Optimal Work Daily - Career, Productivity and Entrepreneurship

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Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com

Episode 2214:

Michelle Schroeder-Gardner explains how to prepare to quit a day job and become self-employed, drawing on her own move to working for herself full-time. In this first part, she makes the case for building a business on the side first, which lowers the risk while testing whether the idea can actually replace a full-time income. She also walks through pricing out health insurance and the other benefits an employer used to cover, so the switch to entrepreneurship brings fewer surprises.

Read along with the original article here: https://www.makingsenseofcents.com/2022/01/how-to-quit-your-job-and-become-self-employed.html

Quotes to ponder:

"Starting your business on the side of your full-time job can reduce a lot of stress."

"Self-employment isn't for everyone."

"It's much better to do your research and price out how much things like health and dental insurance will cost before you quit your job."

Optimal Work Daily is a daily career advice podcast where we narrate the best articles on productivity, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance, read to you by a professional narrator so you can grow your career a little more every day.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get the 200+ Page Optimal Living Daily Workbook (PDF) - Free.

Want to turn today's episode into an actionable plan? Join the Optimal Living Weekly newsletter and I'll send you our 200-page digital workbook immediately. It's packed with the best takeaways from the show, formatted for easy reading and implementation at home.

Get your free PDF workbook here: https://oldpodcast.eo.page/join

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com

Episode 2213:

Lisa Whitley explains why leaving an investment banking job in New York to join the Peace Corps in Zimbabwe was the best career decision she ever made. She describes how two years advising new entrepreneurs showed her where her passion and skills fit in international economic development, which led to an 18-year career as a foreign service officer. She argues that a career switch does not require knowing the whole next chapter in advance, and credits earlier choices, like less expensive schools and staying free of debt, with giving her the flexibility to take the leap.

Read along with the original article here: https://womenwhomoney.com/career-move-joining-peace-corps/

Quotes to ponder:

"It was the best career decision that I had ever made."

"The biggest obstacle to making a career switch can be the very understandable compulsion that you need to know exactly what the next chapter will look like before you take the plunge."

"But the choices that you make now can allow you the freedom to flex later."

Optimal Work Daily is a daily career advice podcast where we narrate the best articles on productivity, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance, read to you by a professional narrator so you can grow your career a little more every day.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get the 200+ Page Optimal Living Daily Workbook (PDF) - Free.

Want to turn today's episode into an actionable plan? Join the Optimal Living Weekly newsletter and I'll send you our 200-page digital workbook immediately. It's packed with the best takeaways from the show, formatted for easy reading and implementation at home.

Get your free PDF workbook here: https://oldpodcast.eo.page/join

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com

Episode 2212:

Michael Mehlberg explains why finding a competitor already serving a market is no reason to shelve a business idea. Drawing on advice from his business coach and the law of exclusivity from The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, he argues that no company owns a market outright and that customers routinely buy from competing providers. The entrepreneurship lesson is to recognize the value in hard-won knowledge, find a distinct angle, double down on why customers choose the business, and take action.

Read along with the original article here: https://michaelmehlberg.com/blog/2018/5/14/finding-your-value-despite-the-competition

Quotes to ponder:

"If you have something of value to offer the world, there's usually a business in it."

"They may have market share, but they don't own it."

"Just because someone else is doing something similar doesn't mean you can't build a business."

Optimal Work Daily is a daily career advice podcast where we narrate the best articles on productivity, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance, read to you by a professional narrator so you can grow your career a little more every day.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get the 200+ Page Optimal Living Daily Workbook (PDF) - Free.

Want to turn today's episode into an actionable plan? Join the Optimal Living Weekly newsletter and I'll send you our 200-page digital workbook immediately. It's packed with the best takeaways from the show, formatted for easy reading and implementation at home.

