​Let me tell you about a good teacher.

Good teachers can make a world of difference and I believe that many don't properly realize it. Being a children’s book author and doing school events across the country to promote my Bloomers Island book series, got me thinking about my favorite class in high school: Organic Chemistry. Upon reflection, I realized that Organic Chemistry was my favorite class not necessarily because of the subject, which I mastered well, but because of my teacher, Mr. Crawford. Without a doubt, he was the reason why I mastered the subject as well as I did. He was a shining example of the difference a good teacher can make for a relatively difficult subject matter and sometimes, that time, in the life of a student.
 
Another example that clearly backs up my argument, was my calculus teacher my freshman year in college. He was a recent immigrant from another country and didn't speak a word of English. I'm not exaggerating. Not one word. I was failing the class and had to drop it. My parents were not happy. I took the same class the next semester and aced it. I can measure the slope of a line like there's no tomorrow.
 
Back to Mr. Crawford. I was going through a particularly difficult time my senior year in high school. I was weathering some significant family and health issues. Mr. Crawford made me feel special. He made me feel smart. He was engaging and funny - traits you might not typically associate with a chemistry teacher.
 
He called me Cinderella.
 
When I started composing this blog I decided to Google Mr. Crawford. I didn't even know his first name! So I Googled: “mr crawford chemistry teacher seneca valley high school,” and up came his obituary notice from our local newspaper, “The Butler Eagle.”
 
Tears came to my eyes, but why was I surprised? I'm not going to go into the math (even though I aced Calculus), because I would then have to divulge my age, but suffice it to say that he died fifteen years ago at the age of 85.
 
His first name was Roy.
 
I learned that he was from Denver. He taught at Seneca Valley School District for 35 years. He served in the Army during World War II. He had a son and a daughter, two sisters, and a wife, Jane, who predeceased him. He had four grandchildren.
 
I'm not sure Mr. Crawford even knew that he was my favorite teacher. Or that he was one of the reasons I went to college and got a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture. Or that when I was in his class I was able to focus on how molecules are put together and forgot about why some families are put together in the dysfunctional way that they are.
 
Why don't a lot of teachers realize it when they make a huge difference in our lives? Maybe it is because so many of us don't go back and tell them.
 
I have a challenge for you. Share your story about a teacher that made a difference in your life and how, and then go tell them if you still can.
 
I’m lucky that I knew Mr. Crawford. He was a good man. He was a good teacher.

I am a founding member of an active startup founders group. We started with a dozen or so entrepreneurs and I appreciated it because being a startup founder without a partner can be a lonely endeavor. I’ve seen a lot of fellow entrepreneurs walk in and out of the doors over many years. I can now tell if someone is going to “make it” after about three meetings. Here are my observations of why they eventually don’t succeed:

1. They don’t show up. If you want to be successful, you have to show up. I mean that literally and figuratively. You have to show up on a consistent and regular basis. Even if you are tired and can’t seem to find your customers, you are not booking sales, you are getting rejected and you know deep inside your gut that you probably have to pivot your plan, even though you are exhausted. You must keep going — putting one foot in front of the other, executing the marketing plan, calling on customers, pivoting if necessary — you just keep at it. Do they show up on time? If you can’t show up at our meetings on time, what about their business meetings? What if you have a meeting with a venture capitalist? Are you going to be late? Are you going to flake and not show up? Because you and your husband had a fight? Being a C.E.O. of your own startup company is being a self-starter in the truest sense. If you aren’t 100% committed to this, you just won’t make it.

2. They aren’t willing to sacrifice. There is a lot of inherent sacrifice in starting a company. Generally, you have to work long hours, drain your savings, if you’re lucky enough to have some, borrow from friends and family to get started, if you’re lucky enough to have some, give up the money you would make in another job which is called “opportunity cost” and give up time with your family and loved ones. Whenever I see that members aren’t willing to make sacrifices, I know that they are finished. And it has happened with regularity. Usually they will take a job and not come back. Prepare yourself for a lot of sacrifice and if you’re not willing to accept that, you won’t make it.

