Matt Wilson, Co-Founder of Under30Media, began building brands online including venture-backed startups like Zaarly after using social media to land Under30CEO on MSNBC and BusinessWeek.

Wilson’s passion for entrepreneurship began after leading Bryant University to becoming the world’s #1 entrepreneurs’ organization. After seven months abroad, Matt’s official title became Adventurer in Residence, heading up Under30Media’s travel company Under30Experiences.

What are you working on right now?

As the co-founder of Under30CEO, we’ve officially spun off a travel company for ambitious young professionals called Under30Experiences.

Where did the idea for Under30Experiences come from?

A year ago, I was standing on a volcano in Iceland literally having the experience of a lifetime and said to myself, “damn, I wish I could give this experience to other ambitious young people.” I pitched it to my business partner Jared O’Toole and we took the leap. We spent a year testing different models until we finally nailed the perfect format for the trip in Nicaragua. Under30Experiences is officially a reality.

How do you make money?

In the travel business, there are two main variables– margins, and volume. We charge for the trips, rent the resort, hire guides, organize meals, coordinate transportation, and pay our staff to curate a really hands on experience. Because we try to keep prices low, and cap the trips at just 30 people, we need to make up for it by running lots of trips.

What does your typical day look like?

Lucky for me, I’ve had the opportunity to spend the last seven months abroad scouting locations, working from my laptop. Talk about dream job…

I spent the winter in Costa Rica. I’m not an early riser but somehow I’d be sitting on my balcony by 6:15AM with a cup of Costa Rican coffee, laptop in hand. A huge part of my job is telling the story of our travels, and the life changing experiences our attendees have, so I do a lot of writing. The trips are designed to be a launching pad for young professionals to see the world, so we’re constantly surrounded by inspiration.

I have a logistics call with Shawna our Events Manager every morning at 9:30AM. She’s busy booking the locations, coordinating flights, and keeping me on my best behavior.

Jared, my business partner who handles operations at Under30CEO Skypes me about new content, marketing ideas, and how to keep the site growing.

Depending on the tide, I take off to go surf, and then get back on the grind later in the day…

How do you bring ideas to life?

Test them. We had an idea for a travel company, so we gave it a shot. Not everything went perfectly, but we had tremendous feedback from our attendees. We realized people were incredibly passionate about traveling with like minded people so we knew it was time to put more time and money into the idea.

What’s one trend that really excites you?

Honesty and transparency. The days of putting up a big PR front are over. We love writing exactly how we feel on Under30CEO, and our attendees at Under30Experiences speak openly and honestly about their goals an ambitions. I love that the business world is becoming less about egos and smoke in mirrors.

What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?

In the early days of Under30CEO my mom came to me and said we were losing our home. I immediately had to find the first job I could find and it happened to be a $15/hr wage as a driver.

Little did I know I’d be asked to wake up at 5AM everyday to drive a dumptruck and an 18 foot trailer. After that, I had to dig ditches for 12 hours, alongside migrant workers, who kicked my a**. When I got home, I’d have dinner and start working on Under30CEO until 2AM.

The learning? That’s easy. Success is way sweeter when you have to work for it.

If you were to start again, what would you do differently?

Focus on email marketing. We ignored this specific tactic because everyone used to talk about how “email is dead”. Well, push marketing is a live and well, so start capturing those email addresses, and delivering the people who opt-in as much value as possible.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Workout. Seriously– I don’t work on anything for more than 90 minutes. The law of diminishing returns says, you get less and less accomplished after that. I’m always taking breaks to surf, workout or catch a yoga class, because I know when I return, I’ll accomplish tasks in half the time.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

The failure: Taking too much advice from others. Here’s a little honest and transparent tidbit… unless someone is willing to pay your bills, be wary of their advice. Everyone told us this “Under30CEO” name would never work. We hate to admit it, but we even changed the name to “Factor77″ once to open ourselves up to a broader audience. This was a huge source of embarrassment for us, spending money rebranding and then switching back. We chalked that lesson up for experience…

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Someone please invent an app that tells me everything about my body. Our health and fitness needs to be metric driven. I want to know my blood pressure, my heart rate, how many calories I ingested, my weight, bodyfat, my sleep cycles, and everything about my body all on my iPhone.

Let me know if you do, I’d love to be part of this project. Start solving big problems.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be and how would you go about it?

Our generation would be more concerned with changing the world. All of the smartest kids in the world are starting “just another” music sharing app, or a Facebook game, or something else that adds little value to making the world a better place. I want our generation to go down as the one that changed everything. We have a lot of work to do.

Bringing these people together online/offline to have these discussions is a big step in the right direction.

Tell us something about you that very few people know?

I haven’t been to a movie theater in four years. I guess starting a business and traveling has kept me busy doing other things…

What are your three favorite online tools or resources and what do you love about them?

Keeping it mobile and travel themed: 1) WhatsApp–you can text with anyone when you are overseas, 2) Univision–yes, the Spanish channel has a great app, and if you are trying to learn a different language, you might as well watch television in the language, and 3) SMART Traveler app lets you register with the State Department anytime you go abroad, to keep you safe.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

“The Dip” by Seth Godin. It’s all about when to quit and why you should or should not quit. It’ll get you through a rut, any day.

Three people we should follow on Twitter and why?

My awesome lifestyle blogger friends: @Marcinator @SkoolofLife @AndreaRodRojo

When was the last time you laughed out loud? What caused it?

Last night we taught my buddies french bulldog puppy how to skateboard in my apartment. You can imagine how that went.

Who is your hero?

Family aside, I have three sports heroes, all for the same reason: they put every ounce of passion they have into what they do.

