I am an unapologetic fan of Seth Godin. I have read every one of his books and ebooks, his was the first blog I ever read (on accident), read almost every one of his blog posts, own his CD set, and have even gotten to talk to Seth on the phone for an interview for one of his books. His books are great, and have helped me think about many things in the world differently.  And though I don’t agree with Seth on EVERYTHING, I do enjoy his work and appreciate the fact he writes on his blog every day.

The video above is like a "best of" Seth Godin. He talks about why his books did so well, and they are all things YOU could do. It’s little over 30 minutes long, and is worth every second you spend watching it.

My take on this video: Don’t do things exactly how Seth does them. Instead, take his ideas and put them to work on YOUR ideas.

If you’re reading via RSS or e-mail, you may need to click here to watch the video.

Questions for you:

What’s your favorite Seth Godin book or idea?

How can you put your favorite idea into action in YOUR business and in YOUR life?

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1. Networking – If you’re looking to meet folks who can help you answer questions about your industry, there’s no better place to do so than a conference. Get there early, make a plan for who you want to connect and reconnect with, learn and remember new folks’ names, and don’t be afraid to skip a session or two if you get involved in an in-depth conversation.
2. Inspiration and Recharging Your Batteries - Almost every conference has keynote sessions meant to inspire you to perform at a higher level or think about things differently. This is one of my favorite parts of the conferences I attend, because it gets me moving in the right direction.
3. Knowledge Gathering - Most conferences have breakout sessions presented and facilitated by experts in their industry. You can learn a LOT from them if you take time to listen to the speaker AND listen to the folks who ask questions, especially if they ask questions you have or questions you have the answer to. Don’t be afraid to go up to someone who asked a question or who needs your help and ask them if you can speak to them a little more.
4. More Knowledge Gathering – If there were no sponsors, there would be no conferences. Most conferences offer time to interact with the sponsors, to ask them questions to learn from them, and to gather a little more information so you can learn more about them, all in a safe, low-pressure environment.
5. Knowledge sharing – At the HDI confernece, I had 1 breakout session, 1 panel I facilitated, 1 brain bite first thing in the morning and 1 30 minute presentation/facilitation about creating your elevator pitch for your organization, so my knowledge sharing was very formal. Sometimes my knowledge sharing is more informal, as I try to ask questions and add insights where I feel I can add value. I love to share, and it’s one of my favorite parts of a conference.

While the HDI Conference was for my day job, I also enjoy attending events for the job I do with the rest of my time and energy. May 1/2/3, I’ll be attending SOBCon09, Business School for Bloggers, to learn a lot more about how to run my online speaking/writing/coaching/branding business.  If you’re going to be there, I hope you’ll seek me out so we can learn from each other and potentially collaborate on something new and exciting.

I’m curious…what am I missing about conferences?

What should I be doing in addition to what I already am doing? What do YOU get out of your favorite conferences? Do you have other conferences I should be attending?

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GOOD NEWS: You do NOT need to be an artist to use Dan’s great style of problem solving.

MORE GOOD NEWS: If you read on, you’ll find out how YOU can win a copy of this wonderful book!

Go to http://www.thebackofthenapkin.com/ for all the stuff that’s been written about Dan, including cool videos, other audio interviews, and a few of the methods we talk about in this podcast.

For all my deaf and hard of hearing friends, I hope to have this transcribed soon so you can learn from Dan as well.

Enjoy Phil Gerbyshak Meets the Back of the Napkin. It’s about 40 minutes long. When I get it transcribed, I’ll post the raw MP3 file so you can download it for later. For now, head over to http://www.thebackofthenapkin.com/ to learn a few of Dan’s tips and tricks!

Win a copy of The Back of the Napkin Contest

Share your best way to solve a problem in the comments below, and I’ll pick someone at random Thursday the 29th of May, 2008 and you can win an autographed copy of Dan’s book!

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A few months back I got a wonderful e-mail inviting me to share my dream…with myself…in the future!

And as I unfortunately sometimes do, I lost the e-mail. But this vacation from the blog has my brain freed up. Yep, I said I wanted guest writers so I could take a blogging vacation, but I find myself writing MORE!

The name of the site is called Dreaminder, and it’s so simple, even I can figure it out. You put your dream in there, your name, your e-mail, when to remind you (you can pick multiple dates) and hit Remind me! It’s that simple. And if you like, you can even allow your dream to be published anonymously! VERY COOL!

Check out Dreaminder, and check out Ben Gwilliam‘s dreaming tree!

What’s your big dream? When will you accomplish it?

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I love the fact that while I have nowhere near as much artistic talent as Stefan, I can still appreciate his art for the amazingness of it, as the videos show me that he didn’t just start with something in mind and run with it, but he iteratively morphed his vision to fit uniquely into his style. VERY cool!

