Be true to yourself

November 7, 2009

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about DNA. Behind successful people in every niche are many years of growing and developing, personally motivating themselves to develop into the type of person that CAN be successful. Only gaining the success (and often, in turn, the money) up to the point that they have developed themselves. Millionaires are millionaires, they say, not because they’ve found a way to earn a million dollars, but because they’ve developed themselves into the type of person that’s worth a million. dna_logo

However, even with all of the personal evolution behind every major success, they have a hard-coded, unique DNA. The rules, so to speak, that foundationally drive who they are as a person, their interests and their passions. You can’t ignore your DNA, and it’s this that I think is so important NOT to forget.

I think so many people get energized and excited about business idea after business idea, starting this one, switching to that one, trying this fad, that hot topic. And you know what? No matter how much they learn, no matter how many books they read or keynotes they watch or successful entrepreneurs they interview, they will never find their elusive success if they ignore who they truly are when chosing their niche. NO MATTER WHAT. Because there could be the biggest business opportunity around right-handed jibjabs, but if you don’t care about those jibjabs, if they wouldn’t be what you’d say when you answer the age old “if money and time were no object, what would you do with your time?” question, if your passion isn’t there, it won’t work. It’s not worth your effort, and it’s definitely not worth your valuable time.

If you love crochet, if you spend ten hours a day thinking about The Simpsons, if you just can’t get enough peanut brittle (woo!), be true to that! Step up, tell the world of your love, and be honest with yourself. Be honest with your DNA. Build your business around THAT passion. Not only will it lead you, when coupled with continual learning, closer to your picture of success, but you will be a thousand times happier while on the journey.

What’re your thoughts about DNA and it’s impact on entrepreneurs? Are you currently building a business around your passion? Do you think it’s more difficult to be successful when you don’t love what you’re doing? Or do you think it’s all the same?

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Do you write down your goals?

October 22, 2009

Is it worth it to write down your goals? I think it is and here’s why.

P.S. The blog post I reference in the video can be found here.
P.P.S Don’t forget that we’re going through a site re-design! Thanks for being patient with us, even though we look a little wonky.

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Hang tight!

October 20, 2009

Just a quick note from the AnnieSorensen.com team to say, Hello! And, Please be patient with us! We’re going through a site re-design, so if there’s a few things that look or act a little wacky, we apologize.

We’ll be back up and looking all fancy-like shortly. In the mean time, thank you thank you THANK YOU for your patience.

And thanks, as always, for visiting.

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Thoughts from BlogWorld, Part 2 & a Personal Evolution expert

October 17, 2009

A quick update from BlogWorld, day 2, about a super-exciting gentleman I had the honor of meeting today, couldn’t wait to share it with you:

The point of all of this? Go check out JB. His site is awesome, his podcasts are awesome, and he is one amazing guy. His passion for personal development, for personal evolution, and inspiring others is massive and it’s beyond motivating to see and meet someone who’s generated so much success within the personal development realm online.

Go. Be inspired.

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Thoughts of a BlogWorld newbie

October 16, 2009

So. Here I am. I’ve made it through my first day as a nervous, excited, eyes-wide-open newbie at the biggest blogging, online media, and podcasting convention in the world. Nice.
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So now I’m sitting here going through all my notes and thoughts and ideas from the day, letting them bounce around in my brain for a bit, and trying to puke them back out as some coherent grouping of sentences. Yeah, pftshh, it’s not going well. And it’s not because I didn’t see or hear or learn anything worthwhile but precisely the opposite. I absorbed and experienced and thought about so much that it’s going to take me more than few hours to digest it all. Much more. I mean, this is motivation, people. Talk about a place where brilliant minds come together. WOW.

