome.

A quick note: This is my first attempt. Be gentle :) I learned quickly that it’s easy to hide behind the pen, but stepping in front of a camera is a whole different skill set.

Photo by Mukumbura

Chipotle’s famous simple menu.

If we can do many things well, we should be able to see profits. “Diversify, diversify, diversify”. Yet for whatever reason, sprawling out into multiple markets doesn’t necessarily mean success.

It’s only being the best at one thing and refining it daily that wins in the long run.

Chipotle has centered around the the simple premise that they were going to serve a very limited menu, without extra things like plates, appetizers, or deserts. Just burritos, tacos and salads with all the same (limited) ingredients. Experts believed that the limited selection would turn customers away. Oops.

Ever seen Instapaper? This simple application does one thing: saves online pages for later viewing. Even the site’s design is dead simple. Yet people love it because it only does one thing exceptionally well.

Lots of Mediocre

Successful companies figure out that they can’t compete at everything. They can only compete at a few things. It’s when they move away from the core product that they start losing market share.

Instead of focusing on being the best in the world at one tiny thing, they try to be “pretty good” at a lot of things. The only problem is that it doesn’t scale.

Not being the best causes you to loose morale. It makes it harder to get up in the morning and harder to stay motivated. It’s only those who have figured out a true niche that dominate over a long period of time.

***

I’m trying to find ways to free up time and energy for the things I love. It’s incredibly hard, probably because it goes against every fiber of my “I gotta be perfect at everything” mentality I’ve developed over the years. But it doesn’t scale. Trying to be the best at everything waters down what I’m best at.

But it’s still freakin’ hard. In fact, it’s totally against my nature as an entrepreneur.

So what can you quit? What can you drop that will free you up for those one or two things that you’re best at?

Photo by animakitty

If you don’t know Danielle, than you seriously should. She’s one of my favorite people online. Quirky, fun, and man does she know how to kick entrepreneurs in the arse. My kinda lady.

Are you doing what you love? Why aren’t you? Danielle has helped countless people figure out how to make money doing what they truly love.

Seriously, I can’t say enough about the lady. She recently launched the Fire Starter Sessions to the tune of massive success, then for her birthday generously let people pay whatever they could for the kit. Another massive success.

The FSS is something I would recommend to anyone who wants to a) figure out what it is they love and b) how to make money doing it.

Anyway, here’s her awesome interview. Take notes, kids. This is pure gold.

Glen: So Danielle, how does one truly figure out what their IDEAL occupation should be? Can you give us a little bit on your “metrics of ease”?

Danielle: Your most valuable currency is what comes most naturally to you. This is a radical concept for so many of us. We’re trained to fit in, to be well-rounded, to multi-task. We tend to push our way through. Fuhget it! When I stopped trying to be great at the things I was merely good at, I freed up my creativity and my intellectual power. And then I got it, I really got it: when I was doing what came so naturally to me, I was more productive, more innovative, more…at ease. Conclusion: easy is right. The “flow” is where the power is.

So when do you feel amazing? What activities cause you to feel useful, vital, better-than-before? When do you have that “there’s more where that came from” feeling? What feels so good and so easy to give that you give it generously? Do more of that — and get paid to do it — until that’s all you’re doing with your life.

Glen: In the FSS you make a huge emphasis on making money NOW. How can putting an emphasis on bringing cash through the door help with the creative process?

Danielle: No money. No business. Simple. I’ve seen so many solo-preneurs get tripped up on getting their branding just right before they can go after clients, or having business cards printed so they can start networking, or putting staff policies in place so they can give great customer service. Once you know what you have to offer, just go get the business. Start. Pick up the phone. Work it. Move the energy. Take the risk. THAT’s creativity.

And there’s nothing like prosperity to fuel your creative fire. Pressure is useful, you know, “necessity and invention” n’ all that. But a zero PayPal account or an empty store will chip away at your innovative spirit. You’ve got to see it working. You’ve got to be eating. Even the most maverick artists need proof of love from their audience.

So my formula is this:

In terms of business growth, FIRST, focus on doing what makes you the most money, the fastest.

Get the money in the door. The whole point of the first three years of business is to SURVIVE.

Simultaneous to doing what makes you the most money the fastest, your SECOND line of action is to focus on doing what makes you the *most* money. The fast money may not be the Big Money. But you need to make time to work on the Big Money-making projects, though they tend to take longer to manifest. And they require the greatest creativity and innovation juice.

Glen: Money and Art seem to always be at odds. This is a massive deal for MANY wanting to stay true to themselves, but still make money. Good money, even.

So here’s the Million Dollar Question: How do you create a personal brand, without selling out?

Danielle: If you’re making art, you are not separate from your brand. I make my livelihood as an artist (of words, philosophy and strategy), and I always cringe a bit when people asked me how I developed my “brand.” I didn’t. I developed my self, my art, and then I put it on display and trusted that the “right” people would dig it, and pay for it.

