ENTERPRISE + INITIATIVE Page 6 of 21

A week in Berlin: a taste of life as a digital nomad

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Today’s post is by Vickie Binz, Marketing Manager at Do What You Love.

Image credit: Stefano Borghi, www.stefanoborghi.com
Image credit: Stefano Borghi, www.stefanoborghi.com

I wrote this article while sitting on the floor at Berlin Schönefeld airport waiting to travel back to London. My plane may have been delayed for 5 hours but I felt lucky…

  1. This was a great opportunity to get ahead with work
  2. The WiFi at the airport was really fast
  3. My computer still had 57% of battery life
  4. I was eating a free sandwich bought with vouchers from the airline
  5. I had a carry on bag containing everything I needed to be comfortable
  6. I could stay with friends in London since my plane was getting in so late – and we love an impromptu catch-up!
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Waiting for my delayed plane

Rewind a few days and I was excited to be flying to Berlin to attend the first-ever global digital nomad conference, www.dnxglobal.com. The Do What You Love team works remotely so I was intrigued by the prospect of meeting people who work the same way, or who’ve taken it one step further.

My mission: find out more about digital nomads and their lifestyle to then spread the word about a movement that seems to be well in line with our values: sustaining a happy life while doing what you love.

And because I love to visit new places, experience new things and meet new people, I decided to stay on for a week, and live and work in Berlin as a “local”.

So what did my experience teach me about the life of a digital nomad?

(more…)

An update from DWYL HQ – July 2015

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This month’s DWYL news round up is brought to you by our senior Editor, Rachel Kempton.

We have some very exciting news to share this month… there’s a new arrival at DWYL HQ!

Our coos and congratulations go to Beth and Paul who welcomed their second daughter, Maia Seren Bailey Kempton, into the world on Sunday July 19. It’s a magical time and we wish them all the very best as they start this wonderful new chapter as a family of four.

There is, of course, lots more news to report this July too..

1. The Do What You Love e-course is in its final week and it has been a pleasure and a privilege to see so many people embark on their own personal journey to doing what they love. It makes us very happy to see everyone embracing each stage of the course, and getting so much out of it. It’s also great to know that the hard work that goes into designing and creating our content pays off.

2. The Little Beach Hut of Dreams has opened its doors again! We’ve already welcomed a number of ‘Dreamers in Residence’ to our little sanctuary by the sea and they’ll be sharing their experiences via guest blog posts throughout August.  UPDATE: The Little Beach Hut of Dreams has been sold as we no longer live in Brighton and only residents are permitted to own beach huts there. This post has been archived for reference but we are no longer accepting applications for Dreamer-in-Residence. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our Dreamers-in-Residence for being part of our adventure, and to Towergate Insurance for awarding The Little Beach Hut of Dreams runner up position in Beach Hut of the Year 2015. She was very proud!

3. Finally, we’re sad to say goodbye to our Marketing Officer/Community Manager Rose Radtke who is moving on to pastures new. We only worked with Rose for a few months but in that short time she proved to be a valuable member of the team. She is a very special lady with much to offer the world and we wish her every success in the future.

An update on our collaborations

Make Art That Sells (MATS):

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1. The Global Talent Search is nearly here – and it’s an amazing opportunity to change your life! The Grand Prize winner wins two years’ international representation from Lilla Rogers Studio, plus a host of covetable product licenses, and a series of prizes to support the development of their professional career. You can register here today!

2. Our early bird offers for Make Art That Sells end on July 30 so don’t miss your chance to register. As an early bird you’ll get  bootcamp for free when you take MATS Part A, MATS Part B or MATS Creating Collections for Home Décor in 2016. You’ll also save £99 on your next career development course.

Make It In Design (MIID)

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1. Summer School is here! Back for a second year, hundreds of creatives are currently taking part in Summer School 2015 – a truly special event which is uniting people across the globe. The first galleries have now been published and you can view them here. As you’ll see, the quality of work is just outstanding.

