Self Improvement Site
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
Articles from Young Kim | Selfgrowth.com
- Volunteering Is Good For Business - by Submitted on Apr 19, 2011 from Young KimAccording to the book, "Millionaire Mindset" (Thomas J. Stanley) - as well as other books about how millionaires think - most millionaires are very charitable, sit on the committee of many non-profit organizations, and are actively involved in their community. The cynic in you might think its ...
Views: 2135(1 vote) - 7 Basic Daily Disciplines... Military Style - by Submitted on Feb 27, 2011 from Young KimMy father gets his sense of discipline from the military; he's a retired veteran. I never had the urge to join the military - goes against my pacifist nature - but I do have to admire the discipline that the military instills in its troops. Along with the weapons training, and war games, the ...
Views: 16766(5 votes) - Push Yourself Out of Your Comfort Zone - by Submitted on Feb 21, 2011 from Young KimI was at the gym the other day, and I happened to step on a treadmill where the electronic display was broken. See that the gym was so full, I was glad to have a treadmill at all, and I just started jogging. I had no idea exactly how fast I was going, what my heart rate was, what incline I was ...
Views: 2175(4 votes) - Being Mindful of Money Means Having a Mind Full of Pennies - by Submitted on Feb 19, 2011 from Young KimI once saw my mom pick up a penny that she somehow saw in the middle of a parking lot. She waved it in the air as if it were a blessing, and placed it carefully into her purse. I asked my how she was able to see that penny? She said that pennies are everywhere, and that all you have to do is ...
Views: 1354(3 votes) - Creative Tribes - by Submitted on Feb 23, 2011 from Young KimEven without my practice, I have an eclectic group of creative people in my life. My creative tribe includes filmmakers, glass mosaic artists, photographers, writers, dog trainers, programmers, entrepreneurs, dance instructors, chefs, musicians, architects, and teachers. It shouldn't be ...
Views: 2094(3 votes) - Focus on Progress to Prevent Perfection Paralysis - by Submitted on Feb 15, 2011 from Young KimGuess what the following people have in common? I have a friend who wanted to be a screenwriter at one point, but he never wrote a single line. He's excuse was that he couldn't think of a script that was guaranteed to sell. I have a photography client who hasn't touched her camera in over a ...
Views: 1526(3 votes) - Make Your Own Creative Class - by Submitted on Feb 15, 2011 from Young KimI have an associate who was a stand-up comedian for a little while. For right now, let’s call him Bill. Bill started out on open mic nights at a local comedy club, and then began touring as an opener for a headline comedian. Bill eventually stopped performing stand-up comedy for reasons I have ...
Views: 1247(3 votes) - Stop Trying to Be Successful - by Submitted on Feb 19, 2011 from Young KimI know this sounds counter-intuitive, but here goes: STOP TRYING TO BE SUCCESSFUL! I have a cousin, Larry, who lives in Los Angeles, and has fallen into the trap of trying to be a celebrity entrepreneur. Larry buys expensive clothes, is obsessed with sports cars, and always talks about money. ...
Views: 1486(3 votes) - Avoiding Failure Does Not Lead To Success - by Submitted on Mar 01, 2011 from Young KimA common theme among my clients is the fear of failure. They are so afraid of failing that they are unwilling to press the "go" button to get their lives started. Ironically the fear of failure usually leads to more failure. The fear of failure can lead to procrastination, perfection ...
Views: 2209(5 votes) - "American Idol" Survival Guide - by Submitted on Feb 25, 2011 from Young Kim"American Idol" (FOX) isn't just a singing contest. It's basically a televised audition process to produce the next pop music star. Year after year, teens and adults audition for the show hoping to make it onto the show, and eventually win the show. Having watched every season, I've developed ...
Views: 1877(6 votes) - Be Your Own Hero - by Submitted on Feb 23, 2011 from Young KimI finally got around to seeing the movie, "Whip It" (dir. Drew Barrymore). One of my favorite scenes in the movie was when the main character, Bliss "Babe Ruthless" Cavendar (Ellen Page), said to one of the roller derby members, Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig), "You guys are like my heroes." ...
Views: 1918(2 votes) - Don't Let the Recession Drive Your Prices Down - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2011 from Young KimIn a time of recession, there is a reluctant tendency to lower prices. Rather than targeting people who can’t afford your services, target the ones who can. Think of creative pricing strategies to keep your existing customers and to get new ones. Offer discounts to only your loyal repeat ...
