#I have to hit post to free up mental bandwidth for other stuff. I have a new Spahr post inspired by a conversation last night to write.

[wardensantoineandevka]

I've threatened in the past to write a post about Spahr's passive narrative role, and I'm finally getting around to it because I've been talking to several folks about him and that passivity recently. I've covered this topic in broad level and as a specific element regarding Spahr in 1.18: A Good Man and in 2.11: Inside. I recommend reading that post as a companion piece to this, though you'll recognize a lot of quoting here of that post.

His passivity (as a narrative role) can be broadly divided into two categories: him not taking action for various reasons, and his mere presence being something that incites reaction.

The latter is a smaller category. Lark and Fuze see his ship arrive on Midst, then scramble to move and change the circumstances of the situation before he has time to do anything: Fuze by promptly writing a letter to arrange a meeting, Lark by murdering Fuze. Phineas reacts to his arrival at the cabaret before he does anything at all. Spahr's presence is, on its own, powerful. It's noteworthy that all three of these instances do not react to Spahr as a person, really. He's simply a looming concept. The Prime Consector Jonas Spahr, a concept of a man. While this is a smaller category, it does create a problem of a lack of agency for Spahr. (Put a pin in the concept of agency for a moment.) In these moments, Spahr is less an active agent within the narrative and more simply an inciting incident. He does not really ACT when he arrives on Midst (setting Fuze and Lark to act) or when he arrives in the cabaret (setting Phineas to act), he simply exists in the space. Jonas Spahr arrives, and others drive the plot in reaction, but he does not get to act. The event happens in reaction to him but without his input, and it goes on without waiting for him to do anything at all.

The former, him not taking action, is a much larger category, and it collects a lot of different things. But, at the heart of it, it is about Spahr's own inaction or failure to take action. This happens for a variety of reasons, ranging from purposefully ignoring what is happening in front of him to a failure to commit including out of fear, concern for his position, or other inability to speak up. As a result, his role in the narrative is a generally passive one that largely centers on watching and observing. It's the first thing he does as a player in this story. He steps back and watches how Phineas handles the Ginsberg situation, and the narrators remind us four separate times in 1.03: Mica:

Thing is, Spahr does a lot of watching but, until more recently, doesn't really SEE all that often. He is for a long time a passive, immovable, unreadable observer to events as the eyes of God the Trust. He is that witness for much of events he's involved in, for... well, worse. After Phineas attacks Sherman, Spahr himself is quick to identify this problem with himself in 2.02: Ascendancy, that he is watching and looking but he is, perhaps intentionally, not seeing and noticing:

Worse than simply watching: he ALLOWS. He ignores the signs of Phineas's desperation, so that he doesn't need to do anything. He allows Imelda to convince him to leave Phineas behind on Midst. He allows Imelda to push him into making a statement about how fine things are on Midst. He allows Hieronymous to pressure him into bending the rules. He allows Imelda to torture Weepe (he allows Imelda to do a lot of things), and he feels like he's allowed the circumstances for Weepe to become Tripotentiary. He doesn't defend himself at his court-martial. He allows Costigan talk to him however she wants. He allowed the Upper Trust to conclude that Phineas should be fired if he didn't immediately improve.

That last one is contentious, and having to explain why I interpret it that way is useful to unpacking the crux of Spahr's central flaw here. (A case study, if you will.) Many interpret that it is Spahr's idea to threaten to fire Phineas as a motivator, but given the pattern created by every other incident in the list, I don't agree. Spahr deeply struggles with disagreeing with those in positions of power and influence over him. He carries out, dutifully and without complaint, the orders given to him because he lacks the will to resist or to refuse. (Again, he doesn't even fight for himself against the Upper Trust.) I think of Spahr casually mentioning he was ordered not to help and his stumbling panic when Phineas is fearful. Because of this, it doesn't track for me the idea that Spahr formulated this idea to fire Phineas.

It feels much more in keeping with his character and the details of his behavior during the scene—and with his established shortcomings and timidity and his tendency to quietly allow and carry out what he does not want—that the Upper Trust decided this and Spahr could not bring himself to fight it and instead chose to carry out his orders against Phineas. For me, it more coheres if he abdicated the responsibility onto Phineas and asked him to do the impossible, shifting the burden from himself to Phineas, all because he couldn't summon conviction, because he lacked the courage to disagree and the spine to stand for what he believes or wants. Case in point toward this interpretation: the scene in the Arca.

Season two is about Spahr realizing that he allows. We see it as he begins to process having abandoned Phineas and having not stopped Imelda:

Spahr is someone whose role is largely passive, both within the Trust systems and within the narrative. Just as much as he is to be seen, he is also very much here to see—and to refuse to see. He makes himself a passive witness to these horrors and allows them, silent and impassive and watching. He can try to intervene, last minute, but he's already facilitated this. The cabaret, the Arca. Even Sherman feeling he needed to take Weepe's deal, with Spahr moving after it is all said and done, is a lighter echo of these two scenes. To quote myself: "it's been asked of him: What are you refusing to see, Jonas? What horrors and brutalities are you allowing to happen? Will you always be intervening much too late?"

Ultimately, Spahr struggles with agency. In the interest of space, I refer to this post collecting episode quotes on the topic. He chafes against the idea that he doesn't have his own authority and is being maneuvered around by the political players in the Trust—but at the same time, he defers his own agency and maintains his own inaction and passivity. It's an incredibly interesting contradiction. He is afraid to fight, to resist, to intervene, and he is unable to find the conviction or the mettle or the spine. He's stood by, he's pushed it onto others like Phineas, he's ignored the signs, he's arrived too late, he's remained silent, he's paralyzed with fear, he's refused to refuse. He, well, does as he is told because he can't bring himself to defy his orders. He yields, every time. His role in this narrative thus far is defined by the fact that he does not act, that he chooses not to act or see, that he is frozen in place by fear or status, that even when he does try to act he cannot complete the action for some reason, that events are passing him by. He has yet to successfully take an effective, decisive, active action because he is locked in place—by circumstance, by more active agents, most of all by his constant decision to aquiesce. He always chooses not to muster the courage to do something hard, difficult, and costly for what he believes is right while the fight still means something, before it is too little, too late. Weepe is right: the Trust had him on a leash, and he was very willing to heel.

