I think it started with my recent post about business cards, actually. But I really noticed it when I logged in to my LinkedIn account recently.

Encouraged by Seth, I am slowly getting into the habit of typing all the names and email addresses of people I meet at conferences into LinkedIn. After going to BarCampBank SF last weekend, I logged into LinkedIn, and there was my current job description: “Temporarily retired” at “my house.” For the first time, it wasn’t tongue-in-cheek humorous anymore. It actually made me cringe. (more…)

I’ve had “write the results of my ‘no complaining’ week” on my to-do list for a few days now, since it officially ended midnight between Tuesday and Wednesday. Today is Thursday, so I’m a bit behind in writing it. I knew there was a reason I hadn’t written it yet, and now I know why — I hadn’t learned the lesson behind the week yet. Tonight, just a few minutes ago, I finally got it. (more…)

One of the great bonuses of “temporarily retiring” is that I have had a lot of time to think about where I want to be in life, where I am now, and how to get from here to there.

Really, I wouldn’t trade this period of reflection for anything. I have come up with great business ideas. I have learned Internet marketing and blog-writing skills that have helped me to grow this blog from 2000 unique visitors per month a few months ago to nearly 10,000 this month. I have been able to commit serious time to writing about beliefs I am really passionate about.

The one thing I want to do before I jump back into the business world, though, is to do something seriously personally challenging. I did start working out three times a week, which is good, but not challenging enough by itself. I wanted something that made me cringe to do it… and would have significant opportunities for my personal growth, as well. (more…)

I get a lot of questions about this blog, but by far, one of the most interesting questions I consistently receive is from those who have read my Goals page. One of the goals is stated in a straightforward manner: “Have at least $1 million/year in passive income by the time I am 30.” The question I get is “How do you plan to do that?”

This is something I haven’t clearly addressed on this blog, because although I knew what I wanted to do with my life, I was not sure how I wanted to do it. I knew that I wanted to set up two content websites, HardworkingMillionaire.com and InspiringInnovators.com. I also want to write a book and do public speaking. But what I was missing, until this week, was the link between “Step 1: Set up a bunch of websites” and “Step 2,346: Profit!” (more…)

My goal with posting goals every year is to focus my energy on creating specific milestones for the next year — publicly — so both you and I can easily see how I’m doing and where I need to kick more butt. 🙂

You can see how I did on my 2007 goals in my 2007 year in review. I did well, so this year I am going to set more aggressive goals.

There is a lot of ground to cover in 2008. First of all, I have two new businesses to start. I have had both of them in my mind for a while, and it’s time for both of them to come to fruition. One of my new businesses is InspiringInnovators.com. Every week for the next two years, I am going to interview one person who has made a significant impact on the world. We are going to talk about challenges, obstacles, successes, and wins for this person, in a much more in-depth interview format than would typically occur in a magazine or newspaper with limited space available.

Why did I decide to start Inspiring Innovators? (more…)