My perception of your integrity has plummeted. Slave driver. Who do you think you are? Unsubscribed. What an unloving tone. Tacky. What a great opportunity. I was just thinking of offering my services for an exchange. Sounds incredible. I can’t work for free, but what could we work out? I’d love to learn from you. Could be a magical trade. I’ll make this work. I’m in. I’d pay YOU to be your intern!

Chris Brogan had similar “comments/concerns/accusations” when he put a call out for an intern. My take-away from the response is essentially this:

Assumptions kill courage and creativity.

Assumptions squash opportunities before they fully present themselves. Assumptions hurt your chances, people’s feelings, and your pride. Assumptions will keep you right where you are. If you avoid assumptions, you can make more amazing things happen.

10 ANTIDOTES TO ASSUMPTIONS

(like most things, this applies to livelihood and love):

1. Inquire. Is this 2 hours a week or 20 hours a week? (It’s up to you.)
2. Assert your genuine self. I’d love to do XYZ. (Great! I only want you to do what you love. It’s better for everybody.)
3. Make declarations. I’m in! (Excellent. Enthusiasm is gorgeous.)
4. Ask for access. May I sit in on your tele-meetings with Random House? (Absolutely. That team will blow your mind!) Can I read that plan? (Already sent you the password.)
5. Ask for money. Can I get paid? (Of course. I was wondering if you’d ask.)
6. Have bigger vision. It doesn’t help a potential mentor or love-match for you to say, “I’m all these great qualities.” You need to demonstrate your understanding of the brand/the person, and some forward thinking. Be the entrepreneur, the woo’er. Bigger vision shakes you out of small thinking and magnetizes people to you.
7. Think long term. Love upfront pays off later.
8. Be generous. Generous people attract generosity.
9. Be obsessed with improving everything you touch.
10. Use trust as a strength. I trust that if I give, I’ll get.
11. Pour it ON. As my own mentor always says, “It’s ‘Give and take.’ Not, ‘Take, then give.’”
12. Live from a place of possibility. Possibility thinking is the singular most powerful weapon against limiting assumptions. And more is possible if you think it is.

This is the price of admission to something great. It’s almost always worth it. And you never stop doling out your admission fees, no matter how successful you are.

Charlie Hoehn does a great job of selling “free.”

. . . . . .

subject line: I’m looking for an intern

you will: work for free until June 1. work could range from grunt tech uploading, to bartending, to high level marketing maneuvers, to styling.

I will: teach you how to make a lot of big, meaningful, profitable stuff happen.

If you think you’re the one, tell me — or show me — what you’d do to help me get where you think I should go.
email: danielle@daniellelaporte.com by Thursday January 19. please: no further questions, no DM’s, no Facebook messages.

I’ll announce if the position has been filled by Friday January 27 via my Facebook fan page and Twitter.
cheers,
Danielle

. . . . . .

CHECK IT OUT!
Your Big Beautiful Book Plan Teleseminar + Twitter Party
Wednesday, January 18th, 2011 at 9pm EST/ 6pm PST
Sponsored by Karl from PartyBizConnect.com
5 copies of YBBBP ($150 each) will be gifted to happy tweeters.

CLICK HERE FOR SIGN UP INFO.

And yep — it’s free.

How to accomplish great things quickly: when quick n’ dirty is totally genius: fast can make something that lasts. Don’t censor your passion in the name of practicality. Believe. Trust. Lock into your deadlines, SET THAT BAR HIGHER AND FOCUS…

Playground problem solving: 4 pithy, rock solid truths that can be applied to pretty much anything… by my sage 7 year old. STEP #1: BE BRAVE…

In honour of the fact that life is short: ecstatic sex, quitting, and wearing your best: Don’t tuck your best away in drawers, in the back of the closet, or in your heart. Stop waiting for that special occasion. Let your work flow from divine inclination. Disregard the haters (and the TV). FIERCELY LOVE YOUR TRUTH, FACE FORWARD, FORGE AHEAD…

