Category: Featured

Peter Bregman posted this at Psychology Today…

I’ve come to the conclusion that I use email to distract myself. Whenever I feel the least bit uneasy, I check my email. Stuck while writing an article? Bored on a phone call? Standing in an elevator, frustrated in a meeting, anxious about an interaction? Might as well check email. It’s an ever-present, easy-access way to avoid my feelings of discomfort.

What makes it so compelling is that it’s so compelling. I wonder what’s waiting for me in my inbox? It’s scintillating.

It also feels legitimate, even responsible. I’m working. I need to make sure I don’t miss an important message or fail to respond in a timely fashion.

But it’s become a serious problem. When we don’t control our email habit, we are controlled by it. Everyone I know complains about email overload.

Email pours in, with no break to its flow. And like addicts, we check it incessantly, drawing ourselves away from meetings, conversations, personal time, or whatever is right in front of us.

Source: Coping With Email Overload | Psychology Today

Go to the source if you’d like to read the rest of his thoughts. I’d like to share with you a way that I have found to control my email habit…

Tools without thought or tactics are worthless so I try to remind myself that email is best used as a tool for ‘just in time’ information – information that affects relationships and revenue. All your ‘just in case’ information belongs in a virtual newspaper like Google Reader. Think of how much lighter your email load would be if you didn’t let newsletters and other detritus in? How often have you started down the path to Inbox Zero and then been waylaid by a Victoria’s Secret or Cabella’s catalog in your inbox. There’s a time and a place for that; the time is your ‘personal news aggregation’ time and the place is Google Reader. My advice? Use Gmail for email with a touch of Merlin Mann’s Inbox Zero and David Allen’s ‘Getting Things Done’ and you’ll be an INBOX HERO in no time!

If you’re looking for help in this area, try my online book on ‘personal news aggregation’ or how to create your own personal news agency. You can register free at http://elevation.company/pna. Here are two recent lunch and learns I did on the topic of Gmail and Google Reader as well…

How to be an ‘Inbox Hero’ with Gmail…
http://youtu.be/hq5yksbplhE

How to be a Google Reader Rockstar…
http://youtu.be/6E-sP2kCf5I

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Here’s a mindmap and a screencast about my top 3 Twitter tools and the way I use them…

Now, here’s how they all fit together!

http://youtu.be/3R1M5GuXAlQ

My top Twitter screencasts playlist:

Questions? Feedback? btw, here’s a little riff on how to use playlists in case you’re not familiar:

http://youtu.be/EooezvT04vg

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He is not here…

Resurrection of Christ

http://bible.us/Matt28.5.NIV The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

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The Easter Song

Rare live footage of my favorite Christian group singing the ultimate Easter song…

Here’s the same song from Keith Green…

Crank it up! Happy Easter…

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Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion

Here’s another of my favorite Easter pieces — all three hours are contained in these two videos! Amazing performances — especially tenor Peter Schreier; he’s the dude with the glasses that appears around 11:58…

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This one goes out to all the WordPress.com bloggers

…that are using their blogs for content marketing and ‘thought leadership‘ marketing:

http://youtu.be/v0wL9CwyefY

Here are some of the big takeaways:

  • Use Windows Live Writer or [MarsEdit if you’re a Maccie] to curate good content…
  • Use Zemanta to find related pictures, articles and metadata tags to engage readers…
  • Spend the money to get your own domain and apply it to your site…
  • Use the sharing feature to automatically post your new content to your Facebook profile or page, Twitter, etc.
  • Don’t forget the sharing buttons on every post and page if you want people to disseminate your content…
  • Put Twitter and Facebook widgets in your sidebar if you are using those tools [and you should be!]…
Ooops! Forgot to cover this;


Questions? Feedback? Comment below or connect above…

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If you want to be a thought leader on the internet, there are only two things you need to do really well…

Assuming that you’re already an expert of some sort — and according to Seth Godin we are ALL experts at something — the two main things you need to do are:

  • Deepen your expertise. In other words, get smarter by effectively managing the content you need to become even more of an expert at what you do…
  • Document your expertise. Simply put, let people know you know what you know…

Deepening and documenting your expertise may actually facilitate thought leadership by using a few “good, fast, and cheap” tools to get you a share of voice which may get you a share of mind which ultimately could get you a share of market…

I expound here:

http://youtu.be/zaNhjHsSYCA

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Monday is the day I normally post on my most important topic; blogging and content marketing for ‘thought leadership‘ marketing. As I was posting this morning, I thought it might be a good idea to do a screencast on the ‘mechanics’ of curation. You can see that post here…

http://youtu.be/SLBk9cdE86E

Doing the screencast, there were so many times I referred to other aspects of curation that I decided to round them all up in the following Storify story so here it is in one place; almost everything I think I know about the artful curation of content using Twitter and Windows Live Writer along with a host of other tools…

<script src="

Every screencast I’ve ever done on the mechanics of curation!

Every screencast I’ve ever done on the mechanics of curation!

http://storify.com/e1evation/almost-everything-i-think-i-know-about-the-mechan.js”>%5B<a href="

Every screencast I’ve ever done on the mechanics of curation!

Every screencast I’ve ever done on the mechanics of curation!

http://storify.com/e1evation/almost-everything-i-think-i-know-about-the-mechan&#8221; target=”_blank”>View the story “[Almost] everything I think I know about the mechanics of curation” on Storify][<a href="

Every screencast I’ve ever done on the mechanics of curation!

Every screencast I’ve ever done on the mechanics of curation!

http://storify.com/e1evation/almost-everything-i-think-i-know-about-the-mechan&#8221; target=”_blank”>Here’s a link to the Storify story in case it doesn’t display properly!]

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Dana VanDen Heuvel, 'thought leadership' marketing…or how to be a thought leader in your industry without breaking the bank! Prepare yourself — I’ve been thinking about this one all weekend…

I had a chance to have lunch last week with Dana VanDen Heuvel, an internationally known ‘thought leadership‘ marketing expert who happens to live in nearby Green Bay. Dana and I travel in similar circles although his focus is more on strategy while mine is more on the mechanics of thought leadership marketing. Back in November I was trying to get my mind around content marketing and thought leadership and I asked Dana whether or not the two were synonymous. Either he didn’t have time to answer my question or you wanted me to figure it out on my own; in either case eventually I concluded that content marketing is a means toward thought leadership but the two are not the same. You can use content marketing to create share of voice on the internet but it’s the quality of your ideas that determine whether or not you ultimately become a leader by getting share of mind and share of market.

To me, thought leadership is the process of becoming and being known as the expert. In my oversimplified view of things that requires two activities; you have to deepen your expertise and detail your expertise or, get smarter and show people you’re getting smarter. IF you do that well they may actually follow your ideas…

Are you a wannabe thought leader? You can test the waters in this area for $17 per year using WordPress.com as your thought leadership marketing hub. The $17 will buy you a domain and the ability to map that domain to your free WordPress site. Then, all you gotta do is publish something…

Deepening your expertise

In in order to deepen your expertise I think there are three things you need to do

  • Use Gmail to manage your just-in-time information
  • Use Google reader to manager just-in-case information
  • Use Gist to track other thought leaders

Detailing your expertise

In order to demonstrate to people that you are an expert

  • Either create or curate your ideas in WordPress.com
  • Share the content you create or curate on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, Paper.li, Twylah and MailChimp
  • Engage in conversations using HootSuite and/or NutshellMail

David Kanigan of davidkanigan.com is an example of someone who had done exactly what I recommended on his WordPress.com blog…

New to blogging — only 6 months in — and he is already rocking his site! His Alexa rank is currently 61,500 in the US — testimony to both the power of WordPress.com and his frequent posting [too bad that due to his work in the financial industry he can’t engage in business blogging]…

