Escape from Cubicle Nation

Clucking-like-a-hen-proud at friend/client's biz launch

Doing the work I do is not always easy.  Not everyone is ready to trudge through the psychological dungeons, business labyrinths, relationship conundrums and financial fears to make the leap from corporate to entrepreneur.

But when someone does, I cannot describe how elated it makes me feel.

My whole body gets tingly and I simultaneously want to squeal with excitement and cry. 

This feeling is absolutely, positively why I have chosen this work.  And I felt it today, when my friend and client Ivan Martinez shared the link to his new photography website.

Ivan is a former marketing/sales executive who decided to devote his work to a long-time passion:  photography. 

He spent months refining technical skills, taking pictures for his portfolio, connecting with others, examining business models and challenging his own "social self" thoughts about what was the "right" thing to do in order to respect his creative self and take care of his family at the same time.

He is at the very beginning of his business launch, but in many ways is miles away from his point of origin as a corporate employee.

It reminds me of my favorite set of quotes, the first from W.H. Murray:

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets:

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!

The second is from Marianne Williamson:

"...Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?  Actually, who are you not to be?  You are a child of God.  Your playing small doesn't serve the world.  There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.  We are all meant to shine, as children do.  We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.  It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.  And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Congratulations Ivan on your hard work, faith, perseverance and willingness to trust your gut.  We wish you much success in your business!

If you want to visit his blog and leave any comments/suggestions for his site, I know he would really appreciate it.

Are you selling your entrepreneurial soul if you take a day job?

I was really excited to do this interview with Andy Wibbels of www.andywibbels.com after I heard that he took a "day job" as Marketing Manager at Six Apart.

I have known Andy for a long time and have always admired his candor, sass and brand, as well as his business sense.  Since he has done almost everything right to create an effective business, like:    

1. Create a successful blog
2. Define and own a particular niche
3. Develop a huge mailing list of devoted followers
4. Team up with great partners like Darren Rowse and Michael Port
5. Write a successful book (Blogwild)
6. Get mainstream press like the Wall St. Journal and USA Today

I wondered what would make him decide to become an employee.

I think his answers will interest you, if not challenge some of your long-held beliefs about entrepreneurship.

Check out the podcast interview here.  It is about 36 minutes.

My conclusion at the end of the conversation is that there is no work configuration that is inherently evil.  It is all about what you are looking for, what is important to you, what you are willing to trade off, and how likely you are to be successful on the "outside."

As for me, I think I am, as Jim Collins once said about entrepreneurs, "constitutionally unemployable," but that doesn't mean I don't respect someone's decision to take a day job.

What do you think?

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Funny backstory:  You will hear as I introduced Andy that I said that Six Apart made Wordpress and Typepad.  As soon as I said it Andy caught me.  The funny thing is that Andy and I (as well as others at Six Apart) have been going back and forth about Wordpress vs. Moveable Type for my blog redesign.

Sorry for the Freudian slip Andy!  :)

Want more clients? Get out of your mental ghetto

When I taught teenagers martial arts, I spent a lot of time in San Francisco's Mission district.  A lively Latino neighborhood, it was filled with activity, twelve kinds of chili peppers in outdoor markets, loud music and killer restaurants.  It was also home to two gangs:  the norteños and sureños.  Each wore their designated color (norte=red, sur= blue) and stayed within rigid boundaries of their neighborhood.  If you were a young person with any remote affiliation to these groups (desired or not) and ventured past these lines, the consequences were very violent, and sometimes deadly.

This context is important to understand how I could meet a young man named Dennis who had never been outside of the four-square city block he grew up in.  He had never seen the Golden Gate Bridge, or Coit Tower, or the ocean.  And he was 14 years old.

Many people could look at his situation and think it was absurd.  Of course he could have found a way to get out of his neighborhood.  But logistics were not the real issue.  What had created an imaginary electronic fence around his four-square block was a combination of fear and a false sense of security.  He had seen many of his young peers fall to violence and was really terrified of the same thing happening to him.  And he believed that if he just followed the rules and stayed within the "safe" boundaries of his neighborhood, everything would be ok.  He had everything he needed to get by.

A lot of us get caught in the same mental ghettos with our professional affiliations.

• We huddle in online forums with our peers and convince each other that with a little bit more subject matter expertise or certification that we will be ready to create a successful business
• We attend conferences filled with people that all agree with us, and talk about practices, tools and technologies that excite only us (participating on Twitter for a couple of months has led me to believe that there are more "web 2.0/social media consultants" than there could possibly be businesses to support them.  I have been told they are very busy - amazing)
• We spend thousands of dollars in classes and workshops learning the next big coaching technique/marketing trick/SEO optimization that will magically make us successful

What would happen if we just hung out with the people we want to serve?

