The subject of age is a perennial one. I'm too old to… That's a young man/woman's… If only I was in my 20's I'd… But I have good news for you my friends. Studies show that in the immortal words of Aaliyah - Age Ain't Nothing But A Number.

If you have worked as a freelancer or contractor in a creative trade, you no doubt recognize what your client may be telling you without actually saying anything. Hell, while this is common in the creative world anyone who has spent any amount of time in a service business —where you're trading time for money—can relate. The silent treatment nine times out of ten can only mean one of two things: Your client is either on an extended vacation in the Dominican Republic (avoid the mini-bar!) OR your client is out of here and has no intention of paying you for that brand identity you've been killing yourself to finish on the unrealistic deadline they gave you.

“Experts diagnose. Amateurs give advice.” So says Chris Do, founder of the Futur. And he’s right, you know. This little difference in perspective is what separates the wheat from the chaff. An amateur is quick to allow the self-diagnosed client to proceed to tell them what’s wrong and offer advice to scratch that itch. An expert wouldn’t think to offer a solution without fully understanding the problem first, and the only way we can get to the real heart of the matter is through curiosity and application of expertise. What type of relationship do you want to have with your client?

Sitting in a 95ºF arena with sweat dripping from all the godforsaken parts of my body I find myself listening intently to my nephew, Anthony Martinez as he is delivering his graduation speech to the student body as his school's valedictorian. He is not a super talkative guy generally speaking, but nonetheless he's mustered the energy to nervously address the parents, grandparents, cousins, brothers and sisters who have come out to celebrate this pivotal moment in the life of their respective graduate. He begins by delivering the business-as-usual thanks and platitudes to his comrades cracking some jokes along the way to scattered hoots and hollers from the stands. But then his tone changed and the message he chose to leave his classmates with is "It's OK. Give up on your dreams."

Listen, I anticipate that as I continue to work on writing with regularity there will be a few "do-as-I-say, not-as-I-do" type articles - like this one. In all likelihood, I'll be metaphorically showing my belly a lot, calling out my weaknesses then telling you to do something that I am notoriously bad at doing myself. That doesn't mean this is bad advice, however, or that somehow I'm not the best person to give it to you. While I don't always practice what I preach - sometimes I'm lazy or cop-out— I'm a pro in a lot of respects and people often ask my advice. Seriously, they do. In my experience, it seems that we too often fall short on the fundamentals in business and in life so I think it's important to spend a little time hitting topics that seem simple on their faces but are commonly mishandled. Hence, today's topic…