Tag: Business

You Know What To Do

You Know What to Do

You’re fat. You know what to do. There’s not really a new book that will change it. It’s you who will change it.

You’re unemployed. That’s temporary, even if temporary is stretching into 14 months. You know what you need, even if that means education, a move, a change of circumstances. But I promise you that you know.

You’re broke. Money exchanges hands every day. More money than we’ll ever earn in a lifetime flows all around you. You can find ways to have some of it. You know some of those ways. Very few books or speeches will amaze you and set you on a path to claim them all.

Then Why Do We Read and Overstudy?

Because we’re afraid, because we’re procrastinating, because we feel many emotions that “seem” like uncertainty, but are more often good old fashioned lack of self-esteem. Because we’ve tried and failed one too many times and we’re upset with ourselves for this. Because we listen to our Inner Critic and we believe that He or She is right (is yours a male or female?).

via chrisbrogan.com

Why do I read and overstudy? Because I’m not confident I’m good enough yet the things I read resonate with what I already believe. How short a distance would it be from consuming to producing with what I already know?

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The victim trap

“The belief that life has to be hard and difficult is the belief that makes a martyr. We can change our negative beliefs about life, and whether we have the power to stop our pain and take care of ourselves. We aren’t helpless. We can solve our problems. We do have power—not to change or control others, but to solve the problems that are ours to solve. Using each problem that comes our way to “prove” that life is hard and we are helpless—this is codependency. It’s the victim trap. Life does not have to be difficult. In fact, it can be smooth. Life is good. We don’t have to “awfulize” it, or ourselves. We don’t have to live on the underside. We do have power, more power than we know, even in the difficult times. And the difficult times don’t prove life is bad; they are part of the ups and downs of life; often, they work out for the best. We can change our attitude; we can change ourselves; sometimes, we can change our circumstances. Life is challenging. Sometimes, there’s more pain than we asked for; sometimes, there’s more joy than we imagined. It’s all part of the package, and the package is good. We are not victims of life. We can learn to remove ourselves as victims of life. By letting go of our belief that life has to be hard and difficult, we make our life much easier. Today, God, help me let go of my belief that life is so hard, so awful, or so difficult. Help me replace that belief with a healthier, more realistic view.”

Beattie, Melody (2009-12-15). The Language of Letting Go (Hazelden Meditation Series) (pp. 331-332). Hazelden. Kindle Edition.

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Today’s the day…

…that our boney old dairy cattle go to meet their maker! We have no expectations of getting any decent meat off these two so we’ll chalk it all up to another failed experiment in hobby farming. So long Jordan and Pippen — our Chicago Bulls… :-)

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Sometimes, Relief is Just Around the Bend

Two people on the shore of the Pacific Ocean
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I needed to go into the city for errands. It was a chilly morning at the beach, not even 70 degrees. I put on my jacket, got in the car, and headed out. I made the turn onto the canyon road and was struck by the beauty of the fog burning off, playing peekaboo with the canyon walls. It was 94 and sunny when I arrived in town.

I ran my errands and stopped at In-and-Out Burger for lunch. When I got back in the car, the thermometer read 102. It was hot. Traffic was bad, the temperature reached 106 on the freeway, and even the air conditioning didn’t help much.

Finally, I turned back onto the canyon road. The grass was brown and I worried about wildfires they get so bad here.

Soon, I noticed the temperature was down to 94 again, then 90, then 88. The hills turned green. I rounded a corner and could see the Pacific Ocean. The temp was 82. By the time I made it home it was back to 74

I was surprised at the big difference a few miles made. Sometimes, a small change can impact the way we’re feeling a lot. Feeling overwhelmed or pressured? Do something else for a while. Give yourself a treat. Sometimes, the smallest change in our routine can do wonders to change the temperature in our lives.

