I have been in business for myself since 2006. There have been many highs, several lows, and some crazy curves. And, while working for myself has been challenging, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I can’t imagine going back to being an employee, using my skills and talents to improve somebody else’s bottom line. One of my overarching goals with my business is to be location-independent, meaning that I am not tethered to a particular place or desk, but rather I can roam ...

I know how it is; I was there, too. You can hardly stand it. You go to work each day, living for the weekend (and happy hour), and that coveted one-dollar raise you have been waiting for that came through after your formal review no longer makes you feel gratified. The stories you tell yourself about security, prestige, and company loyalty seem so phony. That’s because they are. You are the only one who will care about your future and your now. ...

Walking down the street, wearing your favorite green high-tops and a black and white striped sweater over slim jeans (you could be a guy or a gal), you pass a homeless person, a few small birds pecking at some seeds on the sidewalk, and a rosebush pushing against a fence, pale pink buds threatening to burst open. You see none of this. Vaguely aware that you did pass the homeless person (he asked you for spare change), but you couldn’t pick ...

I just completed week one of a four-week program called the Morning Whip with the amazing and talented Erika Lyremark at the helm. Seriously, people, this is good stuff. Mega-motivating, and Erika has a loving, yet no-holds-barred way of coaxing accountability out of even the most reluctant business babe. One of the assignments she gave us was to write a Text Message to the Universe asking the universe for help getting un-stuck in whatever area(s) of business we need a little extra oomph and ...

Shop until you drop (further into debt).                                                                            shanna trenholm That joyful season is upon us again; the one that seems to come around every year about this time. The season, where rampant consumerism disguised as a time to show others how we feel about them through a transactional exchange of material goods, otherwise known as Christmas. Now I'm not going to get all preachy about the real reason for the season, because if I did I’d tell you about the early Roman and Pagan origins ...

I like words. You have probably guessed this if you have read any of my posts, articles, or poetry floating around the interwebs (and on the two-dimensional page). I like words so much that I have built my livelihood around assembling them into strands with other words, more commonly known as sentences. Then I take those sentences and weave them together to make more or less coherent paragraphs and so on. The possibilities are endless. As a word lover I spend a fair amount of time, maybe too much ...

Of all the popular –ists and –isms, minimalism is one that inspires much debate.  A hot topic du jour, minimalism was popularized,  in large part by Leo Babauta’s blog, Zen Habits. While I love Leo and most everything he writes, and have embraced much of the principles of minimalism, I have grown weary of the term. It’s lost its meaning and original intention—that of downsizing, ridding ourselves of possessions and things that clutter our lives, streamlining, ideally, to increase happiness and clarity around what is truly important and ...

Let me get this out of the way: this post is biased. Biased because, well, it's my blog wherein I share my opinion, and dare I say expertise (I just did), on all manner of things and because I am of the particular persuasion of which I am about to write. So here goes: I haven't had a job in more than six years and I couldn't be happier. While people of this fair nation, from one end of the political spectrum to the other, worry about who will ...

I  recently returned from Portland, OR where I spent a heady weekend at an event called the World Domination Summit. WDS, the progeny of my friend Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Non-Conformity,  was a convening of more than 500 nonconformists, entrepreneurs, bloggers, creatives, visionaries, and other cool folks. And, although I did not have the opportunity to commune with all 500+ fab and friendly souls, those with whom I did renewed my faith in humankind. Yes, ...