Avsnitt
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As 2023 started, I invited Audrey Holst of Fortitude and Flow and Erica Holthausen from Catchline Communications to come back for a conversation on the topic of why we do the work we do and all the smaller questions attached to that. The chats we three enjoy are some of my favorites, and this one raised the bar even higher. We had much to talk about, including:
** What becomes possible when basics are taken care of?
** Redefining the rich life.
** What the gym can teach us about business.
** Stepping back from the production/consumption loop.
** Variable-Speed working
Find Audrey at https://fortitudeandflow.com
Find Erica at https://catchlinecommunications.com
All three of us are active on LinkedIn, too.
As always, thanks for listening, subscribing, reviewing, and sharing Your Own Best Company with Franklin Taggart!
#podcast #career #solopreneur
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The first online networking mixer I ever attended in 2021 had over 100 attendees. The hosts had to pay for the extra space and had inadvertently disabled the breakout room assignments when they did. As the event ground to a halt, the host apologized and then asked, "Is Robbie Samuels here?" From one of the many screens and rows of faces came the reply, "Yes, I'm here." With a couple of his brief suggestions, the problem was solved and the rest of the meeting went off without a hitch.
I spend around 90 percent of my working time in online meetings. From podcast interviews to coaching clients to group calls to summits and webinars - not a day goes by when I wouldn't love to have Robbie's expertise in the room. Robbie's new book, Break Out of Boredom: Low-Tech Solutions for Highly Engaging Zoom Events makes his expertise available to all of us, and it will raise the bar in every kind of online gathering we present. (The book was released today and is available at my associates link: https://amzn.to/3LkBkRh)
Some of the cool things I added to my list of Zoom skills from reading this are:
** The Mirroring Technique - A way to make sure you're pointing in the right direction when you're drawing attention to a specific object or screen area.
** Making my screen sharing more interesting by using less text, larger text, and more images in my presentations.
** Situating my camera for optimal eye contact.
** Improving the safety and security of my events.
He includes a complete walkthrough of all Zoom settings in both free and paid versions, and there are some additional resources available as downloads, including pre-planning meeting checklists, speaker preparation ideas, printable engagement tools, and more.
Every time I've seen Robbie at work, I've admired his commitment to high quality and exceptional value. This resource is no different. The included tips, insights, checklists, and downloads will make it possible for your online meetings and events to be their most memorable, valuable, and impactful. I will have it within arms reach of my webcam from now on.
#virtualevents #zoommeetings #onlineevents
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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I've wanted to write and publish a book since I was a kid. I'm old now, so that's a long time to have a dream. I've started books many times in my life, but the determination and persistence to finish them have eluded me.
I've had a lot of questions and concerns about AI. I know - I'm not alone. I've heard so many rumors, speculations, panic, and misinformation about all of it these past few months. Will it take jobs? Yes, it will. When? I don't know for sure. Some sooner, some later. Will our social structures and economy be able to weather the changes? Most likely not, at least from what we know now. But we'll know more later. That's how life works.
Anyhow. I collected all my questions, thinking I'd write yet another book. Then I got discouraged at the amount of research I'd need to do to answer the questions adequately and decided to shelve the idea until three Sundays ago. I had the thought that I should put my questions into ChatGPT and see what happens. An hour and fifteen minutes later, I had a manuscript.
Straight from the Bot's Mouth: A Conversation with ChatGPT ABout Artificial Intelligence is the result. The time between entering my first questions and publishing Kindle and paperback versions? Six days. To me, it feels both like I cheated on a test and witnessed a miracle. You can see the book here: https://a.co/d/1dGhuEu
Your attention means a lot. Subscribing, reviewing, and sharing are the icing on the cake. Thanks for your interest in Your Own Best Company and the Virtual Coffee Break!
#ChatGPT #AI #kdp
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#Solopreneurs and #freelancers business success depend on their staying healthy. And we don't tend to plan for undesirable circumstances. We almost always plan according to ideal situations. And then the #calamities of life arrive. Then what?
Laura Livingston is back to talk about her experience of business being interrupted by some unexpected physical challenges. Franklin has a few stories of his own in this area.
