WEEK-53: Monday 3/30/09 – Sunday 4/05/09

~ Sun 4/05/09:  –

~ Sat 4/04/09:  –

~ Fri 4/03/09:  I have not yet resumed tracking my productivity which explains the absence of date in the charts below.  It has been a challenge just to create some weekly updates with blog post entries.

~ Thu 4/03/09:  was an exhibitor at a business tradeshow held a Palmer Event Center.  The tradeshow was hosted by the City of Austin’s Small Business Development Program.  The tradeshow did not deliver  the type of attendees that would be a good match for JobStrap’s services.  I have a few leads after hours of non-stop interaction with attendees.   I setup a bowl for business cards to be dropped into if an attendee wanted more information.  As a result of not having sufficent signage for both I was unable to pre-qualify before attendees dropped their card into the bowl.  This resulted in acquiring a bunch of unqualified cards that have been promised a response with more information.

–

 

WEEK-53	4/03/09
	Fri
Category	#
newConversation	–
ongoingConversation	–
newEmail	–
follow-upEmail	–
newAppointment-F2F	–

–

–

ACTIONS TAKEN: Fundraising, Promotion, & Recruiting

WEEK-53

4/03/09

Mon

goal

Tue

goal

Wed

goal

Thu

goal

Fri-Su

goal

WkTtl

goal

Category

#

%

#

%

#

%

#

%

#

%

#

%

newConversat

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

ongoingConver

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

newEmail

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

follow-upEmail

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

newAppt.s-F2F

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

–

0%

–

–

 

WEEK-51: Monday 3/16/09 – Sunday 3/22/09

[scroll down to today’s date]

~ Fri 3/20/09: Almost two weeks have past and I have not created any momentum in the launch of JobStrap.  I am frustrated with my lack of progress.  What is causing me to be stuck is  habituated negative thinking, a persistent a lack of confidence, and past baggage that I created about what always happens when I am really excited about fulfilling my dreams.  The truth is I am still being resigned and cynical about what is possible for  me to create in my life.  I am addicted to the view that I am a failure.  Getting free from this addiction has been biggest challenge of my life to date.  I am bit embarrased  to admit I am in awe of my brain’s power to persistently assert a dysfunctional view of who I am, what I am capable of producing, and what will happen to me if I act in defiance of my brain’s assertions.  My brain continues to assert the past junk I unconsciously created over the course of my life even though I am now conscious of my brain’s chatter of erroneous truths and misdirections.  I am very clear that what I am experiencing is the human condition.  My brain is the product of millions of years in an evolution path of brute survival.   Humans have no sharp teeth, no claws, no poison, no protective armor, no wings to escape our predators, and pound for pound are weaklings compared to other animals.   Our brains evolved into powerful thinking machines that are hardwired to be ruthless and brutally efficient in our execution of survival strategies.   Self-actualization, love, peaceful coexistence, selflessness, and self-reflection are brain developments that have no brute survival value.  The Devil isn’t making me do it; it’s the power of my primitive brain’s programming to assert itself in order to guarantee its survival.  If a strategy worked once, no matter how irrational, it will become hardwired.  Each DO LOOP performed further embeds the programming.  We know its a mortal sin to kill another human being.  We know over-eating and consuming fats and sugars will kill us AND we do it anyway.  We know that cheating on a partner is wrong and we do it just like we know that throwaway consumer products are killing our oceans and polluting our water tables. 

PUNCHLINE:  I know that my brain is always running its dysfunctional survival programming.  Most of the time I am unaware of it running my life.  Breaking my addiction to that voice is a simple matter; what it required is extraordinary amount of persisence and tenacity.  What is required is (1) Being ruthlessly vigilant in listening for my brain’s chatter of reasons, justifications, and rationalizations and, (2) Holding myself accountable for taking control of the steering wheel when I distinquish dysfunctional programming is in my driver’s seat.

~ Sat 3/21/09:   I can not believe that I lost 45 minutes of editing work on this morning’s second post. The loss was caused when I accidently deleted my post that was highlighted for a format change just before it published.   Wordpress has no “undo” edit function after publishing a post;  when you try to turn back to edit your post the reality of WordPress’ Medusa code is revealed; your thoughts have been turned into concrete.   I have been cursing WordPress for the last 5-10 minutes.

 

WEEK-50: Monday 3/9/09 – Sunday 3/15/09

[scroll down to today’s date]

~ Mon 3/9/09: Today, I continued my search for an project plan creation and project implementation application that will enable me to work more efficiently.   So far, I have found no application that works as a cognitive tool to organize what is known, unknown, what is needed, visually mapping phases/steps and resources, their interdependencies.

