4 Disruptive Hacks for Marketing Fantasy Sports

September 15, 2015, 7:16 am

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"Unicorns" and "fantasy" aren't the stuff of fairy tales anymore. They're changing the face of sports marketing and insights.

Look no further than daily fantasy sports (DFS) sites FanDuel and DraftKings. After raising $275 million and $300 million, respectively, in venture capital this summer, both companies reached "unicorn" status -- the term that signifies when a startup's valuation has exceeded $1 billion.


Image Credit: Elshosting

How'd they get here? Through traditional advertising. These industry giants are in the midst of an all-out promotional arms race.

User acquisition is the top priority of both companies and huge chunks of these latest funding rounds already have been committed to advertising. In July, DraftKings struck an agreement with Fox Sports to spend roughly $250 million on ads with the TV company over the next three years. This came just one month after DraftKings formed a $250 million exclusive ad partnership with ESPN.

This is serious money, folks.

The New York Times went as far as to write, "The business of daily fantasy sports is only a few years old, but it has become a nearly ubiquitous presence. FanDuel and DraftKings have created a new advertising category, spending millions of dollars on TV commercials with no end in sight. Their names and logos are seen in stadiums and arenas thanks to their many sponsorship deals."

So the big boys with deep pockets have already monopolized most of the mainstream marketing. What can the upstart startups do, then, to get their websites recognized and utilized? Simple, do what the underdogs always do - go for disruptive marketing. Below are some tips on how:

1. Go against the grain
Consumers already have been hammered with the message that playing DFS can lead to champagne bottles and huge cardboard checks. This doesn't resonate with them anymore. So give them something completely different.

Some players just might not have what it takes to be the best. So maybe sites should give them a chance to excel at being truly awful? A million-dollar "low-ball" tournament where the worst lineup possible wins all would be a creative twist on DFS gameplay. (Think interceptions being positive, while touchdowns score negative points.) The big brands use humor all the time to market their wares - smaller DFS sites can too!


2. Embrace the (friendly) competition
Next month, FX will be launching its seventh season of "The League," an entire comedy series centered around - you guessed it - friends taking their fantasy leagues way too seriously.

While DFS doesn't involve leagues, it does still have leaderboards, such as the rankings found on community site RotoGrinders.com. Not only does RotoGrinders recognize the top DFS players, it also employs them as contributors. By regarding DFS contestants as colleagues, rather than competitors, RotoGrinders has carved out a unique space for its members.

3. Stop and smell the sweats
Nothing captures the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat quite like a "sweat" - that is, watching scoreboards as real-world plays change DFS contest standings, oftentimes with tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars changing hands.

The only thing fans love more than sports is watching other fans react to the roller coaster rides matches can take us on. Capturing these emotions both on- and off- the field and sharing them across your platform would keep DFS human and accessible for new gamers.

While DraftKings and FanDuel are marketing themselves through more traditional means, there are still plenty of opportunities for up-and-coming DFS and other fantasy sports companies to disrupt current messaging and shift it away from the status quo. DFS players love sports and money - who doesn't?! - but that doesn't mean there's still not room for smaller sites to think outside the box and make themselves known in such competitive space.

4. Make the most of social media
Sports enthusiasts, especially those in fantasy sports, love to share their experience with others. Two former NFL data analysts who came up with Top Dog Stats, a system that helps fantasy football players the chance to live the real life of an NFL GM, allows it anyone to share their dashboard on social media, making the game even more interactive and fun as friends could easily chime in!

When you hear "fantasy" and "unicorns," the first images that pop in your head probably are the stuff of fairy tales and bedtime stories But you should be thinking about the next big thing in sports

The non-athlete hears the words "daily fantasy sports"

How'd we get here? Advertising.

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Raising a Phoenix: How We Can Start Eliminating the Roots of Gender Bias

September 15, 2015, 7:38 am

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Preston Smith co-founded Rocketship Education, a nonprofit, national network of public elementary charter schools serving primarily low-income students in neighborhoods where access to excellent schools is limited. He began his career in education as a teacher, later becoming a principal in San Jose, California. Preston graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earned a master's degree in educational leadership and administration from San Jose State University and is an Aspen New Schools Fellow. He lives in San Jose with his wife and two children, who both attend Rocketship Fuerza Community Prep. 

With people like Sheryl Sandberg, Arianna Huffington and Marissa Mayer firmly established in the modern business world, we are making significant strides towards gender equality in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. And yet, despite what feels like meaningful progress, the fact remains that nine out 10 Silicon Valley executives are men. In order to achieve more gender quality in the workplace, we must address dynamics that start at a young age, and are so deep-seeded and subtle that people often don't even realize they exist.

As an example, I was recently at the grocery store with my young daughter. As we ran through the aisles -- my daughter grabbing strawberries and ice cream while wearing her Elsa dress -- she was in her own little world (like many four year olds).

"Oh, you have a little princess!" one customer commented, and "oh, how beautiful!" said another. "What a pretty dress!" "Wow, you're so cute!" On the drive home, she was charmed. She said she was glad that everyone thinks she looked beautiful in her dress. But I froze.

I am glad people think she's beautiful (she is). But she is also brilliant and giving. She's fierce, with a personality and will that does not yield. Her nickname at preschool, "la general," says it all.

These comments, no matter how well-meaning, have a huge impact on how girls will behave for the rest of their lives.

"Teaching girls that their appearance is the first thing you notice tells them that looks are more important than anything," writes Lisa Bloom, author of "Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World." As a father, I see this every day. My son gets comments about how smart he is, how tough he is, how creative he is. While my daughter, nine out of 10 times, gets comments about being cute, pretty or beautiful.

Whether intentional or not, we often teach girls at a young age that their physical attributes, not their ambition or intellect, are what matters most. It makes me wonder if we would have more powerful executives like Sheryl Sandberg, Arianna Huffington and Marissa Mayer leading Fortune 100 companies if we didn't engrain this subtle gender bias at such a young age. If we tell little girls that they are, smart, clever, creative and tough, my guess is that we would see more women executives rising to the top as these girls grow older.

Luckily, a simple practice can begin to help us to understand and address our unconscious gender biases: awareness.

Latoya Fernandez, a fifth-grade humanities teacher at one of our Rocketship schools in San Jose, is pushing such awareness with a social empowerment girls group she calls QUEEN HYPE (Quality Urban Equal Education Network Helping Young Pioneers Excel).

"Our girls have a disadvantage in our society. They often lack confidence to seek the same opportunities as males do," she told me when she created the program two years ago.

It's not just educators who must implement social justice into their curriculum. It's the responsibility of all adults to empower girls to see women like them doing great things. It can be as simple as suggesting books for kids (both boys and girls) to read where the female characters are relatable and accomplish big things. What kids see and hear is what they connect with their own reality as they grow into adulthood.

As a father and a leader of a nonprofit network of charter schools, it's important to me to reflect on these ideas. It's also important to integrate these reflections into my own practices as a business leader and a father. I hope that as my daughter grows older, there will be many more business leaders that inspire her. I also hope that she grows up to feel confident, successful and valued because of the person she is, and not just because of her appearance. I encourage other parents and business leaders to reflect on the examples they set for the children in their lives, and the ways subtle gender biases may appear in their day-to-day activities.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Women in Business: Being Persuasive in Customer Meetings, Lessons From Peitho the Sales Goddess

September 15, 2015, 8:00 am

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Women have unique strengths that, when tapped into, have a powerful impact in selling, such as compassion, collaboration, and empathy. The vast majority of sales and leadership training has been geared toward helping women succeed by following male success techniques. We have spent years being indoctrinated into believing that fitting into a male mold is the path to success, and have therefore learned how to fit in. Research indicates that finding your unique voice and authentic self is the best path to success. Finding your true self, however, is not as easy as it seems.

The theory of universal archetypes made popular by Carl Jung states that all personalities represent an aspect of universal consciousness that hold within each an inherent potential. Many goddesses who personify this greatness are evident in the business world. You can easily see Athena the Wise taking charge in meetings, or Demeter the Primordial Mother uncovering and protecting the needs of her customer. Tapping into your goddess or goddesses is a powerful way to gain access to the potential that lies within us. But the one Goddess that I look to most for persuasion techniques is Peitho. The daughter of Aphrodite and wife of Hermes, she was known for powerful persuasion, presentation, and influence. Peitho's symbol is a white dove.

Undeniable Truth

A great way to build trust with your customer is to begin presentations or discussions with an undeniable truth. Eric Lafholm, a scripting expert, uses this as another one of his powerful scripting techniques. Make a statement that your customer would indeed agree with, as it is evidently true. An example would be "Women are less represented in C-level ranks than men." That's pretty easy to believe, even if you live under a rock.

Truth Language Pattern

In The Psychology of Persuasion, Kevin Hogan also mentions using a "Truth Language Pattern." It is essentially kicking off the rhythm of a "yes answer" conversation, the type that I imagine you would see in a church sermon. It is pretty powerful, and therefore I would reiterate that all sales techniques should only be used with the highest integrity in mind: "Woman are less represented in C-level ranks than men. Women in business have utilized male-authored success techniques for decades." Yes, yes. Can I get a Hallelujah? "Women are more successful in business when they lead using their authentic style. Women can benefit from The Authentic Sale to unleash their true sales goddesses."


