Why Perfectionist Entrepreneurs Fail to Thrive

Impatient entrepreneurs may fall on their face due to lack of planning or research, but perfectionist entrepreneurs often don’t even get off the starting blocks. Diving headlong into perceived opportunities with reckless abandon results in a lot of emptied bank accounts and bruised egos, but waiting for the stars to align (and your Master’s degree and your kids to grow up and your hair to grow longer) can be equally dangerous. Why?...

How can I make money doing what I love?

Who hasn’t heard some form of, “you can’t make money doing what you love”, “work is a necessary evil”, or “you work for a living and live for the weekends”? This is, sadly, taken as dogma in our culture. But it isn’t true. Meaningful work is not a myth. Not only can you make money doing what you love, you can make GOOD money (And many people do!). If,...

How can I find work I love if I don’t feel passionate about anything?

If you don’t love your work now, but want to find a career that is energizing and fulfilling you probably fall into one of the four following camps: You already know what you really want to do and are working on transitioning from where you are to where you want to be. You know what you are passionate about, but aren’t sure about how you could actually make a...

The Link Between Procrastination and Purpose

Admit it. You procrastinate. We all do it sometimes. (Dont’ believe me? Check out this vintage Ellen DeGeneres take on the art of procrastination. Sound familiar?) But what is the purpose of procrastination? As a regular columnist for several online and offline magazines over the years, I have come to realize that, like Ellen illustrates, procrastination is often a necessary part of the creative process. When the words just aren’t...

Celebrate Canada Career Week with Kyosei

Are you passionate about your career? Do you feel like your work energizes and inspires you? Does it allow you the balance and freedom to spend time with friends and family and pursue your other passions? Today marks the first day of Canada Career Week 2015. This year’s theme is “Decent Work, Healthy Lives.” While decent work is important (and not enough people have it), we set our sights...

Conscious Entrepreneurs Beat the Odds with Strategic Planning

In a previous post, we covered how impatience is a leading cause of failure for new entrepreneurs. Here, we’ll talk about annual strategic planning, a key practice successful conscious entrepreneurs use to avoid the pitfalls of impatience. Planning can be like putting on clothing to go out. A certain amount – maybe a little bit more than you need – is usually best (you can always take off layers you...

3 Tips to Boost Your Energy for Life and Work.

During my five-year stint in Japan, one of my favorite (and most used) Japanese words was genki.  Part of the reason for this is that, in Japan, o genki desu ka is used as a common greeting akin to “How are you?” The accepted response, genki desu is the equivalent of “I am fine.” But the reason that this word was co-opted into everyday vernacular by myself and so many other of my English-speaking friends is...

Are You an Impatient Entrepreneur?

New entrepreneurs are usually excited and impatient to get going, so they often slap up a website, print business cards and begin promoting their business before they have a solid understanding of their business concept and offering. While there is value in just getting started and having something out there to begin interacting with your customers and finding out what they want, this approach has big risks. It can easily...

3 Tips for Conquering Your Fear of Networking

Many entrepreneurs and job-seekers hate networking. As a result they hide behind their computers, feeling productive and hoping that their websites, social media, and e-mail will make those essential connections – and sales – for them. For many types of businesses, however, networking is still an essential element of your marketing plan. Colleen DeBaise from Entrepreneur Magazine offers a few tricks to make going to those meetings a bit less...

Becoming You: How staying true to yourself is the key to success.

This is a story about how I found that staying true to yourself is key to success, regardless of gender. Something unexpected happened just as I was getting ready to leave Japan after five fulfilling years of cultivating my business and my spirit there – I was offered a job. Having been an entrepreneur since my early twenties, jobs don’t normally tempt me, but this one was different. It...