Blogcast FM: Online Business | Blogging | Social Media | Content Creation

In this week's BlogcastFM Backstage episode, we talk about the power of speed in your business. We also revisit the interview with the creators of ASAPScience. * A Quick Overview of The Instigator Experience (http://www.theinstigatorexperience.com/) (http://blogcastfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BlogcastFM-Backstage-300x300.jpg) * Why Things Don't Need to Take that Long * How We Recorded an Entire Course in a Day * The Importance of Celebrating Your Success * Why All Rules are Completely Man-Made * The Power of Continually Doing the Work * Why Entertainment is Necessary to Get Things Done * What It Actually Means to Be Creative * How You Can Learn from Feedback * Finding the Balance Between Your Instincts and Feedback If you liked this article, would you share it with your friends? Just click here (http://clicktotweet.com/SEFc7) to post it to Twitter. 

Simon Sinek is the instigator of an idea that has fundamentally changed the way we do business, live life, and create art.  The notion that people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do, is at the core of the success of some of the most successful organizations in the world.(http://blogcastfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/blogcastfm_cover_simon_sinek-284x300.png) Here are some of the highlights from our conversation: * The Discovery of this Thing Called "Why"  * How Evolution Influences Our World Today * The Problem with Environments that Don't Foster Trust * Why a Commitment to Service Matters So Much * Why Reaction Isn't Always the Best Response to Crisis * Lessons Learned from the Demise of Myspace * Why Generosity in Speaking Makes a World of Difference * Making the Shift to a Generosity Mindset * A  Touching Story about a Solider in a Coffin  * How Fear Keeps Us from Taking the Right Actions * Why Relationships Solve All Problems in Our Lives * A Deep Dive into Finding Your Why * The Trial and Error That's Necessary for Why * Developing a Criteria for the Clients You Choose * Not Making Profitable Decisions that Take You Off Course * Serving the Tribe Before You Serve Yourself  Simon Sinek (http://www.startwithwhy.com/) is an optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. You can follow him on twitter @simonsinek (https://twitter.com/simonsinek). If you liked this article, would you share it with your friends? Just click here (http://clicktotweet.com/Y18WU) to post it to Twitter.

Nisha Moodley has reinvented herself multiple times. She's overcome adversity and dealt with some incredibly challenging circumstances.  In this interview, you'll hear all about her journey from beta to sustainability.(http://blogcastfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/blogcastfm_cover_nisha_moodley-284x300.png) Here are some highlights from our chat: * A Look at How Nisha Made a Drastic Change in Her Career  * How Work Can Become an Escape From Your Life * Using the Experience of Loss to Create Positive Change in Your Life * Why It's Important to Acknowledge Pain When It Occurs * Using Best and Worst Case Scenarios to Take Leaps of Faith * How Hustle and Enthusiasm Play a Role in Your Success * How Absolutely Epic Customer Service Can Transform Your Business * Creating an Incredible Experience for Your Customers * Lessons in Testing from the World of Technology Startups * How Clarity Comes from Trying and Failing at Things * Knowing How to Take Your Business from Beta to Sustainability * Developing a Framework for Taking Risks in Your Business * The Importance of Creating a Board of Advisors for Your Life/Business  Tweetable Insights Include: * A frame that I use in my life is that if it's here, it's meant to be here (Click to tweet (http://clicktotweet.com/c4b9o)) * We are going to die and we don't get to say when (Click to tweet (http://clicktotweet.com/066M1)) Nisha Moodley (http://fiercefabulousfree.com/) is a former foodaholic and workaholic, a poet, a romantic, and an adventurer. She keeps busy cultivating sisterhood among entrepreneurs to expand the world's freedom. You can follow her on twitter @AskNisha (https://twitter.com/asknisha). If you liked this article, would you share it with your friends? Just click here (http://clicktotweet.com/8YLb0) to post it to Twitter.