Falling into your joy: a winter solstice love letter with a soundtrack: A letter from me to you, complete with a tune list. Fiery passion, fresh ink, fresh products and big dreams. I should be exhausted — but I’m broken open with gratitude. TUMBLE INTO IRRESISTABLE BLISS…

A prayer for expectation addicts: show up. Shine. Let it go.: A sermon on presence, and how expectations can shrink your shine. A prayer I came up with in those stressful hours between meetings, hustling my weightiest dreams. When the dreaming, scheming, strategizing, and praying are over: release the need to expect. Expectation liberation is the new black. STYLE UP…

3 conversations on fear wrangling, entrepreneuring your life, and as always, love: A collection of lovely, laughing interviews with a few of my favorite people. We’re discussing fear of failure, dealing with saboteurs and how fear can be useful. TUNE IN…

And last, but most certainly not least… timelessly blessing now (a poem for starting and continuing)

Love now.

If you’re seeing this note, then pay-what-you-can day is officially OVER. Thanks for playing. It was … immense.

You can still grab a copy of THE SPARK KIT (formerly titled: The Fire Starter Sessions) right here, at full price ($150 USD).

Or, choose True Strengths + the Metrics of Ease, the $20 sample chapter.

Either product scores you an invite to my affiliate program (score!) … and both are jam-packed with business-building acumen, love + resources galore.

And! I have a new space on the site, White Hot Freebies. I’ll be launching resources, worksheets, audios and other such edu-inspiring tools about once a month. Have at it.

with a great + full heart,

. . . . . .

the heretofore mentioned event…now over…went like this:

Wednesday May 25 is my birthday. I will be reading some Seneca under a tree, and envisioning sparks of love flying across the universe…because it’s

PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN-DAY!

(and I have some free stuff to give. Read on.)

Before you belly up to the bar with your offer, I have an important announcement to make—a name change. Next spring, a wildly-new edition of The Fire Starter Sessions will be published in print, all book n’ (hopefully) best-seller like. It will have far less marketing advice, no online SEO bloggy lingo, and more real life love stories. To prevent market confusion between the current digital edition for entrepreneurs, and the new print edition for “life”, I’m re-naming the digi biz edition to…

THE SPARK KIT:
A digital experience for entrepreneurs
from meaning to marketing

Gotta roll with it. Same content, refreshed resources! Same rave reviews.

Now, without further furtherness, let’s get this party ON!

the deal + directions:

1. For 24 hours only – until midnight PST May 25 — pay what you can for THE SPARK KIT. This offer applies only to The SPARK KIT (ahem, formerly titled The Fire Starter Sessions.)
2. Leave a comment in the comments box and tell me what price would make your heart smile. IF YOU CAN’T SEE THE COMMENTS BOX BELOW THE POST, CLICK ON THE TITLE OF THE POST.
3. Click the big orange PAY n’ SPARK button (below — can’t miss it, right?), stroll through the PayPal steps, and pay what you are willing and able to (it will show up in PayPal as a “donation”.)
4. If you’re not inclined to publicly declare that your Mastercard is maxed and you’d like to, say, mail me three postdated cheques over the summer, well then, we’ll just make it happen. In that case, please contact alexandra@themanifestoofencouragement.com and we’ll make arrangements.
5. Once you pay, or make arrangements to do so, we’ll zap you the access code to The KIT. You’ll need to download it within 24 hours of receiving the link.
6. You go light up your life and career.

statements + feelies:

: THE SPARK KIT retails for $150 USD.
: If you already have the program and would like to gift it to someone at a pay-what-you-can rate, go for it.
: This birthday offer is not retroactive. Even if you bought it yesterday.
: Anything less than $20, especially if you’re using a credit card via PayPal, is well, let’s just say you can probably come up with at least that much. Karma is in effect.
: I will take multiple payments over time (this works on the honour system. If you want to pay, say, $30 in three installments, PayPal will allow you to do that.)
: For those of you who do not jive with PayPal or credit cards, you can mail a money order or a cheque (that’s Canadian for “check”) to: Danielle LaPorte, 1424 Commercial Drive, PO Box 21780, Vancouver BC, V5L 3X0

Repeat: this offer expires at midnight PST May 25, just like my birthday does. And I’m serious about it. If you’re out of town, if you missed this email in your inbox…then the opportunity will have vanished. I like things, especially money things, elegant and simple (and generous.)

