Photo by Steve Johnson on UnsplashImagine you start a cottage business making hot pepper jam. Once you've perfected your recipes, you've got to sell some jam. To do that, you need to get in front of potential customers.You decide that a good way to do that would be to...

Photo by Karsten Winegeart on UnsplashAuthor and speaker Bob Burg popularized the three magic words you’ll eventually hear just about any marketing educator say: know, like, and trust. “All things being equal,” he wrote in his 1994 book, Endless...

Photo by Jamie Street on UnsplashMarie Forleo bills her signature course, B-School, as the "ultimate system to grow your business and own your freedom." It's the subhead on the sales page.Scroll down just a bit, and you'll see how she defines freedom: "Live where you...

Last week, I shared 10 books that rocked my world in 2024. Today, I’ve got 20 podcast episodes for you. If you think that’s a lot, just be glad it isn’t 40 or 50!If there was a theme among the books I selected, it was the politics and social...

Photo by Nick Fewings on UnsplashWhen novelist Ursula K. Le Guin received a survey from her alma mater as part of the hubbub around her class' 60th reunion, she dubbed it "interesting" and proceeded to approach the questions with a critical eye and a sardonic...

While I’ve started writing more directly about what I read, I often read a lot that doesn’t appear in my work in a citeable way. Yet, almost everything I read influences my work—including the fiction.So as this year begins to come to a close (and...

Photo by Alexander Grey on UnsplashIt's Thanksgiving week here in the US, and before you know it, it'll be time for all the other end-of-year holidays.I'm working on some behind-the-scenes stuff this week, but I thought I'd pop in with a little roundup of essays (and...

Photo by Josh Calabrese on UnsplashI hate project management software. Despise it. Refuse to use it—and if I can help it, even look at it. This does not endear me to people in my life who are more traditionally organized and process-driven.That includes my dear...

Photo by Kyle Ryan on UnsplashWe is an incredibly economical and efficient little word with massive implications.In just two letters, it can express “You and I are the same,” or “You and I are in the same group,” or “You and I are in this...

This is a follow-up to my previous post, “Influence in Crisis.” You don’t have to read that one to read this one. But you might be better off reading that one instead of this one if you don’t want to go deep into the weeds with me!Photo by Paul...