All creative folks have their favorite ways of re-lighting their imagination. On those days when I need a little jolt, but don’t have a lot of time to devote to it, a swing through my neighborhood branch library or bookstore usually does the trick.

Apparently, I’m not the only one who has discovered these idea palaces, but a letter I received a while back shared a bookstore experience that made me smile. I’ll keep the writer anonymous. Here’s his story:

“Exactly 24 hours ago, I took my penny pail to the bank and cashed it in for $32.09. Against my better judgment, I decided to visit Border’s bookstore to have a latte and browse through a book that had caught my eye on several previous tours. Before my coffee was cool enough to drink, I decided to spend over half my available cash on Making a Living Without a Job.

 “After brooding for nearly two weeks and accomplishing nothing, I read your entire book in one sitting. 

 “Since then, I have sold books to a used bookstore, sold an expensive golf bag to a secondhand sporting goods store,l, sold a rowing machine to a secondhand exercise machine store, took four large trash bags of good clothing to a consignment shop.

“I dared to try my new Rollerblades, scheduled a meeting with my father-in-law to learn his business secrets, faxed a letter and resume to a local business college about teaching several courses, made a number of phone calls for some consulting work. and listed 37 potential Profit Centers. 

 “Oh, yes, I also made a huge pot of Texas Red chili and did five loads of laundry.” 

He goes on to write, “I have been making a living without a job, though I lacked an understanding of the process and certainly lacked the passion you so eloquently described.

“I knew the time had come to return to the dream. Thank you for giving it back to me.”

Author Robert G. Allen wrote, “The will to prepare to win is more important than the will to win. Preparing usually means doing those kinds of things that failures don’t like to do.
“It means studying and learning. It means reading books, going to seminars. It means not being afraid to corner experts and ask foolish questions.”
As a person who has traveled across the country to attend a seminar and even further to conduct one, I can’t imagine why everyone hasn’t discovered the joy of participating in events that have the power to change our lives for the better.
People who [...] Continue Reading…

Not long ago, lawyer-turned-entrepreneur Jonathan Fields, author of the terrific Career Renegade,  gave readers of his blog a virtual tour of his office. Since we don’t often get a glimpse of other people’s home offices, I thought you would enjoy seeing where the magic happens.
After I read Food Rules by Michael Pollan, I was curious about his other books. I knew he’d written about food, but that was about all I knew. When my research uncovered an earlier title of his that had been reissued, I was eager to read it.
That book is A Place of My Own and [...] Continue Reading…

When I was growing up in a small town in southern Minnesota, I dreamed of living in other places. That didn’t simply mean relocating to another spot for the rest of my days, however. 
I intuitively knew that different places would make different contributions to my life. It took a while to put this plan into motion, but my journey  took me from Janesville, MN to Sun Prairie, WI to Santa Barbara, CA to Boulder, CO to Minneapolis, MN and now to Las Vegas, NV.
It’s obvious to me  that each place either supported my goals at the time or the [...] Continue Reading…

If you saw Margie Bergstrom walking down the street, you might assume she is an artist in her long skirts and funky jewelry. And if you had a conversation with her, she’d probably tell you about her latest sailing adventure or how much she adores Santorini.
But Margie’s not exactly an artist, although her clients think she makes their lives more beautiful. You see, Margie is a highly trained tax accountant who’s been making my life easier for twenty years.
When I  found her, Margie’s World Headquarters was the sun porch at her home in Minneapolis. I still remember arriving for [...] Continue Reading…

Should I ever wake up some morning and think, “I guess it’s time to get a job,” I know exactly how I’ll abort that thought. I’ll just get in my car and head for the nearest freeway. A few minutes spent in rush hour traffic would certainly bring me back to my senses. 
It’s not just the slowness of heavy traffic that annoys me: the behavior of my fellow drivers is one of the few things guaranteed to make me lose my cool. No thoughts of universal oneness and love of humanity surface when I’m spending time in traffic.
Shortly after [...] Continue Reading…

Every business has times that are less busy than others. You can use this time to fret and worry that your entrepreneurial life has come to an end—or you can view it as a gift of time to do some of those things you’ve been telling yourself you’ll do when you have time. 
It  just makes sense, it seems to me, to spend this time wisely and well. Here are a few possibilities.
 * Review and revise your support system.  Is it time to hire a virtual assistant? Find a new tax accountant? Get expert advice?
Unless you’re willing to settle for the [...] Continue Reading…

It happens every time I announce a new special event. Almost immediately, I begin getting messages that say, “Someday I’d love to attend your Storytelling seminar.” Or “When will you be doing your Inspired Livelihood event in Alaska?”
These questions come from folks who don’t understand effective goalsetting. They’ve got it backwards. Sadly, that is a recipe for frustration.
Several years ago when Valerie Young announced our upcoming Making Dreams Happen event, she was deluged with e-mails from people saying they’d like to attend but couldn’t afford the enrollment fee.
She called me to see if I had any ideas about how to [...] Continue Reading…

There’s a silly scene in Wayne’s World which finds Wayne and Garth lying on the hood of their car at the end of an airport runway reveling in the wake caused by planes taking off. Mike Myers says this scene was inspired by a favorite pastime of his family called No Money Fun. The idea, of course, was to come up with entertaining activities that didn’t cost a dime. 
 When I heard Myers tell that story, I thought, “No wonder he’s so creative.  What a great thing to learn early in life.“  No Money Fun is a terrific way to [...] Continue Reading…

As I was busily rearranging the hotel ballroom where my seminar was to be held, a man arrived, marched to the front seat, sat down, folded his arms over his chest and said in a demanding voice, “This better be good!”
I was quite certain that he was about to be disappointed.
During the break at the same class, another man rushed up to me, eyes glowing, and said, “I can’t believe what is happening. I wasn’t even supposed to be here tonight. I came to take notes for a friend who couldn’t make it. Already, I have thought of several [...] Continue Reading…