Make a wish! And and make me an offer…

With all the love in my heart,

p.s. Oh! free stuff!

I have a new space on the site, White Hot Freebies. I’ll be launching resources, worksheets, audios and other such edu-inspiring tools about once a month, starting TODAY. Have at it.

When you enter into the deal making phase — from real estate to intellectual property, from gigs to partnerships, it’s like heading into a dark tunnel. The Deal Tunnel. It’s narrowing (and harrowing), it’s mysterious, and everyone’s opinions are echoing. It’s the light shining ahead that keeps you lucid and strong — and moving forward.

Once you get into the Deal Tunnel you need to get out of it as swiftly as possible. Seal it. “Will you marry me?” “Yes!”; “Do you want to build this thing together?” “Yes!” Ride the momentum of Yes! and nail down the details while everyone is in love and sharp.

8 TIPS FOR SEALING THE DEAL (AND THE WHOLE POINT IS TO SEAL THE DEAL.)

1. Do NOT enter the Deal Tunnel if you are unsure that you want to make a deal. Deliberation, doubt, enthusiasm, and overall assessment must happen before you enter into any kind of negotiation. Here it is: Do you want it or not? If the answer is yes, then proceed…
2. People’s true colors come up in the deal-making process. If you don’t like what you see in terms of behavior, back out of the Deal Tunnel quickly.
3. Do not mistineterpret legitimate restrictions that your deal partners may be dealing with as their behavior or personality traits. There are legalities and formalities that can be insurmountable in deals, do not take them personally. That said…
4. Legalities and formalities can often be surmounted. Exceptions happen when people choose to be exceptional.
5. TIME KILLS DEALS. If the people involved are dragging their feet or buying time, BEWARE. For me, the ol’ drag and slag is a red flag, and it’s likely wise to walk. Are you in or are you out?
6. Race the clock and love every minute of it. Set deadlines for deal closing and do whatever it takes to meet them. Make the call. Make the promise. Pay for the express rate. Tell the cab driver to hit it! and if you’re stuck in traffic, get out and run the final three blocks to get there on time.
7. At all times in the Deal Tunnel, keep this in your heart: I WANT THIS TO WORK OUT. When you’re in that place of pure desire, you’re empowered to get creative, and be flexible for the bigger vision.
8. At all times in the Deal Tunnel, keep this in mind: I won’t die if I don’t get this. When you’re in that place of expanded detachment, you will embody your values, speak clearly, and fly if the strings get cut.

It can be a long road to Yes.
When you arrive — really be there.
And put your Yes on the map.

. . . . . .

pssst…. next Wednesday, May 25 is my birthday. Why am I telling you this? (Other than the fact the I like orchids and gold?) Because, special things tend to happen on themanifestoofencouragement.com on my birthday. Don’t miss the party. Make sure you’re subscribed. Just sayin’. xo

My LIVE Fire Starter Session call with Jonathan Fields, two lucky “winners” + and a couple hundred listeners, is available for FREE download!

listen to the call (it’s free) click here:

LIVE Fire Starter Session with
LaPorte + Fields + 250 smoldering ‘preneurs

It was a really great time, from getting down on money-raising to lifting up some brands and aspirations. Jonathan unmuted the call at the beginning and the end for everyone to chime in with Hello’s! Bonjours! and Bye-bye! and Thank you!, and it was a cacophony of heart-breakingly great energy – I want it as a ringtone! My thanks to everyone for tweeting up a storm, and sending love notes.

. . . . . .