Here are some of the twists and turns in this conversation:
** Building and leveraging a team.
** Prioritizing self-care.
** Honoring the body and all your passions.
** Contingencies, priorities, and commitments.
** Making pivotal decisions and intentions.
Laura can be reached at https://lauralivingston.co
Franklin at https://franklintaggart.com
Thanks for listening, subscribing, reviewing, and sharing Your Own Best Company with Franklin Taggart!
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If you've been taking care of others for a long time, it may take a while to reawaken and recognize your own desires. Pay attention to your body. Give yourself time to relearn how to use your want muscles. They haven't had a workout in a while.
My friend was taking care of other people from the time she woke until the time she fell into bed. When I asked her if she knew what she wanted, she said that was the wrong question to ask. She was struggling with how to want.
Developing new habits takes time, which goes for developing or relearning how we once did things, like acting on our desires instead of reacting to others. Start, and pay attention to physical cues. Your body will lead you, but you have been out of the listening practice.
#emptynester #caregiver #selfhelp
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Founded in FoCo is a three-day event for businesses of all sizes, from solopreneurs to large companies to non-profit organizations. It's a collaborative community effort that offers peer-to-peer education, inspiring speakers, networking, and more. This year's event is coming up at the Front Range Community College Harmony Campus in Fort Collins on March 1-3, 2023. If you're a business owner located within 100 miles or so of Larimer County, you're welcome to attend this free event.
These kinds of events are familiar territory for today's guest on Your Own Best Company. Nick Armstrong of WTF Marketing is the lead organizer of Founded in FoCo, and he's no stranger to locally focused collaborative events. As one of the founders of Fort Collins Comic Con, Nick has a history of initiating exciting and engaging community events that all serve a higher purpose of bringing people together, having fun, and supporting the causes and organizations that matter.
In this episode, Nick gives us the inside story on:
** The rebranding of Fort Collins Startup Week to Founded in FoCo.
** Some of the features and excitement for this year's event, happening Mar.1-3 in Fort Collins.
** Sponsorship and volunteer opportunities.
** How Fort Collins ended up with a Comic Con of its own.
** How coming in second in a local election led to the formation of a hot sauce company.
** How he has benefitted personally and professionally from his commitments to his community.
To register and schedule your Founded in FoCo itinerary, visit https://foundedinfoco.com
Learn more about Fort Collins Comic Con at https://fococomiccon.com/
Nick's businesses:
https://wtfmarketing.com/
https://ftwhotsauce.com/
Thanks for listening, subscribing to, sharing, and reviewing Your own Best Company. Please visit https://franklintaggart.com for more information.
#foundedinfoco #fortcolinscomiccon #northerncolorado
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When did you learn important career-building skills like networking, finding mentors, interviewing, and finding great work opportunities? Most people didn't learn these skills in college or high school. We learned them when we had to - when we were searching for our first jobs or starting our first businesses.
MIT alum and teacher Mark A. Herschberg saw this gap and decided to create a solution. His career success accelerator class teaches students the basic skills they need to navigate and prepare for building the careers they want. Recognizing a similar gap in the thousands of available career-oriented books, Herschberg wrote The Career Toolkit: Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You. (Available here: https://amzn.to/3wOe45B Associates Link)
He is also the creator of the Brain Bump app - a context-sensitive content collection and dissemination tool that helps people organize the content they want at their fingertips and easily access and share it.
From tracking criminals and terrorists on the dark web to creating marketplaces and new authentication systems, Mark has spent his career launching and developing new ventures at startups and Fortune 500s and in academia, with over a dozen patents to his name. He helped to start the Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program, dubbed MIT's "career success accelerator," where he teaches annually. He also works with many non-profits, currently serving on the Plant A Million Corals board.
For more information about Mark and his various projects, please visit https://cognoscomedia.com.
To access the career resources mentioned in this episode and learn more about the book, please visit https://www.thecareertoolkitbook.com.
More information about the Brain Bump app is available here: https://brainbumpapp.com.
To connect with Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hershey/.
#careerchange #jobsearch #careerskills
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For many people ages 50 and up, we're adapting to a part of our life in which our normal roles are going through significant changes. Some of us are shifting into caretaking for aging parents while shifting away from the caretaking role we've had with our kids. The norms we've been used to, sometimes for decades, are undergoing great changes.
Some of my friends and clients in this age group talk about the difficulty they have in regaining their own sense of priority and desire apart from those they've adopted as spouses, parents, co-parents, and partners. Some are challenged by setting aside the things they want to do in order to take on more responsibility for family members.
