Pop Goes the Blog?

December 6, 2007 10 Comments

This is a hilarious video that you must watch and try to understand for your business.

If you’re looking for the reason that the technology bubble might pop (again), watch this video and think about how people are talking about blogs, social media, whatever the latest thing is, as your ONLY part of your platform. Use your blog as part of the platform, along with great content, in person events, books, videos, and more.

Do I think the blog/social media bubble is going to pop and stop being useful as your business strategy?

Absolutely…if it’s the ONLY part of your strategy. If it’s part of your strategy, and you want to build community, and develop great content, test ideas, make friends, and become a better writer/speaker/editor/designer, then absolutely not.

Thanks to Karl Long, throough Greg Verdino for finding and sharing this Pop Goes Web 2.0 video!

Blog Action Day: You CAN Make a Difference!

October 15, 2007 2 Comments

Today is the day! Blog Action Day is upon us. So what can you do to change the world, 1 action at a time?

I’d recommend you take a shorter shower today, and save a little water for the next guy (or gal), in the next generation. You don’t really need to spend an hour scrubbing up. Shave 5 minutes off your shower, and you can help change the world.

One other thing you can do is donate to a worthy environmental charity. Conservation Fund is one such charity that has global reach. Locally for me, the Urban Ecology Center is helping the environment, one person at a time. Look inside your community and see what’s there, and then get involved, financially or with your time.

You CAN make a difference! The only question is WILL you?

20 Ways of Looking at Life from a Different Perspective

October 9, 2007 8 Comments

Stephen J. Hopson is guest blogging for Phil today.

A few days ago, Phil put out a request for guest bloggers so that he could take a month off and focus on a million other things on his plate.  He’s done so much for me and reached out when I was just getting started as a blogger a little over a year ago.  So when he put out an "all-points bulletin" asking for guest bloggers, I jumped at the chance.  And here I am.  I’m thrilled to be here! 

By way of introducing myself to you, I thought I would start by sharing different ways I perceive life because I’ve learned that it’s not what happens to you that really matters but what you do about it.  You see, I was born profoundly deaf, putting me in a interesting position of dealing with a multitude of different people, places and circumstances along the way. 

This is what I’ve learned so far:   

1. It’s not what happens to you but how you perceive it that determines how you will deal with the situation.

2. Behind every difficult person you meet, there’s a lesson to be learned. 

3. Instead of saying, “Why is this happening to me, you say, “What can I learn from this?”

4. Trust that everything in life is temporary and that going through different cycles is part of the process. Translation: Life will get better if you just have enough faith to get through this one.

5. We all have a divine blueprint for our lives – there is a such a thing as destiny and it’s up to us to discover what it is through our innermost passions.

6. The power of visualization cannot be ignored – it actually works! Don’t say it doesn’t work until you’ve tried it in earnest. Have you truly visualized yourself having or doing something?

7. God is your partner in life, let Him in and let him co-create things with you.

8. Without adversity or life’s challenges, we would never know what we are truly made of. It is through the toughest times we learn what we’re capable of doing; thereby becoming stronger and more confident in the process.

9. Everything you’ve experienced in life has been in preparation for what’s to come later in life. In fact, you are “life’s perpetual trainee.”

10. Learn to trust and pay attention to your intuition — those “AHA” moments — they are often right on the nose.

11. There are no accidents. Everyone you meet, everything that has come your way was not an some random fluke.  Like my fifth grade teacher who forever changed my life with three words, THAT’S RIGHT, STEPHEN!

12. Plan on making a fool of yourself and not take life or yourself so seriously – even God has a sense of humor. (i.e. Tell him your plans!)

13. Go crazy and send handwritten thank you notes to those who have helped you. Gratitude and positive energy attracts success, abundance and more of what you’re thankful for.

14. Be patient – you will be rewarded justly. Dont’t bother seeking revenge – it isn’t worth it.

15. Know that you are making a difference in small and large ways by just being who you are.

16. Refuse to compromise your integrity. People can see right through you and can detect whether you’re genuine or not. If you truly care about your customers, friends, family or business associates, they’ll stick with you through high and low because they know you care about them. In other words, they don’t care what you know until they know you care about them.

17. Fear is misdirected energy and must be redirected into faith.

18. Refuse to compare your progress with others. It will only serve to destroy your confidence. Everyone is at different stages in their lives and if you understand that you’re right where you’re supposed to be, then it won’t matter what others are doing. You are unique with special qualities, talents, skills and thought processes, etc. There is no one like you so how can you compare yourself to others?

19. If you haven’t failed enough in life, you haven’t risked much. Life without taking adventurous risks is downright dangerous.

20. Understand that you do matter – there is a purpose to your life – find out what it is and use your gifts to make a difference.

Food for thought: The list can go on but these are some of the impactful thoughts that have helped me through life’s toughest moments. Can you come up with a list of your own thoughts?

hopsonsmallcolor for internet 20 Ways of Looking at Life from a Different Perspective Stephen J. Hopson is a former award-winning Wall Street stockbroker turned motivational speaker, author and the first deaf pilot in the world (yes, you read that right) to earn an instrument rating in 2006.  This is a rating that allows him to fly as pilot in command through "bad" weather where radio use is actually required (how?? – email him at stephen(at)sjhopson(dot) and he’ll tell you!).  He just moved his "Adversity University" blog from Blogger to WordPress at www.adversityuniversityblog.com     If you’d like to see him in action as a speaker, you could visit his professional speaking website at www.sjhopson.com

Dialogue, Conflict, and Change: 5 for Friday!

September 14, 2007 6 Comments

5Friday Dialogue, Conflict, and Change: 5 for Friday!