2. Meet Rachael Taylor at Printsource New York on August 11 & 12. On both days you’ll find Rachael in The Future Cafe at Printsource New York from 4.30pm, as this is where the colour and trend seminars will take place. Rachael will be joining the likes of Pantone and Trendstop on the stage to deliver two fascinating presentations (one each day) about the surface pattern design industry, her journey to success and the opportunities for other designers. Unlike other talks at Printsource, Rachael’s is free to attend so if you’re going to the show, you won’t want to miss it. Find out more here.

3. Registration opens for September’s design courses: Are you interested in becoming a successful surface pattern designer? Are you new to surface design and want to discover more about what the industry can offer you? Or are you an established designer who’s looking to polish your skills? Wherever you are on your creative journey we can help you. Check out the latest courses from Make it in Design: Module 1 – Designing Your way, Module 3 – Monetising Your Designs and The Ultimate Portfolio Builder.

Thought of the month… the importance of family

“To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there.” ~ Barbara Bush

As loving parents it’s only natural to question the amount of quality time we spend with our children – especially when we know how vital it is vital for their development and happiness.

The great news is that every little bit of time we spend actively engaging with our kids – whether it be reading together, having a cuddle, playing a game, doing a jigsaw, making music, flying a kite, cooking a meal, or learning a new skill – is quality time. A recent report on Britain’s children also found that youngsters who spend time talking to their parents regularly are much happier than those who don’t.

When life gets busy it can be easy to rush through the day, without pausing to really enjoy our children. Baby Maia’s arrival at DWYL HQ has reminded me about the importance of spending time together as a family. As the Polish proverb goes, ‘You have a lifetime to work, but children are only young once.’ Reading these blog posts got me thinking about how I can make more time for family fun in everyday life. If you need creative inspiration, check them out!

Here’s to happy families,

Rachel

 

6 things I’ve learnt about finding work to fund my startups

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This is a guest post by Ben Keene. You can find out more about Ben here.

I was recently discussing with a friend how to balance paid work with working on your own startups, especially in those leaner times. Here’s what I came up with. Not rocket science, nor the solution for everyone, but this approach has helped me.

Woodland sunrise taken at RSPB Headquarters, The Lodge, Sandy, BedfordshireWoodland sunrise at RSPB Headquarters by Stuart Geeves

1. Pay it Forward. I know it’s frustrating when you work on things that don’t pay you straight away but I’m a big believer in give before take. Loving new ideas and supporting people on their career/startup journey is actually a pleasure, at least from a karma point of view!

2. Drop the CV and build a page that shows why you’re different (and therefore invaluable). Tell your story! I’ve used Strikingly. It’s free and looks a whole lot better than a CV.

3. Ask yourself: ‘what I would really be happy/fulfilled doing?’ Then build everything else around that. If the answer is running your own business, in what? And then, how? If that means working on it part-time for 12 months whilst you freelance, do that.

4. The right freelance work takes time to get. I’ve always done a little of this but now (because of a new family arrival) I’m making much more of an effort. In fact, I’ve used my wife’s pregnancy as a timeline to get the contracts signed. The result? I spent Sept-December meeting and networking with people I wanted to work with/for. It really only costed me my time and coffee and I’ve now got a number of interesting paid projects. Yes, they’ve taken time to close but at least I’m working on things I want to be doing (which means I should do a better job), and then I can use the rest of my time to work on my own startups.

5. Collaboration increases productivity. I’ve spent a lot of the last few years working mainly on one project with one or two people. I’m now working on 4 or 5 projects with a lot more – yes, I have to be organised – but I think I’m getting better and more productive at what I do.

6. Switch off from email. Less is more. I’ve always told myself this with projects. But I’m not very good at practicing it. A couple of years ago I started taking weekly 24 hour email fasts – what we used to call ‘a weekend’ before smartphones and apps changed things. I’ve learnt that enforced regular time away from my inbox has lots of upsides – and most of them are work based.

Let me know what’s worked for you too.

