If You REALLY Look Forward to Friday – Maybe You Need an Excellent Adventure
Published July 16, 2010 | 
Are you champing at the bit when Friday rolls around? Excited to know for 48 hours you can give your crazy work pace a break and chill out?
The purpose of life is to be happy. To create the condition of happiness. It’s also to have an experience that satisfies our curiosity and longing to discover the world around us. First we must give to ourselves. Make ourselves happy. Then we can give to others and make their lives better.
Pretty tough struggle doing that from a cubicle.
Also, challenging with a business where you do the same thing over and over. Having Tupperware parties. Recruiting distributors. Or, selling houses. Over and over.
I get it. It costs money to live. Believe me, I’ve been working since I was 12 years old. I worked through college. I worked through divorce when I was heartbroken. I got to work two days after moving from Detroit to San Diego. I worked when I was married and when I was single. I’ve known disappointing struggle and dizzying success.
I’ve spent many years doing the “work as passion” thing. It feels less like work. Yes, it’s completely possible to love your work. However, no matter how you frame it, some things still feel like work. After all, helping people solve problems is why many businesses exist.
When you wake up if you can’t wait for it to be your day off, maybe you need an excellent adventure. Most home-based business owners never take a day off. We may lighten up on the weekend. But, if you’re truly dedicated and creating cash flow, true days off are far and few between.
Here’s a little homework assignment: go to http://www.bing.com It’s a search engine competing against the big boys: Google and Yahoo. Every day they display a beautiful picture. It might be the skyline of a European city. Fishermen off the coast of India. Or, a gorgeous shot of the Liberty Bell on the Fourth of July.
Mouse over the picture and you’ll see questions appear. Click to discover the answers. You’ll learn about an area of the world perhaps you never considered. There are people living, eating, working there every day. It’s a small, safe, free way to take a mini, five-minute excellent adventure.
Sure, an excellent adventure is far, far bigger. But it’s one tiny way to whet your appetite. Get started now.
Pack Everything for Your Adventure in One Bag (video)
Published July 15, 2010 | I used to pack heavy. I took lots of business trips to fancy-schmancy resort hotels. I was working 12-14 hour days and rarely got out of the hotel. I knew I was seen by a lot of people at these big seminars, especially the days I was speaking on the platform. So, I would bring a totally different outfit – from earrings to shoes for each day. Everything I’m reading lately says the best system is to travel carry-on style and pack everything in one small wheelie bag.
Do you agree? In “The 4-hour Work Week” author Timothy Ferriss says traveling with a full set of luggage around the world is hell on earth. Last year, Ernie and I took a Royal Caribbean cruise and one woman I met made the entire trip with a carry-on bag. That takes courage on a cruise where you’re supposed to be dolled up for dinner every evening. Ferriss says his system is to travel with one carry-on bag and suggests you have a small budget to buy more stuff when you arrive at your destination. Besides, bottles of lotion and conditioner always have a way of exploding while in flight anyway.
Below is a video all about how to pack uber light. For me, this would be a big change. A change Ernie would probably appreciate. This is about how much I pack when we go out of town for two nights to visit our grandkids in California. I can’t imagine packing like this for a few weeks. What’s your experience of “traveling light” or “traveling heavy?”
Packing Light for Your Excellent Adventure
I recently heard the airlines are going to start charging even for carry on luggage. Anyone hear anything about that?
Posted in Excellent Adventure, Travel Adventures | 
adventure, system, travel, video | 
Leave a commentWhat’s Your Secret Excellent Adventure?
Published July 13, 2010 | Y’know, the one you’re shy about talking with people about.
Maybe you’re set in your business or your career and you don’t want to upset the applecart. After all, the economy is improving – but by any measure it’s limping back – not exactly jumping for joy. You don’t want to speak about it too much because maybe you’re afraid it’ll consume you in it’s grip and there’s nothing else you want to do. You know the one.
Maybe it’s a new passion. Or maybe it’s something you’ve wanted to do all along but you just haven’t figured out a way to make money with it. Plus you have a “monthly nut” you need to cover to have “a life.”
I want you to consider doing something new with your life: there’s always a way. You may not know what the way is yet. I may not know what the way is yet. But at least be open to exploring the possibilities.
Martin Luther King said, “You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the next step.”