If you create a personal brand that isn’t deeply personal, you’ve already sold out.

The vast majority of artists I know (from writers and craftspeople, to software developers and designers) don’t have any quams with making money – and lot’s of it if possible. What makes them all weird is the *marketing* of their stuff, they don’t want to sell out and become an infomercial. It understandable, because we live in a culture of false advertising and the slick, hard sell. It’s dangerous turf for sure. But this is where you need to diligently carry your personality forward. It’s not enough to have an authentic, integrity-driven offering, you need to sell it in a way that is true for you. If you’re slick, be slick. If you’re subtle, be subtle. Just be consistent. And above all, be passionately proud of what you’re bringing to the world.

Glen: What’s your number one tip for creatives who want to make a career out of their dreams?

Danielle: 1) Know what lights your fire and go out of your way to fuel that fire.
There’s a reason why every mystic and rocking CEO says, in one way or another, that passion is The Key to success. Because it is. Passion gets your endorphins pumping, it feeds your brain, it supports your soul and gives your life meaning. And passion persuades – and persuasion generates financial freedom.

2) Know how much money you want to make a year.
This makes things very, very real. Dreams and purpose are only one part of the equation. When you anchor the creative to the practical, you’re wielding some serious manifestation mojo. Would $50k or $150k a year float your boat? Great. What do you need to do to bring that in? How many units do you need to ship? How many workshops do you need to fill? What can you do by the end of the day to get where you want to go? Do it.

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Thanks Danielle for a wonderful interview. So whatcha think? Is she spot on? Have any questions? Post ‘em below.

If you’d like to learn more about the passion + art = money process, check out the Fire Starter Sessions.

It made the hallowed list of my favorite creative tools, so you know it’s something awesome ;)

1. Fire Starter Sessions
2. Why Does the Fire Have to Die?
3. Letting Your Passion Lead You

Post by Tim Brownson.

Photo by Stephen Poff

There are any number of books, magazines and blogs out there that are happy to tell you that you must follow your passion in your work to be really and truly fulfilled.

I’m here today to tell you, they’re all wrong.

I must admit that until fairly recently I too believed in the ‘chase your passion’ school of thinking and I even say in my first book:

“I can’t guarantee that you will earn big bucks living your dream, but if you are really happy and can meet your basic needs, do you really care?”

In principal it’s fine and for a lot of people, good advice. However, in practicality it fails to deal with two aspects that should be taken into consideration if you are looking to change direction in life.

Can You Earn a Living?

What if your passion can’t pay you a wage? It’s unlikely (although admittedly not impossible) that you’re ever going to find anybody to pay you good money to go plane spotting, coach kids to play softball or race pigeons.

Don’t get me wrong, I feel sure there are people out there that do get paid for doing similar jobs, but there isn’t and endless supply of such openings and it is wise to understand that before embarking on a career plan that may lead to endless sleepless nights and angst-filled days.

It’s a seemingly obvious roadblock that surprising amounts of people fail to notice. They have read all the well-intentioned advice that assures them if they pursue their passion with every fiber of their being the big money wont be far behind.

Unfortunately, it isn’t always like that. Sure, we all know stories of people that have done amazing things and truly become Rich and Happy by staying fully committed to their dreams. The reason we know of these people though, is because they’re the exception to the rule and their stories naturally bear repetition.

Unless they’re your friends or family it’s unlikely you’ll get to hear about many people that failed in their quest to work their passion. Yet there are many more of them than there are runaway success stories.

This may sound like the words of a naysayer and doom merchant, but nothing could be further from the truth. Am I saying do not chase your calling in life? Absolutely not. I just want you to do it with your eyes wide open, stay flexible in your approach, but most of all, and understand your values:

Do Your Values Align?

What about this scenario? You get the job of your dreams in a traveling circus and you absolutely love it. However, the pay is atrocious and you find out that the performing Chimp in the red stripy pants is earning a buck an hour more than you.

Worse than that, the hours are ridiculously long and you are working all over the country, which keeps you away from your beloved family. Suddenly the whole deal doesn’t seem quite as enticing, does it? Ok, so you’re not one of those poor unfortunate souls whose every working hour is spent wishing they were somewhere else, but you’re not exactly living a Utopian ideal either.

So what’s the deal? After all it’s what you always wanted to do and the books have told you to go and do what your heart tells you to do.

The drawback with this situation is that although you love the job, you’re still not meeting your ALL own value needs, and these are the things that truly dictate how happy and content you are at your core level.

You may well have nailed the work side of your life, but that is only one aspect of your day-to-day existence and if other areas are collapsing around your ears a great job will be a minor consolation.

