Archive - August, 2010

The Dreamer

August 31, 2010 in Fun Stuff, Life, Linchpin with 3 Comments

Directly under my name on my business card, I’m using three words to describe myself. They are:

Marketer ~ Entrepreneur ~ Dreamer

The first two are easy. It’s the third one that poses a problem for some. It’s the third one that makes people take a second glance. It’s that one that irks a few people.

You see, businesses and organizations have told us they don’t want dreamers.

We bought into it. And, because they told us they didn’t want dreamers, we listened. We stopped dreaming and stopped allowing ourselves to dream.

You’d never get past the interview stage, if you told them you were a dreamer. That’s the biggest mistake businesses and HR people make.

The people they actually want to hire are the dreamers. It’s your job to show them why.

The business started with a dream. Their profit projections were part of a dream. Their new products and service offerings were the result of the dream. Everything that has breathed life into any business or organization is the result of a dream. Dreamers are the reason you’re at the interview in the first place.

And even though they say they don’t want dreamers, profits are declining, businesses are closing, jobs are being shipped elsewhere, and creativity is stagnant. Deep-down the world is begging for dreamers. The next time you have a job interview, let them see who you really are, not the person that the 101 Job Interview Tips book told you to be.

You have a choice. You can choose to be just another cog in the machine, or, you can choose to be dreamer. If the job you’re interviewing for doesn’t believe in dreamers, then move on.

You’re dreaming. They’re in a coma.

Eight Secrets

August 30, 2010 in Fun Stuff, Life with 2 Comments

Buying into a secret that promises you you’ll get rich or be successful is a waste of time and money.

Here are eight free secrets I was thinking about this morning. There are more, but these are eight that have been pretty darn good to me over the past few years.

  1. Figure out what it is you actually want.

  2. Avoid negativity. Negative friends, negative family, negative influences (books, movies, TV, co-workers)

  3. Don’t think about the next big idea. Everyone has great ideas in the shower. It’s those who take action that will succeed. Think about taking the next small action towards the next big idea. Small actions can compound and snowball quickly. Even small insignificant ideas, which are acted upon, make millionaires.

  4. Outsource when you need to. Don’t waste your time on something you could easily pay to have done cheaper, faster, better.

  5. Keep your eye on the ball. Do you remember growing up and learning to play baseball? They taught me to play baseball with T-Ball. The idea was to teach us to keep our eye on the ball. The best way to teach this was to put the ball in a single position so it wouldn’t move.  Once we could hit the ball, it was time to graduate to the real world. In the real world, the ball is always moving.

  6. If you miss the ball, just keep swinging. You can have more than three strikes in the real world. Some would argue that the more you strike out, the better you’ll get. Keep swinging.

  7. Realize that none of it really matters in the end. Paralysis by fear of failure, fear of success, fear of what others might think, are all real fears. I’m not going to deny that. The big realization comes when you see those fears really mean nothing. What’s the worst that could happen?

  8. Have fun. If it isn’t fun, what’s the point? The moment something becomes not fun, that is the time to look at changing the situation. So many problems are created because we remain in situations that aren’t fun. Change it.

Have a great Monday.

Time & Money

August 28, 2010 in Business with 1 Comment

Most advertisements focus on saving us money. They say things like 10% off – or buy one get one free.

And some ads tell us they’ll save us both time and money.

And while we all love to save money, most of us are actually far more interested in saving time. It’s the one thing we can never get enough of. It’s the one thing we’re always short on.

Two week vacations always end two weeks too soon.

The trick for marketers is understanding that people will gladly give you their money when they believe you can give them more time.

Saving time and money is merely an added bonus – provided we believe you, and you can prove it. But if you can truly find a way to give your customers the benefit of time, your customers will have no problem giving you their money.

The Path

August 27, 2010 in Life with 0 Comments

Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Pretty straightforward. Life gives us the choice to either follow a clear, distinct, and well drawn out path, or we can create our own path.

The first path is the one most people take.

This is the option that school taught us. This is the option your parents most likely took, this is the option they want you to take. After all, it was the safest, surest bet. Sure, there were some hardships. It was a lot of work. But they got the two weeks a year to take the ole family fun wagon down to Disney. Space Mountain was closed for maintenance, but that’s OK. There’s always next year. Maybe.

I’m a believer of taking the route without the path. The rewards are far greater. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. (hint: the rewards have absolutely nothing to do with either more money or more stuff – so if that’s what you want out of life, take the first path)

And don’t get me wrong, when I refer to taking the route without a path, this doesn’t mean, don’t get a job, or become an entrepreneur. It doesn’t mean that at all. Along your trail, you can have jobs and/or a career – great jobs and a great career, just leave a trail of breadcrumbs along the way.

The fact that we even have to think about which path to take is crazy. In my opinion, giving it all away to follow someone else’s path, because it’s supposedly going to be “easier,” sheesh… What a crock.

Which path are you going to take?

Ralph Waldo Emerson wanted you to take the route without the path – but I believe he also wanted you to have an idea of where you wanted to go. Aimlessly wondering in the wilderness never did anybody any good. All you really need is a compass. (See post below)

My Daily Workout

August 27, 2010 in Creativity, Life with 2 Comments

For the past few years, I’ve been following Crossfit and doing the daily workouts. I’ve spoken of this on a few occasions here and here. It’s been life changing, but it’s also been a lot of hard work.

That’s what I do for my physical exercise.

