Optimal Work Daily - Career, Productivity and Entrepreneurship

Steve Pavlina has a 12-part series on how to network with busy people! Here's Part 1. Episode 104: How to Network with Busy People - Pt 1 by Steve Pavlina (How to Contact Influencers - Social Networking with Celebrities). Steve Pavlina is widely recognized as one of the most successful personal development bloggers on the Internet, with his work attracting more than 100 million visits to his website, StevePavlina.com. He has written more than 1300 articles and recorded many audio programs on a broad range of self-help topics, including productivity, relationships, and spirituality. Steve has been quoted as an expert by the New York Times, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, the Los Angeles Daily News, Self Magazine, The Guardian, and countless other publications. He's also a frequent guest on popular podcasts and radio shows. The original post is located here:  and

Guest author Laura Roeder with My Wife Quit Her Job shares how she freed herself from the wrong business model. Episode 103: How I Freed Myself from the Wrong Business Model (& Doubled My Money Because Of It) by Laura Roeder (Info Products). Steve Chou of My Wife Quit Her Job carries both a bachelors and a masters degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, but spent a good portion of his graduate education studying entrepreneurship and small business. When he and his wife had a child, they launched an online store to supplement their income, and quickly replaced Steve's wife's income stream through the new business. Steve blogs about it all at MyWifeQuitHerJob.com The original post is located here:  and

Guest author Laura Williams shares the importance of staying flexible and gray space when starting up. Episode 102: The Power of Staying Flexible and Embracing Gray Space by Laura Williams with EOFire (Work Life Balance). Kate Erickson joined John Lee Dumas and the EOFire team in April 2013 as the Content Creator. Since then, she's grown to consider herself the overall Implementer of all things at EOFire. Over the past several years at EOFire, she has uncovered new passions. Her most recent: helping entrepreneurs create freedom in their business and life through developing systems and processes that can help their business scale and grow. The original post is located here:  and

Guest author Jonah Berger shares some tips on what triggers the best word of mouth marketing. Episode 101: What Triggers the Best Word of Mouth Marketing by Jonah Berger with Nir Eyal (How to Create Content that Goes Viral). Nir Eyal writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. The M.I.T. Technology Review dubbed Nir, “The Prophet of Habit-Forming Technology.” Nir founded two tech companies since 2003 and has taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. He is the author of the bestselling book, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. In addition to blogging at NirAndFar.com, Nir’s writing has been featured in The Harvard Business Review, TechCrunch, and Psychology Today. Nir is also an active investor in habit-forming technologies. Some of his past investments include: Eventbrite, Product Hunt, Pantry, Marco Polo, Presence Learning, 7 Cups, Pana, Symphony Commerce, Worklife (acquired by Cisco) and Refresh.io (acquired by LinkedIn). Nir attended The Stanford Graduate School of Business and Emory University. The original post is located here:  and

Derek Sivers has some great tips on how to hire a programmer to make your ideas happen. This is Part 2 of 2. Episode 100: How to Hire a Programmer to Make Your Ideas Happen - Part 2 by Derek Sivers (Product Design & Marketing). Originally a professional musician and circus clown, Derek Sivers created CD Baby in 1998. It became the largest seller of independent music online, with $100M in sales for 150,000 musicians. In 2008, Derek sold CD Baby for $22M, giving the proceeds to a charitable trust for music education. He is a frequent speaker at the TED Conference, with over 5 million views of his talks. Since 2011 he has published 34 books, including “Anything You Want” which shot to #1 on all of its Amazon categories. The original post is located here:  and

Derek Sivers has some great tips on how to hire a programmer to make your ideas happen. This is Part 1 of 2. Episode 99: How to Hire a Programmer to Make Your Ideas Happen - Part 1 by Derek Sivers (Outsourcing & Hiring Online for your Biz). Originally a professional musician and circus clown, Derek Sivers created CD Baby in 1998. It became the largest seller of independent music online, with $100M in sales for 150,000 musicians. In 2008, Derek sold CD Baby for $22M, giving the proceeds to a charitable trust for music education. He is a frequent speaker at the TED Conference, with over 5 million views of his talks. Since 2011 he has published 34 books, including “Anything You Want” which shot to #1 on all of its Amazon categories. The original post is located here:  and

Leo Babauta of Zen Habits shares what feature creep is, and how to avoid it. Episode 98: Coding Simplicity: How to Avoid Feature Creep in Your Life by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits (Product Design & Marketing). Leo Babauta created Zen Habits, which is about finding simplicity and mindfulness in the daily chaos of our lives. It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, find happiness. The original post is located here:  and

Ramit Sethi vents about bloggers who spend time focusing on everything except the one thing that truly matters. Episode 97: I Hate Bloggers Who Waste Their Time on Stats by Ramit Sethi (Efficiency & Productivity). Instead of saying “no” to spending on everything, Ramit wants to use money to say YES. He knew there was a better way to live a rich life—if we could use psychology to focus on what actually works. Not just for personal finance, but all aspects of life: money, careers, relationships, business, fitness and more. Since then, he's been testing and sharing his findings with the world via I Will Teach You To Be Rich. He's also written a New York Times bestselling book, been profiled in a 6-page Fortune article and pictured next to Warren Buffett Forbes Magazine, and have been featured by a long list of media, including the Wall Street Journal, ABC News, NPR, Fox Business, PBS, CNBC and more. He also has tons of documented success stories—more than 20,000. The original post is located here:  and

Nick Loper shares some ways that startups can make the best use of their time. Episode 96: Short on Time? 6 Ways to Improve Your Side Hustle Energy by Nick Loper of Side Hustle Nation (Productivity for StartUps). Nick Loper of Side Hustle Nation is an entrepreneur involved in a variety of projects. He started the website because he believes in the hustle. After all, what’s riskier: starting a business, or relying on your job as your only source of income? He used to work full-time for a giant corporation, but built his business during the night and weekends... and you can do it too. The original post is located here:  and

Neil Patel shares the best ways to make money from Instagram. This is Part 2 of 2. Episode 95: The Step-by-Step Guide to Making Money from Instagram - Part 2 by Neil Patel (Passive Income & Business Ideas). Neil Patel is the co-founder of Crazy Egg, Hello Bar and KISSmetrics. He helps companies like Amazon, NBC, GM, HP and Viacom grow their revenue. The Wall Street Journal calls him a top influencer on the web, Forbes says he is one of the top 10 online marketers, and Entrepreneur Magazine says he created one of the 100 most brilliant companies in the world. He was recognized as a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by President Obama and one of the top 100 entrepreneurs under the age of 35 by the United Nations. Neil has also been awarded Congressional Recognition from the United States House of Representatives. The original post is located here:  and