Day 360 – Make a resolution and keep it.

So one of the rituals of this week of holiday purgatory is to decide on a New Years Resolution.

In 2012 at least 45% of all American committed to some kind of resolution. The top 10 resolutions are :

1) lose weight

2) getting organized

3) spend less, save more

4) enjoy life to the fullest

5) staying fit and healthy

6) learn something exciting

7) quit smoking

8) help others in their dreams

9) fall in love and

10) spend more time with family.

The University of Scranton did a study that showed surprisingly, that 75% of all resolutions make it through the first week. Only 46% make it past the six month mark. Oddly the study also revealed that 39% of people in their 20’s will actually achieve their goals this year as compared to only 14% of people over 50 will achieve what they set out to do.

Making a resolution is not hard and there is no secret to it. The latter is also true for sticking to them and actually achieving your resolutions.

Make your resolution tangible – make sure your resolution is something that you can see and measure. Things that are ambiguous like being happier need an anchor to give you some stick of measurability to see if you are on track.

Be specific – it is not enough to simply say I am going to lose weight. Be bold and choose a number! It is hard to hit your target when you really do not know what it is.

Come up with a plan – break your goal down into manageable steps. 50 lbs of weight loss may seem like a huge number but it really is only 1lb a week. One pound is equivalent to 3500 more calories burned than consumed. 3500 calories a week is only 500 calories a day which can be easily done by walking half an hour and not going back for seconds one meal a day.

Write it down –  I cannot express how important this one is. There is something magical about writing down your goal. Write it down and put it somewhere you will see it every day. I suggest the bathroom mirror, Every morning and every night you will see what you have written down and there is some cool stuff that will go to work in your sub conscious. Do not skip this step.

Share your resolution –  this is where accountability comes in. If you do not tell anyone what your resolution is it is easy to let something slide and then it just disappears with echos of, “I will try again next year” or some other kind of negative talk.

If you have never embarked on this journey of a New Years resolution I encourage you to do so. None of our lives are so perfect that we cannot find an area to improve in. Follow these simple steps and look back as one of the proud in a year and be grateful for how much better your life is. Share your resolutions with me and lets make 2015 awesome together!

Day 336 – I swing for the fences every time.

I get asked about my Shark Tank experience all of the time.

I suppose people are curious about TV and it has been one of the popular shows on for a couple years. During the conversation, inevitably they always ask, “Would you do it again?”

Well, they flew me to Southern California, put me in a hotel for 3 days and gave me some spending money. I got to go onto the Sony Studios lot and hang out with several like minded entrepreneurs. So, from that standpoint I would go again in a second. Just being around so many positive and excited people all of the time is amazing. And Southern California in July wasn’t bad either!

I met people with amazing ideas and some seemed a little out there but I could see the market they were going for and I respect that they were taking a swing. It is a good things that people like me don’t listen to the people that say their idea is dumb. For every one of those, I can guarantee there is another who thinks its awesome. Where would we be if the Wright brothers listened to the people who thought man flying was dumb. Where would Babe Ruth be if he listened to the people who focused on how many times he struck out. 

Babe Ruth used to go back to the dugout after striking out with a big grin on his face. When others asked him why he was smiling after striking out he just smiled bigger and told them to wait because that strike out meant that he was closer to his next home run. “It’s coming, just wait, I will knock one of the next ones over the fence. ” he would say.

That is the mindset that separates the winners from everybody else. It is the ability to get up and swing for the fences every time you get up to bat. There have been roughly 400 people on Shark Tank over the last several Seasons. There are too many success stories to name. What a lot of people do not realize is that these people were going to be successful with or without the show.

Those 5 Sharks do not make dreams come true. The entrepreneurs work their butts off to make that happen. the people who have been successful without a deal FAR outweigh the people who have made a deal, and it is not always about the exposure, although 8 million people seeing you does not hurt. A lot of these Entrepreneurs made big deals before ever airing on the show.

