The Self-Employed Life

Inspired by a week of events and conversations, I talk about acceptance within ourselves and from others. Similar to my TEDx Talk where I suggest that when we allow ourselves to see what others see in us, that it can help us expand beyond our self-limiting expectations, when we are accepted by others it helps us accept ourselves. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Mentions - Billy Porter Tony Awards Karaoke Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

Welcome to the 500th Episode of Creative Warriors! In just under five years, we have over a million downloads and 500 episodes. I was planning on getting a "big name" or celebrity to celebrate this milestone, but I realized that none of that really matters. What matters is the community of warriors we have built in over 200 countries and all the people behind-the-scenes who make this all possible. On this episode, I share my favorite interview, my most difficult interview, and the time someone killed a fly in the middle of an interview! I talk about the insecurity that led me to begin the podcast in the first place and open up about my struggle to live authentically. I also dive deeper into my personal life and history than I ever have before. I've brought on my producers, Colin Thompson and Enid Cortes from Kast Media, my booker Cheryl Kaiser, and logo designer Rachel Dennis. I didn't know how it was going to go, but there are things we talk about that anyone who listens can take and apply to their business. You'll be challenged to live authentically even though it's not always easy and to find greater meaning in your design and execution. To learn about what goes on behind-the-scenes of Creative Warriors, download this episode now. WARRIORS OF CREATIVITY, BREATHING, MOXIE, & SURRENDER "The show became more popular when I stopped caring if it was popular." - Jeffrey Shaw Highlights - "Your level of success rarely exceeds your level of personal development." - Jim Rohn One of the characteristics of a successful leader is the ability to take information and apply it to them. Our guests either have to be about creativity, service, or financial wellbeing. If you're very obvious and clear about your message, you'll get chosen. Creative Warriors wasn't meant for creatives, it was meant to be about creative solutions to business. Good design conveys personal meaning while also creating new meanings. The "I"s in the new Creative Warriors logo are extended to represent how creative warriors extend ourselves to their highest capabilities. Guest Contact - Kast Media's Website Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share! Mentions - Learn more about Jim Rohn The Story Behind Starbucks Jeffrey's Interview with Julia Cameron Jeffrey's Interview with Todd Henry Jeffrey's Interview with Paul Busse Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

This question, "What do you own?", is both practical and philosophical. I cover multiples sides of the importance of ownership from why it's important for your business to knowing how what you own can help you carve out a place for yourself in the world. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

A lot of us Creative Warriors have lots of passion but no initiative. We have a dream and a talent, but we often don't know where to put our energy. We can't tell the difference between passing fancies and things that are worth doing. Fear can also hold us back from putting all of our energy into something because we're scared that we'll get stuck on the wrong path. If taking the first step to allow opportunity to unfold is difficult, know that baby steps are a great way to start. It's like a pianist doing scales or a basketball player practicing their shots. You have to start with the basics and do them over and over to build up to your big dream. In his book Initiative, Joshua Spodek gives us concrete exercises, like the pianist's scales, that we can do that develop passions and take initiative. To expose us to some of these initiative exercises, I've brought Joshua onto the podcast. Joshua Spodek, PhD, MBA, TEDx speaker, wrote the #1 bestselling Leadership Step by Step, hosts the award-winning Leadership and the Environment podcast, is a professor at NYU, writes a column for Inc., and blogs daily at joshuaspodek.com. He holds five Ivy League degrees, including a PhD in astrophysics and an MBA from Columbia, where he studied under a Nobel Laureate. He left academia to found a venture to market an invention that showed animated images to subway riders between stations. To learn how to discover passions and take initiative, download this episode now. THE CURIOSITY WARRIOR "You can't just pick up a basketball and think you're Lebron James." - Joshua Spodek Highlights - Passion is an intense emotion. Initiative is to act on something. Ideally, you take initiative on a passion. Practice the basics. When you combine passion and initiative, hard work is fun. The way to get past emotional barriers is with baby steps. IAP: The "Initiative, Action, Passion" cycle. 5 Unsolved Problems Exercise: write down 5 Unsolved Problems (big or small) and write down a solution for each. Ask for advice rather than judgment. People will then root for you to succeed because they feel they are part of the solution. Guest Contact - Joshua's Website Joshua's Twitter Joshua's Instagram Josh's Podcast: Leadership and the Environment Joshua's Book: Initiative: A Proven Method to Bring Your Passions to Life (and Work) Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDx LincolnSquare video and please share! Mentions - Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankle Beyonce's Homecoming on Netflix Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