How to leave work on time

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This is a guest post by one of the UK’s leading experts in digital distraction and digital detox and author of The Distraction Trap: How to Focus in a Digital World, Frances Booth. Find out more about Frances here.

For many of us, leaving work on time seems impossible. Getting up from our desk, and walking out of the door at the time we are meant to should be simple, but it isn’t. We want to leave work on time, we aim to leave work on time, but yet, we don’t manage it.

Day after day, this cycle repeats.

So how can we shift our thinking? While working 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or an hour late each day might not seem like much in isolation, when you add this little bit of time up each and every day, it becomes a huge chunk of our time. One of the things that often overwhelms us about work when things get out of balance is not having enough time for personal admin. All those little life tasks build up and we feel disorganised and out of control because we have no time to do them.

By getting our work done, then leaving on time, we leave ourselves time for our lives outside of work. Being productive during the working day improves our work-life balance. An important part of time management includes leaving time for our lives outside of work. It might seem a small thing, but one vital step in doing this is leaving work on time. After all, if Barack Obama manages to get home in time for dinner, then surely, so can we.

Here are some [Tweet “dos and don’ts to help you leave work on time”].

Don’t:

‘Just check’ your email one last time. You’ll get pulled back in to answering demands, and another email cycle will begin that could pull you off course for another half hour an hour.

Waste time during the day and then have to stay late to catch up on what you should have done earlier.

Create a crisis each day.

Make extra work for yourself. Instead, look for ways to be more productive in every instance possible.

Work in an office where there is a culture of all staying late just for show.

Let work fill your entire evening. Be especially careful if you work for yourself – you might have to do extra work on boundary setting.

Waste time on email.

Waste time on social media.

Feel guilty. By taking time away from work to wind down, recharge, and enjoy your life outside of work, you’ll be more productive and happier when you get back to the office.

Do

Expect it to take longer than you think to finish up for the day.

Leave clear instructions ahead of time for anyone you’re handing over to as you leave.

Stay late on the days it’s really vital to. You won’t mind this now and again if you leave on time normally.

Steer clear of other people who waste your time. Remember, you need that time so you can leave on time. Read my article on the Top 10 Ways To Say No And Save Time to help with this.

Get organised. Work hard.

Get your work done in a productive, efficient way during the day.

Think twice before deciding to take work home with you. This especially includes working from your smartphone or tablet (just because the technology means you can doesn’t mean you should).

Set a good example if you’re the boss.

Get in to the habit of leaving on time.

Think about results, productivity and getting things done, rather than sitting at your desk just for the sake of it. What you get done is the important thing, not how many hours it takes you.

Expect it to be tricky at first. Whenever we make a behaviour change this is the case.

Try leaving work on time today.

Do What You Love – Update from HQ – June 2015

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In our line of work, as a company where everyone works remotely, we don’t often get a chance to spend that much time – in person – with our team or our collaborators. However June provided us with an opportunity to get together and enjoy a fun couple of days in the sunshine. It was a great reminder of the energy people bring to a community when their passions and values align.

Our ‘Annual Idea Generation Away Days’ saw us bring our small (and perfectly formed!) HQ team together, from Brighton, Sheffield and Spain. We planned the two days very carefully to make sure they were as special and relaxed as possible, while also being useful and productive.

We began day one by celebrating everyone’s hard work over the past 12 months, and sharing our vision and business plan for the next few years. Then we went on to discuss ideas for some exciting new resources that we are currently developing (which are all hush-hush for the time being!) and in true DWYL team fashion everyone’s positivity and ideas lifted our thoughts off the paper (and computer screen!) and transformed them into real, workable concepts.

The afternoon was packed with brainstorming new ideas for even more ways we can help people to do what they love. One of the highlights was sharing news about ‘Reading Week’, where later in the summer, everyone in the team will switch off their email and do in-depth research and thinking on a particular topic, without distraction. We gave each team member has a specific brief to work on during this time – something we know they relate to and feel passionately about. Vickie was especially pleased as hers, as it included a trip to Berlin at the end of July! Stay tuned for an update on that one!

