Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted. A lot has changed since January:

• I’ve added a few new titles to my repertoire: Curator, Producer, Alchemist, Partner
• I’ve worked harder, longer hours than ever before – and never been happier
• The number of completely amazing, truly brilliant people in my life has exploded
• I have a new business partner and new business model
• The words “pillow-fight”, “flute”, and “client” have deep new meanings for me – all underscored with Laughter

I blame Dan Pink and that night at Politics and Prose.

I blame, TED, of course.

But mostly, I blame Patrick Smith.

I’ll let Derek Sivers explain.

You see, Patrick Smith has been my Lone Nut. And TEDxPotomac our movement.

It consumed us. It challenged us. It transformed us all.

Even though it was his crazy idea to bring a real TED-like experience to DC, Patrick truly “embraced me as an equal” (hehe, not literally Daniel and Irita) that night at the bookstore, the first of many nights over the last 6 months where we were the last “men” standing – dreaming and scheming over the details and stories to tell on May 20, 2010.

It’s no wonder I couldn’t wait to invite others to follow along. As a result, I think, TEDxPotomac was more than a single event within the larger TED and TEDx movement, it has become a movement in itself. One whose momentum continues to pull me forward – with laughter and smiles so big my face hurts. Seriously, just look at those grins.

Team MindMeld

So Patrick, my friend, my Leader, my Lone Nut, what’s NExt?

I’ll follow you anywhere, and Jill’s coming along for the whole ride next time. Unless, of course, one of us is driving.

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Leave it to Dan Pink to get me back in the swing of things here. I knew I’d be writing about Dan and his new book Drive today, because I saw him talking about it yesterday at Politics and Prose. If I had any doubts or thoughts of dropping the ball, he was on NPR this morning reminding me of yesterday’s plans.

Ironically, I heard the interview as sort of a driveway moment while pulling in to the ModernTimes Coffeehouse, P&P’s in-store cafe. (It’s kind of a neighborhood hang-out and lately my double-secret satellite lair.)

I’ve been a fan of Dan Pink’s for a long time, since first reading the Free Agent Nation article in FastCompany magazine twelve years ago before it became his first book.

I became a rabid fan when he came back several years later with A Whole New Mind.

And I began truly foaming at the mouth when his release of Johny Bunko coincided with the completion of the design work here for yours truly – TBD –  in the spring of 2008. I mean, seriously, it’s a business/career book – in manga!

What I couldn’t imagine is what other superhero of mine I’d be writing about today. I mean, who could possibly give Dan Pink a run around the rink while I think?

George, freaking, Foreman, that’s who!

My NPR/drive time/important lesson constellations were well aligned today, and I caught this interview with the former heavy-weight champion about his new book – Knockout Entrepreneur.

Although I haven’t read either of these books yet, the similarities between the two are interesting and exciting, especially when looking at what Pink refers to as one of the key ingredients to drive – “purpose,” and whether – or not – money is a good motivator.

Here’s an excerpt from the Foreman interview:

MARTIN: … Number one, you say money matters but not much. You say don’t let making money be your only motivation. I know it may be difficult to believe but money is not the best motivator for most people. If you find a product or service that will simply make money for you, you can pay the mortgage this month, but that will never be enough to motivate you to outstanding success.

Well, tell me a little bit more about that because it sounds to me though that the money was pretty important to you.

Mr. FOREMAN: Money is a good thing but every morning you have to get up with something no one else in the world gets up with, that’s that image. That face you see in the mirror, you got to love it and you better do some things that you feel good about inside of you. Of course, money is going to come, but make certain that you do some good with it.

I almost forgot about that and dropped the baton because with all of the millions I made the first time around as the heavyweight champ of the world, I had a swimming pool, Rolls Royce, Mercedes, you name the foolishness – I mean the successiveness. But I had all these things but I didn’t have anything to show that I had treated mankind the way mankind had treated me.

The second time around, I even went back into boxing because I had a youth center my brother Roy and I started in Houston, Texas, just for kids to hang out and stay out of trouble. And I’d literally run out of money and I had to go back into boxing for debt. I risked my life and for that I was given the gift of stamina and endurance.

When I was younger I got tired in the fight with Muhammad Ali in Africa and I lost because I got tired. But once you have a reason and something to fight for, you are gifted with this thing called endurance and stamina when you’re fighting for more than just yourself and money.