Views: 1061(4 votes) - Failure is Not the End of the Road - by Submitted on Feb 25, 2011 from Young KimMy girlfriend and I are "American Idol" (FOX) junkies. We promise to stop watching year after year, but we keep going back. This is the first year that she watched the auditions, which happens to be my favorite part of the series. The phrase that always bothered me is when a contestant ...
Views: 1358(4 votes) - Just Write - by Submitted on Mar 11, 2011 from Young KimAlex came to me for some coaching on writing. I asked him how often he wrote, and Alex said maybe once a week for only a few minutes. He also said he was writing less and less. I asked him about his writing process. Alex said that he tries to imagine a story from beginning to end in his mind ...
Views: 1228(2 votes) - Reincarnated on Groundhog Day - by Submitted on Feb 04, 2011 from Young KimOne of my favorite movies is “Groundhog Day” (dir. Harold Ramos). It stars Bill Murray as the weatherman who keeps waking up to the same Groundhog Day over, and over, and over again. The movie has special meaning to me because, to me, the movie is about what I refer to as “everyday ...
Views: 1751(4 votes) - Share Your Vision, Your Values, and Your Story with Your Customers - by Submitted on Feb 19, 2011 from Young KimIn a recent post, I talked about my client, Dale, who is in the craft business. We were on the discussion about his artist bio, and Dale told shared with me his apprehension about talking about himself sound self-important. My suggestion was to him was to focus on marketing himself and less on ...
Views: 1073(2 votes) - The Myth of Multitasking - by Submitted on Apr 17, 2011 from Young KimCan you honestly say you can text and drive well, or do you find yourself swerving off to the curb once and a while? How comfortable would you be if your dentist was tweeting while she was giving you a root canal? How do you think your kids feel when you're texting on your Crackberry during ...
Views: 1288(4 votes) - When Life Tangles Up, Just Tango On - by Submitted on Feb 03, 2011 from Young KimI’ll admit it: I know how to tango. I started years ago. I never performed, or competed. I didn’t do it to pick up on women. I just did it for fun. The dance itself is unpredictable considering there is no set pattern, and I have to keep switching partners since I didn’t have a permanent ...
Views: 1072(4 votes) - By Any Means Necessary - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2011 from Young KimI come from a family that believes that if you can’t find a hammer, use a rock. If you can’t find a rock, use your shoe. Because my parents grew up poor, they believe in the idea of making do with what you have instead of complaining about what you don’t have. My entire family lives by this ...
Views: 1241(13 votes) - 10 Productivity Tips for Solopreneurs - by Submitted on Feb 21, 2011 from Young KimSolopreneurs by definition work alone. They are the masters of their domain. They take orders from no one, and they give orders to no one. They are 100% accountable for the successes and failures of their business. There is a thin line between having a successful solopreneur lifestyle and ...
Views: 2646(12 votes) - 8 Ways to Support Your Local Creative Community - by Submitted on Mar 01, 2011 from Young KimAlthough many communities support local businesses, supporting local art seems to be a different story. Our homes are filled with poster art of long dead artists, our furniture looks like it came out of a catalog, and our bookshelves are lined with celebrity authors. With our taste for art and ...
Views: 1317(3 votes) - Be an Indispensable Linchpin to the Right People - by Submitted on Feb 15, 2011 from Young KimIf you are reading this blog, you have probably at one point either heard of, or read the Seth Godin's book, "Linchpin". If you haven't read it yet, here's the highlight: be indispensable. I would take it another step, and say that you need to be indispensable to the right people. I had a ...
Views: 1421(3 votes) - Never Too Young to Learn About Entrepreneurship - by Submitted on Feb 02, 2011 from Young KimMy first lesson in business did not come in a classroom. I received my first lesson in business from my father when I was just a kid. Back in the 80′s, our family bought our first computer. It was a portable computer that was the size of a small sewing machine, and had a five-inch monochrome ...
Views: 939(9 votes) - Solve the Right Problems - by Submitted on Feb 11, 2011 from Young KimTired of having to carry around a bottle of ink just to sign legal documents, W. B. Purvis invented the fountain pen. He didn’t shop around for a solution; he invented the solution. The solution was in the problem itself: the body of the pen became the vessel in which to carry the ink. In almost ...
Views: 1093(6 votes) - The End of Call Centers - by Submitted on Jan 17, 2011 from Young KimIf your customers have to contact your call center to ask for help in using your website, or to find information on your website, you have failed in providing good customer service. If your customers have to pick up the phone after visiting your website, that counts as an unnecessary transfer, ...