In this episode of the show, we revisit our interview with Cal Newport and discuss the importance of building your craft. Here are some highlights from this episode: * How Greg Revitalizes Health in Rapid Fashion (http://blogcastfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BlogcastFM-Backstage-300x300.jpg) * Dealing with Your Emotions When Life Is Tough * Why False Stories Hold Your Potential Back * Using Small Steps to Build New Habits * How to Replace Goals with Systems  * Why Your Current Results are Based on Past Actions * The Importance of Mastering Your Craft * Why You Have to Use the Internet As a Creation Tool * The Activities Where You Should Spend Most of Your time * Why Greg Thinks Time Management is Nonsense * The Importance of Developing Good Taste  * The Epidemic of Following Your Passion If you liked this article, would you share it with your friends? Just click here (http://clicktotweet.com/azwMD) to post it to Twitter. 

Stephanie Keenan abandoned her life as a defense contractor to pursue a career in fitness. In less than a year, she built a thriving online business. Here are some highlights from our chat: * The Role that Discipline and Commitment Play in Your Success (http://blogcastfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/blogcastfm_stephanie_keenan-284x300.png) * Starting the Escape from a Very Unfulfilled Life * Turning Your Car into a School on Wheels * Why You Should Create a Vision of Your Ideal Day * How to Create a Business that Runs Itself  * The Keys to Conducting an Audit of Your Business/Systems * The Power of Using Checklists for Your Day-to-Day  * A Second Look at Tackling a Very Crowded Niche * Community-Building Tactics that You Can Apply Right Away * The Power of Using Private Facebook Groups to Build Community * Why You Should Be Able to Write 50 Blog Posts About a Subject * A Look at Creating a Membership Site from Your Existing Content * Why You Need to Fail Forward Every Single Day Stephanie Keenan is grew up on a farm, was a US Navy nuclear engineer, then a cubicle-dwelling knowledge worker, and has had a successful stint as an online fitness biz entrepreneur. You can follow her on twitter @StephKeenanFit (https://twitter.com/StephKeenanFit). If you liked this article, would you share it with your friends? Just click here (http://clicktotweet.com/2YJP4) to post it to Twitter.

Matt Frazier turned his passion for running and vegetarianism into a wildly popular blog called No Meat Athlete. (http://www.nomeatathlete.com/)  Today the site has over 20,000 subscribers and his first book  No Meat Athlete: Run on Plants and Discover Your Fittest, Fastest, Happiest Self just came out in October 2013. Here are some highlights from our chat: * How Matt Leveraged His Background in Applied Math (http://blogcastfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/blogcastfm_matt_frazier-284x300.png) * Habit Change, Discipline, and Self-Management * Why Starting Small Is Really Important When You Want Change * Building a Community Through a Service Attitude * The Seeds for the Idea of No Meat Athlete * Why a Flagship Product Can Transform Your Business * The Power of Combining Your Interests to Create Intrigue * How Being Too Knowledgeable Can Make You Blind * Why Your Product Needs to Deliver a Tangible Result * Some Counterintuitive Insights into a Product Launch * The Power of Breaking Things Up into Pieces  * Why an Ethical Bribe Didn't Quite Work for Matt * A Tactical Exercise for Blending Your Common Interests * Inside the Book Marketing Plan for No Meat Athlete Matt Frazier is an ultrarunner, a vegan, a blogger, an author, and a dad. He jokes that he's way cooler on the internet. You can follow him on twitter @NoMeatAthlete (https://twitter.com/NoMeatAthlete). If you liked this article, would you share it with your friends? Just click here (http://clicktotweet.com/OnJvf) to post it to Twitter.

In this week's episode, we revisit our interview with Kimberly Gosney, Orchestrating a 365 Day Coaching Program with Kimberly Gosney (http://blogcastfm.com/blogcastfm/how-to-orchestrate-a-365-day-coaching-program-with-kimberly-gosney/). Greg also talks to me about some of his thoughts on life after a week long hospital stay. Here are some highlights from the episode: * Why This Is Not Your Practice Life (http://blogcastfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BlogcastFM-Backstage-300x300.jpg) * Making Sure that You Live without Regret * How Meaningful Work Is at Your Fingertips Daily * The Reason You Can't Live Like It's Your Last Day * Taking Pride in the Day-to-Day of Your Life * Looking at the "How" vs. the "What" of Things * The Importance of Our Understated Interviews * Why Your Downtime is Your Freedom Time * The Power of Starting with Something Small * Finding People Different From You * Why You Don't Have to Be Perfect, Just Great * Setting a Standard for the Things You Create If you liked this article, would you share it with your friends? Just click here (http://clicktotweet.com/Beqbe) to post it to Twitter. 

