White Hot Truth with Danielle LaPorte
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Business & organizational development, Creativity & innovation
On the eve of launching her new Firestarter Session e-book I sat down with good friend and colleague Danielle LaPorte, of White Hot Truth fame to interview her. Hang onto your fire poker and as we go with the Q &A.
Q: For those who aren’t already in the know, who are you and what do you do
A: “I write about self realization and business on WhiteHotTruth.com
I jam with entrepreneurs on how to rock their careers. I’m launching an e-book called, THE FIRE STARTER SESSIONS: A Digital Experience for Entrepreneurs. I’m a seeker. And a strategist.”
Your website name is White Hot Truth. Let’s break that down. The colour white as I see it (pun intended) reflects all light and distills things down to their essence.
Q: You strike me as a distiller, one who gets rid of the fluff and drills down. How do you do that?
“One word: INNOVATE. In order for me to stay on my personal edge – my innovative edge, I ask myself the following before I ever press send or publish:
Is this useful? It has to be of service. Sometimes being entertaining can be of service, but I prefer inspiring + practical.
Is this as transparent as can be? My own personal story is what has the most leverage in terms of teaching…and entertaining.
Is this elegant? Am I being loving, uncomplicated, inclusive, and righteous in a healthy kind of righteous way?”
Continuing with the name of your site – hot, on the one hand hot is about having passion for what you do but balancing that out with not so much hotness that you burn yourself out?
Q. How do you encourage people to follow their passion and at the same time not burn out?
A: “You know, I think burn out is part of the creative process – at least it is for me. We need to take the stigma out of it. I don’t believe in balance, I believe in rhythm and proportion.
You work your ass off, and then you need to veg out. Run, rest. Masterpiece, holiday. I think the trick is to do it in spurts, rushes of creativity. Worrying about burnout can hem you in from your creative brilliance. Just go for it and see what happens. I know this sounds manic, but it works for me and I’m both healthy and productive.”
The last word in your business name is truth. Good business practice is all about integrity, those without it eventually get burned, yet it’s easy for folks to hide from the truth.
Q: How do you encourage people to get real and see what’s true as opposed to what they want to believe, what’s easy?
A: “Authenticity is risky business. It’s not easy. Accepting that is key. When you commit to working with the truth, you need the courage to make last minute changes, tough decisions, to walk away, to push through. And the more you do that, the more you show up -sometimes it just takes a whisper, or signature, and sometimes it requires a major crusade -but the more you do it, the more you fall in love with the freedom it brings. And eventually integrity become the strongest muscle you have and you can move mountains with it.”
Q: You get interviewed a lot. What question are you surprised that you’ve never been asked? What’s the answer to that question?
A: “No one has asked me how much money I make a year. Seems like a basic question for someone who teaches people how to monetize their knowledge. (We don’t talk about real numbers enough.) I’m on track to make $300k this year.”
Q: What are three things that people can do to find their white hot truth?
A: “Define how you want success to feel.
Create a stop doing list for yourself.
Pay attention to what people thank you for — that appreciation is directly related to your personal genius.”
Q: Why do we shy away from our white hot truth? Why is it that we still see folks slaving away at a job that sucks their soul, that they hate, that burns them out?
A: “The truth is big, intimate and powerful. We’re trained to shrink away from our power in order to fit it. When you speak your truth you bust structures, status quo and expectations. Scary, but oh-so-worth it.”
Q: You’ve got a hot new eBook that’s launching on May 12th; which includes some creative formats and strategies. How did you come to creatively rethink, repackage your work?
A: “The FIRE STARTER SESSIONS is all about multi-media, baby. It’s a language that’s available to so many of us now – audio, video, downloadable, clickable, emailable. I’m thrilled to have the freedom to broadcast my message in so many formats, so quickly, for so many different learning styles. As for the “process,” my very sophisticated top secret process is: do what you say you’re going to do. Set the date. Make a promise. Launch it.”
Tags: creativity & innovation, danielle laport, e-book, entrepreneurship, fire starter, forum for women entrepreneurs, white hot truth
Looking up and out, not just down and in
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Business & organizational development, Communication, Human resources
Ever get your head so far buried in your work that you forget to look up and out? Up for new ideas? Out for new ways to connect? Read on for a simple way of harnessing technology for good, that is to reach out and up.
