What's Much, Much Better Than Motivational Quotes?

I know people who peddle in motivational quotes. They hunt them down, share them on Facebook and move onto the next one. Heck, I used to be like that with an old Twitter account. So I get the appeal of them, I really do.

But there's a big ol' problem with quote farming:

It has a way of becoming hollow and pointless.

You read a quote and something about it resonates with you. Maybe it's clever and insightful. Maybe you've heard it before but now, in one moment where you stare at your screen, you truly get it.

So, being the generous person you are, you share it with everyone you know.

You look for another inspirational quote. Most are rather trite, so you keep digging. But you find a good one. Then another. You share these too.

The more you look, the emptier these quotes sound. And you start seeing the same quotes popping up again and again. Don't those hacks know we've heard that one a thousand times before?

If you keep looking, you find a sea of decent motivational quotes amid a bigger sea of garbage.

(It's so bad that you can't even think of good metaphors for it.)

The harder you look, the harder it is to find an inspirational quote that's... well, inspiring.

And let me tell you why that is.

A good motivational quote might have a gram of wisdom in it. It might have just the right piece that you were looking for. You consider what it means and it completes something inside.

That's the exception, though. It certainly isn't the rule.

And if you think back on those great moments in your life where you felt inspired, you were probably doing one of two things.

You were either out there, living your life and working through challenges.

Or...

You were talking with someone. Having a conversation. A dialogue.

An inspirational quote is a tiny monologue. It takes human interaction truly improve. An exchange of ideas or perspectives is the best way to find a snippet of wisdom that inspires you.

So by all means, find a quote that floats your boat.

Tape it to your ceiling, computer monitor or bathroom mirror.

But then do this:

Live the quote.

Explore its meaning.

Fulfil its example.

Don't just use it as a slogan - use it as a philosophy. Every day, find a new way to align something in your life to the quote.

It resonated with you for a reason.

So chase that reason with both hands outstretched.

You can begin that simple self-improvement technique now.

And enjoy its benefits for the rest of your life.

If you really want to take your mind to new places? To improve more you dreamed possible?

You might want to read about this mind training program:

https://www.guided-thought.com/monster

Make Your Inner Critic Pay Rent

I know plenty of people who struggle with meditation. They'll say something like it doesn't interest them, they can't sit still, or they gave it a go and it didn't work.

It might even be true.

But for many people, they don't like coming face-to-face with that voice inside your mind. You know the one I mean - the one that whispers horrible things to you about your looks, talents, successes, failures, prospects and worthiness to keep breathing.

The sorts of things you'd never say to another person, even your worst enemy.

It's always there, anticipating your mistakes, just waiting for the chance to laugh at you.

So if this voice, or the deeper well of anxiety and insecurity it comes from, won't leave you alone, then it's time to take control.

But you don't gain control by fighting it.

Think of this inner critic like a neighbouring kingdom... with an enormous army. Much stronger than yours. If you fight it head on, not only will it not work, but you'll hand it even more real estate and power.

How would you fight such an adversary?

With kindness and curiosity.

Don't think of these as soft. It takes real strength to say, with full kindness, "really? I don't think that's true - what makes you so sure?"

Especially to someone attacking you, and even if that someone is you.

These can give you control over the volume... or maybe its air supply. If you're patient, you can starve it out.

But you're right to not want to settle for that.

After all, I bet it's been hassling you for a long, long time. Driving it from its home - your head - is too good for it.

It's about time it compensated you for it.

Why shouldn't it? Should this, the worst tenant of all time, be allowed to live anywhere rent-free? Especially some real estate as valuable as your noggin?

Surely not.

Maybe it's time you demand your inner critic starts paying its share. And not just paying rent from now on, either. It owes you plenty of backpay, not to mention all the damages it needs to cover.

There's no need to evict it. Show it mercy, bring it into line and put it to work.

Because this voice sure is creative. It used to have fun concocting the worst-case scenarios for you.

So use that creativity. Make it devise best-case scenarios instead... with a plan to get there.

And you know it's persistent, so use that too.

If it wants to keep scrutinising your life, let it find the ways you're doing well. Allow it to offer constructive suggestions for improvement.

Heck, you can put a leash on the inner critic and walk it round the block if you want.

After all, it's yours. No one else can tell you what to do with it, not even that voice.

Silencing it frees up a surprising amount of mental resources. That alone makes you feel smarter, faster, cleaner and happier. When you turn those resources to your own needs, you feel even better.

You can begin that simple self-improvement technique now.

And enjoy its benefits for the rest of your life.

If you really want to take your mind to new places? To improve more you dreamed possible?

You might want to read about this mind training program:

https://www.guided-thought.com/monster

Create a Shrine for Your Magicless Rituals

The unconscious mind loves rituals. It adores them. On some level, it believes they're real.

Because, on some level, they are.

I don't mean you can sacrifice a goat to bring the rains. I do mean you can create certain results by repeating certain actions. If you create a ritual that gives you superhuman confidence, then it'll work eventually - by pure repetition, anchoring and placebo.

But the rules of not-magic don't stop there.

Alongside magic spells is the notion of sacred spaces.

Whether or not locations can literally be sacred doesn't matter. If you act as though they are, you'll start to respond as if they are.

Which means you can create a shrine - an inner sanctum - inside your own home.

Did I say 'can'? That could just as easily read 'should'.

One of the classic meditation tips, especially for beginners and folk who struggle with it, is to create a dedicated space for it. Always meditate in the same spot and don't do anything else there. 
Eventually, you'll associate the two so strongly that sitting there will put you in a trance.

That's psychology, not magic. But it's powerful enough to qualify.