3. They don’t accept the fact that it’s most likely going to take a long time. This is closely related to sacrifice, but it’s more than that. There is a perseverance factor to it and a necessity of faith. A major problem that I’ve noticed is what I call, “The Spouse Factor.” It’s when the spouses, usually women because most founders are men, I’m sorry to say, think it’s taking too long and give up on their husband’s dream. It is sometimes accompanied by ultimatums and all kinds of bad behavior that I won’t go into here. And it’s sad, really. Because you have this person who is putting it on the line every day working as hard as they can. They are trying to have faith in themselves. Some spouses won’t even get a job. Sometimes the lack of support is breathtaking. My advice is to talk to your spouse before you start a company and make sure they are completely on board. For a long time. And make sure you are, too. The myth of starting a company and selling it to Facebook in three years is just that. It’s a myth. If you don’t know this going into it, you won’t make it.

4. They can’t, or won’t sell what they are making. My first job out of college (Penn State) was selling encyclopedias. I generated my own warm leads by doing magic shows at pre-schools and elementary schools. Yes, I became sort of a magician, and I was good. My low point in the job of selling encyclopedias was going into apartments, in the Housing Projects in Washington D.C., where the rats were as big as possums and the cockroaches ran along the kitchen walls with impunity like it was the Capital Beltway - at a time when my potential customers and I were sitting there talking with the lights on! That year, in between undergrad and grad school, I made over $40,000.00 (almost $119,000.00 in today’s dollars) and I was able to start paying for my first year of grad school at Georgetown University. Moreover, I learned how to sell. Steve Blank, the famed Silicon Valley entrepreneur and Stanford University professor says, “you will find no answers inside your office”. You have to “get out of the building and knock on doors”. I believe that is something very few people are comfortable with, but one that every entrepreneur must learn. I don’t care what you end up doing in life, and I don’t care how you do it, but learn to sell. If you don’t, you won’t make it.

5. They don’t take advice. In our group, members present the most pressing issue that they are dealing with that month, and we have a methodology to “process” that issue. It includes a lot of questions and a lot of feedback. When someone is taking the time to give you advice, especially if it is in a group and collective intelligence is at work, you should listen. Try not to be defensive. And you should take action on that advice. After every processing session, that person is given a Call to Action, or CTA. If they come back without seeing their CTA through, that does not bode well for them. As a startup founder, you are going to need advice from other people because there is no way you can know everything you need to know to do this. I’m not saying you have to listen to everything everyone tells you, but I am saying that if you have smart advisors, or paid professionals, you need to be able to evaluate their advice and act on it. If you can’t, you won’t make it.

6. They aren’t willing to change. Are they so entrenched in their vision that they can’t accept that the world doesn’t want their exact product or service, or that there is something wrong with their product, service, or business model and it needs to be changed? Almost every startup business has to pivot. What is a pivot? It’s when you change your business model in some way because your current model isn’t working. In my latest business, Bloomers Island, I’ve pivoted four times. I know it can be exhausting after your first try and it’s difficult to start over. If that’s the case, take a couple weeks off. I got so burned out after my first couple of years and first couple of pivots, that I went to South America for six months. It was the best thing I ever did. At the end of the day, if you’re not willing to make changes, you won’t make it.

7. They aren’t comfortable crunching numbers. I have seen many people start a business without knowing how to construct a basic income statement let alone a balance sheet. They try to make decisions based on imperfect information. In our group meeting, if a member is presenting an issue to the rest of us, looking for us to help them decide between two alternatives, I always ask: “What are the numbers?” I’m not saying you have to be a CPA, but it wouldn’t hurt to take a basic financial course, or sit down with a friend who knows numbers and cook them a dinner to show you how to construct a set of financial projections. If you look at the numbers — the cost of doing one thing with a projected outcome versus the cost of doing another with that projected outcome (otherwise known as a Cost Benefit Analysis), the answer usually becomes clear: crystal clear. The truth is in the numbers. Get comfortable with numbers or you won’t make it.
​
8. They are overly emotional. My favorite line in the motion picture “The Godfather” is when Sonny, Michael and Tom are talking about killing the bad cop. That is when Michael says, “It’s not personal, Sonny, it’s strictly business.” Of course, Sonny was made vulnerable because he was too emotional. His enemies knew that and they were able to kill him. Don’t be overly emotional. In A League of Their Own, Tom Hanks’ character says, “There’s no crying in baseball!” Well, that applies to business, too. You’re going to get rejected and criticized and insulted. Save your crying for the shower. Take solace in the fact that the more you are rejected, the easier it gets. Develop a tough skin. If you don’t, you just won’t make it.
What is an honest appraisal of my weaknesses? Number three and number six. I was unrealistic about how long it would take. I was too invested in what I wanted to do and took too long and wasted too much time and money before pivoting. I kept going though, because I do the other things really well. Now, it is finally paying off.

