Born Entrepreneur - Stories, Thoughts & Analysis

lot’s of good developments in my business endeavors. Was just jamming out to the Killers “All these things that I’ve done” after I received what could be a MONUMENTAL email in my inbox for a very large retail store to carry a selection of some of our t-shirts. Not only that, but I’ve received a couple very flattering emails lately that make me feel like all my networking is really paying off. People are starting to notice that I’m out there working my butt off doing lot’s of stuff, and they’re starting to come to me for advice, and business development type situations…very cool. And then there’s the fact that I just got some great publicity in the “green issue” of Austin Monthly (i just picked it up today actually at Whole Foods)….what an honor to be featured in their mag. It feels so great to see the brand name of my company and a photo of our products in a high quality printed magazine…we’ve gotten lot’s of publicity in online publications, but it’s a totally different feeling to see it in print. This is the first time we’ve been in print since our Daily Texan article a few years ago. Pretty rock’n. What else good as happened??? Going on a business trip this weekend to my first tradeshow. Will be going to the men and women’s apparel market in Dallas with my partner. Especially exciting coming at a time like this. I’m on a high. What else? We’ve almost got our sales rep in Los Angeles up and going. We’ve shipped her business cards, and I just sent her sample tees in the mail today. Super excited to see how that turns out. But I wont’ get my hopes up too much. We have hired 4 sales reps so far and every one of them has flaked. But this particular rep is the most ed experienced we’ve dealt with and we’re paying her a monthly retainer. Excited about the possibilities! What else is good??? Ahhh, so much…what a great feeling.

And then there’s Conjunctured…my other venture. Oh my…it’s moving. We’ve completed almost entirely a business plan…submitted it to a business plan competition, and have been actively having conversations with some pretty badass potential clients. And we’re about to get some wicked office space if all goes as planned…

and then there’s my health…kick’n ass with exercise per my new experiment!

and my relationship with my amazing girlfriend is stronger than ever…it will be 3 years next month— having an amazingly supportive person standing by you all the time, good times and bad…is an amazing feeling.

sorry to get all high on my own self-promotion, but things have been tough lately, so it’s really great to see things really coming together.

Keep all the good stuff coming…

btw, just picked up a new book at the library today…I think I found it at the perfect time.

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Does that correlation exist?  At this point, I’m not totally sure.  The inspiration for this post comes from that the fact that over the past several weeks I’ve been doing multiple sets of pushups daily on a regular basis, and because I’m not exactly the most muscular guy in the room, I’ve started to notice quite obvious physical improvement. I can tell it’s working because for one, I’m able to steadily increase the number of pushups I can do, so I know I’m getting stronger. And two, I’m seeing definition in my arms and chest that I haven’t seen since my sophomore year in college when I was going to the gym on a regular basis. And keep in mind, this is all just pushups (mainly because I actually enjoy doing pushups…I always have for some reason).  Probably about just 20/day for 2 weeks. Nothing intense.
So, this where it gets interesting…

Over the past week for just a random reason (to see if I could do it, or maybe it was because I set up Joe’s Goals) I started increasing the difficulty and variety of the exercises. Started doing crunches, squats, and even ran a mile for the hell of it one day (of which I haven’t done for years…I hate running because I think it’s boring).  Here’s the thing, though.  I noticed my business productivity and personal motivation go up a little bit. I’m very aware of my internal self, so when a small amount changes, I notice it big time.  And boy did I notice. The past few days have been incredibly productive, and the best thing is that because my motivation has increased I’m doing the tasks that I’ve been avoiding for a while now, without even thinking twice. I must admit I didn’t expect this at all.

Maybe this seems like old news to you. And in fact, I think I’ve read it before somewhere.  But when you experience it first hand, it’s a bit different.

The key is determining what it is about exercising that has increased my motivation. It could be a number of things:

1. increase in testosterone (i’ve already started to research natural ways to increase testosterone to further increase motivation if this is the culprit)
2. increase in muscle tone has increases my self-confidence and thus my motivation to live life to it’s fullest
3. the presence of the workout routine increases my work routine follow-through
4. something else I’m not thinking of…

I’m going to continue the experiment for a while longer. I wonder if there’s a plateau, or if motivation just continues to go up?  As a personal productivity obsessive and avid lifehacker, this is quite exciting to me! There’s an obvious correlation between personal motivation and business success. Now, the key is finding some way to hack into that extra supply of personal motivation.