Magic Johnson, Brett Favre, and Tom Izzo.

If you could grow your travel business to three places where would they be? 

Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Still close flights, in similar timezones to the United States, I’d dispel the reputation of Colombia and their drug cartels, see the Amazon and Galapagos in Ecuador, and climb Machu Picchu in Peru. Giving young professionals experiences in those places? It doesn’t get a whole lot better than that for Under30Experiences.

How do you focus on work when you are in paradise?

Easy. If I want to pay my bills, I have to. Plus, as much as I love my work, I’m trying to get done so I can go explore wherever in the world I am. You learn to be way more focused when you have other stuff to look forward to during the day.

Connect:

Under30Media – Inspiring, Leading, and Educating the Next Generation
Matt Wilson on Google+: https://plus.google.com/103938097201398990173
Matt Wilson on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewjwilson
Matt Wilson on Twitter: @MattWilsontv

 

By now, the story of Eric Ries’ journey to the creation of the book, The Lean Startup is well-known:

Entrepreneur starts anonymous blog to document his lean startup philosophy. Blog becomes so popular, entrepreneur begins to devote all of his time to the Lean Startup project through speaking engagements, holding conferences, and writing blog posts. The blog eventually turns into the book The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses. Ries is credited with being the pioneering the Lean Startup movement.

This got me wondering what kind of impact Ries’ words have had on interviewees at IdeaMensch, a site “where entrepreneurs share their stories.”

I pulled some data to start and found 25 unique interviews that mention “Eric Ries.”  Some of the mentions are brief, i.e. the book title is referenced, while some interviewees provide some narrative on how exactly this philosophy has affected their entrepreneurial efforts. Here’s a few of our favorites…

Ben Mappen – How do you bring ideas to life?

“Before I had ever heard of Steve Blank or The Lean Startup I would get new ideas and lock myself in a closet for 6 months building them, blinded by the excitement of just launching.  Believe me when I tell you that this didn’t work out so well.  I know a little better now.  These days, before we build anything, we try to validate it as much as possible by testing core assumptions in the market with experiments or by simply talking to customers.  Only after an idea is validated do we invest in the most expensive activity, which is development.”

Alex Glassey – What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur and how did you overcome it?

“I started up a software company. I had a great idea, wrote the business plan, raised some money, developed the product and was reasonably happy with it. But when we took it to the market, we didn’t have the success we had hoped for. That wasn’t the failure; the failure was that I didn’t pause. I kept the product development team going, I pushed on with marketing initiatives. I knew deep down that it wasn’t working, but the company had a life of its own and I found it very difficult to press the pause button. What I should have done was stopped everything and dug down into the product. I should have gotten in front of our customers, asked them what they liked and they didn’t like, and tried to understand why we weren’t getting traction.

I was schooled in the old way of thinking where you tell funders what you want money for, you raise the money, and then you spend it like you said you would. You get the momentum going and keep it going. But when it’s not going well, it’s important to press pause, conserve the capital and figure out what to do differently, even if it means spending the money differently than you said you would. To use Eric Ries’ nomenclature of The Lean Startup, you take a three-month or six-month “burst”, work hard, pause and see what you’ve got. If it’s working as it is, keep going; if it’s not, it’s time to “pivot.””

Matt Connolly – How do you bring ideas to life?

“A while back, I enjoyed getting into the Eric Ries “Lean Startup” thinking. There’s some good stuff in it. I guess I mix some of that with my own experience of building businesses.

I’m obsessive about validating a business idea early. Failing fast, learning quickly and iterating until you’re confident you have a model you can scale.”

Raphael Paulin-Daigle – What are your three favorite online tools or resources and what do you love about them?

“Clarity.fm:  I find that Clarity.fm is an awesome tool for entrepreneurs because it gives you the chance to speak directly with successful entrepreneurs like Eric Ries, Sean Rad and Dan Martell, just to name a few. I used it several times and found it very useful when I needed some clarity when building Idealinput. It’s great!”

Elizabeth Yin – If you were to start again, what would you do differently?

“Before LaunchBit, I had a company called Parrotview that failed. It was a social shopping application and it failed because we spent too long (1.5 years, mostly nights and weekends) building and building something that ultimately no one wanted. This was before Eric Ries started hitting the pavement with his Lean Startup philosophy. If I could do it over again, I would take the poker approach we used with LaunchBit.”

And what about you?

Has The Lean Startup book and/or its philosophy affected your entrepreneurial endeavors? How has it done so? At IdeaMensch, we’d love to hear from you regarding what you do, what you’ve learned as an entrepreneur, and how you’re bringing ideas to life. Learn how to get featured on IdeaMensch. We’re waiting for you.

 

Kyle Sanders is an eCommerce and small business SEO consultant on a mission to help online businesses improve their web presence, business strategy, and topline revenue. Presently, Kyle is the CEO of Complete Web Resources, a full-service digital marketing refinery and SEO agency with offices in Denver, CO and Austin, TX. Additionally, he’s also the co-founder of ClinicVitamins.com, a national, online vitamin dispensary dealing exclusively in professional-grade health supplements. After getting tired of the arduous employee grind, he set out to develop his own network of online businesses and ended falling into the (never ending) rabbit hole of SEO along the way.

A writer by interest and academic training, Kyle has been published on hundreds of industry-leading small business, marketing, and search engine optimization blogs. When he’s not hustlin’, writing for the web, or brainstorming new product ideas over a cold brew, he enjoys submission wrestling, swinging kettlebells, and whitewater kayaking.

What are you working on right now?

