A few weeks ago, President Obama delivered a Jobs Plan Speech in which he said his plan for america’s success included “A commitment to stay at it. To be persistent. To keep trying every new idea that works. And listen to every good proposal, no matter which party comes up with it”.  Though I have a considerable dose of skepticism as to whether this will actually work to get something accomplished in Congress, in my own life, I can say that it’s the exact formula that I’m applying to yield my own success. And that’s my podcast for this week.  I’m pretty busy and don’t really have a lot of time at the moment, but I didn’t want to skip over my commitment to post a regular podcast message. Please feel free to leave comments below or give me your feedback directly, either by email “podcasts @ exclusivemultiplicity.com”, or by finding me on Facebook, Twitter (@KindraCotton), or LinkedIn.  You can also contact me via Skype at my name Kindra.Cotton, and you can now call me on my Google Voice line at: (201) 870-0234.  If you leave a message on my Google Voicemail line, please be sure to mention which podcast you listened to.   Click media player below to listen to this podcast.    If the player above isn't displaying, or working properly, you can also download the podcast from iTunes for free (it may take a few days for it to appear at this link, but you can subscribe directly to the podcast feed via iTunes if you want to always get new podcast episodes when they're first uploaded)! By the way, Transcripts are now available upon request.  If you want one, please email me at "transcripts[at]exclusivemultiplicity.com".  Come back next week, and have a Blessed Day!  Kindra P.S. Tell me about your experience with the "For Dummies" book series by filling out this brief survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FLVRTJZ

This week's podcast is called "The Adventures of Blindness" and I discuss my recent experience where I woke up last week temporarily blind in one eye.  Horrifying ordeal!  Everything's fine now, but still a jarring experience.  In all, it made me shake my head at the state of healthcare in america. Please feel free to leave comments below or give me your feedback directly, either by email “podcasts @ exclusivemultiplicity.com”, or by finding me on Facebook, Twitter (@KindraCotton), or LinkedIn.  You can also contact me via Skype at my name Kindra.Cotton, and you can now call me on my Google Voice line at: (201) 870-0234.  If you leave a message on my Google Voicemail line, please be sure to mention which podcast you listened to.   Click media player below to listen to this podcast.    If the player above isn't displaying, or working properly, you can also download the podcast from iTunes for free (it may take a few days for it to appear at this link, but you can subscribe directly to the podcast feed via iTunes if you want to always get new podcast episodes when they're first uploaded)! By the way, Transcripts are now available upon request.  If you want one, please email me at "transcripts[at]exclusivemultiplicity.com".  Come back next week, and have a Blessed Day!  Kindra P.S. Tell me about your experience with the "For Dummies" book series by filling out this brief survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FLVRTJZ