If family is absolutely critical to you then being away from home is going to be unacceptable, no matter how much you love the job or how much money it pays you. You simply cannot compromise your top values without seeing negative side effects.

I was working with a client one time that was looking to start up his own business. We were discussing what he was passionate about and it was so incredibly niche there seemed few if any opportunities to make money without uprooting his family again. This led to a momentary impasse as we looked for ways to advance the process.

Then a thought occurred to me. What if we forgot about the specifics of the passion and just tried to align his values with the values of the business? After all, it’s values that dictate your passions and its values that are at the core of who you are as an individual. Surely then, they are the logical starting point?

Imagine you’re looking to change careers or start your own business and you have done a proper value assessment and your top 8 top values are as follows: Family, Wealth, Commitment, Passion, Peace, Fun, Leadership and Open-mindedness

If you could do something that met (or at the very least didn’t conflict with) all those values and also met them for your employees too, wouldn’t that be something to get really excited about?

Would it really matter what the business actually did, couldn’t you get passionate about what it stood for just as much as what it produced or offered? The fact is, as I’m sure you well know if you’re a business owner of more than a couple of people, you should be working on your business in a strategic sense anyway and leaving the minutiae to others.

Do you think Warren Buffet is enthusiastic about the products or services of the businesses he buys? On the whole I doubt it, but I’m damn sure he values people and creating sustainable successful companies for those people to work in.

If you’re sick of compromising and you now want to follow your passion I whole-heartedly applaud you. Just make sure you use your values as the starting point and refuse to allow yourself to be dragged away from then however tempting something may at first appear.

Tim Brownson is a Certified Life Coach and NLP Master Practitioner and the co-author of How To Be Rich and Happy. You can read more at The Discomfort Zone.

1. Letting Your Passion Lead You
2. Think For Yourself, And The World Will Follow (Eventually)
3. Ahh… the Simple Life

Photo by Anthony DeLorenzo

Let’s see a show of hands: Anyone in the audience tried to sell something online, but failed miserably?

(Here’s to hoping I’m not the only one with my hand raised….)

We launched the Making Web Video that Sells toolkit a while back to a “meh” reaction. This floored me.

I had put so much time and hard work into a product, only to see it flop miserably. I’ll be honest with you: the sales stunk.

It’s a pretty humbling experience to watch something that you’ve poured yourself into for months do a cyber bellyflop.

A Growing Trend

Some Most iPhone developers are noticing that it’s not all popcorn and cotton candy developing iPhone apps. In fact, it’s hard for many to break even. Most iPhone developers are forced to drop their app price down to $0.99 in order to get traction, even though the application cost a lot to make.

It seems that people are content to pay less and less for digital goods, and expect more out of them. Shoot, most of us in our Google-filled existence have come to expect paying nothing for fantastic products. (Read Jonathan Field’s excellent post on the FREE movement.)

For those of us who create digital goods, the future looks bleak.

Or does it?

The Toolkit

We had initially priced at $67, which is what we thought that people would pay for a resource of it’s nature.

But I don’t blame the poopy economy or anyone else for the toolkit’s dismal launch.

The fact is, the poor launch was my own fault.

But before I get into why the toolkit didn’t sell well, let’s get something clear first.

I know people are paying for premium products.

In fact, people are always paying for premium products. Case in point: Apple.

Apple is managing to have another absolutely stellar year in the midst of a recession. Yet compared to other competitors, their products are sometimes twice as expensive. On paper, Apple’s company ship should be sinking. But they’re far from doing that.

Apple easily outsold the competition because they ruled in perceived value.

It’s All About Perceived Value

How much do people think your product is worth? Ask nearly any Mac owner and he’ll tell you that his laptop or iPhone was worth every penny. But was it really? Do you think Apple can justify their much higher pricing?

It doesn’t matter.

Apple could charge three times more than what they currently charge for an iPhone, and if people still bought their products, then that’s what the iPhone is worth.

Value is only perceived. Which brings us back to my selling problems.

The reason that the toolkit did so poorly wasn’t because it was priced too high or too low. The problem was that potential buyers didn’t think it was worth the price.

I did a poor job of conveying value. I didn’t know the first thing about copywriting, and the sales page only showed what the toolkit did, and didn’t focus on how it could really help potential buyers. I did a pitiful job inspiring people, instead only giving them the benefits.

Do I think that the toolkit is worth every penny? Absolutely. I know how many hours Doug and I worked putting it together. It’s a one-of-a-kind comprehensive resource. But until I can convince the buyer that it is an incredible resource, the sales will remain flat.

Irrational Buyers

Most of the things we buy aren’t out of necessity. We buy them because our emotions tell us to. It’s been proven that smells, sounds and other sensory stimuli are the catalysts for purchasing. The senses arouse emotions, and more often than not our emotions decide what we buy.