Even those that did not do well off of the show, myself included look at the experience as an “at bat”. We walked up to the plate and we swung. We swung for the fences and it felt good. We may have not gotten a deal but, I know these people, some of them closely and we all smiled on our way back to the bench. We are all just that much closer. Just wait because one of the next ones is going over the fences.

 

Day 330 – Even Jesus was doubted by those familiar with him.

My devotional reading this morning talked about how Jesus was rejected in his own hometown.

 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” Mark 6:4

This was Jesus’ response to people in his hometown criticizing his ministry. They doubted that he could be responsible for such wisdom and miracles because they were familiar with him.

Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Mark 6:3

Familiarity is sometimes not your ally. Especially if it involves change. Have you ever tried to do something and you got excited about it only to have a family member or close friend scoff and shake their head at you? They make some comment that completely takes the wind out of your sails. They are usually forming an opinion about your ability to carry out your idea. Let me say that again. They are forming an opinion about your ability to carry out your idea. It is important to realize that their opinion has nothing to do with your actual idea. In most cases they do not even think about the idea enough to give it merit or not. That is why someone else can come up with the same idea and they will have an entirely different view based on their knowledge of the person sharing the idea.

I have been an Entrepreneur most all of my life. I have started several businesses and spent a lot of time and resources on these ventures. I get comments all of the time like, “what are you up to now?” It is almost entertainment for some to see what half brained idea I am currently working on. To some I am just the guy who has been unemployed for 2 years and had to go back to work in a warehouse because he failed again.

On the flip side of that coin there are a lot of my business peers that are familiar with me in a different way.

I get emails from other business people on a very regular basis asking me for my advice. I have peers who no the struggle of a start-up company and can appreciate what I have been able to accomplish. I have people bringing me ideas all of the time. I recently just signed a non disclosure with a gentleman that is about to revolutionize an industry and wants to make me part of his team because of my contacts and experience. I am respected as a start-up entrepreneur that has created and brought products to market. I understand supply chains. contract manufacturing, and have stood toe to toe with billionaires and heal my own.

Yes, it is a bit of a stretch and no, I am not comparing myself to Jesus but, the principle applies the same. We are all more respected outside of our immediate sphere of influence. That is a lesson that has taken me a while to learn and I encourage you to remember this the next time you have an idea or want to make a change. Understand the source of the comments coming back at you. While the people close to you love you and care for you, they do look at you through tinted glasses.

Day 320 – The working Entrepreneur

I have a renewed respect for those entrepreneurs that build a business and make something for themselves on the side.

“On the side” has such a weird ring to it. I mean on top of their normal 40+ hour a week job and their other normal responsibilities. There is a very large group of people out there that clock in again on their own dreams as soon as they clock out of someone else’s.

I have been very blessed to have been able to take off  2 1/2 years from working someone else’s dream to work on my own. I have gained an amazing amount of experience and launched 2 very different companies. One that we are trying to licence out to our manufacturer and another that is growing daily.

With me having to go back to the workforce to take care of responsibilities I have has reminded me just how much work there is to do. This is probably why many do not even try or, if they do, they do not last very long.

I know that when you get off work you simply want to unwind and relax. That is perfectly normal. If you have a physically or mentally demanding job, I understand even more. I have seen time and time again that if you are willing to put that on hold and just crush it for two years into an endeavor of your own, your own dream, that you can create something very real for yourself.

Will you be able to retire in two years? Maybe. Maybe not but you will be better off than you are now. You will definitely discover some very cool things about yourself  and  you will love every second of it. Or you can keep building someone else’s dream/

You may be thinking about me taking 2 1/2 years off to work on my dream and the fact that I am going back to work to support myself. My company may not be paying me a salary just yet, but I assure you that I have created my future and ultimately my retirement. The company is profitable and growing on a very steady rate. The problem is so are my bills! I do not recommend to do what I did and just leave the security of your job to start something new.

Like Darren Hardy I suggest that you start something “on the side” build it smart and when the “on the side” gig starts paying you more than your job, and you have paid off your debt, then you can go full time for yourself. Could you really invest a couple hours a week to do something for yourself? Could you give up some TV time during the week for your family? Would you be willing to sacrifice just a little something that is not that important in the big picture to chase a dream?