Views: 923(3 votes) - The Solution is in the Problem - by Submitted on Feb 17, 2011 from Young KimOne of my clients came to me with the goal of trying to get into the craft business. For now, let’s call him Dale. Like many entrepreneurial artists, Dale had a day job, and he was trying to build his craft business during his spare time. One of the first questions I asked him was whether he ...
Views: 931(6 votes) - The Zen of Cleaning the Pagoda - by Submitted on Mar 08, 2011 from Young KimOranges, and lions, and bakwas! "Oh my!" as George Tikei would say. It's Chinese Lunar New Year! Yes, it's that time of year when every member of the Chinese family has to get up and clean house. What? You don't know about this tradition? Yes, along with the loud fireworks, red envelops ...
Views: 1109(3 votes) - Workshops Generate Repeat Customers for Small Businesses - by Submitted on Jan 17, 2011 from Young KimI have a friend who runs a doggy daycare business. Every once and a while, he’ll run a doggy obedience boot camp for his existing clients. He encourages his clients to bring friends. Those friends sometimes turn into new clients for his doggy daycare business. And the cycle repeats. This is ...
Views: 845(3 votes) - Your Niche is Bigger Than You Think - by Submitted on Jan 25, 2011 from Young KimThe word “niche” evokes visions of some guy only collecting comic books that have monkeys in them, or a blogger who only writes about staplers, or an online store that only sells crackers made in Colorado. Artists and entrepreneurs seem to think the word “niche” is synonymous with small, or ...
Views: 937(3 votes) - Customer Loyalty and the Art of War - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2011 from Young KimMy father can’t stop thinking about business. It’s as if he believes that his business would collapse if he stopped crunching the numbers. To my father, there is no such thing as a part time entrepreneur. To my father, a casual relationship to his business doesn’t make sense to him. My father is ...
Views: 707(7 votes) - An Idea That Will Stick to the Roof of Your Mouth - by Submitted on Feb 04, 2011 from Young KimIf you ever wanted to get into the food business, I think it’s important to check your knowledge of food history first: * Who invented the crop rotation method for farming? * Who invented of soy-based paints? * Who owns the patent on peanut butter? If you answered George ...
Views: 1258(8 votes) - The "Starving Artist" Meme - by Submitted on Mar 05, 2011 from Young KimArtists seem to avoid entrepreneurship like it is the plague. Many artists think making art for money is "selling out," or that money will somehow pollute their artistic integrity, or that great artists have to suffer in poverty in order to produce great works of art. Where did the "starving ...
Views: 2502(4 votes) - Building a Business Around Lazy Idiots - by Submitted on Feb 03, 2011 from Young KimAlthough I know how to change the own oil in my car, cook my own meals, and process my own photographs, I’d rather have someone else do it. That’s right, I’m a lazy idiot. The businesses that provide these services are making money off of me, but I’m also gaining valuable time by delegating ...
Views: 1148(9 votes) - 7 Step Perfect Elevator Pitch Program - by Submitted on Mar 01, 2011 from Young KimI once had a client, Zach, who wanted to start some kind of online auction business. He would describe to me in detail how the auction software worked, and the different kinds of products that would be auctioned off, but he could never articulate how his auction site would be any different from ...
Views: 1875(5 votes) - A Job Is a Gift - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2011 from Young KimOne day at my parents’ laundry mat/dry cleaners, my father saw a homeless man rummaging through our garbage dumpster looking for aluminum cans and glass bottles. For some inexplicable reason, my father asked the man to come into the dry cleaners, and to pick out some clothes from a box filled ...
Views: 1266(10 votes) - An Argument for the 9 to 5 Lifestyle - by Submitted on Feb 01, 2011 from Young KimI think the “start-your-own-business” peddlers need to stop belittling the 9 to 5 lifestyle. Stop assuming that people aren’t living the life they were meant to have. Surely you guys can peddle your goods without making people feel like crap, right? Telling everyone they “must have their own ...
Views: 1247(6 votes) - Become Who You Are - by Submitted on Mar 12, 2011 from Young KimOne year, I decided to try food photography. I loved food, I loved local restaurants, and I loved photography. It seemed like a perfect fit for me. One problem... two actually. The first was that I had no experience in product photography; my style was more akin to photojournalism, which is ...
Views: 1449(8 votes) - 6 Easy Steps to Create a Crappy Super Bowl Ad - by Submitted on Feb 08, 2011 from Young KimFor the past week or so, I’ve seen a hilarious Volkswagen video clip (see link at end of article) floating around that has a little kid in a mini Darth Vader costume trying to use the force. What’s odd is that this was supposed to be a Super Bowl ad. One would think that with all the money ...
Views: 1540(3 votes) - 9 Tips on Conducting Productive Brainstorming Sessions - by Submitted on Mar 06, 2011 from Young KimBrainstorming by yourself is one thing. Brainstorming with a group of people has its own challenges. I personally love facilitating brainstorming sessions. It's like orchestrating a chaotic storm of ideas. The excitement and the energy generated during a great brainstorming session are ...
Views: 3953(5 votes) - Apple's Business Unit Strategy - by Submitted on Mar 05, 2011 from Young KimAdmiring Apple for only its well-designed products and clever commercials is only scratching the surface. Apple is actually a great case study on brilliant business modeling. Apple treats every product as its own business unit. What this means is that every product line could exist as its own ...
Views: 9932(4 votes) - Be Productive Rather Than Busy or Active - by Submitted on Mar 18, 2011 from Young KimThere is a difference between being busy and being productive. Being busy just means you have a lot of tasks you need to get done. Being busy says nothing about what you actually accomplished other than checking-off a task list. Being active is also not the same as being productive. Being ...
Views: 1766(3 votes) - Be Where Your Buyers Are - by Submitted on Mar 14, 2011 from Young KimOne of my clients, Anna, recently tried to sell her photographs at a concert that one of her friends held at a hotel. Anna's friend, Johnny has a small jazz band and was able to get his band booked for gig at the bar/lounge inside the hotel. Johnny also asked the hotel if they could have ...
Views: 1337(3 votes) - Be Your Own Tipping Point - by Submitted on Feb 07, 2011 from Young KimWe often remember the people who symbolize a movement, but forget all the people who came beforehand to create that movement. We remember the dates, but forget all the events that lead up to that moment to make that moment possible. These historical figures weren’t just in the right place at the ...
Views: 2203(7 votes) - Beating Yourself Up for Mistakes is Like Pressuring Yourself to Fail - by Submitted on Mar 12, 2011 from Young KimMy client, Lilly, came to me recently came to me feeling defeated. Her job with her boyfriend is going fine, but she said that she feels like a failure. I asked her what made her feel that way. Lilly talked about describe how frustrating it was that she hadn't paid off her students loans yet. ...
Views: 1507(7 votes) - Born with Creativity - by Submitted on Mar 18, 2011 from Young KimI was at the bookstore the other day, and I noticed two kids running around playing some kind of game while their father shopped for bargain books. I couldn't quite figure out the rules of the particular game the little girls were playing. I soon realized that it was a game of their own ...
Views: 1602(4 votes) - Boundaries a Necessity to Sustain Family Businesses - by Submitted on Apr 15, 2011 from Young KimLilly and her boyfriend work together. It's really his business, and she's his marketing manager. One of the ways they are able to maintain a healthy relationship and run a successful business is because they establish clear boundaries. They try not to talk about work after-hours, especially ...
Views: 1092(4 votes) - Breakfast of Champions - by Submitted on Apr 15, 2011 from Young KimEver wonder why breakfast is called breakfast? It's called breakfast because you're breaking a fast. Think about it. Unless you actually eat a fourth meal at midnight, when you wake up each morning, you haven't eaten in almost 12 hours. You've been fasting. Your morning meal is literally ...
Views: 1209(4 votes) - Confessions of a Snooze Addict - by Submitted on Jan 12, 2011 from Young KimI'll admit it. I am a recovering snooze addict. I was addicted to staying in bed, wrapped up in its warmth. But it was always temporary, and it was never enough. At first, I only hit the snooze button once. Next thing I knew, I was hitting that button at least ten times before getting out ...
Views: 1335(3 votes) - Constructive Feedback vs. Destructive Feedback - by Submitted on Mar 18, 2011 from Young KimFeedback is a tricky thing. First of all, a critique or criticism is not necessarily the same things as feedback. What separates criticism and feedback is the intent. The intention of a critique or criticism is to convey an opinion. Some critiques are negative, some positive, some articulate, ...
Views: 9601(5 votes) - Creativity and Productivity Are Not Mutually Exclusive - by Submitted on Jan 21, 2011 from Young KimMany creative people struggle with time management and organization because many of them believe that constraints hinder the freedom to create. The opposite is actually true. Constraints can actually lead to productive creativity. To be creative means one is in the habit of creating. Being ...
Views: 1236(5 votes)