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Evolution, Divinity, Business, Mobile Devices -

Is Blogging Really Valuable and YOU WON

Your world is full of complex and contradictory information.

You are not alone. Your peer group is interested in and exposed to intelligent conversation about the nature of God, the exciting possibility of evolution inherent in technology and how this effects the valuation of a social network in an IPO.

The nature of life is to grow and to expand. The nature of writers is to write. What goes around comes around. There is no lack of perspectives on things that have stayed the same and things that have evolved or are evolving.

I created a story for my kids. A bedtime story. it is about a mouse named Miniecello. Miniecello is cool. Did I write this story? No. But I told the story, which makes it as good as written. I have told the story a dozen times. That is what really makes it already written. With speech recognition or wait, even hiring someone to transcribe it (better option for grammar, punctuation, etc.), if you know the story, you can write it.

What is valuable today?

I for one don’t think FB valuations are worth anywhere near what they toss around. What is FB? No one knows yet. That is the only reason I think the value of the company can be gambled on.

Even after Facebook has grown into the monster code beast that it is now, I still don’t think we know what it. Its like bees collecting pollen and nectar. They are sustaining the life of multitudes of life cycles, but all they want is nectar and pollen. The races being run online into the tech destiny that awaits us is really a giant beehive pollenating the flora and fauna of a new ecosystem. We can’t see it yet, but it is becoming something undreamed of.

But aside from the giant beehive metaphor, Facebook has little actual value to your life right now. (Yeah, the people who are teaching other people about how to make money with Facebook are getting value, and for some “God only knows why reason,” people are making money on games where people buy things that aren’t real, but are you really getting value from your FB time) – Unless you are getting information and connection that serves you in some fundamental way. And who am I to say?

If FB valuations are true, the company has created money out of ideas more spectacularly than most companies in history. However, a lot of programmers are looking at FB and thinking, “hmmm…You are making money on my data, my life, my presence… but I can create the same basic platform myself and hang out there with my friends and have more choice about where my data is used. And lets be real. FB is the kind of fast tech change that could quickly be replaced by another fast paced technology innovation that taps into the sex-drive of the world’s young adults to drive a platform for social interaction.

So who is creating value in your world?

Waze. Waze is creating value in my world. So is Apple. Because I can use Waze to improve my experience of driving and the iPhone (or any SmartPhone) runs Waze. (Waze delivers drive data, maps and instruction.)

Organic farmers that take care of the soil and grow food. These people are creating value. Conventional farmers that work hard for Agri-business are creating value for consumers (cheap, reliable food) and for the Mult-national corporations, which then pay out their employees which then pay for goods and services. Farmers create value.

Teachers create value. Especially teachers that listen to their students and care about their learning.

Bloggers? Shit. I am blogging now. I was about to question whether bloggers actually add much value in the world. What is the value of an idea? What is the value of sharing ideas? What is the value of the culture of idea sharing?

I don’t know, but a lot of bloggers are whiny baby bloggers. That shit sucks. Stop sucking and start adding value to the world.

I have been waking up shouting, “I won, I won, I won.” I am pretty certain that I don’t know the nature of God, the limits of science or the real meaning of life (though I have some hints) but I do know that getting born as a human being is pretty effin’ cool. Being born a human with an iPhone, an internet connection in my house and a grocery store within walking distance is PHENOMENAL. You won too. Don’t waste it whining, bitching and complaining. Add value to others and celebrate this amazing experience.

If you think this has been rambling nonsense, it may be. Or it may be genius. Look closely and you will find out.

Are you hungry for the authentic conversations, the abundant living, the meaningful work and the real value creation of innovation?

Fairfield, Iowa, March 25th

600 people came out to the Fairfield Arts and Convention center for the premiere of Oprah’s show about Fairfield, Iowa, in Fairfield Iowa.

She featured segments on a family life, transitions from military to sustainability, the Golden Domes, the pundits and the school, Maharishi School for the Age of Enlightenment. She shed light on why Fairfield has been voted, “Most Entrepreneurial Town Under 10,000,” “In the Top 12 Great Places You Never Heard Of” and why Stephen Covey, Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith and other great teachers come to such a small town.

I’m elated. Why? Because I am a fan of the Fairfield brand. I want to bring more people here for retreats, seminars and courses on personal growth, organizational development, sustainability, tech start-up and spiritual evolution.

And it is an unusual town.

The featured family, the Winers, are friends of ours through school, where our kids attend classes that, yes, include meditation time. I came skeptical. But the results for our kids prove a point. The school works to cultivate love of learning and a positive environment. My kids love going to school and are thriving (but I wouldn’t suggest they are perfect or problem free.)

