Michelle Micalizzi, Artist
(All Rights Reserved)
My muse this week is Loren Molever. Loren is co-owner of Molever Conelly PLLC. Molever Conelly PLLC represents individuals and businesses of all sizes, ranging from sole proprietorships to privately and publicly-held corporations.
WHY LOREN QUALIFIES TO BE ONE OF THE 2017 FEARLESS THIRTEEN.
Loren is one of the first business leaders I met when I arrived in Scottsdale. He and I both served the North Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce (NSCC), which has since merged with the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce (SACC). I have been a member of both chambers and Loren is a current member of the SACC. When I met Loren almost eight years ago now, I liked him right away; there is just something special about him. Over the years I have called on Loren for business advice, referred him clients, and his firm worked for my company Fearlessly Deliver as we represented my husband’s company on an issue that was over whelming resolved in my husband’s favor. Let us just say – I am a fan.
Loren qualifies because he is the real deal. He is an excellent litigator but more importantly he is a good man. I have asked for Loren’s counsel on matters that were of grave importance and knew I was getting solid advice from a guy who would tell me the truth. For those of us who have had to hire attorneys we know that having confidence in a lawyer is worth its weight in gold.
Loren reached out to me in 2015 and asked if he could participate in the Art of Fearlessly Doing Business project, which was a huge compliment to me. That year the roster was already full so I put Loren on my waiting list knowing it was just a matter of determining which year worked best, which turned out to be this year. Loren was the first person I contacted to invite to be part of the 2017 project.
The three biggest things that impress me the most about Loren are:
- His commitment to being of service to the business community.
- His level headedness regarding all things legally frightening.
- His humble ability to admit that he still has fears of his own.
FEARLESS INTERVIEW
Loren took a few minutes out to answer the five Art of Fearlessly Doing Business Questions.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM LOREN ABOUT BEING FEARLESS?
1. There is No Time Like Now
It amazes me how many business leaders I interview for this project that started their business in the heart of the recession. When the going gets tough, the tough really do get going! Loren and his partner self-funded their venture at a time when it was nearly impossible to get funding. Amazingly, they were able to pay themselves back in six months. It usually takes start ups YEARS to pay themselves back, if ever. I had previously supposed that there was always a best time to start a business. However, it has been my personal experience and the experience of the twenty-eight business leaders I have interviewed so far that there is no time like the present, whenever that is. One door closes and another one always opens into a further experience that leads to yet another. If your flow is moving in the direction of self-ownership, the universe conspires to make it happen for you.
2. The Future Takes Care of Itself
All of us who have taken the risk of being self-supporting have this reality to deal with. We do not have a contract with the great client pipeline in the sky that says “Thou shall get clients when you are ready for them and they will pay on time and in full!” We never know what will happen next, especially in the beginning. This is the reality for small business, and even for big business. We all have our successful runs and some runs are longer than others; where we can safely predict our income. This is why wise investors buy blue chip stock. Companies that have a track record of success over a long period of time are said to be safer investments. However, look at some of the companies who have run their course. Remember for example Nokia, Kodak, and Woolworth? When you go off on your own as a small businessperson, you step on a high wire without a net. It is risky but it is said that without risk there is no reward, which is easy to say but hard to actually live. For those of us who are self-starters we are doomed to the “What happens next?” dance. It is not for the faint at heart. As Loren says, it takes a leap of faith every day to not just survive it but also to celebrate it. However, if you can tolerate the ambiguity in the moment, the long-term payoff stands to be great.
3. Life is in Session
We all have stuff. Shit happens. Divorce, illness, heartache, family disasters, death, financial strain all happen. When you are in business for yourself, you do not have the luxury of allowing tough times to move you to the point of complete distraction. There is no one to pass the buck to when you are the boss. You have to take those life events and put them in your back pocket and make yourself focus on the task at hand. When you work for someone else it can be easier to do because your employer is paying you to ignore your personal life while you are on his or her clock. However, when you are the boss, you can’t allow yourself to be jerked around by your head because you cannot fire yourself. Nevertheless, if your personal life gets to be too overwhelming then your business life will suffer tremendously. Divorce is a death. It rocks your whole world to its very core. It makes you start over and disrupts all the things that used to be givens. I do not wish divorce on my worst enemy and for sure I do not wish it on self- employed people who do not have the luxury of lost time and energy. This is one of the reasons I think Loren is so cool. He admits that his biggest fear was that this huge event might topple over his apple cart. Loren recognizes life is comprised of more than just his business and isn’t afraid to tell people what is really happening.