By "hang out," I don't mean read a study on their behavior or conduct a structured focus group, I mean  pull-up a chair, sit with them in their natural habitat, attend their conferences or pick up the phone and talk to them. Examples:

• If you are an accountant who wants to work with slightly zany, creative people, shred your "Accounting Trends 2008" conference tickets and hop a Volkswagen bus to Burning Man.
• If you are a software developer who wants to create time management software for busy moms,  get off the Joel on Software forum and get to the grocery store at 5:00pm and talk to 20 women with kids hanging off of their shopping carts
  
• If you are a coach who wants to work with leading technology executives, save money you would have spent on your "master double platinum certification training certificate" and attend South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas.
  

It may feel as awkward and scary for you to do these things as it was for Dennis to cross the street at the edge of his "safe" zone.

But, unlike him, you don't face a death threat.  You have just as much to learn and discover outside of your mental ghetto as he did for his.

Go on -- get out!

Do you and your lizard live in a van down by the river?

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the lack of posts this week -- I have running around a bit more than usual and didn't have time to write.

I just finished this post for Martha Beck's blog.  It is on a favorite topic:  lizard fears that get in the way of you realizing your dreams.  And I got to reference one of my favorite Saturday Night Live sketches of all time:  Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker.  Here is the video which had me rolling on the floor:

Enjoy the post!

--

I listened intently to my highly educated and successful client express his fears about quitting his job to start a business.

"What are you really afraid of?"  I said.

"When it comes down to it, I am afraid of living on the street and eating garbage out of a dumpster."

This fear is very common for people who are making significant career or life changes. It doesn't matter how much experience they have or how much money sits in their bank account, they feel as though one wrong move will utterly destroy their lives.

This is no accident.

We all receive multiple messages a day about how there are not enough resources in the world to support us ("The economy is falling!"  "There are no good men left in New York!" "I must eat the WHOLE cake, or never eat again!")  and how we should be very afraid of the future ("The ice caps are melting!"  "Serial killers are on the loose!"  "The terrorists are coming!".) Martha calls this the Wizard vs. Lizard battle for your brain in her new book Steering by Starlight.

What is lizard brain?

One of the deepest layers of your brain is a neural structure evolved in early vertebrates. It is wrapped around the cortex of your brain and blasts signals on a regular basis intended to keep you fed and out of danger.  Martha says in Steering by Starlight:

The entire purpose of your reptile brain is to continually broadcast survival fears- alarm reactions that keep animals alive in the wild. These fears fall into two different categories: lack, and attack. On one hand, our reptile brains are convinced that we lack everything we need: we don't have enough time, money, everything. On the other hand, something terrible is about to happen. A predator-- human or animal--is poised to snatch us! That makes sense if we're hiding in a cave somewhere, but when we're home in bed, our imaginations can fixate on catastrophes that are so vague and hard to ward off that they fill us with anxiety that has no clear action implication.

Animals will live longer when obsessed with getting more resources and avoiding danger. Humans, on the other hand, especially those of us driving minivans and owning large-screen televisions, carry that same instinct, without facing the same dire situations. This leads us to act in all kinds of unpleasant ways, including paranoid, greedy, suspicious and desperate.  The more we listen to our inner lizard, the more we are pulled toward a fate we most fear:

• A salesperson, certain that he won't be able to sell a thing in a tight economy, calls the same prospect five times in one week, leading him to be permanently blacklisted from the company.
• A jealous boyfriend, convinced his girlfriend is cheating on him, secretly monitors her cellphone calls, follows her, breaks into her email and has a fit whenever she wants to go out with friends.  Guess what happens?  She packs her bags as fast as she can (unless her lizard fear is "I will never find another man" in which case she marries him, stays in relationship hell for a decade or two before having a heart attack from the stress)
• A young woman, so terrified that she will make a fool of herself presenting to a debate team for the first time, actually passes out when she gets to the podium.  In this case, it was Martha, as described in Finding Your Own North Star (Coincidentally, as lizard wizardry works, when her worst nightmare was realized, she overcame her deathly fear of speaking and went on to be a secure and polished presenter.)

Examples of Lizard Fears:

"I'll never find love"
"Something may have gone right, but you know that other shoe is going to drop"
"You can't trust anyone in this rotten world."
"I have to keep secrets; people will use information to hurt me."
"Ultimately, everyone will betray me." "The minute I get anything, someone will take it from me."
"Nice guys always end up getting screwed."
"Successful people have all the luck - I just get bad breaks."

