I just read a very hip and transparency-fueled article in Fast Company by Danielle Sacks about a very hip and transparent dude named Alex Bogusky, a guy she calls “The Elvis of advertising.” Before today, I’d never heard of Alex, even though it seems he’s been kicking butt and taking names at Crispin Porter + Bogusky (last year crowned Agency of the Year AND Agency of the Decade by Advertising Age)  for quite some time.

It seems Mr. Bogusky has outgrown his post as advertising’s favorite bad boy, and is yearning for bigger and better things. He wants to use his life, talent, and experience to have a positive impact on the world. Amen to that, right?

In addition to the thrust of the feature in general, which gives us a very confessional and rare glimpse of one person’s imperfect, uncomfortable transformation process while its in progress – instead of AFTERWARDS, when outcomes are known, and everything’s tied up in a pretty bow – I was quite drawn to a quote in the first paragraph by Mother Teresa.

The quote is inscribed on a mirror in Bogusky’s “FearLess Cottage,” and the mirror was a gift from Russ Klein, Burger King’s ex-president of global marketing. It reads:

“If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends an some true enemies; succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; build anyway.”

I really can’t imagine better business advice than this.

When Allen and I incorporated our biz in 2004, it all seemed pretty easy and straightforward: Apply our talents, sharpen our skills, find a need and fill it, do good work, and make clients happy to we can live our lives and raise our family. We had no idea how much more there was to learn, how much we’d be invited to grow and transform and evolve and grow and transform and evolve again and again, and how unpredictable, scary, and wild creating, sustaining, fueling, and evolving a business can be.

It’s not a straight line of exquisite ascent. Most days, it’s not even all on the same plane, or in the same dimension. Clients come and go. Projects switch mid-stream. Expectations shift. People change their minds. Big WINS become “uh-oh’s!” Failures become the best thing that could’ve ever happened. Grand Visions become hobbled, and new opportunities bloom from the most unlikely places. It’s a “Zig-zag-KABOOM!” sort of ride, even on the gentle days.

So when I read about a guy who’s okay with sharing about his existential soul-searching, and I see that global marketing execs from billion-dollar brands are giving gifts bearing Mother Teresa’s words of wisdom, I begin to see this whole CONNECTIVITY thing with new, hope-filled eyes. I see that this whole business adventure often feels crazy because it IS pretty darn nuts for everyone, and we should take all the hard-won advice from trusted, respected people as we can possibly get.

After all, personalities clash. Enemies happen. Cheaters exist. Vindictive, spiteful, icky people sometimes destroy things just because they’re bitter, bored, or woefully unloved. (Spammers and computer-virus spreaders come to mind.)

AND corporate executives share inscriptions by Mother Teresa with bold, talented, rebellious ad dudes because they know sooner or later those insightful sentiments will help him move onto the next phase of his life journey.

“Overcome the finite with the infinite.” That’s another quick tip from Mother Teresa.

We all knew she was a special, even saintly human, but who knew she was such wise biz maven?

The following is slightly adapted from October’s installment of The Broad Appeal: One Chick’s Case Against Perfection, Lani’s monthly column for the NH Mirror magazine.

 (Prefer to listen – or read along with Lani? Just click the “Play” button below.)

It’s time, ladies. It’s time to rule – and rescue! – planet Earth.

Humankind is evolving faster than a hummingbird hula-hooping, and our singular strengths are the headlamps guiding us out of the collapsing mineshaft of “Ye Old Way.”

“Women, it turns out, are built to lead – particularly in the modern world,” says biological anthropologist Helen Fisher. Based on what she calls our “web thinking” (as opposed to males’ more linear “step thinking”), we have distinct, evolution-bolstered gifts designed to excel right now. Fisher cites intuition, imagination, long-term planning and networking among our gender’s gene scene.

Not coincidentally, these traits are shared by successful entrepreneurs.

“But I’m not an entrepreneur!” you say. Oh really?

Do you organize and manage your life (a budding enterprise if ever there was one) with considerable initiative and risk? Do you play the odds, move mountains, make decisions and invent solutions as often as you’re supposed to do your Kegel exercises?

Then yes, incorporated or not, you’re an entrepreneur at heart. And Female Entrepreneurs are at the heart of a major cultural and philosophical shift – in power, productivity and possibility. Thanks to ideological momentum plus mind-blowing advances in technology, all signs point to seven feminine-laced virtues that are changing the way we all live, work and play together.

1. Creativity. “Web thinking” means discovering 1 + 2 sometimes equals kumquat. Creativity allows us to riff off that answer with purpose, passion, and elegant flair.

2. Compassion. A profound capacity for empathy helps us understand our neighbors’ trials, tribulations, and triumphs, too. Compassion inspires us to take action – like volunteering, sending care packages, cooking casseroles, and launching mission-driven organizations.

3. Collaboration. Listening to others without feeling threatened, then blending the best ideas to solve specific problems. What woman doesn’t get a thrill out of mixing a pinch of this with a dash of that to create something new, better, and delightful?

4. Connections. As in, making lots of them. Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn certainly help. We socialize in life, and keep strong, meaningful connections going with the tools available to us.

5. Community. When Hillary Clinton said “it takes a village…” she immortalized the phrase. These days, your “village” could be a local one, an online cooperative, or a global community of like-minded souls united by a bold vision or venture.

6. Communication. I once heard the average man mutters 7,000 words per day, while his ovaried companion squeezes 25,000 words into her daily repertoire. By glare, gab, blog, bootie shake, text message, or gesture, we gals definitely revel in revealing what’s on our minds.

7. CRAZY. Seal sang it best: “Oh we’re never gonna survive, unless, we are a little crazy.” Fight it or flaunt it, but don’t dare deny it – crazy is a chick thing. We may as well use it to our advantage!

These seven “C’s” are giving us – the world’s Female Entrepreneurs – the winning edge that makes things all work out, against all odds.

And with crazy as our ace in the hole?

Not only can we grasp the kumquat equation in No. 1, we can live, learn and love at full blast. No boundaries, bras optional. Once and for all.

Lani is a Female Entrepreneur. Follow her on at http://Twitter.com/LaniVoivod, and become a Fan of Epiphanies, Inc. on Facebook at http://Facebook.com/AhaYourself, to stay connected to the social marketing & success strategies business she nurtures and grows with her husband, Allen.