You could dedicate your inner sanctum towards something specific, like prosperity, gratitude or confidence. Or you could make it an all-purpose sort of place, leaving yourself open to whatever you need.

Either way, here are some guidelines. Not rules, as this is an incredibly personal thing. But guidelines, certainly.

As with the meditation idea, only use your inner sanctum for this. Whether it's a corner of your study or a wing of your mansion, make it a single purpose space.

Keep it clean and attractive. Decorate it, unless that feels too garish.

Use it every day to think about what you want and how you want to develop.

After a while, your brain will associate this place to what you seek. Simply being there will be enough to get your mind thinking along the right lines.

And the more you think that way inside the space, the more it becomes a habit outside the space, too.

Now, if this seems to mystical or woo-woo for you, dress it differently. Instead of an inner sanctum, think about it as a mental dojo.

Or virtual reality training program.

Or you could think of it as it is - a spatial trigger for your unconscious associations.

Whatever works for you works for you, so use it.

You can begin that simple self-improvement technique now.

And enjoy its benefits for the rest of your life.

If you really want to take your mind to new places? To improve more you dreamed possible?

You might want to read about this mind training program:

https://www.guided-thought.com/monster

Circular Patterns in Venture Capital and Angel Investing: Interesting Trends and Tips

1. During the past decade, the size of seed rounds has remained stagnant and number of deals have decreased. To the untrained eye, it seems that there is more competition for seed dollars. Below the surface, however, startups are recycling founders experience. The reason why the number of deals has decreased is that teams are better prepared, are more financially savvy, have access to better-priced support, waste less time and resources, are using other forms of funding PRIOR to seed rounds, and are pivoting or deciding to get out earlier -at the pre-seed stage. (Founders will jump into exploring new opportunities).

Founding teams are recycled

2. More firms seeking seed rounds already have sales, expression of interests, and some form of market validation as a result of the circular economy of entrepreneurial mind and action. Firms that seek seed rounds are more advanced than 10 years ago. Founders are using other ways to get funded (as they should! Because seed funding is very expensive!), AND they are also recycling the experience of founding, co-founding, advising, and/or being early employees in previous firms. This is creating a circular economy of entrepreneurial experience. Not just serial entrepreneurs but a large pool of people who have experienced startup development (failed, successful, and everything in between, in so many roles!).

Supplier of funds are recycled

3. More investors are getting into each round, and seed rounds have become more collaborative. More and more small funds, angels and angel groups are co-investing. That means more eyes are evaluating deals (GOOD) but also BAD deals are getting through because the impact of each deal in the overall portfolio is lower, and the FOMO (fear of missing out) can get that signature! Think Theranos (ouch).

TIP: Nobody talks about the herd mentality and there will be some lessons to learn going forward. Because of the cycling and recycling nature of funding, early investors are able to scan deals early, with lower amounts, and, if they want to play in future rounds, they need to get in early and with others: pay to play.

Founders and funders' recycling is also changing the exits:

4. Exits are being recycled too! Companies are being acquired, taken public, broken into pieces, resold, privatized, re-public'ed, and there are many emerging opportunities for exit. This is actually an area ripe for disruption. Welcome to the world of recycling exits.

And the funding process has become more interesting and complex.

5. As both entrepreneurs and funders become more comfortable navigating many options of funding startups or grownups, new funding options are emerging: there is better knowledge about crowdfunding, cryptocurrencies, hybrids (safes/convertible notes), and SFI-types (can we call this special funding instruments?). Capital suppliers are borrowing mechanisms from SPV, SPE, and SVI. I can't wait to see what new options sprout of this.

All of these recycling and repurposing has an impact on ROI and capital markets

6. Cycles are longer: It takes longer to climb a larger mountain, especially if, along the way, there have been some quasi-exits, pivots, more and larger rounds. This is having an impact on the way we negotiate funding going INTO the firm, because there is light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel is getting much longer. Combine this with the uncertainty of how investors get OUT. Again, this is an area ripe for disruption and I can't wait to see new options emerging. With longer cycles, the return on investment decreases, so firms are pushed into finding new and disruptive ways to excite investors and NEW investors who supposedly are more risk-averse and adventurous, but in reality are reckless.

Longer roads need more resources, 
But the supply of capital does not exist in a vacuum

7. Public markets are shrinking, and investors -especially institutional investors- are navigating through a rollercoaster of political insanity. Mostly derived from the surprising interest in protecting borders than in having healthy global economies, financial and economic illiteracy is permeating the political arena where decisions are reckless and financial managers are focusing on reducing stupid (gasp) risks instead of creating and supporting new wealth.

Overall, a combination of healthy recycling of talent, capital, and technology is fueling the economy despite mistakes made by politics.

For investors the signals are clear: Get in early, support many startups, learn and collaborate.

For entrepreneurs the signals indicate: Use many forms of funding, use dynamic funding, ask investors for support (not just money), and create dynamic teams.

Oh, and for small business owners that think "small is beautiful", now, more than ever, my famous quote of 100% of 1 is 1, but 1% of 1000 is more, is more valid than ever. Get in line, ditch the illusion of a "safe" and embrace the "growth" mindset. If we stop growing, we start dying. Small IS beautiful, it is just not sustainable.

For Government and Economic Development Agencies, the puzzle is getting more and more complex... Hang in there!

We really don't know what we are doing, but we are doing!

Alicia Castillo Holley is an international expert on Wealthing (R) a system to create wealth. She has started 9 companies and one not-for-profit, raised millions of dollars and trained thousands of people. She's a recognized author and speaker and travels around the world twice a year as a speaker /trainer. http://www.wealthing.com