“I know I can, I know I can, I know I can …” – Adapted from Watty Piper’s The Little Engine That Could

This first week on the business cleanse has been a roller coaster. In the spirit of productivity, here’s a brief summary of how things are going.

Monday was amazing. I laughed at 8:30 a.m. after spilling coffee grounds all over myself and the kitchen, and smiled while I was cleaning it up. That’s when I realized that my ideal morning routine is amazing. I was in a great mood and nothing could change that.

Tuesday was the opposite. Scattered, stressful, exhausting — yet still very productive.

I won’t go into the details of each day, but I have to be honest: I didn’t think the business cleanse would be this hard. Apparently work habits are hard to change.

But I’m determined.

Overall, I give my performance this week a B- for my effort. Not bad, but I can do much better!

Are you joining me on the business cleanse? Leave a comment and let me know how things went!

Top photo by Beyond Neon

Related posts:

1. The Business Cleanse Wrap Up
2. Putting The Business Cleanse Into Practice
3. The Business Cleanse (Will You Join Me?)

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao-tzu

Today marks Day 1 of the 20-day business cleanse.

As we begin this process I think we should determine what we hope to accomplish by April 30. For me, I intend to develop a more productive business day and a healthier work-life balance. This is important to me because I am entering what will be one of the most stressful 3-month periods of my life so far, during which I will launch a new product and move across the country to a state I’ve never set foot in.

What intentions do you have for your business cleanse? Why is this important to you? Leave a comment with your intentions, and I’ll be sure to hold you to them.

Practice Makes Perfect

“Do, or do not. There is no try.” – Jedi Master Yoda

Notice the two meanings of the word “practice” in this article. In the article headline, practice means “habitual action”, while in the subheading above, practice means “actions trying to form a habit”.

To me, both of these meanings are a bit narrow. I believe that life is practice, which means practice is living (my TV yoga instructor would be thrilled with that definition).

As Yoda intimated in The Empire Strikes Back, there’s really no such thing as trying, only different degrees of doing. So as we move through this month, we must remember our intentions and hold on to what our ideal day looks like in order to do the best we can each day and avoid slipping into our old routine.

The purpose of this business cleanse is not to reinforce our existing habits, rather it is to break these ineffective habits and move us closer to our goals.

The Life You Have Is The Life You Lead

“Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.” – William James

My wife and I watched Paris, je t’aime this weekend (a series of 5-minute short films on love in Paris). One of the short films began with a man getting ready to tell his wife he is leaving her for his mistress. But before he can break the news, his wife tells him she has terminal cancer. In that moment he decides to rise to the occasion and he recommits himself to his wife.

In his wife’s final months, the man finds, to his amazement, that by acting like he loved his wife, he in fact fell deeply in love with her once more. Even after she passed he remained in love with her for the rest of his life.

You see, these new habits don’t have to “feel right” in order for us to implement them. If we wait to make a change until things feel right, we’ll be waiting forever.

Instead, if we act in accordance with the results we want, our enjoyment, and our success, will follow.

I’ll write an update about my week on Friday. Until then, let’s continue our discussion in the comments.

I know you can do this. Have a great week.

Related posts:

1. The Business Cleanse (Will You Join Me?)
2. The Business Cleanse Week 1 Review – Chuggin’ Along
3. The Business Cleanse Wrap Up

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”
– Henry Miller

My wife and I have been trying a new dietary program called “Clean”. It’s not one of those juice fasts or anything; it’s more about eating foods that get rid of the excess toxins your body has stored like a squirrel saving for winter.

Now I’m not recommending you go on the program. Far from it actually. It’s been tough: no red meat, no alcohol, no gluten, no dairy, no eggs—no tomatoes for crying out loud!

But the program has forced me to shake up my routine and examine how I eat and prepare meals.

You see, I take a lot of shortcuts when preparing food. I buy pre-made stuff. Sometimes I buy frozen items. I make things simply because they taste good even though they have little or no nutritional value.

And that got me thinking: don’t I do the same things in my business?

I seem to get stuck in the day-after-day business routine where I do the same things, take the same shortcuts, and goof off in the same ways without ever coming up for air and examining why I’m doing things the way I am and how well they’re working.

