Liscarpenter.com

I guess I should be sorry that it took me months to get this interview up but I’m not, ’cause now it’s twice as exciting and functional for you.

Interview Highlights

“Office Rebel” 0:24
…professionalism outside of the box
…the best kind of personal branding

“The Famous Four Pound Business Card” 1:18
…what I’m about
…minimalism
…carbon neutral?

“The Story Behind Exilelifestyle.com” 2:23
…a mobile business model
…rearranging priorities, a million now or overseas
…journalism student missing writing
…my readers vote where I go next because
…it’s about the challenge

“Colin’s Advice to Students” 4:35
…number one, be very selective about what you study
…go into technology, communications, business, and/or marketing
…diversify, don’t focus on one field

“Colin On Entrepreneurship” 5:55
…do something you like because…(did you notice me grimace?)
…books that have helped you start your mobile business
…thoughts on the 4HWW
…I work very few hours that I don’t enjoy

“Colin’s Choice of Clients” 8:20
…my clients trust me
…fashion mags, eco-sustainability businesses

(…yeah I finally went with low-resolution after this upload failed multiple times.)

Interview Highlights

“Colin’s Travel Secrets” 0:01
…tourist visas and boarder hoppers
…check the embassy

“Colin’s Plans for 2010″ 1:46
…New Zealand
…a new book
…Exilelifestyle.com is my excuse to do crazy stuff
…write books, get speech engagements

“The way I network” 4:06
…party networking?

“Creating Products” 4:53
…the Goodies Section
…people requested wallpapers, my illustrations on t-shirts, books

“I Can’t Act…” 6:21
…do a YouTube Series please
…pitches from television networks declined

“Next Stops…” 6:55
…Estero to Los Angeles
…Los Angeles to New York
…New York to Los Angeles
…Los Angeles to Sydney
…Sydney to Christchurch (holla!)

Some of the Backstory

You certainly can’t forget meeting Colin Wright. The day that I was supposed to be meeting him I was running late, so naturally, I just sped all the way there. I arrived in the area on time only to get lost. I was following Google directions that led me to some retirement community instead of the Coconut Point Mall in Estero. So, I wasted about 30 minutes of his time, and he was more than nice about it as I sent texts (while driving) about being lost. Unfortunately, he was not able to help me find the mall because he didn’t know the area. Then luckily, I got low on gas and stopped to refuel. When I stopped, I asked for directions to the mall only to find out that it was two minutes down the road. If I would have kept driving for two minutes after the retirement community I would have found the mall!

So I arrive there (at Starbucks) and walk around. I was thinking geez all these ritzy folk, this is nothing like my town. I round the corner and there’s Colin with his i-Pod and fancy brown carrier bag. Play it cool. Play it cool. I was hyperventilating because this was the same guy I had seen in the Mixergy interview; high society. Don’t panick. Be cool. I managed to muster up a “Hey.” And right after that point, he greeted me with that crystal white smile, and all my anxieties melted away. Colin was cool peoples, and not mad at all that I was 30 minutes late. He helped me find a good shooting location, and then you would think that things would be cool from there, but no. I didn’t know how to use my video camera, and I didn’t have my interview questions.

So, Colin had to help me set up the camera and show me how to use it. And then, because I had brought a crappy old Dell laptop that wouldn’t start without an outlet, Colin offered his iPod so I could find the interview questions. The interview went relatively well, besides my weird expressions and staring at the people that walked by multiple times to listen in. After that came the most important lesson; Colin said he was not busy and that he had his whole afternoon open. My thoughts…a CEO not working on a work day, this is odd. This doesn’t normally happen folks! Colin had made time for small talk, that was the most important lesson. I was planning on jetting home right after the interview to finish my term papers, but I made time too.