I’m a big believer in the Tortoise. Most of my accomplishments have been achieved by plodding.  Plodding has an almost negative connotation but I like to think of it as working diligently on things and being content to achieve them in smaller increments. To me, that is the secret to success… setting and achieving small goals to work toward a larger goal.
 
Living in Los Angeles and being exposed to the entertainment industry, I am well acquainted with people that have the hare mentality. You may already know the type. They are always looking for the big hit, the big win, instead of working on a series of small wins that will eventually add up. As a result, they are almost never successful at reaching their goals and if they are – they eventually lose everything.
 
In the book “What They Don't Teach You in the Harvard Business School,” author Mark McCormack tells of a study conducted on students in the 1979 Harvard MBA program. In that year, the students were asked, "Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?" Only three percent of the graduates had written goals and plans; 13 percent had goals, but they were not in writing; and a whopping 84 percent had no specific goals at all.
 
Ten years later, the members of the class were interviewed again, and the findings, while somewhat predictable, were nonetheless astonishing. The 13 percent of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84 percent who had no goals at all. And what about the three percent who had clear, written goals? They were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent put together.
 
What was I able to take away from this?
 
I was reminded to set goals for myself. Simple but not easy. What kind of goals? There are a hundred different ways to set goals. Ultimately, I guessed that the best goal setting method is the one that works for you. Here’s what worked for me.
 
The first thing I did was to set the BIG GOAL. The BIG GOAL was to sell 10,001 books before the end of the year. I even created a hashtag: #10001booktour.

I then came up with hundreds of other little goals to make the BIG GOAL happen. Every day I made a list that covered a page. Every morning I went through my list and I highlighted the top six things I needed to do every day to make the biggest impact on moving my BIG GOAL forward. It’s worked pretty miraculously. I’m plodding and I’m comfortable with that.
 
As I have been marketing and selling my books, something that has become incredibly helpful to me is a quote by Stephen Covey, “The main thing, is to keep the main thing the main thing.” It is not just a question of coming up with my goals, it is to stay focused on them!!!! And the main thing is my BIG GOAL.
 
Lastly, I did a thorough S.W.O.T. analysis which is extremely helpful to use as a bridge for setting goals. That is the subject of my next post where I will list all my little goals that have helped me sell books.
 
In the meantime, as of my last quarterly report, I’ve sold 9,169 books so I’m close to selling my 10,001. I increased my BIG GOAL to 100,001.
 
What is your BIG GOAL right now? Do you have one? ​

​There is this D.J. who is getting quite the attention lately. People clamor to see him and hear his unique mixes and signature synth-pop. He regularly performs for venues full of fans in places like New York, Miami’s South Beach and the Bahamas. He has thousands of followers, is on a record label and streams on Spotify. My boyfriend discovered him and played one of his songs for me last night and I was blown away. His goes by DJ D-Sol and here’s the thing, he’s also the President of the worlds most revered investment bank, or is it a tech company. More on that later.
 
I did an interview with an online news station and was all prepared to talk about how I started Bloomers, my product development process and my background growing up in the country. The interviewer sat down and asked me basically one question: “How did you get your book published?”
 
After a few moments to collect my thoughts, I gave her the answer: I built a brand first.
 
As any marketer will tell you, building a brand is a difficult undertaking that takes enormous amounts of time and effort and money and knowhow and luck. I thought about all the things I’ve had to do to build my brand. In some ways, that I’ve been able to accomplish what I have, has been miraculous. How did it come together?
 
There’s been a lot written about the 10,000 hours, first popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in his book, “Outliers.” The concept is that you have to do something for 10,000 hours to really become an expert, and common wisdom states that you have to become an expert at something to really make a go of it as a career or business. But here’s the thing I always struggled with, if I am focusing all my time on that one thing, how do I do the other things I love doing? I have actually felt guilty talking about the myriad of skills and talents and different careers I have had because I thought people would think I was a dilettante or worse, a braggart. I was also concerned that they wouldn’t take me seriously in my chosen field. I’ve wrung my hands thinking that I’m not focused enough. Then I found an article about being a polymath and I immediately knew that that is what I am. A Polymath is a person that is good at many things and more and more research is coming out that shows being a polymath can actually help you in your career.
 