Spahr's greatest sin is that he has repeatedly allowed all this. Hopefully, before this is all over, he'll find the strength to refuse to keep doing so. Dig in his heels and refuse to do as told.

[vkelleyart]

Thoughts on fandom: inclusion and engagement.

(Art credit to the kindhearted @penpanoply​!)

There’s been some stuff floating around on Tumblr about strife in the CO/WS fandom, and though I haven’t been explicitly named-dropped on anything public, my DMs have been... active. lol Rather than rehash what’s been said already, I just want to impart a little wisdom and perspective in the hopes it may soothe frayed feelings and offer a way ahead for cultivating a respectful community. As someone who has been an active participant in online fandoms since the mid-’90s, which was the advent of online fandom content creation (shout out to my fellow X-Philes!), and who has also spent a chunk of her professional life managing social media for the federal government and for activist groups, I can promise you it’s all gonna be okay.

Here’s some context for why strife happens and what we can do to create a more inclusive and communicative fandom environment. 

1) It sounds cliché, but fandoms go through growing pains. 

In the case of the Simon Snow fandom, what was once a small and cozy space untouched by cataclysmic events (such as the release of *gasp* a sequel) has grown exponentially in a relatively short amount of time following the release of Wayward Son. Newcomers are eager to find a home in this space at the same time as folks who’ve been here a while may be consciously or unconsciously wary about widening their circle, and It’s important to remember that this is not necessarily an expression of bad behavior on either side but just human psychology doing its thing. 

The byproduct, however, is that tension and stress builds over time from the lack of meaningful communication across the divide, which subsequently fuels misunderstandings. Ironically, the interfaces we use to communicate don’t help with this because any existing communication about the tension happens in tiny vacuums until a trigger goes off and bad feelings go public. 

Way Ahead: These moments of destabilization are opportunities to see where we can be more self aware about how we engage with fandom and the kind of community we want to be. Can you promote, support, or befriend someone trying to gain a foothold? If yes, please do! Each person must reach their own decision about what they can do within the confines of their available energy, health, and time, but a little self awareness goes a long way as long as you’re honest with yourself and others if applicable about what you can contribute. Anyone who judges you for it isn’t worth the strife.

2) In a fandom comprised of vulnerable/marginalized people, it’s more accurate to say that cliques are “bubbles of trust.”

This one's important. Just by nature of the source material, the CO/WS fandom includes fans with a wide array of backgrounds and experiences, especially when it comes to those who identify with the characters’ queerness, mental illness, and/or trauma. I really believe––based on individual conversations/group chats––that the difficult lived experiences that so many of our fandom peers have endured has produced one of the most open, aware, and accepting fandoms I’ve had the pleasure of participating in. Our vulnerability is, in a real way, our strength.

That said, a community of survivors also has the side effect of cultivating small circles of engagement that I call “bubbles of trust.” When you’re a survivor of abuse, marginalization, mental illness, fill-in-the-blank, it’s often quite hard to risk casting a wide net and expanding your circle to include new faces––which can subsequently be internalized by equally sensitive and vulnerable newcomers as rejection, judgement, or inadequacy.

Way Ahead: First of all, there may indeed be gatekeeping and exclusion going on. But before internalizing someone’s cagey behavior as gatekeeping or purposely exclusionary, ask yourself if you have all the information. Many people are private (I include myself in this assessment) because life has regrettably taught them to be this way, and so they may insulate themselves to a small group of people who have earned their trust. Some people might also triggered by certain content (case in point: smut triggers my anxiety) so they don’t engage with it. Others might have something in their pasts that define how they handle certain subjects (for example, a person of color should not be tone policed for getting angry when confronted with a racialized microagression, however accidental it was). You just don’t know what you don’t know. 

The solution here is to regularly check your privilege and ask questions in a private space if you sense you’re being treated unfairly by someone. If you go public with your grievances in hopes of mobilizing the mob, you may accidentally find yourself stepping into the role of the aggressor instead of the victim.

3) Social Media is not built to help you get engagement. It’s built to help itself make money off of you.

Repeat after me: Hits/likes are not a measurable indicator of talent or worth. There are ridiculously talented folks on Tumblr and elsewhere who, for whatever reason, haven’t had their viral moment, and it’s not their fault. Loads of factors come into play where things like likes, reblogs, and comments are concerned, among them being posting frequency, subject matter, the time of day, the day of the week, the week of the month, the month of the year, the current administration, the stock exchange, the concentration of middle class users, who just won the Superbowl, a madman trying to steal an election and undermine the democratic process, a PANDEMIC, do you get where I’m going with this?? lol

At the end of the day, my humble successes have been helped along by good luck, good timing, high profile signal boosters, and an absurd amount of work. (This is why I try to signal boost new work whenever I get a chance over at @vkelleyshares.) 

So while you cannot control Tumblr’s interface, trends at large, or your fellow users, here’s what you can do to ensure you give your work the best possible chance of exposure.

Have an image ready to go with your post. Tumblr is a visual platform (no matter what it says about being good for text). Not good with images? Set up a Canva.com account and get access to free graphic software with a gazillion templates to create whatever attractive image you want to attach to your post.

Keep the outward facing text brief and easy on the eyes. Too long and eyes will glaze over. Put excess text behind a “read more.”

You may think you’re being cute when you do this, but don’t put yourself down in your posts. (Don’t put yourself down in general, of course.) Doing so acts as engagement repellant. If you don’t believe in your work, no one else will.