My own newfound time freedom since my son got his driver's license has been surprisingly daunting because I'm no longer spending 15-20 hours a week driving him places. And the default reaction of doing more work hasn't actually happened. I have a friend who talks about her difficulty sustaining her own interests because her family is still in the transition between kids at home and the empty nest. She starts a project and then the holidays come, or graduation happens, or prom is coming, or ???
The main point I want to make in this video is that discovering or rediscovering your own wants, needs, desires, and goals can be difficult after so many years of letting others' needs be your deciding factor. This isn't a pathology, so don't make it into a disease. It's just a new set of habits waiting to be developed. Tune in for more, and if you are ready to talk to someone about this kind of time in your life, schedule a free coaching session with me at https://bit.ly/BestNextStepCall
#emptynesters #parenting #agingparents
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In this video about pricing your freelance services, I challenge some of the things people think they're paying for.
When it's all said and done, you're not being paid for your time, talent, knowledge, expertise, or qualifications. In truth, you're not being paid for your product or service. You're only being paid for one thing.
Watch the video to find out what that one thing is, and join the conversation about how to price your work fairly so that you and your customer both feel great about the transaction.
pricing #value #entrepreneurship
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Thanks for the supportive notes and calls after my video the other day talking about seasonal depression. I was telling a friend that one of the things that is hard when I'm feeling that way is that other people see it as a problem to solve or something broken to fix. That usually just makes it feel worse. Those of you who were able to just let me have the time I needed and my own process to work it out are appreciated beyond words.
I've mentioned these people before:
Sydney Banks - The blue-collar Scotsman who spontaneously awakened and realized the relationship between thought and emotional experience.
Lester Levenson - The skeptical physicist who dove into relentless self-inquiry after his second heart attack at age 42, discovering a way to release emotional resistance and experience incredible freedom.
Esther Hicks - A spiritual seeker and experimenter who became an open channel for another realm as she learned to meditate.
I've learned something from each of them about how my thoughts and emotions interplay. More in the video about that.
When I'm in the lowest points of depression, it's not helpful to tell me that it's all just thinking and that everything will be fine if I think more positively. That can trigger homicidal ideations. Please don't ever do that. I've experienced it enough to know it will subside if I just leave it alone. Living with unease is probably the hardest part, but it's necessary.
I also know my propensity to imagine incredible catastrophes when in that state of mind. So thinking positively is not remotely possible at that stage. The thing that brings me out most easily is a feeling of connection with other people. At first, I find that through immersion in stories. And when I'm ready, making a connection with a trusted friend also makes a huge difference.
I can tell when it starts to lift when I feel myself returning to a place where I can feel desires again. And then it becomes easier to imagine myself doing the things I want to do, and I feel uplifted by that.
Again, this isn't a suggestion for those experiencing long-term, or clinical depression. It's just for the occasional low-pressure front that many of us have. If it would help to have an understanding ear, please schedule at https://bit.ly/BestNextStepCall.
#depression #seasonalaffectivedisorder #imagination
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2022 ended for me with a round of depression. This isn't a new thing and is likely seasonal, but it is still depression, and it's not exactly comfortable. After finishing the year and achieving what I'd set out for, I was at a loss for what I wanted to do next. When desires seemed out of reach, I knew it was a visit from my well-known companion.
Recognizing the signs, the first thing I did was allow myself a week off. I did a bare minimum of work-related activities and binge-watched a few shows on Netflix. One of the things I appreciate about great stories is that they give me a way to reconnect with humanity without having to have other humans in the room.
I also read some good fiction and that accomplished much the same thing. I didn't resist the urge to sleep, and I added a little bit more physical activity into my routine via yoga and some extra walking time with the dog.
Most importantly, I didn't try to force myself to feel anything different. I meditated and wrote a couple of journal entries, and ate some junk food. I know some of those things are discouraged, but when I'm depressed, the last thing I need is to force a fix. It will pass. If it doesn't pass, I'll see a doctor.
The good news is that it has passed, and my new year has begun in earnest.