~ Mon 3/9/09: Earning income has been a ongoing stressor and distraction… of course that is my automatic response to the challenge and I could changed my attitude… LOL  Hey, it’s only my survival that’s at stake 😉

~ Mon 3/9/09: Additional near term projects that I am creating are:  (1) JobStrap;  (2) Parent-Teen organization to support and educate/train parents and teens in creating their relationship as a powerful family team; (3) Professional Services organization for businesses in financial distress by delivering critical expertise and services that may save firms from bankruptcy -OR- to provide experts and services to mitigate the human and the financial collateral damage caused by an inevitable bankruptcy.

 

JOBSTRAP is back on track!!!

Friday 3/6/09:  I am resuming my posts of progress updates and along with the attendant challenges and obstacles that show-up in the process of fully manifesting JobStrap into the public domain.

Friday 3/6/09:  Later this morning I will be starting my first day working from my new office workspace in downtown Austin.   I am excited to be joining a diverse and dynamic group of entrepreneurs most of whom are social entrepreneurs.

 

WEEK-31: Monday 10/20/08 – Sunday 10/26/08

[scroll down to today’s date]

~ Wed 10/22/08: I am back in the game of creating JobStrap from absolutely nothing into an unbelievable miracle of bootstrapping success for myself and for all present and future bootstrappers.

~ Wed 10/22/08: Later today, I will summarize what happened from my 20th week to the present 31st week.

~ Wed 10/22/08: It is 11:53 pm and the day is completed.  I am committed to regaining the momentum lost in manifesting JobStrap.  Tomorrow holds opportunities for taking more action.

 

WEEK-19: Monday 7/28/08 – Sunday 8/3/08

[scroll down to today’s date]

~ Mon 7/28/08: created this week’s and last week’s blog posts.

~ Mon 7/28/08: [my post after-the-fact] I FELL INTO A DEEP PIT; OR WHAT I ENDEARINGLY REFER TO AS ‘BOOSTRAP PURGATORY’.  My Week-31 contains a summary of the gory detail of life in Bootstrap Purgatory.

~ Tue 7/29/08: –

~ Tue 7/29/08: –

–

WEEK-19	7/29/08
	Tue
Category	#
newConversation	1
ongoingConversation	2
newEmail	1
follow-upEmail	2
newAppointment-F2F	–

–

–

ACTIONS TAKEN: Fundraising, Promotion, & Recruiting
WEEK-19	7/28/08
	Mon	goal	Tue	goal	Wed	goal	Thu	goal	Fri-Su	goal	WkTtl	goal
Category	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
newConversat	–	0%	1	0%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%
ongoingConver	–	0%	2	40%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%
newEmail	1	10%	1	10%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%
follow-upEmail	2	20%	2	20%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%
newAppt.s-F2F	1	100%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%

–

–

 

WEEK-18: Monday 7/21/08 – Sunday 7/27/08

[scroll down to today’s date]

~ Mon 7/21/08: created this week’s and last week’s blog posts.

~ Mon 7/21/08: looked at some job postings that motivated me to take action.

~ Mon 7/21/08: revamping resume. After receiving feedback from a friend, I realized that my resume was not worded to position me as a candidate who is actively seeking work.

~ Tue 7/22/08: went to HR staffing & recruiting networking event. Had a few promising leads on potential contacts for P&L expertise and maybe a Director candidate for JobStrap Workforce.

~ Wed 7/23/08: zoned-out, disconnected with my passion and purpose, stressed about finances.

~ Thu 7/24/08: stayed zoned-out until early evening, kept my commitment to attend my evening Landmark Education seminar session even though I was not feeling motivated to go. About midway into the session, I had a shift of viewpoint that put me back in action.

~ Fri 7/25/08: this morning went to a TAG Meeting to hear a presentation and to network. I may have created an opening to engage a CEO of a fast growing software company to have some conversation about his interest in supporting JobStrap’s mission. In addition, I have a couple of contract work opportunities with this firm.

~ Fri 7/25/08: started recreating job requisition that was lost when I had an OS glitch.

~ Fri 7/25/08: –

–

ACTIONS TAKEN: Fundraising, Promotion, & Recruiting
WEEK-19	7/21/08
	Mon	goal	Tue	goal	Wed	goal	Thu	goal	Fri-Su	goal	WkTtl	goal
Category	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
newConversat	–	0%	6	120%	–	0%	–	0%	5	100%	11	44%
ongoingConver	1	20%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	1	20%	2	8%
newEmail	1	10%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	3	30%	4	8%
follow-upEmail	1	10%	1	0%	–	0%	–	0%	2	20%	4	8%
newAppt.s-F2F	1	100%	1	100%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	2	40%

 

WEEK-17: Monday 7/14/08 – Sunday 7/20/08

[scroll down to today’s date]

~ Mon 7/14/08 to Sunday 7/20/08: On Wednesday and Thursday of this week I attended a two day conference in Austin called SEM for SMBs. On Friday, I was filmed for the first time to create some promotional footage for a new video production services firm called Echo Earth. On Sunday, I attended one professional meeting and one social meeting on Sunday.

