Let's face it – you have to be insane to leave the world of the employed and choose the path of starting your own business. The uncertainty of where your next paycheck will come from. The constant marketing and self-promotion. Always sporting a happy face at 7am or 5pm, even if you don't want to be at that networking event. The paperwork, the financial risk, the lack of structure, support and security. How does one do it?

If there is one thing you can count on in these uncertain times is that you can count on nothing except yourself. I'm not saying to trust no one, what I mean is that we are living in a time of accelerating change. What you can count on is that the way things are now can change in an instant. I sensed this in my own life fifteen years ago when I stepped out of the career track and into self-employment, and I feel the pace of change accelerating exponentially from year to year. So how to move forward without losing your way?

Being self-employed means being able to let go of the orderliness of knowing what you are going to do today, this week, a month from now, five years from now. Because most likely something will pop up today that could have the ability to completely change your life: a new client, a new opportunity, or a new situation, bad or good, within your control or outside of it.

The responsible thing to do is to earn a living. There are far easier ways of doing so than being self-employed.

[Read more →]

Why do so few people live up to their potential?

In his book “Linchpin”, Seth Godin posits that people who are remarkable are those who are totally dedicated to their “art”, exhibiting a willingness to plunge forward despite the fear and the risks, and deliver results that change the world around them.

In one of his blog posts, he asks the further question: How much support does someone need before they create remarkable results?

His observation:

“(…)Most mentors and coaches and teachers will tell you that few of their students ever do, not in comparison with their potential. A few break through and change everything, and we celebrate them, but what about everyone else?
The artists are different. They took a leap.
They weren't pushed. They jumped.”

What is the difference between jumping and being pushed?

[Read more →]

Why is it so tempting to procrastinate when faced with an otherwise simple task? Even if you have the skills, knowledge, experience, resources and even a great motivation to accomplish the task, there is something that can sabotage your best intentions, and before you know it, there goes another blown promise or missed deadline...

The culprit lies within the deepest recesses of our brain, in a primitive organ - the amygdala. This "lizard brain" is the centre of our basic emotions: fear, anger and sexual desire.

If fear exists is because it the amygdala senses a threat to our survival. Since the beginning of evolution, our natural fear reflex helped us to either avoid or react to the often fatal dangers we faced.  But does this visceral reaction still serve us well in our modern environment?

[Read more →]

I follow over 231 blogs on leadership, business, marketing and personal development using Google Reader.  As I browse the stream of ideas, there are some that catch my eye for one reason or another, which I post to my "shared" list. This creates an interesting blog available to you at http://www.google.com/reader/shared/davenderg .

Here are some recent articles I recommend:  [Read more →]

Do you have a task that you've been procrastinating on, one that gets bigger every day even though you're trying to ignore it? I usually have a couple of those on my list. These are tasks that I'm dreading for one reason or another: tediousness, refusal to face the truth, fear, shame...

The more I try to push these tasks to the future, the bigger they get, to the point that just resisting them is sapping my energy and blocking my ability to spot and respond to other opportunities.

So it's time to do something about it.   [Read more →]

If you say "yes", is it a lifelong contract?

The situation you're in when you said "yes" may change.  The commitment may not turn out to be what was promised. Things may not be happening as expected.

The key is to check your "happiness meter".  Are you enjoying yourself in the commitment? You may be working hard, even struggling, but you still find meaning in the commitment, something worthwhile for you. Then by all means, stay committed. But if the commitment has lost its meaning, give yourself permission to rethink the situation. [Read more →]