God, help me see any changes I can make that will have a positive effect on my energy and on the way I feel.

via melodybeattie.com
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8 Secrets of Conflict Resolution

ancient roman marriage
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In his book, Learning to Live with the Love of Your Life… And Loving It!, Dr. Neil Clark Warren provides eight secrets to working through conflict with your spouse.

1. Marriage is a “We” Business

Dr. Warren says, “Any couple who gains a ‘we’ perspective eventually experiences great success in marriage.” Shift the focus of your marriage to a “we” mentality, especially in conflict.

2. Deal with the Issue as Quickly as Possible

Deal with conflict by getting problems out in the open and addressing them head-on. Don’t let issues fester below the surface.

3. Stick to the Subject

If you are in the middle of an argument with your spouse, stay focused on resolving that current conflict. Don’t throw old fights or problems into the discussion.

4. Don’t Intimidate

Some people become more concerned with “winning” a fight than working through the conflict. They may become mean, intimidating or threatening in order to stay in the fight. In Dr. Warren’s words, “Intimidation may result in victory for an individual, but I’ve never seen it produce victory for the marriage.”

5. No Name-Calling

Establish a rule with your spouse that there will be no name-calling during a fight. Name-calling will only lead to more hurt and emotional distance between the two of you.

6. Turn Up Your Listening Sensitivity

While it may be hard to actively listen to your spouse when your emotions are running high from an argument, you must take the time to try and see their point of view. This is key to the road to resolution. When your spouse feels listened to, they will be more willing to listen to what you have to say, as well.

7. Practice Give and Take

“What we must understand is that marriage is a partnership and therefore requires both give and take to be successful,” says Dr. Warren. Be willing to compromise on certain issues that are more important to your spouse. Choose your battles wisely.

8. Celebrate Every Victory

Recognize the victories when you and your spouse successfully work through a conflict together. Focus on the progress you have made as a couple and the new strengths that you have together as a result.

For more help on conflict resolution, check out iMOM’s 10 Ways to Fight Fair with Your Spouse.

via markmerrill.com
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Surround Yourself With Optimistic People!!

“Life is too short to spend your precious time trying to convince a person who wants to live in gloom and doom otherwise. Give lifting that person your best shot, but don’t hang around long enough for his or her bad attitude to pull you down. Instead, surround yourself with optimistic people.”

– Zig Ziglar, Ziglar is an American author and motivational speaker.

via thedailylove.com
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Re-Label Yourself & Be Self Approved!

fruits labels
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Opinions and labels from others are just that, THEIR opinion and labels. We have been taught that to be happy we must be independent of the other opinion of others. It’s SO liberating to know that our reality and how we see ourselves doesn’t have to be defined by others, but we get to define ourselves. We can re-label ourselves to match who we see ourselves to be, not how others see us. And within that is great freedom! It’s awesome! It’s exciting and it’s LIBERATING!

via thedailylove.com
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How To Take Your Power Back From The World!

Love is Fragrant
Image by Fe 108Aums via Flickr

You know, every day we get up and try to “make things happen” – especially with the Western mindset. There is nothing wrong with this per se, but many times we can push ourselves so hard that we are just tired, worn out and feeling empty.

This is not a thriving life.

As we step out further onto The Path, we Seekers are asking for more than just the rat race. We are sick and tired of letting “the economy”, the “stock market”, the “Government”, the “Media” and all other kinds of things “out there” determine how we feel. None of these things are bad. But the way they are going has a lot of us asking, “There HAS to be a another way, right?”

Yes, the reality is, our global economy is in a certain state right now that doesn’t promote the perception of widespread abundance. Yes, the stock market is up and down and all over the place. Yes, it feels like many folks in the Government are fighting just to fight instead of having our best interest in mind. Yes, the Media seems to be full of all kinds of negative things to say about the world.

But what of it?

Everything that is happening in the world today is a reflection of our collective inner state of being. We are not victims to these things or anything “out there”. And problems “out there” cannot be initially solved “out there”, but “in here”. Which means that rules, laws, regulations and more policies cannot change the world. The only thing that can change the world is each and every one of us waking up and changing ourselves.

