About the Author: John J. Walters is a freelance associate at Wasabi Ventures and CEO of MeetingCaptain.

I ran across the 100 Thing Challenge not too long ago and since then the idea has intrigued me.  My father had a colleague that strived to never own more stuff than he could fit into the back of his Honda CRX, which I guess is a personal variant on the idea of whittling your possessions down to a nice, round 100.  But are such goals merely artificial ways to achieve happiness through less attachment to physical things?  What about just a general goal of decluttering your life?

Regular Wasabi Ventures blog contributor Barbara Hemphill has written a couple good posts for us about the importance of simplifying ones workplace.  It’s amazing how good organization and self-management can help you get richer.  But where do you go from there?  What’s the point of being rich, besides providing for your loved ones and buying more toys?  Why did we get into this game?

J.D. Roth, the patient-yet-effective blogger behind Get Rich Slowly, asks these exact questions in an excellent article about the third stage of personal finance.  His answer, in a nutshell?  We all seek to get rich so that we can have the kind of life we want — not so we can have the kind of stuff we want.  Stuff may factor into that (I certainly wouldn’t mind having a garage full of well-polished cars and fancy motorcycles) but we need to remember that stuff can become a source of stress just as easily as a source of satisfaction.

The entrepreneurial game — and it is a game — has the potential to be far more satisfying than working your standard nine-to-five.  We get to be our own bosses; call the shots in our work lives as well as our personal lives.  That’s a big deal.  But it comes at the price of constant competition and frequent stress.  We need to know that we’re working towards something that really matters to us or else we’ll find ourselves wondering what the point of it all was when our own, personal sun begins to set.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet recently announced that 38 other wealthy individuals (of which 30 are billionaires) have signed the Giving Pledge to give away half their fortunes.  Most of us will never be billionaires, but that doesn’t mean our gifts would be insignificant.  A lot of good can be done in this world with far less than a billion dollars.

My personal interest in the power of a few committed individuals started when I read Mountains Beyond Mountains, a book that chronicles the efforts of Dr. Paul Farmer and his quest to bring modern medical care to the impoverished nation of Haiti.  His incredible work (which has since spread to other poor countries such as Russia, Rwanda, Lesotho, Malawi, and Peru), was funded largely by one man — a wealthy business owner looking to do something worthwhile with his fortune.

If that isn’t a reason to play the entrepreneurial game then I don’t know what is.  Follow your bliss, start your own business, create some jobs, live like you want to along the way, and then find something truly meaningful to do with the proceeds when you’re finished.  Something great from something small.  Inspiring.

About the Author: Elinor Stutz is CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC, International Author, Sales Trainer & Coach, and Motivational Speaker.

“When you wish upon a star” may have come from a Disney song, but it’s very applicable to today’s news and translates well to both entrepreneurs and job seekers. It calls into question your power of belief and today’s story is very inspiring.

The Lucille Packard “Make a Wish Foundation” enables children with life threatening disease to make their fondest wish come true. Today we learned of a 7 year-old girl, Kassaundra, who fought death twice and now lives with a pacemaker in her chest. Kassaundra embraces the spirit of life. Ignoring her less-than-perfect health, she plays softball and swims. But her passion is singing and dancing — she wants to be a movie star!

The Foundation granted Kassaundra’s request. She was treated to a fancy dress of her choice and a new hair-do. A chauffeur picked her up in a limousine. The Police escorted the limo while photographers and crowds followed her to the theater where she was to perform. Kassaundra was then led onto stage and performed to cheering fans — truly her wish come true!

I found three pertinent messages in this story for everything you undertake in life:
1. Find your passion and keep striving to achieve your dream.
2. Illness (and any other obstacle) is only a detour — find the strength to overcome.
3. Believe you will succeed. Work for it.

The business side of this: look how much attention you are able to attract when you hit the right stride. Your mindset, along with your plan of action (plus implementation of course), become your marketing-communication strategies which ultimately attract more sales. Prospects, clients, sales, and business development on auto pilot will be yours.

Begin wishing upon a star to find your Smooth Sale!

When I moved to New Hampshire, I was surprised to learn that people were responsible for their own trash collection.  Every place I had ever lived, trash collection was just handled by the city or county where I lived.   But in New Hampshire, where everyone is a “live free or die” mentality, individual independence and choice is key.  And they express their independence by allowing people to hire their own “garbage men”.  Six years ago, my choice for garbage collection was Waste Management.  A huge multi-national company with a large world footprint.  They did a fine job and my garbage was always removed and I was a happy camper.