And on the second day we took the team to a place where Beth and I always do our best thinking… the open seas! A few hours on a yacht, soaking up the glorious sunshine, saw us generate tons more great ideas, and share how we all plan to do more of what we love over the coming months. All in all it was a fantastic couple of days.

boat1Our team: (From left to right) Rachel, Rose, Me, Beth, Louise and Vickie

There is, of course, lots more exciting news to report this month too…

1. The DWYL e-course, started on June 15 and once again we’re delighted to be joined by participants from all over the world. The honesty and courage being shown in class to date has been remarkable and we are watching on with interest as everyone’s unique journey unfolds. If you are wondering about the true power of the course, well it doesn’t come much bigger than a marriage proposal… and just wait until you find out how he popped the question!

2. The Business Soul Sessions is coming to an end, and we have loved witnessing all the lightbulb moments in the classroom. We can’t wait to see the participating entrepreneurs use their new-found knowledge and skills to make positive changes within their businesses to create greater impact, explosive growth and serious profits they can be proud of.

3. The Little Beach Hut of Dreams has opened its doors again to the ‘Dreamers in Residence’. We look forward to sharing some of their blog posts shortly. UPDATE: The Little Beach Hut of Dreams has been sold as we no longer live in Brighton and only residents are permitted to own beach huts there. This post has been archived for reference but we are no longer accepting applications for Dreamer-in-Residence. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our Dreamers-in-Residence for being part of our adventure, and to Towergate Insurance for awarding The Little Beach Hut of Dreams runner up position in Beach Hut of the Year 2015. She was very proud!

4. Our blog continues to be galvanised by our guest bloggers who are all leading all experts in their field. They include: Alastair Humphreys, Ben Keene, Frances Booth, Louise Armstrong and Lara Tabatznik. One of my favourites this month was Alastair’s post on how his book ‘Microadventures’ became a bestseller on Amazon – you can read it here. Of course what he doesn’t say in his post is that his book is also a brilliant read!

An update on our collaborations

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Make Art That Sells (MATS):

1. There is only one place to start… MATS: The Global Art Gathering was just the most amazing event! At the gorgeous Brighton Dome on June 12 we played host to creative people from all across the world in what was an extraordinary day of career development, inspiration and motivation. It promised to be fun-filled and action-packed, with all the energy, passion and magic you’d expect from Make Art That Sells, and in the end it was all that and more! It surpassed all of our expectations and left all of Brighton buzzing. All the months of hard work were worth it when we saw the radiant smiles, and felt the incredible energy, of everyone in the room. The artists had gathered from across the globe with one thing in common – a love and passion for art and a commitment to making it their career.

Besides our partner Lilla Rogers, the team was joined by some very special guests including Kelly Rae Roberts, Rachael Taylor and Lilla’s agents, Susan McCabe and Joanne Hus who were outrageously generous with their knowledge, experience and advice.

For me it was great to witness 60-70 people meet for the first time in person after discussing art for the best part of two years online within our classrooms. One of them described the day as feeling like a first date: exciting and nervewracking at the same time and potentially, the start of something amazing!

dwyl232From left to right: Beth, Lilla and Kelly Rae

For us the most important thing of all was that everyone left feeling inspired, invigorated and motivated to forge ahead in their career in art. We look forward to supporting them in doing that.

2. MATS: Creating Collections for Home Decor started last Monday. It has been hugely in demand since we announced its launch a few months ago. Lilla and Beth have teamed up with Top Art Director Margo Tantau (VP of Creative for MidwestCBK) to create it. Margo says: “This course is teaching something desperately needed in the industry. It’s a gamechanger.”

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3. Registration for the 2015 Global Talent Search is now open! Don’t miss out on what could be one of the biggest and best opportunities for your career… you can register here. We are proud to be producing this global online event again this year, and are blown away by the calibre of the judges and prizes on offer. Find out more here.