Anyway, I’ll stop rambling. The point is, today was eye-opening, and not just because of everything I learned but because I am really launching myself out of my comfort zone by being here. I’m a relative newcomer to the blogging industry, I mean, come on, my Twitter account hasn’t even hit its 1st birthday. I don’t know every famous name in blogging or every influential person in social media. Those nichely famous names that, when a panelist drops them into their presentation, everyone laughs but me. I don’t own a Mac, I don’t make any money from blogging (unless you count $.12 per day as money), and I can’t tell you what it was like to blog back when no one knew the definition of the word. Also, I traveled here and am attending the conference all by myself. I registered and booked the trip on a whim, simply because I just knew I should. So today was eye-opening because I grew. For entrepreneurs and those that strive to always be the best person they can be, stepping outside of your comfort area isn’t anything new. But there are always those times when you realize that you’re not just stepping, you’re launching outside of that zone. And today I did it.

I DID it! And tomorrow I’ll do it again.

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What are YOU reading?

October 15, 2009

Let’s discuss! Here’s the stack of books I purchased the other day and why I’m excited about each one (err, almost each one).

Ok, I’ve shared. Now it’s your turn. If you regularly read books, what’s on YOUR to-read list? What are you reading right now? What are you excited about? If you don’t regularly read books, what other media do you use to learn and catch up with the world?

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What do you decide?

October 14, 2009

So. I have a bone to pick with, just…people.

Ahem.

Attention! People of the World! Why oh why, may I ask, do you keep throwing excuses out into the universe for why you can not and will not find success? For why you can’t achieve your goals? Why do you do this? Why do you feel inclined to inform me, or anyone else, of these excuses?

I. DO. NOT. CARE. I DON’T CARE!

I mean, I do care. Of course. I care in some way, shape, or form for everyone I get to know. But in a I’m-just-fine-to-spend-my-precious-time-with-someone-else-who-actually-believes-in-themselves way, I don’t care to hear or be around anyone who constantly feels the need to share excuses with others as to why they aren’t the huge success they wished they were. Because you know what? I’m smart enough to realize that you aren’t using those excuses to convince others. You’re just using them to convince yourself. And I don’t need to be around to help you do that.

So the next time I hear someone reason away their dreams, their goals, their biggest aspirations in life, I will politely turn and walk away, wishing them the best, and wondering with fascination and concern if they will ever realize that, the key to their elusive success? It’s as simple as switching their focus from the reasons why they can’t find it to the reasons why they can.

YOU CAN.

If you decide to.

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Inspired by MightyGirl, Annie’s Life List

October 11, 2009

Venez3 For the past several months I’ve been following one of my favorite bloggers, Maggie Mason of MightyGirl, as she detailed out the results of an amazing opportunity she received from Intel to fulfill 10 items from her LifeList on someone else’s dime.

Maggie is an accomplished author and blogger, in addition to an inspiring, creative, and fascinating person, so her posts on the life list items she choose to live out, the shenanigans that entailed, and the experiences she had were amazing. I’ve been following them religiously not only because of their high inspiration and entertainment value, but because I have a life list of my own. I know how it feels to cross out an item. And I can only dream how it would feel if a giant corporation called me up one one day and nonchalantly announced that not only were they going to encourage me to set aside my normal day-to-day routine for a few months and cross out ten items of my choosing, but they would fit the bill.

I mean. Wow.

Last week Maggie posted her final piece of the campaign and it didn’t disappoint. I’ve been adding and crossing out entries on my own life list since mid-2006 so I was inspired not only by Maggie’s experience the past few months but by the simple fact that her list is displayed for the world to see on her website. Everyone can see it! EV.ER.Y.ONE. Her dreams, goals, and aspirations, both serious and silly. Out in the open! So courageous.
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Maggie inspired me, so I’ve decided to do something a bit crazy. I’m going to publicize my own life list.

OH MY GOSH I’M GOING TO PUBLICIZE MY LIFE LIST.

So, here it is, kids. In all of its glory. I’ll eventually get to creating a widget on the sidebar to permanantly display the list, but until then you can reference it within this post. The only reason I could convince myself to do this, and why I’d imagine Maggie also threw hers out to the big, bad, public Internet wolves, is that I hope it inspires someone. And not because I think that I’m personally more inspiring than anyone else, I’m most definitely not, but because if me showing my list of dreams and aspirations encourages even one other person out there to write a list of their own, it will be worth it.