There’s another type of exercise that holds the same importance in my daily routine, if not more. It’s a mental exercise.

There’s a few ways I accomplish that, but one of the best and most important ways is with this blog.

This blog has acted as my personal diary, so-to-speak, over the past few months. It’s allowed me to clarify my thoughts and document my thinking. It’s also allowed me to focus on my future life and where I want to go – my ideal life situation.

But like my physical exercise, this mental exercise is hard work. It’s training my mental muscles and allowing them to grow and expand. This, in turn, is expanding my mental fitness and the benefits are showing up on a daily basis.

Here’s the thing. Doing something similar in your own life could have the most amazing and profound effects. I’m not saying you need to start a blog.

I’m saying, the act of writing and expressing your thoughts in some manner (publicly or privately) could potentially change your life. Just like the physical stuff, it’s a good idea to exercise your mind.

Here’s something I’ve said again and again and again, and I keep saying it again and again for a reason…so take note.

Take some time and write what your ideal life situation looks like. Next year, or the year after that, and maybe even ten years down the road.

Feel free to be specific. Write about your lifestyle, your relationships, your possessions, and just about everything else.

Give yourself a good solid mental workout. I want you to work up a sweat.

If you’re creating your own path, you might as well have an idea of where you want to go instead of just walking aimlessly.

The Dress Rehearsal

August 26, 2010 in Life with 0 Comments

When confronted with death, even after a long-lived life, we’re reminded of something that we often lose sight of.

We’re reminded that this is the one and only time you’ve got to have the stage all to yourself. You’re the star of the show.

Can any amount of drudgery really be worth it?

I don’t care what the naysayers say – we’ve bought into a lie in western societies that the ideal situation, the ideal life, and the ideal circumstances are always just around the corner.

Few of us ever get around the corner.

We lose sight that the ideal situation is right here and right now. If you’re constantly looking for life in the fun lane, realize that you might just need to turn on your blinker and switch lanes.

We often forget that the curtain can close on this play at any time, so you better make this your best damn performance.

There’s no dress rehearsal for this play, and we want to give you a standing ovation.

The Big Bad Wolf

August 26, 2010 in Business, Marketing with 1 Comment

There’s a common scenario played out over and over again in effective marketing and advertising campaigns, and it’s a neat little trick to have in your marketing arsenal.

The trick is to position yourself as the underdog against the big bad wolf. Great copywriters have been using this trick for a long time, now it’s your turn.

The big bad wolf is the enemy of your industry and pitting yourself against the bad guys can be extremely effective in making your case.

Here are a few examples off the top of my head.

Good guys are on the left – bad guys are on the right.

Niagara-On-The-Lake (small, quant, quiet village ) versus Niagara Falls. (loud, noisy, and touristy)

The small tax preparer versus the IRS or CRA. (Canada Revenue Agency)

The local restaurant (local food, local ingredients) versus the local fast food restaurant (processed crap).

Your own business versus working for the “Man.”

The possibilities to using this strategy are endless…

Step up to the plate for your customers. And, if you’re stepping up, don’t be afraid to let them know it. If you have our backs, against the big bad wolf, we’ll have yours.

Do Less

August 25, 2010 in Business with 2 Comments

The products we remember, or the reasons we return to the same restaurant time after time, or why we chose someone to do our taxes instead of the other guy, or why we return to the same auto mechanic repair shop for our repairs.

Many times, it’s not because they have better service , or cheaper prices. Lots of the time, it’s because they did something small that made an impression.

Blast us with flyers, or multiple emails, and we’ll get annoyed, but send us a personalized card on our Birthday and we’ll remember it, or make a personal effort to connect and we’ll always remember it favorably.

Do less with thought instead of more half-assed.

You’ve heard the saying “less is more,” so give it a shot.

Give & Take

August 25, 2010 in A Typical Wednesday, Life with 0 Comments

It must be Wednesday. Here’s what I was thinking about a few minutes ago – I  figured two short posts in one day was OK. :-)

The more you give to the world, the more the world will give you in return.

And the more you take, the more the world will resist.

Most of us live our lives as takers. We are always striving to take a bit more here and there to further ourselves. Of course, we’re not really furthering ourselves. We’re furthering our egos and the representation of what we call “ourselves.”

And when we choose to live this way, the world constantly resists our efforts by knocking us down and presenting us with new challenges. The harder we push, the stronger the resistance gets.

But when you let go and start giving instead of always taking, something interesting starts to happen. The world starts giving back. It starts rewarding you in various ways. Things suddenly start going your way.

Let go and give. Give unselfishly.  Give without the desire to receive something in return. Give anything. Try it and see what happens.

Are you a giver or a taker?

I might be on to something…

August 24, 2010 in Life with 0 Comments

Ever have that feeling that you might be on to something?

You might be right, but how do you really know?

There’s a simple way to tell if you actually are “on to something.”

Does it (that something) scare you?

Does it keep you up on night?

Does it cause you to procrastinate and not do it?

When your mind kicks in and works to keep you from doing it, you can be assured, you’re probably on to something.

Funny right? You’d think our minds would jump right in and support us in our endevours and the crazy ideas we have in the shower. You’d think that our brains would want us to take those ideas and make them a reality! You’d think your mind would be pushing you to do everything it could to achieve success, and push you beyond your comfort zone.

But the opposite is what happens, and that’s what Stephen Pressfield refers to as the resistance.

When the resistances pops up, and starts resisting – you’re right… you’re on to something.

Do that.

Page 1 of 3123»