If you’re a woman and you have challenges with marketing and selling, get my book, “Testosterone-Free Marketing.” I promise it’ll help you to understand the fear you have around asking people for money and what that whole baloney is about. I promise. Go to http://www.tfmbook.com
If you want to create income online from blogging and somehow monetizing the special information you have, I recommend two other books, “Now is the Time to Crush it: Cash in on Your Passion” by Gary Vaynerchuk and “The 4-hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferriss. Both can give you a general road map. This is what I’m shaping for my life right now. Hey, in a month I’m up to almost 500 folks on my fan page.
If you’d like to take those general ideas and make ‘em a lot more specific, I’m very good at helping people taking all these disparate ideas and help them crystallize ‘em and morph into something that’ll create an income stream doing what you love. Email me at mentoringwithDenise@hotmail.com
Most importantly, never give up on the Secret Adventure you want to create. It can lift you and bring more joy to your life that you ever thought imaginable. Anything that you can dream up – there’s always a way.
Posted in Adjusting to Change, Empower U, Excellent Adventure | adventure, dream, income, marketing, passion, selling | 2 CommentsOh, Just Stop It!! (video)
Published July 11, 2010 | Sometimes we have a tendency to make life more complicated then it has to be.
If there’s something you’re doing or not doing – that isn’t getting you the results you want in life – the answer is simple. It’s right here in this hilarious video.
Don’t over-complicate your life. You CAN make positive changes in an instant.
Enjoy!
Do You Deserve a Life of Excellent Adventures?
Published July 9, 2010 | Doris appears like a perfect politician’s wife. She’s lovely, tall and dresses well. In her 50s, her blue eyes still sparkle. My perception of Doris shifted when at my Excellent Adventure get-together at Starbucks this week, she whispered, “The biggest obstacle is deciding I deserve to live an excellent adventure.”
You could’ve knocked me over with a feather.
Our American work ethic is about working hard. Then, in your 60s you retire. The world has changed. It’s not unusual for people to work in their 70s now. We work harder, more hours and take less vacation time just to keep our heads above water.
The largest growth of jobs the last decade is not in the Fortune 1000 but in small business. Larger still, is growth in the “start your own business” sector.
We get caught up in maintaining the trappings of success. It’s pounded into our heads. Life should look a certain way. It’s not enough to be presentable and polite. Now we must have “a personal brand.” We miss out on living our excellent adventure because we’re too busy paying for everything.
The new “American Dream” is to live our passion – which can include a lot of financial ups and downs. However, we’re still supposed to maintain all the outer trappings. It also includes the latest iPad, smartphone and other gadgets. Maintaining that “look” or “brand” costs us the freedom to live our Excellent Adventure. We are trapped by our stuff and the expectation that we must keep buying more, even newer stuff.
Doris and her husband own a home in Las Vegas and another in New Mexico. Everything about them screams success. Inside, they both want something different. With their current lifestyle they can’t afford it. So, Doris wonders if she deserves it. I believe she does. If she and her husband are willing to make changes they’ll get there faster.
Consider the possibilities: trade down from a home with a $2,000 monthly mortgage and buy a condo with an $800 mortgage. That’s $1,200 per month in independence. Trade in the fancy SUV for more modest wheels and you free up money spent on payments, insurance and gasoline. Follow the rule you don’t buy something new unless you replace something old. You instantly have more money to live your excellent adventure and less clutter to organize. Life becomes streamlined.
You can live more authentically which truly is your personal brand.
Posted in Adjusting to Change, Excellent Adventure | adventure, American Dream, change, deserve, happiness, passion, success | 2 CommentsThe Paradox of Learning
Published July 8, 2010 | I walked out of the airport and was in Istanbul. A teeming city of 12.8 million people that straddles two continents, both Europe and Asia. The air sparkled from a recent rain and green leaves fluttered on the trees as cars whooshed by. Quickly, I hopped in a cab. Traffic signals and lanes mean nothing in Turkey. It was a death-defying ride to the hotel.
Turkey was an awakening. I didn’t know much about the country and the people. I loved everything about it.
The people were gracious, gentle and kind. The architecture and history was amazing. The food was, well, in a word, “yum.” The Grand Bazaar was an amazing day of sights, sounds and shopping. What’s not to love?
Didn’t research much beforehand. I was too busy with business. I knew what the weather would be like. I knew a few hotspots I wanted to visit. I knew it’s a more moderate country from its conservative neighbors. That was about it.
