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 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 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 303 – Less time equals more.

You know how you always imagine if you had more time you could get so much done?

I have found recently just the opposite to be true. It seems when I have less time I actually get more done. I am more efficient and deliberate with how I prioritize and do things.

I shared a few days ago that I need to get a job. My worry has been that I will not be able to really do what I need to get done. The fact that is starting to emerge is that I think it will be fine. I will be smart with the little time I have and I will do more of the right things when it comes to business. It is not always about doing. If just doing were the key to success, more Americans would be millionaires.

No one needs to tell Americans to work harder. We work more than almost any country on the planet. Our problem is that we just “do”. We are like a rat in a maze frantically searching for food. Constantly busy constantly working but, are we really doing the right things? Guys like Donald Trump and Tony Hawk are so much farther ahead of where I am at because they do more of the right thing. Successful people have figured out what do do. They have identified the right things to do and they spend all of their time focused on those things.

When my back is against the wall and I have very little time I find myself the most productive because I am focused on the big pushes. The things that will get the most results in a short period of time.

I think that by getting a job to just survive and pay bills until all of this can work is going to be good because of the obvious but, also because I will have more days like today where I spend time doing the right things. The things that matter, the big things.

Too much time for me is not necessarily a good thing. Lets see how this new chapter plays out.

Day 292 – Get up early and eat that frog!

Alright!

So I totally meant to get up at 600am when I first woke up. I close my eyes for just a second and it was 700!

Okay so when I did get up I tried to get back into my old habits. No email, made the bed and read for a bit with a warm cup of coffee. I made breakfast, showered and was working by just before 8am.

The big thing I needed to get done today was a contract I have been working on (putting off) for a while. Today was the day that I needed to eat the frog and get it done! If you are not familiar with eating the frog let me explain.

The frog is the task that you don’t want to do but really need to do. The frog task is the ugly distasteful one that you do not want to do for whatever reason. You are not motivated to do it, leaving it victim to procrastination. Frog tasks need structure around them to get done. You need to create motivation to make them happen by transforming them into something else desirable or by making them subordinate to a strong habit. For example you could make a habit out of eating your frog at the beginning of the day, leaving you free to do the things you really want to do later in the day. This habit creates an inherent reward. Rewards for eating the frog are good, otherwise they will just sit there looking at you croaking.

The Contract was my frog because I cannot type worth a crap. O have an advanced hunt and peck method. I have to be looking at the keyboard while I type so when I am transcribing something as technical as a contract it takes time. So much punctuation and proper Queen’s English I can only go about 3-4 words at a time. When I am typing a 10 page contract, you can see how that is not very desirable.

Anyway, cheers to me! I got it done and just in time. I was able to reward myself with a nice little 20 minute catnap and visiting with Amy watching a show late this afternoon.

It is Thursday so of course its family dinner! Tonight was one of the special ones as it was pumpkin carving night! We get pretty competitive around here and I am not gonna lie, there was some secret squirrel shit going on this week leading up to tonight.

So we had a few inside joke pumpkins but I have to say I was a fan of Emily’s. She carved out her pumpkin, added a tap and poured beer into it to make a pumpkin keg! Man my life just suck doesn’t it!?

Anyway getting my blog done early so I can get to bed early again tonight. I have an appointment at 900am already.

Cheers!

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 279 – One step at a time.

I wrote a while ago that October was going to be very busy.

I knew going into this month that things were going to get crazy but I made that assumption based on what I knew was coming. It would seem that God that that was going to be too easy for me to handle so He decided to put a few more things on my plate.

Time to bear down and get things figured out. I mentioned in the last couple days that I am learning how to separate my emotions from decisions. That is easy in concept but a bit more difficult on practice.

I am also learning a lesson in worry. The thing about worrying is that it is energy spent on things that COULD happen. If fact I have no idea what is going to happen and i have to move forward based on what I know and not what I think may happen.  The fact is that right now things are fine, great even.  We have a lot of product and we are growing. We have picked up North East New York and it is our 2nd state outside of Washington. Looks like we are on the verge of getting a few more. The goal has always been to go National and I never really thought about what that would take. I am learning that it may manifest different than I thought and that is okay.

While I need to focus on the things I know and the present I cannot be totally irresponsible and ignore the future. I need to come up with a plan but the effort has to be focused on what we have going right now. I do not necessarily know how we are going to get there but all I can do right now is put one foot in front of the other and take one step at a time.

Day 271 – Highs and Lows

The morning started out pretty stressful.

I had to spend over an hour cleaning up my computer and restoring some things just to get it to connect to the internet. I really should take better care of my computer but, I get so busy that I forget to restart it and do the updates. The stress of a deadline that I have to get my blog submitted for my quiz on Tuesday night does not help. It literally came down to my deadline when I finally got it done and uploaded.

I did get some awesome news this morning in the heat of my repairs. Our Distributor in Minnesota has already re-ordered! Went through his first 14 cases faster than our Washington Distributor did and it I was not there to push sales. I wish all distributors were this great! And who would have thought Minnesota!?

Spent some time working on the Executive Summary for Eve’s Moonshine Co today as well. This will be the backbone of the business plan we will need to secure the funding we will need to start the location here in Snohomish and the one in Leavenworth. Lots of details to work out but it is a very exciting time.

I am also really looking forward to a meeting we have next week at the farm with the owners and Will from BB Ranch meats. There will be a lot of vision cast for what we will be able to do to create what we are calling a modern farm. Businesses on the farm using the products created on the same property. It is a super cool idea and there are some super ideas that have already been discussed.

The last thing I did today was to locate a guy that can help process all of the left over scraps from out first harvest at the warehouse into usable  product that can be sold. This process with the Washington State Liquor Control Board is really wearing on me. There were about 2700 people apply for the Producer – Processor license we applied for and they have only approved about 200 so far. We turned in our application on the last day so we are at the bottom of the list and I fear that we will still not be contacted for months. In the meantime we are still paying a lease and other bills with limited funds coming in from what we can grow under the current medical growing laws. Coupled with the fact that we do not have a real grower and I am having to muddle through it with an education of Hard Knocks and YouTube, it is difficult. I ma staying above water but even treading water gets tiring. I know I am going to make it but just like everything else I tackle this is a difficult process.

No self pity just sharing my struggle and it is real.

Day 269 – Made a good start to the week.

I got a good start on my week.

Up early thanks to it being garbage day and I think we are the first street on the route! I did manage to get my desk cleared off and several things started.

I had to go to the warehouse and finish my tasks from last night but I am ahead of that now so I can focus on the things at hand with regards to the barn location and the new licenses for Eve’s.

It will be a race with the printer to get new labels printed so we can bottle that big batch of Apple Pie we made last week. We have to get that big order filled.

I will also be putting together a presentation schedule for restaurants and bars for Apple Pie. I would like to introduce them to their new featured fall drink. Apple Pie was meant for this time of year and it is time to hit it hard. This is the time of year where we can make big progress and get lots of bottle in the hands of new fans and old.

Still working on a tasting event out at the barn in December. Targeting December 12th so stick a note somewhere as a reminder. We will be sponsoring it and there will be several local spirits wineries and hopefully brewers!

Tomorrow is Tuesday and a long day so I will talk to you all tomorrow!