And here’s a view into what Dan Pink is saying about carrots and sticks and how most of the time businesses should throw them out because they just don’t work like we think they do.

I think it’s kickass kismet that these two guys are both fighting the good fight for making the world a better place, and I think Dan Pink should be glad they’re fighting on the same team.

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Over the last few posts I’m sure you could see the bite from the Entrepreneurial bug – though no radioactive spider – has been working its transformative power.  By the end of September, as the impending battle with HiringFreeze and LayOff seemed each day closer and more menacing, I simply couldn’t resist the opportunity to sharpen my own super-networking and entrepreneurial powers by attending Network Solution’s Grow Smart Business Conference.

What an amazing day! If my super-boots hadn’t been holding them on, I’m sure my super-socks would have been knocked right off. I was so impressed by the program line up and the organization and presentation by the hotel. For the first time in many years, it felt like the “good ol’ days” in the online world.

When I arrived at registration and was invited to stop down the hall for breakfast before the conference began, I was expecting  the usual dregs of the half-bagle and stale croissant plate and warmed over coffee. Imagine my surprise – and delight – to find a beautiful full buffet with eggs, bacon, gorgeous pastries,  plenty of fresh fruit- and full table service.

And check out this beautiful table at the break – no generic granola bars here: instead mixed nuts, dried fruit, and plenty of TAZO Earl Grey.

Grow Smart: mmmm Snacks

From a customer standpoint I would definitely recommend and attend other events at the Renaissance Marriott. Kudos to the NetSol team for a conference that went above and beyond the expectations of everyone I spoke with.

The deal was well worth the $99 I paid for the event, but you can still catch most of the same goodies and great advice for small businesses and entrepreneurs – minus the delicious breakfast, lunch and snacks for FREE.

Some of my personal favorites -

• - Rohit Barghava: Adding Personality to your Business
• - This amazing panel on integrating traditional marketing with social media - including my brilliant friends: Jill Foster, Joanna Pineda, and Danilo Bogdanovic
• - And, the amazingly energetic and funny presentation on business cards by Steven Fisher

Truly inspiring day. I found myself wishing that I had time to really dedicate myself to my renewed entrepreneurial energies.

Well, you know what theay say…

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Unintentional Entrepreneur -Washington DC at Johns Hopkins Montgomery County

Originally uploaded by Network Solutions

This past Wednesday, I attended a great event entitled “Unintentional Entrepreneur”, co sponsored by Network Solutions, SCORE and Outright. As I get back on the Entrepreneurship horse on-the-side-show myself, I just couldn’t pass this one up for a number of reasons:

• 1) Since 1992 when I started my first consulting business – intentionally – I’ve been both an intentional and unintentional entrepreneur several times over
• 2) I was really curious to meet people who considered themselves “unintentional entrepreneurs” because on the occasions when I’ve been an unintentional entrepreneur, I’ve found living the dual identity of entrepreneur/job-seeker to be very challenging
  NB – I didn’t meet anyone who considered themselves unintentionally there
• 3) Shashi The Social Media Swami was hosting. Besides having one of the coolest titles in the business, every time I attend one of Shashi’s events, something magical happens. Wednesday was no exception.
• 4) I guess I consider myself an “unintentional employee” at the moment. I was just getting TBD off the ground when my current gig sort of fell in my lap. I wasn’t looking for it, but it found me.

So along with enough ideas for a regular cornucopia of blogging material for several weeks to come, it’s got me thinking a lot about “intentions.”

As an errant yogini and erstwhile coach, words and intentions are powerful concepts for entrepreneurs and everyone.

We’ll explore them together soon. In the mean time, here’s a great article on one interpretation of the difference between intentions and goals.

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That’s it no more Reign on my Fire.

I can’t believe all this time has slipped by. Where did it go?

September 2008 was a slow return to reality after BRC, followed by October’s fast and furious assimilation by the “Borg” -  my own personal Kryptonite, a “real job”.

Lured by what promised to be, at last, the perfect opportunity to work using only my strengths: Strategy, Coaching, Team Building, User Experience Design, and Introducing Social Media, I leapt at the chance to “build my own team.” I never imagined I’d be hanging up my brand new super-hero suit so quickly.

