This week in the ‘preneursphere has been a good one.  The dudes over at Trizoko give you some insight on how to overcome your fears, Darren Herman of IGA fame tells us about his inspiration as an entrepreneur, and William Quisenberry over at Mind Petals reminds us about the value of good mentorship.

Your twenties are always an apprenticeship, but you don’t always know what for.
-Jan Houtema

I’ve been in a reflective state of mind since the new year, so when I read Luc’s article on waking up to your mid-twenties, it really struck a chord.  It’s inevitable that people will compare themselves to their parents (and that parents will compare themselves to their children) and that has left many of us wondering why our paths feel so different from theirs.

It’s true that things have changed.  People no longer work for the same employer for a lifetime.  People in their twenties today will change jobs many times.  In part because pension aren’t holding you back, in part because of the ease of mobility, and in part because many of us seem to be continuously in search of a more fulfilling option.  We have so many options open to us, and my feeling is that this can be at once a blessing and a curse.

My belief is that while this situation leads many of us into turmoil during our twenties, it will ultimately lead us to understand ourselves better, allowing us to lead the fulfilling lives we seek.  So go ahead and check out Luc’s article, and while, I’m at it, let me add a few more books to his list.

The Alchemist and The Fifth Mountain by Paulho Coelho
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Is Your Genius at Work? by Dick Richards

Another huge congrats to my buddy Erik Vossman for breaking the 100 subscriber milestone!  That’s a big one, and it means that there are a lot of people out there who find your content interesting and worth keeping track of.  I know that online 100 subscribers doesn’t seem like much, but I prefer looking at it another way - compare it too the offline analog.

Just a shoutout to Adnan for breaking the $100 AdSense hurdle!  I remember jumping that hurdle not too long ago (and then realizing I’d knocked it down anyway because my tax info was incomplete) and it felt good.  Of course, judging by the number of TLAs on his sidebar, I’m sure he’s much happier with his earning from alternate sources.

Thanks to Chris of Blog-Op for pointing this one out.  The Top Commenters Widget fits neatly into your sidebar and lists the people who comment most often on your blog, along with links to their blogs.  It’s a nice touch to give your most active commenters credit and link love.  More importantly, the Top Commenters Widget is bound to create some healthy commenting competition.

When I saw the widget on Blog-Op, I realized that it would only take 5 thoughtful comments to get on the list, and so I went ahead and made them.  At least for me, it was enough of an incentive.  So I’m curious to see what the widget will do here on Flee The Cube.  I’ve placed it prominently above the fold to give you guys even more of an incentive.  Please keep your comments thoughtful though.  “Great post!” comments will be ignored.  As of now, the list is very easy to get onto, you just have to get your comment count up to 4.

Because this plugin came as a Widget, I took the opportunity to “widgetize” Flee The Cube.  If you haven’t already heard, Widgets are a new way of inserting plugins into your sidebar using drag and drop.  I’ve been using widgets for a while now on Argentina’s Travel Recommendations, and the final word on them is that they absolutely rock.

I had not gotten around to installing them here until today because this theme has undergone so many changes that under the hood it is beat up, duck-taped, and booby-trapped.  Ugh.  The messy part is getting the widget framework installed first (and I smell a how-to post coming on).  The instructions that accompany the download are good, though you will likely have to dig into your template code.  The second hairy part was getting TLA to work with widgets, and this TLA Widget solved that problem for me.

Once the FTC theme was widgetized, I took the opportunity to make some long-overdue changes.  First, I added a Best of Flee The Cube section, front and center.  It is purely subjective, so if I have other posts you would like to see on there, let me know.  I also added an easy way to sign up for and advertise using TLA, and I’d like to thank Blogtrepreneur for the idea, since I first saw this on his blog.  And lastly, I’ve added links to all the sites on Kokua Web, in order to spread around the google juice.

My vacation having recently ended, I find that it is once again time to face reality.  It’s always so relaxing to spend time in Buenos Aires with my family; the day to day responsibilities are handled by someone else, I don’t have a set routine, and the lack of a cell phone in my pocket lets me disconnect easily.  And it was during all this disconnecting that I gave myself time to think (and read. lots.) What do I want 2007 to look like?  Where am I going with all these crazy projects?  (Because until now, that’s all they are, projects.) What should I focus my energy on this year, and how?  Somehow, reality couldn’t leave me alone, even on my vacation.

The good news for me was that these questions don’t have difficult answers.  And now that I’m back to “reality” I’m taking the time to write those answers down.  Answer 1:  I want 2007 to be a year of vocational and financial growth.  Answer 2:  Through these crazy projects I’ve learned a lot about business online, which was the idea.  They are going in the direction of becoming more business and less project.  Answer 3:  In most areas of my life I’m satisfied and happy.  But I am lacking in the area of work & business, so that is where I choose to focus in 2007.

Let me say that again, in 2007 I am going to focus primarily on my work life and growing a business.  This means putting myself in a stable financial position.  It means developing a business built around systems, rather than projects centered around me.  And it means focusing on that business, and not chasing every tangent that seems interesting.

Technorati Tags: business, primaryfocus, productivity, newyearsresolutions, supportive

Just a quick note to wish everyone a great new year!  May it bring success, fulfillment, joy, and laughter because in the end, it’s important to remember what really matters.  I’m having a great time down in South America, with my family, really getting my batteries recharged.  So you’ll be hearing a lot more from me a little later this month.  All the best!