4. MATS: Assignment Bootcamp finished with the publishing of the June gallery. I can honestly say that I’ll miss the buzz in the Bootcamp Community but I know there will only be a short interlude before attention turns to this year’s Global Talent Search.

5. The Make Art That Sells website continues to turn heads! It’s bursting with free resources, industry insight and motivational videos to help the artists among you make leaps forward with your career. Be sure to check it out.

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Make It In Design (MIID)

Rachael Taylor – speaking at three industry events: already this summer Rachael Taylor and the Make it in Design team have hit the road – and the sky – to attend a number of industry events. Recently Rachael spoke at The Make Art That Sells Global Gathering and the New Designers trade show in London, and she’ll also be speaking at Printsource New York in August 2015. Read more on the MIID blog.

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  • Registration opens for Summer School: back by popular demand Summer School returns to bring fun, creativity and inspiration to homes around the world this July. There are three tracks Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced and you can sign up for one or more options to use this opportunity to stretch yourself, connect with other designers, experience working to a brief, grow your portfolio and even get your work published! Summer School starts on July 6 and finishes on July 31. Visit the Summer School page to discover what’s in store, prizes on offer and free resources at your fingertips.
  • The Ultimate Portfolio Builder course is well underway. We have welcomed students from around the world including the USA, Dubai, Italy, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Slovenia, China, Bulgaria, Austria, Netherlands, UK and more. The course’s private Facebook group is alive with creativity, buzzing with excitement and brimming with artwork inspired by different cultures. We’ll soon be opening up registration for our next round of courses starting September 21, so be sure to sign up and prepare to launch your career and design work to dizzy heights.

Thought of the month…

I am currently reading ‘An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth‘ by Chris Hadfield and I thought I’d share a few passages, which I’m sure we can all relate to.

“Square astronaut, round hole. It’s the story of my life, really: trying to figure out how to get where I want to go when just getting out the door seems impossible. On paper, my career trajectory looks preordained: engineer, fighter pilot, test pilot, astronaut. But that’s not how it really was. There were hairpin curves and dead ends all the way along. I wasn’t destined to be an astronaut. I had to turn myself in to one…”

As a 9-year-old after watching Neil Armstrong land on the moon…

“…I was old enough to understand that getting ready wasn’t simply a matter of playing ‘space mission’ with my brothers in our bunk beds, underneath a big National Geographic poster of the moon. But there was no program I could enroll in, no manual I could read, no one even to ask. There was only one option, I decided. I had to imagine what an astronaut might do if he were 9 years old, then do exactly the same thing. I could get started immediately. Would an astronaut eat his vegetables or have potato chips instead? Sleep in late or get up early to read a book?”

I think Chris’s book is beautifully honest and reminds me that are very few things in this world that we cannot achieve if we want to.

Have you let the seemingly impossible stand in your way?

Until next time,

Mr. K

Passion + talent + attention to detail = a Global Art Gathering in Brighton

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The Global Art Gathering 2015 is behind us, but the magic of the event lingers on. Rose Radtke takes a look back on why the event was special for her…

Usually, when I picture Brighton, I picture home. The familiarity of my little flat, a pebble beach remaining unchanged as the seasons come and go, the route I take to work and the shops and cafes I like to mooch around at the weekend. But now I look back on one week in June 2015, and I see Brighton differently. I see it through the eyes of a group of people who arrived in a sunny, quirky seaside town on the south coast of England, eagerly anticipating exploring a new place and meeting long-distance friends in person for the first time.

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This group of people are special. Led by Lilla and her lovely team (including husband Andy, son Jacob and daughter Natasha), they radiated positivity from the moment they set foot on British soil. They saw Brighton sparkling in the sunlight, and sought out treasure in the little shops that line the North Laines. While we obsessed over whether the weather was on the turn, they obsessed over our British accents and reveled in our polite, gentle culture.

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A whole week was festooned with new people, group shopping trips and VIP events, but the main Global Art Gathering event, held at the Brighton Dome, was undoubtedly where the real magic happened. With artists from the UK meeting those from as far afield as Australia and New Zealand in person for the very first time, you could feel it in the air from the moment we opened the doors.