This episode of "What I'm Reading" is on Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers: The Story of Success".  Someone suggested that I read this book years ago when I was having an exceedingly difficult time trying to find a job, even before the whole “Recession” thing was on everyone’s lips.  For years, I had no idea what the book was about nor why it was suggested that I read it.  It was just mentioned in passing that I should check it out, so one day, on one of my many trips to the local library, I came across the book, and I decided to check it out. It’s been a long time since a book has given me this feeling, but I can sum up my opinion of the book in one word: WOW!  For much of the book, I felt like I was reading the words that had been in my head for a long time, especially as I’ve had to been introspective in seeking to uncover my own path to success in life, and why success has so deftly eluded me until now (at least in financial terms). For the most part, the book posits that success is not just a factor of hard work, intelligence, ambition, and “stick-to-itiveness”, but also due to a number of factors that can provide someone with those characteristics with the opportunity to achieve phenomenal success as a result of a series of fortuitous circumstances that then propel them far ahead of their peers.  In other words, it’s like saying what I’ve always believed, which is that those stories of people that “pull themselves up by their own bootstraps” are rarely true.  Essentially, success isn’t achieved in a box, and it’s not something that can befall someone simply because they’re smart, talented, and able.  Though I’m fairly young (all things considered), I know for a fact that you can be smart, intelligent, hard-working AND ambitious and STILL not be successful in life, because I’ve seen people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s with those traits that just haven’t gotten the opportunity afforded to them to turn all those things into profitable endeavors.   Having the opportunity to see early in life that the race isn’t always won by the best racer has helped me get, what I believe, is a realistic expectation of the probability of achieving success.  I love the fact that reading this book almost INSTANTLY made me feel like I wasn’t crazy in my belief system!   The second major takeaway in the book is the notion of an “Outlier” and what it truly means to be one.  For those that don’t know, an outlier is pretty much a statistical anomaly that severely seems to deviate from the rest of the pack.  People like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Oprah Winfrey are surely considered to be outliers given their success in life and how far it has placed them from their peers.  I love the way he tells rarely told stories about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs’ success, specifically that each had amazing opportunities to work on computers in the late 1960s and early 1970s at a time when people, even those working in the field of Computer Sciences had rare opportunities to use computers.  Knowing how these extraordinary opportunities shaped the later success of Gates and Jobs, in my opinion, sheds a lot of light on exactly how success is obtained. Yes, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are exceptionally smart and innovative, but they’ve also had some exception opportunities to enhance and capitalize on their skillsets in a way that FEW people ever could have, in their generation, and even still nearly 50 years afterwards.  I do have to say, I would have LOVED to hear Oprah’s story of “Outlier Success”.  I’m certain there’s so much more to that story than we in the general public now, but I suspect we won’t find out about it until AFTER she’s passed on, or is pretty close to it. LOL.   A running theme throughout the book is the “10,000 Hour Rule”, which pretty much states that most outliers are successful in the fields because they’ve spent a concentrated 10,000 hours of their lifetime pe

I've recently merged my old personal blogs from my website KindraCotton.com, and made this blog, ExclusiveMultiplicity.com, my primary personal blog and I talk about that in my return episode to podcasting this fall. Please feel free to leave comments below or give me your feedback directly, either by email “podcasts @ exclusivemultiplicity.com”, or by finding me on Facebook, Twitter (@KindraCotton), or LinkedIn.  You can also contact me via Skype at my name Kindra.Cotton, and you can now call me on my Google Voice line at: (201) 870-0234.  If you leave a message on my Google Voicemail line, please be sure to mention which podcast you listened to.   Click media player below to listen to this podcast.    If the player above isn't displaying, or working properly, you can also download the podcast from iTunes for free (it may take a few days for it to appear at this link, but you can subscribe directly to the podcast feed via iTunes if you want to always get new podcast episodes when they're first uploaded)!   By the way, Transcripts are now available upon request.  If you want one, please email me at "transcripts[at]exclusivemultiplicity.com".  Come back next week, and have a Blessed Day! Kindra P.S. Tell me about your experience with the "For Dummies" book series by filling out this brief survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FLVRTJZ

More often than not, I spend my time revising and tweaking plans that were put into place a while ago.  This week's podcast is no different and is entitled "The Adventures of Revision", and I talk about some upcoming changes I'm making to the way I do business.  Wish me luck! Please feel free to leave comments below or give me your feedback directly, either by email “podcasts @ exclusivemultiplicity.com”, or by finding me on Facebook, Twitter (@KindraCotton), or LinkedIn.  You can also contact me via Skype at my name Kindra.Cotton, and you can now call me on my Google Voice line at: (201) 870-0234.  If you leave a message on my Google Voicemail line, please be sure to mention which podcast you listened to.   Click media player below to listen to this podcast.    If the player above isn't displaying, or working properly, you can also download the podcast from iTunes for free (it may take a few days for it to appear at this link, but you can subscribe directly to the podcast feed via iTunes if you want to always get new podcast episodes when they're first uploaded)!  By the way, Transcripts are now available upon request.  If you want one, please email me at "transcripts[at]exclusivemultiplicity.com".  Come back next week, and have a Blessed Day! Kindra P.S. Tell me about your experience with the "For Dummies" book series by filling out this brief survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FLVRTJZ

