An Ugly Truth About Your Blog Mission Statement

Last week I cleared my calendar to spend three days at a business growth intensive conference called 12 Months to 6 Figures by one of my favorite business coaches, Tommi Wolfe.

I’ve been going to Tommi’s conferences and events for about three years now. Why do I keep going? For the inspiration. For the clarity. For the networking.

This time was no different. I enjoyed myself immensely, especially the ability to sit in a room with a couple hundred like-minded individuals and just focus on my business for three days.  But it …

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Cut the Bathroom Scenes from Your Copy

When was the last time you saw someone go to the bathroom on TV? (I know that’s a weird question, but go with me here.)

Unless something funny or important happens (I’m thinking Ross trying to get the leather pants off or somebody getting murdered in the shower), you don’t see those mundane moments on screen.

That’s not an accident or a poo phobia; it’s because screenwriters understand that they have a limited amount of time to tell a story, and a limited attention …

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expert authority

How to Become a Trusted Authority

In the nascent stages of my first business, I attended a business conference here in Denver, led by a woman who would eventually become my de facto business coach (I say that because, while I’ve never participated in her high-end mastermind program, I go to all her conferences, and have used several of her infoproducts).

One of the keynote speakers was her accountability partner, a beautiful woman with a Southern drawl who spoke a bit like a revival preacher—probably because she is a business coach to spiritual leaders; in other words, she teaches …

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Be the Change You Want to See (In Your Readers) With a Character Arc

What do Star Wars and blogging have in common?  A lot, actually!

In fiction and screenwriting, there’s an important storytelling concept called the character arc.

Think back to any great book you’ve read or movie you’ve seen and ask yourself this: How did the main character change from the beginning of the story to the end?

Sometimes the change is subtle, sometimes it’s groundbreaking.

Think about Luke Skywalker.  He starts out a whiney, spoiled kid and three movies later is an older-and-wiser Jedi master.  Major character change happening there.  Han Solo changes, too, from …

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