Recent Articles From EvanCarmichael.com http://www.evancarmichael.com/ http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/Clarity-Through-Panic.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/Clarity-Through-Panic.html June ‘04. I had just quit my job selling mufflers at Midas. I went for 6 weeks without making a single dollar. It was one of those wonderful warm summer weekends you get in the Midwest… yet it was as though I couldn’t sleep, eat or breathe. The pit in my stomach grew daily, I was terrified. I took a leap of faith, quit a decent paying job, to pursue a full time career in online marketing and almost like a little bird who decides to jump out of the nest a just a couple days too early, only to find the ground is patiently waiting to reach up and smack him in the face. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/Celebrate-The-Opportunity.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/Celebrate-The-Opportunity.html As entrepreneurs and business owners, it’s incredibly important for us to stay attune to the world’s financial news. The recognition of trends, niche opportunities and the anticipation of economic movements are nothing short of necessities. However I personally, and I’m sure this resonates with the majority of you reading this, have grown tired of the incessant negativity that is spoon fed the masses daily. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/TRUST.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/TRUST.html It is popular amongst successful entrepreneurs to talk about certain intangibles that make for good business. Intangibles such as leadership, innovation, persistence and follow- through. I say this, because I too speak of these things, both passionately and often. Their importance goes without questioning. Each cannot be given, and consequently must be earned. Each is intrinsically valuable in and of itself, and may stand as a singular example of character. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/No-Matter-How-Big-or-Small.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/No-Matter-How-Big-or-Small.html It was three nights ago, I couldn’t sleep, as is often the case on warm nights. New York in August feels like a wet blanket fresh out of the oven. It’s hard not to sweat just bending over. My fiancée had gone out to her parents for the night, and the quiet in the house was peaceful, but incomplete. Truth be told, I just can’t stand to be away from her. Television didn’t do it, 25 minutes of baseball highlights later, still restless. A few books I’m in the middle of didn’t provide any repose either. I wondered, why the unrest? An incessant pebble of anxiety was rolling like a marble through my stomach. It was 1:30am; I sat in my backyard trying to enjoy the serenity of the calm hot air, barely rustling a tree. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/Entrepreneurial-Objectivity.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/Entrepreneurial-Objectivity.html For most of us, it's obvious that the bulk of the decisions we make on a daily basis are based upon the summation of our previous experience. Then combined with some sort of reactive observation. “That looks hot, I once was burned, don’t touch it.” A rather simplistically calculated decision to a situation, correct? There are a lot of philosophical explanations to this phenomenon, (of which I have no desire whatsoever to regurgitate.) However, the idea of understanding, evaluating and augmenting our decision making process, is quite possibly one of the most effective, yet difficult things to do. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/Write-Your-Own-Story.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/Write-Your-Own-Story.html I’ve spoken and written about leaving a legacy; what we as individuals do for the betterment of more than simply ourselves. However, what we all must realize is that a legacy is built everyday. It is built in the choices and moments that seem to have no consequence, the moments that are filled with tedious details, questioning and bouts with the reins of persistence as we do all we can to stay on track. A legacy is more than a trust fund or a inheritance, a summer house, or even a college endowment. Your legacy is the story of your everyday. What you do with the hours, minutes and seconds that you own, because they are your own. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/Persistence.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/Persistence.html I’ve often been curious to hear the responses given by individuals of substantial success when asked about their methods or secrets. The secrets of the wealthy, the winners, the business elite. Over the years, I’ve heard some remarkable responses, and some quite simple doctrines as well. I once at a conference listened to a rather engaging older gentleman profess that his secret was writing goals on a small piece of plywood, and then sleeping with it under his pillow. Honestly I thought to try it, once, no more than twice, but the idea of an inordinate amount of splinters ravaging my cheeks kept me from running to Home Depot for sharpies and 2×4’s. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/LeadershipA-Daily-Gift.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/LeadershipA-Daily-Gift.html We awake each day with the incredible gift to lead. Leadership is not pithy sayings, kitschy slogans, or daily calendar quotes. Leadership is taking on the personal responsibility, everyday, to have your actions and deeds be the example that your words describe. Leaders awake every morning with the conviction of person to carve their own path, they call on their own minds to be the lighthouse of guidance. A leader has the confidence, and welcomes the challenge, of standing alone, accountable and compassionate of others. A leader does not say, “follow me”, rather, a leader says, “follow you.” Be reliant, and unwavering with the commitment to yourself, and your own personal truth. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/The-Humility-Of-Good-Business.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/The-Humility-Of-Good-Business.html It’s 8am. My son is off with his nanny for the day, coffee in hand, I’m approaching the office and I see a rather conspicuous notice taped to the window of the architecture firm directly next door. I decide to take the peak. The place is eerily dark, lights off, something sort of ominous about the place. I take a look at the notice. It’s a court ordered eviction summons, cease and desist immediately, five days to respond to New York State Superior Court. $83, 575 dollars in delinquent rent owed. Wow. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/Attention-and-Distraction.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Starting-A-Business/868/Attention-and-Distraction.html The idea of whether the Internet is making us more intelligent or less intelligent, more vulnerable to distraction or more capable of skillful multi-tasking, seems to have obsessed the majority of print and online media journalists lately. No doubt these journalists are concerned with the fate of their jobs, as print media dwindles and people become increasingly less likely to pay for reporting that often costs thousands of dollars to accomplish. Out of this so-called “crisis of attention” has emerged a new genre of writing, a kind of meta-reporting in which journalists, distracted by the swarm of new media overtaking print, are focusing their attention on new neurological research and technological advancements to try and figure out where the future of their own profession, and indeed the entire globalized world, is headed.