Oprah featured an excellent segment on Troy Van Beek. Check out the show to get the full details of his remarkable journey and I will fill you in on what they left out. Troy and his partner Amy Greenfield are rocking out successful business practices in the realm of commercial scale sustainable energy production. http://www.idealenergyinc.com

If this show piqued your interest, it should! Fairfield has layer upon layer of rich resources for communities to study, model and develop.

If you want to get plugged into the events that are happening here, sign up for our Fairfield events list. We will send you periodic updates of seminars, events and courses on business and entrepreneurship, personal growth, organizational development, sustainability, tech start-up and spiritual evolution.

Or, click here for more information on the events list.

Seth

Brothers and Sisters,
Do not condemn for the words that I must speak.
But I have begun to develop psychological hives. An allergic reaction to repeated exposure to low quality material. Like cheap ear rings that leave skin green and swollen. The reaction is to the words “life coach.” Ugh. Blagh!

I may retire the term “coach” (see above links) in my work because it has become so watered down. You can become a “life coach” for $500. You can become a life coach in a weekend. Hell, you can just start calling yourself a life coach and no one will bat an eye because there isn’t any licensing.

In 2004, I was certified as a life coach with 4 Gateways Coaching. However, previous to this, I had studied and worked with the form for 8 years. Then from 2005 to 2009m in Boulder, Colorado, I practiced as a full time health coach. It was awesome. I worked at the amazing Mandala Integrative Medicine Clinic (now at the Integral Center in Boulder).

Health Coaching is catching on, and still maintains cred. My alma mater, The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, is not only the largest program of its kind, but also clearly the front runner in terms of efficacy and content. Nevertheless, there are many short course programs and diploma factories out there that are catching on the tails of the health revolution and wanting to capitalize on the wave.

Enjoying a rare break at Date with Destiny with the love of my life

“Coaching” (as a term outside of sports) was coined by Tony Robbins.He wanted a way to describe his results based process. I attended three Tony Robbins events in the last year. Unleash The Power within (Oprah recently aired her transformation experience at UPW), Date with Destiny and Business Mastery. At Business Mastery, Tony stated. “I feel like I have created a monster.” Referring to “coaching” and especially, “life coaching,” he used pretty strong words. Tony was preaching the gospel of truth. “Life coach” has come to mean “I don’t want to figure out what my real gifts are and then do the work to make them real.”

When I was seventeen, my friends and I (mostly high school drop outs, pot heads and general hoodlums without any fathers in their lives) listened to a lot of heavy metal. Believe it or not, from those chaotic times, I am able to harvest a nugget of wisdom. A metal group called Suicidal Tendencies recorded a song about the realities of growing up in shitty conditions. One of the lines is, “Oh, I’m sorry, have I offended you, well maybe you needed to be offended.” That attitude saved my life. I would have died if I hadn’t learned to cut through my own BS.

If you are a coach and find this post offensive, then take a look at what wick is getting lit. Are you a coach with moxy and spunk helping boatloads of people get turned on like Christmas lights? If so, what are you doing to differentiate yourself or maintain the integrity of your profession?

If you disagree with me entirely and can’t figure out why I referenced a heavy metal band from my youth. Well, my inner adolescent will happily take it up with you in a back alley. I however, will do my best to respond to your comments.

Excerpt:

THE PURPOSE OF CHAPTER 2:

In this chapter, you are going to get some useful tools on how to plan
effectively. You’ll learn how to turn your vision into smaller goals that you
can realistically achieve monthly, weekly, and daily.

CHANGE MONSTER!

The big resistance I hear about plans is, “What if things change?”

Then change your plans!

Just by planning, you are in a higher state of consciousness. You can see more clearly, you can be more effective.

Mastering the Planning Process

The essentials of a plan are:

1. Actions
2. Time
3. Sequence
4. Outcome

You don’t need to use the system that I use and offer here, but you do need a system that has the four elements mentioned here.

 Overcoming Resistance to Commitment

The plunging-in phase is analogous to jumping into an icy mountain
stream. At first, you have what we called in Outward Bound, the anti-dip. This is just avoiding discomfort. Once you make the plunge, whoo-hoo! It is enlivening, energizing, and chi- invigorating!

For seventy-two days I ventured over land and sea on the Hurricane Island
Outward Bound Wilderness Leadership Training. Jumping in icy waters
was par for the course. But did that make it any easier on day sixty-two than it was on day one? No way!

