On The Twisting Road » Uncategorized

September 30, 2008

Steve Coxsey — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 01:12:51 +0000

Celebrate Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness

ON THE TWISTING ROAD

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IN THIS ISSUE:

*Steve’s Field Note
*The TWISTING ROAD TRAVEL LOG
*ADVISORY BOARD — Spread the word!

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Steve’s Field Note

September 30, 2008

Today is the last day of the third quarter of the year. That might not mean much to you yet, but as you establish your business and start making a profit you’ll recognize it as a benchmark. It will be a good time to look at your budget and compare it to your actual earnings and expenses to see how you’re doing. And it will be time to figure out how much you need to send in to the government for estimated taxes. They really need some extra money right now, so I’m sure they’ll appreciate us sending all we can spare!

This year the end of the quarter coincided with another benchmark for me. Read about in the the TRAVEL LOG.

ANYTHING BUT MARKETING! contains a tale of the collapse of customer service at a company that is so BIG they’re cumbersome. See how your small business can use its size as an advantage.

Entrepreneurial thinking leads to creative solutions to problems caused by really bad ideas. Think we ought to mention that to the folks in the government?

Enjoy the scenery On The Twisting Road!

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TWISTING ROAD TRAVEL LOG

“Scenic Turnout”

Today I rounded a corner on the Twisting Road and came across a wonderful view. I pulled over to get a better look and realized there was space cleared out to the side of the road to park. I got out, looked a long time at the scene before me, and breathed in. As I breathed out, I let go of tension and worry and enjoyed the moment. It was just the right time and place for a scenic turnout.

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ANYTHING BUT MARKETING!

“BIG: A Parable”

There was a man who bought his son a GPS navigation unit. The unit froze up after less than two months so the man contacted the company. He was on hold for over twenty minutes and then on the phone with a person in a cubicle reading a script for about fifteen minutes. The script said things like, “Turn the unit off and then turn it back on.” The man felt lost in the BIG world of the company.

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ADVISORY BOARD

That’s you. As always:

If you like what you read, please tell your family and friends. If you don’t like something, please tell me!

Thanks for Joining Me on the Ride,

Steve Coxsey

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On The Twisting Road is a publication of Discovery Lookout, Inc. and Stephen Coxsey
(c) 2008 Discovery Lookout, Inc. and Stephen Coxsey

September 24, 2008

Steve Coxsey — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 22:22:54 +0000

Celebrate Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness

ON THE TWISTING ROAD

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IN THIS ISSUE:

*Steve’s Field Note
*The TWISTING ROAD TRAVEL LOG
*ADVISORY BOARD — Spread the word!

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Steve’s Field Note

September 24, 2008

My intensive coaching skills class is winding down just as my study group for Finding Your True Calling is starting. It’s been almost two years since I first finished the exercises to help me discover my calling. They led me to coaching, training, and writings as parts of a small business.

I joined the group to go through those exercises again to help me get a more detailed vision for my business. I also want to learn more about how other people find their calling. As a coach, I see that a lot of people decide they want a change in their work lives but get stuck on what they can do instead of what they want to do.

It doesn’t really take being a coach to realize that, since I did it myself for years when trying to choose a new career path. But my shifted perspective as a coach helps me see why we get stuck there. Put on your work boots and see the mucky progress in this week’s TRAVEL LOG.

Enjoy the scenery On The Twisting Road!

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TWISTING ROAD TRAVEL LOG

Reprieve From The Muck

Great news! The articles and assignments I was reading for the Finding Your True Calling study group were the wrong ones! The wrong page numbers were sent out by mistake. So all that muckiness wasn’t necessary, and thank goodness I can forget about it. Except I can’t, and I shouldn’t.

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ADVISORY BOARD

That’s you. As always:

If you like what you read, please tell your family and friends. If you don’t like something, please tell me!

Thanks for Joining Me on the Ride,

Steve Coxsey

September 17, 2008

Steve Coxsey — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:49:14 +0000

Celebrate Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness

ON THE TWISTING ROAD

********************************************************************************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:

*Steve’s Field Note
*The TWISTING ROAD TRAVEL LOG
*ANYTHING BUT MARKETING!
*ADVISORY BOARD — Spread the word!

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Steve’s Field Note

September 17, 2008

Hurricane Ike smashed into the Texas coast and headed north, but it moved to the east so we only caught some of the rain and gusty winds here. It seems to have blown the hot weather away and left us with beautiful, clear cool weather.

That helped clear my mind a little, at least on the subject of autoresponders. Since I didn’t get mine canceled before the billing cycle, I’ve thought about it some more and realized I should keep it. It sends out the newsletter the way I need it to. And it captures legitimate names and e-mail addresses when people sign up.

The part I don’t like — getting lots of phony sign-ups with gambling and pharmaceutical references — isn’t a flaw in the autoresponder. It’s the result of computer programs looking for sign-up forms on the internet and putting in bogus information. All the names that haven’t confirmed their subscription are the phony ones so they’re easy for me to delete.

That was about it for me and clarity this week! I’ve been stirring up old memories and feelings doing exercises for an upcoming group on Finding Your True Calling. Read about it in the TRAVEL LOG.

And this newsletter is delayed by one day this week because I was having a hard time putting specific words to the idea I had four ANYTHING BUT MARKETING! Lately I’ve talked with people who are using a method for marketing without having a clear purpose or even knowing what to expect. Hey! That’s what I used to do! I think my start-up approach will help them — and maybe even me — remember to keep the focus simple.

Enjoy the scenery On The Twisting Road!

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TWISTING ROAD TRAVEL LOG

“Mucky Times”

Every week in this blog I try to reflect on what I’ve learned as a solo entrepreneur, whether it’s planning or purpose or new technology. This week I’m still too much in the process of discovery to be able to share much insight or any conclusions. I’ve been spending more time exploring the exercises…

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ANYTHING BUT MARKETING!

“small”

When you start out as a solo entrepreneur in a professional service field, even if you plan to grow and have several employees and serve lots of locations, you start out small. That makes a lot of difference in how you filter the information you hear about marketing strategies and tools.

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ADVISORY BOARD

That’s you. As always:

If you like what you read, please tell your family and friends. If you don’t like something, please tell me!

Thanks for Joining Me on the Ride,

Steve Coxsey

September 9, 2008

Steve Coxsey — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:14:31 +0000

Celebrate Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness

ON THE TWISTING ROAD

********************************************************************************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:

*Steve’s Field Note
*The TWISTING ROAD TRAVEL LOG
*ADVISORY BOARD — Spread the word!

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Steve’s Field Note

September 09, 2008

With my passion for creative career choice and entrepreneurship, my ongoing learning spans topics from enticing stories of people doing surprising and unique things for work to details of how to plan a marketing program. Lately my focus has shifted more towards the search for creative career choices, along with ways to find your calling.

Thank goodness! The details are important, but they get dry sometimes. This week’s TRAVEL LOG is about some of the challenges I’ve encountered and discoveries I’ve made using one “Finding Your Calling” exercise in particular. I hope it serves as a reminder for all of us always to be seeking and exploring our possibilities.

I didn’t get the autoresponder account closed down before I was billed for another month. It keeps happening earlier each month! We have some more very well know drugs following our journey. Hello, guys.

Enjoy the scenery On The Twisting Road!

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TWISTING ROAD TRAVEL LOG

If Money Were No Object, How Big Would It Be?

I signed up to participate in a group through the Fast Track Your Dream program. We’re going to be reading through a collection of articles and essays titled Finding Your True Calling. I read through this book several months ago and tried some of the exercises, but not all of them. I skimmed over one in particular, but this week I’ve been focusing on it seriously.

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ADVISORY BOARD

That’s you. As always:

If you like what you read, please tell your family and friends. If you don’t like something, please tell me!

Thanks for Joining Me on the Ride,

Steve Coxsey