So I’m issuing a challenge to myself, and I’m wondering if you’ll join me.

I heard recently that it takes a full 21 days to form a new habit. So starting Monday, April 5 and ending Friday, April 30 I’m going on a business cleanse. (Okay, so that’s only 20 days, but who’s counting?)

The purpose of this business cleanse is to clean out the crappy work habits and replace them with good ones.

How The Business Cleanse Will Work

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

If you’re still reading, that means you’re at least somewhat interested in joining me on this journey, right?

Well it’s no secret that if you want things to be different than they are (in your business, your life, whatever) you must first act as if that change has already occurred.

Now this doesn’t mean that if you want a million dollars you should go out and buy a Lamborghini (although if you can, that would be sweet).

Instead, consider what your life would look like if you already had the Lamborghini. What would your ideal workday look like? How would the “new you” handle difficult situations? How would others see you?

What we’re going to do on this business cleanse is act like we’ve already “made it”. (Wherever “it” is for you.)

For these 20 days in April, we’re going to cut out all the crap that typically fills our time and makes us unproductive, and we’re going to replace it with our ideal work habits.

Here’s what I’m doing for my new habits:

1. Only check my email and social media accounts twice daily.
2. Start each day by focusing on the one thing that is most important to my business.
3. Take a short break each hour to let my mind recharge, even if I don’t think I need to.
4. Drink more water (it fuels your mind).
5. Write a short list of accomplishable tasks each day and work only from that list.
6. At the end of the day, give myself permission to relax (work will still be there tomorrow).
7. Allow myself time to exercise for 20-30 minutes each day.

Will This Work?

“To be on a quest is nothing more or less than to become an asker of questions.” – Sam Keen

I have no idea if this will work. But what’s the worst that could happen?

I learned from Donald Trump in The Art of the Deal that if you can live with the absolute worst-case scenario then a deal is solid. By that measure, this is a no brainer.

I know I can live with the worst-case scenario of the business cleanse, because I’ll be implementing my ideal workday. So the worst thing that could happen is—what? I learn that my ideal day sucks? Fine, then I’ll reformulate it, and strive for something different.

Will You Join Me?

“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill

Now, if you already think your work habits are perfect, then this whole business cleanse experiment isn’t for you. Lucky you. You’re perfect. (And why are you still reading this?)

But I think the rest of us could benefit from this crazy idea and I’d love to have you as my partner. We can hold each other accountable and whatnot.

So if you’re interested, leave a comment and we’ll be sure to stay in touch. And remember, the business cleanse starts Monday, April 5, so this weekend think about what your ideal workday looks like.

Here’s to you, and to happier, more productive, and more profitable businesses for us all.

Top photo by lrargerich

Related posts:

1. The Business Cleanse Wrap Up
2. The Business Cleanse Week 1 Review – Chuggin’ Along
3. Putting The Business Cleanse Into Practice

If you were guaranteed success doing whatever you wanted, what would you do?

Evolutionary psychology tells us that our brains like to sabotage us when we think about making changes in our lives. You see, our minds enjoy the status quo. They prefer situations that are “expected” and actions that “normal.”

According to evolutionary psychologists, this “risk avoidance” mindset helped us survive in the wild all those thousands of years ago. When we were chasing prey and we reached the edge of our known hunting ground, our brain would signal that we should stop because the Dangerous Unknown lay ahead. When some people’s brains didn’t fire a warning signal and they entered the Dangerous Unknown anyway, they were probably eaten by wolves or something. That’s natural selection’s explanation for why we fear change.

Well guess what? We really have little to fear now from venturing into the unknown (certainly not death or maiming), so why do we still listen to our brains when they tell us we can’t do something?

We listen because our brain is a tricky, tricky beast. Since it has access to our deepest feelings and our darkest fears, it exploits us and makes compelling arguments that on the surface appear logical.

“Who are we to do this thing that no one has done before?” your brain might reason.

“How can we possibly succeed at this when there are so many other people who are already more successful than us?” it might justify. (This argument is ludicrous by the way—there will always be more success stories.)