Related: Be your best cheerleader. Confidence is a magnet, and if you don’t have it, go ahead and fake it until you start to convince yourself you are worth the buzz. So promote yourself! You have gifts that only you can impart. Use that knowledge to fuel everything you do from your art/fiction writing to your outreach with other content creators, and by golly, if someone’s done it already, acknowledge that contribution and then tell the world that this is YOUR unique take on it.

Treat your fellow fandom creators as human beings, not art/fiction/content boosting machines. I cannot count how many times I’ve had folks slide into my DMs with offers of friendship only to disappear once they realize I’m not available to draw a picture for their fic. It hurts because it’s manipulative and it makes me want to hole up and not signal boost anyone. Creators who truly support each other will not give off a transactional vibe. I want to help you reach more people, but not if that’s all I’m good for in your eyes. 

The long and short of it: Lead with compassion, do your best with the opportunities at  your disposal, and remember that fandom belongs to everyone in it. ❤️

What saves a fandom made of sensitive and vulnerable souls from imploding when it goes through growing pains is radical compassion from those who can offer it. Begin with the assumption that your fellow fandomers are not trying to harm you, and wade into the water knowing that your insight into the lives of your peers is limited by default and you may need to temper your words or actions accordingly. If you’re a content creator, save compassion for yourself as well, as there are indeed challenges to gaining an audience, and lack of engagement does not mean you lack talent or skill. Be your best advocate, and if you have the bandwidth to lift up a fellow creator and make a new friend, please, go ahead do it! 

And finally, fandom belongs to everyone, and no one has a monopoly on characters, tropes, or themes. Create and consume what you love (with respect for your more vulnerable peers), and bask in the variety, my friends!

That’s all I’ve got in my head at the moment, although I’m sure there’s more I’m forgetting. Thanks so much to @penpanoply for letting me use her art for this and to everyone else, hang in there and try not to judge each other too harshly. These are unprecedented times, and most of us are doing our best in circumstances that are pushing us to our limits. 

As always, if you have questions or want to sound off on anything, shoot me a message or an ask, or ping me on Discord. It might take me a second to respond (thanks, Covid) but I’ll get to it! Love, love, and more love to all.

[lanaisnotwool]

398 Avoiding Entrepreneur Burnout - Interview with Kristin Molenaar

http://moneyripples.com/2020/06/12/398-avoiding-entrepreneur-burnout-interview-with-kristin-molenaar/

Chris Miles, the "Cash Flow Expert and Anti-Financial Advisor," is a leading authority on how to quickly free up and create cash flow for thousands of his clients, entrepreneurs, and others internationally! He’s an author, speaker, and radio host that has been featured in US News, CNN Money, Bankrate, Entrepreneur on Fire, and spoken to thousands getting them fast financial results. Listen to our Podcast here:

https://www.blogtalkradio.com/moneyripples/2020/05/08/398--avoiding-entrepreneur-burnout-interview-kristin-molenaar-1

-------------------------------------------------------

Chris Miles (00:01): Hello, my fellow Ripplers! This is Chris Miles. Your Cash flow Expert and Anti-financial Advisor. Welcome you out for a wonderful show. It's for you and about you. Those you work so freaking hard for your money, and you're ready for your money. Start working hard for you. Now! You want that freedom. That cash flow. That prosperity today. Not 30 or 40 bazillion years from now, but right now. So you have that life that you love to do what you love and to be with those that you love. But it's so much more than your own comfort and convenience, because it's about you guys be able to live the life of meaning of purpose by blessing other people's lives. Because as you become free, as you become blessed, you can be able to do the same for other people too. And so I appreciate you guys allowing me to create a ripple effect through your lives and be able to see the massive impact you're making. And again, thank you so much for tuning in. I know you guys have been bingeing on it. You keep sharing more and more. You keep going back to the crappier crappier episodes, and I appreciate you guys still listening in and learning stuff because, Hey, you know, I appreciate that. So thank you so much for doing that for share it with other people. It's awesome.

Chris Miles (01:05): Here's a quick reminder, go visit our website MoneyRipples.com. There's a great, great blogs on there. Great content you can look at as well. And also I keep forgetting to mention this. I have a YouTube channel, go check out Chris miles, Money Ripples YouTube channel. We've got some great videos on there as well. So check it out.

Chris Miles (01:21): Alright! So today I've got a special guest here for you. Again, I get pitched guests all the time, right? And most of them, I usually say, you know, that's cool, not my thing or not. You know, that's not what my listeners want, but this one I thought was perfect. Especially given the time that we're in and with all the uncertainty of the world. I know more and more of you guys, whether you're in business or not. You're definitely looking for leverage. You want to be able to work less, make more, which is kind of what we talked about in the show anyways. And that's exactly what my guest Kristin Molenaar is all about because you know, the big thing that I see happening with a lot of people now is they burn out. They can't make it, right? They don't know how to really avoid that. They've ended up creating a business that becomes a really sometimes high paying job. Sometimes it was a crappy paying job where you're like Napoleon Dynamite saying, "That's like a dollar an hour, gosh!" You know, it's kinda like that.

Chris Miles (02:12): You know, we don't want that. So we want you guys to be able to be free and to be happy and actually love what you do. And so it allows you to let you know a little bit more about Kristen here. She's an entrepreneur enthusiasts who lives by the mantra, work less, make more, right? This has enabled her to build a six figure business while working average and just get this guys, five hours a week. So this is like a woman after my own heart here, right? Permissions to eradicate entrepreneurial stress and burnout that fuels her passion for sharing these three step blueprint. Both she and her clients have been able to put into place and achieve true freedom in business. She's also the founder of the virtual agency, YesBoss VA. Where she helps her team be able to really alleviate burnout, solopreneurs, and entrepreneurs and empower them to be able to create, you know, through this online business management and digital marketing support. She runs this business for you. So it creates this online business for you guys. So you can scale it like a boss. So Kristin, welcome to our show.

Kristin Molenaar (03:05): Thanks so much for having me, Chris, I'm excited to dive into this conversation with you.