I envisioned a slow ramp up as a sort of Charles Xavier, culling through my network of ultratalented friends from the online world – designers, developers, social-media gurus and online strategists, to assemble a best-of-the-best league of super online mutants to fight the good fight against an unwieldy navigation scheme and general lack of brand strategy. It seemed so close, so real, so easy. Heck, I was going to work for the American Association for Justice, it already sounded like a superhero gig. Moonlighting as TBD would be snap, right?

But, the world and the economy had other things in store for me and my team. Just days after arriving, out went The Memo. You know the one. Chances are pretty good you’ve seen one or more of these in the last year or so -  the, “cutting back, tightening belts, hiring freeze” memo.

(I think Hiring Freeze must be a distant cousin to Mr. Freeze, and one cold, heartless bitch, tho not as rotten as her paramour, LayOff.)

So my team of soon-to-be-six, was instantly frozen at 2.5, and 9 months of way too many 80 hour weeks, a layoff, a scapegoat and an implosion later, it’s just me and two wonder twins.

I lived so much of this last year so far outside of my Strengths Zone that I feel drained and depleted. But at the same time, I’ve taken on – and beaten – technical challenges I could never have imagined previously. (POW! take that web server scrub! BAM! RedDot LiveServer redundancy! BANG! you’re done, ever- crashing-nightmare-giving website! No more!)

Still, even though TBD would brush through my thoughts with a melancholy longing, there seemed no possibility to pull out the suit, to ignite the Fire of Desire. But in the last several months, with my darkest of foes defeated, I’ve felt her whispering to me at every turn. Teasing me with signs and symbols.

And so feeling like Peter Parker in Reign, or Bruce Wayne in The Dark Knight Returns, older, slower, surlier, hopefully a little wiser, yet nonetheless compelled, I must don the suit again.

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After a brief stint in the hospital for a very minor health issue (Hey, even superheroes need health-care sometimes.), and a not-so-brief, but all too fleeting stint on The Playa for Burning Man 2008, The Adventures and Observations of The Burning Desire (TBD) will continue next week with tall tales and keen insights into small business superheroes putting their innate talents and signature strengths to work to make the world a better place.

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Okay, technically no longer growing, but last week I wrote about my great experience with Palace Florists. A week later, the rose looks practically fresh cut. No easy feat for a rose in July heat!

Newly discovered Strength/Superpower – superior product.

Note to self: find out secret ingredient in spray applied to rose.

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Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to post on Friday. Like a million others (or 425,000 others depending on who you believe) I was waiting in line and at the Apple Store for my new 3G iPhone – for a total of 7 hours!

Now, to be honest, I was ready for a long wait. I knew it was a little silly to be in line at 7:30 am, but there I was. I realized, of course, that being in line at 6:00 am would be truly insane and besides would only mean being a little closer to the door – with 2 hours more to wait until the store actually opened. But after waiting a year and 11 days, I was prepared for 3-4 hours in the thick of things for the thrill of being one of the First, even if it was the second time around.

What I wasn’t prepared for was the utter lack of competency and caring on behalf of AT&T. (My alternate title for this post was “AT&T made me cry.”)

At 10:30 and with just a few people ahead of us (my husband and owner of an original iPhone for a year and 11 days was with me to acquire his own bigger, faster, stronger gadget), I was pleased that my estimated hours of anticipation were right on the money. However, I was also nearing full-on panic because we’d been on the phone with AT&T for over half of that time. Not withstanding endless loops of IVRs and vague menus that naturally had no selection for “If you’re one of the million people we hope will buy a new iPhone this weekend – Press 7″, not a single one of the 11+ real live (supposed) people we spoke with could seem to solve this puzzle:

Hi, I use your service and send you quite a lot of money every month. I’m planning on buying something that I really, really want and know I will love that will enable [a.k.a force] me to send you even more money for even longer, doesn’t that sound great? can you help me? In other words, I’m a current AT&T customer with an iPhone, I’d like to UPGRADE to a Family Plan with another iPhone. Can you do that?

I’m sorry, Sir, you’ll have to buy your phone from an AT&T store. I’m sorry sir, we can’t help you. I’m sorry, I’m sorry…

Are you kidding me? How did they not foresee this particular scenario? Wouldn’t this be the very definition of “low hanging fruit”? Didn’t they imagine that lots of wives and sons and daughters and lovers and all sorts of iPhone-maniacs that have “family” would naturally think, “hey, honey, you should get one now too?” Apparently not.