#depression #seasonalaffectivedisorder #selfcare
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When his research led to finding a link between multi-passionate people and neurodiversity, Perry Knoppert ultimately created a movement. The Octopus Movement is, in Perry's words, a gathering of curious misfits. Now numbering over 2500 members from 60 countries, The Octopus Movement is a celebration of people who don't fit neatly into well-defined social structures and who share the common characteristic of nonlinear thinking.
In this episode of Your Own Best Company, Perry tells his story of losing everything as his first step to making anything possible. Our topics of conversation include:
** Finding a link between having multiple passions and neurodiversity.
** Making a place for nonlinear thinking in linear organizations.
** The common loneliness experienced by neurodivergent people.
** The challenges of nonlinear thinkers in employment and relationships.
You can join the Octopus Movement and learn more about Perry at https://theoctopusmovement.org.
Thanks for listening, subscribing, reviewing, and sharing Your Own Best Company - A podcast for people who love working alone.
#neurodiversity #neurodivergent #creativebusiness
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2022 has been a good year for me. My commitments were kept and my goals exceeded. I'm changing things a little in 2023.
See the recap report here: https://www.franklintaggart.com/2022/12/2022-recap.html
See my 2022 Reading List here: https://www.franklintaggart.com/2022/12/2022-book-list.html
And see the podcasts I listened to most: https://www.franklintaggart.com/2022/12/2022-favorite-podcasts.html
Thank you for your contribution to my satisfaction in 2022. I'll see you next year, tomorrow...
#happynewyear #goodbye2022 #hello2023
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Jody has risen to the highest levels of her company ladder, but she's frustrated that she's been getting passed over for promotion to the C-Suite. She's done the work, brought innovative ideas to the table, and has seniority over all but the CEO and COO of the company. It doesn't make sense that she is not being considered for advancement.
This is a perfect situation in which to call Fran Gallaher. Fran is an intuitive guide who helps individuals and organizations supplement their data, logic, and rationale with information that may be discouraged or ignored due to being outside the realm of normal business convention.
Fran teaches people how to access and understand their own inner senses as they navigate their way through making their best decisions for themselves and their organizations. She also offers professional intuitive services as a coach and consultant.
In this episode, we explore topics like:
** Identifying and using your inner senses.
** Being willing to trust your intuition.
** Creating feedback loops to improve capability.
** Allowing yourself to have doubts.
** Incorporating intuition into your normal set of leadership skills.
Learn more about Fran and contact her at https://reallyflourish.com
#intuition #psychicguidance #leadership
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I made a video the other day asking the question, "What if you can't find your why?" I've had some strong reactions to that idea. There were a couple of people who treated it as a condition on par with a disease, quickly prescribing things to do to solve the problem.
Why are we so adamant that life has to have a purpose? Where did we get the idea that it needs to mean something, and that we're less than if we don't land on that purpose that gives our life meaning?
I wonder if my food will taste just as good if I don't have a bigger purpose than just living? I wonder if music will move me more if I know I'm here for a reason? I wonder if I can be okay without winning one of the coveted prizes?
In the video I refer to a story about Buckminster Fuller that appears to be urban legend, but it remains insightful. Here's an article if you want to know more: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/arts/music/15ster.html (Sorry if there's a paywall).
I wonder if we take our own presence here more seriously than we should, but then I ask how seriously should it be taken. I still hold loosely to the belief that every human is endowed with unique gifts, and those gifts will be realized whether we like it or not. To resist them is to suffer. But I also know that the idea we're all here to be great and grandiose is unfounded for most of us.
As Warren Zevon so aptly said, "Enjoy every sandwich."
#purpose #ingenuity #genius
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The town where I spent many growing up years had a thriving local mom-and-pop-based business economy when I was young. The big stores back then had outlets in our town, but most of the commerce that happened, took place between people who lived there and whose families owned the businesses.
My Aunt Lue was one of them. Our family helped Aunt Lue run her hotel until after she died, then they sold it to make way for a new post office. WalMart moved into town in the 1990s and Main Street stores were boarded up. Even Sears, Montgomery Wards, and JC Penney are gone now.
Every business has a lifespan and that includes social media platforms with all the rest. We've seen platforms like MySpace, Friendster, Google+, and others last a few years and then get replaced by something else that works better.
The featured video on the end screen is the interview I did with Yifat Cohen where she tells the story of growing a community of 100,000 followers on Google+ only to have Google pull the plug on the platform. When Facebook replaced MySpace, I suddenly lost the place where I could easily reach 1500 fans of my music as they scattered to Facebook, Twitter, and later Instagram, and Pinterest. Now they're all on TikTok.