Chris Miles (03:09): I agree. So tell us about your journey. I mean, were you at the burn-down entrepreneurial at one point yourself or?

Kristin Molenaar (03:15): I was the entrepreneur that didn't know how to make a dollar. That's my story.

Chris Miles (03:21): You got a great hobby, huh?

Kristin Molenaar (03:21): Yeah. Right. So in October, 2014, I left my last corporate job. And I was in the beauty industry at that time doing brand management. And my thought behind leaving was I can do this on my own. Like, look, I'm an incredible employee. I would make a fantastic business owner. And I proceeded to struggle, struggle, struggle, struggle for about 12 months. I ended up in what I'm doing right now as I call it was my entrepreneurial failure. Like I had been struggling for a year living in my in-laws guest bedroom with my husband and two dogs, like feeling very suffocated. And I thought, I just need to make a dollar. So I went on HireMyMom.com and said like, anybody just please pay me as long as I don't have to go back into an office. Like I just want like freedom to work where I want. Right? So what very quickly happened though, is I wasn't able to turn off those entrepreneurial ambitions. Within three weeks of getting my first client, I was tasked with a blog post. Hated blogging. Thought I could do this, sat down to write it and thought, this is, this sucks! At the time the client was only paying me $15 an hour. Like that's how desperate I was just to make a dollar. I had convinced him to hire me for $15 an hour. And I proved myself in 30 days. And he would bump me to $20 an hour! Make it a lot! So what happened is I was tasked with writing a blog and I thought, you know what? I hate this. I would rather find an intern to write this for me. I'll pay them $8 an hour, which is minimum wage in their state. I would rather make $7 an hour, not doing anything than $15 an hour doing something that I hate. I became addicted to that and everything like nothing's been the same since then.

Chris Miles (05:01): Isn't it kinda funny. We almost accidentally find something that works. And you think, why didn't I think of this before, when I was trying to find the answers, right?

Kristin Molenaar (05:09): Yeah. I was making it too complicated. That's really what it boiled down to.

Chris Miles (05:14): That's right. So what do you see with other entrepreneurs? Like what happens in their lives that you think causes this?

Kristin Molenaar (05:21): Yeah. So I see a couple things happening that causes this like stress and burnout. One. I think that a lot of people have heard of this 80-20 principle. And I've been talking about this so much lately. I think that now is like the time to look at the 80-20 principle now is the time to figure out, okay, I've seen and heard that this makes sense. How does it apply to me? The principle says that 20% of your work will yield 80% of your results. I would say that entrepreneurs are getting stuck in burnout and stress because they're functioning in every capacity. They're doing all of the things. I love the analogy. I love giving this as like a visual with drilling for oil. I think a lot of entrepreneurs, they know that when you drill for oil, you have to drill really deep in order to strike oil. Right? What they do is they drill all these different little holes like this is them going from webinars to, you know, like passive income funnels, to group trainings, to Instagram lives. Like they're doing all the things. And the problem is with that lack of focus and that lack of like staying in your lane and doing the thing persistently, they're like an inch away, probably from striking oil, but they've jumped ship too soon or they're scattering their efforts all over the place. So that's like one of the foundational things that I see as just pursuing too many things. Obviously another one is continuing to do it alone for way too long. You know, a lot of people hit the six figure mark and they're like really burned out. I think that I see this happen very often is that six figure mark becomes like a, Holy cow! I can't do any more. I've got all these things on my plate and it's like, well, why, you know, I would even say like, why didn't you think a little bit more like me when I was making that $15 an hour, you know, I'd rather do nothing and make $8 or $7 an hour, then do everything. So, you know, would you rather make a hundred dollars an hour or a hundred thousand dollars a year to be completely burned out? Or would you rather make $60,000 a year and have so much bandwidth to grow your company even bigger? I think it's just a mental shift that people need to have so that they can start putting into practice the things that are really going to catapult their growth rather than just putting money in their pocket and hoarding it.

Chris Miles (07:30): Yeah. It's funny, you mentioned that because this is a perfect time for people to really reassess and say, what do I really like doing, right? Cause I remember I went through that same process a few times. Like I always had to keep evolving through my business. And I remember happening again for me about five years ago, I went through a divorce. That was like, I was so emotionally drained, right? That I couldn't work much more than five hours a week. So that's kinda how I started working at five hours a week was, alright! What's the absolute essential part of my business and what can I delegate out? And then the next thing I know I made more money than I ever made working 50 or 60 hours a week. Right?

Kristin Molenaar (08:04): Yeah. And that's why I think, you know, I don't know when this episode is going to air, but amid like COVID, right? COVID, there's so many people that are being forced to work less. And I think that, well, a lot of people may at first think that this is a disservice to their business. I think that it actually is a huge benefit, because think about how little you're able to work during COVID and when this is over, you got all this extra time on your hands.

Chris Miles (08:29): Right! That's true. But what do you think are good ways for people to figure out how to get in that lane? Like what is actually their lane versus things they should not be doing? How do you decide that?

Kristin Molenaar (08:39): Yeah, so like, I, like you mentioned in the little intro, we have like a three step process that we put into place. Like our three step. Work less make more blueprint. The very first thing is to eliminate all non-essentials, which I kind of touched on a little bit. There are a series of questions that I really encourage people to ask if they're like, well, what is it that I should be doing? One. I think that it's really important to give yourself the space and the time to go back to what your original plans for your business work. Like I think that what happens is we get so stuck in the trenches and in the tactical stuff of our business, that all the creativity just get shut down. But as entrepreneurs, like, we need to be visionary. Like that is our role that we need to take on. So entrepreneurs are visionaries that put people and processes into place. Entrepreneurs are not people that just poured all the work and get stuck in task work all the time. That's what's going to lead to that burnout. Right? So think about what it is like, why did you get into business? What were your dreams? And I love going back to that beginning stage, because I feel like that's, when things felt so free and new and exciting, and there wasn't any of that fear or like those mental games that you're having to break through. None of that existed when you were just starting out. So I love going back to that. And then I think that you have to look at your business in two categories. So looking at like, what are you doing for marketing? And what are you doing for like your monetization or the things that you're offering? And figure out in those two things separately, figure out what things really light you up. So I say to people, for me, it's so important that my business energetically fuels me up. Because when I leave my business I go to become a, you know, I walk away and I'm a wife and I'm a mom and I have other things I'm doing. And I don't want my business to deplete me. Cause I don't want to show up to the rest of my life depleted. So in your business, what things are lighting you up? What can you do, that you're walking away from your business feeling like you're ready to take on the world. And then what, look at the data too. So what is the data that supports the efforts that you're putting into it? Because it needs to be of, you know, you need to follow your heart and there needs to be that data there. And then that's telling you like where that 20% of your effort is yielding that 80% of your results.