Click in to watch a Bonus Monster from Stefan, or go check out the Daily Monster today, and appreciate the greatness of Stefan G. Bucker, and think about what YOU can do that would allow you to show the same level of passion and love as Stefan shows with his work.

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Jodee is just as wonderful in person as she is in all other mediums. VERY awesome.

Jodee Bock makes it GREAT!

If you’d like to meet Jodee and me and Mike Sansone and Mitch Matthews and Pam Thomas and Dick Richards and Jane Greer and many others who I don’t know or who don’t blog yet!

You need to go to the Summit for Bigger Small Talk, June 27th and 28th in Fargo ND. It’s going to be amazing. Open space, open mic, and open minds. I can’t WAIT! Yes, there’s still time to sign up for this conference. If you’ve ever contributed to the conversation here, you need to go to the Summit for Bigger Small Talk.

Hope to see you soon, so I can share with the world that YOU make it great too! Just like all the amazing people I spent SOBCon with

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WOW!

5/12 of the way completed with 2007.

What do you have left to do? Does it still matter? I’m going to take some time to re-evaluate my goals over the next week. I encourage you to do the same.

1. I learned from Lisa Haneberg that you can burn away the fog, that ov erhwlem is not real, ambiguity is stuff we think we should know but don’t know, and that flat and simple need to positively correlated. This is very helpful for where I am right now.
2. I learned 9 great tips for overcoming stage fright from Christine Kane. I haven’t had stage fright yet, but I imagine I might at some point, and I think it ‘s best to have some ammunition to combat it.
3. Rick Cockrum reminded me that multi-tasking does NOT make you more productive, in the Delusion of Multi-tasking. I need to remember this OFTEN, especially when I’m trying to quiet my mind chatter. Rick asks “Do I want to be busy, or do I want to be good?” I want to be GREAT, so I know I need to do this. Something is stopping me. I am working for clarity. Lisa Haneberg and I talked about the multi-tasking myth last July, and I have fallen out of my focused zone. I learned I need to re-focus to become great again!
4. I learned that leadership has become more concerned with soft skills instead of just hard skills, at least according to Jonathan Farrington. I agree with this, and I’m glad it’s changed from the way it used to be. I’ve learned that people are our most valuable asset, and without people, NOTHING gets done.
5. Last but not least, I learned that I can be more productive by taking a break. Thanks for permission to break Ben! I needed that.

And with that, I bid you adieu. I am off to Las Vegas to speak at the 2007 HDI Conference, and posting may be sporadic. I have 1 surprise for you while I’m gone, so stay tuned.

Technorati Tags: rapid fire learning, leadership, productivity

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My buddy Director Tom Clifford spent the day yesterday with the amazing genius that is Seth Godin. Dude, I am SO jealous…and I will find a way to spend a day with The Blogfather in the next 23 months.

What’s the next best thing to spending a day with Seth Godin? Reading Tom’s account of a day with Seth Godin. 18 amazing points Tom shares with us. GREAT!

He starts with a money shot of “Me mail” and ends with “Infinity.” You’ve GOT to read this. And better yet, you’ve got to DO this. Seth is smart and the ideas he shared are priceless. But the execution is UP TO YOU!

[Phil Gerbyshak challenges you to "Stop sheepwalking! and instead Make it Great! Seth Godin says so! (see Tom's 17th point from day with Seth Godin. Seth really meant "make it great!")]

Technorati Tags: seth godin, director tom, sheepwalking

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Today marks the beginning of my March to Impact 1,000,000. My “Big Hairy Audacious Goal” (BHAG) is to impact the lives of 1,000,000 business owners before I leave terra firma.

Holy cow!!! Let that sink in a minute.

If you haven’t read Greg’s stuff at Small Business Is Here, then you are missing out on some AMAZING stuff. This goal just solidifies the fact that Greg is a great guy, who gives so much more than he gets. WOW! He has influenced me already in so many ways, I can’t begin to share them all here. Suffice it to say, he WILL influence you, if you let him.

Stop by and say hi to Greg, and help him “March to 1 Million!“

Make it a GREAT day!
Phil Gerbyshak

Technorati Tags: gregbd, BHAG, goals

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How indeed…This is a tough question that we hope to get answers to this month over at the blog Synergy. Troy has offered a few thoughts on what he thinks the stuff of Synergy is. I need more time to think about what the ingredients are for synergy, and will post my thoughts later  in the month. If you have suggestions, please drop them off in the comments or stop by the blog Synergy and let us know what you think.

Make it a GREAT day!
Phil Gerbyshak

Technorati Tags: synergy, troy worman

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