Remabulous

@garyvee and me on stakeouts.

I met Gary Vaynerchuk today at a seminar I'm attending this week. If you don't know who he is, search his name on YouTube. He signed a really big book deal this year and his book is coming out in a few days in October.

I have to say, I am now a huge fan. I liked him before, but not only did he make us all laugh for over 2 hours, stay until we all got to ask him a question directly, but he is into my stakeout thing.

So, as you all know, I put stakeout on the birthday 32 for 32 list. It's #32 and I have been excited about it for a really long time. I have wanted a show, I have wanted to find a way to stake out LA- I even bought the url, but I was worried it would be a weird thing for a business coach to do publicly. I was very lucky that my neighbor had her own flip and was therefore willing to film me with mine so we got Gary and me live in the video above.

Stakeout, here I come! Look for a dedicated stakeout blog soon.... very soon.

A new era...

This image is a poetic representation of where we are now at Remabulous. A big new story is going to start playing out on our screen. I am excited to announce that we have a new website! It has been a labor of love these past few months and the product of collaboration between me and my amazing designer, Jessica Krewson, my web people at Full Partner, and my brother Tim Donahue who shot my video segments on the site.

I am really proud of this shift in look and design. And at the same time, I feel a bit of nostalgia as the old look goes away, and as the purpose of this blog will be changing.

I am going to move my business-related content and blog articles over to the blog at the new site. All articles that were originally published here will stay here, but from now on newsletter articles, Ask Remabulous, the podcast, and the business vlog will be over there.

So what's happening here? I am really excited to say that I am changing the blog here to focus on the 32 for 32 chronicles. I am hoping to bring you even more valuable content and stories over here for that part of the blog: I am going to be adding video, a podcast, and all kinds of new items. This is going to be my fun blog where I get to play again. I am so happy and hope you will enjoy both sides of the story from now on.

Look for a new design, coming soon, and all kinds of new goodies. If you have ideas, please share them below...

image: Klearchos Kapoutsis

Worried about failure? Expect it, instead.

I'm teaching a class on procrastination in a week, so I've been thinking a lot about fear of failure and fear of not doing things perfectly. For anyone who's struggling with this, I offer the above video for your consideration. It helps me with feeling stuck, and I hope it does the same for you...

32 for 32: Updates from the ninja kitchen.

So: here are my ninja training wheels. My mandoline is not quite as snazzy as the one in this video, but it still made beautiful thin ribbons out of the shallots I ran through it on Sunday night.

When I tried to cut up a sweet potato for pretty little baked matchstick fries, we nearly had the texas chainsaw massacre on our hands. Make sure your veggies are ripe enough not to be as hard as rocks before running them through your mandoline, unless the cutting blade is made out of diamonds. My potato kept getting stuck, the guard wouldn't grip the surface of the vegetable and I eventually had to hack pieces of the sweet potato out of the mandoline, constantly fearing I was going to slip and open a vein.

Still, as I was preparing, I got a little bit snazzy with the garlic chopping and found I could mince with a more fearless "whap-whap-whap-whap-whap" kind of pace, rather than the usual "whap.....whap....whap.............whap."

We're getting somewhere!

In other list items:

• I downloaded the "couch to 5k" app for my iPhone. Has this made me run at all yet? No. But I feel good that it's there.

• Am on week two of homeopathic treatment for skin and am doing a juice detox cleanse for five days this week to clean out the system.

• Bought a souffle mold and a copper mixing bowl (Julia Child says it helps the souffle to stabilize) from Surfas, the most amazing cooking supply store I have ever been in. Wow. Too bad their site is down for maintenance as I write this. Check back. Really.

• Requested a bunch of souffle recipe books from the library... Hopefully I'll give one a go this weekend and have a video of success- or failure- up for everyone this week.

• Have my first organic delivery box arriving today. Sadly I can't cook any of it until this weekend after my cleanse is finished, but fresh veggies are a great way to come off a cleanse, so we're on track there.

Anyone achieve a goal this week? Please share it below in the comments!

Being a person in business instead of a businessperson.

This morning, while I was doing a short meditation, the phrase "person in business" came into my head. At first, it didn't feel terribly exciting, but as I thought about it, I realized that there was much more to it than just a little shift in order.

Many of us go into business as entrepreneurs because we want to be people first, that happen to have businesses that are extensions of our values and vision. However, as we get into the nitty gritty and nuts and bolts of building that business, many of us gradually become businesspeople: the business gets put before who we actually are.

I have been thinking about this concept since I talked to my teacher yesterday and wrote the post about standing yourself up. I noticed last night as I was, yet again, one the computer unto the evening, that I was standing myself up as a person in favor of business. I had planned a relaxing evening with a book, but I was choosing to keep mucking about on the computer.

"I'm standing myself up right now!" I thought.

So I went and read and it was lovely.

How do you run your life like you are a businessperson instead of a person in business? Try remembering to put yourself first this week and see if your business doesn't happen to respect you and your need for balance a bit more...

image: mrMark.

Make space for yourself! Are you pushing your own buttons?

Sometimes, things don't go according to plan. We cannot control the outside world, much as we'd love to, so our actions and choices as business owners, and simply as people, are limited to what we say and do ourselves. 

 

This is a good reminder. This past week,  I introduced my neighbors' chickens on the vlog. These might be the luckiest chickens on earth. Well cared for, loved, and living in a penthouse-quality coop in a beautiful garden. What a great life! As I contemplated how important it is to me that the eggs I eat come from happy chickens like my neighbors, I realized that we as business owners sometimes treat ourselves like factory chickens: no time outside, long hours "cooped up" without exercise- sound familiar? 

 

For all of us who interact with the world, we are bound to find issues, people and situations that push our buttons. Perhaps we dislike lateness, or messiness, badly treated chickens or unexpected changes in plans. These are just suggestions, but we all have our buttons and we know when they have been pushed. 

 

When we get set off, we usually go into a reaction right away. "This shouldn't be happening!" we think, or possibly "Why do I have to deal with this?" or "This is a disaster!" (on our more dramatic days) 

 

Once we get through that part, here's where we can benefit from the experience and make some positive change in our own lives. Stop to consider for a moment:

 

"Is the reason I am so upset about this because I push this button on myself?"

 

When I asked this question after the stand up date, I realized that yes, I do stand myself up all the time: missing exercise dates I make for myself, working later than I intend to and not giving myself the reward of a break or a film in the evening. 

 

It's every bit as hurtful when we let ourselves down as when someone else does it. Plus, realizing we are just as capable of screwing up as anyone else is, can help us have more compassion and patience for both us and them.

 

So this week, when you hit a roadblock and want to get upset with the world for doing this to you, give yourself space for that reaction and then ask:

 

"Is this perhaps a reminder that I could be treating myself a little bit better?"

 

Being kind to yourself and offering a treat or a free hug, as pictured above is a great way to lessen the impact of upsets outside your control.

 

Please share your thoughts and discoveries as you play with this idea in the comments below. Let's all learn from each other. 

image: kalandrakas

Be a free range business owner! Video Friday.

I keep having aha moments about business from the Omnivore's Dilemma. Plus, I am way overdue introducing my neighbors' ladies. Hope you enjoy this week's tip on being a free range business owner from Remabulous!

Omnivore's Dilemma: a Remabulous Read

Many moons ago, I promised in a newsletter that I was going to read and review the Omnivore's Dilemma. I got a ton of positive responses to this announcement, then promptly got very busy and was waylaid in my reading. 

We keep our promises here at Remabulous, and so here I am a few weeks late with thoughts on the book.

It is a heavy hitter. I had to go to the grocery store today to pick up a few things and found myself reading the entire milk container to make sure I was picking the organic milk from the closest dairy and found myself wanting to visit the dairy to make sure I approved of its practices. When they say the cows get to exercise, what does that mean exactly?

Food is something we take for granted on an increasingly dangerous level in this country. And sadly, instead of learning from countries with healthier attitudes than our own, we seem to pass our own practices on to them.

