From being selected as a National TV Business Commentator for a show that reaches over a half million viewers daily to being chosen as the subject of a documentary that will reach in the millions of viewers- the past few weeks have brought a whirlwind of incredible news, amazing partnerships, international recognition and tremendous opportunities for the Renegade CEO’s and emerging Teen Entrepreneurs across the globe.

To the most amazing business coach who has helped me from nothing to everything and understands me. Devon Landers, 19, CEO, TexasCrawlers.com @DevonLanders on Twitter

Inquiries, questions, well-wishes and nastygrams gotta love them- have come from all over the place, from teens and adults, new and long-time friends, organizations and family, all asking me about my journey to this point and wanting to know how I got the ‘Golden Touch’. So what is this experience in the limelight all about and how does it feel? My teens have been famous for a long time so I have learned to live vicariously through them. Needless to say the question inspired me to write a post today about ‘Growing Up Renegade’.

BLOG CLIFF NOTES (Since I know I can sometimes be long-winded, tee hee he):

So how does it feel to be in the spotlight?

Just like it feels sitting at the conference table when you enter a new partnership- one person is looking at you with a big grin and thinking ‘we love these guys because they bring a fresh voice’ and another person is looking at you with a big grin and thinking ‘we love these guys because the real pundits are going to have them for lunch.’

Alas, it’s the same as it ever was….

Entrepreneurship is not a course or a class, but a level of consciousness. Therefore, in order to learn it you must first LIVE IT.

My Triad and Mastermind Partners, Marianne St. Clair, Greg Balanko-Dickson and Mena Gagne have created a ‘clear and open space’ for me to create, collaborate, vent, experiment, meditate or do whatever I want, regardless of my mood or topic and this has in turn enabled me to create the same environment with and for my teens. In my relationships, our differences are valued and celebrated and over time we have learned to EVOLVE FAR beyond personality types, religion, political affiliation, negative labels and stereotypes, socioeconomic background, [add your difference here], to work towards our higher and greater good. Even though I am still a ‘bad girl’ with ‘good intentions’ , without a doubt, I am a much more ‘in tuned’ and selfless person today than I was at the beginning of this year.

Renegade CEO’s run TO things and not away from them. By staying centered on improving the life of myself and the teens who request my support, I get in the grind and get things done. I don’t try to read people and figure out if they have some motive; I don’t focus on outcomes; try to plan out a bigger picture or some sophisticated strategy. I just get in there, get my grind on and try to make it happen sooner than later. In working with my teen entrepreneurs, trying to get their products manufactured, books published, foundations launched, new ventures funded and marketed that has brought along the other opportunities along the way.

Don’t be happy for me. Be happy for us! – Shonika Proctor

Some days I feel like I am everybody’s friend. And some days I feel like I am nobody’s friend. We entrepreneurs are such funny creatures you know? One thing that I have found common about true entrepreneurs is that they take problems and create them into opportunities. They do this for themselves and for others in their network.

Not every opportunity or partnership that presents itself is right for me or the Renegade CEO’s…at that time. But believe me, if I stay connected with the creators of these opportunities (even if indirectly) they will come around again, perhaps in a different form and the timing will be perfect.

As an entrepreneur I see potential. I see possibilities. I see tools where others see obstacles. I see connections. It is something that happens within me that is triggered when others call me or reach out to me and ask for support or to connect on whatever (regardless of who they are, the size of their offering or whether or not they are ‘branded’). As much as we seek to be different and independent we like to be connected to something. So when people open the dialogue with me, this makes me feel needed, important, valued, special, whatever you want to call it. If I cannot participate directly in that opportunity, I want someone else in my network to have a chance to be a part of it. Small things, when tended to and nurtured, will grow.  So I make that introduction and share that opportunity with no expectation of financial compensation, recognition, immediate repayment or anything to that effect.  I don’t ask ‘and who are you again‘???; I don’t say we are small or a non-profit and our resources are tapped/strapped; I don’t say we have planned our strategy out for the next year and you don’t fit in; I don’t think to myself, this is ‘my competitor’ and what do I have that they are trying to get?

I DO fully exist through M.O.M. – Manifesting Organic Moments (yes folks, you heard it here first- expect others in the teen leadership and youth entrepreneurship worlds to be using the same language in their PR and marketing efforts, any day now ).

That is what it means to LIVE IT. That is what I am doing and what the teens I work with are doing. And it is the collective energy and consciousness of all of us in motion that has brought forth all the magical experiences that we have been living from the early days of our existence. The biggest ’challenge’ that I have been dealing with is as I am growing the people closest to me constantly change. A few months ago I couldn’t imagine the people who are closest to me now would be there. I don’t even know where they came from The people I thought who would be my strongest voices chose different paths and people who I didn’t feel personally connected with in the beginning have been the biggest supporters. It’s scary and cool all at once….kinda like each day….in the life of a Renegade CEO!

We are a little group with BIG impact and huge potential. – Patricio Quezada, 18, Founder of Hispanics Learn and Rengade CEO’s National Spokesperson

Until next time my friends, remember that a true Renegade CEO challenges not the limits of society, but the limits of oneself.

@teenbizcoach