You could be a David, too, and take on the Goliath’s in your industry using the tools and tactics I mentioned above. Here are links to every tool and a few more…

<script src="

imho, here are the best tools for content management and marketing for thought leadership. All free, all cross platform…

imho, here are the best tools for content management and marketing for thought leadership. All free, all cross platform…

http://storify.com/e1evation/content-management-and-marketing-for-thought-leade.js”>%5B<a href="

imho, here are the best tools for content management and marketing for thought leadership. All free, all cross platform…

imho, here are the best tools for content management and marketing for thought leadership. All free, all cross platform…

http://storify.com/e1evation/content-management-and-marketing-for-thought-leade&#8221; target=”_blank”>View the story “Content management and marketing for thought leadership tools” on Storify]

Here is the way in which I use them…

'thought leadership' marketing, e1evation, llc
Click image to enlarge...

Now, either you look at this and say “Ah, that makes perfect sense — why didn’t I think of that before?” for you look at this and say “What a fustercluck!?!?!?” In either case, I may be a resource for you. Either I can help you simplify your existing thought leadership marketing workflow or I can set it all up for you and teach you how to run it. It’s your call, but if you’re looking to establish a thought leadership position you have just run out of excuses…

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The magic in your mind

Have you read this? I only recently came across it thanks to blogger David Kanigan @ Lead. Learn. Live.

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Being right

Cover of "The Language of Letting Go (Haz...
Cover via Amazon

In recovery, we are learning how to strive for love in our relationships, not superiority. Yes, we may need to make decisions about people’s behavior from time to time. If someone is hurting us, we need to stand up for ourselves. We have a responsibility to set boundaries and take care of ourselves. But we do not need to justify taking care of ourselves by condemning someone else. We can avoid the trap of focusing on others instead of ourselves. In recovery, we are learning that what we do needs to be right only for us. What others do is their business and needs to be right only for them. It’s tempting to rest in the superiority of being right and in analyzing other people’s motives and actions, but it’s more rewarding to look deeper. Today, I will remember that I don’t have to hide behind being right. I don’t have to justify what I want and need with saying something is “right” or “wrong.” I can let myself be who I am.

Beattie, Melody (2009-12-15). The Language of Letting Go (Hazelden Meditation Series) (p. 47). Hazelden. Kindle Edition.

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Here’s another ‘5 Minute University’ session. This time on one of my favorite tools, Evernote…

Here’s a bonus riff that I just added!

Here’s an outline of the topics…

1 Why Evernote?

1.1 Google Notebook replacement

1.2 Addresses the ‘collection bucket’ issue

1.3 Key features

1.3.1 Capture anything

1.3.2 Access anywhere

1.3.3 Find things fast

2 e1evation ‘seal of approval’

2.1 Free or freemium

2.2 Platform independent

2.2.1 Browser

2.2.2 Standalone app

2.2.3 Smartphones and tablets

2.3 “Never use two tools where one will do”

2.4 ‘Swiss Army Knife‘ of collection

3 Inputs

3.1 Notes

3.2 Files

3.3 Images

3.4 Audio

3.5 Bookmarklet or Shareaholic

3.6 Email

4 Syncs flawlessly

4.1 All computers

4.2 Web

4.3 Smartphones, too!!!

5 Sharing

5.1 Facebook

5.2 Twitter

5.3 Other Evernote users

6 Want more?

6.1 Todd Lohenry

6.2 e1evation, llc

6.3 http://elevation.company [You are here!]