Chris Miles (10:52): That's right. It's kind of like the eeky guy, right. That diagram that people use all the time is, you know, what do people want you for? What do you like doing? You know, what are you good at? And combining all those elements together. Right?

Kristin Molenaar (11:03): Absolutely. Yeah. Let's build businesses that we love. Like if we wanted to do work that we didn't like we could go work for the man, I guess, control of our own journey here. Let's start doing things that light us up.

Chris Miles (11:15): Yeah. It's true. Like there's been times like I'll be, be kind of a grumpy mood at the beginning of the day. Like maybe like my wife and I getting a little spat, you know, and then it's like, Oh, you know, and you have to have that state change. Right. And maybe it's easier for men to kind of shut that part of your brain off and just go like cut it off. But I notice that sometimes if I'm actually doing the meetings, I love doing, you know, doing that kind of stuff. Like I can walk away and be in a totally better mood and be like, I love you. Like, like nothing is like, world's perfect. Like that was stupid. You know? Like it's kind of cool. Like versus like saying man, this day just sucks. Like this is the worst day ever. You know? And I think that's the difference. There is really fine. What does let you up?

Kristin Molenaar (11:54): Yeah. Yeah. It's essential in the cool thing is we're in control of all of it. We're running businesses that we don't like, it's like, well, who are we going to blame for that?

Chris Miles (12:03): Yeah. Yeah. That's true. You can't blame anybody else for your, your decision. Right? They know you're the boss. Or you're supposed to be, at least. Unless you're trying to be the victim. Right?

Kristin Molenaar (12:12): Exactly. I guess you have to make that decision for yourself. Right?

Chris Miles (12:15): Absolutely. What are other things that people can do to actually help, you know, get themselves away from their business and this stuff that they're not just working in it, they're now working on it.

Kristin Molenaar (12:24): Yeah. I love this question and let's move on. Like you've just teed it up for me to move on to the next steps in our three set process. Honestly. So the next step for me is to automate and delegate. So I like to put these two things together because for me, I have seen just so much fruit out of delegation that I actually delegate the automation in my business. I don't do the automation myself, but this is really up to where you are in your business and where your strengths are. If you geek out on, you know, automation go for it, but it doesn't light me up. So you need to think about automating and delegating. Now this has to come after you've determined what things are essential. Don't automate non-essential things. Don't delegate, non-essential things like, you know, we help solopreneurs. We actually are that driving force and that team behind solopreneurs. And we tell them, don't give us stuff. That's not essential in your business because what's going to happen is you're going to bring us in as a team. And you're going to be sharing the vision of your company with us. And we're going to get really excited about us. And then when things get hard, if you've not given us essential tasks, we're going to be the first person that's cut out. And you've spent all this time investing in this team that you're building and they're not bringing anything to the table that really matters in your business. So yeah, the automation, I think that there are a lot of people that might be on the fence about, well, what things do I automate or should I get this platform or that platform? I like to use a very simple math formula. You know, if the platform that you're wanting to use to automate like a CRM or whatever, say it's a hundred bucks a month and you're spending 10 hours a month manually doing it, you need to assess, am I worth $10 an hour? Probably not. So it's time to automate that thing. So that's number two in my process. And then number three is generating effort free income. So this for me was like a big game changer. We internally like calling it white labeling, but essentially what happens is you build a team internally that produces profits for your business. This can look different in a variety of different businesses, but I think for a lot of people, what makes sense is figuring out how you're serving your clients right now and what is a way that you can add additional value to them. But in a way that's like can be systematized and taught to somebody else so that they come in, they provide that support and you make money on the backend.

Chris Miles (14:48): Give us example of that.

Kristin Molenaar (14:50): I was just going to say that! I'd love to give an example because I think that sometimes it's hard to understand how this could work for you. So you have a client who does coaching for people who want to speak on stage. And so what she does is she does all that coaching. So she's showing up and telling her clients how to do that stuff. Well, some of our clients are like, I don't have time. Like, can you just do it for me? And so what she does is she white labels, our outreach service. So for $750, YesBoss does all of the speaker research and outreach for her clients. But because she's in this elevated expertise level, as the coach, she's able to sell that same package for over a thousand dollars. Every time she sells, it puts no work on her back, but it gives her an additional 250 plus the profit margin to pull it into our business. And I think that we should be doing this with all kinds of things in our business. It adds value to our clients. It puts profit in our pocket and it continues to employ people and keeps the money going through other entrepreneurs.

Chris Miles (15:53): That's awesome! Yeah. That's the thing that many entrepreneurs never take the time to take it to that next level, which is all right. How do I duplicate me? Right. And be able to allow this to really grow beyond my own capacity. Right?

Kristin Molenaar (16:06): Yeah. I like to think about being a CEO or building a company. And that's when these things start to like, okay, if you think about, I'm building a company here, I'm not building a job for myself. Like everybody in a company brings value to the company.