It’s so easy to get caught in the outward drama of the world, because it helps us stay distracted from ourselves. But, it is ourselves, far more than the world, which we must change.

via thedailylove.com

Follow the ‘via’ link above if you’d like the rest of Mastin Kipp’s perspective…

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Live out of your Imagination, not your history…

“Live out of your imagination, not your history.”

– Stephen Covey, wrote the best-selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

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Got the electric fence finished…

Electric fence. Electrical insulation. Locatio...
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We did such a good job this time that afterwards I was joking with my sons about starting an electric fence company at shockingresults.net. Get it? Electric fence? Shocking results? LOL! The domain’s available — don’t tempt me!

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Putting in fence…

I’m not always happy that my wife has a passion for hobby farming that makes me a farmhand. Playing Farmville is so much cleaner and easier…

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Taken with picplz at Home in Pierce, WI.

Every once in awhile, though, I take time to find some meaning in the task at hand. Yesterday, we were working on expanding the area enclosed by our electric fence. Putting up the original fence last year really kicked my butt! Now, I’ve learned enough that I could start an electric fence company…

In expanding the fence, I wanted to take advantage of some wooden posts that were already on our property so that I’d have some really solid corners to build on. I took this picture while waiting for one of my helpers. I paused to think about the ‘poetry’ of the post — a previous land owner put in that post God knows how many years ago. It may have been 10. It may have been 100. It was probably erected to contain dairy cattle, but who knows? This is how I entertain myself on some of these projects by thinking of the whole ‘circle of life’ thing as the land passes from one ‘farmer’ to the next…

50 years from now, someone might wonder about this hardware and who installed it. Maybe not. It intrigues me — or at least it keeps my kind of sane as I work on these projects…

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http://www.xtranormal.com/site_media/swf/flvplayer.swf

via xtranormal.com

Dana VanDen Heuvel shared this with me as something we need to show at our social media bootcamp today. Had to share it here! btw, there’s still time to sign up. You can get more info here…

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A tag cloud with terms related to Web 2.
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All vendors, heck, EVERYONE needs to rethink the way we interact with customers, especially now that there are 400 million Facebook members, 100 million of which access the service via smartphones…

“Traditional Web sites are being replaced by social media and Web 2.0 communities for vendor and partner marketing and sales activities, and the number of people using such tools for sales purposes is increasing as the technology continues to evolve and users start to understand how to better take advantage of the benefits.

In fact, the way vendors and channel partners are doing social marketing is starting to change a lot, said Michael Dubrall, managing director of Gilwell Group, during the recent “Exploring Social Media & Vendor Marketing Trends — Survey Results” Webinar hosted by Integrated mar.com as part of its Trusted Business Advisor Webinar series.

Vendors and partners are having to change the way they meet their customers’ needs, but they’re also communicating with and finding customers differently than before.

“There’s a huge change in the way we’re interacting with each other up and down the value chain,” Dubrall said. Some of the old ways of doing business are giving way for the new reality of social media marketing…” Source: Integrated mar.com: direct results for the indirect world

If you’re a marketing genius confused by all the social media possibilities, comment, call or contact me to talk about how this applies to your business…

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“The best part of blogging is the people you will meet”- Hugh MacLeod repeating wisdom from Loic Lemeur to me at the Big Pink at 2 am in South Beach after the Future of Web Apps 2008.