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As I watched so many women (and one man!) join forces, I was struck by how different this event was to any conference I’d been to before. Instead of suits people wore colour and big smiles, and instead of business cards they exchanged compliments. I suddenly understood the power of this community that exists in the most part online, but sets a room alight when they come together. Even though I’m not an artist, that week I felt like one. And seeing those women living their passion made me more determined than ever to seek out my own.

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Some really hard work went in to making this event happen. That much you could tell from the careful details on each table, the surprise envelopes hidden under each chair and the stage set up as a cosy living room. The attention to detail combined with the talented speakers and the passion of the crowd made the event so worthwhile for all those who’d travelled from far and wide.

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I’m sure the Global Art Gathering 2015 will stick in my mind for many years to come. And I hope I’ll continue to draw on the magic I became a part of. Next time I’m feeling a little deflated I’ll cast my mind back to that special day and remember that I have passion, talent and thoughtfulness somewhere deep inside me.

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Where does your mind take you when you need a lift? Is there a person, or a tribe, that continues to inspire you even when you’re not together?

All images by Debbie Joliff

 

How my book became an Amazon best seller

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Alastair Humphries

 

This is a guest post by adventurer, author and motivational speaker Alastair Humphreys. Find out more about Alastair here.

 

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The day you finish writing your book is not the day your book is finished. Nor is it the day the book is published and you gaze with a mixture of relief, disbelief, pride and trepidation on the book in your hand. Your book! At last!

Now you need to sell your book. This requires at least as much work, and is almost as important, as crafting your beautiful manuscript was in the first place.

My book Microadventures, reached #12 on the chart for all books sold on Amazon UK. To put this in context, my long-time most popular book, Moods of Future Joys, is currently sitting at 33,365 in the book rankings!

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Here are a few things to consider that will help you boost your sales on Amazon.

1. How does your book, and how do you, the author, look on the site?

How good is your Amazon author page? Get your photo, bio and Twitter feed all up to date on there.

How good is the book page itself? Can you ‘Look Inside’ the book? Are there plenty of images available (where appropriate)? Are there enough? Is the description of the book as good as it could be? Look at the books of your competitors to see how you match up.

If you have several versions of the same book available (paperback and Kindle, for example), get them consolidated onto one page. Fix any inconsistencies. Having random rubbish appear when people search for you and your books damages your brand equity. Yes I did just write “brand equity”!

2. Make sure the book is very “discoverable” 

People search for books in two way, so you need to focus on both things. These are:

Search: What keywords are people going to type in to find your book? Amazon explains it well: “Please include any words customers would use to search for your product on search engines that aren’t already in your item title attributes – brand name, model name, target audience, product description, size, size unit of measurement or colour name.” You can get idea of the stuff that people search for by typing in a word to the Amazon search box. Amazon then drops down lots of suggestions. Nab these. Then write the word followed by ‘a’ to get the popular second words beginning with ‘a’. Then do it for ‘b’ and so on… (Thanks, Jo, for this tip!)

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Dual Noding: Also known as “finding your book in more than one area”. Look at the list of topics on the left of the page here. Could your book fit into more than one category?  Where might the customer reasonably search for your book? There are a bazillion sub-categories to all of these things too.  You obviously want to be in the right category. But bear in mind that if you can become a best-seller in a tiny, random category then you can more or less claim your book to be best-selling without feeling too much of a fraud. Clearly every book ever written claims to be best-selling so I wouldn’t hold too much in store from this dubious honour!

See what random categories my book has ended up in:

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3. Casting the net wide

I should have (but haven’t) tried to get the book on Audible.

4. Reviews

If you are an Amazon customer yourself you will know how you respond to items that have lots or not many reviews. Which do you prefer? My personal preference is for books that have lots of reviews, but not when the reviews have blatantly all just been written by the authors friends with an instant 5-star rating.