6.4 todd@e1evation.com

6.5 920-265-1614

Comment or ‘connect’ to discuss how this applies to you and your organization…

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http://storify.com/e1evation/what-i-learned-last-week-for-1-16-2012

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20111105-rnttmwk1axa98hup8d2i7quwtThe best book I read this week was “The Information Diet” by author Clay Johnson. Recently, he posted on an aspect of his book I find interesting…

With information, we seem to have taken the worst concepts of dieting and applied it to our habits. Somehow an information diet meant throwing away your blackberry, deleting your Facebook account, or taking a “social media fast”. This kind of stuff isn’t healthy dieting, it’s anorexia. Banting had it right — we need to learn the skill of selectivity and choice, not the skills of banishment and avoidance. Nobody’s getting obese eating too much raw broccoli.

Our information diets are required to be much more diverse than our food diets are — whereas a college student in June and an accountant in April may require very different information diets, the food that keeps them healthy is roughly the same. That’s why the Information Diet is about habit building, conscious consumption, and measurement and not about telling you specifically how much to consume or what specifically to consume.

The first important habit you need to build to have a healthy relationship with information is measurement. The important thing to do on an information diet is to measure what you’re consuming, and then to start making decisions based on that data — those decisions should usually be to consume more of the good stuff, and less of the bad stuff.

Secondly, there are the important skills you get — the ones I describe in further detail in the book. Cultivating your data literacy to be able to delve deep into source material. CodeYear is a great commitment to make in this regard — learning how to write code will give you the skills needed to sort and look through data.

Finally, it’s about making some decisions about what to consume. And honestly this is the toughest thing for me, as an author, to recommend. My grandmother, for instance, read the bible every day, and I’m convinced that while it was the only book she ever read, she read it more than 1,000 times. I’d never suggest to her that she stop reading the bible — that’d be wrong. Instead though, I might encourage her to dig deeper into the source material there, and go beyond the King James Version.

Source: Information Diet | Healthy Information Diets are about Quality, not Quantity

I was already thinking about the topic of ‘what to consume’ when Clay’s book came along. In my ebook ‘Personal News Aggregation for Fun and Profit’ [registration required] I talk about using email for ‘just in time’ information and Google Reader for ‘just in case’ information, but I had worked my way up to almost 900 sources that I was tracking. It occurred to me recently that just because I can add a site to Google Reader easily doesn’t always mean I should. In the same way that Rupert Murdoch makes some judgments before buying a media outlet to include in his News Corporation, I too must have a set of filters I use before deciding to include a feed in my ‘news corporation’ as a trusted source…

More and more, I’m thinking about the ‘strategic alignment’ of everything I do on the internet – from consumption to production – with the ‘consumer’ in mind. Call me Captain Obvious, but in order to avoid wasting time or risk unmet ‘consumer demand’ it occurs to me that  everything I do – including the sources to which I subscribe in Google Reader – should be in line with my brand which in turn needs to be tightly aligned with solving ‘customer problems’ as my friend Nilofer Merchant says…

If you, like me, are thinking about the way you integrate information in your life, I highly recommend Clay’s book – it stimulated some great internal thinking about how and why I use my tools to support my business and personal objectives by consuming information ‘on purpose’. If you’d like to talk about how this impacts your life, comment below or use the connect tab above to start the discussion…

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Here’s some important data on consumption, curation and creation from Brian Solis…

According to Forrester Research, overall adoption of social technologies has effectively reached saturation. 80% of people in the US engage with social media, which is equal to the number of people who text via SMS or  equivalent to the ubiquity of those who own DVD players.

While it’s new, its value is not to be minimized. Social media users already number in the hundreds of millions, providing the reach of traditional media but also the precision of one-to-one service and attention. Forrester notes that just a handful of “Mass Connectors” will create 256 billion influence impressions in the US this year.

As our social graphs propagate, the information that passes within it also multiplies. Individuals are not only socializing, they are sharing information and creating content. In doing so, updates serve as social objects, becoming catalysts for increased interaction and overall reach. As a result, participants and their social presences are amplified within existing social graphs and now also extend across a rising category of nicheworks or interest graphs – social graphs united around common interests and themes.

