Dr. Margaret Meloni is an author, teacher and personal brand entrepreneur. Her new book is Carpooling With Death: How Living with Death Will Make You, Stronger, Wiser and Fearless. In a somewhat related written work, Dr. Melnoi recently defended her dissertation on Compassion in the Pali Canon, which maps out the spread of early Buddhism and its social networks.
Dr. Meloni has a long running history in teaching project management courses at UCLA. Her online online business is built around helping others be the best project managers they can be. She has been an inspiration to me as a mastermind partner, and I’m thrilled to share her work and our discussion with you.
Topics we discuss include work-life, coaching, networking for introverts, being an author, getting the most out of conferences, lofty goals, accidental opportunity, and of course her new book.
SHOW NOTES
- MargaretMeloni.com
- Car Pooling with Death: How Living with Death Will Make You Stronger, Wiser and Fearless, by Magaret Meloni
- PM Student Project Management and Certification Courses
- Chris Ducker, YouPreneur
- YouPreneur Summit
- Kerrie Brandau of Salonch Episode 9, Season 1
BONUS CONTENT (Follow-up Q & A with Dr. Meloni)
Roberto: If you were starting your entrepreneurial journey over from the beginning, what would you do differently?
Dr. Meloni: If I were starting my business again what I would do differently is I wouldn’t be so quick to discount the skill set I brought with me from the corporate world. I had a bad experience in corporate America which helped launch me to work as an entrepreneur. But because of that bad experience I ignored my skills and expertise in project management, and yet ultimately that is what has supported me the most.
Roberto: What habits or routines have best served you throughout your entrepreneurial journey?
Dr. Meloni: The habits and routines that have served me the best, I’ll come down to discipline of one type or another. So on the one hand working for myself I enjoy a tremendous freedom, but on the other hand I still seek to keep a rather consistent schedule. That is less confusing for myself, and for my students and clients.
Roberto: What’s your number one way of dealing with the voices of self doubt?
Dr. Meloni: My number one way of dealing with self-doubt, is to ask myself where is this coming from? And what part of it is coming from any kind of truth? Versus what part is coming from fear? And sometimes meditating on that very topic what is truth versus what is fear is very clarifying. And when I have a day with doubt, I still pick some tasks that will still move me forward and keep going.
Roberto: What has helped you most in building community around your business?
Dr. Meloni: I’ve been very fortunate with community. I have introverted tendencies, and when I set off on my own I knew that I needed to do something or I would just disappear into my home office. So one of the first things I did was to grow a list and create an eZine.This allowed me to keep in front of people in my own introverted way. I do some speaking and that helps too. And also I answer everyone who writes to me. And I seek to help others whenever it makes sense for me to do so.
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