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Being an entrepreneur is a solo experience.  It is…  It isn’t…  We could go into a long discussion about it.  None the less, you spend a lot of time alone, very few people understand what goes on in your mind, so eventually you begin to distance yourself from people—realizing you’re a bit weird.  All of us entrepreneurs are weirdos in our own right—we’re crazy passionate people.  Obsessive, perhaps. And we want to do huge things—but we hate waiting for it.

Yesterday I worked with a bunch of other solo-ists out there.  And it felt good.  So, if you’ve cast off the company of others, I encourage you to check out a co-working event in your area.  My experiment was with my Jelly - Casual coworking.  Good times.

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Truths I have discovered through my journey towards enlightenment.

1. Actions can be completed with exact delicacy and focus. Actions created in that matter prove to be more meaningful.
2. When time goes slower, you will learn to appreciate the slight occurrences of life. The sound of drinking your tea. Your fingers on the keyboard. The feel of objects on your skin. The slower and more deliberate your actions, the more you notice them. The quicker, and more automatic—the more they are erased.
3. It is not necessary to go back over tasks that have already been completed to 90% accurate. Value your time more than that, and put it somewhere it can help another task grow from 0-90%.
4. Never feel rushed. Time is of your own creation. If you rush any aspect of life, you not only create less meaning in your action, but you are allowing your own imagination to dictate your existence and state of mind.
5. Hunger and pain are sensations of the physical self. Do not allow your physical self to control your real self. When these sensations approach you, tell them, “Hello hunger. Hello pain. I see you. I understand that my physical self has created you. However, my physical self does not govern my existence. Goodbye hunger. Goodbye pain. Now I will let you go.”
6. To find the answer, ask yourself the question. And then meditate for 1-2 minutes. The answer will enter you upon awakening.I asked myself the questions below and then meditated to find the answers.How to make more money (quickly and easily)?
   
   Do more.How to accomplish doing more when I already seem so overwhelmed?
   
   Can still work the same amount of hours, but always focus intently and individually at the matter at hand. Make sure to spend your time where it creates the most impactful results.

   What do I do when I get behind in my tasks and start to feel behind the ball and so overwhelmed that I do not want to even start?
   
   Pick 2-3 tasks and plan out the days you will complete them. It is not necessary to complete them all in 1 day, so just spread them out. No longer will they feel daunting.

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I just read a post and subsequent comment discussion over at Mind Petals: Youth Entrepreneur Network that talked about A students vs. B students.

“‘B’ students are innovative, risk takers with short attention spans…’A’ students are focused and more likely to be grounded.”

A little story from my personal experience…

I seemed to be that B/C student…it was always my contention that if you live your life to someone else’s arbitrary standards, then you can never find your own personal success. Although I easily excelled through my other classes (graduated with a 3.01 GPA), all throughout college I specifically struggled through Calculus, Finance, and Accounting classes. It was in those courses that I accumulated 2 D’s, 2 C’s, 2 B’s, and only 1 A. These classes were incredibly difficult for me. I’m not a numbers person at all, and I actually ended up skipping class quite a few times because I just found it so uninteresting to listen to the lectures.

The day before the tests, I remember studying for hours and hours and hours many times pulling all nighters, teaching myself everything from the textbook as I had little/no lecture notes. Admittedly a horrible way to study, but that’s how I did it. I would get back tests with scores that another student would find shameful and embarrassing. But to me, those scores meant a lot. You see, the fact that I could study everything (learning everything on my own) the night before and still manage to pull off a 65%+ impressed me. I had proven to myself that if I wanted something bad enough I could get it. I could afford to take a big risk as long as I was willing to put in the hard work to pull off the victory. And I did it. Over and over again.

It wasn’t about the grade at all. I guarantee I “learned” a lot more than the vast majority of my class’ GPA “leaders.” Those classes taught me all about self-accomplishment, self-motivation, self-determination, self-reliance, and self-discovery. And to me, that’s what the “college experience” is all about anyways.

Well, wait! What if I ever need to analyze a financial statement, solve a partial differential equation, or differentiate pricing inventory under periodic and perpetual inventory systems ? Oh, well, that’s easy! I’ll just ask my business partner. See, that’s something else I learned. Surrounding yourself with people smarter than you makes you stronger. He’s one of those A students…

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