Five years ago, Marilyn decided to leave her soul-squashing job and start a business that would share her love of animals. Today she’s still dragging herself to that same job and her entrepreneurial enthusiasm is weak from neglect.

When questioned about her business plans, she replies, “Oh, I decided in this economy it was better to hang on to what I had. Besides I hate to give up my benefits and I really need the money from my job so I can remodel my family room.”

What Marilyn—and so many others— demonstrate is that whenever we ignore our dreams [...] Continue Reading…

Marlena De Blasi was settling nicely into her new home and  business in St. Louis. Besides being a food writer and wine consultant, Marlena was the chef in her own restaurant.
That all changed on a trip to Venice where she attracted the attention of a banker named Fernando who was certain she was the woman of his dreams. Although he spoke almost no English, he made his intentions known and within months Marlena had uprooted herself to join him.
She recounts this improbable love story in her delightful book, A Thousand Days in Venice. The subtitle could be Love [...] Continue Reading…

When I moved into my new home last December, I was determined to find the most colorful Welcome Mat available. Not only did I want my visitors to know I was happy to see them, I wanted to remind myself that I was entering a place where good things happened.
There may have been another factor motivating my insistence that I get it right; my downstairs neighbors have a mat in front of their door that growls Go Away. Since I pass by it every time I come home, I felt obligated to counterbalance that grumpy message.
When it comes to [...] Continue Reading…

We’re coming to the time of year for reflection and resolutions, but once a year doesn’t seem nearly often enough to me. Too many of us reach this annual ritual reflecting and resolving the same old stuff.
Let’s close out this year by eliminating, once and for all, the dithering that keeps us from boldly moving ahead in our lives.
And let’s start with a favorite mantra of the cowering: “I don’t know how.” Instead of seeing this as an invitation to learning, it becomes a convenient hiding place (and a crowded one at that).
There’s an exercise I created a few years [...] Continue Reading…

It’s a new month so there’s a new theme here at Buon Viaggio. For the next four weeks, we’ll explore a question that I ponder regularly: got options?
Of course, it’s a bit of a trick question since options aren’t something we get; options are more often something that we recognize.
It’s a lesson I learned long ago.
At a particularly difficult time in my life, I was sharing my frustration with a friend. She listened attentively to my story and then quietly said, “Barbara, you always have options.”
I was too miserable to grasp what she said in that  moment of my [...] Continue Reading…

My mailbox has been getting some truly spooky messages lately. It’s not the first time, of course, but I’m still startled when I get one of these cries for help.
The scariest of these messages goes like this: ”I think I want to start my own business. What should I do?”
I also shiver when someone asks, “I want to write. What should I do?”
No, these aren’t zombies asking the question, but they send chills down my spine because they remind me that too many of us are lacking some basic tools—tools that could get us pointed in the right direction [...] Continue Reading…

“April is the cruelest month,” mused T.S. Eliot. Obviously, he wasn’t around in October a few years back. While the weather had been magnificent, many people were not so inclined.
For background noise there was the nightly news with an unrelenting stream of stories about war, recession and political nastiness.
Closer at hand were the two women who left their manners at home when they came to my English tea class and the burglar who removed the battery from my car.
Staying positive in a negative world is challenging even in normal times, but this felt as if guerilla tactics were in [...] Continue Reading…

My friend Maureen Thomson sent me a terrific blog post called Stop Crying That There Are No Jobs. Create One. The title is a little misleading, however.
The real gist of the piece by Paula Pant is that there’s a difference between employee and entrepreneurial mindsets. She illustrated that disparity beautifully.
When we start a business, most of us bring along some invisible baggage—a well-conditioned employee mindset. Until we start thinking and acting like an entrepreneur, success will keep a safe distance.
In the interest of speeding up the process of operating from an entrepreneurial perspective, here are some of my favorite [...] Continue Reading…

When I go to check my e-mail, a flashing banner screams, “Earn $10,000 / month working from home.”
My junk folder is full of moneymaking offers every day.
Driving around town, I see posters stapled to utility poles with similar come-hither messages.
Then there’s the female (I can only assume) Work at Home promoter who plastered the toilet stalls at the Mall of America with Work at Home cards promising $1500/month PT, $5000/month FT. I was alarmed to see others who had stopped to use the restroom walking out carrying one of theses smarmy promotions.
After weeks of avoiding this avalanche of opportunity [...] Continue Reading…

My first meeting with Barbara Sher took place in the restroom of a Toronto hotel. She and I were both teaching seminars that day for the Learning Annex and I boldly introduced myself to her.
I had admired her work since I first encountered it in her book Wishcraft so I was more than a little starstruck when I made her acquaintance.
Several years later, I had the pleasure of spending several days with her when she, Valerie Young and I ran the Making Dreams Happen event in Boulder, Colorado. This time, Barbara and I shared a duplex cottage.
Since she preferred a [...] Continue Reading…