And though I’m sure between my husband and I we must have read every blog, factoid, rumor and innuendo in the previous month, no where did we think that we would have to go to AT&T to get our new phones – or we certainly would have been in another line!

So there we were, the next in line, with no way to get a second line! Well, alright. Lucky for us we were at Montgomery Mall, where there is an AT&T store around the corner from the Apple Store about 20 yards away. So around the corner we go. Only to find a line full of other disappointed Apple fans. The lady with the baby carriage who had been a little ways ahead of us. A family with two kids whose cheerios and sippy-cups had long ago run dry. Oh, and the “Manager” of the AT&T store, informing us that they were sold out. He – another real live person – shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, made a face and said, “I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do.”

How sad. What a heartbreaking story of…uhm…I can’t think of the word…D’uh-ness? With over 5 million phones in the market, AT&T had hundreds of thousands of opportunities to turn current customers into loyal fans, and new customers into delighted buyers who loved the ease and sophistication of switching to AT&T. Instead, they became The Bad Guys, the ones keeping me (and lots of others) from what I loved and longed for.

But what’s worse, instead of Insidious Masterminds or Evil Geniuses, they just seemed ill-trained and un-empowered. A legion of bumbling henchmen and loser lackeys who are always the ultimate undoing of any brilliant plan. And they made me feel almost as stupid. They made me regret my feverish excitement about being the First. That’s the Last time. Because they also made me dig my heals in and refuse to buy my phone from AT&T. (I did not, I’m happy to report.)

I was ready to love them by association. Instead, every day in my contract with them is just another day closer to the end of their exclusive agreement. The day I jump ship. When will the cell-phone industry realize that indentured servitude isn’t the same thing as loyalty?

For toppers, now more than 48 hours later, my phone is still not receiving calls.

But tune it next time to learn why I can still love Apple, even though they broke my heart, a little.

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I’ve lived near, worked around the corner or down the street and passed by Palace Florists at 19th & N near Dupont Circle for many of my nearly 20 years in DC. I don’t remember when I first noticed the sign, but for several years they have had a sign out front that reads “If your name is ______(fill in a name) come in for a free rose.” There is a different name everyday. They seem to roll through the alphabet.

It always makes me smile, but I’ve never seen my name before. Once I sent an email to my friend Lisa that worked around a different corner nearby to let her know it was Lisa day.

Well, today was Michele day. With one “L”. That’s what the sign said. I smiled, and also felt sort of desperate and full of anxiety and wondered would they turn me away for my extra-L? After all these years of telling people, “Hi, my name is Michelle with two L’s, like the song” would I come to regret the traditional French spelling? Would they card me?

As I entered the lushly green store, there was a female customer at the register. From behind one of the counters filled with beautiful arrangements appeared another woman who obviously worked there – the single rose in hand gave her away. As she notice my “gee-I-wonder-how-this works” look, she smiled brightly and asked, “Michel(l)e??”

She asked in the way you say someone’s name when you go out on a blind date or think you recognize someone from Jr. High, full of hope and anticipation. I didn’t recognize her. I felt that brief deer-in-the-headlights sensation. What a coincidence to run into someone who knew me here. How did she know me? My mind raced…then I remembered why I had come in to the store.

She must see that same look on lots of people’s faces each day. It turned out the woman in line was also Michele, with the requisite single L. But it turned out it didn’t matter. They didn’t card me after all. But they did gain a loyal customer. No more plain old FTD or 800flowers for me.

No, from now on Palace Florists will be a part of my family too – check out their tagline.

Strengths & SuperPowers – Kind Trusting Service, Engaging Anticipation

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Ever since I began thinking about writing this blog, I started imagining ways I could connect my readers with Seth Godin because he is one of the members of my League of Legends – thought leaders and provocateurs who inspire me, mentor me, and sometimes just make my brain hurt and my heart ache because they are so brilliant.

How serendipitous (I love it when I get to use that word!) that Seth has recently written an article entitled, “Superheroes”. I’m not kidding.

Seth and his cast of characters at Squidoo are holding a promotion to write Squidoo pages or “lenses” about your favorite everyday superheroes to raise money for charity. I wish I’d read this sooner because the contest part ends on July 1! It will be a challenge to write 5 lenses in 5 days, but it’s certainly worth a shot.

My head is spinning with ideas of people that deserve superhero status in my book. Who are your superheros?

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