We are the architects of our own experiences and we are also the hubs of relevant content, resembling production foremen as we develop workflows and processes for consuming, curating, and creating content.

Source: The Three C’s of Information Commerce: Consumption, Curation, Creation – Brian Solis

I have been using the first three words in the ‘e1evation workflow’ for almost two years. To these I add ‘connect and converse’ as you see below…

'e1evation workflow' (2)

The ‘e1evation workflow’ is a ‘lather, rinse, repeat’ process for content marketing that can help you establish a dominant thought leadership position. If you’re intrigued by Brian’s work and are looking for a ‘practical, tactical way’ to become one of Forrester’s 23% in the creator space, comment or ‘connect’ to discuss how this applies to you and your organization…

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WordPress

WordPress. Where would I be without it? Most likely living a life of quiet obscurity in Algoma, WI. Thanks to WordPress, however, I have a global platform and people can find me in Google. Does it work? Well? You’re reading this, aren’t you?

The Power of WordPress Infographic – Pingable :: Everything WordPress | Pingable :: Everything WordPress

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Crazy Love

My wife and I are celebrating 23 years of ‘Crazy Love’ today. This version of the song is oddly appropriate because on one level, we have as much in common as Ray Charles and Van Morrison. Still, we make beautiful music together…

Lyrics…

I can hear her heart beat for a thousand miles
And the heavens open every time she smiles
And when I come to her that’s where I belong
Yet I’m running to her like a river’s song

Chorus:
She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love
She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

She’s got a fine sense of humor when I’m feeling low down
And when I come to her when the sun goes down
Take away my trouble, take away my grief
Take away my heartache, in the night like a thief

Chorus:
Yes I need her in the daytime
Yes I need her in the night
Yes I want to throw my arms around her
Kiss her hug her kiss her hug her tight

And when I’m returning from so far away
She gives me some sweet lovin’ brighten up my day
Yes it makes me righteous, yes it makes me feel whole
Yes it makes me mellow down in to my soul

I thank God for 23 unbelievable years…

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When Shit Happens, Turn It Into Fertilizer!

Good stuff this morning from Kute Blackson…

Shit does happen.

It is unavoidable.

This is part of life.

But you are the gardener and what you do with the “shit” that happens makes all the difference.

The challenges of life simply make you grow and provide the natural friction that causes you to evolve.

When shit happens in your life, you can turn it into an opportunity and use it to fertilize the soil of your life to grow beautiful roses.

Or you can go into judgment and victimhood, which will only stink up your backyard.

You choose.

When Shit Happens, Turn It Into Fertilizer!

Go to the source and read the rest of the article – you’ll thank me for it later — but in the meantime, treat yourself to this video. Kute is both wise and entertaining — it’s impossible to remain unaffected by his energy…

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An exercise in gratitude

Donated by the artist when he joined the Acade...
Image via Wikipedia

“The thought and feeling of gratitude are among the most powerful tools of creation. Thinking about the things in your life that you are grateful for having not only makes you appreciate them more – it also sends out a message of “have” versus “lack” into the Universe. And since you attract what you are, you activate the mechanism that allows you to have that which you desire and are thankful for. Gratitude is most powerful when followed by action – when thought and deed are aligned – so showing your gratitude brings even more of this ‘have’ energy to you. Thinking, feeling, and acting thankful every day doesn’t take much – just awareness of what you’re already doing and connecting these to the thought and feeling of gratitude. Here are some examples:

  • I’m grateful for my fully functioning body, and I show it by walking in joy.
  • I’m grateful for my creativity, and I show it by coming up with new recipes in the kitchen.
  • I’m grateful for my family, and I show it by telling them that I love them whenever I can.
  • I’m grateful for this beautiful planet and I show it by recycling.
  • I’m thankful for my desire to help others, and I show it by sharing valuable information for a healthy lifestyle.
  • I’m thankful for my need to be who I am and say what I think, and I show it by “telling it like it is” and speaking/writing/standing for the bottom line.
  • I’m thankful for the sun, and I show it by closing my eyes and feeling the sun’s rays for a second every morning that I open my curtains to a clear day.
  • I’m thankful for knowing that I am connected to every single soul on this planet and beyond, and I show it by smiling at everyone I meet and treating them with the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have done unto you.