4. Love Life
Here are a couple Woody Allen quotes about his fear of dying that stick out to me.
“I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.”
“It’s not that I’m afraid to die. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”
This is another example of not basing life on just some business idea but instead telling it like it is. What scares Loren is quite simply – death. Like Woody Allen, Loren is honest about his belief that we get only one shot at this thing called life and that is why he fears death. He is having a good ride here – he does not want it to end any time soon! I have a strong faith and I do not believe that this is the only stop along the way. However, Loren’s sincere belief that this is our one shot has given me pause to contemplate that principle. How would I live differently if I did feel that these were my last days? Would I do anything differently? Would you?
5. Perspective is Everything
Loren quotes the great Franklin D. Roosevelt when he says that “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” He also understands that the only way we can truly appreciate the highs is to have a few lows; and he has on his journey so far found that “nothing is insurmountable.” I think this is what seasoned entrepreneurs have that makes them truly fearless – the knowledge through experience that no matter what life and business throws their way; they will find a way up and out. Loren, however, has a unique view of turmoil because he is the guy you call when the proverbial shit hits the fan. He is the guy business owner’s call when they have a problem bigger than them to fix or defend. As lawyers, Loren and his trustworthy and reliable long-term partner often sit across from other business owners needing to rectify broken partnerships. He has had financial success while others have had to file for bankruptcy. He has had good business dealings as a whole while he stands up for his clients who have had the worst of the worst. It might actually be easier for a guy like Loren to be grateful and to feel lucky because every day he sees and defends evidence to the contrary. Loren humbly realizes he has no reason to complain and instead he is actively grateful. Gratitude is an action that Loren takes every day.
Thank you so much Loren for taking the time to be one of the Fearless 13! I look forward to seeing you again at the Art of Fearlessly Doing Business Art Opening on May 5th at {9} the Gallery from 6-9PM.
Note from the Artist
LOREN ILLUSTRATION’S STORY:
Loren’s painting takes a few key concepts into account: Perspective is everything, time and his fear of death. The figure has the proportions of a little boy. He has his hands defiantly folded as he sits on top of an hourglass that is quickly measuring time. From a top the hourglass the boy has more of a birds eye view where he can see in limitless directions. However the box he and the hourglass sit upon is drawn from a traditional two-point perspective. The vanishing points are finite in two directions. Much like right or wrong or black and white thinking, there is a point where the information disappears or vanishes and there is no more truth to be discovered. The facts become what they are. The two views of perspective infinite and particular are demonstrated in this piece. I would imagine litigation is a really a battle between the finite truth and limitless possibilities to resolve a case. Perspective can be an attitude about how we choose to see a situation or a view that we gaze upon or the way we draw a space. When we own our own business how we choose to see a situation are of importance. The light bulb of course is the symbol for me for entrepreneurism.
THE ART OF FEARLESSLY DOING BUSINESS III – OPENING
Fearless Art Works at Spanish Village
7211 E Ho Rd, #17
Carefree, AZ
Friday, May 5th
6-9 PM
Optional RSVP: Facebook Event or EventBrite Event.
CHARITY: The Contemporary Forum, a support organization for the Phoenix Art Museum
FUTURE EVENTS: Fearless Art 2017 Schedule
SPREAD THE WORD: Event FLYER.
WHAT I AM READING THIS WEEK
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport recommended by Luke Kayyem, Owner of Fittest Tribe Alive.
Feel free to email me and suggest a book that you have found particularly helpful!
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Michelle Micalizzi is a creative entrepreneur. She balances her businesses mind and creative skills in all that she does not only professionally with her business Fearlessly Deliver as a Visual Journalist, Curator & a Business Executor but in her life. Her strong belief in community and collective engagement lead her to found the Art of Fearlessly Doing Business and Fearless Pop up Projects. Michelle’s latest exciting endeavor the Fearless Art Works is an art gallery and a space for good works of all kind that connects Art + Community + Business! You can work with Fearlessly Deliver by either accepting an invitation to participate in a Fearless Art Project or by applying to be a custom business project execution client.
michelle@fearlesslydeliver.com
480.526.2609
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