If you asked me to tell you a list of three of the best decisions in my life, I can certainly tell you that regularly writing is one of them. It’s the reason I’m an author here at OnStartups, made many new friends, had interesting opportunities cross my radar, and most importantly had the chance to share knowledge that has helped other entrepreneurs.

via onstartups.com

Wow — this post is just loaded with business case and valuable tips. You can follow the ‘vi a’ link above to go to the source and read the rest of the article if you’re interested in getting even smarter…

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Here’s a bonus for paying attention late on a Friday afternoon. Super smart social media guy Dana VanDen Heuvel just went nuts and posted almost everything he has ever written on Scribd. Here’s a sample that he used in our panel discussion on ‘Thought Leadership Marketing’ just yesterday…

Am I a Thought Leader? Self-Diagnostic Test – Thought Leadership Handout http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf

You can find it all here! Go check it out before he regains his senses and pulls it all down… :-D

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Google Buzz Off
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Your Sunday morning collection of profound stuff to think about all day long. The big buzz this week WAS Buzz and the ancillary issues it raises…

“I’m having a hard time deciding whom to follow on which network with duplicate shares everywhere. The problem is compounded further by folks who auto-share from one network to another. There is no value in following people who share the same thing on Reader, Buzz, Twitter, Facebook, and so on. Duplication simply amplifies noise and reduces signal.

This is a real problem with social media today. Everyone wants maximum likes, shares, retweets on each and every thing they share. Their hope, understandably, is that each morsel they throw into social media becomes a feast on which everyone will drool.

Well, count me out. If someone is auto-feeding the same thing on all networks, it doesn’t add any value to me to follow them on all networks. Especially if they are not engaging in conversation where their content is landing.” Source: Google Buzz + Reader + Twitter + Facebook = Noise by @ScepticGeek

On to Gina Trapani on adding social media to your already hectic life…

“When you’re active on the Web, keeping up with all your online accounts can feel like a full-time job. You want your high school friends to find you on Facebook, your co-workers to follow you on Twitter, and business associates to find you on LinkedIn. But there are only so many hours in the day, and too many Web sites to check in and update. The good news is that you don’t have to hire a personal assistant to update all your profiles. With the right strategy, you can manage multiple accounts with minimal effort. Here’s how.” Source: Work Smart: Mastering Your Social Media Life | Fast Company

You’ll have to go to the source to read Gina’s thoughts. If you’re still confused, contact me; imho, few people know more about seamlessly integrating social media into your already hectic life than I do… Continue reading “Ponder this 2/14/2010” →

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“We all know that there is growing agreement that podcasts are a great way to share your thought-leading content.

According to a study released by KnowledgeStorm and Universal McCann on the emerging role of new media, over 41 percent of survey respondents claimed they had listened to podcasts on more than one occasion, and 13 percent stated that they frequently download or listen to them; and 65 percent of podcast listeners said they listen to podcasts for both personal and business interests (source: Emerging Media Series: The Influence of Podcasts on B2B Technology Purchase Decisions, July 2006).

There is increasing demand for podcasts as part of the marketing arsenal to engage audiences and advance conversations with prospective customers. Podcasting is proving to be a great way share multimedia content because your audience can fetch it automatically or when it fits their schedule. Podcasts are fun and easy to do and there are plenty of free or cheap ways to get started. Click here to read the original article or give me a call at (920) 486-4798 if you’d like to know more…

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Things we’ve been tracking in the past 24 hours…

 

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I’ve been following industry oracle Guy Kawasaki for over 25 years and I agree with him almost all of the time. He was right about the Mac, he’s right about Posterous and he’s right about Alltop. He’s right about so many things. When he speaks, I take notes. This time, however, I take issue…

He posted a recent article on the topic of Facebook pages recently and this is one of the rare times I need to take issue…

“Q: I’m a small business entrepreneur, and I’ll be introducing a consumer product soon. Should I create a website for my company or a Facebook fan page?

A: I faced a similar question a few weeks ago for my book, Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions. I had three options: create a site for the book, add a section for the book to my existing website, or create a Facebook fan page.