Armed with this helpful insight, than it’s clear that people will pay for something if they literally feel that it will make them happier, skinnier, or wealthier. Cold, hard logic doesn’t have much to do with it.

So if emotions are writing the checks, then what do we have to do to make the sale?

The Number One Secret to Digital Sales Is…

If you’re going to be successful selling digital goods (or physical goods), you have to inspire people and get them excited about the product.

It’s as simple as that. Sounds simple, right?

Excited customers love what they buy, and in turn share it with others. They’re your best form of advertising.

Anyway, I just thought I’d share my experience struggles trying to sell a premium product. I hope me writing about my mistake will help you if you’re trying to sell a product on the web. Because it can be done, and it can be done well.

Just because selling on the Internet can be difficult doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. Learn, adjust, and try it again.

We’ll get the hang of it.

But until we do: Remember that it’s only work. There are plenty of things more important than commercial success of a product. The second you get wrapped up into the success of something you’ve created, that’s when you start making decisions for the wrong reasons.

There are plenty of things that are more important.

Today is an exciting day. We’re officially re-launching a pre-sale on the Making Web Video That Sells toolkit.

Confused? Yeah, me too.

So, in one of my major bonehead, palm-to-forehead moves, I tweeted about the fact that Making Web Video That Sells toolkit was live for pre-launch. Then I heard crickets. Why? Because I tweeted it in the afternoon of July 2, when many people had the next day off (or called in “sick”) for 4th of July festivities.

So, we’re re-launching our pre-launch for the toolkit, and I’ve got a nifty video to show what exactly this toolkit is and does.

Like the video says, it’s a total resource. It’s not a static document; it’s an ever-changing resource. We’ll be continually adding to it, as technology changes over time. More screencasts, more chapters, more tools and we’ll even remove the outdated stuff.

One good thing that has come out of this confusing pre-launch is that the makers of the incredible screencasting software ScreenFlow have given us a coupon code of 10% off ScreenFlow with the purchase of the toolkit. But the coupon code (and our reduced price) only lasts for a few more days, so you’ll want to act quickly.

So there you go. To take advantage of the sale price and ScreenFlow promotion, you can purchase directly below, or head over to WebWarriorTools for more info on the product.

1. Casual Friday Video: OKgo Music Video On Treadmills
2. Casual Friday Video: 3 Year Snapshot Video
3. Casual Friday Video: Ben Takes A Picture Of Himself Everyday

Photo by Zevotron

On most days there is blind woman that goes to the coffee shop I frequent. Karen’s one of the sweetest and most genuine people you’ll ever meet.

What’s most amazing about Karen is her complete trust in her guide dog, Comet. Comet leads her everywhere she needs to go, and allows Karen to do nearly everything that those of us blessed with two eyes can do. Comet leads Karen to the register, around tables, and waits patiently while Karen types away on her braille keyboard and sips coffee. Karen has given over control to something that she trusts completely. Comet senses this and never lets Karen down.

I’ve noticed that creative workers (ie. artists, writers, bloggers, musicians, etc.), sometimes fall prey to not letting their passion lead them. Instead of letting the fire in their gut create wonderful masterpieces, they let money or other forces control their output, and it changes things.

Sometimes you have to give up control of what you want, and let your passion lead you.

In 1995 bestselling author Steven Pressfield had the idea for The Legend of Bagger Vance, and almost didn’t work on it. Traditionally there isn’t much of a market for golf fiction, and he knew that if he wrote the novel it probably wouldn’t be read by many. Still, he had been given the idea, and he knew that he wouldn’t feel good about himself until he finished the work. The Legend of Bagger Vance is now an international bestseller, and touts a major motion picture based on the movie. Only because Pressfield followed his passion.

We humans are attracted to passion, and we can sense it immediately. It’s contagious. We thrive on it, and we thrive on others who have it. It’s a quality we all possess, but it’s not something we all use. In fact, many of us ignore what we’re really supposed to be doing, because it’s much “safer”. If we fail at what we really want to do, then it would devastate us, right?

Following our passion makes us vulnerable, as it exposes us for what we really are. It opens us up to critics, to people who wish they could find their own passion and ride it into the sunset. But they would rather scrutinize those who do what they love. We can’t be afraid of critics.

When it comes down to it, there really isn’t much of an option to being happy if we don’t follow our passion. Whether it’s writing, blogging, creating web sites, directing films, writing music… all of these things have to be directed by what’s in our gut and what’s in our heart. There can’t be any nagging thoughts about small market share, or competition, or public reaction. Those are just distractions to keep us from doing the real work that needs to be done, the work worth doing.

Nobody really follows an artist with a potentially great business plan. We follow passion. The business plan comes later.

1. Follow Your Passion Wisely…
2. Letting It Soak: A Success Strategy for Projects Needing Creativity
3. Off the Record: How Do You Like to Slack Off?