It is hard, I am not going to sugar coat it but, if I am going to work hard anyway, I would rather do it for myself.

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Day 310 – Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s day?

Being an Entrepreneur is kind of like the weather in Seattle.

In almost any conversation I have had with people about living in the Seattle area, the subject of the weather comes up. People from all over the country are convinced that it rains constantly here. It is partially thanks to the entertainment industry producing shows like “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Frazier”, which portrays Seattle as a dreary place. In fact Seattle actually gets less annual rainfall that a lot of other US cities. Seattle actually ranks 44th in the US for rainfall. We are behind almost every major city on the Eastern Seaboard including New York, Boston, and Miami. The primary root of this misconception lies in the relatively high number of days per year with rain. So, if we have more days of rain than most cities but less rainfall, how does that work?

Welcome to the Seattle drizzle. You see, in most places when you think about rain, it actually rains. Here in Seattle it is like a . . .really thick wet cloud of gray misery. If you have ever wondered why your car needs intermittent wipers, it is in case you come to Seattle. Most of the days of the year here, it is gray, miserable, and kind of depressing. During the winter our days are even shorter because of how dark and cloudy it is. Short, dark days filled with annoying drizzle rain are bad but, when you add in the cold of the winter it really is quite nasty. It seems to never really get cold enough to snow around here it really like to get to about 32.5° and rain. That is how the weather around here likes to treat us.

If you have ever had the pleasure of coming here during the summer however, you may have seen a different side of this fair city. You may have been exposed to a little secret that we try to keep to ourselves. When it is clear, warm and sunny in Seattle, I believe there is not many places on earth that can compare. The green lush trees, the snow capped mountains against a sea of bright blue skies is really something to behold. We have so much to offer around here when the weather is nice it is almost perfect. People feel better, smile more, and there is a real attitude difference. Anyone who lives here knows exactly what I am saying. We tell most people that the days we get like that, even though they are fewer in number than the rainy ones, make up for the miserable days. The nice days are really what keeps people here. They are really that impressive. The good days are really good.

Being an Entrepreneur is the same way. There are going to be dark days. There are in fact a lot of dark days. Days when I question my sanity and want to quit. Days when I wonder if it would have been better to lay down my curiosity and to have gotten a job. Days when the gray darkness and drizzle just weigh me down.

I live for the few days of sunshine though. When business is good, it is really good. Days of victory and triumph are my days of Sunshine and blue skies. Success is a snow capped mountain and sales are the sun on my face. The good days are why I do what I do and there are just enough of them to keep me going through all of the dark days. It takes courage to get started but, I am seeing way more sunny days than I used to.

Day 306 – Can someone actually “become” a morning person?

So as I am getting to the last couple months, my math skills are telling me that I messed up somewhere.

So today is the first day of me writing in the morning instead of at night. To be honest this is partly a ploy to get me in bed earlier. Since I began this blog 306″ish” days ago I have been writing it at night after my day. The problem is that I usually do not start it until about 10pm. By the time I am done its usually midnight. Does it take me that long to really write it? No, I just get distracted very easily.

Even though I am not what anyone would consider a morning person, my brain is functioning very well after I have been awake for about an hour. I can actually focus on things early as the distractions have not yet really began to stack up. Now, I write this blog mostly for myself and I invite you all to take a peak into my mind. This is a journal of sorts where I work out issues and record victories and challenges. When I write my blog, my mind is functioning well and I usually have to take notes of things and tasks that pop into my head while writing. By writing in the morning I can actually do something about that list right away.

I also need to establish a better morning routine. Haha who am I kidding? I need to establish a morning routine period! I secretly long to be a morning person. I hear stories about people springing out of bed in the mornings and it makes me a bit jealous. Going to bed earlier and getting up to a regular routine is my latest attempt to be more of a morning person.