Having your head down, your office door shut and being focused is a good thing …. but not when it’s preventing you from looking at your work in new ways, getting insights into new possibilities, and different ways to make a contribution through your work. Not when you’re consistently working ‘in’ your business and never ‘on’ your business.
In a delightfully unplanned, organic way I’ve been having regular video conference meetings with two powerhouse women, both of whom help me look up and out.
Dyana Valentine, other than having the most incredible logo (look at her picture, see her hair and you’ll understand where it comes from) is a unique package. She’s a dual edged dynamo because she’s both a keen listener, as she effortlessly ‘gets’ the ideas you spout out, and at the same time she’s able to volley a plethora of incisive ideas right back at ya.
Jodi Womack runs a company called No More Nylons (aren’t you disappointed you didn’t think of that catchy name?). Her knack for social media and collaborating is pretty heady stuff. She’s the genius that used a screen capture to take some pictures of our last video conference. Jodi’s in the middle, I’m on the left and Dyana’s on the right.
The great thing is although we’re from different countries (Dyana and Jodi are both from the U.S., California to be exact) it costs us nada to connect, converse and generally whoop it up on IChat. You can tell from our pictures that we’re at times pensive, and at times just short of guffawing out loud.
Too often technology gets the upper hand and becomes our master (ahem, how many times a day do you check email?). When I’m video conferencing with Dyana and Jodi however I realize the power of working ‘on’ my business not just ‘in’ it.
I see possibilities, not just for being the master of my own technology but using it to look up, look out and all while helping to grow ideas for other business women and gather some ideas for myself. Now that’s time well spent.
Tags: creativity & innovation, dyana valentine, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, ichat, jodi womack, learning, no more nylons
Business lessons from coffeemeister George Moen of Blenz
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Business & organizational development, Human resources
George Moen, the President of Blenz, recently spoke to a group I belong to, the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs E-series program, and as I chuckled through his engaging presentation, I learned these four lessons about business.
1. Look to your roots
When George was a wee lad of 11 he managed to get a gaggle of friends to pick fruit from abandoned fruit trees, which they then sold door to door. George took 50% of the profits for his (and their) trouble. That enterprising spirit has served him well more than a few decades later as the owner/president of several franchises including Sandwich Tree and Blenz Coffee.
It made me remember when I was about the same age and I picked boxwood to sell to local florists. While other kids were reading comic books I was busy securing clients, managing my inventory and having a hoot selling, that is with the exception of the day that my little brother turned over the canoe that I was transporting the boxwood down the lake in, where I wailed as my hard picked product floated away.
Often the seeds of future success can be found in what we naturally did well at when we were young. What do the seeds of your youth tell you about your strengths and passion?
2. We’re all salespeople
“If you can move your lips and especially if you’re a parent, you’re a salesperson,” says George. Convincing little ones that it is indeed bedtime and better yet, time to visit the sleep fairy, takes some mighty sales techniques. While sales often get a bad rap (being interrupted by annoying sales calls at dinner), being able to find a need and fill it by selling a product or service is a gift.
With the advent of social media we’re often ‘selling’ our reputations, our knowledge and our experience.
What are you selling and how do you feel about that?
3. People with problems are a good thing
“I like people with problems. If people don’t have problems it means they haven’t tried hard enough. I don’t want to be their first failure,” was probably the wisest thing George said that night.
Those who don’t have failures to look back on often live in a safe, protected environment where they haven’t ever jumped gleefully out of the box and really pushed themselves to try something different and difficult.
When you’re looking to hire do you actively look for people with problems like George does?
4. Find a unique niche and fill it
Starbucks goes into countries where initially folks don’t believe that people will pay up to a 1/2 a day’s wage for a cup of coffee. After they are successful with the concept however people wanting to franchise come calling … and are turned away because Starbucks doesn’t franchise.
Blenz does franchise and George says they count on getting a call about a year after Starbucks has entered a new market, from folks wanting to franchise. Now that’s clever. That’s finding a unique niche and filling it.
What’s your unique niche? What need are you filling?
Who knew an evening of learning about picking fruit, relating bedtime to selling, actively seeking out problems and finding unique niches could be so entertaining. Thanks George.