Notice the lack and attack themes that permeate these thoughts?  If you want to make progress towards your goals, you must learn to tame your inner lizard.  Here are five ways, summarized from Steering by Starlight. Read the rest here.

P.S.  My Dad, Lewis Stewart, took the picture of Jorge the Lizard.

Have a cool setup in your home-based biz? Share it with BusinessWeek!

BusinessWeek Online was kind enough to ask me to share the following project with my blog readers, knowing that many of you work from home offices.

They want to create a photo essay of readers' standout home-based offices.

What exactly qualifies as "standout?":

" We are looking for unique spaces from which you run your home-based business today. Do you work from a tent on the beach, a tree house, or the back of a truck?

One of my favorite examples is of Kathy Sierra's office in an Airstream trailer. 

So if you work in a yurt (someday I will!) or even a very cool retrofitted basement, let BusinessWeek Online know!

Details for how to contribute your photos are found here.

Make sure to follow these specific guidelines:

Send us a brief description of your workspace along with one digital image no more than 1MB in size to [email protected] by May 30. Be sure to write "Home-based Businesses Special Report photo essay participant" in the subject line of your e-mail. Tell us what you do and what distinguishes your space from a conventional office. Remember: Entrants must be running their own home-based business on a full-time basis, and have been at it for a minimum of one year. We will feature a selection of outstanding work spaces in an upcoming

I have said it many times but will say it again -- the chance to get your business in front of mainstream media readers is one of the best marketing strategies there is!  Don't let the opportunity pass you by if you meet the criteria.   

Have a great weekend everyone!

The joy of reading about another leap

Thanks to Lisa Solomon, I found this gem of a post from Danny Evans, author of Dad Gone Mad who expressed his joy at realizing his dream of writing books.

Excerpt:

One night, about a year ago, I decided to quit dreaming.

Every day, every night, for 20 years, the dream was exactly the same – same props, same characters, same outcome. I could picture all of it with vivid clarity, but the fantasy never survived the transition from sleep to the real here and now. It burned up on re-entry. It lived only in the ether of my mind.

In the dream, I was an author. I wrote books. I spent my days on safari in my own imagination. I was satisfied. I was doing what I loved for a living, and that contentment permeated every hard, dark corner of my existence. Then suddenly I was awake again, and the reality that I was NOT the person in my dream washed over me like rain cloud.

So one night, about a year ago, I decided to quit dreaming. I sat down at my keyboard and began to write. I began to create the trappings of my dream in real life.

It has been the hardest year of my writing life. Rejection has reigned. Every small victory has been countered by enormous disappointment and despair. I have neglected friendships, responsibilities, family obligations. Phone calls and emails have gone unreturned. I have opened my soul to criticism, and I have convinced myself that this is my last best chance to accomplish something for myself – to escape the rut of cubicle jobs, financial desperation and career aimlessness.

Thursday morning, my agent called from New York.

“You have a book deal,” she said.

Just like that, the dream became real.

Read the rest here.

All I can say Danny is ROCK ON!  That is the best. 

Workplace warning:  f-bomb word in post (this and others), and in the comments.  Used in a fun way, but if your corporate filters will get mad at you for this, better to read at your home computer.  If you don't dig profanity, better take a pass.

Book update and request for information

Good afternoon!

I hope all of you are doing great on this Monday.  (Anyone have a case of "The Mondays?"  -- Insider Office Space joke)

I wanted to give you an update on the Escape from Cubicle Nation book, and to request some input. (For new blog readers, here is the  background on the book.)

Update first:

•  I am approaching the writing in a bit of a non-linear fashion, working on a number of chapters simultaneously.  I have outlined all the sections and chapters and am writing notes with key salient points to cover, and juicy stories to tell.  To use a term coined by my friend Anne Zelenka, I am a bursty worker by nature, so bouncing around a bit at this point in the content development feels good.