I have always been a night owl. For as long as I can remember I always stayed up latter than I should. I think it goes all the way back to my childhood and staying up in my room listening to everything that was going on because I did not want to miss anything.

I also have to be really honest and look to my business heroes. I am pretty sure the likes of Richard Branson, Donald Trump, Darren Hardy, and Mark Cuban are morning people. I am sure none of them waste time staying up late just because they may miss something. I also know for a fact that they all have a morning routine. A set of tasks that rarely change every morning.

So here I go, getting on the morning train. Thank God for Spark  and good coffee!

Day 290 – What the hell have I been doing?

Spent some time listening to Darren Hardy today.

He is one of my favorite authors and motivational speakers right now. I started an online course of his a while back called Insane productivity and I have been slacking. That is an embarrassing statement but I am sharing because this blog is my accountability tool. I listened to a module today that I have listened to before but, it was just what I needed to hear.

I have allowed myself to just get way too distracted by unimportant things lately. Distractions that are a complete waste of time and I really need to weed some of them out. Here it is almost November and I actually have a ton of things to get accomplished. Not to mention that it is harvest time again so I just got even more busy.

I will be putting things through the priority filter for the rest of the year and putting the hammer down.

It is officially fall and this is the time when Apple Pie Moonshine shines. It is a very fall time drink. I will be planning some tailgating events and really hitting the restaurant and bar accounts hard to utilize the season to gain momentum. We know that a few retailers are looking at the product for a reset after the first of the year and it is imperative that we throw up numbers.

We lost a well connected salesman at the distillery and I have some slack to pick up. Trying to figure out where he left off. We have a lot of good things going and we need to keep the momentum going. No time for Facebook or Netflix during work hours.

I am back to the schedule that I implemented back in June. Head down one foot in front of the other. Amy, crack that whip babe! You too if you are reading this blog. Keep me accountable!

Day 236 – My ADHD is not a challenge that cannot be overcome.

Just about four months to go on this journey of blogging every day trying to create a trail of successes and failures.

There is so much going on right now it is very hard for me to keep track. As things escalate it seems my ADHD does just as equally if not more. I do not use that as a crutch however. In my studies I have found that most great businessmen and women have the same gift. My ADHD allows me to discover and gives me passion. It is a gift I need to learn how to control however.

Just like any great thing, it can be used for good if controlled and used responsibly. If not, it can be harmful and destructive. I am learning ways to hone this creativeness inside me. I am learning the tools that those before me have found and mastered.

I have shared some of these tools and my struggles in using them. A calendar and a routine is the most important. In that routine I need to provide time for “wandering” and relaxation . There has to be a balance or the whole thing goes to crap.

Today I learned about completion, at least a good lesson. I have this great goals and most of them what Darren Hardy calls Big Hairy Audacious Goals. What I learned today was that when I set a goal no matter the size I must “define completion”. This is what will give me the sense of accomplishment and the energy to get the perpetual cycle of desire and doing going full speed.

It is important that when setting a goal that it is very specific. A plan needs to be put in place and while that plan has to be able to be fluid and adapt daily. The completion must be set so you know when it is done. I know it seems pretty basic but, if your goal is to get to market, what does that mean? If your completion is to be in all Walmarts nationally it may not be as realistic as going to a local fair. Same goal with just different completion definitions. The latter will give you energy and make you want to do the next step. If you have nothing and are shooting for Walmart you may give up before you ever get there and never realize that you may be successful. Even so you will be unhappy.

Small goals, one step at a time, evaluate, execute and repeat. Just like walking up stairs. One at a time, only focusing on the next step and not the top floor of the Empire State Building.

Day 217 – I am not here to please everyone.

Well you cannot please everyone.

Darren Hardy once said that if he was pleasing everyone then he was doing something wrong. Innovation and success will inherently rub someone the wrong way. There will always be people  that have a problem with what you are doing. It may be something directly of maybe its just something you stand for.  If everyone is happy chances are someone is lying. The fact is that some people will just not like me. Look at the President, he only won by a slim margin. That means that half the Country does not like him but, he is still the President.