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ALS Life List
Est. 07/11/2006

1. Get married
2. Give birth to/adopt 2 children, if not 3…or 4
3. Get my master’s degree for no other reason than to formally learn something new
4. Ride RAGBRAI all 7 days
5. Own a lake home
6. Ski a black diamond
7. Own a business
8. Run a half marathon
9. Run a full marathon
10. Go on an Alaskan cruise
11. Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef
12. Be financially independent
13. Go deep sea fishing
14. Buy my Daddy the truck he’s always wanted but never reasoned purchasing
15. Get my real estate license Route66Road
16. Write a published letter to the editor
17. Spend at least 2 weeks on a United States road trip
18. Own a black Range Rover
19. Watch fireworks in some location other than North America
20. Ride a horse on a beach
21. Re-learn how to play the piano…and play WELL
22. Volunteer at an animal shelter
23. Write/publish a best-selling book…or two…or three!
24. Enter a golf tournament
25. Join the PTA
26. Donate enough money to at least one thing in my community that it qualifies for a name on a plaque/bench/building/etc…and put my parents names on it
27. Win a public speaking award
28. Learn how to sew
29. Have a vegetable/herb garden
30. Attend the Olympics on a continent other than North America
31. Build a house with Habitat for Humanity
32. Inspire a stranger in such a way that they rush up to me in an airport & share their success story about how they literally ARE living a better life because of something I created/wrote/said/filmed. Juta & Bella Weekend 032
33. Tour California wine country
34. Professional decorate my home
35. Own and love a doggie
36. Decide on Monday to take a fabulous vacation on Friday to somewhere I’ve never been…and GO
37. Hike around a volcano
38. Swim in all of the world’s major oceans (Atlantic, Pacific , Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean, Indian)
39. Dance in a city plaza in Prague
40. Host an exchange student
41. Step foot on all 7 continents
42. Comission a custom-made business suit
43. Own a Rolex
44. Drink a cappuccino in Italy
45. Visit the sailboat sail hotel in Dubai
46. Send an anonymous financial gift to someone, large enough that it changes their lives
47. Turn a house into a home that is decorated so perfectly that it truly makes me more comfortable waking in the front door
48. Go to Africa on a mission trip
49. Spend a month in Italy with my family…on my dime.
50. Finally have a haircut I love
51. Reach the point where I feel like I eat and live as naturally and healthy as possible
52. Take a weekend trip with a child under 1 year old
53. Slalom water ski mythbusters-busted-spray
54. Take cooking classes
55. Host Thanksgiving dinner
56. Climb an Egyptian pyramid
57. Take a photo of a white-and-blue-dwelling-dotted Greece coastline
58. Stand under a waterfall
59. Zipline through the rainforest
60. Get invited to the set of Mythbusters
61. Own a Colorado mountain home for Nathan…and all of our extended family
62. Make a piece of furniture
63. Be a guest on someone’s private jet central-park-new-york-wallpaper
64. Walk part of the Appalachian Trail
65. Try caviar
66. Affect enough people’s lives that some editor wants to put me on the cover of their magazine
67. Take/host our extended family on a beach vacation
68. Create a magnificent library in our home
69. Attend a black tie event
70. Visit Angel Falls in Venezuela
71. Be 100% my own boss (aka. FIRE any other bosses) before I turn 29
72. Sit in Central Park & people watch all day long
73. Attend Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholder meeting and listen to Warren Buffet speak
74. Eat dinner at Bern’s Steak House in Tampa, FL…home of the world’s largest restaurant collection of wine
75. Get invited to be interviewed on a national talk show
76. Eat dinner at the French Laundry in Napa Valley, CA

Cannot WAIT to see your lists.

Go. Dream. Be inspired.

Do you have a life list? Yes? No? Is it in your head or written down? Do you think lists like this are silly? If you do believe in life lists, send me a note when you cross an item off, I’ll save a high-five for ya…

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