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Episode 169 – Talent May Be Overrated

Personal Development, Podcast / By Randy Cantrell

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The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance by K. Anders Ericsson (and others) is an interesting study about how talent may not be the determining factor for success.

The title of the study tells you the answer.

Deliberate practice – focused practice – made a big difference in three categories of violin students. One group were those who went on to have solo careers. Another group went on to be part of an orchestra. The final group wound up as music teachers. The difference in what they did was drastic. Those at the top of that food chain – the soloists – worked much harder. But they also rested more. And they practiced in shorter, more intense spurts.

We’re always looking for keys, secrets and formulas. We want an easy answer. A simple explanation. And we often find them by blaming success on fate, luck, chance, serendipity, talent and a host of other things that may play a part, but it’s highly probable that, for most people, they play a minor role.

We’d be more successful if we were so lucky. It’s fun to think so.

And it’s lazy.

Fact is, most of us just don’t want to work that hard. Most of us just don’t prepare enough for success. The result? Most of us never experience the success we could.

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Episode 168 – Stop Waiting For Permission To Share Your Story

Entrepreneurship, Podcast / By Randy Cantrell

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Stop waiting for the starter's pistol to give you permission. — Stop waiting for the starter’s pistol to give you permission.

The runner waits for the starter’s pistol to fire before taking off. Otherwise, he’s disqualified.

You’re not a runner though. You’re a business person. There are no starter pistols in your life, except in your head. Seth Godin has been telling you for years that you no longer have to wait for permission. His admonition is, take permission!

He’s right.

Small business owners answer their phones. Well, the good ones do. When a customer or prospect calls, it’s like a starter’s pistol going off. The business then leaps into action. The problem is, the customer is holding the pistol, giving the business permission to begin doing what they do.

You can’t keep waiting to tell your story. You must get the word out without being obnoxious and self-serving. It can be done. Your customers and would-be customers are waiting to hear more. You’re used to waiting for them to ask you. Stop it. That’s no longer how the world works (if it ever did).

Today’s show is about the realities of how you should be running your small business. WARNING: It may involve a complete change of mind for you. The good news is that you can start today and it won’t cost you nearly as much as you think. If you don’t start, and follow through, it’ll cost you everything – your clients, customers and your business!

NOTE: Photo used with permission from Don McLaughlin. Find him on Flickr.

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Episode 167 – K.I.S.S. Doesn’t Stand For Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Entrepreneurship, Podcast / By Randy Cantrell

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I live in Texas where we claim everything is bigger.

Bigger can be better, but not always. Waistlines, debt, dirty laundry…well, you get the idea!

Life is full of contrasting ideas.

Abundance vs. Minimalism

Vast vs. Cozy

Big vs. Small

I admit that many small business owners struggle with limiting their growth or opportunities because they think too small. I’m not encouraging that behavior. Today’s show isn’t about small or restrictive thinking. Rather, it ‘s about embracing what suits you best. It’s about not allowing your business or career to be defined by what other people think.

What’s wrong with keeping it small?

Nothing, if that’s what you want. This is the time to be selfish and chase what you want…how you want. Not every small business owner wants to build the next global business. Just like not every home buyer wants an 11,000 square foot house. Some people prefer the tiny houses available today. Nothing wrong with that – it’s just a matter of preference.

For instance, I don’t want employees. I’m not opposed to employees. I’ve just had them most of my career…spanning the last 30 plus years. Been there, done that. I don’t want to do it any more, but I know people who would love nothing better than to build a business that needs lots of people. That’s fine…for them. Not for me.

What’s your end game? Do you want to start and build a business that you can sell? Do you want to build a business with others that can solve some big worldwide problem? Do you want to build a business around something you personally find gratifying?

It matters how you answer those questions. It’s very personal, but I’ll warn you to avoid letting somebody else’s dream or desire affect your own. It may be wise to think small. That doesn’t mean being ineffective, unsuccessful or unprofitable. Some of the wealthiest people I know do work they really care about by going it alone and dropping most of their revenue straight to the bottom line. They intentionally keep their lives simple, flexible and small.

Keep it small smartypants!

They love being small. Is it for everybody? Nope. But then again, what is?

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Episode 166 – What Do You Want To Do?

Entrepreneurship, Personal Development, Podcast / By Randy Cantrell

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True confession: I’m a middle-aged guy who began seeking my “encore career” about 4 years ago. And like many men my age, I fell into an occupation as a young man. As a teenager really. Thirty-five years later I came to a place in my life where I asked, “Now what?” The real question was, “What do you want to do…now?”

You know how it is when a big group wants to go out to eat, but it’s not a pre-planned affair. You ask, “Well, where do you guys want to go eat?” For the next 15 minutes it’s like you’ve asked the group to solve world peace. It just seems impossible to figure out where to go. You either get tons of indifference – “I don’t care” – or you get very opinionated responses – “No, I hate Mexican food.” Well, asking yourself what you want to do is tougher than that.