I called on a liquor buyer and before we could even schedule a tasting or before he wanted to hear anything about  what we had he asked about my business card. “The image on your card is kind of racy, what does the bottle look like?” he asked. When I explained the the card had the same image as the bottle he pushed back hard. He did not want to know anything or even want to taste our product.

I learned from Safeway several weeks back that they fear for their customers. I think it is a bit extreme but, hey they are Safeway’s customers and not mine. Here is the deal though. It is LIQUOR! It is in the liquor isle, you know where adults go. Who are they afraid will see a girl in cut offs? Wait we can have Cosmo in the checkstands and read all about how to have muliple orgasms or that size matters but, oh no we better not show some short cut offs in the liquor section of the store.

People who are buying liquor will not have an issue. I know our branding is bang on because our customers love it. They love it so much they steal posters and coasters. Bar owners want more posters they can give away and when we do tastings someone always asks if they could get a signed bottle.

The fact is that our branding does just what it is supposed to do. It makes people pause and solicits a reaction. In a market flooded with hundreds of choices we have to get recognized. Are the shorts short? Yes. can you see some cheek? Yes. I see more on TV watching a beach volley ball game or standing in line in Walmart. Our bottle is edgy but, I would say it is classy.

In any case we have decided to create an alternate label for Grocery Stores. It is the same image but, it is enlarged to the point that a lot of the skin is gone. We have had to maintain the brand while appeasing the touchy customers that would not buy it anyway.

No one cares about nitrates, High Fructose Corn Syrup or GMOs but, show some skin on a liquor bottle and people freak out!

Well here is to not making everyone happy and moving on. People will always find a villain or something to blame for all that is wrong in the world. I am happy to be that for some because by making noise I am moving forward.

Hey, I wonder if they will make a big enough stink to get me some free press?

Day 205 – Date Night ’cause Darren Hardy said so!

I blogged earlier this week about realizing that I not only need to have relaxation time but, that it needs to be scheduled.

There is that four letter word again . . . schedule.

The same day that I had that realization I carved out a Long overdue date night for Amy and me. I really had been looking forward to it since I put it on the calendar. I even put on the calendar See Lucy (the movie) because Darren Hardy says so.

Today was really great. I got up and out of the house right on time, and because I had Cort with me I actually got more accomplished and earlier than I had planned. We met up with my brother who is working on the in-laws remodel project on the house they just bought. Today was demo day! yeah give me a sawzall, a hammer, and a pry bar then you better get out of my way.

In just four hours we were able to wreck out the kitchen, like nothing, just another empty room with 220v wires coming out of the wall and floor and some water connections. Kitchen = GONE! We also did the same to the master bath. Judging by how hard it was to get the giant soaking tub from 1982 out of there, it was obvious that it was never meant to come out. We ripped out some carpet and took apart a big teak wall unit – also from 1982.

The whole time I am working today I was keeping an eye on the time because I knew our movie started at 530 and I still had to make it home, shower, and then make it to the theater. Proud to say I kept to my schedule and as soon as I got out of the shower I was on “scheduled” relax time.

I am going to try to explain the difference between relaxing and scheduled relaxing.

So after a hard or long day, at some point I get a chance to sit down. Maybe have a drink, kick off my shoes, and even catch a show with the kid. Whenever I do this, my mind is still working and I am really not “there”. I often have to get up to jot down a note, look something up or even shoot off a quick email. I am not truly relaxed.

We left to get to the theater with plenty of time and I started to really feel myself unwind. Because I had scheduled this time off, I was not worried about anything else but spending time with Amy. When we finished the movie I was feeling great. I was in such a different place that I actually saw what I normally look like in the others around me. Face in their phones, in a huge hurry, or just not paying attention to anyone around them.

We went to grab a bite to eat and again we were in no hurry at all. Scheduled relaxation is way better than any just putting your feet up moment that I may be able to take every once in a while. Scheduled relaxation is a game changer. I feel like a million bucks right now. I am gonna wake up tomorrow refreshed and ready to go!