Celebrating Independence Day in my own way is the topic of today's podcast, entitled "The Adventures of Independence".  In it, I tell the story of my "independence" from the dreaded dead-end job and cycle of unemployment and underemployment that kept me chasing my tail for nearly a decade.  Rather inspirational, if I do say so myself! LOL. Please feel free to leave comments below or give me your feedback directly, either by email “podcasts @ exclusivemultiplicity.com”, or by finding me on Facebook, Twitter (@KindraCotton), or LinkedIn.  You can also contact me via Skype at my name Kindra.Cotton, and you can now call me on my Google Voice line at: (201) 870-0234.  If you leave a message on my Google Voicemail line, please be sure to mention which podcast you listened to.   Click media player below to listen to this podcast.    If the player above isn't displaying, or working properly, you can also download the podcast from iTunes for free (it may take a few days for it to appear at this link, but you can subscribe directly to the podcast feed via iTunes if you want to always get new podcast episodes when they're first uploaded)!   By the way, Transcripts are now available upon request.  If you want one, please email me at "transcripts[at]exclusivemultiplicity.com".  Come back next week, and have a Blessed Day! Kindra   P.S. Tell me about your experience with the "For Dummies" book series by filling out this brief survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FLVRTJZ

Today's podcast is entitled "The Adventures of Resting" and I talk about an experience I recently had that helped me see that I need to take more time out and "smell the roses". Please feel free to leave comments below or give me your feedback directly, either by email “podcasts @ exclusivemultiplicity.com”, or by finding me on Facebook, Twitter (@KindraCotton), or LinkedIn.  You can also contact me via Skype at my name Kindra.Cotton, and you can now call me on my Google Voice line at: (201) 870-0234.  If you leave a message on my Google Voicemail line, please be sure to mention which podcast you listened to.   Click media player below to listen to this podcast.    If the player above isn't displaying, or working properly, you can also download the podcast from iTunes for free (it may take a few days for it to appear at this link, but you can subscribe directly to the podcast feed via iTunes if you want to always get new podcast episodes when they're first uploaded)!   By the way, Transcripts are now available upon request.  If you want one, please email me at "transcripts[at]exclusivemultiplicity.com".  Come back next week, and have a Blessed Day! Kindra P.S. Tell me about your experience with the "For Dummies" book series by filling out this brief survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FLVRTJZ

Today's podcast talks about "The Adventures of the Unknown".  As an Entrepreneur, there are many "unknown unknowns" that I find cause great stress over the regular "9-to-5", even in cases where that "9-to-5" requires you to work outside of those hours.  Entrepreneurship is definitely not for the faint of heart! LOL. Please feel free to leave comments below or give me your feedback directly, either by email “podcasts @ exclusivemultiplicity.com”, or by finding me on Facebook, Twitter (@KindraCotton), or LinkedIn.  You can also contact me via Skype at my name Kindra.Cotton, and you can now call me on my Google Voice line at: (201) 870-0234.  If you leave a message on my Google Voicemail line, please be sure to mention which podcast you listened to.   Click media player below to listen to this podcast. If the player above isn't displaying, or working properly, you can also download the podcast from iTunes for free (it may take a few days for it to appear at this link, but you can subscribe directly to the podcast feed via iTunes if you want to always get new podcast episodes when they're first uploaded)! Come back next week, and have a Blessed Day!  Kindra

If you're familiar with this blog, then you'll know that it's unusual for me to go such a prolonged time without posting a blog or podcast update.  I've let the past 8 weeks get away from me, and for that, I apologize.  Please consider this most recent podcast my "mea culpa", along with a reassurance that I'll work to do much better in the future. Please feel free to leave comments below or give me your feedback directly, either by email “podcasts @ exclusivemultiplicity.com”, or by finding me on Facebook, Twitter (@KindraCotton), or LinkedIn.  You can also contact me via Skype at my name Kindra.Cotton, and you can now call me on my Google Voice line at: (201) 870-0234.  If you leave a message on my Google Voicemail line, please be sure to mention which podcast you listened to.   Click media player below to listen to this podcast.    If the player above isn't displaying, or working properly, you can also download the podcast from iTunes for free (it may take a few days for it to appear at this link, but you can subscribe directly to the podcast feed via iTunes if you want to always get new podcast episodes when they're first uploaded)! Come back next week, and have a Blessed Day!  Kindra

