Book Bites: 8 Ways to Optimize Your Focus

The following is an excerpt from Lost in Startuplandia: Wayfinding for the Weary Entrepreneur by E. Keller Fitzsimmons.

Focus is increasingly hard to come by in today’s world. We’re bombarded by constant stimulation coming from every direction. For all my fellow business owners out there, we don’t have the mental bandwidth to deal with all these distractions and run our business in an optimal fashion. We need to focus — but where can we find it?

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Author Hour Podcast: Lost in Startuplandia: E. Keller Fitzsimmons

Keller Fitzsimmons has been there, done that, starting six businesses over 20 years. Her book is Lost In Startuplandia and the book is an honest personal guide for surviving startup failure.

She is here with us today, sharing her journey, her trials and her triumphs, and of course her invaluable advice with us.

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The Gogedders Podcast: Lost in Startuplandia: Kelly Fitzsimmons

Serial entrepreneur and author of the new book "Lost in Startuplandia" Kelly Fitzsimmons stopped by the GGMM HQ to hop on the mic. She shared her journey through starting six companies (a couple with very successful exits) and navigating the trials and tribulations of entrepreneurship. Kelly was once $5M in debt, but climbed right out and made an inspiring comeback. There are tons of takeaways for current and aspiring entrepreneurs, and this is a compelling episode for anyone who likes a good story!

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The Gogedders Podcast: How your company can innovate in 2019

Chuck Swoboda and Kelly Fitzsimmons come on the podcast to talk all things innovation.

Two awesome innovators were at GGMM HQ on the same morning. There was some slight overlap, so we mic'd them up — and we're so glad we did. As CEO of LED lighting company Cree, Chuck grew the company from $6M to $1.6B, and in 2013, Cree was recognized as one of America's 25 Fastest Growing Tech Companies by Forbes Magazine.

Kelly is the author of "Lost in Startuplandia". She is the founder of 6 companies and has a few successful exits to date. This episode has a ton of great takeaways for anyone trying to take their company to the next level and navigate the ever-changing landscape of today's market.

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Kirkus Reviews - "A potent self-help business book."

KIRKUS REVIEW

A serial entrepreneur shares her personal successes and failures in an introspective debut.

Fitzsimmons isn’t negative about startups. After all, she managed to launch six firms herself, five of which are still in business, including her current virtual-reality venture, Custom Reality Services. But two main themes of her book are that being an entrepreneur “is a struggle against reality” and that “failure is synonymous with iteration”—concepts that will test the mettle of even the most optimistic dreamer. 

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"Lost In Startuplandia": Entrepreneurship guidance with author/entrepreneur Kelly Fitzsimmons - EricCast #11

Eric Paulsen is joined by Kelly Fitzsimmons, serial entrepreneur and author of the new book Lost in Startuplandia. She has had several successful exits with a variety of companies and investors - and some big failures. Her book eschews the usual "This is exactly how I succeeded and how you will too!" hype and notes how the infinite roads to success and surefire ways to fail. Lost in Startuplandia offers multiple perspectives and real-life examples to allow an entrepreneur to recognize and compare his or her own situation to serve as guidance... or caution. Topics include customer and location strategy, investors and pitfalls, better decision-making and confirmation bias, looking for people outside your own circle, "Zombie startups," and much more. Through the conversation, we also wander into Oculus Rift, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Moore's Law, how VR (virtual reality) programs could dramatically improve gaming, museums, film, storytelling and more, and a variety of topics. 

Why the Belief That Founders Must Sacrifice Their Happiness to Succeed Is Just One Big Myth – Inc.

There are few universal truths in startup life. One of the most fundamental is that happier people are more productive. As founders, we think that means our employees. And yet, the deeper truth is that startup happiness starts at the top.

Five startup founders walked into a bar and, like that famous scene in the movie Jaws, our conversation dissolved quickly into us showing off our proverbial scars. A competition broke out for who could tell the most gory tale of woe. We went on trading story after story for hours on end.

As founders, it is easy to brag about our crazy hours and sleepless nights. And yet, these stories serve to support the enduring mythos that startup success is predicated on founder self-sacrifice. The harder we work and more we give up, the more successful our venture will be.

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Wings of Inspired Business – Melinda Wittstock

Episode 172: Failing Forward in Startuplandia

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Kelly Fitzsimmons is a 4X serial entrepreneur and pioneer in voice recognition technology, cyber security and virtual reality with several 8 and 9 figure businesses and exits to her name. She shares her ups and downs and important advice for women about how to leverage, profit and grow (and never hide) from failure, with a new book out this fall that tells the story of how entrepreneurs bounce back from extreme adversity.

Wings of Inspired Business – Melinda Wittstock

Episode 170 MINISODE: 4X Serial Technology Entrepreneur Kelly Fitzsimmons Advises on Raising Money and Avoiding Isolation

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Transcript here

Kelly Fitzsimmons is a 4X serial entrepreneur and pioneer in voice recognition technollgy and cyber security software with several 8 and 9 figure businesses and exits to her name. She shares important advice for women in tech seeking funding, inspired by her own harrowing #MeToo attack by an investor which sent her into depression, isolation, shame – and now recovery with a new virtual reality company and a new book out this fall.