Rising Star Systems

Ask The Organizer – An Interview with Joshua Zerkel, Certified Professional Organizer

organization, planning

Do you ever have trouble getting – or staying – organized? If so, you’re not alone – organizing your space, managing your time, and keeping track of your information can get pretty overwhelming. In this open forum Q&A call, members got answers to their most challenging organizing questions, problems and conundrums from Joshua Zerkel of Custom Living Solutions.

Debra Recommends Songwriting with Jason Blume

songwriting, music business

Fellow TAXI Drivers Ed Faculty -I often talk about getting feedback from qualified experts – and Jason certainly is that! Songwriting tutor and cross-genre hit maker Jason Blume recently celebrated ten years of BMI-sponsored workshops and seminars. Since the BMI Songwriters’ Workshop inception in 1997, Blume has mentored more than 6,000 aspiring songwriters from at […]

Debra Recommends Songwriting with Steve Seskin

songwriting, music creative

I’ve known Steve Seskin for several years as we are both speakers on the Music Conference circuit.  Steve is renowned as one of the best songwriting craftsman around and you can learn tons about the art and craft of songwriting from him.  He can teach you how to make your songs good and then how […]

Ask the Organizer

During the course of a given day, think about how many different ways you might be distracted from the tasks you have in front of you – a notification pops up in the corner of your screen letting you know you have a new email, your phone vibrates to let you know you received a new message on Twitter, the phone rings… and the list goes on and on. Let’s face facts – we live in distraction oriented culture, where we’re encouraged to be in near-constant contact with the outside world.

The Mindset of a Leader – Part 1

Artists MBA, Professional Program

When we think about leaders, usually our focus is on their behavior and how their behavior influences the world around them. And perhaps we try to emulate that behavior with varying levels of success.

The reason we have varying levels of success is because behaviors come from underlying beliefs about our world and our place within our world. In order to become authentic leaders in our own lives, we must build a foundation of beliefs that empower leadership behavior.

Debra Recommends Ning – Create Your Social Network

social network, Internet marketing

Ning.com is a very cool thing!  Ning lets you create your own social network and/or join others. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., Ning offers an easy-to-use technology platform enabling you to create and join Ning Networks for your interests and passions. With over 1.3 million Ning social networks created and more than 30 million registered […]

Debra Recommends Patrick Schwerdtfeger Internet Marketing Expert

Internet, marketing, business

I met Patrick in 2006 through his San Francisco Bay Area Meetup – The Entrepreneur and Small Business Academy.  I am tremendously impressed with his vast knowledge of marketing on the internet, SEO and social media marketing. Patrick is, frankly, a self-described geek and ridiculously passionate about all things internet marketing.  And he has a […]

Social Media Marketing – Part 1

I’m completely fired up about doing the social media thing the right way – and I no longer feel completely overwhelmed by it. And so, of course, I want to help you feel the same way.