About 6 months ago, we made a switch in our service.  This switch was precipitated by great work by a start-up, Buckley Disposal.  In this local operation, I think there are some great lessons to be learned for any start-up:

• Marketing works – Buckley did a direct mail postcard campaign that was action-oriented and simple-messaged.   For$7 per week, they would do curbside trash removal.  This was 40% less than Waste Management.
• Provide a good product – The process of trash disposal is not a sexy product, but to get customers you need to have a good product.  Mr. Buckley told my wife about how his process works and how they aggressively recycle on the back-end of the process.
• Provide great customer support – Buckley’s really gets that personal care is what is needed to win in a competitive environment.  Recently, we were going on vacation so we emailed in to let them know they could skip our house for the week.  Mr. Buckley actually called back and told us that he got our message and that he would credit us the $7.  We didn’t ask for the credit, but he just offered it.  Super customer support always wins over customers.

Most start-ups are in battles with large, established companies.  Maybe you can look at the efforts of Buckley Disposal in your business and find ways to beat up the big guys.

BARBARA HEMPHILL, CPO® is one of the country’s leading productivity experts. As a speaker and consultant on organizing, Barbara helps individuals and organizations create and sustain a productive environment. She is author of the best-selling “Taming the Paper Tiger” book series. In the forthcoming book, “Bushido Business,” Barbara joins Tom Hopkins, Brian Tracy & Stephen M. R. Covey, sharing how they learned how to be successful. For more information on Barbara’s speaking and consulting, visit www.barbarahemphill.com.

Have you ever found a lead on a scrap of paper after the prospect purchased from your competition?   Are you spending time recreating proposals because you can’t find a similar one you wrote a few months ago?  Do you run out of the door for an appointment at the last minute because you couldn’t find the brochures you really wanted to take?  Are you feeling overwhelmed?  If so, here are six simple steps to help you increase sales and decrease stress:

Make a date with yourself for getting your act together: Plan a minimum of three hours when there will be no interruptions.  Decide on a reward for yourself when you’re finished. Do anything you can to reduce your stress during the process – put on music, grab your favorite beverage, and get plenty of trash bags and recycling bins.

Take everything off your desk except what you must have or do: (A photograph or memento that reminds you of the reason you work is definitely OK!) Practice The Art of Wastebasketry. Research shows that 80 percent of what you keep you never use! Tossing or keeping is not a moral issue, but it is a practical one.  So how do you decide what to keep? Ask, “What’s the worst thing that could happen if I didn’t have this piece of paper?” If you can live with the results of your answer, toss it or recycle it.

Get the right tools for your business: Half of any job is using the right tool!  Put three trays on your desk: (1) In (2) Out (3) File. “In” is for new mail – papers you have not yet looked at.  “Out” is for items that need to go elsewhere, such as the post office, or to another room. “File” is for papers you need to file outside the reach of where you sit. Eliminate paper whenever you can!

Implement The File-Act-Toss System: Clutter is postponed decisions.  The good news? There are only three decisions you can make about what to do with any piece of paper or electronic file.  (1) File it in a Reference File in case you need it in the future. (2) Act on it immediately or choose a date when you will. (3) Toss, recycle, or delete it.

Create an Action Filing System: If you say, “I have to do that,” follow up with “When?”  If there isn’t an actual date, creating an artificial one will eliminate items falling through the cracks.  When you continually postpone doing something, ask yourself, “What’s the worst possible thing that would happen if I didn’t do this?” or “Is there an easier way to do this?” or “Could someone else help me with this?” Create a system for retrieving the information you need when you are ready to take action.  (There are many possibilities. If you’re not sure how to do it, an hour phone consultation with an expert could change your world forever!)

Create a Reference Filing System: If your existing filing system (paper or electronic) isn’t working, start over!  In this day and age, fewer and fewer people are keeping paper reference files – it’s costly and not very productive. But don’t feel overwhelmed at the thought of having to scan all those old papers. Instead, create an electronic filing structure for the new information, and add the old only as you need it.  (If you have both physical and electronic resources, and you want a way to collaborate, check out iPEP (www.iPEPonline.com)

Will this system turn you into a perennially “clean desk” person? Unlikely! Messy desks are the natural outcome of a hectic pace. A place for everything and everything in its place? Forget that, but it is half right. A place for everything means than when you want to clean up your office to meet a client, or just because you’re just sick of the mess yourself, recovering is no big deal. Some quick decision-making will clean off your desk in a matter of minutes and bring back a sense of control.