Want to create your own personal Fire Starter experience?
My digital program is seriously useful.

Passion + pragmatism = fulfillment + cash.
The Fire Starter Sessions is a digital book-meets-video seminar to help you rock your business…your way, right away.

$150 for the full-tilt love.
And! $5 from every copy goes to the charity you choose: The Acumen Fund or Women for Women International.

. . . . . .

Props to the two courageous souls who, as our Live Fire Starter “guinea pigs,” allowed us to dissect their websites, noodge their ambitions, and shine a bright light on their work in the world:

Jessica Swift
: independent surface pattern designer
: custom portrait artist and print maker
: co-creator of The Declaration Of You

Dave Ursillo
: writer-explorer-philosopher
: advocate for “quiet leadership”
: SEO + social media advisor

Around that time I came into a lot of contact with Navy Admirals and Pentagon folk. As a vegetarian, apolitical Canadian with crystals tucked into my bra and the Law of Attraction as my secret weapon, I wasn’t too stoked to meet Colonel and the boys. I reeked of judgment. But now I can tell you from experience that the Pentagon is peppered with enlightened men whose primary intention is to make the world more peaceful. They believe in universal intelligence and they’re remarkably open-minded. I even knew a vegetarian Commander. So the joke was on me. The human spirit thrives everywhere.

And the entrepreneurial spirit thrives everywhere — even in cubicles and factory lines.

I’ve been waving the great flag of work-for-yourself freedom for years. Bust out! Crush restrictions! Define life on your own terms! Creativity sovereignty or death! I’m a midwife of the strategies that make freedom dreams real — and proud as any Baptist or Marine about it. Righteousness is beautiful, dangerous territory.

There’s so many of us fuck-the-system cool kids with platforms now, it’s giving me cause for some pause. I see the potential for divisiveness. Superiority. J-o-bs vs. Careers. Ninjas vs. Suits. Artists vs. Civil Servants. I think the freedom message is evolutionary. It’s sacred. And we need to stay anchored to the pure intention of it.

Is someone working at Cisco or ABC Tool & Die missing out on the good life? Are line-workers and 9 to 5r’s less daring, less free, less…entrepreneurial? I used to think so. I apologize.

I know executives who are profoundly liberated in how they bring their gifts to the world. I know people who work for themselves in such a punishing way that they may as well be working for The Man.

It’s not about the packaging, it’s not about the form, it’s the heart of the matter that we need to see rightly.

It’s the entrepreneurial spirit that I want to foster.
Inside the system and out.
Everywhere.

Mike Rowe, host of the Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs sums it up in this TED talk. His masterfully told story begins with a tale of castrating sheep, winds through some Greek philosophy, and lands on the war on work and this insight:

“Clean and dirty aren’t opposites, they are two sides of the same coin. Just like innovation and imitation, risk and responsibility.”

When we peel back the labels, and the job titles, and being cool, all work can be an opportunity for liberation.

. . . . . . .

creating & entrepreneuring

Beauty: Rediscovering the True Sources of Compassion, Serenity, and Hope, by John O’Donohue
“The awakening of individuality is a continual unfolding of our presence. Individuality is not a thing or a position, not the act to a fixed or stolid identity. Individuality is the creative voyage of aloneness in which the fits and limitations of real presence merge.” I adore this man, a rogue priest turned poet.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t, by Jim Collins
There are about four game-changing practices that I took away from Good to Great. I write about my favourite of them here: my dominatrix of decisions rides a hedgehog

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich, by Tim Ferris
I’m not down with the potential detached autotron-ness of 4HWW, howevah, Ferris’ reasoning and tactics for freedom-driven living inspired me to grow my lil’ empire in some more effective ways.

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, by Barbara Ehrenreich
Never did I take my good fortune and earned success for granted. And thanks to Ehrenreich’s great journalism, I never will.

The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick), by Seth Godin
“Smart people quit sooner.”

Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World, by Margaret Wheatley
“In this new world, you and I make it up as we go along, not because we lack expertise or planning skills, but because that is the nature of reality. Reality changes shape and meaning because of our activity. And it is constantly new. We are required to be there, as active participants. It can’t happen without us and nobody can do it for us.”

Let Your Life Speak: Listening To The Voice of Vocation, by Parker Palmer
Parker, a legendary educator, shares his journey of deep depression toward the unfolding of his truer calling. “I lead by word and deed simply because I am here doing what I do. If you are also here, doing what you do, then you also exercise leadership of some sort.”

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott
The Shitty First Draft… The white cards… Page by page and bird by bird. Warm touchstones for anyone who writes.

Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative, by Edward Tufte
Designers and scientists and engineers and the aesthetically-obsessed alike should be worshiping at the altar of Tufte.

. . . . . . .

NEW: one of my favourite recent interviews, with activist and yogini, Marianne Elliot

Love Match Week yielded 130 fervent applications from aspiring entrepreneurs from New York to New Zealand. Guidelines for applicants were finicky but open to interpretation. Alexandra and I selected 15 finalists, and now it’s time for the the free world to choose the winners. 7 of them. Each of whom had a great cocktail line and is revving to take their work in the world to the next level.

It’s out of my hands now. I kind of feel like Simon Cowell when it’s America’s turn to choose the Idol. (But sweeter. And without all that V-neck exposing chest hair.)

To everyone who bought The Fire Starters Sessions and donated their copy to the Love Match Mix for this very purpose, I am giving you a humble bow of Namaste and appreciation. Your giving is flint for someone’s aspirations and stamina. It’s beautiful. Thank you very, very much.

To everyone who applied to win: Thank you for putting your dreams and requests on display for tens of thousands of people to see. Entrepreneurship is an unending journey of asking, and strengthening your “ask muscle” always pays off.

To the finalists: Nicely done! You made it this far because you’re on the road to clarity in presenting yourself and your business. Now…send the world over here to vote for you. FYI, the Twitter hashtag is #FireSS

VOTING ENDS AT MIDNIGHT PST THIS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15

The 15 contenders vying for 7 copies of The Fire Starter Sessions program are:

(in no particular order)

: ANGELIQUE ARROYO
: APRIL BOWLES-OLIN
: NICHOLA BENDALL
: KAI SOREMEKUN
: TALLULAH FLYTE
: LEAH PAULS
: HOLLY SMITH
: KIMBERLY GILL
: MAIA DUERR
: CHLOE WALKER
: DEANNA GIBBONS
: TESSA ZENG
: HANNAH MAYO
: BRITTANY JADE TRUBRIDGE
: PATSY KAY KOLESAR

Ready? Set?

♥ CLICK HERE TO VIEW + VOTE FOR THE LOVE MATCHEES ♥

Vive la democracy!

With Love,

It’s better to sell out early, if only because time is merciful and you can blame so much on youth and learning curves. You have time to recover and re-invent. It’s exceedingly harder to redeem yourself once you’ve let your hit song be used for a burger commercial, or you’ve turned your personal touch into a factory franchise. So for all of you grinding gears in a day job while your heart is spinning bigger dreams, consider this:

One of Frank Gehry’s first buildings, was a shopping mall, The Santa Monica Place. It was rigidly geometric and pale pink. He played it safe for investors and went LA-style. He hated it.

Meanwhile, as a more direct and personal creative outlet, Gehry went full out “Gehry” on building his own home. Sloping roofs, curvaceous windows, jutting peaks. Wacky and wildly organic.

The night of the grand opening of the Santa Monica Place, the president of the real estate company that had hired Frank was at Gehry’s home for a dinner party.

Real estate Exec: What the hell is this?, he said to Frank, looking around Gehry’s house, awestruck.
Frank: Well, I was experimenting, you know, playing with it.
Exec: Well you must like it if it’s your house. You do like this, right?
Frank: Yeah. I’m happy with how it turned out.
Exec: So then…the building that you just did for us…the shopping mall…you can’t possibly like that.
Frank: You’re right, I don’t.
Exec: Then why’d you do it?
Frank: Because I need to make a living.

