I’d heard years later that he decided to stay with the photography and he left his position at the college. The hiatus he took, defined a course change in his career.

Now, 9 months into what was to be a 1-month hiatus, it’s become clear that the same thing has happened to me. Teaching Sells has not only taken the bulk of my time, but also has been so much fun, it’s become my main focus. And, as some of you may know, I’m working on a new project called Lateral Action with Brian Clark and Mark McGuinness.

Where does that leave SFTN? Well for now (which has become pretty obvious), I won’t be updating with new posts. TS and LA cover much of the same material, but will offer a bigger arena. I’ll probably overhaul and combine this into a personal site at some point in the future.

And what about the cartoons?

Part of the reason for the course change is the opportunity to be creative in a more lucrative way. In fact we have just released the first introductory video for Lateral Action. If you want to take a look (and maybe subscribe to the feed), you’ll get a taste of what’s to come.

So this isn’t really goodbye, but more of a “see you around.” And I do hope to see you around at Teaching Sells, Lateral Action, and at some future projects that are in the works.

Anyway, I’m taking a break from the blog for the next few weeks, and will be back after the New Year.

Thanks to everyone for stopping by, reading, and subscribing this year.

I wish you a joyful and abundant holiday season.

Working at home is certainly convenient, but it can be dangerous to your social life.

With no job to drag you out of the house, you might find that you no longer have a reason to leave. Sure, you might hop into the car and grab some groceries, but that doesn’t involve any deep interaction with people. Neither do conference calls or business lunches.

It’s surprising, but after a couple of months working at home, the joy of freedom can actually wear off and you start to feel lonely.

Of course, it doesn’t affect all people. Lots of folks have such active families, friends, or hobbies that it never becomes a problem.

Others of us find it more difficult. If you’re single, living in a new town, or somewhat of a loner, you might not have any activities that naturally connect you with people.

It’s easy to turn into a hermit — someone that stays cooped up in the house for days or weeks at a time with no friends or real connection to the outside world.

Not only is hermit life emotionally unhealthy, but for most of us, it’s far from what we imagine when we decided to take the leap to working at home. We want freedom from the workplace, but we don’t want to turn into a recluse.

The problem is, maintaining relationships from home is a separate social skill, and no one teaches you how to do it. Because the isolation often comes as a surprise, you can also struggle to rearrange your social life into more healthy patterns.

The good news is you’re not alone. I’m a single guy that’s been working from home for 13 years, in one capacity or another. Here are some of the things that I do to keep from turning into a hermit:

Get to Know Your Neighbors

When you’re working from home, neighbors are convenient friends. They’re nearby, and you have lots of excuses to get to know them. You can:

• Ask for a favor – my favorite technique is to borrow an egg to make some brownies and then bring them a couple, straight from the oven. Talk about building goodwill!
• Join the HOA – If you have a homeowners association, get involved. Everybody will come to you with problems and suggestions, giving you lots of opportunities to talk.
• Hold an event – Host a community cookout, dinner, or football party. Everybody likes free food, and it’ll give you a chance to meet everyone at once.

A word of warning though. If you’re living in an apartment complex, you might find your neighbors are resistant to getting to know you. Usually, they have nothing against you; they’re just living there temporarily, and they don’t want to get involved.

It’s much easier if you live in a neighborhood where people are planning on staying awhile. In fact, I recently bought my own condo for this very reason.

Adjust Your Current Relationships

For me, another big surprise was the way working from home changed longtime relationships from college and past jobs. Before, we used to grab lunch or meet up at a business function and gab about office politics.

Not anymore. Fortunately though, there are still plenty of ways to continue your relationship:

• Talk about something else – Try asking about their family or future plans. You might find that they’d love to work at home, and you can tell them how.
• Invite them to dinner – You have more time now, so use it. Spend a couple hours preparing a gourmet dinner and invite your friends over. If they’re still in the rat race, they’ll probably enjoy the change of pace.
• Explain your situation – If they’re a good friend, tell them that you’re struggling to stay “connected” and ask for their help. One of my friends started inviting me to watch football with him, and I love it.

Most of the time, your friends will adjust. If they don’t, then you can either accept the relationship for what it is or start looking for a new network of friends that have similar lifestyles and interests.

