Mindset and Motivation Archives – Sunwapta Solutions

19 Aug 2020

How to Rescue Your Business with a Little Maslow’s Cat

By Doug Wagner|2020-08-20T23:46:02-06:00August 19th, 2020|Categories: Business Strategy, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|Tags: business, business advice, business growth, business strategy, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, leadership, Maslow's Cat, Maslow's Hierarchy, Rescue your business, small business, small business owner|

Maslow’s hierarchy is often expressed as a pyramid and frequently used to explain the basics of human nature based on five levels of needs.

According to established historical lore, ancient Egyptians revered cats. Perhaps pyramids were built to house ancient kings, but that would not have stopped a cat from sitting on the top of one and looking down to watch everyone else.

Cats see things a little differently.

Maslow’s cat can help us better understand those needs […]

23 Jul 2020

How to Fight the Right Fight – Pick a Rising Trend

By Doug Wagner|2020-07-23T00:08:39-06:00July 23rd, 2020|Categories: Business Strategy, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|Tags: advice, business, business advice, business growth, business strategy, business success, Creating Value, Entrepreneurship, Marketing Strategy, Pandemic, Rising Tide, Rising Trends, small business, small business owner, strategy, success|

“A rising tide raises all ships.” ~ John F. Kennedy

The tide is a metaphor for the overall economy. The theory is that if the overall economy is rising, everyone benefits. Conversely, if the tide is falling, everyone suffers.

Yet, is any of this consistently accurate? Does the tide affect every business the same?

Looking Closer at the Trends

To see the overall economy, you have to zoom way out. When you are at this level, you can’t easily see any details.

To find meaning – cause and effect – you […]

2 Jul 2019

19 Years – Our Big Mistakes Are Your Powerful Lessons

By Doug Wagner|2020-05-28T18:45:40-06:00July 2nd, 2019|Categories: Business Strategy, Current Events, Doug's Blog, Dream Teams, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|Tags: business, business advice, Business Culture, Business Performance, Business Planning, business strategy, Corporate Culture, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship lessons, sales, sales process, small business, small business owner, strategy|

A little over 19 years ago, my two business partners and I set off on the entrepreneurial journey that became Sunwapta Solutions. Over the years, we’ve had some successes, made some (costly) mistakes, and sometimes learned a few things.

People typically don’t learn much from easy success, aside from a false sense of security and overconfidence. Nor do they believe they will make the same mistakes you did – until they do.

I can’t prevent you from making any mistakes. Nor […]

9 Jun 2017

5 Ways to Win Survivor Alberta – Business Edition

By Doug Wagner|2017-06-27T14:23:25-06:00June 9th, 2017|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Marketing, Mindset and Motivation, Oilfield Pulse|Tags: Alliances, Brand Strategy, business, business strategy, Business Survival, Game of Business, Growth, leadership, marketing, Marketing Strategy, Mindset, Oilfield Pulse, Partnerships, Skills, strategy, success, Survive, Survive and Thrive, Survivor, Survivor Alberta, team building, Thrive|

The key to being the ultimate survivor in business in an extremely competitive landscape is to have a strategic plan. These five components will help you thrive.

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Before I stopped watching television, I used to watch Survivor. One of my favourite scenes was an episode where Rupert stole shoes and other items from the other tribe, and then they used the pirated loot to trade for more useful – and untraceable – […]

26 May 2016

The Future is Coming and There Is No Going Back to the Past

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-12T11:28:33-06:00May 26th, 2016|Categories: Current Events, Leadership, Manifast, Mindset and Motivation, The Good Men Project|

The past is gone. It is only an illusion that we can get it back. Good men must make the future great instead.

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Have you ever had one of those experiences with other people where the moment was spontaneous, fun, and memorable? Then you try to make it happen the next year again, but it doesn’t seem to be quite as good? There is only one first time. The older you get, the more you are likely to want to hold onto the […]

24 May 2016

How Having Momentum Behind Money and Ego Can Suck Out Your Life

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:10:13-06:00May 24th, 2016|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation, The Good Men Project|Tags: advice, business, business advice, career, choice, ego, entrepreneur, expert, Expert Culture, happiness, men, money, Newton, small business owner, success, teams, Work|

Man At Airport

Sometimes you can take a path in your business that isn’t right for you. Your choices matter.

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I know more than a few men who’ve started what they thought was the perfect business for themselves. Once momentum kicks in it can get hard to change direction. The biggest trap ends up being the one we make in our heads.

One example is the expert industry. There are variations, but the formula is pretty straight forward. You start […]

9 May 2016

The Secret to Great Leadership is Letting Others Win

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:10:39-06:00May 9th, 2016|Categories: Doug's Blog, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation, The Good Men Project|Tags: advice, business, business teamwork, Competition, competitive, Dysfunctional Entrepreneur, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Great Teams, leadership, manhood, mission, narcissism, passion, seeking recognition, success, winning and losing, Work, Zig Ziglar|

Winning-Competition-Leadership-and-Goats-Butting-Heads

Being competitive can be good or it can be dysfunctional. Effective entrepreneurs learn the difference.

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Most entrepreneurs are competitive by nature. Being a competitive man isn’t a bad thing.

Sometimes, we watch some men take competition to the extreme. Every interaction is a death match to prove they are winners, and everyone else is a loser. I watched a documentary about well-known billionaire developer who always had to win, even against other accomplished businessmen. In making […]

28 Apr 2016

Your Relationship with Time and Money Is Hurting You

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-12T11:43:17-06:00April 28th, 2016|Categories: Business Strategy, Manifast, Mindset and Motivation, The Good Men Project|Tags: 80/20 rule, advice, business, business startups, entrepreneur, happiness, Investing, leverage, marketing, men and money, money, small business, small business owner, smart investing, time management, trade time for money|

Your ability to invest and leverage resources determines your success in business. How do you measure up?

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The Internet has taught us we can be experts in anything we choose. So we try to be experts in everything. Or worse, we learn just enough to fool ourselves into thinking we are experts because we don’t have the time or passion for achieving mastery.

I see this a lot with small business owners.

For example, they figure out how to build their website and do online marketing because […]

11 Apr 2016

Being Self-Aware Enough to Know Your Value is the Path to Creating Exceptional Value

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:11:02-06:00April 11th, 2016|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation, The Good Men Project|Tags: achieving happiness, adding value, advice, authentic leadership, business, business advice, business leadership, Derek Sivers, Dysfunctional Entrepreneur, happiness, hidden talents, leadership, manhood, perceived value, relationships, self-awareness, success, talents, teams, Work|

Team of Self Aware Business People - Startup

With people walking the Earth claiming to be the “greatest” at everything, it is easy to lose sight of your personal potential for greatness.

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When I think of personal greatness, I don’t mean the narcissistic “look at me, look how great I am” of an adult child clamoring for constant approval. A little limelight is good for the soul. Tying your sense of self-worth to the […]

7 Apr 2016

The Power of Knowing Your Entrepreneurial Focus

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-12T11:44:15-06:00April 7th, 2016|Categories: Business Strategy, Manifast, Mindset and Motivation, The Good Men Project|Tags: advice, business, business strategy, business success, entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, focusing on results, leadership, mission, purpose, self focus, strategy, success, workplace|

It is very difficult to focus on a business mission and yourself at the same time. Clarity makes all the difference.

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“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Robert

Robert has somewhere between seven and a dozen small business ventures on the go at any time.

If he sees an opportunity or has an idea, he is quick to launch it. One of the businesses started out in managed information technology services. Then a client asked
if he could build her a […]