Everything. If I’m not finding ways to improve existing systems, I’m incredibly bored. I’m also working on developing a line of physical products, and expanding our agency’s service offerings

Where did the idea for Complete Web Resources come from?

I’ve been in eCommerce for a long time. As an employee and entrepreneur in the space, I’ve seen and experienced the lack of results from SEO firms and had to figure it out myself. I realized I could deliver more value than most firms and maintain a substantially lower attribution rate. Eventually, my partner and I decided we needed to be running a firm.

How do You Make Money?

Our main stream of revenue comes from agency billings—which is primarily SEO—that said, we do well in the physical business too. I also run an online vitamin dispensary at the national level.

What does your typical day look like?

Wake up, eat, review my to-do list, swing kettlebells, work for most of the day, go to Catch Wrestling or kickboxing, eat, work a tad more, stretch, read, watch a documentary, sleep. Repeat.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Workflowy (great tool) and my whiteboard. I use both daily. Sometimes I put it in my car. My neighbors probably think it’s weird, but they only get two weeks of vacation per year.

What’s one trend that really excites you?

The ability to learn virtually any skill you want, from any location you want, for free. We live in incredible times.

What’s the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?

There’s a company called Clear Water Transportation, Ltd. They’re the Dollar/Thrifty car rental franchise in the Austin airport. Never rent from them. Ever. As an employee, I was required to tack on at least $5/day to the rental quote. Since they’re a franchise, unless the quote comes from Dollar or Thrifty, it doesn’t have to match. I lost a bit of my soul working at that place.

The takeaway? Upon quitting, I knew I needed to live by my own rules, no matter what. Initially, it was just based upon the lack of ethics, until I saw the light. I also learned that customer/client service is a major key in differentiating yourself, especially when you’re dealing with people online.

If you were to start again, what would you differently?

Nothing. You are the product of your aggregate experiences and that directly contributes to your success in business. Every terrible job I ever had impacted me in a unique way.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

My first business “failure” was a website that sold tactical gear/military supplies via dropshipping. The time and money I invested into it was obscene and the margins were embarrassing, to say the least. I worked hard, beat some odds, but in the end it was a terrible market if you weren’t stocking inventory. What I thought was a total failure ended up being a priceless lesson in business, humility, and market evaluation.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to readers?

If I’m willing to give it away, it’s probably not good. The fraternity and sorority markets are huge. Good luck with the licensing requirements.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be and how would you go about it?

Every kid on Earth should have a laptop. Closing a few military bases will cover that, easily.

Tell us something about you that very few people know?

I used to be obsessed with professional wrestling. By the transitive property, I am naturally a UFC and K1 Kickboxing fanatic.

What are your three favorite online tools/resources and what do you love about them?

1. Workflowy – Incredibly simple, free, cloud-based way to throw down ideas. You can share what you need to and keep the rest private.
2. Google docs – If you need an explanation, you’re lagging.
3. Songza – I love music. Letting someone else select the playlist based on day/time is priceless. Maybe not a tool, but it’s helpful for shredding the to-do list.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

“The Book of Five Rings”, written by Miyamoto Musashi in 1645. It applies to every aspect of being human and lends itself well to business.

Three people we should follow on Twitter and why?

1. Neil deGrasse Tyson
2. Joe Rogan
3. Stone Cold Steve Austin

Why? If you’re not already following them, you’re probably missing out. Also, Twitter is great for the right now, but there are substantially better social platforms for anyone following an industry leader.

When was the last time you laughed out loud? What caused it?

Right now. This question.

Before that? I was recently in Seattle and caught up with friends I hadn’t seen in twelve years. We reminisced about the night we stole a Penthouse from a friend’s dad and looked at it in a tent (age 11).

Who is your hero?

My parents and grandparents, easily. They came from humble beginnings and are incredibly successful in business and life in general.

A professional quotation of your choice?

“Don’t let schooling interfere with your education.” – Mark Twain

You said you were doing that last month. Why haven’t you started that?

Connect:

Complete Web Resources – SEO for Small Biz
Kyle Sanders on Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/108629021382837771966/about

 

I have a friend who often says, “We live in interesting times,” He’s right. But things have been a little too interesting lately. You know things are bad when a gal comes into YOGA and starts talking about the European money markets.  On that note, our leader took us right into relaxation poses rather than our usual stretches.

Another powerful way to calm a stressed brain is with upbeat, steady music. Beats, rhythms, and swaying your body changes your brain. Changing brain waves changes your mood. The “Escape” album by Enrique Iglesias does wonders for my mood. Put it on in your car, with volume up loud, and start swaying.  I promise, you will feel your emotions blast off, in a good way!

*I love this song “Don’t Turn Off The Lights”

Find more videos like this on Enrique Iglesias

I spent the last eight years researching and writing about finding your inner happy. As a counselor, professor, and author I am constantly immersed in positive psychology literature. I’ve compiled this research under the topic of self-care. My passion as a counselor and writer is to help people like you learn positive responses to coping with stress and to give yourself permission to care for yourself in order to minimize the negative effects on you and on others. My book Renewed: Finding Your Inner Happy in an Overwhelmed World released six weeks ago.

I gave a copy of my book to a friend who recently admitted she thought self care was for wimps. She was tough and didn’t think she needed my book. This is the text she sent me after reading it:

“While on spring break last week I sat down to start your book. I finished it before I went to bed. It has changed my life. You have no idea the timing for this, the work I have been doing to get healthy and how this has become my manual to keep me accountable. I have never read anything near as good and I am a bit upset it took them so long to publish it. God has changed me forever through you!”