We headed back over to Starbucks and Colin got his favorite doughnut (regular), and he got me some junk food from Starbucks too. And then we chatted about random stuff for a couple of hours. I have some of the videos from the rest of our conversation on my YouTube channel. When the sun started setting, I made the comment about it probably being time to go. Colin had walked to the mall. I know I was like, “walking?” Who does that? He was very nice and walked me to me car, and then he gestured inviting a hug. PANIC! No I don’t want to hug you, I’ll spontaneously combust! I give him a hug and tell him to be safe. So ends or begins the tale.

More Exciting Stuff!

I got a chance to be a contributor to Colin’s new book! So naturally I have to tell y’all about it, and yes this huge pic here leads to the page where you can buy it now. It’s an affiliate link, just so you know.

My Thoughts On Networking Awesomely

Let me be in the ranks of those that suggest an alternate title for this book:
Life Will Get Easier After Reading This Book
Yep, that should be the title, hands down. When you’re reading this book you can tell that Colin has done a lot of personal research on the topic of networking in every situation. Not to mention, the countless other stories and tips that are included on the topic. He gave one tip on how to make yourself a magnet to others, and it doesn’t even require “writing a book so you’re considered and expert” like I’ve heard so many times before.

The book is written in straight forward language that anyone should be able to understand. Trust me, when he breaks down many of the intricacies of social interactions you’ll be saying, “It can’t be that simple!” And then you’ll be saying, “This is pure genius!” I was also impressed by how beautiful the book was; the pictures were so vivid and each one told a little part of the story. If you need a laugh and you truly want to understand how to forge new and valuable relationships then you should pick up this book today.

What Others Are Saying About Networking Awesomely

“Colin’s book is actually about something far greater than networking–it’s about getting out there and learning how to become a mover and a shaker in order to proactively take control over your life.”

-Ash Ambirge of The Middle Finger Project

“Colin employs the help of countless other bloggers…the result is nothing short of remarkable.”

“Colin takes a look at effective networking techniques that are equal parts entertaining and practical. He not only shows how to network awesomely but points out many of the common pitfalls that people make by “networking douchebaggedly” [and I thought all the variations of douchebag had been uses up]. Colin employs the help of countless other bloggers to weigh in with their thoughts on networking & the result is something nothing short of remarkable.”

-Joel Runyon of Blog Of Impossible Things

“I…came out feeling like I’d just read an enthusiastic how-to guide on life.”

“Honestly? Networking Awesomely defied my expectations. I went in expecting a comprehensive manual on the intricacies of business networking, but came out feeling like I’d just read an enthusiastic how-to guide on life. Looking beyond the networking terminology, what you’ve crafted here reads like a pretty slick primer on just being awesome – being the kind of person who can captive a room and establish lasting friendships everywhere he goes.

-Matt Madeiro of MattMadiero.com

So How Do You Think Colin Did On Executing His Plans? And What’s Your Best Networking Tip?

Technorati Tags: how to socialize, lifestyle design

Okay, so I have been spending a lot of time examining my life introspectively. Brandon James‘ previous post created a great paradigm shift in the way I look at the world. After I read that post, it was clear to me that I was spending a lot of time working on my outside world but not focusing on how my inside world (emotions, thoughts, beliefs) was forming my outside world.

And after reading Scott Stratten‘s post today, I had to write this. I follow fun. I do what I enjoy, so I was working on this blog instead of having fun with it, therefore the uninspired dry spell ensued. What a relief to find out that Scott Stratten thinks that blogs should only be used for meaningful content, not just frequent posts for the search engines to rank it well!

---

Okay let me get to what I really wanted to write about.

Bruce Lee is one of my favorite philosophers.

I want to share some of my favorite quotes and how they have altered my way of thinking about the world.

“All knowledge ultimately means self knowledge.” -Bruce Lee
I believe that everything is connected. And I’ve been meditating on the idea that how you do one thing is how you do everything. I have been procrastinating a lot on school projects, but I have found that I can get around this when I involve others, but recently with some introspection I have discovered that I just like to write about things as a way of processing ideas. When I am able to articulate something on paper that I was thinking about getting around to, I generally end up with a plan on paper, and then I just naturally roll into starting that project. The lack of clarity on how I want to do the thing causes the procrastinating.