I mentioned in my last post sometimes as women we have a tendency to hesitate and over-analyze. We hold off from taking action and getting out of our comfort zone because we’re unsure if it’s the right thing to do. We take forever making decisions. Visiting Turkey was the perfect thing for me to do. The thing you’ve been hesitating about, your excellent adventure, is probably the right thing for you, too.
But doubts linger. So we hold back from something we really want to do. You may have no interest in visiting Turkey. Your excellent adventure may be something totally different
A few years ago I discovered something called, “The Paradox of Learning.” It speaks to how we can get overly caught up in analyzing, researching and not doing.
Let’s say you decide you want to do something to change your life – start a network marketing business, travel to Istanbul or play tennis in a tournament. You know almost nothing. Let’s say everything you know about it is the size of a grape. Everything you don’t know about playing tennis is touching the outside of that grape.
So, you decide to learn more about playing tennis – or whatever. You watch a couple tennis matches on TV. Now everything you know about tennis is the size of a lime. Which means everything you don’t know is touching the outside of that lime.
You decide to learn more. You buy a couple books about tennis. Everything you know about tennis is now about the size of an orange – but everything you don’t know? It’s grown, too.
You research online about tennis. You spend endless hours hunched over your keyboard. Everything you know about tennis is about the size of a cantaloupe. But what’s happened to what you don’t know? It keeps growing.
So when do you know that you know enough?
Answer: when you know that you don’t know everything – but you’re willing to get out of your comfort zone, take a risk and get started. That’s when you know enough.
Posted in Adjusting to Change, Excellent Adventure, Personal Growth, Travel Adventures | adventure, change, comfort zone, doubt, fear, travel | 6 CommentsLife is About Taking Action
Published July 6, 2010 | Yesterday I mentioned I’m starting to realize what I don’t know, and, what I need to know to make a successful shift to living an excellent adventure. For me it’s a lot of tekky stuff. The minute I just THINK about doing tekky stuff I want to stick knitting needles in my eyeballs.
I tell myself – I’d rather write a few articles. Or, it’s easier to get a new client offline. Or, I’ll do both. Sure, I’ve blogged before. Heck, I’ve been doing online networking for seven years – but now my aim is to make it all an integral part of my business and make it work together. Totally different. And for me, not always fun. Not yet anyway.
Because when I click on a button and it doesn’t work or doesn’t hook together two things that are supposed to hook together – I just want to fall into a heap and cry. I really do.
There is this tendency (I wrote about this in my book) for home-based business owners – especially women, to think they have to research and know everything before they can actually launch and get out there. If they have a business selling lotions and potions they have to know absolutely everything about the product so they can answer any possible question. Right down to the mollecular structure. If a woman wants to start an internet business she wants to study every comparable website out there before making a move.
So, we tend to get understandably upset when we see a guy who doesn’t seem to know nearly as much as us – and they just jump in and scoop up the customers and the market we were researching, studying and planning to get into for so long.
The difference? He may not have the technical knowledge. But he has the confidence perhaps you lack and he took action. You may still be safely ensconced in your comfort zone.
Business is not a research project. It’s about taking action. In fact, life is about taking action, too. What action do you need to take that you’ve been holding off on?
NOTE: Tomorrow’s post will be about “The Paradox of Learning.” Come back for the rest of the story.
At Least I’m Starting to Know What I Don’t Know
Published July 5, 2010 | Have you ever heard that expression that perfect is often the enemy of good?
It means sometimes we feel we have to do something perfect. Unfortunately, this keeps us from actually DOING something because we don’t have it perfect yet – so we hesitate from pulling the trigger.
Today I woke up feeling like I need to get a handle on online marketing. I trotted off to my local Barnes & Noble to see what I 
could learn. I started online networking seven years ago. I’ve been getting clients online for years now. I’ve done blogs for several year. Tis isn’t my first rodeo. But there are a holes in my knowledge.
I have confidence in my ability to sell offline. I have confidence in my ability to write articles and posts that move people. I’ve sold a lot of my books from my website. I can talk a good game with most web designers. I have a lot of knowledge – but I haven’t put it together.
I’ve resisted because I’d rather write than figure out the tekky stuff. Honestly, just thinking about it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I get all goose-bumply. But keeping my head in the sand won’t get me anywhere. It’s time to get over the lumps and bumps.