After last week's Talking Stick episode when I suggested that the reason Warriors experience so many ups and downs is that parts of their entrepreneur ecosystem are not functioning well, I received a few inquiries asking about the entrepreneur ecosystem. In this episode, I explain the many elements of a healthy entrepreneur ecosystem. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

Do you show up "salesy" or committed? If you're passionate, you can be direct and demanding without coming off as a pushy salesman. Get people on your team by having a clear message that is both easy to communicate and easy for others to adopt. In today's world, people are bombarded with messages constantly; you need to have a catchy, direct "hook" to get them to notice. Keep it around 2-5 words, make sure it's positive, and tie it to a greater purpose. It's time to make communication matter again. To dive into the idea of clearer messaging, I've brought on branding expert Michelle Mazur, Ph.D. She delivers audacious breakthroughs for business owners & speakers who want to stand out, be the best-in-class in their field, and position themselves in a category of one. She is the CEO of Communication Rebel and the author of Speak Up for Your Business and Speak for Impact. Her rebel yell has appeared in Fast Company, Inc., Entrepreneur, PR Daily, and She Owns It. To learn how to create your own "three-word rebellion," download this episode now. THE TRUST WARRIOR "It's time to make communication matter again." - Michelle Mazur Highlights - Three-word rebellion: THE message that you want to be known for. As your message grows, other people become the messenger and it grows on its own. Start with the mess: use freewriting to get your ideas onto paper and decide the change you want to see in the world. Your message has to be positive. People want to know where you're leading them. It's not about you. It's for your audience and the change you want to create. There is always an inciting incident for what you do with your three-word rebellion. Guest Contact - Michelle's Website Michelle's Twitter Michelle's Book: 3 Word Rebellion: Create a One-of-a-Kind Message that Grows Your Business Into a Movement Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Mentions - Big Potential by Shawn Achor The Five Second Rule by Mel Robbins Start With Why by Simon Sinek Louder Than Words by Todd Henry Learn more about Jonathan Fields Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

Are the ups and downs of entrepreneurship inevitable? The nature of the beast? Or do we cause it? It's a little bit of both but I believe the biggest culprit is that specialization has caused fragmentation. Find out how to get out of this loop of running around all over the place to support what should be an integrated ecosystem of entrepreneurship. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

You never need insurance until it's a bad time. Do you really want to make a stressful scenario worse? Probably not. If you can understand that you're going to need to be in the best state of mind that you can be to handle that future crisis, you'll be able to effectively prepare. I personally am a huge insurance buyer. My father passed away without health insurance, so I've had health insurance since I was 19 years old. I even have health insurance on my dogs which proved to be indispensable when my dog recently got sick. Some people might think that prevention is something that only big businesses need to worry about. But it's really the smaller businesses that could be wiped out by one catastrophe. To talk about the importance of preventing future problems, I've brought on Matthew Neill Davis of Davis Law, PLLC. His firm that has three times made the Law Firm 500 for being among the fastest-growing law firms in the nation. Matthew's book, The Art of Preventing Stupid, will show you how to make smart, meaningful changes to successfully grow your organization. With his extensive litigation and business representation experience and expertise in building and running custom legal departments for businesses and nonprofits, he has dedicated himself to helping business owners make smart business decisions. To learn the art of preventing stupid and the three different sources of business' problems, download this episode now. THE KICK 'EM IN THE NUTS WARRIOR "New level, new devil." - Matthew Neill Davis Highlights - Lawyers are tuned into the fact that most problems are preventable. People's problems come from one of three sources: failure to prepare for catastrophes, being ignorant about what they're doing, or being inept. Productive Paranoia: efficiently and comprehensively look at the problems coming at you and beat them to submission. The crux of preventing stupid is the business immune system. Talent can be an enormous curse because you never learn to do the basics day after day after day. Guest Contact - Matthew's Website Matthew's Instagram Matthew's Book: The Art of Preventing Stupid: How to Build a Stronger Business Strategy through Better Risk Management Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Mentions - Great By Choice by Jim Collins E-Myth Revisited By Michael Gerber Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