Self-care is not selfish. Self-care is about taking control of your own health and happiness. By being in control you stay healthy and put yourself in charge of making sure you have a good quality of life. Taking good care of yourself means the people in your life receive the best of you rather than what is left of you.

My book is jam packed with emotional, spiritual, and physical self-care tips. Here are just a few:

Do What You Love

Happiness expert Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi did an interesting study where subjects who were randomly beeped had to write down what they were doing and how happy they were. He found that people were not happiest during leisure time, as would be expected. Instead they were happiest when they were doing an activity where they felt challenged yet in which they excelled; oftentimes it was work. Researchers call this state “flow,” and I talk more about it in the book.

It makes sense that if you want to feel good about yourself, you will spend the vast majority of your time doing what you love. What activities do you really enjoy? When do you lose track of time because you are doing something so enjoyable that you are caught up in a sense of timelessness? When do you feel you are doing what you were born to do? My friend Danica experiences much pleasure in the simple art of knitting. For Michele, it’s running a quiet trail; and for Antje, it’s reading comics. Recently I was at a speaker training and heard comedian Bob Stromberg say he often sits in his sauna with music and gets so caught up in thinking of creative ideas that he won’t realize an hour has gone by. If you want to be happy, do what you’re good at and do what you love. Not sure what your strengths or interests are? There are lots of strengths finder books and online tests. One is StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath.

Develop a Strong Sense of Self

Problems and stress are a regular part of life. But have you noticed that some people seem better equipped to deal with difficult relationships and the stressors of life?  For example, I used to wake up and wonder where the day’s problems and my mood were going to take me. I felt trapped by unhealthy relationships, poor interpersonal boundaries, and unpredictable emotions. Life overwhelmed me. On the other hand, I had a friend who could be in the midst of all sorts of drama and tension in his work place. He would smile, giggle, and say lightheartedly, “I love my job.”

People who have a strong sense of self have a zest for living; they are able to handle stress and bounce back from adversity. They have a sense of meaning in their lives. They are flexible and able to adapt to change. They have a healthy balance between work and play, and they have self-confidence and high self-esteem.

Having a healthy sense of self also means having an accurate, realistic, and authentic awareness of who you are and being able to see your inherent worthiness. I’m not talking about the kind of ego that causes one to think she is better than others. Instead, someone with a strong sense of self recognizes her strengths, weaknesses, values, likes, and dislikes. A healthy sense of self is required for effective communication, interpersonal relations, and being able to have empathy for others. (In the book I give lots of information about how we fail to get a strong sense of self and what to do if we lack it.)

Learn How to Set Boundaries

A person with healthy boundaries is able to identify what she thinks and feels about something, but those with unhealthy boundaries often allow others to tell them what they think or feel. A person with healthy boundaries is able to control how she reacts, and she is able to distinguish between her own emotions, opinions, and behaviors and those of others, and take responsibility for them. She does not blame others for how she thinks, feels, or behaves. She is very clear where she ends and another person begins and maintains that line. She is able to stand up for herself calmly and intelligently without desperation, intimidation, or manipulation.

I used to think people who had clear boundaries were mean and nasty, and people who accommodated everybody else’s whim were “Christian.” But I’ve come to admire people with clear-cut boundaries because there are no mixed messages, no mind games, and no guessing involved.

When my kids were small, I telephoned Gina to see if she could watch them while I went to an appointment. She sighed deeply and mumbled, “Well…I guess…” I took my children to her house but worried about them the entire time I was gone. I could tell she hadn’t really wanted extra children that day; but like me, Gina was a pleaser who couldn’t say no. Her inability to set strong, clear boundaries had the effect of making me feel oddly unsafe and uncomfortable.

Juxtapose that incident with another: Whenever I asked a favorite teacher if I could stop by for a visit, he clearly stated a yes or a no, with little explanation. I always felt safe asking, because I knew he wouldn’t see me just because I wanted to visit. He knew how to protect his time. His ability to set concise, clear boundaries made me feel safe to ask things of him. Of course, it helps to state boundaries with a kind tone of voice; there’s rarely a need to be harsh or rude.

Make Space for Solitude

Professor William Deresiewicz tells the incoming students at the United States Military Class at West Point, “If you want others to follow, learn to be alone with your thoughts.” Though it sounds like a contradiction because we imagine leaders surrounding themselves with people, Deresiewicz tells the future leaders that solitude will be the thing they have the least of, but it is the most necessary ingredient for true leadership. Solitude is the time when we disengage from the immediate demands of other people, experience a reduction of social inhibition, and select our own activities, including creative thinking. For most people, solitude is sparse–so sparse that silence is a powerful means of capturing our attention. We see this in a whole series of Corona Beer commercials where the only sound is the quiet waves, a seagull caw, and the quiet spritz of a bottle being opened http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDJSueRRUzs ; or the Chevy Volt car as it meanders quietly through the landscape: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-m0J-SFavM

Our world is radically changing into noisy interruptions and sound bites that are rewiring our brains. Many of us spend hours on computers, interacting with others all day long. Some estimate that 30 to 40 percent of people’s time in the workplace is spent tending to unplanned interruptions, and then trying to refocus. Because technology is taking away our ability to be alone, we have less and less time to think and feel. Instead of marinating in our own thoughts long enough to have an idea, we bombard our brains with the thoughts of others; and those around us powerfully influence our decisions.

How can people be creative when they can’t find space and time to think? Thinking means concentrating on one thing long enough to develop your own idea about it. Only by concentrating, focusing, and being patient do we arrive at an original idea. Concentration can’t happen between the TV, magazine, satellite radio, iPod, email, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Right now, I am trying to write a simple sentence about the decline of creativity in the United States. In trying to convey a point about solitude and its importance to creativity, I can’t think because I’m staring at my to-do list and emails that pop onto on my computer screen. And my phone just started ringing.

