Integrated Entrepreneurship

The key to success in business (and most areas of life, too, now that we're at it) is systems.

Predictable systems that deliver predictable results.

Systems for acquiring customers.

Systems for serving customers.

Systems for building products.

Systems for exercising your body.

Systems for eating healthy.

Systems for resolving conflicts.

Systems for creating systems.

The more and better systems you have in place, the more you can focus on higher-value work rather than fighting fires and …

Lots of people love playing the victim.

I can't.

It's too hard.

It's not my fault.

If only.

What's worse, though, are people playing the hero.

I know, it's hard.

Poor you.

Here, let me do it for you.

The hero gets to feel good about themselves because they're helping the poor victim.

They get to forget their own pain for a minute, while they caretake someone else.

But there's a cost to this.

The victim stays a victim.

Instead of saying something empowering like "I know it's hard, bu…

Tony Robbins is famous for saying "success leaves clues".

Modeling others is incredibly powerful.

But there comes a point where you have to realize that no one has the answers to the big questions in life.

Our parents don't.

Our politicians don't.

Our media don't.

Our teachers don't.

All they have are partial answers.

Answers that worked for them.

(Or so they think.)

No-one's been exactly where we are right now before.

No-one else has ever lived your life.

We have to find our own ans…

The number one thing you can invest in is you!

Stocks? That's fine.

Your business? Absolutely.

A friend's startup? Maybe.

But the number one thing to invest in is yourself.

What that means is whatever supports your growth.

Could be coaching.

Books.

Time to read them.

Courses.

Body therapy.

Psychotherapy.

A vacation.

Exercise.

Joining a mastermind.

Lots of options here.

Trust your gut and invest in what you feel called to.

You never know where it's going to lead.

Love,
–Calvin

P…

I just had another one of those experiences where saying yes to a series of hunches paid off.

Despite doubt creeping in at every turn.

Last fall I was on an airplane when I saw a Tweet about a conference that I just knew I had to attend.

Then I saw another tweet about an unofficial afterparty. Immediately signed up for that, too.

There I saw someone that I started following online.

When he launched a new business, I followed him over there.

Then he sent an email asking for support. I love …

Who's the authority in your life?

This was something I struggled with.

I gave my authority away hither and thither.

To my wife. To my parents. To my teachers. To my friends.

I placed it anywhere but where it belongs: With me.

No one should be the authority in your life but you.

Once you get that, you're free.

Love,
–Calvin

Last week I did a bunch of live marketing strategy and workshopping with the participants in the Laptop Lifestyle Challenge, and the issue that came up over and over again was: Who are you for?

Who's your ideal client?

Picture an actual real human being that you know that you would love to work with and that you know there are plenty of others just like them.

What does that person need?

What is their pain as they experience it?

What do they want, in their words?

If you were to work with th…

Most people are afraid of anger. Their own and others'.

But anger is a powerful force.

And incredibly useful force.

You can use it to get out of the victim.

You can use it to get out of depression.

You can use it to set boundaries.

You can use it to protect yourself against threats.

You can use it to challenge yourself and others in positive and loving ways.

You can use it to have more energy, more life, more stamina.

To push yourself and others further.

So much good stuff in anger.

U…

Most people in the world are stuck in a mindset of life happening to them.

They're at the mercy of their environment.

Outside forces acting on them.

That's a lie, of course.

A lie that will keep you stuck.

You're not separate from life. You are life.

So what's the way out of this mental prison?

Figure out what you want. Get really clear. Specific. Detailed.

See it for your inner eye. Feel what it's like to have it.

And then start taking action to get there.

What's the first step?

What…

Truth is elusive. It's easy to believe our thoughts.

But just because it's a thought, and just because we happen to believe it doesn't mean it's true.

Always be questioning.

Is that really true?

How do I know it's true?

Can I really know that's true?

What if it's not true?

What if the opposite's true?

Realizing you were wrong about something can feel like crap.

Until you realize that all it means is you're learning and growing.

Once you really get that, you start to savor that feeling …