James Altucher returns to the show to hijack BlogcastFM and put me on the other side of the mic.  In this episode, we get into a deep discussion about my new book The Art of Being Unmistakable (http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Being-Unmistakable-Collection-ebook/dp/B00FP3PMI2). Here are some highlights from our chat: * A Look at the Creation of Process of this New Book (http://blogcastfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/JamesCoverArt-284x300.jpg) * Why I subtitled the book a Collection of Essays * How to Let Go of Ego-Based Creation of Your Art * Why Writing is About Giving Advice to Yourself * Dealing with Negative Reviews of Your Books * Why There are Parts of Every Journey That Suck * The Challenges of Creating Unmistakable Art * The Ups and Downs of My Personal Journey * A Look at How You Reframe a Negative Situation  * How Letting Go of Measuring Anything Increases Our Happiness * A Look at How to Find Your Own Unmistakable Path * Some of the Byproducts that Will Emerge from the Future of My Work James Altucher (http://www.jamesaltucher.com/) is an American hedge fund manager, author and blogger. He has founded or cofounded several companies and has also published several books on investing. His writing has been frequently published by media outlets, including The Financial Times, TheStreet.com, Techcrunch and The Huffington Post. You can follow him on twitter @jaltucher (https://twitter.com/jaltucher). If you liked this article, would you share it with your friends? Just click here (http://clicktotweet.com/1cftp) to post it to Twitter.

Alex Franzen is a wildly successful copywriter who is always booked months in advance for her velocity sessions. She recently released  a new book titled 50 Ways to Say You're You're Awesome.  She previously appeared in our How to Be Unmistakable with Alex Franzen (http://blogcastfm.com/blogcastfm/how-to-be-unmistakable-with-alex-franzen/) episode. In this interview we discuss the evolution of her business and her body of work. Here are some highlights form our most recent chat: * Practical Techniques to Express Yourself More Clearly (http://blogcastfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/33590718fd8c0ba129d0125e671db1af.png) * Being Aware that It's Time to Make a Change * The Power of Over the Top Generosity * The 3 Word Prompt that Will Make Your Writing More Effective * Leveraging Conversations with Your Friends Find Your Voice * An Amazing Story about Starting a Hotel with 1 Room * Stripping the Work You Do Down to Its Core  * Thinking More Like an Artist than a Business Owner * Knowing When to Go Small Instead of Going Big * How 50 Ways to Say You're Awesome (http://www.amazon.com/50-Ways-Say-Youre-Awesome/dp/1402285663) Came to Life * Looking at Your Analytics for Threads within Your Work * How to Begin with the Execution of a Grand Vision * A Discussion about Creating a Profitable Expression of Your Message Tweetable Insights Include: * Why hoard your best ideas? There's plenty of things you can monetize. (Click to Tweet (http://clicktotweet.com/Ca0oX)) * The greatest thing you can do as a writer is remove all the "shouldness"  (Click to Tweet (http://clicktotweet.com/NV44W)) Alex Franzen is a promotional wordsmith & personal scribe, soul stenographer, strumpet nerd, recovering socialist, and geriatric raver. She believes, “You’ve got gifts — let’s present ‘em.” You can follow her on twitter @Alex_Franzen (https://twitter.com/Alex_Franzen). If you liked this article, would you share it with your friends? Just click here (http://clicktotweet.com/ZdJsU) to post it to Twitter.

This week on BlogcastFM Backstage, we revisit our interview with Alli Worthington. Greg comes to us from his bed in the Westwood Medical Center. Here are some highlights from this episode: * Why You Can't Let Your Circumstances Dictate Your Actions (http://blogcastfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BlogcastFM-Backstage-300x300.jpg) * How Greg Is Up to "Business as Usual" from a Hospital * Doing Something Meaningful Despite the Circumstances * Buying Business Off of Craigslist - And Where It Could Lead * Your Circumstances Can Make You Bitter or Better * An Update on The Instigator Experience (http://www.theinstigatorexperience.com/) * Why We're Treating the Event Like a Theatrical Performance * Turning Pain and Adversity into Opportunity * Taking a Look at Asking Some Tough Questions * Why Comparison is a Game that You Can't Possibly Win * The Importance of Surrounding Yourself with the Right Peer Group * Knowing When to Walk Away trom an Opportunity - Even When It Pays If you liked this article, would you share it with your friends? Just click here (http://clicktotweet.com/ct7le) to post it to Twitter. 