This week’s 5 for 5 brings us some extra special treats. We’ve got tips on understanding dialogue, dealing with conflict resolution, making it easier and more fun to do what you do, learning, empathy, and learning how to follow, and of course, what would a great week be without some change.

Tammy Lenski: The 7 Hallmarks of genuine dialogue
Just what you might guess from the title, Tammy shares 7 ways to understand when the conversation is genuine, and when it’s fake.

3 Easy Steps to Resolving Conflict: Perfectly Petersen

Conflict comes at you from all around nowadays: your kids, co-workers, political discussions, everywhere. You just can’t avoid conflict of some sort all day, everyday. Here are some steps
that work for me.

7 Things I Hope Will Make It Easier and More Fun: Smart Wealthy Rich
Jon shares some good lessons he learned when he was going through a tough time writing, and you can learn a lot about writing AND life from his insights.

Accelerating Momentum » Leadership, Empathy and Knowing How to Follow

We owe it to our leaders — and to ourselves — to speak up and challenge them when we think they’ve gone off-track. Sometimes, as I’ve noted above, the leader is so convinced he or she is right that nothing will change. A good follower, at that point, needs to weigh the consequences of continuing down that path. If you trust the leader, if your past experience tells you that it’s OK to take a leap of faith, then hang in there. Otherwise, maybe it’s time to move on and find another leader.

What I learned from Change: Middle Zone Musings
Robert Hruzek had 19 entries into this month’s topic – A NEW RECORD! If you’re going through a change or 5, you need to check out this post for 19 GREAT tips on what folks have learned from change, and what you can too.

Now it’s your turn!

What did you read this week that made it great? Share your best below, so we can learn from each other!

Brazen Careerist Makes It Great!

July 19, 2007 7 Comments

Recently I had the opportunity to interview Penelope Trunk, author of the critically acclaimed book Brazen Careerist. Brazen Careerist is a new take on all the old rules of the workforce, and has a lot of great information to help you succeed in the corporate world on your own terms.

Penelope blows up many of the old thoughts for success and turns today’s new workforce thinking on its ear. She’s been through a LOT of change in her life, and has some amazing ideas we can all use to improve our lives and make it great.

Phil: From the looks of your blog, it looks like you’ve been blogging since 2001. What’s different about blogging now as opposed to then?brazen careerist Brazen Careerist Makes It Great!

Penelope: I haven’t actually been blogging since 2001. That’s my column archive. I’ve been writing a column since 1999. I started blogging in May 2006. The only thing that’s different between now and May 2006 is that I know what a blog is. When I started, I didn’t even know how to find a blog on the Internet besides typing into Google “blog”

Phil: Do you think blogging will be around for 5-7 more years and beyond?

Penelope: I don’t know. I think it’ll be different, but I think some people will still want to write every day.

Phil: I love the fact you moved from a big city to little old Madison WI. How has the reaction been in Madison compared to how you’d expect it might be on Madison Avenue?

Penelope: When I moved to Madison I had never been here before. Everything I knew about Madison was from the Internet. What  the INtenret says about Madison was all true. But there is still a lot of culture shock. I have been to European cities where I have felt less culture shock than I feel in Madison. The difference in the US between the big cities and the little cities is huge. I didn’t know that when I moved here.

Phil: Brazen Careerist is such a cool title for a book. How did you get to that title?

Penelope: My editor of my first column picked that name. Every time I try to pick a new name people say they love Brazen Careerist. So I keep it.

Phil: I love your advice for getting a six-figure book deal from your blog, and it’s so cool that you were willing to share what many would keep to themselves. What’s the best advice anyone gave you that you couldn’t learn on your own about publishing?

Penelope: Almost everyone who gave me advice told me that you can’t just be a book author, you have to be a book publicist. That is very true. Today publishers are distribution channels for people who have significant marketing capabilities of their own.

Phil: What’s the best book you’ve read in the last few years that might have slipped past people’s radar screens?

Penelope: I just read the Scooby Doo series to my five-year-old son. About ten thousand times. Here’s something I bet you didn’t know about Scooby Doo books: They are almost all about economic development. It’s shocking, really. Each story is about some villain who is resisting economic development and Scooby and the Gang uncover their villainous tactics to save the world for real estate development.

Phil: Do you read other people’s blogs and if so, which are your favorites?

Penelope: I read about fifty blogs a week. I read whoever links to me, I follow a lot of links as I’m reading, I do a lot of searching for blogs to see what people are writing about the topics I’m writing about on a given day. I think  it’s really important to read blogs in order to be part of the conversation. I follow Guy Kawasaki‘s blog pretty carefully, and Lifehacker. Recently I’ve been following Get Rich Slowly. I love Overheard in NY. It is absolutely what living in NYC is like.

Phil: You seem to be living the dream and doing some great stuff. What’s next for Penelope Trunk?

Penelope: I don’t think anyone is living a dream. I think life is hard, and the best we can do is learn to be our best selves. Every day I struggle to try to figure out what will make me and my family happy and then try to figure out how to do what I believe I should be doing. It’s always changing and I’m never totally sure that I’ve got it at any one time. That’s why I love blogging – I feel like I have a community that is doing this with me. The search is more interesting if you do it with likeminded people.

Phil: Anything else you’d like to share?

Penelope: Here’s what I’m thinking lately: I am working on time management right now. I am realizing that time management is connected to being nice. Being nice is actually the act of making time to take someone else into consideration, make the extra effort to have empathy, take extra time to convey compassion. When I am feeling like a good time manager I give myself more time to be kind.

More from Penelope Trunk: