Limitless Inspiration

One of the things that I learned

2011-10-14T06:57:00.001-07:00

Ever since I made the leap of running my own company last June of this year. I met many different kinds of people, but there is one kind that became so prominent that I had to share it.

There are people who will push your boundaries, and not in a good way. This goes for both personal and/or professionals settings. Even though, it's common etiquette practice, they will still push their boundaries to see how you would react. [No offense, but unless you've been given the obvious signs, you shouldn't push it.]

Ladies, here's my advice. If you value your self-respect, be firm with your ground. Don't be nice when faced with this situation. Be vocal. If they continue to push, even though you said no; drop them. If they stopped pushing, be wary. As soon as you become vulnerable, they'll pounce again. How they used to see you (as first impressions) won't change much even if you let time passes from the first incident. So keep them at a distance and don't give them a chance to see you in a weak state.

Keep this at the back of your mind, because of you don't pay attention, you'll lose money for taking a chance, feel pressured to do something you didn't want to do, and be disappointed/frustrated by the end of it all.

So save yourself the emotional-rollercoaster of hassle and keep an eye out for people who are used to aggressive tactics. If you're not comfortable, there's a reason why you're not. Even if you don't know why yet, you'll find out soon enough.

Living

2011-10-10T22:34:00.001-07:00

In the eyes of an equal, I saw fire
In the spirit of an equal, mine died and resurrected

Spirit bloomed into a beautifully crafted images
Images went havoc with colors
It's illuminating,
It was refreshing
It was exciting
It felt like love at first sight
But just like everything that is beautiful,
Grey ugly veins spread
Overcoming the beauty and masking it with it's horrible stench
It flailed
It was blinded
It was groveling on it's knees
In search for the light
For many nights, it searched
For many days, it hoped
Just as when it gave up on the search
It found another seed
A seed that it vowed to protect
That seed is it's reborn life

Inspirational Quotes

2010-02-14T13:42:00.000-08:00

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work"
- Thomas Edison, inventor

"The best way to predict the future is to create it"
- Peter F. Drucker,

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted"
- Albert Einstein, physicist

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give"
- Sir Winston Churchill, statesman

"Greatness is not where we stand, but in what direction we are moving."
- Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., jurist

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work"
- Thomas Edison, inventor

"The best way to predict the future is to create it"
- Peter F. Drucker,

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted"
- Albert Einstein, physicist

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give"
- Sir Winston Churchill, statesman

"Greatness is not where we stand, but in what direction we are moving."
- Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., jurist

"The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you find yourself"
- Mark Caine, author

"Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago."
- Warren Buffet, investor

"Our attitude towards others determines their attitude towards us."
- Earl Nightingale, author

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe"
- Anatole France, author

"The key to happiness is having dreams; the key to success is making them come true."
- James Allen, author and post

"You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don't do too many things wrong."
- Warren Buffet, investor

"You can't avoid change; it's mandatory. Progress, however, is optional"
- Bill R. Good, Jr. marketing guru

"The highest use of capital is not to make more money, but to make money do more for the betterment of life."
- Henry Ford, industrialist

"The importance of money flows from it being a lin between the present and the future."
- John Maynard Keynes, economist

"There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as those everything is a miracle."
- Albert Einstein, physicist

"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."
- Theodore Roosevelt, US president
- Mark Caine, author

"Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago."
- Warren Buffet, investor

"Our attitude towards others determines their attitude towards us."
- Earl Nightingale, author

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe"
- Anatole France, author

"The key to happiness is having dreams; the key to success is making them come true."
- James Allen, author and post

"You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don't do too many things wrong."
- Warren Buffet, investor

"You can't avoid change; it's mandatory. Progress, however, is optional"
- Bill R. Good, Jr. marketing guru

"The highest use of capital is not to make more money, but to make money do more for the betterment of life."
- Henry Ford, industrialist

"The importance of money flows from it being a line between the present and the future."
- John Maynard Keynes, economist

"There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as those everything is a miracle."
- Albert Einstein, physicist

"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."
- Theodore Roosevelt, US president

Love What You Do

2009-07-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

If you can't do what you love, find something to be passionate about and develop
whatever that is.

By: Eve Gumpel 11/04/2008

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Name of company: Morpheus Media
Name of woman leader: Shenan Reed
Based in: New York
Description: Interactive advertising and marketing agency
Began: 2001
2003 sales: $2 million
2007 sales: $35 million

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What was the inspiration for your business?

"We lost our jobs." The three founding partners--Reed, her husband Alex Golimbu and Jamie Driver--were all working at another advertising agency that crumbled in the dot-com bust. "We were in the right place at the right time," says Reed, whose nascent company inherited the last two clients the trio's former employer had left: The New York Times and Hertz Car Rental. "It was a couple of really great brands to start a business with," Reed says.

How much did it cost to start the business?

They spent nothing to get started. "We were really lucky because we were bringing on two clients who already had retainers." Although, she acknowledges, "We definitely lived off our credit cards and didn't pay ourselves a salary for a year."

How did you grow your business so rapidly?

"Do what you do extremely well, and surround yourself with people who do what they do extremely well. If you can't do what you love, love what you do. If you can find something to be passionate about, even if it's not your first passion, and really use all your experiences from everything else that you're capable of, just develop whatever that is."

Reed says that, as a rule, her company doesn't hire online advertising professionals from other agencies. Current employees include a former manager of a Sears store and three members of a band that was signed by Sony BMG. There's a former professional male model and a guy who grew up on a farm. Reed herself has a background in musical theater and her husband is a former attorney.

"I think that works to our advantage because everybody works with another piece of experience--and it's those experiences combined together that make us dynamic, exciting and interesting and able to help each other grow."

What Morpheus does isn't like offline advertising, Reed notes. "When we put it live, within 24 hours we know what it's doing--and we can change it, optimize it, rotate in something new. There are a lot of knobs and levers to turn. It takes a curious mind to want to figure out this puzzle."

How do you balance your family and business responsibilities?

"Business never really turns off. We bring it home with us. But then, any other couple would come home and say, hey, how was your day? We do actually come home and say, what'd you do today?"

Do you have a funny story about juggling kids and work?

Her 5-year-old son (Calvin, named for the "Calvin & Hobbes" comic strip) practically grew up in the office; he has a desk and his own computer right outside Reed's office. Once, he came in and found stacks of software programs. "He grabbed them and 'filed' them all over the office, leaving a different software CD on every single person's desk. We had brand new filing cabinets, and they still had their keys in them. He locked every person's filing cabinet for them, and then hid the keys."

What's on your iPod?

Ann Murray, Louis Armstrong, Bare Naked Ladies, Buddhahead (the band from the office), Buena Vista Social Club, The Carpenters, Chris Rock, Jerky Boys, Osmonds, Chopin, Helen Reddy ("My hero. Everyone knows I'm having a good day when I start blaring, I Am Woman."), Bach, Raffi, Mannheim Steamroller, The Boy from Oz, Avenue Q, A Year with Frog and Toad.

What books are you reading?

She just finished reading Hug Your People and is working on Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster.

What's your advice to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to grow their business?

She suggests that business owners hire people who are driven, curious, and smarter than they are. "I want to be surrounded by amazingly intelligent, creative people. This business is not about me. It's about them. I just happen to be a conduit."

Reed also suggests: "Take it one step at a time. Always be honest. Share the glory and own the problems."

In addition, Reed says, "Spend some time at least working on your business, not just in it." Turn over some day-to-day responsibilities "so that you can take a step back and say, What do I need to do to grow this business?, What do I need to be thinking about for the future of my business outside the daily client work?"