Guess what? These are just thoughts. Your brain doesn’t know if you’ll be successful or not. How could it? (Unless you are clairvoyant, in which case you could probably become a success by predicting other people’s successes.)

So how do you argue with your brain? Do you do your best “Rosie the Riveter” impression and proclaim to yourself and everyone, “We can do it!”?

No, trust me, this does not work. I can tell you from experience that you’ll never win an argument with your own mind. It always has a comeback and it always knows which blow will cripple you. You simply cannot fight evolutionary psychology.

Instead of arguing with yourself, simply recognize that your mind is up to its old tricks, and say, “Thank you, Brain, for letting me know that I’m thinking or doing something new.”

After all, you do want to do something new, don’t you? Isn’t that what life is all about, living and trying new things? Personally, I think we should strive to be defined by our choices, not our fears.

So, I’ll ask again:

If you were guaranteed success doing whatever you wanted, what would you do?

This time, when your brain starts saying, “No, we’ll never be a famous musician,” or, “I doubt we’ll ever become a successful writer,” just thank it for its comment and move on with your life and toward your success.

My bet is that despite what your brain says, you have what it takes, and with the proper amount of desire, effort, and determination, you will succeed.

No related posts.

Many of you know that Crystal and I have recently started a business in our spare time (ha!), Gluten Free Basics, LLC. Crystal has been diagnosed with celiac disease for the last two years, and we started the business to provide educational and coaching products for people who must follow a strict gluten-free diet.

The cat’s finally out of the bag on our new business, as we were interviewed and featured in an article today in Iowa City’s Press Citizen.

Here are the products we currently offer:

GlutenFreeHub.com – A gluten-free lifestyle website full of tips and how-to’s for people with celiac disease (or for those of us who just want to live a healthier life!).

GlutenFreeCosmeticsList.com – A website that lists hundreds of gluten-free cosmetics and self-care products (many shampoos, face soaps, lipsticks, lipbalms, etc. contain gluten — try keeping that stuff out of your mouth!).

CeliacSystem.com – This site currently offers a free 7-part e-course for living a healthier gluten-free life. We will soon be launching a training site to coach people with celiac disease to use our system so they can live hassle-free, worry-free, gluten-free lives!

If you know anyone who has celiac disease, I would appreciate you forwarding this information on to them.

I am still accepting new client work if the project and timeline is right for me.

Related posts:

1. 5 goal-oriented questions that lead to a great website

For those of you who read my blog regularly, you’ve probably noticed that I haven’t posted in a couple of months. In late June, I began to feel like the direction my business was taking was moving against my grain.

Owning a business that fulfills me personally as well as financially is critical to how I want to live my life, so I took a business hiatus.

I first began taking hiatuses back in college under completely different circumstances. My guy friends and I, when we became tired of playing games with the fairer sex, would go on a hiatus to reprioritize our lives. This usually came at the end of a failed relationship or after a string of bad dates. (I actually met my wife when I was on hiatus from dating … it’s a good thing she asked me out!)

The purpose of a hiatus is to take your focus off of something that is causing you stress, and put your efforts into things that are more meaningful. It’s sort of like a vacation, except that when you’re on vacation you return to the same challenges you left. With a hiatus, you simply agree to not focus on those challenges until you find better solutions or until they don’t feel like challenges anymore.

In the case of my business, I pulled the plug on all marketing efforts and proposals, deciding only to work with my existing clients and projects I had agreed to. I also focused more on my relationships with friends and family, and my wife and I decided to move forward with a joint business idea we have had for awhile (more on that in coming weeks).

Taking these couple of months away from my branding and design business has been enlightening. I feel rejuvenated, and more importantly, I have a new sense of purpose.

If you feel like you’re just going through the motions of your career, relationships, or daily life (note: you still have to pay bills and mow the lawn!), I highly recommend going on hiatus for a time. The perspective I gained over the past two months is invaluable.

photo credit: Fayez Closed Account.

Related posts:

1. Putting The Business Cleanse Into Practice
2. The Business Cleanse (Will You Join Me?)
3. Brand Ownership Yields Repeat Business, Referrals, and Tons of Goodwill