Adam Chaloeicheep has been responsible for helping major brands like Nike and Lululemon create the visual voice of their brand. In addition, he's the mastermind behind the recent rebranding of JennyBlake.me. In this experience, we get into deep discussion of what goes into creating the visual voice of your brand. Here are some of the highlights from our chat: * Blending Backgrounds in Architecture, Ad Agencies, and Branding Firms (http://blogcastfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Adam-Chaloeicheep.jpg) * The Importance of Consistency in a Brand Presence * Creating an Experience that Generates Emotional Responses * Why You Must Come Before Your Visual Branding * How Making Your Work Soulless Destroys It * Why It's an Ideal Time to Start and Build Something * Balancing Professional and Artistic Integrity * The Role that Curiosity and Asking "Why?" Plays in Your Success  * Applying the Concept of a Visual Voice to Your Brand * Key Questions to Ask Yourself in the Process of Defining Your Brand * Filtering Feedback Down to Its Essence * An In-Depth Look into Jenny Blake's Rebranding Process * How to Recognize You've Reached a Point of Transition  * Why You Must Always Be Creating Things that Inspire You * How to Translate Your Visual Voice into Your Actual Voice Resources Mentioned Include: * Behind the Rebranding of JennyBlake.me (http://jennyblake.me/blog/behind-the-launch/) Tweetable Insights Include: * What we create is an extension of who we are (Click to Tweet (http://clicktotweet.com/7aAZd)) * We call it the recession, I call it reality (Click to Tweet (http://clicktotweet.com/spgUO)) Adam Chaloeicheep (http://www.iamabc.me/) is a brand catalyst to help companies bridge this gap by collaboratively creating a cohesive strategy, product design, and user experience. He has a love for functional fashion, intuitive design, photography and sustainability. If you liked this article, would you share it with your friends? Just click here (http://clicktotweet.com/Wi5Qq) to post it to Twitter.

AsapSCIENCE started simply as two guys that wanted to share their love for science with their friends. In their mission to make science interesting to everyone, they grew a YouTube channel to over 1 million subscribers in less than a year. Here are a few of the highlights from our chat: * Blending Backgrounds in Film Editing and Teaching (http://blogcastfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/9e5p412uh6qwsuo8700e-300x300.jpeg) * The Power of Answering Simple Questions * How Things Grow and Evolve Over Time  * Lessons Learned from a Social Media Competition * The Combo of Traits that Get Your Work to Standout * Why You Must Combine Education and Entertainment * Getting Over the Fear of Self-Promotion * Outreach to the Community That Is Relevant to Your Content * A Look at Constantly Refining Your Craft * What It Takes to Create Amazing Whiteboard Videos * How to Boil Your Message Down to Its Essence * Building Community Around Millions of Subscribers * Some of the Amazing Things That Came as a Byproduct of a Fun Project * How a Hobby Ended Up Turning into a Business AsapSCIENCE provides a weekly dose of fun and interesting science. You can follow them on twitter @AsapSCIENCE. (https://twitter.com/AsapSCIENCE) If you liked this article, would you share it with your friends? Just click here (http://clicktotweet.com/qyJ68) to post it to Twitter.

In this episode of BlogcastFM Backstage, we revisit our interview with Shawn Achor and discuss developing a happiness habit. Here are some highlights from this episode: * How Greg Made Something and Sold It with Selz (http://blogcastfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BlogcastFM-Backstage-300x300.jpg) * An Amazing Story about a Nurse's Side Business * How Greg Connects with So Many Interesting People * Why We Need to Spend More Time Disconnected * The Importance of Being Open to Connections * A Glimpse into the End of Ten Dollars and a Laptop * Why You Can't Live by Cause and Effect  * Living in The Reality vs. A Reality * The Importance of Consistency in Changing Your Behavior * Why Gratitude Plays a Huge Role in Your Success * Understanding That Happiness is Not a Permanent State * The Difference Between Practice and Consumption  If you liked this article, would you share it with your friends? Just click here (http://clicktotweet.com/xY2ce) to post it to Twitter. 