Chris Miles (16:21): Yeah, that's right. And then you really just can not have freedom. If anybody's like me, listen to this right now, you probably went to business like I did. And when I did this almost 20 years ago is, I was going in because I wanted control of two things, primarily, you know, my money and my time. Right. Like it really controls my destiny, you know, overall. And I knew I would never get that. Just working in corporate America. I knew that had to be something that went beyond that. But the thing I learned, and I know that you're talking about as well as so many entrepreneurs are saying, yeah, I become the CEO. Yay. I'm free. And then you just created another job that really, in some ways sucks more because if you were like me, I mean, I remember seven, eight years ago after I launched Money Ripples and it's trying to do it from the ground up. Like it got to a point where I started to fantasize about a job. Like I remember thinking like if I could just have a job where I did have to think I could just do one task, that would be so awesome. I wouldn't have to think about all the elements of business with every aspect that has to be done. I can just focus on one job and be brainless. Not to insult any of you guys. So they know a lot of you guys are working W2 jobs and you're not brainless. I know that, but it's that thing that there's so much mental energy to be a business owner. And like you're saying just kind of to become the owner and say, yes, we can look at big picture, but we don't have to be in the trenches with each one of these areas. So, well, I appreciate having you on today, Kristin, and this is awesome. So thank you so much. If you want to learn more about your three steps and how that would apply to their business because they're wanting to be free. Right. What would it be the way they could do that?

Kristin Molenaar (17:51): Yeah. So you can get access to the blueprint. I mean, we went through a very, very quick version of this. I feel like I spoke faster than I've ever spoken before, but you can pick that up at YesBossVA.com/WorkLessMakeMore. If you're a solopreneur, that's feeling burnt out and you're like, don't tell me how to do it. Just do it for me. You can check us out at YesBossVA.com. But yeah, it was a pleasure chatting with you. We covered some really good material really fast.

Chris Miles (18:18): We sure did. Well, Hey, it's that whole like, you know, fast, little rabbit punch, you know, like it's perfect. So that was a lot of value. I really appreciate you being here today.

Kristin Molenaar (18:27): Thank you so much for having me. It's been a privilege.

Chris Miles (18:29): You bet! Everybody else. Thanks for joining us. And again, remember your life doesn't change unless you act upon, unless you do something about this. So if this really resonated with you go to the website, we'll have that in the show notes. So you guys can go there, but yes, this is the perfect time right now to, in a sense, reinvent your business to be the way that you always wanted it to be. So go take action. Check out the link in our show notes, everybody. I hope you make it a wonderful and process week and we'll see you later.

[curiouslife2016-blog]

How to ROCK Being Laid Off (with free checklist!)

Most people will tell you that being laid off can be one of the most traumatic things to happen in our lives.  Our means of providing for ourselves, our family, our way of life is pulled out from under us in one fell swoop.  

We're usually left feeling powerless, angry, and like we're not worthy of ever getting a job again.  It's awful.

But what if it didn't have to be?  

What if, instead, we freaking ROCKED being laid off?  Like, fully mastered this thing and harnessed it for GOOD instead of EVIL?  (And, by evil I mean depressing, soul-sucking, existential dread)

If you've either been laid off recently or think your position is on the chopping block, read on.  This post, my friends, is for you. 

There are two areas to wrap our arms around: Your headspace and then your life logistics.  We'll handle your headspace first so you'll have the mental bandwidth to handle the life logistics stuff after.

YOUR HEADSPACE

If you're here because you've been laid off, I want to say one thing: THIS IS AMAZING!!  Seriously!  Congrat-u-freaking-lations!  You've been thrust into the new chapter of your career (and possibly life) and you are going to be making the most of it.  I know it.

It may be scary right now, but it is also filled with ALL the opportunities for something new and BETTER.  

So, repeat after me: Your life is so much bigger than your job.  It's just a small piece of the pie.  Honestly.

Getting into the right headspace is critical to rocking being laid off, and this is just the first step.  If you're feeling down in the dumps and just NOT into this laid-off-thing, what can you actually do to get through it?  Here's a brief list:

MEDITATION: Cultivate your headspace by calming it.  Meditating is an incredibly powerful tool to do so (if you've never done it before, here's a great book that will get you started). Start out small and build from there.  Pro-tip: the chatter in your head doesn't ever truly go away, so don't get discouraged!  Stick with it and create a little freedom in your mind.

BE OF SERVICE: The other thing you can do is help others, Be of service in some way.  We're absolutely surrounded by hundreds of overlapping communities: our town, our city, our friends, our family, our religious/spiritual community, our street, others who have been laid off, etc., etc.  What can you do to be in service to them?  What help do they need?  Be impeccable with your people and your word, and you'll realize soon there is a massive universe out there just begging for you and heaping praise and appreciation into your lap.  Go find it.

ACCEPT & FORGIVE: If you find yourself in a position where it feels more like a firing than a lay-off, it's easy to be angry and hurt.  Give yourself a specific amount of time (a few days to a week) to sit with those feelings without judgement.  Binge on Netflix, eat tubs of ice cream, rant, rave, and cry.  But once you hit that deadline, that's it: you're committed to moving forward.  Think about at least one person who you genuinely liked at your last job, and mentally wish them all the success in the world.  And, if you're able to, open that wish up for the entire company, knowing that this person's boat will rise with everyone else's.  And, finally, mentally forgive the company itself: you're committing to moving on and being bigger than any one position, and they did you a favor.  Now you can be.

NEXT STEPS: Once you're feeling up to it, take a moment and think to yourself: do you REALLY want your old job back?  I mean, sure, the money was nice (I hope), but do you really want to be doing what you were doing?  If you could be finally doing the thing you were dreaming about for years, could this be the opportunity you've needed to jump into it?  If a little voice is saying, "yes!", then do it!  Get your research pants on and find out everything you need to about it.  Talk to folks who do what you want to do and don't worry about being too forward or having awkward introductions: people WANT to help, even if they don't know you.  Will it require you to go back to school or get a certification?  Will you need a part-time job while you transition?  Figure it out and make a plan!

