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Dan Miller Articles

Written by: Dan Miller

Make your mastermind rock - Click To Read Article
In a recent blog – The Power of a Group – I talked about the questions Ben Franklin created for guiding the discussions in his Junto group. Many of you asked to see those, so here they are. See what you think – can you get a sense of why the Junto accomplished so much in Philadelphia with ripple effects for the entire country? How would you like to be a part of a group like that?

Michael Hyatt guest post today - Forget the royalties – just give my book away - Click To Read Article
I have yet to meet an author who thought his/her publisher did enough marketing or who was satisfied with . Most have the fantasy of writing the book, submitting the manuscript, and then sitting in a lawn chair next to the mailbox, waiting on those big checks to show up. The reality of publishing and the source of real income is a quite different picture. Several years ago , author of , told a small group of us author wannabes something that revolutionized my approach to writing. He said, “Everyone I meet wants to write a book. I tell them, ‘Write your book. Do a great job. Now you’re 10% finished. The remaining 90% consists of marketing, promoting, developing ancillary products, etc.’”

Can you do that a little faster? - Click To Read Article
This morning the local electric company showed up to dig the hole for a new pole on our property. They had already determined the hole would be going through rock so they brought in the right truck to do the job. As an old farm boy I was fascinated so I picked their brains for some interesting information.

Should I get a business loan? - Click To Read Article
“Dan, Thank you for all that you do. I would like to know what your opinion is on getting small business loans. It takes me a while to put money to the side from my regular job to invest in my businesses. I have tried buying wholesale collectibles on ebay to resell and also affiliate websites but found the long hours and no return on investment in the beginning hard to overcome. I could not get any traction going and would quit before I felt I ever got started. Would you recommend a business loan to get things going faster?”

The power of a group - Click To Read Article
January 18th would have been Benjamin Franklin’s birthday. Now there’s a guy who saw opportunities that others did not. Ben invented the lightning rod, bifocals, the Franklin stove, the odometer, and the glass armonica. He formed both the first public library and the first fire department in Pennsylvania.

A Plea to my Publisher - Click To Read Article
Sometimes life just happens. I have a book manuscript due on February 1st. In light of that looming date, I just sent this note to my publisher:

Want a $16/hr job? - Click To Read Article
For several years we’ve heard the horror stories – about how American companies are moving all their operations to other countries to save money on labor costs. Why would a company continue to pay $14/hr when you can find people willing to work for $4hr? And all the American jobs are being lost overseas?

Stop Singing “Happy Birthday” - Click To Read Article
Do you know it’s technically illegal to sing Happy Birthday in public? Yes, that song has a copyright just like any other song and to sing it in public triggers licensing fees to the copyright owners.

Stop Making Decisions – just do what’s important! - Click To Read Article
I read in a interview this week where Dr. Mehmet Oz said: “I recently learned that the more decisions we make in a day, the more likely we are to make bad decisions – because deciding wears us down.

I Wasn't Losing…….. - Click To Read Article
I recently saw Ted Turner being interviewed on CNN. The interviewer asked Ted how he kept going when his sailing team lost year after year and his baseball team was in last place for four years before going on to win the World Series. Without any hesitation Ted said, “I wasn’t losing, I was learning how to win.”

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus - Click To Read Article
Twin sisters Christa Pitts and Chanda Bell grew up in a house where their mother hid an elf named Fisbee somewhere each night between Thanksgiving and Christmas. A few years ago the sisters suggested they write a book about Fisbee. Every publisher turned them down. "It's been done - it's not practical to package a doll with a book - it's too expensive - no one will buy them." So they knew their idea was stupid and you’ve never heard of Elf on the Shelf.

Don’t get a job with benefits - Click To Read Article
Last Friday night the group attending Kent Julian’s Speak It Forward Bootcamp was gathered in his living room. Participant Chad Jeffers shared an amazing short set on the dobro and then some of his personal story. Chad said years ago his dad, who is also in the music industry, told him: “If you want to make this music thing work, never get a job with benefits.”

Why are you burying your talent? - Click To Read Article
A miser, to make sure he controlled all his wealth, sold all that he had and converted it into a great lump of gold, which he hid in a hole in the ground. Then he repeatedly went to visit and inspect it. This roused the curiosity of one of his workmen, who, suspecting that there was a treasure, when his master’s back was turned, went to the spot, and stole it away. When the miser returned and found the place empty, he wept and tore his hair.

I need more money but………….. - Click To Read Article
Here's a reader question - and a very common one I might add: Dan, like many of your readers/ listeners, I stuck am in a rut. My employer is rearranging schedules and cutting back on pay. I’m earning less than almost anyone I know here and now that's about to be cut back. I know I can do more, but I've been doing the same thing for so long I don't know what my skills are or where to start. I don't even know what my passions are. How can I figure out what is my true calling is?

Start Something that Matters - Click To Read Article
Fortunately for us, in his new book Start Something that Matters, Blake tells us we don’t have to choose. As he shares the story of how he started TOMS, one of the fastest-growing shoe companies in the world, he says we don’t have to choose. And furthermore, we’ll have more success if we don’t settle for less than combining all three elements. I love his chapter titles – the six steps for creating your own life.

Washing machine rental - Is your idea this good? - Click To Read Article
In September of last year I made a small loan to a lady in Columbia. Although I don’t know Yaneris Canate Rios personally, she made an application for $1,125 through Kiva.org. In Yaneris’ tiny community of El Milagro the ladies still all washed their clothes by hand. She wanted to purchase 5 washing machines to rent to her neighbors. I provided the last $50 to complete her loan. Each month I would see tiny payments come on – averaging about $3.84 as a repayment on that loan.

“…So you’re sayin’ there’s a chance?” - Click To Read Article
Okay, my tastes in movies are not very refined – I like funny and happy. Remember that great scene in Dumb and Dumber where Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels) have driven across the country to reconnect with Lloyd’s dream girl, Mary (Lauren Holly)? Lloyd: What do you think the chances are of a guy like you and a girl like me... ending up together?

Let me handle that brain surgery you need - Click To Read Article
A few days ago I received a note from a friend who is now in the "social media business." Unfortunately, that has become one of those glamorous sounding careers that has no agreed upon qualifications. Part of her proposed service would be to write blogs for me. Just a note – while many people have ghostwriters for their blogs I have never entertained the idea.

Today may be the most important day of 2012 - Click To Read Article
Today is November 15th. I don’t know if that’s significant on your calendar but it is on mine. For many years now I’ve made it my plan to have my goals completed for the upcoming year by November 15th.

Talent is Never Enough - Click To Read Article
I have been dumbfounded recently by running into several long-time acquaintances who are down on their luck. These are guys who were used to first class all the way – restaurants, cars, private flights, yachts and houses. And now they have been dealing with selling clothes on eBay to pay the apartment rent, parking the car because gas is too expensive, and eating at McDonalds.

Yeah but what's under the water? - Click To Read Article
Recently I was on board a beautiful new boat with a friend. While the boat looked absolutely stunning from everything I could see, the owner told me it was time to pull it out of the water and see what unwanted debris was hanging on under the surface. As any boat enthusiast knows, this is about the time of year when owners pull their boats out of the water and check for those things that are not easily seen from the top. Over time, various forms of debris accumulate on the hull. Foreign particles and parasites attach themselves to the hull, hoping for a free ride, but creating increased resistance to the smooth flow of water and slowing down the boat itself.

Better to Try and Fail – or not try at all?? - Click To Read Article
Recently I watched the 2007 movie Lions for Lambs. In this movie a brilliant but apathetic student asks his professor, “Is there any difference in trying but failing, and simply failing to try – if you end up in the same place anyway?” He was attempting to justify taking the safe route; never really taking a stand or trying anything big. What do you think? Do you cringe at trying something big because of the possibility of failure?

Which Brother Are You? - Click To Read Article
What is your perspective on life? Do you want to receive the riches, or do you want to be able to give it to others? Your perspective may have a lot to do with your success.

I Can't Make Money - Will You Give Me Some? - Click To Read Article
It seems that every day I hear from someone who is starting another non-profit business or ministry and wants me to contribute money. And along with that, there is usually the implication that the non-profit has a higher calling and Godliness than any business that makes money could possibly have. Do you really think that just because an organization lists itself as non-profit that they are doing work that is more worthwhile than a regular for-profit one?

Does "Education" Expand or Limit Your Options? - Click To Read Article
Sometimes when we position ourselves as "experts" we get locked into a certain way of thinking and learning. Maybe it's better to remain with a "beginner's mind" to see the big picture of opportunity waiting!

Is Your Light Under a Bushel? - Click To Read Article
Is the world seeing your strongest talents now, or will we have to wait until you are dead to recognize your best work? I know we all want to be part of something that goes beyond our own lives, but it's also reasonable to want to be part of something great today. This is not about being modest; it's about living a double life; one in which your daily work has no connection to your passion. Where you have to hide your true talent in order to "make a living." Do you have a secret talent that you're not sharing?

Live So That You May... - Click To Read Article
I know I want to live my life in a way that I would want to life the same life all over again. That’s the way ideas get re-circulated. And that reminds me of another great quotation: "There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We just take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn, and they create new and curious combinations. We keep turning making new patterns, but they are the same old pieces of glass that have been in use throughout all the years." --Mark Twain So I’ll probably take Nietzsche’s quotation, refine it a little and make it my own.

How to Cripple Your Kids - Click To Read Article
We've been hearing more about “helicopter parents” in the last few years. Is this just a healthy concern for the well-being of our children? Can we help them be excellent by giving them all our time, advice and resources? Well, unfortunately it’s pretty easy to show that students with helicopter parents tended to be “less open to new ideas and actions, as well as more vulnerable, anxious and self-consciousness, among other factors, compared with their counterparts with more distant parents.

Find the 87% of Jobs Never Advertised! - Click To Read Article
The major difference between successful and unsuccessful job-hunters is not skill, education, age, or ability, but the way they go about their job-hunt.

8 Reasons You Are Not Getting a Job Offer - Click To Read Article
Are you really too old, too young, overqualified or lacking the right education? Is the deck really stacked against you? Not likely!! Chances are you only need to improve the way you present yourself. Recently, a lady approached me after one of our seminar presentations on Career Management. She had been through 63 job interviews and wanted me to look at her resume to see what was preventing her from getting job offers. Hearing that she had 63 interviews let me know I did not need to look at her resume at all; it was doing an excellent job, getting interviews is the only purpose of a resume. So her problem was not in the resume, but something in her personal presentation.

Thank God It's Monday? - Click To Read Article
70% of Americans state they do not like their jobs. Entrepreneur magazine recently reported there is a 33% increase in the number of heart attacks on Monday mornings and a 25% increase in work related injuries on Mondays. The Center for Disease Prevention in Atlanta says there are more deaths at 9:00 Monday morning than any other time of the day, or any other day of the week.

Dealing with Job Search Discouragement - Click To Read Article
You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t feel discouragement while you are unemployed. We attach too much of our worth and self-esteem to our jobs and consequently, when we are “in between opportunities,” it’s natural to feel anxious at times.

Starting a Business with Nothing - Click To Read Article
Does the thought of needing start up money hold you back from starting a business? It shouldn't!

So You Have An Invention - Click To Read Article
We get a lot of questions regarding inventions: Where do I start? How can I sell my idea? Is it legal? How can I know that I am not infringing on someone else's patent? Do I need a patent?

Money and Security -- Want to be a Millionaire? - Click To Read Article
In 1900 there were fewer than 5,000 Millionaires in the United States. Today there are nearly 2,000,000 Millionaires and 40 Billionaires. 100,000 more become Millionaires each year -- one each 12 minutes. Here is a list of how people accumulate wealth in America.

Interview Question -- Outside The Box - Click To Read Article
Moral dilemma or opportunity to think outside box?

Go Ahead — Take a Big Sip! - Click To Read Article
Frequently our best opportunities are right under our nose. Life circumstances can blur our vision -- but if we take a fresh look we will find new solutions to open the door to a higher level of success.

FEAR and RISK? What is holding you back? - Click To Read Article
Don't drop that egg! While at the Nashville Zoo with my granddaughter, we watched as the zookeeper offered to let small children hold an ostrich egg. These amazing eggs are approximately 24 times the size of a chicken egg and weigh about 3 pounds. But rather than embracing a once-in-a-lifetime experience, almost without exception the parental caution was - "Now, don't drop that egg."





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