Build Relationships with Similar People

When your life undergoes a significant change, it’s natural to drift away from old friendships, where you don’t have so much in common anymore. It’s just essential to develop new friendships with other, more similar people. For instance:

• Other people that work from home – Even if you don’t work in the same industry, you’ll probably have a similar lifestyle, opportunities, and challenges.
• Retirees – Lots of recently retired baby boomers are piddling around at home and would be delighted to have a new friend
• Entrepreneurs – Attend Chamber Of Commerce meetings and other functions for entrepreneurs. You’ll probably have a lot in common, as well as opportunities to share.

The best decision I ever made was to move into a luxury condo development filled with retirees and empty nesters. Most of them are trying to make the same adjustments, and they’re thrilled at the opportunity to make a new friend.

I’ve gotten to know so many of them lately that I’ve started having to turn off my phone and lock the door, just to get some work done. How’s that for a change?

The point is, if you find yourself becoming isolated, don’t make the mistake of believing there’s nothing you can do about it. You can. It just requires a little more initiative and a new approach to your relationships.

Besides, anything is better than becoming a hermit.

Jon has started three companies, managed over 60 people distributed across the world, and retired from two separate careers… all from home and by the age of 25. For tips about how to make more money in all walks of life, be sure to check out his blog, onmoneymaking.com.

I expected that to happen when Teaching Sells launched. I usually underestimate how much I’ll be involved when launching a new project. I tend to get both excited and obsessed, so needless to say, my primary focus has been the new venture.

Because it is so exciting, I have to be careful to prioritize and keep balanced. The main balance is with family and work. So unfortunately personal projects, like this one, tend to fall a little behind.

Wendy said in a comment here on balance:

“It’s much easier to write about balance than it is to actually do it. But every time I write about it, I am pushed to walk my talk just a little bit more.”

Amen, sister!

So regular posting will pick up again. I’m also approaching some folks about guest posting. Some of the top contributors in the comments have shared wonderful insights. Now I just need to convince them to share a whole post or two .

From an outside perspective, you’d never know it. But Graham had pulled himself up from a very low place years ago, and vowed never to be that low again. When you reach a certain level of success, you never want to reach true rock bottom again.

It’s like those action-adventure movies where the hero falls from a cliff into a clump of trees. He’s always able to grab a branch and stop himself, before he plummets to the ground.

Graham had caught himself, but wasn’t sure how to begin the climb back from his low point.

“What worked for you in the past,” I asked.

“Usually I’d grab a success book or motivational CD, and it would give me the boost I needed to get going again. But I’ve heard all that stuff, and read and listened to hundreds of different books and CDs,” said Graham.

Then I told him this — I guarantee you haven’t heard it told by everyone.

It was as if a fog had been lifted. He had a look of clarity that you see with those moments of epiphany.

There was a new book by an author he hadn’t read before, but that covered many of the concepts Graham was familiar with. He put off buying the book, because he figured the author had nothing new to say.

Graham was right, and he was also wrong. The author did say much of what Graham already knew. But he had never heard it that way before. The new point of view clicked, and helped Graham gain the perspective he needed.

What This Has To Do With You

I actually want to make 2 points here.

1. Don’t discount re-experiencing something you already know. There are people out there who are providing a point of view that you may never have heard before. That unique viewpoint may be just what you need at this particular point in time.
2. From the other side, don’t think you don’t have anything new to say. I constantly hear from folks who think they can’t follow their passion, because it’s already been done, or everyone else is already saying it. Nobody is doing it like you can — because you are unique. Your distinctive spin and perspective may be just what someone is looking for. That’s why you have to be you, and not just regurgitate things exactly as others have. Find your own voice and viewpoint.

The saying about the teacher appearing when the student is ready is true on many levels. Different points in our lives require new perspectives and teachers. Even in those concepts and principles we already know to be true.

See, you have to click the little radio button to “published.”

I didn’t.

So now, a day later I give you…

Teaching Sells is Now Live!

Needless to say things have been crazy for the past 48 hours — in a fun and exciting way. The material and topics we are covering in the Teaching Sells program is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and it’s very cool to see it live.

The response both to the initial report and to the program has been remarkable. Here’s a quick summary of the comprehensive, step-by-step courses:

• How to Create Content That Sells
• How to Effectively Market Interactive Learning Environments
• How to Create Killer Multimedia Content with Quick and Easy Tools
• Seven Profitable Business Models for Interactive Content Developers
• Your Blueprint for Building Membership Sites with Open Source and Low-Cost Software

Plus forum access, both for interaction with peers and with the instructors, and planned events.

You can find out all about it over at the Teaching Sells site.

Oh, and I’ll be back with regularly scheduled posting next week.

I’ve talked about balance before.

