Project Simplify » The Weekly Simplifier #18 – Inspired. Informed. Amused. (We Hope.)

The Weekly Simplifier #18 – Inspired. Informed. Amused. (We Hope.)

Welcome to The Weekly Simplifier, brought to you by…

1. A Note From The Editors
2. Quote of the Week
3. Article: Why Your Business Needs a Peer-led MasterMind
4. This Week’s Simplification Tip
5. In the News & On the Web
6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com
7. Keep Smiling

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1. A Note From The Editors

Inspired, informed, and amused. This is how we hope to leave you with each Newsletter. The Weekly Simplifier is the first regular publication of Project Simplify, and it has been an affirming adventure. There can be as many formats as newsletters—what to include? Here is a brief explanation of why the newsletter is the way it is—and then a very serious question for you: How can our goal best meet your goals? We have the luxury of flexibility…

The Quote: there are so many wonderful thinkers and ideas to ponder! Looking outside of the mundane is to tease the mind.
The Article allows for a more in-depth exploration of a subject. So, for example, instead of just having a tip “put together a Mastermind group”, the narrative style will hopefully take you on a journey to get a better feeling for the importance of developing such a group.
Tip of the week was included to make sure that even if you only had time for a quick read, you could get a helpful pointer.
In the News is included so you can see what else is happening in the world in the vein of Simplification. Sometimes it helps to hear information from a different source.
Featured at ProjectSimplify.com is there to let you know what else we have to offer beyond the newsletter.
Keep Smiling is intended to give you a chuckle, or at least leave you in a better mood than when you began reading.

Inspire. Inform. Amuse.

How can we better achieve this goal for you? Hit “Reply” and let us know—or use our Contact Us page.
Thanks in advance for your input!

Editors,
Shawn Tuttle
Lance Brown

2. Quote of the Week

“In simplicity there is truth.”

-River Phoenix

3. Article: Why Your Business Needs a Peer-led MasterMind

Guest article by Mark Silver

My friend Ken, who teaches at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine, describes the ‘Big Gulp’ that most new doctors face.

The ‘Big Gulp’ is what happens when the new doctor has been through years of school, amassed a six-figure medical school debt, and graduated with her friends and colleagues. She excitedly rents a space to open her medical practice, hangs out her shingle, and waits for clients.

Gulp. Big Gulp.

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Even if you aren’t a doctor, I bet you know the Big Gulp.
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There are a lot of reasons for the Big Gulp- lack of business knowledge, lack of marketing knowledge, fear of failure, financial pressures, fear of failing her patients, even fear of success.

But, as a doctor might say, those are just symptoms. They aren’t the true cause of the Big Gulp.

What’s really happened is our young doctor friend has been kicked out of the nest to fly on her own. She’s spent years with mentors, colleagues, classmates, clinics, and study
groups, learning and growing the whole time. Can you imagine becoming a doctor, a good doctor, a confident doctor, using a home study course?

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The Big Gulp is really about isolation and lack of support.
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The trouble is that while there are many different ways to get support, only certain kinds of support really work to move you forward. The support that many business owners end up getting falls into one of two categories:

–Knowledge acquisition.
This includes books, CDs, even live classes. But it’s all information, and doesn’t actually give you the support to integrate knowledge and follow-through with it.

–Maintenance support.
Maintenance support is a shoulder to cry on. Friends who will commiserate with you about your situation. An empathetic colleague.

I’m a big believer in both of these- you should get plenty of them. But, on their own, they won’t move your business forward. So, what will?

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Enter: The MasterMind
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A MasterMind is a peer-led group that comes together to combine some elements of information and maintenance support, but also has what I call ‘Progressive Support.’ Progressive support includes a critical element: compassionate accountability.

Compassionate accountability comes from folks you trust enough to be able to tell you the truth, to nudge you forward, to support you moving into uncomfortable areas of learning and application.

Compassionate accountability is NOT what drill sergeants dish out, nor is it what your nightmare coach from whatever high school sport you tortured yourself with did to you. :)

You can get Progressive Support from certain types of classes, and I recommend taking those classes (heck, that’s why I offer them myself. Plus, I’m taking one with another teacher, too.)

But, don’t rely on classes as the be-all, end-all. Instead, you want a peer-led MasterMind group.

There are three simple reasons why you want a MasterMind group as a foundation in your business.

It’s free.
Classes cost money. Money is an important element in any business, and there are many things you need to invest in. But, getting your basic, foundational support for free as a
give and take with trusted colleagues builds a whole different level of relationship.
It can last forever.
What if a class you are taking ends and you don’t find another one? A Mastermind group can last for years, and provide consistency and perspective no matter what you are learning, or what your business is needing.
It’s peer-led.
In a class situation, you are paying someone to lead. But, as a business owner, you need certain strengths in leadership. A peer-led group gives you the opportunity to both lead and be led. It develops needed aspects that may never come up when you are paying someone to lead you.

My MasterMind group is the biggest key to why my business has been so successful. Without my MasterMind, I can name at least a dozen major successes (including finishing my book, and getting the Business Oasis up and running) that wouldn’t have happened, or would’ve taken a LOT longer without that support.

So, I hope I’ve convinced you. Let me give you some pointers to starting your own Mastermind.

Although the MasterMind for the Heart booklet goes into much more detail, here are some starting points.

The People

Obviously, without members, you aren’t anywhere. You don’t need more than four, and you should look for the following characteristics:

You like them.
Their business is in -roughly- (very roughly) the same place as yours.
They have skills, abilities and knowledge that are outside your experience.

The Commitment

You will want to make at least a one-year initial commitment. A MasterMind is a living, breathing organic structure, and it will take time to get through the bumps. Don’t expect miracles from the get-go.

But, by making a one-year commitment, you’ll be able to get into a groove with each other.

