I’ve been MIA for almost two weeks now.

Here’s a quick little post on what I’ve been up to lately. I’ll have more in-depth posts for you shortly, but this is where I’ve been.

1) Launching an online retail business.

I’ve never sold and shipped a physical, tangible product online before.

This is a whole new ball game for me. I have to deal with wholesalers, sourcing products, working out the margins, packaging, shipping, contracts, merchant accounts, API’s, banks and oh so much more.

It’s fantastic. I’ve found a good sense of flow working on this project. It’s fantastic and the hours can quickly slip away. I’m also working with some great people. Feels good to be working with people directly again.

2) Adding new services to my own business.

I’m in the midst of adding a new series of business related coaching services to my own business. I’ve been spending a lot of time writing copy, testing the copy, rewriting the copy, but more importantly, I’ve been spending a lot of time tweaking the product and the service offering.

I’ve gotten a few emails lately about coaching and consulting services for both online and offline businesses.

3) Removing services from my own business.

Over the past five years, I created and ran a variety of websites that made a lot of money. These websites paid for our house, bought us a vehicle, and took us on endless trips, but I decided it was time to start moving forward.

Some would call it silly, essentially walking away from thousands of dollars per month of income. I disagree.

Sometimes we need to take the riskier path. While it may be the riskier path, in terms of income generation, it’s the smarter path for me at this point in my life.

4) Doing some volunteer jobs.

Some people would say you should never work for free. I disagree.

I’ve been putting in a fair amount of time to do “important” good-feeling type of work. I’ve been helping a few organizations with their websites and marketing.

And the kicker is, it actually does feel good and important. That makes it totally worth it.

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That’s the biz aspect in a nutshell.

The baby’s due date is less than eight weeks away. My wife, Heather, is doing fantastic. She looks beautiful and is happier than ever. She’s had an amazingly problem-free pregnancy to this point.

We’re anxiously awaiting our Jedi to enter the world.

What’s happening in your life? Let me know.

Last summer, I choked on a fatty piece of steak.

For a few minutes, I was pretty scared.

I had just arrived at our family cottage and, in a moment of excitement, I bit off a bit more than I could chew. My mind was racing with the thought that I actually might not take another breath of that fresh northern air.

It was a pretty amazing experience. I also hope you never have an experience like this one. I was scared and concerned, yet fully aware of what was going on around me.

It was at that moment, as I watched my mother’s panic stricken face, my wife shedding tears, my cousin Adam jumping to my side and telling the others I couldn’t breath, and my Uncle Joe, without hesitation, jumping in to try to dislodge the steak from my blocked airway that I realized sometimes, we all choke.

Choking, metaphorically, happens to the best of us. We choke in our businesses. We choke at our jobs. We choke in school. We choke in our families.

But sometimes, you just have to let go and trust the people who care about you will jump in and help out.

On the flip side, if you see someone choking, metaphorically of course….Don’t be afraid to jump in and help them.

They might not be able to call for help.

Without our past, most of us wouldn’t be where we are today. Our history is what has shaped us into who we are today and who we’ve become. Our successes and failures have taught us lessons which we can use moving forward. The past is important.

I like to look at the past the same way I use the rear view mirror.

I take a glimpse every now and then to check what’s behind me. If I need to, based on what I see, I’ll adjust accordingly. But most importantly, I keep moving forward.

If you constantly focus on the rear view mirror, you’ll end up in big trouble.

In fact, I DO NOT recommend testing this hypothesis when you get into your car later today. The outcome could be disastrous.

Learn from the past. Don’t stare at it.

The rear view mirror isn’t just used for backing up. It’s used for moving forward.

Get it?

Picture this scenario.

You’re flying in a plane. It’s just you and the pilot. The pilot suddenly keels over with a heart attack and dies.

The plane now is in a nose-dive.

You now have a choice to make, and you need to make it fast. (This is where your chameleon skills come into play).

Option One: Do nothing. Hold on for the ride. Let gravity decide your outcome.

Option Two: Take control.

Please choose option two. Don’t blame the pilot. Don’t throw a fit. Don’t huff and puff. Just take control.

When your life’s in a nosedive and everything that could possibly go wrong is going wrong, take control.

Don’t blame the economy. Don’t blame your circumstances. Don’t blame your boss. Don’t blame your co-workers. Don’t blame your customers. Don’t blame your spouse.

We all know there are times and moments when it seems like everything is out of our control. “I’ve never flown a plane, and I don’t know how to fly!!!”

Of course you don’t know how! But don’t you think when the stuff’s hitting the fan, it’s worth a shot? The alternative outcome is guaranteed to be worse.

Grab the controls – and take control.

I often talk about going against the grain, challenging the status quo, and doing things differently. Occasionally I’m asked, what does that mean?

I see the answer as pretty simple. The way I see it, you’ve got roughly three solid options to choose from. There are more, but let’s start with these three.

The first option is to simply attempt to say or do something unique, original, and different.

The second option is to take something that isn’t unique or original and doing it differently, or doing it better. This means taking something you didn’t come up with and making it your own. Add your own voice to the mix. Not copying but spinning the idea to improve it and make it better.

The third option is the hardest.

Just be yourself and let your true self shine through.

This is the hardest of three because many of us aren’t sure exactly who that is. We spend a great deal of time and energy trying to sort that out. We might read self-help books, or attend a Tony Robbins seminar. That might be a good start.

But don’t give up there. The real magic happens when you truly start exploring.

Option three requires the most soul-searching, the most risk-taking, the most cliff jumping, and edge teetering exploration. It’s the scariest of the three options.

There’s something awesome about edge teetering exploration though. The more you do it, the more you get to see the real you.

The more YOU get to see the real YOU. Come out and play!

Of course, there’s always a fourth option…

The fourth option is to simply do what (nearly, mostly) everyone else is doing. Follow the crowd – Obey the rules – Question nothing. Live a life of mediocrity and compliance within a system that continuously lets you down over and over again.

Three to one.

Tough choice.

This or that?

Yes or no?

Black or white?

Most of us make up our minds using a set of predetermined assumptions about our world. Our worldview is the result of our upbringing, education, and experiences in our world. Most decisions and choices are made using these pretty tight constraints. We rarely have to think. Our minds were made up long ago.

Pema Chodrom says our minds can be like rocks. In that state, our minds are closed, solid and nearly impenetrable. Breaking through our beliefs takes time and a lot of energy. She continues to explain, however, that the secret to unleashing a flood of unparalleled potential in our lives happens when we become fluid.

Fluid like water.

Like a child, opening your mind to view and explore the world without any predetermined beliefs or assumptions. Not simply buying into things being  “just the way things are.”

Rocks sink to the bottom while water continuously keeps flowing.

Drip, drip, drip.