While at Barnes & Noble, I found eight books (maybe nine) I felt I could learn from. A lot of what’s in those books may be a repeat of what I already know. Even if I get a few tips, well, that’s a big help.
Even though it may seem like you have a lot still to learn – get started. It may not be perfect. Start putting it together anyway. There’s nothing like doing. Far, far better than reading and observing.
What can you do in the next 24 hours that’s a tiny bit out there that’ll get you closer to your goals? Closer to your excellent adventure?
All the best,
Denise Michaels
Author, “Testosterone-Free Marketing”
Getting Beyond Rational Dis-belief
Published July 4, 2010 | On Saturday I spent several hours on the computer looking at different accomodations around the world. These were vacation rentals – apartments, condos and houses for rent rather than hotel rooms, Amazingly, a nicely furnished apartment can be had often for less than a mid-level hotel room.
I was shocked when I discovered that a small, well-furnished apartment can be had less expensively than a hostel for two. When you’re renting a home with a kitchen you can go to the market, by groceries, fix some meals, relax on the sofa in the living room… and generally feel more like a local. Check out http://www.vrbo.com to see for yourself.
At one point, my husband Ernie sighed and said, “Its’ nice to dream, isn’t it?”
I knew where he was going. He sees none of this as real. He doesn’t believe it’s possible.
Okay, it’s true. We haven’t figured it all out yet. Right now my primary income stream comes from marketing mentoring – which I can do on the phone. But most of my clients want to meet me in person. Plus, if I’m eight time zones away, I don’t want to have to get up at 2:00 am in the morning to do a mentoring call with a client. I love mentoring, but I’ve found when I travel it can be difficult if a flight is late or if something goes awry in my schedule.
So, I’m looking at income streams I can create purely from my laptop. And, I want to do a lot more writing. After all, what could be better than sitting on a beach or in a cafe watching life go by while writing? To me, that sounds like bliss.
I don’t know what all the answers are yet – but I positively do know that if I don’t believe it’s possible it will never happen. I know that if I see the obstacles as insurmountable – they will be.
As much as I love to write – I dislike doing tekky stuff. So, I know their will be times when I’m frustrated because I don’t know how to solve everything yet. It’s still a challenge. But I’m determined to try. Determined to stay positive.
I hope you are, too. Keep your mind open to possibilities and the solutions are much more likely to fall in your lap.
Stay positive. Stay excellent.
All the best,
Denise Michaels
Author, “Testosterone-Free Marketing”
Dare to Be a Kid Again
Published July 4, 2010 | Okay, I didn’t write this – and I admit – I don’t know who did. But it made me smile and I thought it might make you smile, too.
Dare to be A Kid Again
1. Do a cartwheel.
2. Sing into your hairbrush.
3. Walk barefoot in wet grass.
4. Play a song you like really loud, over and over.
5. Dot all your “i”’s with smiley faces.
6. Read the funnies. Throw the rest of the paper away.
7. Dunk your cookies.
8. Play a game where you make up the rules as you go along.
9. Step carefully over sidewalk cracks.
10. Change into some play clothes.
11. Try to get someone to trade you a better sandwich.
12. Eat ice cream for breakfast.
13. Kiss a frog, just in case.
14. Blow the wrapper off a straw.
15. Have someone read you a story.
16. Find some pretty stones and save them.
17. Wear your favorite shirt with you favorite pants even if they don’t match.
18. Take a running jump over a big puddle.
19. Get someone to buy you something you really don’t need.
20. Hide your vegetables under your napkin.
21. Stay up past your bedtime.
22. Eat dessert first.
23. Fuss a little, then take a nap.
24. Wear red gym shoes.
25. Put way too much sugar on your cereal.
26. Make cool screeching noises every time you turn a corner.
27. Giggle a lot for no reason.
28. Give yourself a gold star for everything you do today.
PS: I’m making my life an excellent adventure and shifting to make changes with more writing and travel. If you have your own excellent adventure you want to create, join me on my journey on my Facebook fan page, Denise Michaels Excellent Adventure.
Welcome!
Dedicated to every 40+ person still kickin' it. If you have dreams and adventures you refuse to abandon - follow me on the journey. Life is one big adventure! Make yours excellent.
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