Manifesting the Next Step

After I complete an informal presentation, I love to ask the million-dollar question: "I'm curious to know, what do you see as the next step?" This is my favorite technique of all! If they cannot answer this question (for any number of reasons or objections), then you can ask the following: "I see. Out of curiosity, if that issue (the budget, the personal change, the holidays) were resolved, then what would the next step be?" This is what I call manifesting the next step. Each step has life, and even when you have a conversation about hypothetical next steps, life has just been given to it. This wonderful step helps take your customers out of their own limitations and into a place of options, and play. It helps them see the next steps, even when they are facing a barrier.





The next time that you need to deliver a persuasive presentaion, remember Peitho--my friend and yours. Know that you too are a powerful Sales Goddess.

Read more in my book;The Authentic Sale, A Goddess's Guide to Business.


Rena Cohen-First has sold in the Food Ingredient Industry for the past 17 years, selling to the largest food and beverage manufacturers in the world. She has taught online business and leadership classes as an adjunct instructor, studied Professional and Executive Coaching, completed her MBA and Served in the US Army. She resides in San Diego with her two children and husband. Her goal is to show every woman that she can become a Sales Goddess in all circumstances. See more about Rena at: www.thesalesgoddess.com

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

What You Are Missing About SnapChat and the Future of Storytelling for Business

September 15, 2015, 8:01 am

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I always advise businesses to do what is right for their brand and their audience when it comes to social marketing. Not every brand can thrive on the same social platforms. Retail businesses are thriving on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter, while b2b tend to do better on LinkedIn and Facebook. However, don't dismiss the value of SnapChat all together. It is an effective way for brands to tell a story and leave an impact.

The misconception.
When SnapChat first came out I was a skeptic too. All the mainstream media talked about was teenagers sexting their friends. Fear, fear, fear! They totally missed the point of this platform. Content vanishes in 24 hours and this is a great way to tell stories. Brands and businesses want guarantees that people will see their content. Unfortunately, this will never and has never existed in social marketing. Business owners need to roll with the platforms and find organic ways to strike an impact with their audience members.

The days of forcing boring advertising down a consumers throat is long dead. Social platforms are constantly changing their algorithms and adding difficulties so that you have to pay for advertising on their sites to reach full exposure.

Not everything needs to be saved.
The traditional format of social networks originated from the days of Friendster and MySpace. We all got used to their being a record of the content we put out. Someone new coming to your page could come and look at all the crap you put out there. Many sites still work like this, but they don't have to in order to tell a story.

After all, we don't need to save every television show, news segment, sporting event or movie that we have ever seen to remember it. The mind is a powerful thing, even in our A.D.D society, we can see something once and remember it forever.

Overprotective parents should listen up.
We all know someone that has rules about you posting pictures of their kids on Facebook or Instagram, SnapChat is a great platform to tell personal stories only to an audience of one if you like. If my wife is working an event or weekend, I can film my morning with my daughter in ten second clips on SnapChat so that she can feel like she isn't missing out. People would mass delete me on Facebook if I was putting out long stories about my kid. But on Snapchat all the user has to do is take their finger of of their phone and they no longer have to follow my story. I can add these messages to my story for all my followers to all see it or just send these messages to someone privately without taking up my iPhone photo and video storage. Businesses can learn from parents that are communicating this way.

Full attention.
SnapChat requires the user or viewer to keep their finger on the screen of their phone in order to view the video. This creates a unique experience where the user is more engaged with the content. They are less likely to be watching TV or doing other activities at the same time because they are focused on keeping their finger on the screen. This is extremely valuable for businesses.

Forget about likes and shares for a minute.
Just like the olden days, other people don't have to like and share things for it to have meaning. On Snapchat you can't really share or like content. I think that is pretty excellent. We have all become too obsessed with counting likes, retweets, and shares. Going viral means nothing for revenue unless you are selling lots of products from it. Tell a good story and it will impact your audience.

Traditional media gets It.
If you are new to SnapChat follow some traditional media brands that have been exploring storytelling in this new way. NPR (NPRNews) is doing a fantastic job. The New York Times (thenyTimes) is also doing a great job. The Washington Post (washingtonpost) and The Wall Street Journal (wsj) have Snap accounts but in my opinion could learn a few things from NPR and NYT.

Constantly evaluate your content.
My brother had an early website in the late 1990s called Lost Interest. He let the URL go years ago, but the term has always stuck with me. Have your customers and audience lost interest with the content that you are putting out? Are you using social media as straight advertising? Please don't do this.

Look at your content and ask yourself if you are providing value and helping. That is the key to everything in social marketing.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Fewer, Bigger, Better: A Lesson in Time Management

September 15, 2015, 8:04 am

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When Saying "No" is More Important than "Yes"



Here at SoapBox we make a lot of mistakes. It's the reality of startup life for entrepreneurs - mistakes are going to happen. I often make the analogy that starting a company is like being a Roomba (that robot vacuum that zooms across your floors), because the robot often hits the walls and has to course-correct constantly to achieve its cleaning objective.

We recently brought in a seasoned industry executive to provide consultation, and he pointed out one mistake in particular that that had turned into a habit. Instead of making a one-time bad decision, this Roomba wasn't turning after hitting the wall the last 43 times.

What was the bad habit? Trying to do everything, and do it all at the same time.

In the early days, like for many scrappy startups, SoapBox had to beg, plead, show up at retailers' offices unannounced, and offer our first-born (well, this might be an exaggeration) to get our products on store shelves. After years of operating like this to grow our sales, we suddenly started to get calls from vendors asking us to sell into their store... A change we welcomed!

Elated and honored to be approached, we said yes to every new business who wanted SoapBox. We grew rapidly and our products started popping on the shelves of grocery, drug, mass, natural, specialty, college, and various other types of stores.

The Problem of Trying to Do Everything
At first it was great, but the costs of supporting this fragmented approach started to add up and we realized that we had expanded too fast and in too many channels. In other words, our Roomba lost control and went after the dog.

I know too many startup founders who share this same problem. After the years of swimming up stream, the moment your market embraces your venture, your first reaction is to open the throttle and step on the gas. This is where saying "No" is more important than saying "Yes."

A Valuable Lesson Learned:
Our executive consultant taught our existing leadership team that by expanding so quickly, we couldn't adequately support each channel with the marketing dollars, personnel bandwidth, and the day-to-day support they needed to succeed. In other words he said, "you need to focus on doing 'fewer, bigger, better."

This idea has started to seep into other activities at SoapBox, including marketing initiatives, operational activities, and the amount of snacks we keep in the office. It reduces stress by trying to juggle a million things at once and allows your employees to optimize the activities and projects they are in charge of so your dollars and their time get the most return they can.

Take a look at your startup. Take a step back and ask yourself, are we saying yes, when we should be saying no?

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Don't Let Your Age Define You!

September 15, 2015, 8:15 am

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You are never to young or old to start following your dreams! Today is the perfect day to start working towards your goals! Growing up we hear "oh you can do that when you're older, be a kid now," "only grown ups can work," "maybe one day you are going to do that." Why wait until someday to follow your dreams? Today is a great day to start living your life and following your passions!

Age is just a number and it should have no affect on how much you can accomplish. One idea can spark a brilliant idea that can be a catalyst to the rest of your life. Many successful companies have been started by people under the age of 18 who have followed their passions and started their own businesses! Here are a few...

Cory Nieves
At the age of 9 Cory wanted to earn money and help his mom buy a car. He started selling lemonade and eventually expanded into making cookies. His cookies were a huge success so he decided to create his own cookie company. He created Mr.Cory's Cookies an all natural cookie line and has grown his company exponentially!

Follow Cory on Twitter @MrCorys

Moziah Bridges
Moziah could not find bow ties that were appealing to his style. He started designing and sewing his own after learning from his grandmother. Moziah created a solution to his problem and started making his own bow ties and selling them on Esty. Now he has expanded his brand and created Mo's Bows that have been picked up by many stores in the United States, Canada, as well as the Bahamas!

Follow Moziah on Twitter @MosBowsMemphis

Noa Mintz
Noa wanted to find the perfect caregiver to fit her family's needs. At the age of 12 Noa launched her company Nannies by Noa, an online childcare agency for families in New York City and the Hamptons. Noa and her team have set high standard and expectations for their experienced caregivers!

Follow Noa on Twitter @noa_mintz

Anshul Samar
In sixth grade Anshul combined his love of card games and chemistry. When creating his game Elementeo, a board game to teach chemistry to people of all ages he wanted to make it fun. He is now a Stanford student and has started a grant fund for other young entrepreneurs!

Follow Anshul on Twitter @AnshulSamar

Gabrielle Flank
At the age of 15 Gabrielle and her sister embarked on the journey of opening their own bath and beauty company! In 2008 Gabrielle was diagnosed with leukemia and developed a strong passion for natural bath and beauty products. With their love for beauty products and bakery treats they created The Frosting Company, a natural bath and beauty bakery free of harsh chemicals and artificial preservatives!

Follow Gabrielle on Twitter @gabrielleflank

Isabella Rose Taylor
Isabella is a self taught designer from Texas and did not let her age stop her. At the age of 12 Isabella was already scoring huge deals with Nordstrom. Now 16, Isabella has her own clothing label and has showcased her designs at NYC Fashion Week!

Follow Isabella on Twitter @isabellartaylor

Success cannot be judged based on age but rather by your actions and accomplishments. Whether you are 50 or 15 years old you can follow your passions. Never be afraid to pursue your passions and never let a number (your age) get in the way of your success.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Top 5 Reasons Everyone Loves Lists

September 15, 2015, 8:20 am

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Matthew Santoro was an out of work accountant frustrated with his carrer choices when he stumbled into making videos on Youtube about five years ago. One of the many victims of a sour economy back in the day, Santoro set out to find his real passion.

