Have you all seen this video?  I love the inventiveness and the celebration of humor, irony, and cause and effect. It reminds me that everything we do as entrepreneurs, as creative thinkers, yields something; the secret is to make sure the “something” feeds the mind and/or the soul of the audience. Sounds like I’m being a little dramatic I know, but it’s absolutely true.

Click here to see Jenna Lyons work her magic at J Crew

It’s easy to see your competitors as the bad guys, the ones keeping you from taking over the world–right?  Wrong!  They are there to propel you to excellence and help you identify your specific niche in the marketplace.  Take a look at this video and learn how to view your competition in a way that will move you forward and grow your DB (that’s dream business for you newbies).

Too often I find myself talking clients off a ledge. They become paralyzed by some major or minor, often the latter, decision that is keeping them from moving forward.  My advice–decide not to decide and move on.  Momentum is key when you are launching and most of what seems like a road block is simply a little puddle that needs to be walked around or skipped over.

Happy 2010 ladies!

For all of you launching your venture or growing your current business may I suggest that this be the year you keep it real.  While it’s great to grow leaps and bounds, if we can’t back up our new shinny product or service we have done nothing to really grow our company.  Turn your focus this year on doing a few things really well and resist the temptation to do more--be more.  Remember more does not mean better.

Here’s to an inspired and prosperous year filled with real adventure and real success!

It seems obvious that most of us would know our strengths and how to utilize them to benefit ourselves and others.  But so often we do not begin our endeavors from a place of strength.  We launch into a venture without taking stock of who we are and what we have to offer. Launching a business is not only about finding out who your target market is and how to speak to your audience, it’s also about finding out who and what you were create for and how your life can speak. Maybe if we really knew our own strength(s) and how satisfied and fulfilled we would be if we created a life, a business, a partnership from a place of knowing we would be stronger!

So, what do you want to be when you grow up?  Instead of starting with titles, start with characteristics and ask yourself: Who do I want to serve, and how do I want to make a difference?  Whose hero do I want to be?  What gives me life?  How can I bless others with my talents and gifts?  What will make me look in the mirror and say “well done!”

I told you I would share a little from the California Women’s Conference, so here is my promise kept.

First of all, if any of you get a chance to go, it’s a must.  Not just for the rah-rah-girl-gathering or the tear-jerking stories, but because it’s a nice kick in the, not so risk taking-afraid of failure-too cool to pursue, ass.

While it was a who’s-who fest of speakers, one in particular stood out. Eve Ensler shared her perspective and a monologue, not the v-kind, but rather from her newest book,  I Am an Emotional Creature. She was articulate and funny, exuberant and profound, loud and courageous–she is clearly an emotional creature, but it was not Eve that gave me chills and moved 15,000 to tears.

The barely English speaking Somaly Mam was the one who taught me something. Following Eve would be no easy task for anyone, lest a women who has never spoken in a public arena and who apologized for not being able to pronounce “Shriver” when thanking Maria for her introduction. For a moment, I felt my heart sink as I watched her struggle to communicate. My concern for her soon waned as she commanded our attention with her powerful story. Somaly is a sex slave survivor and the founder of the Somaly Mam Foundation.  Her purpose is to help Southeast Asian girls and women escape the nightmare she lived through.

What a story, what an inspiration, what a woman. How was she able to so clearly convey her vision and her heart with the barrier of language? In a world where elevator pitches and concise marketing messages are a must for anyone trying to be heard, Somaly’s power lay in her ability to see what is possible.  Her power was in articulating her heart, regardless of and free of any clever, polysyllabic, perfectly annunciated words.

So the next time you find yourself trying to communicate your vision and getting stuck in properly grooming your words, remember the key here is to let your heart speak–it’s trying to tell you (and perhaps the world) something significant.

As blogging rules go this is “so five days ago”, but I haven’t had a minute to download mentally or otherwise, and it seems too important to skip over and not share my thoughts. So forgive the delay, and I hope you enjoy the message.

My three day blitz started Sunday night with the Black Eyed Peas and U2, and ended Tuesday night with Maria Shriver and Alicia Keys (more on that later).  I am both flying high and absolutely spent from the sensory overload, but feeling grateful for a thought provoking and moving few days.

With Will I Am’s mantra playing in my head and ringing through the night air, I walked into the Rose Bowl knowing that “tonight’s gonna be a good night”.  I had no idea just how good.

While I was certainly entertained by Fergie and the boys, I was moved and captivated by the enigmatic Irish band. I mean no disrespect to The Edge, Adam and Larry, but I was fixed on Bono the entire time. Watching him move across the stage, wondering if he had calculated, almost 30 years ago, that he would one day use his gift of music to literally change the world. Did he have a great master plan or a mission statement that he would feed the hungry, meet and convince dignitaries and heads of state to lend a hand,  start a clothing line, go to Harvard, become a father of four, never mind becoming the lead singer of one of the greatest bands of all time? I was impressed with the way he sang and seemed to intimately connect with 96,000 people. He had the audacity to proudly share his beliefs and convictions, and all of it was met with applause. Who, in this day, can motivate more of us to agree than to disagree and bring consensus and unity to a divided world? Some would argue that there is nothing controversial about “feeding the poor and ending hunger”, but listen to him talk about why he feels called to do what he does. He makes no bones about where his motivation comes from.

So why am I sharing my tales from a concert in Pasadena with you, my fellow entrepreneurs?  Because witnessing this 50 year old man dancing around, underneath a spaceship like stage, sharing his infectious poetry and proclaiming his truth with anyone who would listen, was a reminder of exactly what it means to ‘live the dream’. Regardless of how you feel about his music or his causes, we might all consider inviting what we each believe and hold true into our life’s work…imagine the profound affect we could have on one another–on the world.

If I had not been sure of it before, it was made abundantly clear to me Sunday night, living an authentic life and a life with purpose and conviction will get you everywhere!

So don’t get stuck in a moment you can’t get out of, get on your boots and stand up for your dreams–that’s for all you fans.

Hi ladies.  I wanted to make sure you all knew you could tune into the Women’s Conference via webcast.

Happy viewing!

xo-nj