Pause.

Exec: Well stop it. Don’t do that kind of work anymore.
Frank: Yeah, you’re right.

They shook hands that night and decided to quit everything they were working on (they were employing forty people at the time.)

“It was like jumping off a cliff,” Gehry says. “It was an amazing feeling. I was so happy from then on.”

Devotion can be that easy.

The moment you say yes is the beginning. It’s not when you give your notice or when your novel is off the press. It’s when you say yes to the desire.

“Maybe” clogs up the dream machine.
Do you want a career that amazes even you? Then say yes. Do you want a love life brimming with adoration and the sweet stuff? Then say yes. If you start to tell me why it’s not possible or how bad you want it but you don’t know how to get it – then you don’t want it bad enough. Maybe isn’t going to cut it.

And if someone great calls you out on your own greatness, consider it a sacred moment. Those opportunities are precious. To have your ‘yes’ witnessed is magic-making.

Even after his big yes moment, there were failures for Frank. He was supposedly cash-strapped more than once. He bid on projects he never got. He had to can staff. He questioned is own judgment.

But he never did another building that he didn’t absolutely love creating.

Sketches of Frank Gehry by Sydney Pollack is one of my favourite documentaries. (The late) Pollack features in it and the interaction between the master director and master architect is inspiring and charming.

It was Love Match Week last week for The Fire Starter Sessions. For every program purchased, we gave one away. “Gifted” copies were directly donated by purchasers to their friends, daughters, fellow bloggers (there were tears and applause, lot’s of goodness,) or, buyers could donate their copy to the Love Match Mix, for aspiring/applying entrepreneurs to win. The results are in:

We have 7 copies of The Fire Starter Sessions program to award!

Tuesday October 5 is officially registration day for winning, playing, throwing your entrepreneurial hat into the ring to get yourself a copy of The Fire Starter Sessions ($150 typically.) You “apply” right here. Online. Now.

THE PROCESS + RULES
1. Answer the questions below as comments in the comments box at the end of the post.
2. Answer the “skill testing” questions by responding via email to my Communications Manager, Alexandra.
3. Based on inspiration, clarity, merit of entrepreneurial idea and/or burning ambition, and a few of the following rules, we’ll select a group of finalists.
Highlights from those finalists application responses will be posted on the site and the public will vote on seven final winners. (Yes, you can send your mom + friends over to vote for you. Drum it up, baby!)
4. You don’t have to have a website to apply.
5. No more than three sentences per answer, please.
6. Typo’s will count against you. Brevity will count for you.
7. You cannot ask us any clarification questions. Everything is open to interpretation.

DEADLINE
10:00pm PST
Wednesday October 6, 2010
(Yep – just a day…and a half.)

application questions. go for it:

Please answer the following questions as comments in the comments box at the end of the post.

Your Name:
Website:
Twitter:
Location:

a) Give us a quote that explains how you see life.
b) What’s wrong with the world?
c) What does the world need more of?
d) What’s one great businesses idea you wished you thought of?
e) Name 3 people you admire and 1 word on each of them to describe why.
f) What’s your cocktail line?
g) What does/will your business bring to the world?
h) What problem do you solve for people?
i) What are your current or intended revenue streams?
j) What did you used to believe that you now think is silly?
k) What’s your biggest entrepreneurial obstacle, and how will The FSS help you turn it to ashes?
l) What chapter in The FSS do you want to read first?
m) For you, what word is interchangeable with “success”?
n) What’s one business question you’d like to ask me?

SKILL TESTING QUESTIONS
PLEASE MAIL YOUR ANSWERS TO alexandra@themanifestoofencouragement.com:

When is Danielle’s birthday?
Where did Danielle go to university?
When is the World Domination Summit happening?

CLICK HERE TO APPLY VIA COMMENTS