After five minutes of thoughtful deliberation, I decided to add a bare-bones section to my website (which I haven’t gotten around to do yet—which should tell you something) and create a Facebook fan page but not to create a website for the book. Here’s why I did not choose a website:” Source: Ask the Wise Guy: Facebook Fan Page or Website? : The World :: American Express OPEN Forum

Guy goes on to elucidate 4 reasons why he did not choose a website and 8 reasons why he chose a Facebook page along with 3 potential ‘gotchas’ — go to the source and read the entire article if you’d like…

Here’s where Guy and I part thinking. In business, the answer is rarely either/or. Frequently it’s both/and. Guy’s advice is great for someone launching a product or a book, but it’s not really great long term advice for an entrepreneur launching a company. As a short term strategy I recommend that entrepreneurs buy a domain, set up Google Apps and create a Facebook page. Google Apps will give them the ability to send corporate email from their domain and their domain name can be temporarily directed toward their Facebook page until they build a blogsite. This will give them a total ‘appearance package’ that will allow them to look professional immediately while they contemplate their website and further social media strategy and tactics…

On this issue I side with author Lisa Barone who recently posted…

“Brace yourself: Facebook is trying to take over the world. Or, if not the world, at least the entire Internet. With Facebook partnering up with popular sites like Yelp, many SMB owners may feel as if their load got lighter. I mean, why waste time worrying about your building your blog or your own site when you can grow your Facebook presence instead? If Facebook’s opening up the doors so that people can take you with them, you don’t have to worry about anything else anymore, right?

Wrong!

It doesn’t matter how hot Facebook or any of the other social media sites are looking right now. You still need to be focused on using your blog to create your own authority and brand.” Source: 10 Reasons Not To Ignore Your Blog For Facebook

Reason #1 she cites? “You don’t own Facebook”…

The problem with Facebook from my perspective is that you’re not only a renter, you’re a free renter and you can expect all the rights and privileges thereof. In other words, you have no rights on Facebook — not even privacy. You use it at your own risk. Facebook can — and has — made major changes to their technology without notice or recourse. Using a Facebook page is a great place for an entrepreneur to start but not to stay. I agree with Chris Brogan, Darren Rowse and other internet visionaries who propose an internet ‘homebase and outpost‘ strategy that puts a blog at the center of your online presence. The key is that you have to own that presence and be ‘master of your domain’ name and internet brand…

In the future, these homebases may become less important as more people understand the wisdom of David Sauter and his team at Envano. Their ‘autobahn’ model describes a future where a website becomes less important as a company embraces appropriate social media tools to build their internet presence, but the lack of an ‘easy button’ or unified social media dashboard makes this more of a future vision than a present reality…

Guy, I love you, your thought leadership and your content, but just this once I think your Q&A might have done the reader a disservice. Readers? Questions? Feedback? Please comment, call or use the contact form to connect so we can talk about how this applies to your business…

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via 1stwebdesigner.com

You can follow the ‘via’ link above if you want an excellent synopsis of what your small business website needs to be successful. Comment, call or ‘connect’ so we can talk about how this applies to your organization…

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Dana VanDen Heuvel says…

Back in 2000, I picked up a book at Barnes & Noble in Long Beach, CA.  The Cluetrain Manifesto (affiliate link) was on the end cap display and having been involved in “Internet stuff” for a while for a few years, I was keen to explore what the book had to offer.  Little did I know (same for most of us I’d imagine) that Cluetrain would be even more relevant over a decade later than when it was first written.  Frankly, I can’t think of too many business books that can make that claim, so that in and of itself is really something. Over the past several years I’ve read and re-read Cluetrain a few times and have kept the 95 theses document close at hand. As we all look forward to what 2011 brings, it seems an appropriate time to get reacquainted with the full Cluetrain set of 95 theses albeit with a bit more depth. (one liners such as “markets are conversations” don’t have the same immediate resonance with everyone and thusly some explanation may be required.). So, in in the spirit of getting fully engaged in the Cluetrain mindset that I’m embarking on the project of bringing all 95 of these to life over the next 95 work days.

via marketingsavant.com

Dana VanDen Heuvel of MarketingSavant Group is engaged in a rather ambitious project over at his blog, but as I have said so many times before — when Dana talks, I take notes. Follow the ‘via’ link over to his site and track his ’95 days of Cluetrain’ — I know I will…

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