Big Society = Big Opportunity (this title is the same as previous ezine)
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The other day I was keynote speaker
at a social enterprise conference in Redcar.
Teesside is a not a place for softies; life's been tough here and the railway
line in from Darlington seems lined with
redundant steel plants and high density social housing.
But social entrepreneurs are by
their very nature bullish and my take on 'Big Society' went down well. They
could see that now really is the time to take the lead, to collaborate and to
go all out for what they want. It was also my debut presentation as the
'Barefoot Entrepreneur' and I was delighted when many in the audience agreed to
follow my lead and remove shoes and socks.
You can download my 'Big Society'
presentation slides here.
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500,000 published words - well, very soon!
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I've just emerged from a frantic
few months of writing. The product of all the sweat, strife and very sore fingers is actually rather exciting.
 Brilliant Checklists for Entrepreneurs is the third edition of my all time best selling book first published in
2004. It's been huge fun to bring the book bang up to date, introducing social
media and adding in other stuff suggested by readers of the previous edition.
How to be a Social Entrepreneur has to be the best
timed book I've ever written. It's currently with a number of big name
previewers who are coming back with some lovely back cover endorsements.
A quick tally up shows that between
them, my 12 books contain more than half a million words. I'm rather proud of
that milestone and hope that you find that that the quality of my work improves
with all this practice!
We're planning a speaking tour to
launch 'How to be a Social Entrepreneur' so if you're organising a suitable
event for the last quarter of the year let me know here email to Bella.
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The fabulous fifties!
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 I had a great unsolicited email
from Steve Walsh recently. He's a Chaplain in the US Army who has recognised
that although men don't have a menopause, they can find the transition into
middle age just a little disturbing.
He bought a copy of my book; 'Teach
Yourself Life at 50 for Men' which I wrote when I hit that point in my life
almost five years ago. What he said really touched me. It might well resonate
with you, particularly if you're
a bloke pushing 50.
'Having read your
book "Life at 50 - for Men" I was so greatly impressed.
It is also one of
the only books that I have ever found that so clearly and directly addresses
the many quiet issues that men in this age group think about.'
I know that Steve is planning to use my book in some of his
training and pastoral work. I've dropped the hint that he might like to invite
me to cross the Atlantic to speak. Watch this
space!
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Britain's first Business Book Festival
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I'm helping fellow author and
professional speechwriter Brian Jenner stage the nation's first ever business
book festival. It's taking place on Friday 10 September in Bournemouth
is a 'must attend' event if you:
Write business books and want to network with
fellow authors; Want to write a business book but don't know how to
get published; Love reading business books and want to meet, hear
and quiz authors.
You can find out more from the
festival website here and buy tickets (that include a £10 book
voucher to spend at the festival online here.
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I'm going to Ghana
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 Young entrepreneur Stephen Gyasi-Kwaw
was instrumental in getting his county
Ghana involved in Global
Entrepreneurship Week last year. He's an amazing guy with boundless energy and
tremendous vision.
On 26-27 August he's staging an
exciting conference in Accra with the theme of
'Growing your Enterprise
in a Shrinking World'. I'll be there delivering some of the sessions, as well
as exploring enterprise in Ghana.
You can download the seminar pack here.
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Quote of the Month
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'Your
success as a social entrepreneur will be directly proportional to the passion
you feel for what you are trying to achieve. The more pain you have suffered or
seen, the more passionately you will pursue your goal then the greater the
impact you will have.'
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I send out a monthly ezine to everyone who finds
it useful. If
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Sincerely,
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