Yifat suggested that our priority needs to be bringing people from our social media activities into communities that we own and manage. Email lists are one simple solution that has worked since before social media existed.
TikTok and Twitter both seem kind of precarious right now. The only thing to worry about is whether or not they take your community with them when they go. It doesn't have to be that way.
#socialmedia #tiktok #twitter
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This year I released a handful of new courses and have had over 300 people join my Teachable school. After some recent pricing and service changes announced by Teachable, I've made the difficult decision to leave their service and host my courses on another platform. I'm working on the last-minute details of that switch and will be sending out announcements to all my subscribers as soon as I have a place for you to access your courses.
This trend of slashing services and increasing prices has been popular in the SaaS world this year. I've had four of my primary Saas subscriptions do a similar thing, and I'll be leaving all of them as soon as my current subscription period is over.
As a business owner, I know that business models are evolving things, and they change as the market demands. But when you change your business model, don't piss off your existing customers. My business model is also changing, but I've made it a point to get feedback from the clients I've worked with most closely. I don't want them to be surprised, shocked, or turned away by my decisions. My bottom line is that the relationships are the business. I won't sacrifice those for a financial goal that only looks good on paper.
Goodwill matters.
If you're looking for the course you signed up for; please get in touch on my website, https://franklintaggart.com
#businessmodel #priceincrease #SaaS
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Continuing the theme of spirituality and faith. - I want to reiterate the proposition that entrepreneurship is as viable a path for spiritual development as meditation, yoga, and religion.
I think we compartmentalize life more than we need to, and we ascribe sacredness to certain activities and secular to others when it seems closer to Peter Mayer's observation that everything is holy now. Check out his song https://youtu.be/ua0PE1zulD4
Entrepreneurship and solitude work reveals our limits in tangible ways. We learn that there is a natural end to our abilities and that our imagination often isn't enough to do a job. As we reach the end of our own capabilities, new ways of perceiving become possible. These new ways of perceiving expand our consciousness. This expanded consciousness enables us to see problems differently and imagine solutions that otherwise escape us.
The most common experience of entrepreneurship that fosters spiritual development is the continually deepening level of trust and surrender that is required to navigate the ups and downs of markets and trends, and stay true to our vision, sometimes when it doesn't even make sense to do so.
Whether there is a God on the other end of our faith or simply a higher order of things, faith is refined through being self-employed.
#spirituality #solopreneur #entrepreneur
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On this Christmas day, 2022, I remember a holiday season from many years ago when my faith had started to self-destruct. All the things I had believed in were called to question, and I was left without anything to stand on.
At the time, there was a huge uproar in the community where I lived about displaying religious and spiritual symbols on city property, particularly a menorah for Hanukah and a manger for Christmas. I remember laughing myself to tears over this issue, realizing that I would have been marching in protest only a year or two before that. But at the time, I had no feeling about the issue at all.
During those years of deconstruction, I still had a yearning. I yearned to know love and to know somehow that I and we aren't alone here. I expressed this desire in a song I wrote called Let It Be Born Tonight. I mentioned this song the other day in my video about hope.
If you want to hear the song, I gave the song and rights to it to an organization called Hungry For Music. You can find it here: https://hungryformusic.bandcamp.com/track/let-it-be-born-tonight
In the intervening years, I haven't found any answers to my questions written in stone anywhere, but I have learned to trust the experience of love from a source greater than myself. And the symbols that then seemed so meaningless now are alive as their own expressions of divine love.
If any more love can be born in me, let it be born tonight.
#Christmas2022 #holidays #Christmassong
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Sharing a handful of childhood Christmas Eve memories, and featuring one of them in greater detail.
If you've never watched Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas, my sisters and I are looking at you wondering how that could have happened. Go watch it and always remember that if you meet somebody who don't like soul food, they still got a soul.
If you'd like to download a copy of the poem read here, click this link, and you should be able to download it. Feel free to share with anyone who you think will appreciate it. https://bit.ly/Franklin-Taggart-Night-Before-Christmas
I wish you all warm and peaceful holidays. Be good to each other.
#Christmas2022 #nightbeforechristmas #podcast
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