Like most, he didn't see immediate success. In fact, four years went by and he still wasn't getting much traction. Although he was tempted to give up several times and get "a real job" he would always come back to a Jim Carrey quote:

"You can fail at what you don't want, so you might as well take a risk at what you love."

Matthew kept experimenting and discovered his passion and the science behind the popularity of lists. Then something big happened. His Youtube channel blew up and to date he has over 5 million subscribers across two channels. He's also doing a ton of collaboration, brand deals and new original content. Watch the entire video above and you'll learn a lot!



Here are 5 reasons everyone loves lists:


1. Lists Prove We Know Our Stuff-
The reason lists do well is the same reason I like to watch Jeopardy on TV. How do you feel when you get an answer correct? Awesome, right? Lists are an easy way for us to validate that we're smart. We read lists expecting to know many of the answers but also hope there is a hidden surprise.


2. Lists Make Us Smarter-
Lists teach us stuff. When we find something on a list that we didn't know or expect, we are excited and quick to share it with others to make us look good or to add value to others.


3. Lists Manage Expectations-
The size of the list gives the reader a heads up about how much time is required to read it. Depending on your audience, that's a valuable thing to consider if you want it read, watched or shared by lots of people.


4. Lists are Bite-size Snacks-
Let's face it. We don't really read anymore, we're skimming. When we see a list, it's no big deal because it doesn't look like it will take much time. We have so many distractions and lists are super effective for content creators who want viewers to engage and share via social media.


5. Lists Extend Our Memory-
Memory experts will tell you that making a list of items and assigning it a unique name and location in your brain is the secret to remembering it. Try this within 6 seconds the next time someone tells you their name and see if it doesn't work like a charm. Lists (like your To Do List) are resources we can return to often.


(Research sources for this article include: "The Psychology of Lists: 8 Human Hooks That Keep People Reading and Sharing Numbered Lists: By Nick Kellet as well as my general knowledge of the human brain.)


What did I leave out? Leave me a comment or tweet me @BryanElliott and I promise to reply! You can watch more awesome Behind the Brand videos here.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

How to Improve Interdepartmental Collaboration

September 15, 2015, 8:21 am

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Image by Cait Barron via Flickr

Let's be frank: accounts, engineering, marketing, and sales all often have a hard time understanding one another, even if they "get along" just fine.

"Working in a particular profession, you get trained to think, analyze and operate in a particular way," says Dr. Alison Whybrow, an award-winning psychologist who coaches senior and high potential leaders across industry sectors. Many times, those same attitudes and procedures run counter to how folks in other departments function. "In a busy, complex and frequently changing work environment, [workers are] just not aware that their colleagues are looking at a different landscape." This creates friction between departments and communication strain.

Below are seven tips business owners, department managers and individual workers can use to enhance interdepartmental communications.

Offer context

Meetings are unproductive when half of the attendees have no idea what is going on. To keep everyone on their toes, it is important to provide powerful context that will really rally troops together.

Dr. Whybrow advises, "Step back from the task in each meeting or interaction, and jointly define what a good outcome would look like for both or all parties involved. What is the purpose of the meeting in the first place and how does it relate to achieving the wider organizational purpose?" Doing so offers direction so team members can actively participate instead of passively nodding their heads, watching the minutes tick by.

Exercise empathy

Mutual understanding plays an important role in fostering stronger interdepartmental communications, too. "Step into the other's shoes," recommends Dr. Whybrow. "If you're an engineer meeting with a sales person, take a moment to consider, what does this look like from the salesperson's perspective. What are the pressures on him / her that this situation creates? What would success look like for him / her?"

With empathy, folks in different teams may come together to support their respective long-term goals and visions. Collectively, they are better equipped to drive meaningful results for their employer.

Embrace confusion

Of course, confusion does not have to be the enemy.

"Confusion is fine; it's a healthy part of a learning process," says Martin Echavarria of the boutique consultancy. "If confusion exists, it is most productive to acknowledge that there is confusion." Set your pride aside and admit when you are unable to follow a conversation or train of thought. Some people get lost in their own words; no one will fault you for requesting clarity about a conversation, email thread or project.

"The goal should never be to minimize something that can be considered negative, but rather to build the capability to work together," continues Echavarria. "In this way, the collective muscle to respond effectively to change and remain resilient through challenge is fostered. Problems and challenges to collaboration always exist. The best solution is learning together to respond productively when they occur."

Manage your emotions

Constructive dialogue is a critical component of personal and team development. But invalidating responses and verbal attacks drive resentment, not results. "Allow people to disagree and express emotions, empathy is one, but one that is often not allowed is anger and disappointment. Negative emotions expressed can be great opportunities to open the possibility for positive change," says Echavarria.

Avoid being defensive too. An open mind toward criticism benefits interdepartmental communications by prioritizing organizational goals over ego.

Develop a common language

Meaningless buzzwords kill conversations. New vocabulary should be considered carefully and used sparingly. While certain things make sense within your functional milieu, department-specific language alienates outsiders.

Echavarria suggests, "Clarify and agree to terminology and language as it is used in [meetings]. This ensures everyone understands what is being said. Try to minimize jargon, or unproductive normative comments that occur in corporate culture, but no one really understands." The consequence of using unique or ambiguous terms is teams end up having different dialogues. Sales may misinterpret messages from marketing. Alternatively, people may tune out of conversations entirely.

To engage everyone effectively, companies should develop a common language everyone understands, which should be used to improve cross-functional communications.

Intermingle

Cliques happen. At their desks, at the lunch table and in meetings, you see folks hanging out with peers in the same departments. To champion a more collaborative environment, create situations that encourage intermingling.

At your next meeting, assign seats to get people sitting next to unfamiliar colleagues. Instead of playing host to residents from different neighborhoods, you form a more cohesive and diverse group of professionals who truly understand each other. Also, remind your colleagues to "shut down all laptops and cell phones and be there to connect with others," urges Echavarria.

Craft the right response

To minimize misinterpretation, professionals need to be aware of their own communication style and must understand "how to most effectively engage their colleagues' style," says Lisa Chenofsky Singer, a certified executive coach. Two tips she offers are:

1. Write [an] email response and save it in draft to review 5 minutes later, asking yourself if you addressed the questions asked or responses to the inquiry offering useful information.


2. See if this response is better handled via phone or in person when possible, as you can pick up nuances that writing does not. You can always follow up with a confirmation email.

Sometimes the method in which you communicate is as important as your content. Take the time to ensure accurate interpretation and smoother collaboration; it will be well worth it.

This post originally appeared on the Central Desktop blog and is republished with permission.

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Danny Wong is the co-founder of Blank Label, an award-winning luxury menswear company. He is also a digital marketing consultant and freelance writer. To connect, tweet him @dannywong1190 or message him on LinkedIn.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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Real Wages Are Finally (Finally!) Growing. Can the Fed Stop Itself From Ruining Everything?

September 15, 2015, 9:32 am

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Of all the countless ways to measure the health of the economy, one stands out as the most meaningful for American workers: Average real (i.e., accounting for inflation) weekly earnings. How much food can the average paycheck buy compared to a year ago? How much of the rent or mortgage can it pay? How much of the basic necessities can that paycheck cover? The answer to that question tells us how well the economy is doing for average Americans right now.

The Great Recession absolutely killed American paychecks. The National Employment Law Project found that workers' real earnings actually dropped from 2009 to 2014. More broadly, the chart below the fold tracks real weekly earnings for production and non-supervisory employees going back 50 years. After peaking in the early 1970s (Nixon was a liberal on economic policy, after all), they bottomed out under George H.W. Bush, stayed flat a few years, and then started improving sharply during Bill Clinton's presidency.

What's most important right now is that, after five bad years following 2009, real weekly earnings are now, finally, improving again, up 2.2 percent from July 2014 to July 2015. That's an impressive jump, and, amazingly, they are at a high not seen since 1980. This fact that shows how devastating high inflation has been for American workers, as seen in the huge drops in real earnings that coincided with double-digit inflation in 1974 and from 1979 to 1981. Furthermore, these recent gains are even stronger at the bottom of the wage scale according to a number of measures, thanks in part to increases in the minimum wage that progressives have won.

Let's be clear about something. Real weekly earnings should be increasing over time. Why? Because worker productivity has been going up, and so have profits. Why in the world shouldn't workers take home a commensurate share of the rewards their work produces? For the last four decades, however, they haven't. When the Federal Reserve Board meets in just a few days, they will have a chance to either nurture the positive trend of the past twelve months, or drive a stake right through it.

The Federal Reserve is a complicated beast. In simple terms, the law gives it a dual mandate when it comes to setting interest rates and other policies. The Fed must try to encourage maximum employment and seek stable prices. These two goals can conflict with one another. Maximum employment and a tight labor market typically lead to wage increases, but too much of that good thing can then spark inflation, which is the usual justification for the Fed to raise interest rates.

Interest rates have been very low for a very long time, and with good reason. Low rates plus the stimulus from the Fed's Quantitative Easing program (which tapered off and ended last October) helped stimulate the economy after the 2008 crash. In fact, once the Republicans not only blocked further direct stimulus spending after 2010 but managed, through the sequester, to impose austerity, the Fed's measures became even more vital. The Fed brought its federal funds rate to just above zero in December 2008, and has left it there ever since. Obviously, it can't stay there forever. The question is: When should the Fed start raising the rate?

My answer, my argument, my plea to the Fed is this: Not yet. Yes, we have wage growth over the past 12 months, and we've had strong job growth in recent years. But that in itself is not a reason to raise rates and choke off this vital growth that's combating the income inequality that has plagued our economy for four decades. The Fed is charged with pursuing stable prices, right? Well, we've got 'em, folks.

