I’m a big believer in following a high energy path with anything you’re working on. If you don’t feel energy at the center of your body when you think about next steps in what you’re doing, it may be time for a change.
Eye rolls and sighs are your body’s clue that you’re on a low energy path. Sometimes these are obvious – oh, my! But sometimes only you can see and hear them like maybe when: Continue reading
Last week, I facilitated a meeting of a new Entrepreneur’s Group here in Cape Elizabeth. Our guest was Peter Bissell from Bissell Brothers Brewing. If you don’t know anything about the business of brewing, it is thriving! Here in Maine, we have over 130 breweries and that count is growing by the month. If you love beer, Maine is a great place to live and to visit.
But what could we learn from this young entrepreneur? A ton! Here are my notes.
Peter graduated in the UMaine class of 2006 where he got great grades but didn’t learn much. He worked as a professional photographer out of college (“I’ve always been a worker,” he says), but didn’t learn about photography in school – that was all on his own. At the start, he took any job that came his way (Say “Yes!”). He learned the photo business by doing it on the fly – and by talking to people. Weddings were particularly lucrative because each wedding led to more gigs. He did great work and he made connections.
He liked photography and was financially successful, but when Peter’s younger brother Noah starting brewing at age 17 and decided he wanted to do this for a living, Peter jumped in on the game. From the start, they ignored conventional advice and made decisions based more on gut than on number crunching. And where others went to England to learn about brewing, they stayed home and experimented with new recipes to make a unique tasting American beer.
The Brewery is wildly successful, and after only six years they are rolling out overseas with a restaurant brand. Their name is recognized globally thanks to the Internet. And they opened a second brewery in their hometown of Milo, Maine, a former mill town. How cool is that!
When you’re trying to do something new, it’s always nice to chat with someone on the same path. Here are my big takeaways from Peter’s hard-won experience that you can apply to almost anything you’re working on.
Here are a few of Peter’s book recommendations
I hope you find this as inspiring as I did! Now off to find your superpowers 🙂
I’ll leave you this morning with a shot from the old farm where I live. Come on, Spring!
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A friend of mine at last night’s Artist’s Way gathering said she was having trouble getting organized and asked for some advice. You know my ears perked up at that. She pulled a few examples out of her bag of various spreadsheet attempts. All had different sortations looking at a mix of times, days, and tasks. She said nothing was working.
And here’s the thing: She’s retired and has a problem many folks face. When you have too much time and lots of stuff you want to do but don’t have to do it’s hard to get motivated and it’s hard to stick to a task that has no deadline.
Here’s the advice I shared. Continue reading
Decluttering is kind of trendy now, but is it for you? Ask yourself: Does the clutter in your house really bug you? Or does it feel like something that “should” bug you? If you secretly love your stash, please revel in it and spend your time elsewhere.
But if your clutter is bugging you, choose to tackle it with intent. Focus on it. Put your energy into it. And come up with a plan to help it on its way. Here are a few tips to help you get started. Continue reading
The number one question I get when I give talks on organization is about finishing projects. This might be something big like writing a book. It could be losing weight or starting an exercise program. Or it could be a nuisance task – like clearing boxes out of the basement or cleaning out a closet.
No matter what you’re working on, here are five steps to help you complete a project. Continue reading
At a talk I was giving a few weeks ago, someone in the audience mentioned the problem of the 90/90 rule.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“You know,” he said. “How the first 90% of a project takes 90% of the time. And the last 10% takes 90% of the time.”
Hah! That rang true. But why is that? Continue reading
If you have a place in your house that feels scattered or drains your energy, try introducing a little harmony.
Think about how different a scattering of single leaves look compared to leaves grouped together on a tree. Or how loose petals of a flower look compared to the look of a full-headed flower. Or the look of singular flowers versus the look of a sweeping field of flowers.
You can create harmony by placing similar items together. By putting prints on a wall in matching frames. By grouping items together that are the same or complementary colors. Continue reading
