Last year, I was asked to speak at TEDxPhoenix, a self-organized local offshoot of the global Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) Conference. The theme was “Optimists and Catalysts.” Given the caliber of any TED-related event, I got a little freaked out about choosing a topic for my talk. I thought about a humorous anti-cubicle rant [...]
My Declaration of Independence, August, 2005. YouTube link here. Five years ago, when this blog was just a year old, I got inspired to create a little motivational presentation for my then tiny audience. I called it My Declaration of Independence, and it was originally done in Flash by my dear friend Darron Padilla. To [...]
While it may sound like I need some hobbies, there is nothing I like more than sitting around talking about the specific ins and outs of what it takes to go from a great idea to a profitable and engaging business. Today, I get the chance to do just that with authors and entrepreneurs Carol [...]
“Didn’t you ever want to get up from your desk one day and just walk away, not to go get a latte, but I mean walk away and not come back?” So asks Margaret Roach in her mesmerizing book trailer, and wonderful new book, And I Shall Have Some Peace There: Trading the Fast Lane [...]
photo by Ivan Martinez I spent the last four days surrounded by amazing people and hair-raising energy at Lift Off Retreat, co-lead by my partner Charlie Gilkey. Flipchart pens flew, markets were dissected with fierce intensity, and believe it or not, singing and dancing occurred. There was a moment on Day 3 when I realized [...]
Now that I have been blogging for more than five years, it seems like I have always known a big group of smart, creative entrepreneurial world-changers. I forget what it was like when I first started, transplanted from San Francisco, cloistered with a new baby in my suburban Mesa, Arizona home, feeling alone and like [...]
I was sitting on the bench last night inside the dojo, watching my son Joshua kick and punch in his mixed martial art class. I drank in the joy of seeing little kids focus intently, and the pure cuteness of seeing Bruce Lee moves from kids who come up to my waist. Then I got [...]
Those of you who have been around Escape for awhile know that I love to use dating metaphors when talking about sales and marketing. Part of the fun of such metaphors is that most people in the world have experienced humiliation and agony in pursuit of one they love. I still haven’t gotten over the [...]
custom valentine made by Michael There are certain moments when I know I chose the right career path. A few weeks ago, I had one of them. I was given the privilege of addressing a jubilant and delightful 5th grade class of gifted students at an elementary school in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The teacher, Mrs. Elvira [...]
I am frequently asked by clients and reporters what is the key ingredient to entrepreneurial success. A great idea? Financial backing? A charismatic founder? A bulletproof business plan? Great selling skills? These things can certainly help. But what will make or break your entrepreneurial journey is: The ability to be a scientist. What I mean [...]
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