Inflation is essentially non-existent right now. Overall inflation ran below zero from January through May of 2015, meaning prices actually dropped. Even after slight increases in June and July, inflation remains in negative territory for the year. Furthermore, although we don't yet have overall numbers for August--they'll be released on September 16 while the Fed is meeting--prices for U.S. imports dropped 1.8 percent for the month, and dropped 0.4 percent even when excluding the volatile fuel sector. Prices are stable.

The problem is that even though the Fed is supposed to pursue both maximum employment and stable prices, the latter concern often wins out. As Mark Thoma at The Fiscal Timesexplained:

The inflation problems of the 1970s, the loss of Fed credibility that came with it, and the need to impose the Volcker recession in the early 1980s to bring inflation down to tolerable levels made an indelible impression on policymakers who lived through that time period. The Fed's trigger-happy response to any suggestion of an inflation problem is directly related to the desire to never let such an inflation outburst happen again.

But it has been more than four decades since the beginning of the inflation problems of the 1970s, and the economic environment in which monetary policy operates has changed considerably since that time. Those changes support patience, particularly in response to increases in wages, wages that have been stagnant since the 1970s even as labor productivity has been increasing.

In a Bloomberg TV interview, Paul Krugman counseled patience as well:

If the Fed waits too long to raise rates, then we get a little bit of inflation. If the Fed raises rates too soon, we risk getting caught in another lost decade. So the risks are hugely asymmetric. I really find it quite mysterious that the Fed is eager to raise rates given that, they're going to be wrong one way or the other, we just don't know which way. But the costs of being wrong in one direction are so much higher than the costs of being the other.

I do believe that Janet Yellen--the most progressive-minded economist to serve as Fed Chair in many decades--wants to see the paychecks of workers increase as much as possible without setting off the kind of inflation that can ultimately devastate those very same workers. I'm not saying her job is an easy one.

Nevertheless, the evidence is clear. Wages are rising, finally, and prices are not--a rare confluence in recent decades. American workers need this to continue as long as possible. So do their bosses, in fact, because workers are the consumers that drive economic growth and thus corporate profits. Earnings lead to spending, which, hopefully, leads to more earnings. That's what economists call a virtuous cycle. When inflation does rise, the Fed will, unfortunately, have to act. However: We're not there yet.

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Take 'Yes But' Off the Table

September 15, 2015, 9:48 am

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In some environments it's harder to create positive cultures than others. Phil Moore, Managing Partner of Porter Keadle Moore, an Atlanta based accounting firm says, "As accountants, our job is to find the bad stuff that other people can't see, so it's easy for our default to be negative."

Moore says, "You get a bunch of accountants, or engineers, or lawyers together, and it's not going to be as positive as a roomful of PR or marketing people." He describes the DNA of accountants saying,

We put ourselves in a position where our default wiring is finding problems, or at least we've tended to believe that's our job. Our culture, the nature of our business, is about finding the problems with performance. We have trained ourselves to look for the bad stuff.

Moore along with senior partner and COO Debbie Session, recognized that their firm was not unique. Most accountant firms have a problem-oriented culture. Yet Moore and Sessions knew firm growth was dependent upon the partners' abilities to sell the firm in a positive way. Most accountant firms talk about their history and their skills, but those are merely table stakes. Moore and Sessions were looking for a way to differentiate their firm. It had to start with the 13 partners.

Moore and Sessions took it upon themselves to change as they say, "the cultural wiring of the firm." Porter Keadle Moore's Noble Sales Purpose, that drives their business is: We help clients seize opportunities and reduce risk.

They needed to rally their team around their ability to improve their client's business. Moore and Sessions recognized that their firm wasn't good at celebrating success. Whenever someone brought in a new client, the partners immediately dissected the deal looking for all the potential problems. Without a positive framing on the deals they closed, the partners didn't have a positive story to share with the rest of the firm or prospective clients. Lack of celebration has a chilling effect on the ability to develop new business.

Moore and Sessions decided to institute the Yes AND rule. Moore says, "In the past, when someone shared a success, the response was 'Yes, but,' then a laundry list of the things that could go wrong." Moore and Sessions reframed their weekly partners meeting, no more Yes but, only Yes AND. For the first 15 minutes of the weekly meeting the team shared successes. Not a negative word could be spoken. When they landed a new audit client, the partner described the deal, and the others chimed in:

Yes, AND it's exactly the kind of client we want.

Yes AND we can put our new people on the project

Moore says, "It changed the air in the room. We took the comma off the table, no more yes, but, only Yes AND."

The celebration sets the context and tone for each meeting. It tells the teams we're a successful firm that's winning deals. Moore says, "We get to the problems later, that's part of our job." When they move into operational issues, having experienced the celebration, the partners address the challenges with more confidence. There is no less rigor to their dissection of issues. The difference is the mental confidence and optimism the partners bring to the process. Sessions says, "If anything, they dive deeper, because it doesn't seem as exhausting."

Moore and Sessions are intentional about ending meetings on a high note as well. They look at their opportunities and summarize their biggest wins of the week.

Sessions says, "We start on top and we finish on top."

Lisa McLeod is the creator of the popular business concept Noble Purpose and author of the bestseller, Selling with Noble Purpose. She is a sales leadership consultant and keynote speaker. Organizations like Genentech, Google, and Kaiser hire her to help them grow revenue.

www.McLeodandMore.com
Lisa@McLeodandMore.com

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5 Things I Learned About Business Success While Rock Climbing

September 15, 2015, 9:48 am

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Rock climbing and business? Yes, you read that right. It's all about applying true life experience to business.

For my 25th birthday I went rock climbing. It was an unforgettable experience. The huge building is covered in rock climbing walls. It has arches and short routes and long routes. I had the option to pick any route. This was a huge jump from eight years ago that little three route wall I climbed at the amusement park. My heart was racing because I loved climbing and could not wait to be over with the orientation. When I was younger my grandma did not call me a little monkey for no reason. The orientation was finally over and we could start climbing. Right away, I learned my first lesson about success.

Lesson One: Be Prepared.
Now I thought I was prepared, since I had my yoga pants, a cute workout top, and my CrossFit shoes. When I took that first climb I quickly realized I wish I had real rock climbing shoes. I was looking around and noticed the pro had these shoes that were almost like ballet slippers but tougher looking. I am certain I could have climbed better with rock climbing shoes since my shoes were just too bulky. Half way up I came upon an obstacle and my hands started getting wet. Moist hands make it hard to grip on the wall. Now I understand the purpose of chalk. Sometimes we jump into things without actually having a plan and knowing the right tools to have on that journey. Just because we see someone else succeeding in that area does not mean we can just jump into it without being prepared. Of course with a little of research and planning I could have been climbing those walls faster than a monkey but I was not prepared. I learned a valuable lesson by putting this experience into perspective.

Lesson Two: Listen to the Advice of Experts on the Same Path.
Afterwards, I was holding on for my dear life and unable to move. At that moment I was thinking I should have listened to the lady in the orientation, "Climb about 10 feet and fall, so you get a feel for the belays. Some people get to the top and have not tried it and get stuck because they are not sure if it will hold them or not, because they are not comfortable with the feel of it." In reality I was probably only 20 feet up but I was by myself. I did not know if this little rope and machine was going to hold me as I plummeted down. I had to make a decision, let go or stay frozen to the wall. I let go and quickly realized advice can be good at times. This lesson is a great example of how sometimes it is a good idea to listen to the advice of the ones who have traveled the same path.

Lesson Three: Past Fails Strengthen Future Wins.
The next route I climbed seemed much easier. My past failures and paths helped me succeed on my next bigger route. Since I did the smaller more challenging one first, it helped me get to the top one quickly. I knew what to look for and which path to take to help me get to the top faster and with fewer obstacles, or when I came to those obstacles I knew how to overcome them. Lesson three is a great example of how to let your past failures guide you to future wins.

Lesson Four: It Takes More Strength and Energy Than You Think to Make it to the Top.
The fourth lesson I learned came only twenty minutes after I first started climbing. I was thirsty and my arms were already sore. I did not realize how climbing would be an intense workout. Just like anything else in life, the more I do something the easier it becomes. This lesson is another great example of how it takes more strength and energy than you think to become successful in business.

Lesson Five: A Fail is Not a Fail Unless You Give Up.
The last lesson I learned was after trying to climb the same route and failing over and over. There was this one part that kept getting me stuck and I would have to let go and start again. I did this about five times and it did not help that I was already tired from climbing. With each fail I realized I had gone a little bit farther than the last time I failed until eventually I made it to the top. Even though it took me five or six tries, I learned another important lesson. Each time you fail it is not really a fail unless you stop. Also, each time you fail, it is strengthening you to overcome that obstacle little by little.

Bonus Lesson: Take Time to Reflect.
Bonus tip is about the times I started over. It helped me if I took a few moments to reflect on my previous route and take some time to plan out my next climb. So in business or life after you feel you have failed, do not jump right back in or throw the towel in. Instead, take a few moments to reflect on what just happened to you to help you get farther in your future attempt. Realize that it may take a few more fails before you make it to the top. But you will make it!

How can you take your own life experiences and apply them to your business? I would love to hear your thoughts!

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How Two Mama's Boys Changed the Game for Women Business Owners

September 15, 2015, 9:57 am

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These men decided to fill a void in the economy based on the close relationship they each had with their mothers and the passion they watched their mothers dismiss because of lack of support, information and direction.