LIFE LOGISTICS

Now that we've gotten the headspace stuff out of the way, let's talk about the nuts and bolts of what you need to do after being laid off.  To be honest, there is a bit of headspace stuff here, too (gosh, this stuff can be intense!), but I promise you'll get through it.

KEEP IT TOGETHER: If you've just been laid off or you feel it's imminent, commit to managing your emotions.  Don't let them see you sweat, and promise yourself you will be calm, handle the situation with grace, and keep it together.  Being explosive or over-emotional may be difficult to avoid (although certainly understandable), but it will not do you any favors and may actually make the situation much worse.  You want to come out of this looking like a pro who is in charge of their own life (because, guess what: you really are).  It will give you a much more solid base for any necessary conversations you may need to have with your now-former employer.

MANAGE THE OPTICS: During or just after "The Conversation," get clear on how the company will refer to your leaving.  Will they be referring to it as a lay-off and not a firing?  Can a third option be created where you co-create an exit strategy that works for both of you?  I've worked with several colleagues where they were able to finish out an additional week to train others who would be picking up the slack, and in exchange it would be framed that they were leaving under their own volition and not a lay-off at all.  Others were able to continue to work for the company on a freelance basis, as-needed.  If there is trust, understanding, and a good relationship in place, there are a lot of options that could be discussed.  (You can see why keeping it together would serve you well in this sort of conversation).

LOOSE ENDS & PAPERWORK: Have vacation, sick-leave, stock options, expense reimbursements, sales commission, life insurance, etc.?  Will there be a severance package and unemployment benefits available?  Be 100% clear on how you will be paid out for all of these as soon as possible.  Same goes for your health insurance and COBRA.  Find out what you are eligible for and what you're not, and remember that everything is negotiable.  Most severance packages include signing paperwork limiting what you can and cannot do in the future (think: non-competes, legal action against your employer, and working with past clients), so don't sign anything until these and any other details are ironed out.  If you feel like having a lawyer look it over would be beneficial, don't think twice: do it.  

WHAT DO YOU NEED?  Some employers will pay for a career coach in exchange for being available for any questions that they may have as they transition your former position.  Find out if this is available or if they can make it available.  Working with an outside coach to get on a good footing is critical to creating momentum for your next career move.

BUDGETS, BUDGETS: After the initial conversations, you'll want to immediately apply to receive unemployment benefits.  At the same time, sit down and do a budget for yourself.   There are great websites such as mint.com that are free, and which will show you how you spend your money and where you can save.  Figure out how much money your bills require, how much you'll have left over, and where you can cut expenses.  If you have credit card debt or loans, call your bank and explain your situation: they may be able to lower your rates or allow you to sign up for an assistance program for the duration of your unemployment (same goes for your utilities).  It's also a great time for that garage sale or finally selling those collectables on e-bay.  Speaking of making a bit of cash on the side, if you're able to get a side hustle, it may make all the difference to lessening the financial pressure until you land your next dream job (not to mention getting you out of the house, which certainly can't hurt).

CONNECT!  Seriously, "networking" is an awful word. I totally get it.  Having said that, let's re-frame it as "connecting", which is really all it is.  You're human, they're human, and you're shaking hands and seeing where you can create a win-win for each other.  Join professional organizations, go to events, get on social media and let friends, family, and past co-workers know what you're up to and what gets you excited these days.  See who is connected to who via Facebook or LinkedIn and see if you can organize a coffee or informational meeting to shake hands with who you're dying to meet.  The point is, be creative and use every opportunity to connect with people and let them know your story.  Speaking of story, have an "elevator pitch" at the ready (this is a 2-3 sentence description of what you do that will cause someone to say, "that's interesting: tell me more!".  Here's a great post that goes into more depth on this!  

Being laid off can be scary, but it can also be INCREDIBLE and the start of something new and powerful for you.  Take advantage of the opportunity and you'll be more than fine: you'll be better off than you were before.  If you feel like working with a coach could be beneficial (I know I'm biased, but IT TOTALLY IS BENEFICIAL), feel free to schedule a free session with me.  We'll outline where you're at and what you can do to get you to the next level.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE STRATEGY SESSION!

Also, if you haven't already, remember to download your free checklist which outlines all of the above in a single, lovely, well-designed document, just for you.  Just click here and it's yours!

[thecloudlight-blog]

New Post has been published on Cloudlight

New Post has been published on https://cloudlight.biz/what-does-a-travel-blogger-actually-do/

What Does A Travel Blogger Actually Do

CBN News spoke with teenage blogger, Lauren McRoberts, about the Netflix show, “13 Reasons Why,” and her blog, “13 Reasons Why NOT” — why a person should not commit suicide. Watch above.

A teenage girl commits suicide in the controversial new Netflix fictional series, “13 Reasons Why,” a show that has many critics, including teenage blogger, Lauren McRoberts.

The 16-year-old penned “13 Reasons Why NOT” to commit suicide, in response to the show — a blog that has been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people.

McRoberts spoke with CBN News about the blog.

“After watching the series, I feel like the Holy Spirit just laid it on my heart,” she said. “I think when you are a Christian, you accept the Holy Spirit into your heart which is like a conscience for you, and I just felt like I was being called to do that, and it was something heavy on my heart.”

“My personal testimony includes some clinical depression and anxiety that I suffered from a few years ago,” McRoberts continued. “And… my faith has motivated me to start a blog.”

The teen wrote, “While this series gave you Thirteen Reasons Why Hannah Baker took her own life, I am going to give you Thirteen Reasons Why you SHOULDN’T:”

The Ultimate Travel Guide For First Time Travelers

As common as air travel may have emerged as now, there are still a whole lot of human beings all over the global who haven’t traveled via an aircraft earlier than. To humans whose lifestyles spins around visiting this will seem unusual however this is a reality we all need to just accept. however, in case you’re one of these those who hasn’t had the risk to travel by aircraft yet, worry no longer- there is nothing to be embarrassed approximately you aren’t by myself. And if you’re making plans on getting out there and experiencing air travel then this text is the simplest aspect you need to study to have the time of your existence!

