The Educated Emotion

In general, entrepreneurs and small business owners tend to practice healthier lifestyles. That may be because many entrepreneurs understand that losing time or illness can hurt business. Still, that healthy lifestyle is not the reality for many startups or female entrepreneurs who tend to have increased demands on time and unique challenges that can leave them depleted. Fresh and New Spring is a good time to think about beginning a new project or starting over , and Monday is a good time to begin a new project. But, most small business owners do not have a clean break between work and play, week and weekend. Friday is not the jubilant release and Monday morning does not always bring the refreshed promise that we see and hear around us.   However, each morning is actually a new opportunity to start again. Whether you practice yoga, journal, exercise on the treadmill, or just still -- find some time to rejuvenate this morning so that you can have enough of you left at...

One of the hardest things to do is start fresh, start anew. As an entrepreneur, you will inevitably find yourself in situations where friends, family, mentors, former coworkers...are simply unable to help. That is because you are doing something different, something that has not been done before.  A Template For Life   In an excerpt from a poem I wrote in 2010, "Blank Pages and Empty Rooms" I weigh the pros and cons of a blank page. I was raised on templates. There is a way to cook, to bake, to love, to study, to be a lady. As an adult, that has been expanded to include a way to eat, walk, talk, write a contract, and even begin a business. As much as I complained about all these "rules" of society, I realized recently that I had also been comforted by this structure.  As an entrepreneur, I have had to reexamine my fears of the blank page. In the planning stages, I still had templates to rely on - business books, business plans, financial sheet...

Who's your favorite hero? Is it Superman? Or, someone more like Clark Kent (faithful and hardworking). For all the names you just rattled off inside your head, I know one that probably didn't come up: your own. It'd be pretty silly, in fact.  Imagine you are at a networking event and the introductory question for the ice breaker exercise was "name a hero". Can you imagine the reaction you would receive if you answered, "me, I am my hero."? If we are on the same page right now, think about your online communication. Who is the hero every morning on your Facebook post? Are your connections sinking and drowning in a stream of self-praise on Linked In ? Who is the real winner of your so-called customer appreciation? If your fans are not the true heroes for most of your online communication, you might be losing fans and customers at the same time.  No worries, however. It is very easy to slip into a "me" focus as you try to express ...

A couple weeks ago, I posted a podcast of an interview performed by Christy Haussler: The Educated Emotion: Les Go Social Podcast Interview - The Secret Ingre... : Photo By Dwight Burdette [ CC-BY-3.0 ],  via Wikimedia Commons I was recently interviewed by Christy Haussler, of Brick and Mortar Rep... I received a few reader responses, both on the blog and on other social media. One, in particular, was about ways to begin utilizing Facebook as a professional networking tool - even before you create a page. View the reader response, and my reply, below: henry brown 1 week ago   -   Shared publicly Very great podcast and information, it was very helpful with some insight that I needed. Tell me.... What are some of the best ways, that you think of course. How Facebook can be used as a "Social Utility "?   1  ·  Reply Leslie McGraw 1 week ago Hi Henry. T...

RECAP FROM LAST WEEK'S POST ON REFLECTION: The important thing is to incorporate what we see going on behind us into our decision making, while maintaining our focus and speed moving ahead. That is the beauty of taking time to reflect on your business performance even when you are doing okay --you can focus on your strengths and build up your weaknesses. Get over it, people. Monday morning, with all its tricks and detours, comes each and every week. And, as an entrepreneur, I can attest to how Mondays never get better. Even with an alternative schedule, Monday morning still finds me. All Who Wander Are Not Lost I am a wanderer. I don't even expect my to do list to be touched Monday morning. Not that it doesn't; I just don't beat myself up about spending a couple hours reading and "listening" online. In my parallel universe, where I live as a writer, it is important to wander to find future readers and build community. Performance and Change Facilita...

This February marks two years since Whitney Houston died and fans are still mourning. We start each day looking at our reflection in the mirror. That reflection is powerful. In a glance, we make an assessment of our appearance and what we have to offer, what we may be able to change right now (like tucking in a shirt or smoothing a collick), what we may be able to enhance now (such as lip colour or adding jewelry), and what we can improve upon over time (such as weight loss or reducing acne).   Later, we drive to our destination using the reflection in the rear view mirrors to help us make decisions on how to move forward and stay safe. This month marks two years since Whitney Houston's  untimely death . So many positive interviews, quotes, and contributions have been unearthed since her death that I can't help but wonder what would have happened if her last days had been brightened with some of the encouragement, compassion, and perspective on her life that was shar...

“Every person needs to take one day away.  A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future.  Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence.  Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.  Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.”  ―  Maya Angelou ,  Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now If you live in the midwest, you are probably weather-weary by now. There is a much bigger demand mentally and physically on us as we move about with a host of weather-related obstacles. It seems only right to compensate by sacrificing your off day or personal time - but don't do it!  Have a nice weekend and see you back here on the Educated Emotion next week! Peace, The Educated Emotion

MLK Day is not a holiday for slackers. The Martin Luther King Day of Service was created to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through reflection and service. Instead of blogging last Monday morning, I used that time to reflect and have meaningful discussion with my son about some of the lesser known allies to the civil rights movement such as Bill Cosby, Harry Belafonte , and Charlton Heston.  In addition, this entire month I have been revisiting my current projects to see how they aligned with my overall goals. Last week, I reflected on the reasons why I constructed this blog . I have a blog that deals with personal and professional development. I have a poetry blog...well, because I'm a poet. But, this blog is the one I chose to associate with my business . The Educated Emotion debuted on December 1, 2011 and has several meanings, both personal and professional.  On a personal level, it was to capture and communicate what I have learned and continue...

A picture of the beautiful Kettunen Center, home of the Peninsula Writers Winter Retreat, taken by Ms. Yma Johnson. 2013 I know it isn't officially winter yet, but as a Michigander I have to be prepared for whatever in November. If I have to think of winter, this picture (shown above) is where I would like my mind to wander. It was taken by a friend while we were on a writing retreat. Those three days jump started a creative writing process that had died and gone sour inside of me for months. Removing myself from my normal agenda was just enough to rev my pen into action. During February's State of the Union address, President Barack Obama said "no single event makes a trend." There is no better description to the dynamics of restoring an economy...or even personal credit. As a budding entrepreneur, I excel, I coast, then I get bap-slapped on a regular basis. I have shared how I had to scale back my business. This Spring and Summer, I slowly began adding back ...