Get your free PDF workbook here: https://oldpodcast.eo.page/join

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com

Episode 2211:

Kevin of Financial Panther explains how leaving his day job changed the way work fits into his life. He argues that most people give their best, most productive hours to an employer and squeeze everything else into what is left, while self-employment let him take back control of his schedule. The takeaway is that financial independence is really about control, and a job built around one's life can deliver much of that work-life balance well before the money does.

Read along with the original article here: https://financialpanther.com/make-your-job-fit-around-your-life/

Quotes to ponder:

"Instead of your life fitting around your job, your job should fit around your life."

"The point of financial independence isn't about accumulating money. It's about getting back control of our lives."

"My job fits around my life, not the other way around."

Optimal Work Daily is a daily career advice podcast where we narrate the best articles on productivity, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance, read to you by a professional narrator so you can grow your career a little more every day.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get the 200+ Page Optimal Living Daily Workbook (PDF) - Free.

Want to turn today's episode into an actionable plan? Join the Optimal Living Weekly newsletter and I'll send you our 200-page digital workbook immediately. It's packed with the best takeaways from the show, formatted for easy reading and implementation at home.

Get your free PDF workbook here: https://oldpodcast.eo.page/join

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com

Episode 2210:

Leo Babauta explains the usual ways people pick a career, doing what they like, what pays or what they already do, and why those often leave work feeling uninspired. He makes the case for choosing work that helps others or makes the world better, whether as a nurse, a teacher, an entrepreneur or a manager who serves a team. Serving people in some way, he argues, is what makes a career feel filled with purpose.

Read along with the original article(s) here: https://zenhabits.net/career-idea/

Quotes to ponder:

"The point isn't how you serve the world, but just serving the world in some way will help you feel filled with purpose."

"If you choose a purposeful job that also seems like fun, that seems enjoyable, you're way further along than most people."

"And sometimes things you like are better as a hobby or side passion."

Optimal Work Daily is a daily career advice podcast where we narrate the best articles on productivity, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance, read to you by a professional narrator so you can grow your career a little more every day.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get the 200+ Page Optimal Living Daily Workbook (PDF) - Free.

Want to turn today's episode into an actionable plan? Join the Optimal Living Weekly newsletter and I'll send you our 200-page digital workbook immediately. It's packed with the best takeaways from the show, formatted for easy reading and implementation at home.

Get your free PDF workbook here: https://oldpodcast.eo.page/join

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com

Episode 2209:

James Altucher explains what repeated attempts give back: lessons from every failure, sharper time management, better idea execution and a nose for bad pitches. He shares how persistence creates luck and calm, teaches you when to give up on an idea, and builds the kind of daily discipline that keeps an entrepreneur moving. The takeaway is to grow the internal fire every day and let results follow.

Read along with the original article(s) here: https://archive.jamesaltucher.com/blog/persistent-get-success/

Quotes to ponder:

"Persistence is an intimate dance with loss and through that dance you find that that failure mated with passion produces luck."

"The world is divided into two people. The ones who blame and the ones who take responsibility."

"Persistence gives you calm."

Optimal Work Daily is a daily career advice podcast where we narrate the best articles on productivity, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance, read to you by a professional narrator so you can grow your career a little more every day.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get the 200+ Page Optimal Living Daily Workbook (PDF) - Free.

Want to turn today's episode into an actionable plan? Join the Optimal Living Weekly newsletter and I'll send you our 200-page digital workbook immediately. It's packed with the best takeaways from the show, formatted for easy reading and implementation at home.

Get your free PDF workbook here: https://oldpodcast.eo.page/join

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com

Episode 2208:

James Altucher explains how his first successful company survived more than 200 rejected pitches, a string of mistakes and a failed first attempt to sell it. He argues that persistence is not about external goals but an internal practice of improving a little physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually every day. It is an honest look at what entrepreneurship and career success really demand.

Read along with the original article(s) here: https://archive.jamesaltucher.com/blog/persistent-get-success/

Quotes to ponder:

"Along the way I probably got rejected more than 200 times on sales pitches."

"Persistence is not something you do with external goals, but it is something you do internally."