Tags: blenz, coffee, creativity & innovation, e-series, entre, entrepreneurship, forum for women entrepreneurs, george moen, starbucks
When should I get a girlfriend says my 9 year old; identifying & escaping boxed in thinking
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Change management & wellness, Communication
I was looking forward to this past weekend. Really looking forward to it. Both my husband and oldest kid were out of town, leaving some precious 1:1 time with my youngest. After dropping off my oldest at the ferry terminal to visit his grandparents my youngest and I headed back to the van, hand in hand, dancing between the rain drops along the way.
Settled back in the van, me with my diet coke and him with his hot chocolate, we hit the highway home. The rain beat a comfortable backbeat to the rhythm of the windshield wipers, which were doing their best to clear a path through the soggy ride home.
Sitting behind me in his car seat, my 9 year old hit me with one of those question that make you pause, take a breath and then pause again, as you gather your thoughts and wonder what to say in response.
“Mom when should I get a girlfriend?” he asked in matter of fact voice.
His question set off a lovely, free flowing conversation the whole ride home. Quiet, uninterrupted time to talk about the BIG things in life – his expectations of himself, other’s expectations, and why girls seem to hate it when boys chase them but then afterwards they like those boys more.
It made me think about how if we live unexamined lives, that is if we don’t pause and hit the reflection button, we can end up operating under someone else’s instruction manual. We need to live our lives deliberately, that is taking time to:
- examine whether you’re going with the flow because you’ve fallen under the thumb of your boss, your partner, or that must-have product that marketers work so hard to convince you is a must have
- examine whether you’re living life according to your own values and principals
If we don’t live deliberately we risk not recognizing the boxes we unwittingly put around our thinking which leads to a whole series of “I must do this, I have to do that, I should……” instead of “I choose to, I want to, I’m delighted to….”
Orchestrate your own life. Identify the boxes you have around your thinking. Then it’s much easier to decide when it’s time to get a girlfriend.
Tags: change management, creativity & innovation, learning
The road to success may be under construction but you should always be the site foreman
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Business & organizational development, Change management & wellness
Danielle Wilson, the smart and savvy President and Founder of Sweet Peanut Clothing Company suggests “we should know what our picture of success looks like. We should know what we want and then build a picture of what that looks like.”
I really tuned in when she walked her talk by relating how she’d turned down an offer from a big box store to carry her line. While it would have increased sales, it would have diluted her brand in the long run and threatened the current clients who carry her exclusive line. I found myself thinking that’s smart, that’strategic.
When I heard her speak recently at the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs E-series program it made me think about my definition of success which cast me down the path of memory lane.
I remembered taking an entrepreneurship course where the old-school instructor suggested the life of an entrepreneur was 24/7 and that we should “take our business cards to the bathroom because you never know who you’ll meet along the way.” Really? Really? Is that the kind of life I want to lead? It took me but a nanosecond to shake my head and replace that picture of success with another one.
That kind of 24/7 narrow, focused life would leave me a basket case where I wouldn’t be much use to my clients. That kind of 24/7 narrow, focused life doesn’t leave much room for much else, like the things that are important in my life – being a mom, life partner, friend, daughter, active community member, adventure traveler not to mention making cookie dough from scratch and eating it right out of the bowl with my kids.
I also thought about when, several life times ago, I briefly worked on a locked ward for youth sexual offenders. It was sobering. The experience taught me a lot about my definition of success. When I first went in, the sheen of my bright and hopeful eyes must have required sunglasses. I thought I would change some lives, create connection where connection had been lacking, really make a significant difference.
When the light had dimmed, I’d read the case files and shook my head over how a kid could survive being brought up in a cold, unheated garage with little to light, I recast my definition of success. Success to me was working 1:1 with a kid and helping to keep him safe and calm so that he could be in the common area for my entire shift. Success was not having to lock him back up in his cell.
Success was tiny increments, almost indiscernible. Conversations about why washing with soap was important, how to control your anger, how to talk period.
Taught me a lot those kids. I still wonder where some of them are to this day, some 20+ years after the fact.