Here’s the thing, I’ve done a lot of cool stuff and I’ve been really successful at it. My fields of study have included agriculture, sociology, economics, computer programming, music, foreign languages, animation, editing, computer design, graphic design, writing and painting. My jobs have included, door-to-door saleswoman, horse trainer, investment banker, adjunct professor (economics and statistics), product designer, real estate investor, Chief Financial Officer, financial consultant, typist, researcher, entrepreneur, artist with both group and solo art shows and installations, C.E.O. and perhaps most importantly, a mom.
 
Back to the D.J. I’m sure his music and his performances helped him in his job at Goldman Sachs. There is much evidence that supports the positive effects of music on one's ability to do math, a necessary skill in investment banking. And if nothing else, I’ve got to think that performing in front of thousands of screaming fans probably helped him in the boardroom.
 
How did all my diverse talents and skills help me in my career?

1. Being comfortable starting a company because I was an entrepreneur and I had already done that.
2. Knowing how to raise money for a company and perform day-to-day financial management back from my investment banking days.
3. Having the knowhow to design products with my creativity and design skills that I had studied and developed.
4. Selling encyclopedias door-to-door which has helped me in everything from selling my products to selling my vision.
5. Having a background in agriculture that is the foundation for the Bloomers brand and affords me legitimacy.
6. Artistic skills helped me create the world of Bloomers and the characters themselves.
7. Economics knowledge has helped my timing in starting and selling businesses and real estate.
8. The multi-tasking required to raise children has helped me juggle all the responsibilities of running a company.

 
I don’t think I could have started Bloomers without all my talents, and as I mentioned, starting Bloomers first and designing and securing distribution of really cool products is how I got my publishing deal. My advice to myself is don’t hide and apologize for my diverse talents. They don’t detract from my success. They add to it.
 
My advice to you is, don’t hold back. If you want to paint, paint. If you want to D.J., then D.J. You never know what skill is going to come in handy when you’re starting your business or building your career. Maybe one of the many skills that you love will be your career. 

Bloomers Island is a brand that promotes a healthy lifestyle in children. I am in the lucky position of promoting a message that every parent can agree on. Who doesn’t want healthier kids? I’m still always careful however, as the social media marketer in my company, not to upset any group.

A friend of mine on social media recently shared a meme posted by their local Farmers’ Market condemning pollution from the oil industry and promoting clean water. Again, I think we can all agree that clean water is a good thing, but this friend and this Farmers’ Market was in a state in the heart of the oil and gas industry. I imagined that a lot of their customers were employed either directly or indirectly by oil and gas companies. The comments on my friend’s post supported this, with grousing about the tone deafness of the meme, and saying that they were not going to go to the market anymore. I’m not sure if I would have taken that General Custer’s stand that the Farmers’ Market took, but I admired their guts. It brought to mind that old saying, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”

What am I taking a “stand” on?

When my first book came out, “Bloomers Island, The Great Garden Party,” it was turned down by a major supplier of school book fairs. I was told something to the effect that kids weren’t interested in being healthy or gardening and therefore would be less likely to buy my book at the book fairs (where the decision was mostly theirs and not their parents). I was disappointed because that meant I would miss out on a huge market segment. My CMO and I went back and forth about the notion of not bringing up the concept of gardening at all and just talking about my characters, the Bloomers.

It is understandable that some think gardening might not be particularly popular with kids who haven’t tried it or the grownups in their lives because they are intimidated by it. If I had a nickel for every time an adult says to me that everything they try to grow dies, I would be a rich woman. There is so much more to my brand anyway, like the Bloomers characters. They are adorable and struggle with the same issues that real-life children do. They live on Bloomers Island a place far away in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that no boy or girl has ever seen. Evolution took a different turn on Bloomers Island and plants became the intelligent species. The Bloomers go to boarding school in a tree house! They sleep in flowerbeds, have leaves for hands and roots for feet. They are plants and flowers and trees.

My argument remained that the whole reason of my brand, its raison d’etre, was to encourage kids to garden and eat vegetables. If I was not going to put that concept front and center, what was the point? Besides, I know that kids love digging in the dirt and planting seeds and watching things grow. I’ve seen their enthusiasm over and over, working with thousands of children. I just have to keep pushing that message out there, reminding parents of this fact.

Back to my “stand.” I decided that what I am taking a stand on is to stay true to my mission even if it’s not as popular as dinosaurs or space travel or princesses. While I can certainly place an emphasis on the Bloomers characters, I cannot ignore the main mission of my brand. Otherwise, before I know it, I will be selling GMO seeds, printing my catalogs on paper that hasn’t been recycled, and I don’t know, praising the virtues of chemical fertilizers. If I don’t stand for this something, I may just fall for anything.
​
P.S. I found another bookseller that sells at school fairs, and they are happy to include the Bloomers Island books. Yay!

​What do you stand for?

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​According to my uncle, my grandfather was so charismatic that when he walked into a crowded room, everyone quit talking, just in case he had something to say. My mom said that he was the most beloved man in town. My dad, his son, adored him. When he died at the age of 52, it was the only time in my whole life that I saw my father cry. He wailed with his head in his hands like a wounded animal and as a five-year old, I was afraid. The lines of people wanting to pay their respects spilled outside and wound completely around the funeral home.
 
There’s been a lot of research done on whether people are born with charisma or if they can develop it. Charisma is defined as a compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others. I’ve read about it and to the best of my ability, I estimate that you’re born with about a third of it and you can develop about two thirds of it.
 
Most of what I read centered around very achievable skill sets like being a good communicator. I read that President John F. Kennedy said that charisma comes from being an excellent listener or letting people know that they are being heard. Confidence – the state of feeling certain about the truth of something – is also a key ingredient.
 
I came upon a video of Conor McGregor, the UFC champion, where he was talking about an upcoming match. McGregor looked directly into the camera with an intensity that was breathtaking and without a shred of hesitation said about his opponent, “I will most certainly dismantle him also.” Dismantle. Not beat up. Not take down. Not knockout. Not win a decision against. Not probably or maybe or most-likely. Nothing mealy-mouthed. Nothing half-hearted. But simply, definitively, confidently … dismantle. (Here is the link, it is well worth watching.)
 
I believe that most rational people are confident. They believe what they say is true, because if they didn’t, why would they say it? The problem is their delivery. They don’t speak their truth well. Regardless of what their medium is: writing, speaking to large audiences, or even talking with a friend or small group of people, let alone radio or television.
 
I have a friend who was the one who got Donald Trump media-ready for the "Apprentice," where she worked at that time as a producer. So of course I asked her what she did. Her advice was simple: practice, practice, practice. Set up a camera and film yourself.

I did this and studied the results. From what angles do I look the best? How should I smile. How should I sit? What should I wear? What colors look good on me? What about my voice? Is my enunciation adequate, my tenor too high or too low? Does my passion for my mission come across well?
 
Would I want to listen to me?
 
According to Dale Carnegie in his seminal book, “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” (one of my all-time favs), people think actions mostly follow thoughts … I want to get a bowl of ice cream so I walk into the kitchen and get a bowl of ice cream. But actually, thoughts can follow actions, for example, if you are smiling, you naturally feel happier. If you are acting confidently, pretty soon, you will start to think confidently. And it is easier to control your body than your mind. So, pushing your body to do something is easier than forcing your mind to think something (or in many cases, to not think something).

“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
​~ Warren Buffet

​I attended a dinner many years ago that one of my advisors hosted. I sat next to a guy who had founded a well-regarded co-working space in Santa Monica. He was asking about my background before Bloomers, and I told him that I was a co-founder of Maui Toys as well as a partner at X-Large Clothing Company. I told him that my co-founder who stayed at Maui had just sold the company. He asked how I felt about that. Besides the fact that it was my ex-husband and I was happy for him and for my children who would only benefit from it, I told him that I thought he deserved it. He had worked very hard for twenty-five years after I left the company.

The guy told me that the most troublesome trait he noticed with the young entrepreneurs that came through his co-working space was their unrealistic expectations in regards to how long it would take to succeed. It seemed all the young startup founders came in thinking it would take a couple of years, and then they would sell out to Facebook for 100 million. Cool. Like Steve McQueen. The Great Escape.

Of course those are the exceptions and not the rules. The rules are, it takes a long time, a lot of work and a lot of sacrifice and that’s just the way it is. Starting a business is not for the faint of heart.

I am a founding member of a startup founders group and I’ve seen a lot of entrepreneurs walk in and out the doors over several years. It has gotten to the point where I can tell if someone is going to make it after about three meetings. I won’t go into all my observations here (that’s another post), but number one is: do they show up? If you want to be successful, you have to show up. I mean that literally and figuratively. You have to show up on a consistent, regular basis. Even if you are tired and can’t seem to find your customers, and you are not booking sales, you are getting rejected and you know you probably have to pivot but you are exhausted. You keep going – putting one foot in front of the other, executing the marketing plan, calling on customers, pivoting if necessary – you just keep at it. Like Napoleon Hill said, “Keep on keeping on.” I've always loved that.

I do admire those of us who put it all on the line every day and keep going. It’s inspiring. I am now traveling around the country on my “10,001 Book Tour,” and you know what? I LOVE this. I could die and go to heaven doing this. When I’m not stressed out and scared, I feel like I’m the luckiest person in the world. I have faith that what I’m doing is going to make a difference to myself, my family and the world.

My new friend and I, we decided that entrepreneurship is most definitely a long game and the rewards are enormous whether you sell, create a lasting legacy, hand it down to your children, or heck, change the world with it. If you don’t have the desire and wherewithal to embark on this journey, then don’t bother. Find a career you don’t hate.

As part of my legacy journey that I wrote about a couple weeks ago, I put together an organizational chart that was actually Dennis’ brother, A.J.’s idea. He told me that the way I am going to grow Bloomers Island on a shoestring budget is to convince all the people that work with me to buy into my dream, my mission, and the success of the Bloomers Island brand.

I’ve since become a wee bit obsessed with my Org Chart that I call my Bloomers Island Tree of Life. And since it is a Tree of Life, I decided to put it on a tree. And since I decided to put it on a tree, I thought I might as well make that tree the Mr. Banyan tree from Bloomers Island. It looks beautiful, as well as informative. (Some of the names have been blocked here.)

I never really had an organization chart, because I didn’t think I had enough employees. A.J., suggested I put together all the people I needed to help me move my dream forward … my dream of selling 10,001 Bloomers Island books. I immediately took to that idea. I expanded my chart to include selling all of the Bloomer’s products here and overseas. These people and companies are licensees, subcontractors, vendors, agents, friends, family, various and sundry contacts, and friends of friends.

I loved A.J.’s suggestion. It was brilliant and exactly the direction I needed at that time. We were in New York and meeting with my new publisher, Random House Children’s Books. We had many marketing initiatives going on, and as usual, I was losing track of what I was doing because I was trying to do too much. This Org Chart sent me and my books and products in the appropriate direction.

Part of the immediate and obvious value of setting up my org chart was that it showed me how thin I was spread and how I needed a more hierarchal structure. Even though I had made the call to prioritize selling 10,001 books, there was still so much legwork required to accomplish that. You know, just saying you want to sell 10,001 books doesn’t mean it will magically happen.

The next noticeable value of the org chart was to see how many people and companies had signed on to Bloomers. I was immediately touched by the level of support I was getting. Whole chapters in business books have been written about how to ignore the naysayers and push forward on your dream. I had the opposite. I had supporters and not naysayers. But that imposed even more pressure on me to prove them right. To show them that their support was not misplaced on me.

The most important thing though, is that I saw exactly what I needed to do and accomplish to continue to bring my dream to fruition. It became my roadmap in my legacy statement that I wrote about in my last blog post. It started with the question I had to ask everyone on that chart, everyone I met with, everyone whose help I needed, to sit down in front of them and with my shoulders back and a smile on my face ask those special people:

​What can I do to make you look good?

I came back to Los Angeles this week from a long trip to New York and Europe with Dennis. We were able to stay with family in nearby Rowayton, Connecticut, for which I was extremely grateful, but it was a tiring commute from there to New York City every morning and with cold and rain and snow, we were also fighting the elements. In Europe, we were again able to stay with family most of the time, which made the trip doable for us. In New York, we attended a wonderful International Toy Fair. ​

In Europe, we were working with our new licensee to put the final touches on the Bloomers Island line, including a stunning, wood Mr. Banyan display for the VeggiePOPS! While in the Netherlands and Belgium, we also did a lot of driving in one of their coldest winters in decades, the result of a freak Siberian cold front. After three days of not leaving the apartment due to sub-zero temperatures and gale force winds, I started going stir crazy and insisted we walk into the nearest town, Haarlem. After making it five blocks, we had to stop for hot coffee and toasted croissants and that was as far as we made it.