Cal Newport decided to challenge the wildly popular notion that you should "follow your passion." His research led to an interesting discovery. People who were successful and fulfilled in their career didn't follow their passion. They become masters of their craft. In this interview, we get into a very in-depth chat about how to  be so good they can't' ignore you. Here are just some of the highlights from our conversation: * How Cal Has Blended a Traditional and Untraditional Path (http://blogcastfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Cal-Newport.jpg) * A Look at the Early Creation Process of Cal's Study Guides * Lessons from the MIT Theory of Computation Group * The Importance of Focus and Resisting Distractions * What it Takes to Develop Career Capital (Rare and Valuable Skills) * How Skills Give You More Leverage Than a Set Career Path * The Arbitrary Advice of Following Your Passion - And Why It's Flawed * Why You have to Become Really Good at Something to Love Your Work * Traits That Lead People to Absolutely Love What They Do * Making the Transition Match Theory to Capital Theory * The Philosophy of Deep Work and Becoming a Master of Your Craft * Why Cal Newport has No Social Media Accounts * The Importance of Developing Taste in Your Work  * Looking at the Mission Behind Somebody's Work * The Framework of Little Bets to Make Progress with Your Ideas * Why Publishers are Like Investors When it Comes to Your Book Deal * Finding the Threads that Persist in Your Body of Work Tweetable Insights Include: * The more career capital you have, the more control you have over your life (Click to Tweet (http://clicktotweet.com/zWT5D)) * Ultimately what matters is how well you do the thing that you do best (Click to Tweet (http://clicktotweet.com/q0HrN)) * I'm very afraid of shallow work  (Click to Tweet (http://clicktotweet.com/pis7I)) Cal Newport (http://calnewport.com/blog/) is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University. He previously earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT in 2009, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in 2004. If you liked this article, would you share it with your friends? Just click here (http://clicktotweet.com/JsP8c) to post it to Twitter.

Toddy Henry started his career in the music business, which eventually led to a role as a creative director and the start of a podcast called The Accidental Creative. He wanted to answer the question of how we can do sustainable creative work. He previously appeared as a guest in our episode, The Essential Elements to Creative Success with Todd Henry (http://blogcastfm.com/blogcastfm/todd-henry-accidental-creative/). Here are a few of the highlights from our chat: * A Look at Staying Energized and Doing Great Work (http://blogcastfm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/ToddHenry.jpeg) * The Common Threads Between People Who Are Prolific * What We Can Learn from the Success of Musicians  * Why the Creative Work You Do Is About the People You Serve * The Reason That Cover Bands Don't Change the World * Determining What Unique Value You Can Deliver * Building Bridges for Your Audience with Your Art * The Reality of What It Takes to Discover Your Gifts * 7 Deadly Sins That Lead to Mediocrity  * The Role of Fierce Curiosity in Your Growth * Why You Must Build a Study Plan to Stimulate You * How Our Comfort Zone Hurts Our Progress * The Role That Ego Plays in Destroying Your Success * The Myth of the Lone Innovator * Why You Need a Framework for Creative Work * Finding the Balance Between a Linear Process and Freedom * Why You Have to Love Reading the Book That You Write * Dying Empty of Regret and Not Going to Your Grave with Your Best * Approaching Your Work as a Craftsman  Tweetable Insights Include: * Everything that seems fresh and new to you will eventually bore you (Click to Tweet (http://clicktotweet.com/lMUYH)) * You discover what you're good at only through action (Click to Tweet (http://clicktotweet.com/yba0Q)) * Creativity is a constant series of compromises (Click to Tweet (http://clicktotweet.com/q8ba5)) * I know that everything I do isn't going to be Citizen Kane (Click to Tweet (http://clicktotweet.com/c6593)) Todd Henry is founder Accidental Creative, an arms dealer for the creative revolution, a thought follower, an obsessive notebook purchaser, and author of The Accidental Creative & Die Empty. You can follow him on twitter @toddhenry (https://twitter.com/toddhenry).  If you liked this article, would you share it with your friends? Just click here (http://clicktotweet.com/wbaf3) to post it to Twitter.