• However (and my editor reads my blog, so she is well aware of this, right Emily?) I have about 16 solid weeks of writing before it is due (September 15), and 16 chapters to write.  Do the math -- I need to crack out a chapter a week, or a little more aggressive, since I need room at the end to tighten and edit.  Although there is a bit of pressure, I am worthless without a deadline, so this will work in my favor.
• I have lined up some really great subject matter experts for chapters that deal with complex topics, or areas that are not my strength.  I am really looking forward to conducting the interviews and collaborating with some of the best minds in business.  That is the great thing about writing a book -- I have a great excuse to approach really smart people for input.
• My Escape from Cubicle Nation Advisory Council has been wonderful -- very responsive and supportive.  (Even after I asked them to re-send all their emails when my computer crashed!)
• Besides responding to social media network requests (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) I am not spending a lot of time thinking about marketing the book yet.  That is actually the most fun thing for me, so I am holding off, lest I go off on a tangent promoting something that I have not written yet!  Once I hand off the manuscript, I will plan for a small live book tour, blog visits, media, web promotions and the like.  If anyone has any great ideas for book marketing, please let me know!
• Also after the manuscript is done, I will integrate my blog and website onto one platform.  (Still evaluating options, but I am leaning towards WordPress).  This has been a bit of a thorn in my side since I would really like my web presence to be in one location, and currently it is fragmented.  But since it is a big project, I will take care of it when I have the time.  Most likely I will have a page under my own name (pamelaslim.com, which I finally reserved, thanks to Tara!) that is something in the spirit of my friend Penelope Trunk.  Then for escapefromcubiclenation.com, I will have both my blog and services accessible from one domain, like my professional crushes Jonathan Fields and Christine Kane. (here is Christine's page like Penelope's -- great photo, no?)  Aren't their sites gorgeous and easy to navigate?  Even though they discuss commerce, aren't they open and inviting?  Makes more sense, don't you think?

On to the request

• I am looking for the best possible subject matter experts on how to get insurance for the self-employed (particularly someone going from corporate to entrepreneur).  I would love someone who is objective and knowledgeable, and who can handle gnarly questions like what to do if you have pre-existing conditions, how to choose between a variety of different plans, whether to do COBRA or not, etc.
• While medical coverage is a concern in other parts of the world, for the most part, I would like a specialist for the U.S. 
• If you have anyone in mind, (or you are this person!) please contact me at pcs (at) ganas (dot) com with "Benefits SME" in the subject header.  I am so thankful for any referrals.

That's it for now!

Thanks for all of your encouraging emails and blog comments.  They keep me motivated and writing!

-Pam

Help ME help YOU

How many times have you talked to a new acquaintance and heard him or her say "Just let me know if there is anything I can do for you!" 

What was your response?

For most people, it is a polite smile and "thanks."

Boy, are you missing an opportunity!

The more time I spend in business, the more I realize that people generally are brimming with desire to help others.

My recent experiences on Twitter reinforce this fact:

• When my computer blew up, I lamented about it on Twitter and asked for suggestions for backup services.  I not only got great advice from about 20 people, I also had people volunteer to spend time on the phone walking me through the process of setting it up.
• I was pondering a switch from Typepad to Wordpress so that I could integrate my website and blog.  I asked my followers their opinion, and once again was blown away with the response.  Rick Gregory went above and beyond the call of duty and mocked up a sample Wordpress site for me using content from my website and blog.
• The same thing happened when I was stuck formatting a post on Martha Beck's blog, which is in Wordpress.  Nathan Bowers offered to help, I sent him the errant HTML, he fixed it, and emailed it back to me.
• I read a tweet from Hugh McLeod about his Moleskine notebook and wanted to share a link with him about a beautiful custom engraving company.  Since the bookmark was lost in the crash, I couldn't remember the name of the company.  So I tweeted about it, and 2 minutes later had 10 people send me the link. (Engrave Your Book)

Here is the catch:  in order for them to help you, you have to be really specific with your requests.   And in order to be specific with your requests, you have to reflect on what you really want.  This can be things like:

• I really want to connect with __________ (Paul Graham,Malcolm Gladwell, Oprah )
• I really want to learn about __________ (writing code, entrepreneurship, photography)
• I want help with ________ (writing a business plan, closing more sales, choosing between good logo designs)

Once you define what you want, the next time someone asks you what they can do for you, you have an answer.

I have a specific example:  I am obsessed with getting my friend Ramit Sethi on Oprah when his new book, I Will Teach You to Be Rich, comes out.  Ramit writes personal finance advice for college students and recent college graduates. But unlike many of the older, "professional" finance experts, he truly understands his audience and can offer unique insight about the crisis facing our society since young people have no idea how to manage their money. He can speak to the millions of mothers watching the show and say "do you realize that you are setting up your children for misery, stress and pressure because of the way you teach them about money?"

I can't explain the obsession -- I am not a publicist, and Ramit has never asked me for help. I just think he would be a perfect guest and it would make a really great show.