This week’s podcast episode is entitled “The Adventures of Inspiration: SmallBizLady’s 11 Bible Verses Small Business Owners Need in 2011”. One of my favorite blogs is that of Melinda Emerson (Twitter’s SmallBizLady and host of #SmallBizChat, Wednesdays at 8PM ET on Twitter).  It’s located at succeedasyourownboss.com, and each day of the week it provides an informative blog post for small business owners and solo-entrepreneurs with the goal of ending small business failures. Last week, Melinda shared her “11 Bible Verses Small Business Owners Need in 2011” (CLICK HERE for the printable copy) and today I’m going to share them with you, because they were very inspirational to me, and spoke to me at a time when I needed inspiration and something more to keep me going. The post starts with Melinda sharing her theme for the year, which is “Either I win or I learn, but with God’s help I never lose”.  Very inspiring sentiment, which was then followed by the following 11 Bible verses of encouragement for those of us at various stages of our entrepreneurial journey: 1. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9 I remember this verse from one of my favorite songs “For the Good of Them” by Rev. Milton Brunson and the Thompson Community Singers of Chicago.  I know that I can state personally that there have been positive things to happen in my life, as close as last week, that pretty much go above and beyond what I could have imagined.  I’m continually amazed at the Blessings I’ve had in my life, and I do appreciate God’s favor and pray that it continues, not just for me, but for my family and loved ones, and all those seeking solace from the negatives in life, than can really wear you down. 2. Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3 Melinda says “If everything in your business is done to glorify God, he will Bless your work”.  I think this is something that we as small business owners forget, for many of us, exist in the “worldly sphere”, and I’d define that as anyone not doing business directly within the genre of selling religious works and related artifacts.  One of the best ways that I find I can accomplish the requirements of this verse is to always make sure that I keep myself, and my integrity (which is based in my faith) at the forefront of all of my business and personal dealings.  Since I’ve been working in the field of Technology and Social Media, I’ve seen ample opportunity to run scams on people and possibly make tons of money, with very little effort.  Though this could definitely bring me some money in the short-run, I have to look at the long-term benefits and what’s truly important to me and what I’m trying to build as an entrepreneur.  I can tell you that this journey has not been easy.  Especially when I see people that are taken the “crooked route” and profiting hand over fist.  I try not envy such people, and I’ve continually believed that being square-dealing and honest is going to one day pay off for me.  It’s been a long road, but I’m definitely glad to say that I’ve benefited by staying honest, and I probably sleep better at night because of it too. 3. The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.  Proverbs 21:5 Per Melinda’s advice “A good idea is still a good idea three weeks from now. There are no “get rich quick” schemes. Do not be in a hurry for anything. Learn all you can. Be focused and diligent and your business will succeed”.  Definitely one of the hardest lessons for me to learn, because so much about our society now encourages us to seek instant gratification, especially in the technology and social media realm, where it feels like everything is changing so rapidly that you feel that a week missed could be a missed lifetime opportunity.  Luckily, that’s not true, and I’m surely finding as I continue on with this entrepreneurial journey that “slow and steady” does in fact win the race! 4. I will find the Lord when I seek him with all my heart and with all my soul.  Deuteronomy 4:29 SmallBizLady says: “The best thing you can do for your business is pray daily with an open heart. God speaks to us through vision and dreams. Be open to what God wants you to learn”.  You can’t argue with that.   5. The Blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. Proverbs 10:22 This says to me that when God Blesses, it comes with abundance and not sorry and strife. 6. Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? I fix my eyes on God and soon I’ll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He’s my God. Psalm 42:5 Here Melinda shares a story about her father and how he used to say “we wouldn’t know God’s day if it weren’t for bad days, so thank God for the bad days too”.  This is something I had to learn from experience.  Everything needs a point of reference.  You can’t truly appreciate the GOOD, until you’ve experienced that bad.  Tough as it may be to get through them, I believe the bad times make us better people in the long run. 7. I fear not, for God is with me; I am not dismayed; for He is my God. He will strengthen me, yes, He will help me, He will uphold me with His righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41:10 This is a good verse for those feeling doubtful about their entrepreneurial aspirations, especially in the early stages.  