With greater responsibility comes more freedom, and with more freedom,
more responsibility. Plans free you from the spinning of ideas in your
head. Once on paper, you can appreciate the opportunity to be less afraid
and focus on action.

It is up to you to give your dreams everything you have!

Exercise:

Day One

Start by working BIG! Get a flip chart, a roll of newsprint, or some other big paper. Grab a handful of markers. Do a little dance party and you are ready!

Stand up, draw with markers, write BIG, use space, have symbols, lines,
squiggles. Feel free to doodle and design. These kinds of “games” and play
move you through feeling stuck. It keeps you in the game and lets the
subconscious mind work on the task at hand.

Okay, I know, we actually are still at the end of the visioning process and
just into the planning process. There is always some overlap between the
two. So here is my best version of vision into plan:

Keep working big, big, big. Use as much flip chart paper as you want and mind-map the whole vision. Really spend some time with this and flesh out your vision into specific milestones, dates, times, people, places, and things. Get out everything that you possibly can think of and map it.

Check out the book for the Day 2 and Day 3 planning exercises!

Let us know what you think / ask Seth ANY question / share your story!

I freakin’ love this.

Gary Vaynerchuk is speaking the gospel of the Xer, millenial, creative entrepreneur. It seems that a lot of young creative people get into business with a sense of entitlement and then feel resentment when their idea doesn’t make them a bunch of money. Guess what! The people that are crushing it with start-ups work their asses off. Now, if you know me, I work my ass off, but as my friend Joshua Onysko, founder of Pangea Organics taught me, “if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.” (I am interviewing Josh in March, stay tuned).

The cool thing is, that you really DO WANT TO CRUSH IT! If you can get past your fear, your doubts, your comfort zone and COMMIT, you will discover that you love to KICK ASS. Let’s get real. If you are 20-40 years old, creative and smart, then you have 1,001 good ideas. It is time to execute 1,000 ways on one or two of those good ideas. (The Steve Jobs quote flying around is say no to 1,000 ideas to do one well, but you can probably manage to do focus on 1 or 2 and get traction.)

It feels good to bring it like Bruce Lee. It feels good to step out on stage like Flo Rida and own it. Your stage might be a blog on Nepal. You stage might be coaching people. Find what you love and master it. Create a platform around it. Devote yourself to the subject matter and give tremendous value. I have done this with our free Business Accelerator Course, our Facebook Page for Indie Success (where I answer your questions every Monday and Friday.)

You ready? Start today by turning on your psychology. You don’t need to know any other steps other than this. Say out loud, “I am crushing it!,” “I am cultivating mastery,” “I am going to bring it like Bruce Lee,” “I am free to effin’ rock my world,” “I LOVE MY LIFE.” When you turn on your psychology, you flip the switch, and start acting accordingly.

Seth Braun, speaking at Start Up City in Des Moines

What does it take to succeed in taking an idea from Start Up to Exit Strategy?

Tomorrow, I am presenting to Des Moines Start Up City. I have been really pumped by this opportunity. I love hanging with entrepreneurs in their place. The energy is hot to the touch. It inspires me.

Add to that just coming off of the high of the fall Integral Incubator, the Date With Destiny event and then the epic Business Mastery event, which went a minimum of 12 hours a day for 5 days with world class teachers… and I am LIT UP to be speaking and sharing all this good stuff.

In preparing, for this talk, I decided to end with a quote from “The Art of The Start” by Guy Kawasaki, pg. 92.
The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything (get a copy if you don’t have it)

Take the “Red Pill”

This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.                      -The Matrix, 1999

“…The leaders of a new organization face the choice: reality or fantasy. The choice is as simple as Neo’s. If you want to be a successful bootstrapper, you have to take the red pill and determine how deep the rabbit hole called your organization goes. If you are serious about staying in touch with reality, these the ten most important questions you can ask:

1.   When is your product or service going to be ready for market?

2.   What are your true, fully loaded costs of operations?

3.   When will you run out of money?

4.   How much of your sales pipeline is going to convert?

5.   How much of your account receivables is collectable?

6.   What can your competitors products or services do that yours can’t?

7.   Who are your non-performing employees?

8.   Are you doing all you can to maximize shareholder value?

9.   What is your organization doing to change the world and make meaning?

10.                 How good are you as the leader of the organization?

This sums up the take away from Business Mastery. Achieving great marketplace success requires either:

A. A great deal of luck

B. A great deal of tenacity

C. A great deal of luck and tenacity

These questions are the wake up call. I have gotten the wake up call this year. It is time for me step the f up and deliver tremendous value to my clients. Honestly, I have been delivering mediocre to tepid value to my clients in my programs, speaking and materials. But with the new book, I set that bar high. I worked that material over and over and over again. As Oliver Wendell Holmes remarked, “a mind once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimension.” With the level of detail, care and attention I put into the book, I can’t go back to half-assing with any other aspect of the business.