If you are procrastinating on something begin it in an unthreatening way. For some people this is through mind-maps. For me, it’s through writing about how I am feeling about doing the project and then writing out the actual steps that I complete things, but others love mapping things out.

“When you’re talking about fighting as it is with no rules, well then baby you better train every part of your body.” -Bruce Lee
Sounds like a lesson I have been learning about business management from entrepreneurs that create businesses as a way of life. Train your body and mind like an Olympic athlete because this is your big game, the big game of life.

Are you going to show up for your big game without practicing and eating right? Train every part of your body.

The Following Are Quotes From Bruce Lee’s book Tao of Jeet Kune Do:

Art calls for mastery of techniques, developed by reflection within the soul. -Bruce Lee
You are here to create. Only you should be in charge of making decisions for your life. Take counsel, but ultimately you must make the decisions based on your God-given intellect. I think living well is an art. Life is an art, and you are responsible for creating the masterpiece of your life. The mind is a paint brush, the canvass is the world. I’ve also heard it put this way. The mind is the rudder, the body is the ship. You decide your destination by steering your mind, moment by moment.

You are creating the masterpiece of your life, but remember that the tools are small. Pens, brushes, the mind, and lots of paper; they have the biggest impact.

All vague notions must fall before a pupil can call himself a master. -Bruce Lee
Don’t get away from a life of practice. Don’t get away from a life of play. Play around with ideas and things, and most of all practice at what you believe to be your calling (Your calling? Something that you would pay others to do.) Another great quote of Bruce’s that I am just going to paraphrase goes something like this: I fear not the man that has practiced a thousand kicks once, I fear the man that has practiced one kick a thousand times. I do not compare myself with others anymore. I compare myself with the image of my future self that I hold in my mind. You Are Unique. You Were Not Meant To Be A Carbon Copy. Don’t Be A Knock-Off; Be An Original (people pay more for an authentic original).

Do what you love, and be the best (IN YOUR EYES) at what you do in practice.

Art reaches its greatest peak when devoid of self-consciousness. Freedom discovers man the moment he looses concern over what impression he is making or about to make. -Bruce Lee
Kick that ego and assume the consciousness of a child. A child plays and is not conscious of what others may be thinking of how she or he looks when playing. The child thoroughly enjoys their play and believes it is the most important thing at the moment.

Seek only to impress yourself. Create what is pleasing to you, and live with a sense that no one should care.

My Conclusion: What we are doing is on the page before us. It is truth.
About this great marketing phrase, “It’s not your fault…” That is a lie. You are the cause; your world is the effect, and only you decide what is true. Your beliefs form your world. Choose them wisely my friend. Lies lead to suffering. There is a lie going around that a government should take care of low income earners (that comment should upset some people). But, when those people sign up for welfare they have less incentive to develop themselves. Why should they acquire the skills to make more money when they can just work at McDonald’s and take the welfare supplement.

So, if you’re saying well this is just life…chance happens to us all. You need to take some time and look inward. What have you chose to believe about what you can accomplish? Who have you chose to associate with? How have you decided to treat your physical body? (Live from the inside out. Get your thoughts right (I borrow ideas about the world from inventors). Get your body right (exercise and eat right). Get your finances straight (choose a business or career that you love). Set up an ideal social life (choose people that have the same goals, interests, and philosophies). I have the personal mantra that I only go where I am celebrated.

Read a page from your life. In fact, read all the pages. Don’t blame others for the decisions you make. Make your own decisions and adjust (your sails) as necessary. And one more bit of advice. The past does not exist (don’t dwell on past failures or accomplishments), neither does the future (do not be unnecessarily optimistic) , you are what you are doing now (focus on adjusting your daily activities to create the life you want). Make your moments count.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about how the world works. So please share. These are my beliefs formed by my experiences. It came across horribly dogmatic, but that’s just because they are beliefs. I don’t even consider them opinions. The closer you get to truth the easier life becomes.

Technorati Tags: Bruce Lee, lifestyle design