I actually know a few people who have been on Oprah, so the Six Degrees of Separation is working in my favor.  But there is a right and a wrong way to ask for their advice:

• DON'T ask:  "Would you introduce my friend Ramit to Oprah's producers?"
• DO ask:  "I would love to get my friend Ramit on Oprah because his book would make a great topic for a show.  What is your best advice for connecting with the show's producers?"
  
  The first approach puts them on the spot.  Even though we are friendly, they may not be willing to risk their personal relationship to introduce me.  The second approach is much less pressure on them, and I can learn valuable information that will serve me in other situations, like convincing Today Show producers to have Matt Lauer interview me when my book comes out.

The same goes for other requests.  Ask about the process, not the people.

• DON'T ask:  "Would you review my business plan?"
• DO ask:  "I would love to have some expert review on my business plan.  How do you suggest I go about getting it?"
• DON'T ask:  "Would you blog about my company?"
• DO ask:  "I would love to make bloggers in my target market aware of my company.  Do you have any suggestions for connecting with them?"
• DON'T ask "Would you take me with you on your photo shoot?"
  DO ask"  "I want to get much more experience observing professionals on photo shoots.  What is the best way to get this experience?"

In each of these cases, the person you are asking may just volunteer himself.  "I'd be happy to introduce you to Oprah's producer!" or "I would love to blog about your company" or "Would you like to come with me on a photo shoot?"

The difference is he volunteers his time or expertise willingly, without any pressure.

I don't mean to give the impression that you can never ask anyone for specific help.  If you have long-standing mutually beneficial relationships with influential people, you can be more direct.  But in newer relationships or networking situations, this approach works beautifully.

Bottom line:  The more often you ask for what you want, the more likely you are to get it.  To ask for help, you have to define what you want.  To get the best results, ask about the process, not the people.

What has been your experience asking for help?  Do you hold back, and if so, why?

Steven Pressfield discusses The War of Art for entrepreneurs

Some of you may remember that I got all excited about Steven Pressfield's book The War of Art and covered it in my podcast.  After I finished the recording, I emailed Steven to ask if he would be willing to do an interview with me about the concepts in the book, namely how entrepreneurs can overcome creative blocks.

After an initial yes, he had to decline, since his schedule got packed promoting a new book.

I was a bit disappointed since after reading the book I was a major groupie, but certainly understood his decision.

Fast forward a year or so and my good friend Matthew Scott casually mentioned that he snagged an interview with Steven for his coaching program interview series, Men at Pause.

My first reaction was very mature:  DAMN YOU MATTHEW!

I then realized I could make him feel guilty enough to share it with my readers for free.  Which he kindly did. I will never pass up the opportunity to be manipulative when it will serve my readers. :)

I love the interview for a number of reasons:

• Matthew and Steven connect on their shared military background and love of history.  This is so far from my personal experience (peace-loving granola head liberal arts major), but it is really fascinating to hear the excitement in their voices as they swap stories.  Tell me where else you will learn about throwing up in your skydiving suit.  Trust me, nowhere.
• It is focused particularly on the struggles of corporate employees to entrepreneurs.  This is a target market Matthew and I share (he focuses on men in transition), so it is very applicable to all of you
• In addition to being an amazing writer, Steven Pressfield is a kind and humble person. You can hear it in the tone of his voice.  That really impresses me.  (my buddy Colleen who writes Communicatrix seconds the emotion:  when she wrote a post mentioning The War of Art, he commented on her blog.  Made her day, as it would mine!)

Listen in, and please share your thoughts.

Matthew, thanks so much for your generosity.  I publicly declare I will not manipulate you into giving my readers something free for at least one year.  After that, all bets are off.

Here is info about Matthew's program:  Men at Pause Seminar.  And his blog:  Men at Pause Coach

How to develop an entrepreneurial mindset

For this week's podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing Gary Schoeniger, founder of the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative. 

Gary has a really interesting story -- from dead broke desperate handyman to successful entrepreneur.

Over the last 15 years, he has interviewed hundreds of successful entrepreneurs to discover which skills are critical for starting and running a business.  Many are not what you think.

My favorite advice from the interview:  

"Find a problem.  Figure out how to solve the problem.  Find more people with the same problem and you have a business."

I like that Gary's views make me think.  I have been in "do what you love (and work and work and work and work) and the money will follow" mode for so long that the "problem/solution" model was very intriguing.

Listen in on the 40-minute interview here.

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Note to regular podcast listeners:  I have been veering off my "every 2 weeks" publishing schedule a bit as I am writing my book.  I need to do this in order to get the work done.  Once the book is turned in (September 15, come heck or high water), I will come back to a more regular schedule.  Thanks for your support and understanding!