Recently one of my son’s friends—a freshman at the University of Colorado—invited me to sit in on his Psychology course. It had been two and half decades since I had been a student in the very same auditorium, and a lot had changed. As the chairs filled up, almost every student flipped open a laptop and there was a steady barrage of talking. I anticipated the room would quiet down and the students would begin taking notes on their computers. Wrong! Instead I saw Facebook pages, videogames, and sports cars racing across screens. About halfway through the class, laptops were folded shut and students took notes in old-fashioned notebooks. The computers had simply been a means for them to connect with their peers at the same time they were attending class.

I couldn’t believe how much the world had changed, and I was impressed at their ability to multitask. Yet, shortly after that experience, I read about a study led by a team of researchers at Stanford University who wanted to understand how today’s college students multitask so much more efficiently than adults. What did the research conclude? The study found the more young people multitask, the worse they performed on mental tasks. The “high multitaskers” were unable to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information, and they were also more easily distracted.

Make Sure You Play

In 1966, psychiatrist Stuart Brown, was one of several experts asked to determine what caused Charles Whitman, the Texas Tower Sniper to kill his mother and wife, along with 14 others in a 90-minute shooting spree. (In addition to those, he wounded 32 others at the University of Texas in Austin.) What did Brown and his colleagues discover about Whitman? An abusive father had beaten Whitman’s natural tendency for play out of him. When he was a child, young Whitman was forced to practice piano and perform for his father’s friends. He grew up in a rigid, joyless atmosphere, deprived of opportunities for play.

Brown became convinced that play is not trivial. The great paradox of play is that it is purposeless, yet there are immense psychological, social, and physical benefits. Brown spent many more years studying male murderers within the prison system of Texas. Time after time he found this specific population had been deprived or had abnormal play situations. His 45-plus years of research convinced him that play teaches us how to be more flexible and adaptable. It teaches us how to role-play, react to stress, become resilient, blow off steam, problem-solve, and imagine. It is key to helping us learn to regulate our emotions. Imaginary games prepare us for stressful scenarios in life—we learn to develop humor in a world we can’t control. Play seems to be necessary for the developing the trust, cooperation, and common goal-setting that are essential for community.

During times of stress we need more play. Dr. Mark Epstein, in his book Open to Desire shares a story of living in New York City in the aftermath of 9/11. The worst wreckage was right outside his family’s window, and for months they had to pass through police and army checkpoints. Worry and agitation were a normal part of their day. On a prior trip to Tucson, Dr. Epstein’s young son acquired a stuffed animal named Hoss. The animal became a transitional object—a bridge to conversation—between father and son. Father would speak in a western accent, as if he were the stuffed animal talking.

A couple of nights after the terrorist attack, with sirens blaring below their home, the boy said to his toy, “Hey Hoss, did you hear what happened to the World Trade Center?” Dr. Epstein suddenly became alert and responded in a western accent as if he were the speaking: “Can’t say I have, Little Pardner. What happened to the World Trade Center?” After his son relayed the horrible events, Hoss (Dr. Epstein) answered, “What are you talking about, Little Pardner? Terrorists, hijackings, buildings collapsing! Listen to you. What kind of imagination do you have? People don’t fly airplanes into skyscrapers, you know that!” The playful interaction was a way for father and son to process the unimaginable events. In an emotional release they experienced the first laughter since the Twin Towers came down. Epstein said, “While trauma and threat tend to take away the desire for playfulness, they intensify the need for it.” He goes on to say that, “Play is one of those things, like dreaming, that seems superfluous but that we cannot seem to live without.”

At some deep level you must know that it is time to consider your own health and you are ready to enjoy your life and your family and find your way to that beautiful word: balance. I applaud you for recognizing that, and I look forward to sharing life-changing strategies to help you better care for yourself in the pages and days to come. Maybe you’ll even put Enrique on your stereo and sing “You. Can. Take. My. Breath-ay-way.”

 

Brittany Dowell is a vice president at Influence & Co., a thought leadership and content marketing firm that assists experts and brands in growing their influence by getting bylined articles published in the world’s leading online publications. She works with experts in dozens of different industries to develop content and connect them with editors at the most reputable and noteworthy publications in their areas. Brittany has worked in the marketing departments of several large brands, including the YMCA and Hilton, where she discovered her interest in the growing field of content marketing. Brittany was on the initial team starting Influence & Co. in 2011.

What are you working on right now?

I’m the Vice President of Publications at Influence & Co., previously known as Digital Talent Agents. This means I’m lucky enough to work alongside hundreds of awesome editors at some of the best online publications out there. Basically, we help experts grow their influence by aiding them in producing high-quality content for reputable publications. What’s so exciting about our company is that we are working on the cutting edge of PR, which is evolving into a medley of content marketing, thought leadership and branding.

Where did the idea for Influence & Co. come from?

Like most great ideas, the concept of Influence & Co. came from the combination of a few people’s experiences. Kelsey Meyer and John Hall were running a co-working space for startups and noticed how many really fantastic entrepreneurs were struggling to gain exposure for their ideas. Traditional PR firms only provided these experts with a quote here or there or a press release that no one actually read. We recognized this problem and developed a solution utilizing our thorough knowledge of the online publication world. We’ve grown into one of the leading providers of high-quality expert content to the world’s best publications.

What does your typical day look like?