Yep, world peace might be easier!

I don’t know why it’s so hard, but rare is the person who says, “I’ve always known I wanted to (fill in the blank).” Don’t you hate those people. Life isn’t fair. Why do they have such clarity while I’m over here in the mud puddle stomping around trying to find my way?

I’m here to tell you that YOU can figure it out. How long will it take? I don’t know. Truthfully? It’ll take as long as it takes. So the good news is, you can start today. The sooner you start, the better. The bad news is, it might happen for you right away, but it’s much more likely to take a long time.

That’s okay. It’s very worthwhile work. I’ll share with you one little idea that I used to help me find my way. It might help you, too.

Check out ChasingDFWCool.com – it’s a project I’m preparing to launch within the next month or so.

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Bula! Minute 002 – The Value Of An Outside Voice

Communication, Entrepreneurship, Podcast / By Randy Cantrell

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microphone on stand — The credibility of an outside voice can grow our business

The value of an outside voice can mean a couple of things.

One, it can mean the objective appraisal of how we’re doing. “Hey, can you tell me what you think of this?”

The other can mean the value of having somebody else tell our story. It can be in the form of a recommendation. These can be very personal where we tell our next door neighbor about this great experience we had when we bought a new car, a new backyard grill, or a new pair of shoes. It can be far less personal, but equally powerful in the form of an Amazon review where complete strangers read what we say and put stock in it.

Businesses have long sought after having loyal customers who will tell everybody they know. Faithful, happy customers are the most effective sales teams. From casual conversations with all their friends to passing along our business card, loyal customers help evangelize our business.

The Internet affords us multiple ways to get the word out about our business. The value of an outside voice now has some new meanings. It’s commonly called “content marketing.” That simply means we try to make meaningful connections with prospects and customers by giving them valuable information. There’s nothing new about it really. Sales has historically been all about educating, answering questions and providing free information.

When I was a teenager working in a stereo shop, people would come in everyday seeking information as they navigated the prospect of purchasing stereo equipment. “What makes those speakers $200 more expensive?” Shoppers had questions. Lots of questions. A big part of my job was to answer their questions while I guided them through the process of making the most of their stereo buying dollar!

Back then my value as an outside voice was limited to people who walked into the stereo shop, or people who may have called on the phone. Today, we can all tell our story and have it broadcast 24/7/365 via the Internet.

I hope you enjoy today’s Bula! Minute.

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Episode 165 – Two Big E’s: Enterprise vs. Ease

Entrepreneurship, Podcast / By Randy Cantrell

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This is David Lindley. I took this picture with my phone when I saw Jackson Browne and David play together. For years he has played with Jackson Browne. If the instrument has frets or strings, he can play it. He’s a remarkable musician. He’s been working at the craft of music his entire life. You don’t become a world-class musician like Lindley without spending hours and hours practicing. When it comes to music, enterprise has ruled his life.

Rocky snoozing — Rocky enjoys a life of ease

Contrast David with Rocky, one of my White West Highland Terriers. Rocky lives a life of ease. This is his daily posture. He sleeps about 23 hours a day. The richest people on the planet don’t have it any better than Rocky. Of course, they earn a lot more money than he does. I’ve never figured out a way to monetize Rocky.

Today’s show is about two big E’s:

Enterprise vs. Ease

While they’re not mutually exclusive, it seems people prefer one over the other (usually ease trumps enterprise), or they pursue one (enterprise) so they can enjoy the other (ease). Too many people want the rewards of enterprise, but they want to pay the price of ease. For good reason.

The interwebs are full of people who claim the ability to teach us all how to do it. Cha-ching, money making passive income – resulting from passive workload. They’ll often site the recording or publishing business model. Write a hit song, record it once – get paid over and over and over. Yes, that’s a terrific business model, but it’s not reasonable for most people. Besides, it’s a lot of work to just be a one-hit-wonder!

We mock them, but how many of us have one hit? And like most things that we don’t understand, we under estimate the amount of actual work done…even by a one-hit-wonder. Just this morning I exchanged emails with a longtime professional acquaintance who is doing as well as he’s ever done. Books being published, speaking gigs lining up nicely…he started his company 20 years ago! I jokingly told him his overnight success only took 20 years! A lifetime of enterprise paying off after taking longer than expected and filled with failures along the way.

I’m not sure we should compartmentalize enterprise and ease. They may be like living a balanced life, fictitious! And I’m pretty sure ease isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be.

I cite this YouTube video in today’s show.

Thanks for listening!

P.S. Yes, I called Jack Bauer, Kiefer Sullivan! Listen for it. I even think I did it TWICE. Kiefer Sutherland.

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