It’s crucial to the success of a home-based business.

My friends Ben and Wendy — among others — do a great job of talking about the importance of balance (Wendy’s kitchen picture sums it all up nicely).

Many new entrepreneurs tend to struggle with this a lot. The thing that took me a couple of startups to realize is that balance is not about living two lives.

It’s about focus.

You Can’t Make It Go Away

When you love what you do, and are in the throes of launching a new project, it’s impossible to turn it off. I’ve become more aware of this each time I launch a new venture, and it’s kept me sane through the development of Teaching Sells.

When you’re with your family, playing, watching a move, eating, sleeping, whatever — it’s always there.

That’s not going to change, and that’s okay.

Rather than trying not to think about your work while with your family, for example, you have to shrink the focus of work and embiggen the focus of your family.

Like picture-in-picture, the little picture of your project is there — just smaller and taking up less of your focus.

The same thing happens when you’re working. You’re going to be thinking about your family and the fun they’re having without you.

That’s true balance. Trying to fight to make one leave your brain while you’re focusing on the other just creates more anxiety.

The key is to stay in the moment, focus you what you’re doing right now, and know that the little picture will always be there.

Then you can comfortably swap them, when it’s time to do so.

You can start the day doing something you love, spring out of bed, and be ready to go. Or you can keep trudging along.

Jason Kotecki does an amazing job of helping folks break out of “Adultitis” through his cartoons, writing, speaking, and other offerings. Jason and his wife Kim focus on getting back to the fun in life, which in turn brings a more successful and fulfilling life.

I recently had the pleasure of contributing an article to their Escape Adulthood magazine. It talks about how doing your own thing is like a perpetual summer vacation. It’s one of the coolest things you can do, yet there will always be those who will never do it.

Brian and I talked about this a lot while planning out and developing the Teaching Sells program. That there will always be those who won’t take action and jump at the opportunities to be successful. Quite honestly as a coach and consultant, it pisses you off. You want to make everyone successful .

No matter what drives you, it’s all about choice. It’s about choosing to go for it and about taking the steps necessary.

And if you’re looking for inspiration, be sure to check out Kim and Jason’s place.

This report outlines the project Brian and I have been working on, and is full of valuable info for those looking for a viable way to make money online.

It covers key aspects of developing a profitable online content business, and capitalizing on your expertise — through stories about:

• Writing in space
• Big boss Google
• The Long “Tale”
• The value of free — in another content business
• How a little concert in Manchester changed the music scene forever

We provide it both as an illustrated PDF and as an MP3 audio version.

So go have a look, or a listen:

Teaching Sells – Forget Everything You Know About Making Money Online… And Start Making Some

You’d think that would be off-topic for this blog. On the contrary — being a home-based entrepreneur is one of the most eco-friendly gigs you can have.

For instance…

There’s the 30 Second Commute

Rather than sitting in traffic, spewing out carbon into the atmosphere, you simply walk up the stairs, or into the other room. No pollution, no road rage, just natural human energy (though this may be your only exercise).

Save Electricity by Going for the “Keanu-Reeves-Between-Films” Look

Let’s say you’re an electric razor guy like me. As a home-based entrepreneur, you likely rarely meet anyone face-to-face — what with email, IM, and the phone. So by taking a cue from Keanu, and only shaving on occasion, you can save enough electricity to power a small nightlight.

Reserve the Dry-Cleaning For Special Cases

Dry-cleaning chemicals are not very environmentally friendly. Just by having meetings over the phone or IM, and refusing to attend any event that requires more than a nice t-shirt and cargo pants, you can avoid having to do any dry-cleaning. Except for (hopefully) rare circumstances.

Conserve Water by Forgetting to Shower

Most home-based entrepreneurs are so obsessed involved with their ventures, that they often forget some basic things. Showering comes to mind. That 5 or 10 minutes could be better used to follow-up on an email, and at the same time, conserves water and helps the planet.

You Have No Time to Do Any Damage

Gone are the days when you had free time to ride your quad-runner through the pristine wilderness, or go kayaking along the Alaskan coastline with a 12-pack, and no garbage bag. Because you have very little free time, the impact you used to have on the environment has decreased.

Now, some of this is tongue-and-cheek, of course (I do shower, I promise, and I never littered in Alaska). But in all good humor, there has to be a kernel of truth — and this is no exception.

As a home-base entrepreneur, you have the unique opportunity to have a small impact on the environment, all while having a big impact on the world.

Just another good reason to give it a go…