To sum it up in one word: reading. I’m answering emails and communicating with editors all day to ensure that we provide the highest level of unique content for their specific readership. I’m constantly reading articles from publications and taking notes to help our editorial team hit the right tone and style of each site. This allows me to learn what type of content does best on each site and helps guarantee that the editors will appreciate the exclusive content we send their way from our expert clients. I am also guilty of laughing way too much with our abnormally close-knit team.

How do you bring ideas to life?

As our CEO, John Hall, puts it, “There are people who are big-picture thinkers, and then there are people who get stuff done.” I think I’m definitely a “get stuff done” type of person. I love efficiency and organization, and I live to cross things off a to-do list. You’ll find me with a pad and pen, marking down action steps for every brainstorming session.

What’s one trend that really excites you?

I think the changing nature of publications is really amazing and exciting to watch. With online publications on the rise, publishers are looking for cost-effective ways to provide the best content possible to a rapidly-growing readership. As a result, editors are becoming more receptive to utilizing guest content from various industry experts, rather than simply relying on content from reporters or journalists. Readers are able to receive expert insights and knowledge straight from the influencers in their industries.

What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?

While in college, I was a bartender at one of the slowest bars in town. I barely made enough money from the occasional customers to cover my Ramen meals. I realized I was wasting time sitting on a barstool, waiting for customers to wander inside. I decided I wasn’t comfortable when I wasn’t applying myself completely to something that I loved so I made a change. The bar has since changed ownership and is now a favorite lunch spot for our company!

If you were to start again, what would you do differently?

Influence & Co. recently went through a rebrand. We were never in love with our original name and knew it didn’t best portray our specialty. Our company has always helped grow the influence of industry thought leaders, and we’ve always connected publications with influential authors. We should have taken the rebrand plunge right away.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

I think trying to help others in a community is the best thing for an entrepreneur to do. Whether it’s offering job shadow programs, speaking at local universities, or simply volunteering around the area, entrepreneurs can provide great support to those in need. Influence & Co. recently partnered with the largest literacy foundation in the nation, Reading is Fundamental, on a campaign to promote literacy. For every article our company helps publish, we donate one book to a child through the foundation. We’re so thrilled to be able to add a philanthropic effort to our business model.

Tell us a secret.

I can always keep a secret.

What are your three favorite online tools or resources and what do you love about them?

I use various online traffic estimation services (Alexa, Quantcast, Google Ad Planner, etc.) on a daily basis. I love the transparency that comes with knowing where a publication ranks in terms of unique visitors or page views per month. Plus, I’m a huge analytical nerd, so this research is a favorite part of my job.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

Since I live and breathe the world of online publishing, I would recommend downloading a reading app, like Zite, instead of a traditional book or magazine. Zite aggregates some of the best content from dozens of leading industry publications to allow you to learn a lot in a small amount of time.

Three people we should follow on Twitter and why?

If you love a certain online publication, I recommend following the editors and individual authors behind the content, rather than simply following the publication’s Twitter account. You get to hear the editors’ inside opinions on each piece and gain the opportunity to ask the author questions on article points. For example, you might follow JD Harrison of The Washington Post’s On Small Business section or Dylan Tweney, the executive editor at Venture Beat.

When was the last time you laughed out loud? What caused it?

It seems to happen every 10 minutes when I’m around my co-workers. The last big laugh came a week ago, during our building’s ‘80s prom. There were fake mustaches, puffy dresses, and a dance-off between the prom king and queen, which may have involved “Gangnam Style” and The Worm.

Who is your hero?

My parents are my heroes, no contest. They’ve survived three outspoken kids, two full-time jobs, 30 years of marriage, and countless ups and downs. They’ve stayed positive and supportive throughout it all, and I’m one lucky daughter.

Connect:

http://www.influenceandco.com/
Brittany Dowell on Twitter: @Brittany_Dowell
Brittany Dowell on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanydowell

 

Shane Hurley is the CEO of Sphyra and has ventures in several other industries including entertainment, real estate and transportation. He serves on several boards as well as participates in multiple community events and charities. His company has been recognized as the 16th fastest growing privately held company in WA state. Shane was also recognized in 2012 in his region as one of the 20 top business professionals and entrepreneurs under 40. Most recently Shane received an award for being one of the “Top 50 Most Influential and Powerful People” in the inland northwest.

What are you working on right now?

Growing my company Sphyra LLC.

Where did the idea for Sphyra LLC come from?

What started out to be a small venture in the payments space has grown into a large and rapidly growing company that provides a suite of various products and services to businesses.

How do you make money?

Just like any company we charge fees for our various products and services. The benefit of Sphyra is that because we offer a range of business products we don’t have to make our money on one product or service. Rather we look to offer our customers several products and services so that we can earn their business on multiple levels providing them value and the most competitive pricing.

What does your typical day look like?

There is no typical day for me. I travel a lot. Spends lots of time working with key members of our organization staying in tune with what’s going on in the trenches and constantly looking for ways to improve the business from both an operational perspective as well as a business development and sales perspective.

How do you bring ideas to life?

It’s all about execution. If I don’t have the resources within our organization to bring my ideas to life I will seek them out until we do and work diligently to make them a reality.

What’s one trend that really excites you?

The worlds rapid change in technology and the various opportunities that technology brings to the table.

What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?

My first job! It was landscaping and it was tough hard manual labor. Sometimes I get headaches from staring at spreadsheets but I prefer that over backaches from shoveling gravel.

If you were to start again, what would you do differently?

Everything! When I started I was very young and made every mistake. I’m proof that if you are driven and have work ethic you can make it. The last thing I started with was know how.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Network with great people!