1. Studies before travel:

Because you might not have a great deal revel in the approaches of the airfare make sure which you do masses of Studies. Ask buddies about their journey reviews, browse thru the net and try and get yourself an amazing tour agent. Because traveling is a lot greater than you might think and there is much small information that one desires to don’t forget before travel.

2. Establish A Budget:

That is actually the maximum important issue you want to do to make your ride a hit one. At the same time as you place the quantity of money which you are willing to spend to your ride or holiday, make sure that the amounts that you assign have hundreds of buffer. This means that you should recall emergencies While planning your Finances and also calculate the maximum you are willing to spend on something. This may make certain that you turn out to be spending less than your expectations.

3. Get Vaccinations:

Many human beings normally get vaccinated when they travel across the world, however, it’s also important you do the equal for national travels. This way you may save you yourself from getting any undesired and needless sicknesses when you tour. Reflect on consideration on it and save yourself the hassle of having ill with the aid of looking after vaccinations beforehand.

4. Keep away from Movement Sickness:

if you’re someone who’s susceptible to Movement Illness or other such troubles while you tour through street then it’s miles fantastically in all likelihood that you will be affected while you travel via air. In order, a precautionary degree makes certain you take anti-emetic drug treatments earlier than you begin your travel to Avoid soreness.

5. Hold important Matters On hand:

Stuff like your passport and price ticket might be required often and also you need to Preserve it someplace where you can quite simply take it out and in which it might not be lost. additionally, make sure you have got some extra money with you at all time (Keep it to your socks). Simply in case, you lose your things you won’t have a trouble traveling around.

traveling can be hard for even the most seasoned vacationers and if you’re a person who is traveling for the first time then you definitely probably don’t know what you’re in for. So Maintain the above-mentioned Matters in thoughts and your travel experience will turn out terrific. Make your first time tour the exceptional!

Blogging Tools: The Importance of Video Equipment for Bloggers

That allows you to have the weblog this is relevant in brand new marketplace area, I assume having a text is not enough. Writing a blog submit best in words limits your readerships’ ability to devour your content. Due to the fact, a few people like to read, some people want to listen and a few human beings like to see things on video. Any other device to have is perhaps a camera, a video digicam. In many cases, human beings nowadays have a very advanced video camera right of their pocket with their clever smartphone. It is quite sufficient.

Quite a few times, you don’t even invest in the special, dedicated video camera that you might need however you always convey one with yourself on your pocket. I suggest you operate it extra often. In case your cell phone or clever smartphone has the potential to file movies, then, take out it greater often and report each time you feel like you’ve got an extraordinary concept for a blog publish, for a teaching to your subject matter, for your place, whatever.

Because now not handiest it is able to be a superb additional

Extra statistics in your readership but you may even installation a blog, that is a video blog. Basically, regularly updated video content material that you are presenting for your video target market. That’s something A whole lot of humans are doing pretty successfully and they’re having millions of human beings watch their films overtime.

Of direction, having simply the clever phone isn’t enough. You have to have the right sort of enhancing software to edit and to upload your videos to the video sharing sites which include YouTube or Vimeo. Essentially, You have to add extras like introduction or ending or music history. something that can not absolutely be brought proper from the ease of your clever phone right now.

You can have the very simple equipment in your laptop and while you teach people in the video

You add this video to your computer and edit the video content proper there. Then, after you’re prepared, you can add the very last video, edited video to the video platform which you pick which include YouTube. Wherein doubtlessly, masses of hundreds of humans can watch your vlog. Hold in mind though that video content takes up Lots of areas, each of your digital camera or your smartphone and in your laptop as nicely.

When you upload, You need to be conscious of your boundaries. Does your internet plan offer unlimited statistics switch? I endorse you check this out and if you are serious approximately generating and uploading A variety of video content, you then should genuinely have the limitless amount of bandwidth for your internet plan.

Is Your Online Audience Actually Listening To You

The more involvement you may get with your online target audience the greater successful your internet marketing efforts will be. But your target audience may not be listening to you in case you’re not telling them anything that adds value to their lives.

The more your on-line audience come to recognise, like and trust you, the more likely they are to shop for from you.

Many learners to online advertising fear approximately attractive with their audience due to the fact they’re not yet a pinnacle performer of their market. However it is ok to be a work in development. Human beings love to examine from someone who is simply ahead of them as it makes their journey appear extra practicable. That is authentic regardless of what niche you’re in. you may proportion your development, your troubles and your achievements and help others attain their goals, too.

Usually Deliver price

Handiest publish Best authentic, relevant, high pleasant content to your internet site and social media posts. The more fee you provide, the closer you will build the relationship with your online target market. People do not stick around on websites in which they may be no longer engaged.

Use extra Video

People are obviously drawn to video. One easy manner to improve your online target market engagement is to submit videos for your blog or internet site. If a photograph tells 1000 phrases, a video tells 1,000,000.

Find Your Avatar

Every piece of content you create must be as though you are communicating to one person. That one person is your avatar. In different phrases, the “perfect” potential purchaser that you are attempting to reach. What are their goals, emotions, demographics and different physical and mental personality traits?

Deliver Away Free Stuff

You can Provide away eBooks, movies, reports, checklists, software, coupons or unique offers. The crucial thing approximately a freebie is that it should be useful, precious and of the equal quality as the products or services that you sell to your target audience. if you Give away garbage, your target market will suppose that your merchandise are rubbish too.

Growth Engagement On Facebook

Facebook companies are an incredible region for target market engagement. When you start a Fb group, you can experience a totally clean-going, cooperative network of well suited individuals. Humans love to be a part of a special network.

Email

Sadly, a whole lot of net entrepreneurs build an Electronic mail listing, then rarely attain out to their fans. You need to maintain in regular touch with the ones Humans that have taken the time to enroll in your listing, or you will by no means “connect” and share a real dating that enables you meet your business dreams.

Originally posted 2016-08-28 02:29:07.