Meet Che Brown and Trevor Otts founders of the Peak Performers Institute. Motivated to make a difference for mothers with dreams. They decided to create a mega support system that would push women into their DESTINY.

"We were saddened to think of what could have been if only our mothers had just one person supporting them in that dream," says Trevor Otts.

"At that time, being a black middle-class mother, meant being the mom that stayed at home with the kids or the mom who worked outside the home at a prestigious job. Starting a business was not that common. If you did want to start a business, the options were makeup or Tupperware" says Trevor Otts.

"My mother wanted to do something much more substantial, but no one was there to encourage her. My father was not excited about her idea, and most of her female friends had no business experience or advice to offer her. She just stopped pursuing her dreams. She has always told me that I could do anything I wanted to do. But somehow she never got to pursue hers" says Trevor Otts.

Today, when topics like equal pay are still up for debate, owning one's own business is a very appealing option.


"When women want to start or grow their business, they seem to run into a lot of advice which does not result in success. The biggest problem I see is that they often do not have a clear plan on how to create revenue. People say they hate selling and yet, have no consistent way to bring money into their business" says Che Brown.

"Without a systematic way of bringing in revenue, their business is going to close. Learning the sales side is crucial to success. I focused on creating ways that women can sell and still be themselves" says Che Brown.

With Trevor Otts focused on the automated systems needed for business success and Che Brown focused on the sales and revenue strategies needed to keep a business alive and thriving, they decided they would make sure that no woman anywhere would feel discouraged about having their own business. Together they created platforms where women could grow their business, become speakers and even helped launch entire brands for women entrepreneurs.

"I know how frustrating it can be to run around in circles, buying different things for your business, only to find a year later, your business is no better off. After that happens a few times, anyone will begin to doubt her abilities and wonder, if she should even bother going for her dream." says Otts.

Che Brown and Trevor Otts created events like Operation H.O.W. (Honor Our Women), 4 Divas 4 Divas,
WomenPreneur15 Conference, The Head Ladies In Charge Movie and now The Rise of the Womanpreneur Documentary to help women everywhere know they can be successful.

These events were made specifically to promote female speakers, coaches, and business owners. 4 Divas 4 Divas had over 100 speakers. The Head Ladies in Charge Everywhere Movie, directed by Dr. Letitia Wright, was just released in August and received rave reviews. 33 women went on film to tell stories of triumph and success despite some terrible circumstances. Audience members remarked that they could see a part of themselves in each woman that told a story.

"We wanted any woman who had ambitions to create her own business to have all the resources they needed. Our mothers did not get this kind of help. We want to be there for every mother, daughter, sister, aunt, female cousin, family friend or woman anywhere and give her access to the tools she needs to be a success." says Trevor Otts.

No matter who they are, they can be assured Che Brown and Trevor Otts support their entrepreneurial endeavors.

Keep your eyes on these men who support women. I feel an economic shift happening for women everywhere.

Check out their profile on Social Media and connect with them at the upcoming Activate Conference in Atlanta Sept. 18th to the 20th. www.activateconference.com

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What Running a Lemonade Stand Teaches Us About Marketing Strategies

September 16, 2015, 8:53 am

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Like many children in America, my girls and their friends ran a lemonade stand one Saturday morning this last summer. As I was doing yard work nearby, I could not help but to observe their marketing strategy. My oldest daughter, who is almost a teen, understood the value of a smile and wave, inviting people to stop for a cool drink on a hot day. My youngest daughter, the shy one, over-extended her arms to show a clearly written 'LEMONADE' sign, waving it in the air so people could clearly see it. Their friends enjoyed laughing and jumping around, making it fun to watch.




Little did they know that their marketing strategy was key to the success of the day, filling their pockets with coins that they enjoyed dividing between them. So, why was it so successful? None of them just sat there waiting for people to stop. They engaged the passerbyers, even before they made that split second decision to stop and buy a glass. I was proud of their effort in understanding that they knew enough in marketing to:

• Make a clear and simple product sign - People need to know what you are selling/offering.


• Display it well - By holding it up and waving it around for people to see is much better than just taping it to the stand. People want to see the person's character behind the product/brand.


• Do not wait for customers to come to you - If you just sit and wait, you will just sit and wait. The key is to engage them even before they become a customer.


• Make it fun for everyone - My daughters and their friends had fun and it showed. So, it was fun for their customers as well. They not only left with a cool drink on a hot day but also a smile on their faces.

And most importantly,

• Smile - Nothing engages people more than a simple smile.

This is not so different than marketing using social media. The key is to not sit there and wait for others to find you. Go out and find them! Plus, show them the person behind the product/brand. That is what is going to make the difference between you and the virtual lemonade stand around the next street corner.

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The Best Anti-Poverty Program Is a Good Job

September 16, 2015, 8:56 am

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With the release of the new poverty data this week, we once again see that the Latino and African American poverty rates are more than double the non-Hispanic white poverty rate [PDF]. The persistence of high poverty rates among these two groups can lead one to think that there are no policy options to address this problem, but this is not the case. We can reduce poverty in these communities and strengthen the American economy at the same time.

The lowest poverty rates for Hispanics and blacks correspond to each group's lowest unemployment rates, which occurred just a decade and a half ago. The poverty problem in communities of color, therefore, is to a large degree a jobs problem. The Hispanic unemployment rate is typically about 1.5 times the white rate. The black unemployment rate runs about twice the white rate.

If we lower the Latino and African American unemployment rates to where the white unemployment rate is today, we would reduce Latino and African American poverty significantly. But not every job provides a wage sufficient to lift a family out of poverty. Large shares of Latino and African American workers earn poverty-level wages. However, when there is a high demand for workers and low unemployment rates, wages and work hours also rise [PDF]. These changes tend to affect low-wage workers disproportionately. Higher wages and longer work hours would further reduce Latino and African American poverty rates. Additionally, when men are steadily employed in a good job that provides decent earnings and benefits, they are more likely to marry, which would also reduce poverty rates.

So how do we get to low unemployment for African Americans and Latinos?

The Policy Agenda for Closing the Racial Wealth Gap identifies three important sets of policies that can achieve this: (1) increase investments in infrastructure, (2) create a federal jobs program, and (3) eliminate unnecessary and racially discriminatory background checks for securing employment.

Increase investments in infrastructure

America's infrastructure received a D+ grade from the American Society of Civil Engineers in their last assessment. America has many roads and bridges that need repair, water mains and sewers that need replacing, electrical grids and internet systems that need modernizing, schools that need major renovations or rebuilding, and public transportation systems that need to be developed or expanded. A true 21st-century infrastructure will create millions of jobs and produce a stronger and more productive American economy.

Some may assume that infrastructure investments will only benefit white construction workers, but this view is incorrect. Hispanics are well represented in the construction industry and would benefit from an increased demand for workers with those skills. Also, infrastructure investments create a large share of support and supply jobs in the transportation, manufacturing, and other industries. While blacks are poorly represented in the construction industry, they are better represented in the transportation and other industries where jobs are also created. A serious commitment to addressing infrastructure needs will create hundreds of thousands of jobs for Latinos and African Americans.

Create a federal jobs program

A 21st-century infrastructure program, however, would still not resolve the significant racial and ethnic disparities in unemployment rates. Even in the best economic times, the Latino unemployment rate is about 1.5 times the white rate and the African American unemployment rate runs about twice the white rate. Even among those with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees, we see these same unemployment disparities. This means that when whites have low levels of unemployment, Latinos still suffer from relatively high levels of unemployment and African Americans from even higher levels.

There is no short-term solution to this problem other than a federal program that directly creates jobs that Hispanics and blacks can obtain when they cannot find other jobs. Such a program could be broad and universal, or targeted to high-unemployment geographic areas or to specific populations such as the long-term unemployed. Each approach has political and economic strengths and weaknesses, but they all would address the racial and ethnic disparities in the unemployment rate that are currently part of the "normal" inequities of the American labor market.

Eliminate the indiscriminate use of criminal-background checks and credit checks for obtaining employment

The Latino and African American incarceration rates are higher than the white rate. An individual can have an arrest record purely as a result of racial profiling by police. An arrest is not a conviction of a crime. Not all conviction records are relevant for all jobs. Additionally, we know that as time passes from a person's last criminal offense, the person's likelihood of reoffending diminishes.

To provide a fair opportunity to ex-offenders, it is necessary to first assess whether an individual meets the qualifications for a job. After determining that an individual is a candidate for a position, then an employer can assess whether the individual's arrest and conviction history is relevant to excluding the individual from the position. To do this, we must "ban the box" as a method of screening out job applicants with a criminal record.

Credit histories and credit scores were not created to assess an individual's ability to perform a job. An individual may have a poor credit history or low credit score precisely because he or she is unemployed. Credit background checks generally should be prohibited in assessing candidates for employment.

Part of the reason for the persistent racial and ethnic disparities we see in poverty rates is because communities of color suffer from high unemployment rates. The way to lower Latino and African American unemployment rates is by investing in America and re-committing ourselves to true equal employment opportunity. With these policies, we can reduce poverty in communities of color.

This post originally appeared onGlobalPolicy.tv.

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May You Be Imprisoned for Failing to Pay a Debt?

September 16, 2015, 9:15 am

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The answer to the question contained in the title, in contemporary U.S. law, depends upon the definition of the word "debt" and the situation under consideration. This comment briefly notes some circumstances involving jail time or imprisonment that is imposed due to unmet legal obligations. Always consult an experienced attorney in debtor-creditor, bankruptcy, or other legal situations.

