Whether you work for yourself or someone else, there’s one thing I know about you: You want your work to matter. Even, or especially, if you’re afraid it doesn’t. Maybe your boss or clients heap praise on you. Maybe they don’t say a damn thing. But you want it to be good, and you want…

Let’s face it: There’s nothing sexier than describing yourself an an entrepreneur. It’s like a hot leather jacket that everyone is trying on for size, including me. If it’s not a fit, maybe you like this simpler style, called solopreneur. Or maybe this tiny little handbag, called micropreneur instead. Or, this briefcase-slash-diaper bag called “mompreneur.”…

Not too long ago, haters were the domain of the rich and famous — or at least, anyone with a sizable platform. In fact, it was basically a celebrity tax: you want attention, get ready for vitriol. But now it very much is our problem. Because now we all want attention, and, thanks to the…

Your struggle with branding yourself or your business comes from two conflicting fears: You don’t know who you are; You don’t want to ruin what you already did/created/have This places you at the crossroads between ignorance and fear. A lousy place to be (and we’ve all been there). As a result, you are hesitant to put a…

There’s tremendous pressure to “find your passion” lately. Too much pressure, if you ask me. It’s also misleading: If I tell you to “find your passion,” we must presume that it’s been lost, like a set of keys or that coupon for a free burrito at Chipotle. Not only is it lost, it’s now a…

You are afraid to go for a thing. An opportunity, a job, a promotion. Your main reason is because, well, other people want it, too. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this. Including the other day, when a young writer told me that she would love to pitch magazines with ideas she…

Shasta Nelson is a relationship expert and the author of Friendships Don’t Just Happen. She is also the CEO of a female friendship-matching site called GirlFriendCircles.com, which she created after recognizing that many of her life coaching clients were having a hard time finding meaningful relationships with other women. I recently had Shasta on my show, Solopreneur on the Whatever…