I did not keep-up with tracking my activity nor did I make a blog post during the week.

–

ACTIONS TAKEN: Fundraising, Promotion, & Recruiting
WEEK-15	7/7/08
	Mon	goal	Tue	goal	Wed	goal	Thu	goal	Fri-Su	goal	WkTtl	goal
Category	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
newConversat	–	0%	–	0%	9	0%	10	0%	7	0%	26	104%
ongoingConver	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%
newEmail	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%
follow-upEmail	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%
newAppt.s-F2F	–	0%	–	0%		0%	1	0%	–	0%	1	20%

 

WEEK-16: Monday 7/7/08 – Sunday 7/13/08

[scroll down to today’s date]

~ Mon 7/7/08: created this week’s blog post.

~ Tue 7/8/08: worked on business plan for JobStrap. Learning business plan software functions.

~ Wed 7/9/08: two morning meetings. First was a MBC meeting where I made contact with a prior referral and I had more awareness building conversations with participants regarding JobStrap’s mission and services. Second meeting was a two hour meeting with ACF’s CEO/President regarding fiscal sponsorship, funding, referrals to potential Board members and additional resources.

–

ACTIONS TAKEN: Fundraising, Promotion, & Recruiting
WEEK-15	7/7/08
	Mon	goal	Tue	goal	Wed	goal	Thu	goal	Fri-Su	goal	WkTtl	goal
Category	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
newConversat	1	20%	–	0%	4	80%	–	0%	–	0%	5	20%
ongoingConver	–	0%	–	0%	3	60%	–	0%	–	0%	3	12%
newEmail	–	0%	–	0%	2	20%	–	0%	–	0%	2	4%
follow-upEmail	3	30%	1	10%	10	100%	–	0%	–	0%	14	28%
newAppt.s-F2F	1	100%	–	0%	1	100%	–	0%	–	0%	2	40%

 

WEEK-15: Monday 6/30/08 – Sunday 7/06/08

[scroll down to today’s date]

~ Mon 6/30/08: created this week’s blog post.

~ Tue 7/1/08: worked on creating a job requisition for an Executive to head-up JobStrap Workforce (sm) to be posted on job boards and emailed to contacts. Hunted online for descriptions that I could appropriate to compile a complete job description. Unfortunately, at this point, I was unable to find a preexisting job description that was a close match to what I was seeking.

~ Tue 7/1/08: I have been a bit stressed and distracted by income issues. Monday and today I was not effective in moving forward JobStrap. I also was not effective in taking actions to secure income from a work contract.

~ Wed 7/2/08: today I tried to obtain an EIN tax ID from IRS online. IRS had an absurd error in their form that prevented me from completing the application. The had “Texas (TX)” in a mandatory drop down box AND had field validation set to not accept “(” and “)” characaters. I wonder how long that error has been hosing online EIN applicants. I subsequently sent a message to IRS technical support with a description of the form error.

~ Wed 7/2/08: just finished obtaining an EIN. I will now be able to open a bank account for JobStrap.

~ Wed 7/2/08: worked more on Austin Community Foundation application for fiscal sponsorship. It appears to be complete with the exception of needing to develop and attach the Pro Forma Financial Statements. I have been trying to find someone who has the industry and agency expertise to help me build those documents.

~ Wed 7/2/08: made some minor changes to business cards and it took longer than planned to reformat for a reprinting. Took file to kinkos to be printed. Third print batch of business cards are ready to be distributed ;-))

~ Wed 7/2/08: went to a recruiting & HR industry networking mixer. May have made a couple of good contacts in my search for an executive for JobStrap Workforce. As I am networking for an executive I will be utilizing the same contacts for finding some contract work.

~ Thu 7/3/08: made some calls and did some emails.

~ Thu 7/3/08: will be holding-off opening a JobStrap bank account until I understand the ramifications of having one and using it at the same time as being under a fiscal sponsorship arrangement.

~ Thu 7/3/08: this morning I had my first laptop crash since loading XP Pro. Failure was related to a named dll display driver file. So far no more problems today. Lost my research for writing a job requisition for expert in recruiting & staffing agency operations, revenue growth, and scaling.

~ Thu 7/3/08: –

ACTIONS TAKEN: Fundraising, Promotion, & Recruiting
WEEK-15	6/30/08
	Mon	goal	Tue	goal	Wed	goal	Thu	goal	Fri-Su	goal	WkTtl	goal
Category	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
newConversat	–	0%	–	0%	8	160%	1	20%	–	0%	9	36%
ongoingConver	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	2	20%	–	0%	2	8%
newEmail	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	5	40%	–	0%	5	10%
follow-upEmail	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	2	10%	–	0%	2	4%
newAppt.s-F2F	–	0%	–	0%	–	0%	1	100%	–	0%	1	20%