Debtors' prisons were abolished at the federal level in 1833 although states were free to continue imprisonment for debt and some states had debtors' prisons into the 1840s. Many state constitutions contain provisions generally prohibiting imprisonment for failing to pay a debt. Additionally, federal bankruptcy legislation starting in the late 1800s allowed debtors, including businesses such as railroads, to be released from many forms of indebtedness. There is a rich history of debtor-creditor relations and law extending back to antiquity.

A private citizen, unlike an authorized criminal prosecutor, does not have the authority to compromise a criminal charge. Thus, private contracts entered into under the threat of criminal prosecution are frequently considered void. Nor may a private contract contain a provision authorizing imprisonment if the contract is breached. A public official, the prosecutor, in contrast, generally has the statutory authority to recommend to a judge restitution and probation instead of imprisonment.

The following is an incomplete listing and brief educational overview of contemporary imprisonment for financial and debt related reasons.

1. There are broad categories of situations deemed to involve "contempt of court" (willful refusal to obey a court order). A judge has broad discretion to punish contempt of court, "civil" and "criminal" as explained below, with a range of jail time and/or fines. While the following two typical situations involve debt, they are not deemed to legally be imprisonment for debt:

A. The failure to pay court ordered child support and alimony is typically punished as contempt of court. This includes associated court costs and attorney's fees. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2011 held in a 5:4 decision that an individual must be notified that the ability to pay will be an issue in a child support "civil contempt" proceeding and be provided forms to submit financial information, but the individual is not entitled to a free attorney (Turner v. Rogers). A "civil contempt" proceeding enforces a previous order of a court.

"Criminal contempt" proceedings, in contrast, vindicate the authority of the court and typically involve misbehavior in court or obstruction of the administration of justice.

It is essential that divorce and separation property division contracts be incorporated into an affirmative court order in order to be potentially enforceable by contempt of court proceedings.

B. A failure to appear in court when officially notified of a hearing date and time may be punished as contempt of court. In some states a creditor may repeatedly request a judge to conduct a "debtor's examination," with the debtor appearing in court under oath, to determine if a debtor has assets that may be seized to satisfy an unpaid judgment. These assets might even include cash and checks in the debtor's billfold. Failure of the debtor to appear is punishable as contempt of court. Additionally, failure to answer questions truthfully concerning assets while under oath may result in the denial of a bankruptcy discharge of debts as the federal Bankruptcy Code prohibits a debtor from acting "with intent to hinder, delay, or defraud a creditor." Consult experienced legal counsel in debtor examination situations.

2. Punishment for a variety of financial crimes, such as fraud or intentionally issuing bad checks, may involve imprisonment. Hiding, damaging, or destroying collateral that is subject to repossession is the crime of "hindering a secured creditor." In like manner, failure to comply with the restitution requirements of criminal probation may be punished by the revocation of probation and imprisonment. As might be expected, state statutes punishing by imprisonment the obtaining of food or lodging with the intent to defraud (defrauding an innkeeper) are not considered imprisonment for debt.

Recently the Nevada Supreme Court held that a criminal conviction for issuing $384,000 of worthless casino markers did not violate a provision in the Nevada State Constitution that "there shall be no imprisonment for debt, except in cases of fraud" (Zahavi v. State of Nevada).

There are several U.S. Supreme Court decisions limiting the ability of courts to impose a fine or probation financial requirements and converting them into to jail time when the defendant is indigent. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court in 1971 held that it is a denial of equal protection of the law to convert a traffic fine to imprisonment because a person was unable to pay it (Tate v. Short). However, the state-by-state practical implementation of these decisions is not uniform.

3. There are a number of older state court decisions that allow imprisonment for unpaid damages arising from torts (a civil suit for injuries inflicted upon persons and property). These include situations such as libel, assault and battery, and "trespass," historically used as a term for personal injury. The distinction was made between a "debt" and an "injury." These decisions, if specifically challenged, might be overturned by a contemporary court.

4. The "writ of ne exeat republica" (Latin for "let him not go out of the republic") is obscurely mentioned in federal Internal Revenue Code Section 7402. In a simplified and incomplete overview, it allows a taxpayer to be briefly imprisoned if she or he owes significant taxes and has the ability to pay but is attempting to locate both herself and her assets outside of the jurisdiction of the U.S. It is occasionally used. Additionally, the failure to pay personal income and other taxes is a crime and may be punished by imprisonment. As is well known, the Internal Revenue Service has a number of extraordinary legal remedies to enforce the collection of taxes.

5. Cash bail may be imposed for traffic offenses or other misdemeanors. While technically not a "debt," if one does not have cash to post a bail, one might be jailed until a hearing or trial date. One may or may not be able to engage a commercial bail bond company. These firms typically charge 10 to 20 percent of the bail amount and may refuse a potential client.

State motor vehicle financial responsibility statutes that impose jail time for their violation are typically upheld when challenged as imposing imprisonment for debt.

6. In a related matter, a number of states are utilizing what are described as "private probation companies" to collect unpaid traffic fines and possibly misdemeanor fines generally. These companies assess offenders with collection fees in addition to court costs. Sometimes, due to procedural matters, one may owe the private company even if found not guilty of the original charge. A failure to make an assessed monthly payment may result in a jail sentence.

In conclusion, as noted, today there may not be technically "imprisonment for debt," in a legal sense, but imprisonment in a variety of situations may certainly be described as debt related. Many commentators consider it unfair, and potentially a violation of constitutionally guaranteed due process and equal protection, that the described situations disproportionally impact the poor. These critics wonder if there are not two de facto justice systems, one for the financially well off and another for the poor. Does this undermine public confidence in the judicial system generally and waste public resources when individuals are jailed simply for being financially indigent? Significant public policy questions are involved in this critique.

This comment provides an incomplete educational overview of a complex topic and is not intended to provide legal advice. Always consult an experienced attorney in all debtor-creditor, family law, bankruptcy, and criminal offense situations.

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Creating Content Driving You Crazy? Here's How to Write Both Fast and Well (Part 1)

September 16, 2015, 9:29 am

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Compared to our pre-digital forebears, we're expected to produce torrents of writing: emails, text messages, blog posts, social media, presentations.

That's because publishing all that stuff is easier than ever. The trouble is, the actual writing isn't -- especially if you care about quality.

"Easy reading is damn hard writing," as Nathaniel Hawthorne said.

So how to write both fast and well?

You can learn from people who have always had do that for a living: journalists.

Here's the first in a series of tips based on what they know about hitting deadlines, while keeping readers.

Tip 1. The angle: have just one strong idea.

Journalists know that in a single article, they can't say everything, or even much, about a subject, at least if they expect people actually to read it. So they choose one very specific aspect -- the angle -- and write only about that.

For example, a reporter would never be assigned to write a story about "Crime". That topic can, and does, fill libraries. Neither would they do "Crime in Our City" -- still too broad.

Instead, a good angle might be "Why Our Youth Are Becoming Less Violent" (something that's actually happening in Salinas, California, near where I live).

Two things to notice:

1. How specific that angle is. It's about a particular group of people (our youth), in a particular location (our city), doing a particular thing (becoming less violent), with a particular explanation (why).


2. The emotion. Readers will probably care, because (a) it's about our young people and (b) it features a threat, which in this case is decreasing.

Imagine the difference if we had framed it like this: "New Youth Violence Statistics Show Decline". Not as specific, drained of emotion, and much less interesting.

With a strong angle, writing can happen a lot faster. That's because, as a scientist might put it, you've shrunk the size of the "problem space". You've eliminated a universe of things you might explore, in favor of a tiny but interesting island. From a small set of relevant facts and observations, you can select the "who, what, when, where, why and how" that readers will care about.

There's a bonus. Not only will you make your life easier, you're likely to make this happy discovery: by focusing on the specific, often you will uncover larger truths.

As James Joyce said, "In the particular lies the universal."

You'll have saved yourself a lot of work -- and your results will be all the better for it.

Warning: Fast writing can be good, but it probably won't be literature. George Orwell is still right: "Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand." Some things never change.

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The Art of the "5 Minute Grab"

September 16, 2015, 9:42 am

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Not every conversation needs to occur in a conference room. In fact, done well, a hallway conversation can work even better for quickly sharing time sensitive information, flagging a potential issue, or making a simple decision. The key to making a "5 Minute Grab" work is having a very clear purpose and providing only the essential information.

Here's an example of great framing for a 5 minute conversation:
"John, I'd like to talk with you for five minutes to make you aware of a shift in the approach to the product we're developing, and to make sure there are no unforeseen consequences for your team. Do you have time for that right now?"

If in 45 minutes of walking through the office and catching colleagues for 5 minutes each, you can make progress on several of your priorities, imagine how productive your day could be. We recommend making a list of the conversations you need to have each day in order to advance your priorities, and then thinking about which ones can be handled through the "5 Minute Grab" rather than a formal meeting. For colleagues who may not physically be in the same office, you can use Instant Messaging as the "hallway" and employ exactly the same strategy.

This approach is validated by John Kotter, a leading authority on leadership and change. In a paper titled "What Effective General Managers Really Do" he notes: "Of all the patterns visible in daily behavior, perhaps the most difficult to appreciate... is that conversations are [unplanned] and short... On the surface, such behavior seems un-managerial. Yet these patterns are possibly the most important and efficient of all."

When is a "5 Minute Grab" the wrong strategy?

• When multiple people need to know the same information. In that case, send an email outlining the essential points. In the subject line, include an action call out such as RESPONSE REQUESTED or TIME SENSITIVE.


• When the issue is complex and requires a meaningful amount of time to determine the solution. In that case, convene a meeting but make sure you have a design for how to manage the conversation


• When you need a decision, but decision rights are unclear. Having a hallway conversation to make the decision is implicitly assigning decision rights to that person. Instead, invite all of the potential decision-makers to a meeting and spend the first 10 minutes determining who gets to make the decision.

Leave us a comment with some of your strategies for how to maximize your time outside of meetings...

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Know Your Social Media ROI

September 16, 2015, 9:56 am

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In Advice to a Young Tradesman, Written by an Old One, Benjamin Franklin coined the phrase "Time is Money." If he were to rewrite this book today, a chapter focused on social media might be titled, "Social media is time. Social media is a mystery regarding money. #YOLO".

Social media can be a boon to your business, but finding your particular path to success can be filled with roadblocks and detours. While there are several social media strategies your business can employ, they all stem from two distinct paths: content sharing and content creating. The difference is simple; sharing content means reposting others' work, while content creating means being the original author. Both approaches have pros and cons depending on your goals, as well as the social media platform you are using. But which strategy delivers the best ROI? How can you track your social media results? And how can a business profit (or even know whether it's profiting) from its social media presence?

Unfortunately, there is no single answer to these questions, or even a true definition of what social media ROI is. All you can do is identify your specific social media goals and track results to ensure you are achieving them. Since the goal of being a content sharer is to start a conversation, it's unlikely a business with this approach would utilize social media as sales catalyst. Content creators, on the other hand, expect their posts (daily deals, Facebook giveaways, etc.) to lead directly to conversions. Typically businesses that employ this approach have an eCommerce platform on their website. Broadly speaking there are a few factors that can be measured and improved for one's social media presence: The amount of traffic its links and posts generate (both organic and paid), engagement, which includes sign-ups and conversions as well as comments, and profit.


Traffic (Reach) - We hate it on the freeway, but our business needs it on the web

Like all web-based marketing, knowing where visitors come from is crucial to understanding your ROI. Deploying a unique URL can help you measure traffic and referrals for any given campaign. Creating a unique URL is not hard to do. Google Analytics offers free URL builders for this very purpose. Simply fill out the form, copy and paste the URL, and stay consistent with your linking strategy. If you're a dental practice offering a deal on whitening, make sure you use the same link. Remember, more information means more refined results. Consider using different URLs across your different social media platforms. Google Analytics provides a variety of metrics you can leverage to inform which types of posts to continue writing and which you should move away from.

Top social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter provide plenty of useful metrics, some of which are specific to individual posts. Facebook Insights breaks down total engagement of each post and page. Twitter Analytics, which needs to be "turned on" for your account, provides similar stats relating to engagement and, more importantly, impressions. Instagram currently does not have its own analytics, but sites like OnlyPult provide solid metrics for the platform. Instagram is in the process of rolling out ads, so analytics are likely to follow.

Expanding your business's social media reach is a lofty yet attainable goal that's highly necessary for content sharers gunning for the coveted title of "influencer." The first step to improving your reach is simply to improve your social media. When done right, social media puts the brand to work for its customers. This process become easier when businesses starts to pay attention to which posts have received the most views/responses and caters future posts to be similar. Reach, in the end, does not equal revenue. Instead, the measurement is about retention. How big your business's social reach can become is up to you. It takes time, but keeping an eye on what's succeeded for you and others, as well as what's trending, can elevate your social clout.


Engagement - Engagement is great, but more often than not, it's not profitable.

While each social media site provides analytics for engagement, how do they translate to your bottom line? Social media is a marketing environment camouflaged as consumer-friendly hangout. Tracking the number of comments your posts receive is a decent metric, especially for larger companies. Smaller companies, on the other hand, tend to panic when their daily posts receive minimal comments, and this panicking is foolish.

Do not put too much stock into the number of comments your page receives. Content sharers thrive on engagement, while content creators tend to struggle. Sharing content is easier since it is merely reposting a conversation and asking for other's opinions. People on the web, more often than not, love to share their opinion. Promoting your own business and deals is not a conversation starter; they are matter-of-fact posts. It's more likely a mother of two notices the local dentist's post stating, "Bring in your family for a checkup and get 2nd checkup later in the year for half-off," and does not engage online. Instead, she tells her friends and family offline, a form of engagement Facebook Analytics cannot measure. When writing these posts consider creating unique coupons your patrons must present in order to get the deal, and always ask them how they found it. Where the Internet fails you, communicating in person may provide some answers.

Many marketers and small businesses think the worst thing a post can do is get no responses, and they are dead wrong. We are talking about the Internet here, where anonymity and bullying go hand-in-hand. Posts typically do not go viral because of how great they are. Be careful of how you phrase your deals and what type of posts you share. While minor mistakes such as grammar errors can cause undesired attention, big errors get hit the hardest.

So you've measured your pages' engagement and want to improve. Well, a good place to start is to return the favor. Respond to everything. If people are happy, thank them. If they are upset, apologize and try to mitigate the problem. A lot of bigger brands' social media teams thrive on this concept. There's a reason Taco Bell's Twitter has more than 1.5 million followers; the fast food chain responds to fans in a humorous yet meaningful way.







Profit - Social media's return on investment...where is my money going?

To reiterate, your money is going where you put it and the results are not always directly related. You need to define your social media goals. Blindly promoting posts every now and then will not yield adequate metrics to measure your ROI. Pick a goal, measure and adjust your strategy. No social media webinars, demos or for this matter, blog posts, will reveal the true ROI of your social spending. Think about your current customers, potential customers, and decide which path is best for your social media, and then attack it. Use free online tools and make sure you're hitting your benchmarks.

Be ready to change your efforts when they fail. While it hurts that there is no 1:1 way to measure your actual social media ROI, knowing what you want, tracking your steps, adjusting, and using the plethora of online tools available will allow your business to improve its social presence.
Even if you don't spend money on promoted posts, you are still spending time, which Benjamin Franklin claims is money. So be sure to spend your time appropriately and start each month with a goal. Identify where you are, decide what you want to be, monitor your analytics and always be ready to adjust.

Josh Gershonowicz is the Founder/CEO of Rebuild Nation. Rebuild Nation is a Marketing, Strategy, and Analytics company that does traditional and digital execution, primarily within the health care industry. For more information on social media, and marketing visit www. RebuildNation.com

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How Does Warren Buffett Invest?

September 16, 2015, 9:59 am

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How does Warren Buffett invest? originally appeared on Quora: The best answer to any question.

Answer by James Altucher, Blogger, Author, 90s daytrader. 2000-2001 VC fund - 212 Ventures: 2001-2005 daytrader, on Quora:

I once went to a Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. I met a guy who told me how in 1976, he bought 200 shares.

"After a year, the stock had doubled so I decided to take some profits off the table. I sold 100 shares and started a restaurant and ran that for the next 30 years," he said. "Made a decent living." "The other 100 shares I did nothing with at all. Now it's worth over $12 million."

I admit it, I was jealous. I wanted to be him.

After that, I got a hold of Warren Buffett's letters. Not his Berkshire letters, which were available to the public, but his hedge fund letters, which at the time were private.

I studied each one. Then I wrote a book, "Trade Like Warren Buffett" (don't buy it), because when he was running his hedge fund in the 50s and 60s he was a much more active trader than he is now. Much more nimble.

Warren Buffett doesn't look at P/E ratios. He's not a value investor in the classic sense. He bets on demographic trends. The most important investing quote he's ever said is, "If a company will be here in twenty years then it is probably a good investment now." This is not always true. He said, "probably."

So what companies will probably be here in twenty years? I have no clue. Nor does he. But I will bet on the companies that are returning cash to shareholders.

As Mark Cuban told me the other day, "a company is only worth the money you get back from it." So let's look at the companies Warren Buffett (or his team) added to in 2014, and highlight the ones that are returning money to cash holders. The ones paying dividends.

USB (US. Bancorp) -- paying 2.2%. US Bancorp didn't raise its dividend in 2009, but it raised its dividend for the 37 straight years before that and has raised its dividend since.

XOM (Exxon). With the US about to become the next Saudi Arabia, I'm always looking for the leader to buy. XOM yields 2.7% and has raised its dividend for 32 years in a row. It's pretty likely this company will be here twenty years from now.

GSK (Glaxo SmithKline). People are getting old. Old people need medicine. GSK pays a 4.7% dividend and has raised it at least ten years in a row.

CBI (Chicago Bridge & Iron). What an odd name for a company based in the Hague that builds power plants, but the reality is: if we need more energy, which we do, we need someone to build the power plants. CBI has a yield of 0.40%.

WMT (Wal-mart) Buffett added also to his position in Wal-mart, the biggest store in the world. I'm on vacation in South Florida right now. I feel like there's a Wal-mart every mile. WMT yields 2.5% and has raised their dividend for at least the last ten years straight.

PSX (Phillips 66) -- again if you believe, as I do (and Warren Buffett does) that the US is going to be a bigger exporter of oil than Saudi Arabia than the marketing and refining of that oil is key. Buffett added to his PSX position, which has been raising dividends since 2002 and now yields over 2.3%.

IRM (Iron Mountain). In the past ten years, the US has multiplied by ten the regulatory requirements of corporate America. I'm not saying this is good or bad. I don't really care. But I do care about making money from it. IRM provides all storage management for companies: paper, digital, etc. And yields 3.7%. They've raised dividends for at least ten years in a row and have also been buying back shares.


(I asked a cab driver to take me by his house. Just a simple house on a corner of a suburban block).