If systems and structure seem rigid or you feel might inhibit your creativity, here's a different way to look at systems. Find out how setting the environment for what you want can make miracles happen. You'll hear how setting the environment is the current way of doing business and how you can apply the idea of setting the environment in your daily business life. The Talking Stick is in your hands now. Let us hear from you. Be part of the conversation - Join our community Facebook group, Creative Warriors Unite, at www.joinwarriors.com and share your feelings and continue the conversation. Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn

It's very hard to imagine retirement- it can feel like a far-off dream. It's difficult to save for something that you can't even imagine. Because of this, a lot of us avoid thinking or talking about money at all. It doesn't feel good. Like a diet, budgets are something we have negative feelings toward and ultimately end up abandoning. It's better to put your finances in a positive light. Instead of feeling like you don't have enough money, start realizing that you are richer than you think. Come from a place of gratitude for what you have and know that it's actually your habits that are causing problems with your finances, not your income. I used to be a major spender, so I was so happy to have John David Mann on for a third time to talk about his new book The Latte Factor. John is an award-winning author whose writings have earned the Axiom Business Book Award, the Nautilus Award, and Taiwan's Golden Book Award for Innovation. The Go-Giver was also honored with the Living Now Book Awards "Evergreen Medal" in 2017 for its "contributions to positive global change," and cited on Inc.'s "Most Motivational Books Ever Written" and HubSpot's "20 Most Highly Rated Sales Books of All Time"; The Go-Giver Leader was listed on Entrepreneur magazine's "10 Books Every Leader Should Read" and Forbes magazine's "8 Books Every Young Leader Should Read." His 2012 Take the Lead was named Best Leadership Book of 2011 by Tom Peters and the Washington Post. It was great to have John on Creative Warriors for the third time. To learn more about The Latte Factor and how to fund your dreams, download this episode now. THE PUPPY DOG WARRIOR "If you wait until you have extra, you'll be waiting forever." - John David Mann Highlights - There are three myths of money. The first one is "make more money and you'll be rich." Most of us are bad at saving because we don't have a concrete idea of why we are saving. Rechannel your daily luxuries. You need to align your spending with your values. Instead of budgeting, think of what you want to fund. It's the difference between a negative fuel source and a positive fuel source. Set yourself up for success. The second myth of money is "it takes money to make money." Set up automatic savings so you don't have to think about it. Guest Contact - John's Website John's Twitter John's Book: The Latte Factor Contact Jeffrey - Website Coaching support My book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer's Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible is now available! Watch my TEDX LincolnSquare video and please share! Mentions - The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Resources - Have Your Website Brand Message Reviewed! Is your website and are all your marketing materials speaking the right LINGO of your ideal customers? Often it's not which is why you're not converting traffic and leads to clients and attracting your most profitable customers. Fill out the simple LINGO Review application and I'll take a look at your website. If I have suggestions for you to improve your brand message (I almost always do), we'll set up a complimentary 30-minute call to discuss. A select number of websites are also chosen for my LINGO Review Video Series. Fill out the application today and let's get your business speaking the right LINGO! Music by Jawn