The Structure

My own MasterMind combines partnering up one-on-one for individual help, as well as our group conference calls. And the daily check-in done on a private forum.

Incorporate those three structures: group meetings, individual one-on-one time, and a convenient place for a quick daily check-in, and you’ve got a lot of the basics in place.

Now, stop doing it all alone, and go ye forth and MasterMind.

My very best to you and your business,
Mark Silver
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4. This Week’s Simplification Tip

Ready-to-Send Emails

If you have any information that gets sent out on-demand via email, you can use the drafts folder of your email program to store that information. Here are some examples:

eInvoices
directions to your office or home
general interest inquires
FAQs
“How my service works” (for service providers)

Often I take the copy for these emails from one that I’ve already sent to someone. Taking a few minutes to make the email communication clear, comprehensive, and well-formatted pays off every time I send it in the future.

Of course many of these may still need a little personalization, and that’s what makes this system so helpful. By having the bulk of the information ready to go, you are encouraged to spend a few moments customizing the email without being worried that you might be forgetting something.

Here are the basic steps for crafting your ready-to-send emails:

create a new mail message
enter all relevant info
save as a Draft
when you need it, go to the Drafts folder and Copy the message (so that you leave one in the Drafts folder)
open up the copied message, customize and send!

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Spread simplicity – forward The Weekly Simplifier to your friends and colleagues!
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5. In the News & On the Web

If you know of something in the news or on the web that should be featured here, let us know!

In The News

Time management for your livelihood (Entrepreneur.com)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/n7lq6
This article uses a variation on the “rocks in a jar” metaphor—different-sized “bricks” to build with—to help describe how to break your day’s time up into chunks in the most effective way you can.

Prioritizing is the key to staying organized (The Star Tribune – Minneapolis-St.Paul)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/nd4bx
This review of the new book It’s About Time by Schar Ward includes some “common-sense, homespun advice” from the author. And of course, it emphasizes prioritizing as the number one step toward getting and staying organized.

Electronically Organized (Philadelphia Enquirer)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/rf5zz
While author Schar Ward disses electronic organizers in the above article, this one talks about how more and more families are using an increasing selection of software-based calendaring and scheduling tools to keep things flowing smoothly—and with successful results. It’s an extensive look at the options and possibilities.

6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com

“Project: Simplify” Posters

We’ve just recently added some gorgeous new printable posters to our posters page, so it seems like an opportune time to introduce that particular feature of our site. And frankly, they speak for themselves. Here are two of the new designs:

Our posters page has printable PDFs of these designs, and two others, in both full page and 4-to-a-page versions.
Now you can beautify your home or office (or car!) while reminding yourself of the “core message”, and spreading the word about ProjectSimplify.com.
That’s called a win-win-win situation: you win, we win, and your visual environment wins. Makes me feel like I’m hanging out with a bunch of winners—sweet!

Here is the URL for our posters page: http://projectsimplify.com/freebies/project-simplify-posters/
You can also find a link to it under Special Features in the site’s sidebar.

7. Keep Smiling

The Future of Communication: The AOLer Translator

A lot of people fear that the Internet Age is going to leave us a legacy of semi-illiterate people who type with their thumbs, communicating in bizarre abbreviations and code words while they “text” and “IM” each other. And a lot of people may be right.

If they are, and “12-year-old AOLer” is the language of the future, here’s hoping that those folks will be using their strange new language to talk about organization and the philosophy of simplicity. :-) Here’s a sampling of what that might sound like, courtesy of The AOLer Translator.

Here’s a quote from this week’s guest article:

Compassionate accountability comes from folks you trust enough to be able to tell you the truth, to nudge you forward, to support you moving into uncomfortable areas of learning and application.

Compassionate accountability is NOT what drill sergeants dish out, nor is it what your nightmare coach from whatever high school sport you tortured yourself with did to you. :)

And here’s the AOLer translation:

COMPASIONAET ACOUNTABILITY COMAS FROM FOLKS U TRUST ENOUGH 2 B ABLA 2 TEL U DA TRUTH 2 NUDGE U FORWARD 2 SUPORT U MOVNG IN2 UNCOMFORTABLE AERAS OF LAARNNG AND APLICATION
COMPASIONAET!!1111 WTF LOL ACOUNTABILITY SI NOT WUT DRIL SERGEANTS DISH OUT NOR SI IT WUT UR R COACH FROM WUT HIGH SKOOL SPORT U 2RTURED U WIT DID 2 U!!1!1!1! LOL )

Here’s a quote from our own Shawn Tuttle (in the article “Clearing Space for the Best of You“):

Every day and in every conversation we share our stories with each other. When our minds are clear, we more readily tell rich stories of inspiration, good-will, ideas and plans from the heart. When we have a lot on our mind, we tend to ‘process’ out loud.

…and the AOLer version:

AVERY DAY AND IN AVERY CONV3RSATION WE R OUR S2REIS WIT AACH OTHER!!!1!!!!! OMG WTF LOL WHEN OUR MINDS R CLAAR WA MORE RAADILEY TAL RICH S2REIS OF INSPIRATION GOD-WIL IEDAS AND PLANS FROM DA H3ART!!1111 LOL WH3N W3 HAEV A LOT ON OUR MIND WA T3ND 2 ‘PROC3S’ OUT LOUD!11!!

Say a brief prayer for the future—and check out the AOLer Translator for a good laugh on the way there. :-)

Here’s the URL: http://ssshotaru.homestead.com/files/aolertranslator.html

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Thanks for reading – see you next week!

Publication Information
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The Weekly Simplifier is published by:

Project Simplify
P.O. Box 597
Nevada City, CA 95959
phone: 530.205.5775
web: www.projectsimplify.com
e-mail: newsletter@projectsimplify.com