I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for the coaches and mentors I've worked with over the years.

These individuals have enabled me to accelerate my progress, avoid costly mistakes and grow both personally and professionally.

In today's episode, I share some of the most valuable lessons I've learned from these coaching relationships. And I'll tell you how you can get the most value from a business coach, if you ever explore that option.

I also share my thoughts on gratitude and how making thanksgiving a daily practice helps attract wonderful things, people and circumstances into your business and personal life.

SEO is one of those topics that I have a love/hate relationship with.

It can be fun to optimize a website for the search engines. But the constantly changing rules drive me nuts! What worked yesterday will get you in trouble with Google today.

It's a maddening cycle!

Yet I have to admit that there is great value in knowing how to optimize your OWN freelancer website. And fortunately, the time to do that has never been better, thanks to the big fundamental changes Google has made over the last couple of years.

To explain these changes and how you can use them to your advantage, I've brought in my good friend Dianna Huff to the show. Dianna is a seasoned SEO pro who works with small business owners and midsize companies drive more traffic to their websites, generate more leads and get more business.

If you're already an SEO expert, this may not be for you. But if you want to better understand what's going on with SEO and how it will impact you as a freelance business writer, then I think you'll find this interview interesting, practical and helpful.

Impatience has been a recurring theme in my life. Once I decide to pursue a big goal, I can't WAIT to make it a reality.

This goal-centered mindset has served me well. But it has also caused me to miss many of the little moments that make up that exciting journey.

Moments I can't ever get back. They're gone forever.

In this episode, Jeff Goins, author of The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing explains why moments of breakthrough are NOT where life's greatest transformations happen. Instead, they happen in the "in-between" moments.

Waiting in the checkout line, waiting for our first big client, waiting for that big trip to Europe...

This is an important discussion for all freelancers, regardless of where you are in your journey. I hope it's as helpful to you as it was for me.

Why do so many writers avoid networking as a marketing strategy?

Some will tell you that they just can't find the time. Others claim that there are no good networking opportunities where they live. And many will admit that they put it off because they're shy and introverted.

These might be true to a certain extent. But I've found that you can overcome any of these challenges when you follow a simple, proven framework.

Without a framework or roadmap, it's very difficult to navigate the networking waters — especially if networking is something you're afraid to do.

My guest this week is John Corcoran, a writer turned solo attorney who developed a simple framework for networking more effectively. His approached has worked so well that it landed him a staff writer position at the Clinton White House and a speechwriting gig in the California Governor’s office during the Davis Administration.

He attributes these achievements to his methodical yet authentic approach to networking. And in this episode, he details this approach and how you can use it to network with greater confidence.

The notes that follow are a very basic, unedited summary of this podcast. There's a lot more detail in the audio version. You can listen to the show using the audio player below. Or you can subscribe to this podcast series in iTunes.