The Latest on The Freedom Tour

I have to say when I first heard about Laura Roeder’s course Creating Fame I was curious about the title.

In my experience if fame is your primary goal, a lot of other things can go by the wayside like the quality of your work, being of service, and creative expression.

Luckily I know Laura personally I really respect her business acumen, the way she’s grown her brand, and how much practical content and wisdom she puts out into the world. So, I decided to get that girl on Skype and find out what was behind her Creating Fame product.

Tune in to our Glimpse TV episode to find out how online business maven Laura Roeder is turning conventional business wisdom on its head, what’s the most important thing for you to do in order to become an online expert in your field, and how Laura manages to never work at night or on the weekends (what?!).

***Note: The Skype video has a very artistic quality between the framing, lighting, and somewhat frequent video freezing. I’ve always been passionate about combining business with art. Enjoy!***

Here’s the link to Laura’s video on “The Day When Her Worst Fear Ever Came True” that she mentions in our video.

Find out more about Laura’s program for becoming the go-to person in your field: Creating Fame.

Tweet about this to share the love!

Watch this before you get famous: @lkr and @katenorthrup on #GlimpseTV: bit.ly/rGI3xS

What is Creating Fame really about? @lkr and @katenorthrup tell all on #GlimpseTV: http://bit.ly/rGI3xS

Find out how to be the “go-to-person” in your field w/ @lkr + @katenorthrup on #GlimpseTV: http://bit.ly/rGI3xS

 More Laura:

www.twitter.com/lkr

www.twitter.com/GetTheDash

Get The Dash, Laura’s super-practical weekly newsletter for building your biz online.

***I'm a very proud affiliate of Creating Fame. ***

At my college reunion over Memorial Day weekend this year I was standing with a group of friends when a really cute, clean-cut guy started walking towards me smiling as if he knew me. As he approached I quickly flipped through my internal Rolodex trying to find him in there somewhere. It wasn’t until he got close enough to realize I didn’t recognize him that he said, “Kate, its Tyler Gage.” My mind static suddenly focused in on one, clear frequency and I remembered him immediately. Except the last time I had seen him, five years earlier, he had long hair, played Varsity soccer, was possibly the most spiritually open person I’d ever met, and was super “Californian”, complete with a lot of “dude” and a bit of a Valley guy vibe. Soon after meeting Tyler during my senior year when he was a freshman, he disappeared and I hadn’t seen him since.

The dapper, confident young man in front of me that day was still open and incredibly present, but nonetheless transformed. Between a chat on the green and a few meals on his trips through New York, I came to learn that Tyler had stopped playing soccer and left Brown to live in South America. There he began to study shamanism and became deeply connected with and inspired by the indigenous people he was hanging out with. His travels and adventures led him to Ecuador where he discovered a tea made from the guayusa leaf and a little over a year ago Tyler started Runa Amazon Guayusa. (Runa means “fully living being” in the indigenous Kichwa language.)

Tyler is one of the most effective, visionary, socially, and environmentally conscious entrepreneurs I know. Being a young entrepreneur myself, it can get a little old when people coo about my age in relationship to my business. But I find myself doing the same about Tyler. He’s a twenty-four year old president of an up and coming beverage company (which will be on shelves in Whole Foods this fall). He’s partnered with the Ecuadorian government, as well as other influential and powerful investors and advisors. He’s leading employees, farmers, suppliers, advisors, partners, and more. And he’s managed to do it all with sustainability and consciousness as the heartbeat of the organization. Plus he’s a student of Shamanism and his spiritual beliefs infuse his business practices. How amazing is that?! Guaranteed you’ll be seeing more of Tyler and Runa in the future. The other day Tyler swung through New York on his way from Ecuador to Providence and we had a chat in Central Park about the amazing things that he’s up to. Enjoy!

***Visit www.runa.org and use the discount code GlimpseTV for 25% off your tea order.***

Tea, Shamanism, and Sustainability: Glimpse TV with Runa President, Tyler Gage from Kate Moller on Vimeo.

Note: This is not my bottom.

I’m a solopreneur and I make my own schedule. The other day I was talking with my coach about exercise. We were coming up with promises I could stick to in terms of moving my body several times a week. She suggested I do more cardio. I suggested I didn’t have time. She suggested I was making excuses. I agreed.

The reality is, I own my time. I’m extremely grateful for this. Many people ask me what’s the best thing about owning my own business. My answer is the best AND the worst thing about having my own business is that I have no boss. No one tells me what to do except me. It’s a beautiful thing to be in charge of my time and myself. It also sometimes really sucks . . . like when I’m feeling lazy or cranky or bratty. There are times when we all need to be told what to do. There are times when it actually is a huge relief when someone tells me what to do. I make decisions all day long and my deciding muscle is really strong. Sometimes she needs a rest. Sometimes she needs to surrender to the brilliance of another human being. (This is one of the reasons I hired a coach. Yes, I pay someone to be my boss.)

The hilarious thing about my excuse to my coach about not having time to exercise is that I said it as though someone other than me is behind the wheel. I know how importance exercise (daily, if possible) is to my overall well-being. I practice personal growth as a business-building strategy and I know how much more smoothly things go in my business life when I feel good. Exercise makes me feel good. When I feel good, I do good business. Therefore, moving my body is theoretically an important piece of my business plan.

And yet, so frequently it seems more important to clean out my inbox than to head to yoga class. I get very focused on a single task (such as writing a blog post like this one) and I deep-six the workout because in that moment my productivity, or bottom line, seems more important. It seems like I should spend as much of my time on income-generating activities as possible. After all, who am I if I’m not uber-productive and doing all the time? (This is a rhetorical question which shall most likely be answered in a future post.)

The great irony is that working my bottom in the gym actually improves my bottom line. I tout the business benefits of feeling good and making sure that one’s own cup is full before serving others because you can’t give of an empty cup. There is a part of me that knows doing a Sun Salutation instead of writing one last email actually makes me money, albeit indirectly. I do a Sun Salutation (or several along with a whole bunch of other postures, leaving me sweaty, blissed out, in my body, and stretched) and I feel better; I get on the phone with a potential team member and I sound uplifting, fun, and happy; they want to join my business to feel that way, too, and my business grows, along with my bottom line. (Plus my bottom gets a good work out too.)

What I’m saying is that there are so many things that we can do as entrepreneurs to grow our bottom line that don’t actually look like “work.” The intangibles are often the most valuable assets a business has; a brand’s attractiveness is often more energetic than palpable. And this attractiveness mostly comes from the people behind a brand. And you know what makes people happy, and therefore more attractive? Exercise. And meditating. And eating healthy food, going for walks, sitting in the sun, taking bubble baths, laughing, spending time with loved ones, laying in the grass, skinny dipping, having sex, taking naps. Are any of those “income generating”? Well, I suppose it depends on what line of work you’re in, but I know I don’t generate income directly from any of those activities (with the exception of spending time with loved ones because I genuinely do love the people I’m blessed to be in business with).

If you’re a business owner, or even if you’re not, the next time you’re looking to increase your bottom line, think outside the spreadsheet. Look to things that bring you pleasure. Research sustainable activities that release endorphins in the brain (i.e., activities besides consuming drugs, alcohol, and sugar, which is not sustainable). Add pleasure to your business plan. Work your bottom to grow your bottom line. Take a nap to increase your net worth. Have some fun to become financially free.

Your bottom or your bottom line? The answer, I think, is both.

(Thank you for reading. I wrote this post as a reminder to myself that work-related busy-ness is not necessarily next to Godliness.)

This post is part of Bindu Wiles’ 21.5.800 project.