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

When I started I had very little capital and we almost went bankrupt. It was very stressful and it got to a point where I had to look at my team and say okay “We are either going to shut the doors or get to work and make it through so let’s go!” It’s challenging to be positive when nothing is going right but you have to always keep your head up and move forward.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be and how would you go about it?

Negative attitudes that people carry with them like a plague. So much out there if you just have aspiration to go get it.

Tell us something about you that very few people know?

I grew up on a dirt road 45 minutes to the closest town. When I was a kid we heated both the house and the bath water with a wood stove!

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

“Sell or be sold: How to Get Your Way in Business and Life“ by Grant Cardone . The book relates everything to selling even personal relationships. It’s a great read about persuasion and dealing with people.

Who is your hero, and why?

Henry Ford. He not only revolutionized the auto industry but he was also one of the first big business guys to really take care of his employees and he built an amazing company that’s still around today.

Connect:

https://www.sphyra.com/
Shane Hurley on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shane.hurley.526
Shane Hurley on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/shane-hurley/2a/689/16
Shane Hurley on Twitter: @shanephurley

 

Kytka Hilmar-Jezek, is a Best Selling Author of Book Power: A Platform for Writing, Branding, Positioning & Publishing, Reiki for Children, The Waldorf Community Exchange, Waldorf Talk Series, Born To Learn and The Growing Entrepreneur. She founded Waldorf Homeschoolers in 1996 and has been an active voice in alternative education since. Her latest company, Be More Network helps business people share their messages and gain leverage by authoring and publishing their books. Kytka is an international speaker and an inspirational powerhouse. Her approachable personality tends to have people perceive her more as a Luminary than just a Leader, because she tends to light the path for others by being a living example of the subject matter she speaks and writes about. Learn more at BeMoreThanYouAre.com.

What are you working on right now?

I am currently working on bringing Book Power to as many people as I can. We recently sent a large load to Books Behind Bars and enjoy working with youth groups and senior organizations as well to bring their voices and stories to print.

Where did the idea for Book Power and Be More Network come from?

I self published my first book 15 years ago. It was a horrible experience which cost a lot of money, took almost a year and my royalty on an $18.95 book was approx. 50 cents. It caused so much frustration and I was not pleased with the end result. Any changes would cost hundreds of dollars and delay publication by 6-8 months. When Amazon acquired CreateSpace.com, I cancelled my self publishing contract and published with CreateSpace. It was easy, fast and incredibly user friendly. Within a couple of weeks my book Reiki for Children jumped to #3 in its category and it has maintained he top 10 since. It put control into my hands and I understood the power of self publishing correctly. As a result of the books positioning, I was able to leverage that to gain access to interviews, media and speaking opportunities. I wanted to help other business owners share their messages in a way that would be both profitable and simple for them to do. Book Power tells them exactly how to do it in a fast and gamified manner and Be More Network helps those who want us to do it for them.

How do you make money?

Our company has a wide variety of services we offer the soon to be author. From books sales, to a home study program all the way to done-for-you and ghost writing services, we work with authors whose message is packaged in a book for credibility and leverage. On the back end we also offer author website design, social media integration and speaking at various events. This July we will be having a large week long event in Orlando which will bring together some amazing other people in the industry, it is very exciting!

What does your typical day look like?

There is never a “typical” day. The beauty of being an entrepreneur is that you have the flexibility to create and design how your time is spent. I am often traveling meeting aspiring authors and speaking to groups about the importance of writing their book. When I am in the office, we are interviewing authors, creating videos, working on social media and researching trends to stay up to date on what is happening in the world of publishing and communication.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I take action and implement quickly. Many people have an idea and automatically talk themselves out of it because they begin to go through the mental “to do list” of what needs to be done to bring the idea to fruition. Instead of allowing the list to scare me away, I break it down into actionable steps and then take them one at a time.

What’s one trend that really excites you?

Self publishing and the Kindle revolution. What most people still do not realize is that a physical book carries much more weight than a Kindle book and they understand the importance of writing a Kindle book – but they do not realize that it is just as easy to make the book an actual physical product. My team and I educate clients on the pros of each format and then assist them in bringing their messages to market.

What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?

Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, I never had a “job” except one short summer when I was 15 and worked at McDonald’s. I did not like the structure of coming in at the bottom and having to do time to move up. It was not based on skill, ability or understanding of the job at hand, but rather on time and hours worked. Some people worked there for years and still had little understanding, yet they moved up the ladder even though there were fresh new hires that had a lot more knowledge or experience in each specific function. This seemed very unproductive and illogical to me, but thousands of franchises are built the same way. I learned that the most valuable asset I would ever own is my time and I realized early on that I wanted to control how my time would be invested.

If you were to start again, what would you do differently?

I would better appreciate and understand the value of a team. When I began, I was a “do it all myself” person. Entrepreneurs are visionaries and getting caught up in the technical details kills creativity and causes burnout. I would outsource more and understand where my personal strength lies and then delegate the rest. I do that now, but in the beginning, I spent a lot of time being frustrated because I tried to do it all myself.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Implement and take action. It’s important to “do or do not”, as the Yoda quote says, “there is no try”. Either you are moving towards your goal or you are moving away from it. When you have an idea, note it and formulate a goal around it. Set a deadline and take action steps each day to achieve that goal. No matter how small the step is, it is the daily action step that gets you there.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

Again, trying to do it all myself. I think this is a challenge that all entrepreneurs face. Our minds move faster than we do and when we try to do it all, we tend to burn out and fail. The plus side of that is that we fail forward faster – but sometimes I wonder how the idea would have looked had I had a team to go along with the timing and momentum. I had to learn to delegate and outsource much of what I do, otherwise things did not get completed and it was difficult to move forward. When I decided that growth of my company was more important than me being in charge, things really began to move forward.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Write a book. No matter what business you are in, writing a book will give you credibility and recognition. The process itself will allow you to create a framework of your ideas. When you become a published author, doors which had been previously closed begin to open for you and new opportunities for more exposure on new channels begin to present themselves. There are so many ways that professionals and entrepreneurs can leverage a book, it’s really a wonderful tool to move forward faster. This is why I wrote Book Power: A Platform for Writing, Branding, Positioning & Publishing. I meet so many talented and gifted people who are stuck or not in front of enough of an audience to really make a difference in their businesses. A book is the game changer and being a published author is your entry into the game.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be and how would you go about it?