As you can see, you can practice gratefulness with the smallest thing or the most profound ideas. I challenge you to, right now, think of something or someone for which you are thankful, and show it.  Share it with us here too, because nothing spreads the joy and power of gratitude like sharing it with others. What are you grateful for?” Source: Silvie+Maryl | Upgrading Minds, Transforming Lives

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Just For Today

JUST FOR TODAY
I will try to live through this day only
and not tackle my whole life problem at once.
I can do something for twelve hours that would appall me
if I felt that I had to keep it up for a lifetime.

JUST FOR TODAY
I will be happy.
This assumes to be true what Abraham Lincoln said,
that, “most folks are as happy as
they make up their minds to be”.

JUST FOR TODAY
I will adjust myself to what is,
and not try to adjust everything to my own desires.
I will take my “luck” as it comes and fit myself to it.

JUST FOR TODAY
I will try to strengthen my mind.
I will study. I will not be a mental loafer.
I will read something that requires
mental effort and concentration.

JUST FOR TODAY
I will exercise my soul in three ways.
I will do somebody a good turn and not get found out.
If anybody knows of it, it will not count.
I will do at least two things
I do not want to do – just for exercise.
I will not show anyone that my feelings are hurt;
they may be hurt, but today I will not show it.

JUST FOR TODAY
I will be agreeable,
will look as well as I can,
dress becomingly, talk low,
act courteously, criticise not one bit,
not find fault with anything
and not try to improve or regulate
anybody except myself.

JUST FOR TODAY
I will have a programme –
I may not be able to follow it exactly,
but I will have it.
I will save myself from two pests:
hurry and indecision.

JUST FOR TODAY
I will have a quiet half hour
all to myself and relax.
During this half hour, sometime,
I will try to get a better perspective of my life.

JUST FOR TODAY
I will be unafraid,
especially I will not be afraid
to enjoy what is beautiful,
and to believe that as I give to the world,
so the world gives to me.

via oasydney.org
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I don’t care anymore

I Don't Care Anymore
Image via Wikipedia

Well you can tell ev’ryone I’m a down disgrace
Drag my name all over the place.
I don’t care anymore.
You can tell ev’rybody ’bout the state I’m in
You won’t catch me crying ‘cos I just can’t win.
I don’t care anymore I don’t care anymore

I don’t care what you say
I don’t play the same games you play.

‘Cos I’ve been talking to the people that you call your friends
And it seems to me there’s a means to and end.
They don’t care anymore.
And as for me I can sit here and bide my time
I got nothing to lose if I speak my mind.
I don’t care anymore I don’t care no more

I don’t care what you say
We never played by the same rules anyway.

I won’t be there anymore
Get out of my way
Let me by
I got better things to do with my time
I don’t care anymore I don’t care anymore
I don’t care anymore I don’t care anymore

Well, I don’t care now what you say
‘Cos ev’ry day I’m feeling fine with myself
And I don’t care now what you say
Hey I’ll do alright by myself
‘Cos I know.

‘Cos I remember all the times I tried so hard
And you laughed in my face ‘cos you held all the cards.
I don’t care anymore.
And I really ain’t bothered what you think of me
‘Cos all I want of you is just a let me be.
I don’t care anymore D’you hear? I don’t care no more

I don’t care what you say
I never did believe you much anyway.

I won’t be there no more
So get out of my way.
Let me by
I got better things to do with my time
I don’t care anymore
D’you hear? I don’t care anymore
I don’t care no more
You listening? I don’t care no more
No more!

You know I don’t care no more!

via sing365.com
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