When Microadventures came out I worked really hard to get people to review the book. I asked – a lot – on social media. I probably annoyed people by doing it too much. I didn’t ask them to write a good review, I asked for an honest review. I didn’t just want 50 identical 5-star reviews from my friends. I believed that the book was good and that the reviews would genuinely be good. So I was willing to accept a few bad ones too, if necessary. Like this 1-star review I got.

5. Rally your tribe

Amazon takes note of spikes of sales: sudden sharp bursts of activity are more likely to get your book zooming up the charts than a steady trickle of sales. You need to rally your tribe – your friends, family, blog readers, social media followers and beg, plead, order them to buy your book on one certain date. Don’t do this lightly – it’s quite annoying for them. But people are willing to tolerate you hassling them like this if you’ll built up a rapport and a store of goodwill. Here’s how I did it for Microadventures. I went so far as to offer one of my other books for free as an incentive.

I am certainly not an expert about any of this stuff, so I would welcome any thoughts and suggestions you might have.

Good luck!

8 ways to identify your passions and purpose

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As Confucius said, “choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.” It’s great advice, but it’s not always that simple. Discovering what you want to do in life is, for many people, a life-long pursuit. Yet when you do eventually find your passion it is like finding your personal guide to happiness. You feel motivated, inspired, and so much clearer about what your next steps in life should be.

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If you know you want to do what you love, but you’re not sure what that is, here are our top tips for pinpointing your passions:

1. Take a trip down memory lane

Often, our truest passions emerge in childhood, only to be squelched by real life pressures. So think about what you loved doing when you were little. Did you love animals? Taking care of people? Storytelling? Playing shopkeeper? Drawing? Painting? Speaking French? Revisiting these things could be the key to unlocking big dreams and doing what you love.

2. Relax your mind

When slow down and still our minds we listen to our inner voice and reconnect with our true authentic selves. Practicing yoga or Tai Chi each day, walking in nature, meditating and taking time to chill out, can help us find the answers we’re looking for.

3. Think about what makes you special 

No one else has your personality and your unique combination of talents, wisdom, strengths, skills, and creativity. Identifying what sets you apart and what comes easily and naturally to you will take you a step closer to doing what you love. Remember that we are all here for a reason and we all have our own light to shine on the world.

4. Find the themes

What themes seem to show up aregularly in your life? What are you drawn to time and time again? What areas of your life are full of joy and light? When we recognise and acknowledge the re-ocurring patterns in our life, we can begin to understand what they are teaching us and act on them to take us closer to doing what we love.

5. Figure out what excites and energizes you?

“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.” ~ Oprah Winfrey

What do you most look forward to in day-to-day life? What makes you smile? What activities leave you feeling mentally refreshed and energized? What hobbies see you losing track of time? Can you make a career out of this, so your passion can become your day job?

6. Think big, think positive and believe

If we are continually telling ourselves we can’t, then we will never believe we can. You can create affirmations, focus on the things you want, or make a vision board that shows your future success.

7. Forget about the money

If money were limitless, what would you be doing? Remember that being happy is not the same as being rich – you can always scale back. Focus on your interests and your passions, even if they seem farfetched; doing something you love will make you happier than being paid for doing something you hate. More on this at 5 Reasons You Should Never Work for Money.

8. Trust synchronicity and take action!

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” ~ Milton Berle

When we trust our gut feelings and invite something new into our lives it can trigger a series of events that can, potentially, change our lives. For instance it was taking a calligraphy class that inspired Steve Jobs to start Apple. You’ll never know if you like something unless you give it a try so stop finding excuses and go for it! Learn a language, sign up for a class or course, try a sport you’ve never played before, become a volunteer for a cause you feel strongly about, or start the business plan you’ve been dreaming about, and it will take you another step closer to finding your passion.

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The Do What You Love e-course will help you identify your passion and purpose. If you know it’s time to make a major change in your life – if you are seeking personal, professional or financial freedom and need support to find your way – don’t miss it! The course starts next week so find out more and register here.