Insane Optimism, Harsh Reality

In your start-up, whether you are an army  or one or you are launching a small army of engineers, sales people and administrators, are getting real with yourself? Don’t get me wrong, you have to have an insane delusion that you are going to succeed despite the odds being stacked against you (statistically speaking, starting a business is a losing proposition). But you have to be able to see reality as it is. Then you imagine as better than it is. Then you take action to make it that way.

The big take away I hope to impart in my talk tomorrow is one of emotional stamina. The start up entrepreneur has to have a reserve of emotional strength. This isn’t something you just hope for, it is something you cultivate. The best way I know is to invest in Indestructible Success. You can also study the Business Accelerator Video Course for free.

I am looking forward to learning as much as or more from the peeps at Des Moines Start Up City. Psyched to be speaking around the country this year at all these great events.

The process of success in any endeavor requires journeying on the archetypal hero’s path. This path requires us to confront monsters encounter metaphorical death and darkness and to recover the treasure from these deep places and bring it back to our community and world.

Don’t give when it looks bleak. The great tragedy that I see too often is the willingness to stop at the darkest point of the journey when the dawn is so close and success is just around the bend.

I have invested $20,000 in this book, not to mention countless thousands of hours. I’ve forgone more immediate income for a longer and broader sales strategy. I am ecstatic and have no regrets. I don’t know if the book will sell well. But I do know that the content is incredible. And I do know that thousands upon thousands of people are going to benefit from this work.

I can’t wait to share this book with you. And I hope that the main message of the book is conveyed thoroughly. Success is not about doing everything right. Success is the ability to get up quickly when you fall. Success is the ability to fail forward fast. It is not the absence of failure it is the presence of courage and confidence to continue…that is indestructible success.

This picture is of the print preview from info distributors. It is the galley and the cover. The book has been an extraordinary labor of love. I have made so many mistakes. Yet, I’ve never felt more enthusiastic about any creative work. The challenge has brought out the best in me and the best possible book. What we crave is not an easy life. What we crave is a meaningful life. When we are sufficiently challenged in a meaningful pursuit that makes life rich full and abundant.

Just recorded this quick reminder on why you need to fail in order to succeed. What do you need to develop in YOU to make the leap, to take the risks and to go for your goals and dreams?

Comparisons and Admiration

I admire Tony Robbins. He is a hero of mine. I am going to share with you some of what I learned at Date With Destiny as well as keeping it real with my own growth curve. Robbins work has helped me immensely. I’ve also made myself neurotic comparing myself to him.

Imagine that you are a professional basketball player. Let’s say you play for Greece or Spain and you are in the USA and attend a Chicago Bulls Game in 1993. You might feel equal parts admiration, inspiration and insecurity. Well, as a professional author, speaker and coach, that is kind of how I felt at Date With Destiny this year.

Here I am with the beautiful AnaVictoria Braun at our Date With Destiny event with Tony Robbins in Palm Desert in December of 2011

Let Me Tell You A Story…

Now, there is the truth about a thing and then there is the story we tell ourselves about the thing. In this case, the Truth is that Tony Robbins has a gift for helping people. Maybe it has to do with the fact that he has more human growth hormone in his body than the average person (due to a small benign tumor pressing against his pituitary gland.) That fact is that Robbins has a massive presence and uses it to help a lot of people. That is the truth. The story I tell myself is that he is special and I can’t create the same level of success. The truth here is that I have my own path and my own voice and that is what I can discover. I have seen and heard enough Tony Robbins rip-off artists. Not to say that I won’t steal his best ideas and use them to help people. I will. And in that way, I am like Tony, as he has been unabashed in his incorporation of new models and methods during his career.

I first studied Robbins work in 1995, when I was working at Creative Spirit Center in Midland, Michigan. There was an extensive community library of books on self-help, spirituality, personal growth, creativity, psychology, etc. I read both Unlimited Power and  Awaken The Giant within. I was in so much pain in my life at the time that my hunger and thirst for knowledge and healing drove me to not only study but also to obsessively apply what I was learning. And so I applied a great deal of the techniques with great success, especially in terms of living with purpose, with passion and improving my life conditions.

Date With Destiny delivered the expected content on peak states and some of the central concepts I studied fifteen years ago. DWD delivered a lot of surprises too.