Back to listening to Danielle speak, I couldn’t agree more. We all need to have a personalized definition of success. Something as tailor fitted as a fine Italian suit. While your definition of success may be under construction and change over time you should definitely be the one in charge on the construction site.
Tags: change management, danielle wilson, e-series, forum for women entrepreneurs, fwe, learning, success, sweet peanut clothing
How to make a fan out of a fan; creative marketing ideas
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Business & organizational development, Communication, Travel
Imagine being in 28 degrees Celsius / 82 degrees Fahrenheit weather and it’s only 8 am. Your shirt is already sticking to your back and you can feel the sweat sliding down your spine like some amusement park ride gone wild. As you make your way to the first day of a business conference you feel yourself already wilting.
This is how I was feeling on my first day of the recent United Nations World Urban Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where I was presenting a workshop on cultural intelligence.
Then I picked up my conference package and found this curious cardboard thing inside (see picture above). It didn’t take long before I noticed many conference attendees fanning themselves with it.
Clever! This was a company that knew its market, knew that many of us would be unaccustomed to the heat and would be needing some help. We literally waved this company’s website in front of folks’ noses. And what a welcome wave it was.
Permission marketing at its most literal.
Not so clever! When you actually go to the website listed on the fan you get an ‘under construction’ message, or at least that’s what I’m guessing, not being able to read Portuguese.
Result? Strike out. A clever opportunity missed. The idea didn’t ‘ship’ as Seth Godin would say– it met resistance and died. The resistance in this case being the malfunctioning website.
Lesson? Creativity’s a great thing. Just make sure you have your palm trees in a row as well, or in this case, a website that works.
Here’s me pretending to be back in Brazil, using the fan. I used Photo Booth’s beach effect to make it look like I’m there.
Tags: brazil, learning, marketing, permission marketing, rio de janeiro, seth godin, ship, united nations, world urban forum
How to start a social movement: leadership lessons from dancing guy
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Business & organizational development, Change management & wellness, Creativity & innovation
In my past post I wrote about how dance can be used as metaphor for getting into your work flow, your zone. Dance can be used for other things too. Such as how to start a social movement.
Malcolm Gladwell talks about the things that need to happen to ‘tip’ it into mainstream society in the Tipping Point; critical folk who push something over into the mainstream.
Want to see a social movement in action? Take a look at the hairy, dancing guy, a short video narrated by Derek Sivers.
He makes the point that it’s the first follower that transforms the ‘lone nut’ into a leader.
New followers emulate the followers not the leader.
As more people join the movement it becomes less risky to do so.
Leaders need to nurture the followers because it’s about the movement not about you.
What’s a person to do? Clearly there are three choices:
- Watch Derek’s video below
- As Derek says, if you find a lone nut doing something great have the courage to join in OR
- Have the courage to be a lone nut (at least until you find some followers)
Tags: dance, derek sivers, flow, follower, leader, leadership, malcolm gladwell, social movement, tipping point
Finding your flow, your work zone through dance
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Business & organizational development, Human resources
“Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we should dance” (anonymous).
I happen to LOVE to dance so this is a no brainer for me. Shaking it on the dance floor from time to time does more for my stress level than a week at a spa. I simply love putting movement to music. I love getting carried away on the notes that swirl through the air. I love forgetting about my what I need to do tomorrow or the next day. I love being simply, fully in the moment.
It’s the same with being in the zone when working. When you’re in the flow time flies. There’s an equal dance between ease (when what we’re working on comes naturally, when our energy goes up instead of being sucked down) and the seductive pull of creative challenges (when our brains are thirstily solving problems with grace).
When work is too easy and it’s boring. Too hard and it’s demoralizing.
What can dance teach us about finding your work zone, your?
- know what steps you’re most comfortable with: from rock to country to folk or ballet there are many steps. Business-wise focus on what makes you feel strong, which isn’t always what you’re good at (see Marcus Buckingham’s the Truth About You for more information on this)
- know where you like to dance: from in a crowded bar to turning up the tunes in private at home there are many places to boogie. Business-wise focus on what community brings you ease and puts your in your zone. Find your tribe (a la Seth Godin).
- toss our your self-consciousness and have fun; the same part of our brain we use for critical thinking we also use for understanding humour. See our website for some specific client examples of what you can do to incorporate the strategic use of humour in your workplace.