The good news is, our licensees in North America and Europe are on track. It looks like Australia is next. South America is limping along, but I have great faith in my licensee there. Certainly, his enthusiasm is unparalleled. My first book is out and doing well. And meetings with studios interested in the Bloomers Island show and game are moving right along. Other potential licensees are finally knocking on the door. Wow, what an arduous journey. What an exciting journey!

What is shocking to me, is that Bloomers Island is my fourth company and I thought I knew a whole lot about business. I had run four companies! I had a good education. I started in banking. I was in a Startup Founders Group. I could raise money. I had advisors. I hired a brand strategy company. I hired a digital marketing firm. I ran projections, over and over. I know my way around a business plan better than most. I did everything right.
And I did everything wrong.

As Eric Ries says in the Lean Startup, “What we need to do is not come up with more good ideas. We need to go and test as many of those good ideas as possible.”  

Or as I like to say, “There are no good ideas, there is only good execution."

The problem with my execution was that I was trying to do 100 different things at once: a school gardening program, an online game, gardening products, toys, books, television show, clothing, hair and skin care products, healthy food, an amusement park, housewares, card game, board game, garden journal app, curriculum, and wait, there’s more!

I was distracted and unfocused and felt like I wasn’t executing anything well. I spent money where I shouldn’t have spent it. I couldn’t develop a good business model. I couldn’t decide or choose what was the most important thing for me to work on. There were so many things to accomplish on a day-to-day basis, that I struggled with even the most basic prioritizing.

I went to an event that a friend of mine hosted. He is a legacy coach (I highly recommend and HERE is his website). I had written a legacy statement before, but what I liked about his methodology is that he helped us choose our legacy and then develop a road map to achieve it. When I chose my legacy, all of a sudden, it became crystal clear as to what my priorities should be. And it was not just about prioritizing but focusing the greater part of my day on them, coming up with and following a road map with lists and dates and commitments. And here’s the magic, when I started focusing, everything I wanted started falling into place for me.

Back to our return from Europe. As we rode the escalator down to the baggage claim at 1:00 a.m., desperately needing some water, trying to rally for one last push of energy needed to gather up all our oversized, overweight, and over numbered suitcases and boxes and somehow drag them upstairs to area “C” where hopefully an Uber wouldn’t take too long to pick us up, we walked past a closed Starbucks. On the side of the outside wall hung a small sign which read: “The Tireless Pursuit of All Things Coffee.”

Talk about priorities. Talk about a road map. Talk about a legacy. This one statement encapsulated all at once: commitment, focus, hard work and legacy. It wasn’t just pursuit, it was tireless pursuit. It wasn’t coffee and tea and bread and cakes and cookies and sandwiches, – although Starbucks hawks all those things – but, it starts and ends with coffee. I pictured Herman Melville’s first mate character, “Starbuck” (the brand’s namesake), standing on the Pequod, salty waves crashing around him, holding a sturdy mug of steaming coffee. Coffee.

What about me? What am I in tireless pursuit of? I am in tireless pursuit of creating entertaining, fun and clever stories to inspire and educate kids to live a healthier lifestyle. I am about all things stories. My first priority in this pursuit, the first stop on my roadmap, is to make sure my books are widespread and widely read. My wish for my legacy is to be the A.A. Milne of my generation.

In furtherance of this goal, I am going to do a tour across the country. I have never driven across the country before and I am lucky enough to have my marketing guru and partner in life go with me. We have definitive plans with gaps in between. I am going to do television, radio and press interviews, school visits, library visits, and book store signings. I’m calling it “The 10,001 Book Tour” because I want to sell 10,000 books on this trip and 10,001 sounded better than 10,000.

The first stop on our trip is Denver and we can be flexible after that. Bouncing between California and Denver and New York makes me feel like Sal Paradise in Jack Kerouac’s seminal novel, “On the Road.” We’re starting tomorrow (fingers crossed). If you want me to stop at your school, library, or book store let me know. If you want to do an interview, please contact me. Our schedule is flexible, our intention is to accommodate. I would love to meet you on the tour and sign your book. If we don’t get to meet this time, email me at cynthia@bloomersisland.com, and I will be happy to send your little reader a special message via the Snail Mailman. 

Now I have a road map, figuratively and literally.

You can follow our progress on my website: cynthiawylie.com or on the bloomersisland.com website as well as the Bloomers Island Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts. (All /bloomersisland). I will be posting dates and cities as soon as I have them.
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It’s never too early or too late to decide on your legacy. What do you want yours to be?