Surprise! -Integral Theory and Practice

My friend and colleague Jason Digges recently wrote about a philosophical map called Integral Theory and why that map isn’t as widely used. It is an excellent article. I commented on the blog to the point that Integral theory is actually seeping into many different places but without the full trappings of someone who is converted. Tony’s Date With Destiny is a case in point. To say I was surprised is a turn of phrase to capture your attention. Actually, I wasn’t surprised at all. I know that Tony and Ken Wilber (recognized founder of Integral Theory) have been acquaintances for some time. And even more important, Integral Theory has the best maps. Tony uses the best tools and techniques out there. He is results oriented. Specifically, Tony taught or used Spiral Dynamics, masculine – feminine polarity, voice dialogue, archetypes, the process of seeing and being seen and referred to Byron Katie’s Work highly. Beyond the content, is the actual delivery in an integral way. That means that he was able to go to many places and take many perspectives some of which are a paradox. Where else can you participate in Oneness Blessing and listen to AC/DC? There were Burners, Corporate Execs, Moms, Small Business owners, Trust Funders, Professionals, Investors, and the seminar junkies all together… Now many people aspire to teach the content that  Tony is teaching to the diverse audience that Tony attracts, but few pull it off. I haven’t yet been able to find that sweet spot but I am looking forward to it!

You’re No Tony Robbins

As I reflect on the trip back in my office, I am clear that I am no Tony Robbins. There is the story about that and then there is the truth. The story is about comparing myself to an idea that I have about this person I actually know little about. The truth is that I am inspired by the Date With Destiny experience and the work of Tony Robbins AND I am committed to developing my unique, gifts, talents and capacities as a facilitator, strategist, speaker, coach and author.

Persistence – the ability to endure in action in spite of obstacles and set backs

(Definition by Seth Braun)

My book will be done next month… I have been saying that for a lot of months. And now it comes to this…

Layout sample of the inside of Indestructible Success

I am working on the layout of Indestructible Success with my colleague Sylvie Abecassis (who did the layout and design for my first best-seller, Healthy, Fast and Cheap) and heading into the last stretch.  Bringing this book into the final phase has been humbling and humorous. Interesting how those words are so similar. Like humus, the stuff of great soil.

Design for section headings in Indestructible Success

Now the thing is, that I have done my best to write a book that I think will be supremely valuable to young entrepreneurs and small business owners in the LoHaS, Cultural Creative, Knowledge worker economy. But to do that well, I have had to cut, shred, chop, change, polish, add, take away, burn and otherwise improve the book repeatedly.

Layout for the chapter titles and opening statements for each chapter of Indestructible Success

For instance, when I printed the first 30 copies for review (in plastic binding on 8.5″ by 11″ paper) I was told that I hadn’t provided enough personal stories of success to earn the credibility from my reader. Then, when I printed off 100 more copies from a vanity print on demand publisher, I was told I had too many stories that muddied up and diluted the message. Each time I got feedback like this, my first reaction was something like, (and this was in my head, not to anyone, thank God) “eff you… what do you know about books anyway… I don’t need to change this… it is an expression of my artistic purity to honor the mark of the pen at that time… I mean, what would this book be if I changed that part… I mean, it does kind of seem like it would help… maybe I need to change it… dang… they are right about that feedback aren’t they! That is basically how the feedback process would go, over and over again. Finally, I just recognized the pattern for what it is. Just monkey chatter in my mind. It is good though. Now I can accept feedback much quicker. The little defensive voice is like traffic stopping to look at a milk truck accident. “Move along there, nothing to see, just keep moving,” I tell myself.

recap and self study layout for each chapter in Indestructible Success

You may be able to see from this post that I have reverted to the original subtitle of the book, “Creative Entrepreneurship and the Art of Small Business” after going through three “final” changes that included “Creativity, Leadership and the Art of Small Business” and “Creativity, Leadership and Making Your Dreams Reality.” But through a series of left and right brain realizations, the subtitle is back to the first one that really stuck. I am glad.

Persistence… I have had the thought… “How can I be stuck with the book if I am supposed to be writing about “Indestructible Success,” so many times that I made friends with that thought too. And I have come to own that Indestructible Success is not about consistent focus, productivity and confidence. Indestructible Success is accepting that I am a moron sometimes, and that is OK. I can still create value, contribution, and art that is cool, inspiring and kicks butt. It may even kick butt more because I am a little flaky, a little brilliant and a little behind schedule.

What great project have you been putting off doing? Where do you need to persist in creation?