"Don't get sucked into past failures. Don't fantasize about future success."

Optimal Work Daily is a daily career advice podcast where we narrate the best articles on productivity, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance, read to you by a professional narrator so you can grow your career a little more every day.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get the 200+ Page Optimal Living Daily Workbook (PDF) - Free.

Want to turn today's episode into an actionable plan? Join the Optimal Living Weekly newsletter and I'll send you our 200-page digital workbook immediately. It's packed with the best takeaways from the show, formatted for easy reading and implementation at home.

Get your free PDF workbook here: https://oldpodcast.eo.page/join

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com

Episode 2207:

Christine Comaford explains why a customer complaint is really a signal of unmet needs, and why defending yourself gets in the way of solving it. She shares two rapport tools, staying in inquiry mode and mirroring, that help you understand the customer's map of reality. The result is a calmer, more productive way to turn complaints into business growth.

Read along with the original article(s) here: https://smarttribesinstitute.com/angry-customers-dont-flip/

Quotes to ponder:

"What if we choose instead to really listen?"

"The customer also feels heard, which goes a long way to repairing any damage caused by a mistake."

"When we mirror another person, we help them to feel safe and they are more likely to communicate openly with us."

Optimal Work Daily is a daily career advice podcast where we narrate the best articles on productivity, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance, read to you by a professional narrator so you can grow your career a little more every day.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get the 200+ Page Optimal Living Daily Workbook (PDF) - Free.

Want to turn today's episode into an actionable plan? Join the Optimal Living Weekly newsletter and I'll send you our 200-page digital workbook immediately. It's packed with the best takeaways from the show, formatted for easy reading and implementation at home.

Get your free PDF workbook here: https://oldpodcast.eo.page/join

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com

Episode 2206:

Brian Tracy explains why the second sale, not the first, proves you delivered on your promises, and why resales and referrals cost a fraction of new business. He lays out eight ways to keep customers for life, from fast service and asking for referrals to the ultimate question of whether customers would recommend you. It is a practical playbook for entrepreneurship built on long-term customer relationships.

Read along with the original article(s) here: https://www.briantracy.com/blog/sales-success/how-to-keep-customers-for-life/

Quotes to ponder:

"The second sale is the proof that you have delivered on the promises you made during the first sale."

"The most important element of outstanding customer service is always speed."

"The willingness of a customer to recommend you to others is the highest level of customer satisfaction."

Optimal Work Daily is a daily career advice podcast where we narrate the best articles on productivity, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance, read to you by a professional narrator so you can grow your career a little more every day.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get the 200+ Page Optimal Living Daily Workbook (PDF) - Free.

Want to turn today's episode into an actionable plan? Join the Optimal Living Weekly newsletter and I'll send you our 200-page digital workbook immediately. It's packed with the best takeaways from the show, formatted for easy reading and implementation at home.

Get your free PDF workbook here: https://oldpodcast.eo.page/join

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com

Episode 2205:

Laura Stack shares five ways to stay out of the line of fire when office politics turn ugly, drawing on her own experience as a newly minted MBA whose plant safety report was buried by colleagues who resented her. Her rules are to refuse gossip in both directions, stay out of other people's causes, avoid griping aloud even to work friends, resist the pull to suck up, and push back on a boss who dictates who to be friendly with. She is direct that none of it guarantees immunity, but that quietly doing the work is still the better bet for a career.

Read along with the original article(s) here: https://theproductivitypro.com/blog/2017/08/ducking-the-crosshairs-five-ways-to-deal-with-office-politics/

Quotes to ponder:

"Avoid gossip. Don't spread it, and don't listen to it."

"Don't gripe aloud at work, even to people you consider friends."

"Even if you keep your head down, there's nothing you can do to avoid office politics if someone wants to target you."

Optimal Work Daily is a daily career advice podcast where we narrate the best articles on productivity, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance, read to you by a professional narrator so you can grow your career a little more every day.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices