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Articles from Young Kim | Selfgrowth.com
- "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: 1799(6 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: 1297(4 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: 1838(2 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: 1998(3 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: 2557(12 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: 2101(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: 1293(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: 1412(3 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: 1008(2 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: 1453(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: 1341(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: 1173(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: 861(6 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: 665(7 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: 1154(13 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: 993(4 votes) - The Art of Reinventing Yourself - by Submitted on Feb 11, 2011 from Young KimOprah Winfrey is an artist, and her life is her canvas. She is a woman who constantly reinvents herself. She started out with a tabloid television show, and then transformed it into an iconic television show focused around self-help and spirituality. Then she transitioned from being a television ...
Views: 1778(3 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: 1019(6 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: 1439(3 votes) - Breaking Traditional Barriers to Hit a Home Run - by Submitted on Feb 08, 2011 from Young KimOld beliefs, personal prejudice and dogmatic traditions can often get in the way of progress our personal lives, in business, and even in the creative arts. Since today is Hank Aaron’s birthday (February 5, 1934), it only seems appropriate to take a look at baseball history to understand the ...
Views: 1446(5 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: 2102(7 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: 1040(3 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: 1652(4 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: 1192(8 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: 1005(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: 1079(9 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: 1234(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: 870(9 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: 1164(6 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: 1196(10 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: 878(3 votes) - Social Relationships Are More Important Than Social Networks - by Submitted on Jan 21, 2011 from Young KimSocial networks existed before Twitter or Facebook. Social networks existed before the Internet or the telephone. Your online followers only make up a part of your total social network. What you have to consider is how many people you actually have a relationship with, both online and offline. ...
Views: 1380(3 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: 1156(5 votes) - Planning For Your Failure Guarantees Your Failure - by Submitted on Jan 19, 2011 from Young KimMany of us, without realizing it, are manifesting our own failures. We have this intention of pursuing our dreams, but then we also instantly think of a back up plan in case it doesn’t work out. The instant you come up with a back up plan, the instant you fall back to your back up plan, you ...
Views: 1048(3 votes) - Copycats and Creative Commoditization - by Submitted on Jan 18, 2011 from Young KimThe famous Ansel Adams photograph, “Maroon Bells” (1964), is possibly one of the most replicated photographs among nature photographers. Run a Google images search on “Maroon Bells” and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Walk into any art store in Colorado, and you will find at least a dozen ...
Views: 1458(7 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: 860(3 votes) - The Hidden Cost of Free Email - by Submitted on Jan 17, 2011 from Young KimWhen I attend networking events, I am always surprised by freelancers, and entrepreneurs that use a free email account – like Hotmail, or Yahoo, or one provided by an Internet Service Provider – rather than a vanity email with their own domain name. They have emails like ABC235LLCCorp@Gmail.com ...
Views: 973(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: 790(3 votes) - Get-Rich-Quick Business Virus - by Submitted on Jan 14, 2011 from Young KimMy brother and I were fascinated with get-rich-quick schemes when we were in high school. We decided to buy one particular get-rich-quick scheme we saw in an infomercial. The guy in the infomercial touted he had made millions by starting a business in his one bedroom apartment with classified ...
Views: 1168(3 votes) - PinkBerry in My Gut - by Submitted on Jan 14, 2011 from Young KimMy father used to have this exercise where my brother and I would try to come up with new business ideas, and we would all try to see what it would take to make it work. My brother and I would pitch idea after idea, and my father would have some kind of objection to each one. Soon, even my ...
Views: 1529(3 votes) - The Habit of Completion - by Submitted on Jan 11, 2011 from Young KimIn the movie, "The King's Speech," the speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) provides the stuttering King George VI (Colin Firth) with a set of exercises to keep his body and mind moving forward while speaking. By keeping his body and mind in a state of flow, King George VI was able to keep his ...
Views: 1875(3 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: 1271(3 votes) - The Entrepreneurial Mindset - by Submitted on Jan 11, 2011 from Young KimI make it a habit to try to come up with new business ideas all the time. I would come up with ideas while watching TV shows, or reading the newspaper, or while talking to a complete stranger. Whenever I walk into a business, I try to see how they operate, and examine their marketing. I then ...
Views: 854(5 votes) - Why New Year's Resolutions Fail - by Submitted on Jan 11, 2011 from Young KimIt's that time of year again where we make a list of things to accomplish in the upcoming year. And 365 days from now, most of us will fail at achieving most of those things on that list. The reason isn't because I'm a cynic. The reason is that most New Year's resolutions aren't resolutions ...
Views: 817(3 votes)