I think this is a good verse to refer to during those times of self-doubt. 8. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me. John 5:30 As Melinda says “It’s never about you. It’s about the team around you and your customers”.  I can admit, this is a tough lesson for a narcissist to learn, but it’s possible. LOL. 9. I seriously consider what I am doing before taking on new projects. I expand prudently and I do not court neglect of present duties by assuming too many new ones. Proverbs 31:16 Once again, Melinda gives sound advice: “Be a project finisher. Do not be one of these business owners that run from thing to thing with more than one brand message. Make it clear what business you are in by focusing on one niche customer”.  I’ve definitely heard this advice several times since I started on my first business venture (what is now) many years ago.  And I admit, at the start, I definitely had too many irons on the fire, and they weren’t even "complimentary fires" that worked together.  I was trying to do too many things, and was being pulled in too many different directions.  Even now, some people feel that I’m managing too many brands, but for me, having found the common thread within them, as well as learning ways to reduce a duplication of effort across the brands I’m seeking to manage, I feel that I’ve got a great handle on what business I’m in, and who my customers are.  Of course, I could always fine-tune my niche market, but I think that’s just a natural process of maturation that any good business does as it grows. 10. Pride lands me flat on my face, but humility prepares me for honor. Proverbs 29:23 Melinda says “Do not let your pride keep you from learning a lesson”. I’m trying!  Humility is not my strong suit, in fact, though I don’t think I’m too prideful, I can admit that humility is a notion that often passes me.  But I think that’s a result of what I’ve gone through and triumphed over to get to where I am.  After experiencing so many people telling you that you’re wrong, or that you’re going to fail, or that you can’t do something, once you are able to do it, or triumph over whatever hurdles that were set before you, it’s REAL HARD not to rub others face in it, and by “rub their face in it”, I don’t mean, purposefully taunting the naysayers, but continuing on, doing your thing, and showing them that what they say has no effect on you.  It’s that “you can’t tell me nothing” mentality that I think a lot of successful people where I’m from have.  I suspect it’s a “Chicago Thing”. LOL.  So, if you don’t get it.  I understand!   11. I live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 Of all the Bible verses that Melinda shared, I think this one struck a chord with me the most.  It’s been a LONG TIME since I’ve lived by sight.  If I let what I see, or can foresee in the near future dictate what I believe were possible in my life, I’d be nothing! If I didn’t believe, despite all evidence to the contrary that my life was Divinely Orchestrated, and things weren’t happened to me, but for me, and that ultimately, despite all the bad, that things would work out, I wouldn’t be where I am today.  I can’t tell you how dead-on this verse was for me.  But I will share with you one of my favorite quotes on faith from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  He said “Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase”.  People used to say this when I was growing up, and I thought it was the funniest thing, but it was only as an adult, that I truly learned to appreciate it, and what having faith really means. I should note that this post from SmallBizLady Melinda Emerson was inspired in part by Joyce Meyer’s book, The Secret Power of Speaking God’s Word.  And once again, here's a PRINTABLE PDF COPY of Melinda's post, and more information about her:  Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure.  As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine recently named her one of the Top 20 Women for Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs, and publishes a resource blog at: www.succeedasyourownboss.com.  Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010) What about you? Is there a Bible verse that inspires you in your business? Please share. Please feel free to leave comments below or give me your feedback directly, either by email “podcasts @ exclusivemultiplicity.com”, or by finding me on Facebook, Twitter (@KindraCotton), or LinkedIn.  You can also contact me via Skype at my name Kindra.Cotton, and you can now call me on my Google Voice line at: (201) 870-0234.  If you leave a message on my Google Voicemail line, please be sure to mention which podcast you listened to.   Click media player below to listen to this podcast.    If the player above isn't displaying, or working properly, you can also download the podcast from iTunes for free (it may take a few days for it to appear at this link, but you can subscribe directly to the podcast feed via iTunes if you want to always get new podcast episodes when they're first uploaded)!  Come back next week, and have a Blessed Day! Kindra