Education. I would bring back the smaller and more intimate “little red schoolhouse” and allow children of all ages to learn together. The older ones would act as mentors to the younger ones and this would instill in them a sense of leadership and responsibility. I think the current education system is broken and archaic. It was created during a different time period and we have changed so much as a culture since then. Children learn best in mixed groups and all human beings learn best when teaching. Taking away the segregated concept of age separation would be a good first step. Then I would bring back more time outside, more arts, crafts, handwork and music. When I went to school the girls took Home Economics and Sewing and the boys took Woodworking and Mechanics. Each semester we worked on things we created and build ourselves and this brought a sense of fulfillment and self reliance. It made us assured and confident knowing we could actually “do” things. So many children today appear helpless and barely even know how to run and climb or communicate in a respectable and cordial manner with anyone outside of their own age group. It’s sad to see the statistics of child depression, bullying and suicide knowing that it is the system that is primarily responsible for making them so isolated.

Tell us something about you that very few people know?

I was born in Prague, Czech Republic and my parents escaped there in 1968. They fled to Vienna, Austria but there were too many Czech immigrants there at the time so they were sent to the USA. We arrived in this country not knowing anyone, not speaking the language and with no money. But I watched my parents build a life for our family and I consider that unique upbringing a massive influence on my choices in life. Itr instilled in me a self reliance, strength and a tenacity to keep moving forward, to succeed. It also gave me a strong pioneering spirit and sense of adventure.

What are your three favorite online tools or resources and what do you love about them?

CreateSpace.com for their print-on-demand publishing. It is the most profitable, fastest and best route to getting your book published today.
WordPress as a platform for online presence. It is very user friendly, integrates well with all forms of social media and auto responders and it makes it simple for anyone to quickly and effectively build their presence online.
Screencast-O-Matic  which is a very inexpensive screen capture tool. I like tools that help people move forward and not ones that have a large learning curve. Many of our authors are able to create full product lines around their knowledge and expertise very quickly once they know which tools to use.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

“Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience“ by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. His ideas on being in a flow state describes how different people can easily create meaning in their lives with full intention and focus. This helps them to achieve an ongoing state of satisfaction, experience happiness and attain a sense of fulfillment. In other words, they do not make distinctions between work and play but rather live more fulfilled lives doing what they do best. It shows how focus and immersion can really catapult one’s efforts while making it seem effortless.

Three people we should follow on Twitter and why?

Simon Sinek – His book “Start with Why” is an excellent starting point for entrepreneurs. He has a way of seeing the world and sharing via his blog that truly inspires leadership.
Michael Drew – His ideas presented in “Pendulum: How Past Generations Shape Our Present and Predict Our Future” on our current culture are spot on.
Roger James Hamilton – His “Wealth Dynamics” system helps entrepreneurs find their strengths and understand that they do need others.

When was the last time you laughed out loud? What caused it?

It was just this morning. My children have an amazing sense of comedy and they love to laugh, which is always most contagious! My little one, Zynnia, is an Elvis fan and sometimes she will get on YouTube and just pull videos of Elvis laughing. That man had the most amazing laugh and it always makes all of us catch the laughing bug!

Who is your hero?

Professionally, it is Joseph Chilton Pearce. I love his dedication, commitment and work in the realm of birth, life, death and the mind. He is an exceptional public speaker on human intelligence, creativity, and learning. He has the similar quiet strength and presence of a great old oak tree, one I feel blessed to sit by and just take in the immense wisdom.

Why do you teach people to self publish?

I like it when people are empowered and self reliant. Their attitudes shift and life “magically” begins to look better for them. There are many people right now who are devastated with what is happening in the economy. Yet I know others who are living their wildest dreams and greatest successes and they do not have the same experience. The difference is that those who are suffering feel like they have no control, whereas the ones who are living fulfilled lives feel that it is in their power to do so. When authors write and self publish, they are really in control of the entire process of their book, from start to finish.

When not writing and speaking, how do you spend your time?

I spend it exploring, reading, and traveling. I have this insatiable love of learning and I feel we should be immersed in our interests to the point of obsession to gain full mastery. So to give an example, if we are learning about a specific country, we get the books from the library, we watch films from the place, we cook recipes from there, etc. We study the dress, habits, customs and traditions. Eventually, we want to see, breathe, taste, feel, smell and experience it ourselves, so we go there. I have done this my entire adult life and my children have been raised doing it, so now it is also a part of how they walk in the world. It’s a very powerful way of learning that my son calls “total immersion”. It also makes us very present in the now. It is very powerful and at the same time, relaxing and fulfilling.

Connect:

BeMoreThanYouAre.com
KytkaMedia.com
Kytka Hilmar-Jezek on Twitter: @kytka
Kytka Hilmar-Jezek on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kytka
Kytka Hilmar-Jezek on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kytkahilmarjezek