Ok, that's the basic idea. My rule of thumb is to always invest behind people who are smarter than me. Warren Buffett is smarter than me. One anecdote from the meeting: Someone asked Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett what was going to happen to the US dollar.

Munger, who barely spoke the entire meeting, said, "you better start burying all your valuables in your back y-"

And that's when Buffett interrupted him with a stern, "Charlie!"

I don't know what's going to happen to the US dollar. Or any of these stocks. Or my relationship with my wife. Or my relationships with my kids. One time, a doctor told me we all have cancer cells, we just don't see them all the time.

Ok, all of this is good to know. But I do think Buffett knows more about all of this than I do. And if I filter his knowledge with the basic fact that it's good for companies to pay me cash every day, and if I filter that with demographic trends, and if I throw in an added filter that these companies have been raising their dividends for years, and on top of that I say, am I diversified, then I know that I will build an ok portfolio.

And if Warren Buffett is picking all the stocks for me for free (he is my unpaid intern after all), then I'm pretty confident that this is a good start.


This questionoriginally appeared on Quora. Ask a question, get a great answer. Learn from experts and access insider knowledge. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. More questions:

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Uncover & Monetize Your Inner Genius. Part 2

September 16, 2015, 10:06 am

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Make sure you read Uncover & Monetize Your Inner Genius. Part 1. (Quiet the Inner Critic)

Here is where the fun begins. For some of us, it may be where the scary part begins... acknowledging the Inner Genius.

I often hear, "I know my purpose. I am going to pursue it. I am taking the steps towards it, and it scares me". I'd like to redefine what you are feeling.

We are not scared. Instead, we are sensing the grand expression of our soul. We are not afraid; we are excited.

The first time I felt something similar to this was while hiking Roraima in Venezuela. Roraima is a Tapui, a flat top mountain, home to unique flora & fauna, resembling pre-historic times. This mountain is the inspiration for "The Lost World" and is also featured on the Pixar movie "Up."

We had been leading up to this hike, took a bus ride for over 20 hours (I had never been on a bus for two hours, let alone across my country), packed all food, gear, and courage to take this 5 day back packing excursion. We hiked for two days on dry and hilly terrains for long stretches, and from a distance we could see Roraima.

I remember the afternoon before the straight climb, setting camp at the base of the mountain admiring the beauty of the untouched habitat that surrounded me. In the morning, we began our climb, and all of a sudden it hit me; I could feel the power, the awe inspiring Presence of the spirit of this mountain. It could have looked as fear, as I scrambled hand over foot with a heavy backpack, but in that moment, I could sense the difference.

Awe-inspiring.

That, my dear friend, is what we are probably feeling at the notion that we could actually uncover our genius, and create a life that revolves around our beautiful gift, and that this gift supports us, inspires and serves those ready to receive. 

1. Naming the Dharma : The Life Purpose that pours out of our every cell.

Before we think this exercise is about finding a job we are going to do, I want to set our expectations straight. Our Dharma, our beautiful life purpose is NOT about a job, it is about a resonance. It is about emanating who we are with every ounce of ourselves, with everything we say, write, touch, and breathe. Yes, this Dharma is not about a store we will open, or a service we will offer. It is about us OWNING the brilliance of who we each are.

It is about confidence, and that we are fully supported in creating our life's work and purpose (yes, much comes up with this piece). Our doubts arise, our fears perk up, and so I advise us to go back to the solutions (EFT, Presence, or Karma Healing) in order to eliminate the unconscious patterns we have been running.

Naming the essence we wish to embody more of allows us to anchor that resonance, and allows us to have something hopeful and powerful to move towards.

If we are an entrepreneur, we may feel slightly overwhelmed, have a lot of interests, and feel confused by the unlimited choices. Well, that's not necessarily bad. Some of us have more dimensions than others, and our curiosity inspires us to explore the deepest, most interesting corners of life through our career choices.

We may feel like we should be ONE thing, but if we were ONE thing, we would probably not be reading this. We are probably unsatisfied with fundamental pieces of our business, resentful that we are trading time for dollars, reluctantly giving our clients what they want, but not truly digging to clarify and own the desires that lie beneath to include the great service we are intended to perform in the planet.

Or maybe we fall in the camp of not yet being self-employed and are feeling lost in a 9-5 job, questioning the 401K, moving up in an industry we see minimal value in, and our five year plan is set on track, but the notion of slaving away another month building someone else's empire, seems depressing.

Now is the time to give ourselves permission to be something, someone else. We can now offer us the space so that WE can give ourselves the permission to be multi-dimensional, and a heck of a lot more interesting than our linear, corporate ladder lover friends, and free to enjoy life.

Homework

Check the Dharma types you connect to the most: this Dharma concept is original to John Wyrick

Mother Teacher Healer Merchant Priestess Matriarch Sister Politician

Humanitarian Mystic Herbalist Dancer Yogi/ni Midwife Artist Artisan

Weaver Gardener Seamstress Writer Editor Author Publisher Leader

Tinkerer Architect Philosopher


Note: This is not the full list, but it can serve as a start for you...

Now, please select from the circled ones, the top 2-3 Dharma types that MOST calls in this moment. List them:
1.
2.
3.

Allow yourself to select from a place of being in the NOW.

Do not choose based on what you think you should select or what you have been up to this point. Allow this document to be a vessel of your truth. Allow me to walk you through, even if just with my written words, the truth that you seek within, and the truth that you are ready to own about who you really are.

I invite you to trust this powerful uncovering process. Even if you feel like you have already done this, let yourself do this work as if it was the first time, and as if the answers will transform your life, your work, and your business. I trust it because I have seen the power of this uncovering, and I have seen what happens to women who start owning their Dharma type. You could include an example here of one of the most dramatic pieces of transformation you have seen, to transition from talking about other ladies, to actually addressing the reader "you." Even if you do not fully understand it, there is power in you and I collaborating for the sake of upgrading your life, your genius, and your abundance. And yes, we will get to the abundance piece soon. It is as if a vortex of intention and focused energy are placed before us to take in and fly with it. 

2. Friends Tell Me I'm Great At...

This may or may not connect to your Dharma type, depending on whether there exist any patterns of being sacrificial. Sometimes we play roles that are about diminishing our light, but I am not talking about that. I am not talking about the destructive patterns we used to engage in. I am talking about the patterns that everyone around recognizes we possess, and they seek us out for it, even if they don't always love what we have to say or do. They somehow know we are brilliant at this. For instance, if our younger sister wants to prove that she can have a garden in her New York City apartment, and we are good with plants. She then comes to us, begrudgingly, because her plants are dying. We give her the magic touch pointers and her plants thrive. She deeply understands our talent, but to us it is second nature.

It could also be that our best friend avoids us because every time we talk, we make her face her stuff, and she just wants life to be light and fun. But, when the overwhelming nature of reality takes over (as it can do for everyone at times), and she knows she has to shift, we are the person she reaches for to text or even to call.

What you are great at could also be work related; people recognize our talent with negotiations, even if they hate our lack of attention to detail.

Know that others are always going to be triggered or have an opinion about our gifts. That, my friend, never changes. We may be teased in a fun loving way, but the day will come when someone will downright offend and call us a name because our genius rattles their existence, and maybe even their own genius within gets a little disturbed by the transparency of who we are.

Basically, we may always piss people off, no matter what we do. So we might as well accept the talents people naturally see in us, tainted or not. The talent is there. We know it, and they know it.

3. What can you monetize?

I remember a time in my life, when I knew that my talent was solidly grounded in helping people make a good living through a combination of healing their self-limitations and providing them with the right business tools. Yet, I was not bringing in the income I wanted.

I didn't necessarily think it had to do with worth, because I had been making a decent six figure income in a corporate environment, and I did not have problems getting people to hand me a $1 million dollar purchase order. But, when it came to my passion, my work, I had a lot of mixed feelings. As people devoted to the transformation of the planet, we have been fed a lot on whether we have the right to charge for spiritual, artistic, or educational services. You name it.

If it has a heart, we have been programmed to offer it up for free.

This, my sweet friend, is keeping us from playing in the big leagues, requiring us to pinch pennies, and maybe even having to move into our parent's basement. Not fun. Ok, maybe it's not that bad, but why receive income from something that does not fill us up in the soul-fulfilling way that working from our heart's desire would? Why would we shun the very thing that nurtures our existence in order to make a living?

Heart-based Worth.

Can we start activating this for ourselves? Could we accept that our heart is big and wide, and that our income ought to reflect that. Could we? I think so.

Nitty-gritty:

So, let's start getting real about the Dharma types that could easily support you.

Let's keep it practical, but not so practical that we cannot access possibilities beyond what we can see or know about.

Recently, I shared that I had signed on a $50K/year client. This was an upgrade for my business and for my work. People who I shared with could not believe that in less than a year, I created a six-figure income working very part time and raising two spirited daughters.

Anything is possible if you are ready to invest your energy in refining your Dharma and have access to the right tools to get you there. Look at this as the beginning of that journey.


Without too much overthinking, list the 2-3 Dharma types that you circled in the first Dharma type exercise.

Dharma types I can monetize:








Do any of these overlap with the "Friends tell me I'm great at..." Dharma types?



It's ok if they don't.

Beginning the honest exploration of our gifts is a power initiation. You are not alone, and it is important that you connect with a group of people who can support you on this journey. You deserve to be supported.

Be on the lookout for Part 3 of this Uncover & Monetize Your Inner Genius!

Love
ASHA

Soul + Business. Perfectly Together.

Join this FREE training that will walk you through the step-by-step to Uncovering & Monetizing Your Genius?

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