As a bestselling fiction/nonfiction author and professional copywriter, I'm often asked by aspiring writers what they need to do to succeed. Most of their questions center around writing ability. They want to know how to find out if they have the talent to succeed, or if there's a "test" they can take that will tell them if they're a good enough writer to actually get paid … [Read more...] about How to Succeed as a Writer
secret to success
A Little Secret About Sabotage (Compliments of Cutthroat Kitchen)
I remember one of my fave guilty pleasures a handful of years back—Cutthroat Kitchen. In case you’re not aware of the show (What?!?! That can’t possibly be?!?!), it’s a competition cooking show in which four chefs bid to earn ways to sabotage one another’s dishes. The last one standing the winner. What’s fascinating to me is how much it’s taught me about sabotage. You … [Read more...] about A Little Secret About Sabotage (Compliments of Cutthroat Kitchen)
Want a Successful, Profitable Biz? Use These 7 Tools to Bust Through Your Blocks
Mindset blocks (blocks around money, success, sales … you name it) absolutely can keep you from growing your business. That is, unless you have tools to overcome them. Lucky for you, that’s what I’m sharing today. Without further ado … 1. Affirmations Like so many things in life, while some people swear by affirmations, others swear they don't work. My … [Read more...] about Want a Successful, Profitable Biz? Use These 7 Tools to Bust Through Your Blocks
The Tale of the Vegan Plumber (and Other Successful Multi-Passionate Entrepreneurs)
Note from Michele: If I had to pick one thing that conscious, heart-centered, spiritual entrepreneurs worry about, it's how to stand out from their competition. But, here's a little secret: when you're creative, it's actually super easy to stand out because, quite honestly, you have no competition. This article from my good friend Samantha Bennett, founder of the Organized … [Read more...] about The Tale of the Vegan Plumber (and Other Successful Multi-Passionate Entrepreneurs)
Success Tip: What Waitressing Taught Me about Mental Toughness
When I was a senior in high school, I had a job working as a waitress at a senior care/assisted living facility. The residents would come to the dining room, and we would serve them a four-course meal—salad, choice of soup or juice, choice of one of two entrees, and dessert. They all came in at once, which is why we had to be fairly fast during the 90-minutes we had to serve … [Read more...] about Success Tip: What Waitressing Taught Me about Mental Toughness
The Secret to Building a Business That Can Weather Any Storm … No Matter How Scary
I was recently cleaning out some old papers I happened to find at the bottom of my desk, when I came across some teachings from Dan Kennedy. If you haven't heard of Dan Kennedy, he's this old, grizzled marketing and copy guru and author of the No BS series of books. In the beginning of my career, I learned a lot about how to write traditional copy from him. (He was also the … [Read more...] about The Secret to Building a Business That Can Weather Any Storm … No Matter How Scary
[Real World Analysis] How a Business with 12 Million Followers Went Bankrupt
Before I get to the story about the business with 12 Million followers, I want to start by discussing a Facebook ad about the "truth around building an audience" that drives me bonkers every time I see it, so I decided to share my analysis around why I think it's extremely misleading (and could even be dangerous to your financial and business health). In a nutshell, the ad … [Read more...] about [Real World Analysis] How a Business with 12 Million Followers Went Bankrupt
3 Crucial Steps to Take BEFORE Creating a Content Marketing Plan
When creating a content marketing plan, a lot of entrepreneurs I know do it backwards. They sit down and start brainstorming a bunch of topics. Which can work. But, it can also be a big time waster (especially if the entrepreneurs get stuck and have no idea what they want to create). There's also a high likelihood they don't end up creating content their ideal client wants … [Read more...] about 3 Crucial Steps to Take BEFORE Creating a Content Marketing Plan
[Video] Flip It! How Do You Pick Yourself Up After You Fail?
Let me start by busting a myth: If you're successful at anything, you've also experienced a fail or two. And, likely, a lot more than one or two. I'm not sure it's possible to BE successful without also experiencing failure. Because, if you're not out there and trying new things and testing out new ideas and concepts while knowing you may fail, it's difficult to BE a … [Read more...] about [Video] Flip It! How Do You Pick Yourself Up After You Fail?
[Video] Flip It! Why Becoming an Overnight Success May be the WORST Thing to Happen to You
I get it. I, too, have dreamed about becoming an overnight success. Still do, in fact. But, the older I've gotten, the more I've come to believe that NOT becoming an overnight success may be the best thing to happen to you. To illustrate, let me start with a story. Over twenty years ago, a freelance writer wrote a book called Simple Abundance. This book ended up … [Read more...] about [Video] Flip It! Why Becoming an Overnight Success May be the WORST Thing to Happen to You