- “Dancing is a lifetime, equal opportunity sport” says Robert Fulghum author of “All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten”. For God’s sake share your passion, whatever it is. From being a kickass tax lawyer to an empathetic doctor, from being an on-the-cutting-edge business person to a stay at home mama, share your passion and your love for what you do. Infect the world.
Where’s your dance zone?
Watch for the next blog post about using the metaphor of dance for how social movements can start.
In the meantime, what are you waiting for? Go shake it.
Tags: all i ever needed to know, business strategy, change management, creativity & innovation, dance, finding your tribe, marcus buckingham, robert fulghum, seth godin, the truth about you, tribe, zone
When scales don’t tell the truth- how do you judge success?
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Change management & wellness
I’m graduating from the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs E-series program soon and the other day I tried on a dress that I want to wear to the party. I was trying it on because it was too big and I needed to have it measured to take in.
That was my first shocker. It fit. Well.
My second shocker was that I’d just lost a couple of pounds and was back to my regular size. Or so the scale said.
Here’s the deal, in the last three months I volunteered 6 days a week doing 12 hour shifts while the Olympics were on. Then I promptly got sick. Then I hurt my back. Then I went to Brazil for three weeks where it hit 28 degrees Celsius ….. by 8 am.
Let’s just say that exercise hasn’t been a regular part of my vocabulary for some three months now.
Not surprisingly I put on a couple of pounds, which in the last few weeks, back at regular exercise, I’m happy to say I’ve shed.
So why did the dress fit if I’m at my regular weight?
After the shock wore off I figured it out.
While I’ve been exercising diligently, I’ve only been doing aerobic type exercises (climbing hills, running, vigorous walking). What I hadn’t been doing is any strength training (crunches, planks, push ups etc) or stretching.
So while I’m the same weight I’m not the same size.
The number on the scale is only one indicator. It’s the same thing with your indicators of work success.
What do you judge success by? Do you have a complete picture or are you slaving away to narrowly one defined indicator, let’s say money for example? Is what you earn your only indicator? This is the premise of Tim Ferris’ book the Four Hour Work Week where he talks about not postponing your life and waiting until you retire to enjoy what you really love to do.
I judge my work success by three things:
- do I feel fulfilled, happy and energized about my work?
- do I feel like I’m making a contribution?
- am I making enough cash to sustain the kind of lifestyle I want?
Don’t get locked into a narrow definition of success. It probably won’t fit, like my dress.
It took me reanalyzing my definition of exercise to realize I’d forgotten 2/3rds of the equation (strength and stretching). Which reminds me, I have a yoga class to go to.
Tags: 4 hour work week, change management, creativity & innovation, e-series, exercise, forum for women entrepreneurs, perspective, scale, success, tim ferris
Fray or fringe worldview; you can choose
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Conflict resolution, Creativity & innovation
Recently I wrote a post about as a metaphor for life.
You know the bits of a carpet that aren’t neatly sewn up but rather hang there loosely at the edges? Do you see those bits as fray – as messy, a nuisance and unorganized?
Or do you see them as fringe – as balance to the overall design, an aesthetic that’s a little wild and loose and uncontrolled?
Like life.
If you see see them as fray then perhaps you recognize yourself as someone who likes to tidy up the fray in your life, someone who:
- has different coloured highlights or post-its or colour coded events in your PDA
- gets excited about the new organizational apps for your IPhone
- gets relaxed by focusing on systems (organizing projects, your wardrobe, your big ideas)
All good stuff
except
when you focus too much on tidying the fray and don’t see the beauty in the fringe.
Here’s an example. A good friend of mine is a coordinator for a community-based arts project. She is wonderful at viewing life through both the fray AND the fringe. She is uber organized (fray) AND big, insightful ideas come out of her brain at regular intervals (fringe).
Through combining her fray and fringe skills she recently found the project $38,000. Yep, $38K in unclaimed grant money that folks had forgotten about. It took her organizational skills to do it plus her out there, let’s consider this unconsidered possibility kind of thinking.
For those fed up with the fray here’s to a little more fringe in our worldviews. What would your world look like through the fringe?
Tags: change management, change management & wellness, creativity & innovation, learning, perspective, worldview