What does this have to do with business? A whole lot, I think, as much of what has gotten us in this mess is everything to do with business. "It's just business" is the reason behind lots of suffering. I do eat meat, and this book did not send me back to my vegetarian past, but it did ensure that the meat I do eat will come from the farmer's market and a source I can talk to about its practices rather than an anonymous grocery store.

We as entrepreneurs have such a gift we can give the world- our businesses can set the standard for new practices and ways of being in the world that can be shared with many others. Your cause may be different than mine, but these are my thoughts on why it's important to have a cause and what you can do in your business to support it:

image: KdB1.

Building a healthy business ecosystem.

 

On my travels, I was delighted to spend some time in peaceful New Hampshire at my mother's place, enjoying time reading and staring at a view of a calm lake, home to a number of loons and a somewhat secretive turtle. 

 

One of the stories that particularly grabbed me in my reading was the story of Polyface Farm in Virginia, which I discovered in the Omnivore's Dilemma. (pictured above, image: spicy bear)  The amazing beauty of this farm comes from the fact that each component of the farm nourishes all the others. To see what I mean more specifically, check out this video telling some of the farm's story.

 

This got me to thinking about business, as nearly everything does. One of the tenets of Polyface's philosophy is that health comes from allowing the farm's animals to follow their own nature and building the system around their instincts and preferences. 

 

What if success was the natural state of business, and any bumps in the road or setbacks were based on trying to force the market, and the world to accommodate to your business's ideas and methods? 

 

The market we are all working in now changes constantly and its nature is powerful and strong. What if we were to take on the belief that there is a logic to the market's nature and that we simply need to learn how to create a business that supports it's natural character? Then we can achieve healthy symbiosis between the two.

 

A bit on the philosophical end, but it is often these sorts of shifts that can be the most powerful advances in business. My mentor, Vanessa Summers, often says that business success is 80% psychology. That's a big number, and I do agree with her. 

 

How can you support the healthy equilibrium of your business's relationship to the market this week?  What if you saw the market as a cow or a chicken on your farm and cared for it, trying to meet its needs the best you could?

 

Perhaps you'll see a big jump in what it gives back to you. After all, making friends with the market and it's needs is never a bad idea. 

 

Let us know what you find and what you think... we'd love to hear your thoughts and responses in the comments below.

Home again, home again.

Back from a ten day adventure on the east coast full of energy and ready to get back into the mix. Sadly, my roommates, pictured above, were not feeling quite so energized when I returned home. With my neighbors hanging out with them, they don't have a lot to be stressed out about.

I am so happy to be home and, at the same time, I had a wonderful trip. It is always a good feeling to come back feeling grateful about where I live and the life I lead. And ten days away is a good long time to sink into a break. It feels more like a month that I was gone, given how much you can experience in a day when you are looking at new things and seeing people you don't get the chance to visit with often.

Highlights:

• Relaxing in New Hampshire at my Mom's place there. It is a beautiful place and some of the most quiet and peaceful sleep I have had in ages.
• A return to my old school in Maine for a quick peek, some dreamy coffee, dinner at my favorite restaurant, and some time reconnecting with my professor and my love of photography.
• A whirlwind tour of New York City to see my aunt and some of my travel partner-in-crime, Erin's friends and sister there. 

I have read a ton, finished off a few goals from 31 for 31 and am making pretty decent progress on 32 for 32...

Thanks to my friend Ruth's tips, the lack of sales tax in NH and the convenient location of a J Crew outlet, I am now the proud owner of 3 new pairs of lovely corduroy pants. Check that one off the list!

I found a mandoline slicer at a discount cooking supply shop and feel this will serve as training wheels in my quest to chop veggies like a ninja!

While away, my book on cheese making arrived. Many thanks to Jackie for my b-day gift card that paid for that puppy.

I had tons of time to read and finally got through Omnivore's Dilemma. I can't do it justice right now- it's getting its own review this week.

And most of all, I was reminded that stepping away from Remabulous completely for 10 days was the best thing I could have done for my business. The curriculum for my upcoming teleseminar course burst into my head all in one piece on the plane ride home today and I am so excited to get back to my clients I can barely take it.

I'll share more soon, but just wanted to write a little tonight and say I've missed being here. I'm excited to be back.