Each year I try to come up with a word or two to set the tone for what I’ll do in the next 365 days. This morning my wife and I were talking and she came up with a great word for her year first.

Healthy

That’s a great word, as it can apply to so many aspects of life. It’s super perfect for her, and she’ll use that as she thinks about each challenge that comes her way.

Though I am tempted to steal her word for myself, this year my word this year will be:

Connection

In past years I’ve tried to increase my network, and tried to learn more new things, and even tried to make more money. This year instead of going wide, I’m going deep.

I’m going to focus on connecting all the dots I’ve made over the last few years and make it an amazing year. I’m going to focus on learning more about the folks I know, like Noah and Steve in this picture.

What is your word of the year?

May 2011 be your best year ever, full of healthy connections and whatever your theme is for the year. If I can help you connect in any way, please let me know.

As tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the United States, I thought I’d share a little thank you in as many languages as I could find.

I am specifically thankful for:

• My wife, who gives without expectation of receiving anything in return…and who loves me with all she is and all she will ever be;
• My family, who stood by me as I reinvented myself in 2010, moving from corporate America and part-time freelancer to full-time solo-preneur;
• My friends, who offer their support and encouragement along this journey called l-i-f-e;
• My clients, who have worked with me to create something far greater than me, and for referring me more business;
• My collaborators and competitors, who have made me a better business man and a better person;
• And God, for creating me just as I am, imperfect though I may be in my own eyes, but a child of God nonetheless.

May each of you enjoy the abundance you have, as I enjoy the abundance I have been blessed with. Continued success with whatever comes your way!

Recently I spoke at the Social Media Breakfast Club in Toledo, Ohio. Though the meeting began at 7:30 AM, there were a lot of excited attendees who listened to me share my 30 minute Twitter solution. What follows is a 5 minute clip of my 45 minute talk.

I’ve got just a few dates still available in the rest of 2010, and am already booking into mid-2011. If you’d like me to come to your organization or company, contact me today to see if your date is available!

If you’ve arrived here via an article in today’s Wall Street Journal about Prepping for Trade Shows from Alexandra Levit, welcome. I’m delighted you’re here. Here are a few things that might help you if you’re looking for more assistance prepping for trade shows.

Remember Anyone’s Name – You can be the trade show person everyone loves because you remember everyone’s name after meeting them only once.

Memorable Voice Mail Greetings – After you’ve met folks and exchanged business cards at a show, you’re going to get a bunch of phone calls. If you have a memorable voicemail greeting, you’ll stand out as someone folks need to stay connected to, even if you can’t call them back right away.

5 More Reasons to Attend Conferences – If you’re not sold on why trade shows and conferences matter, I’ve listed 5 more reasons they matter.

A few articles so you can better leverage social media

10 Commandments of Social Media – The basics of how to not be “that guy” on social media

30 minute Twitter Solution – If you’re too busy to use Twitter often, the 30 minute Twitter solution is perfect for you. If you’re a more visual person, review my 30 minute Twitter solution slides for even more help.

10 Ways to Leverage LinkedIn More Effectively – If you’re just getting started with LinkedIn or want to take it to the next level to find a better/new job or to find more business, these tips are just what you need to do so.

10 Ways to Make It Great – My first book, actually first work book, filled with 11 ways to improve your life.

#Twitterworks – My newest book, coming out in June of 2010, offering even more ways to get the most out of Twitter for your business or yourself.

If there’s anything else you need help with, please leave a comment or contact me today. I’d love to come into your organization to teach them how to leverage social media more effectively.

I am fortunate to have been selected as one of the authors for the Age of Conversation 3 book, subtitled It’s Time to Get Busy!

Let’s give a big round of applause to all who contributed to this massive undertaking.

Also, please note: All proceeds from this book are being donated to the Make a Wish foundation.

Recently I contributed an article to the first volume in a new series of books called Launchpad: Your Career Search Strategy Guide, brought to you by the folks at Career Rocketeer, that can help you:

• Take your career to the next level
• Get started changing careers
• Establish your personal brand
• And much more!

The chapter I contributed is how to use your voicemail greeting to propel you to greatness, and while I know you’ll love that chapter, it’s the other chapters that made me buy 10 copies of Launchpad to give away to folks I present to.

What excited me most was the multitude of experts who contributed to this project. Folks I already know and respect like William Arruda, GL Hoffman, Liz Lynch, Chris Perry and Phil Rosenberg, and many I have quickly become familiar with like William Arruda, Meghan Biro, John Crant, Maria Elena Duron, Hajj Flemings, and Meg Giuseppi, to name just a few.

A collection of talent like this normally would have you invest $20 or $30. For some reason, Launchpad is very reasonably priced at just $8.99.

Full disclosure: I don’t get anything for recommending you this book (not even an affiliate link). I share it with you because I know if you pick up a copy, it will help you improve your life.

Thought I’d share a few places you can find a few more of my social media and networking insights, as I don’t always put all my helpful tips here. Please visit and leave a comment if you find the content shared valuable.

Business Insanity Radio with Barry Moltz

Barry and I talked for 10 minutes about Networking for Nerds (his words, not mine):

• Relationship Geek – oxymoron or business truth?
• Offline networking – as important as online?
• Feeding Your Friendlies – what’s this all about…and can you really use this to get more business?
• Social Media Saturdays – how are you planning to teach folks Social Media in just 5 30 minute sessions?

Bridging Old & New Social Media Series with CB Whittemore

CB asked me some great questions about social media:

• How/why did you get involved in social media?
• What do you like most about social media?
• What do you like least about social media?
• How has social media changed how you interact with the marketplace as a consumer or customer?
• What 5 suggestions do you have for companies to implement so they can more effectively bridge old media with new media and connect with end users?
• Any other thoughts to share about the effectiveness of social media in forging stronger relations with customers and how best to do so.

If you’d like to have me as a guest on your show/blog or have any questions you’d like me to answer, please contact me using the contact form found in the top navigation on your  or by clicking here.

This week I was in Canada to present to two HDI chapters, Trillium HDI (in Toronto) and Ottawa HDI (obviously in Ottawa). It was my first trip to Canada, and I must say, the folks I encountered all throughout the country were wonderfully welcoming and amazingly approachable. The cab driver even took me through a drive-through so I could get some food on my way to the hotel in Ottawa because it was VERY late and nothing was open close to my hotel. Awesome!

I promised all the great folks I met that I would upload my presentation to Slideshare, and I thought I’d share it with you as well.

If you can’t see it above, or if you get my articles via e-mail, you can Recession Proof Your Life via Slideshare.

Questions for you:

• Do you like the presentation? 
• Do you see things that could make it better?
• Anything else you’d like to share? 

I’d love your feedback. Please share it below in the comments.

Good day friends,

If you click in from your RSS feed today, you’ll notice something a little bit different.

OK, it’s a LOT different.

No longer is Make It Great! being hosted on TypePad. Thanks to the brilliant work of one Mr. Jesse Petersen, I have made the move to WordPress and a full site, complete with a video of me speaking,  a page dedicated to my first book 10 Ways to Make It Great!, and of course, the blog you all know and love. Please click in, poke around, and let me know what you think. After 4 years, I thought it was time for a change, and because of the beauty of RSS and blogs, the move was  nearly painless. Sure, I will lose some of the Google juice for a while. But long term, this is the best move for me and my brand. In hindsight, I should have made the switch sooner, but oh well.

Coming soon:

Ebooks – Many of you haven’t been reading since the beginning like I have and there are some really great posts, interviews, and ideas in my archives.

More interviews – I love getting to know folks, and this is something I’ve gotten away from in the past year or so. Look for more interviews soon.

Longer articles – Now that I’ve unstuck myself and created a new place for my brain to roam free, I look forward to being able to write more longer articles. You’d be surprised at how much wasted energy thinking about a move like this can take. 

More ways and tools to connect with others – Another thing I’ve struggled with is whether or not to post about the cool new tools I find useful. Many of you have shared that you miss these reviews, so I’ll start these back up too.

Thanks for continuing with me on this wonderful journey! Stay tuned for more Make It Great! 

Your friend,
Phil

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

It’s hard for me to believe it, but I’ve been Making It Great! as a blogger since March 4, 2005. I started out with a blogger blog, then because of David St. Lawrence poking me and telling me I needed to be a “real blogger” and accept trackbacks, I moved to TypePad, and life hasn’t been the same since.

It’s truly amazing what has happened to me in the 4 years I’ve been blogging. Here are just a few of my highlights.

• I published my first book 10 Ways to Make It Great! with much of the content inspired by my articles and the comments on this very blog
• I spoke about being a Relationship Geek at the first SOBCon (and have given over 50 other speeches since then about a variety of topics)
• I had breakfast/lunch/dinner with over 100 other bloggers all across the country (but I haven’t made it to Des Moines yet, sorry gang!)
• I’ve gotten over 200 books sent to me to review (and reviewed 50 or so of them)
• I’ve exchanged emails with over 3000 people (and have received over 3000 comments on this blog)
• I’ve talked on the phone to over 500 people who read this blog or whose blog I read
• I attended 800-CEO-READ’s Author Pow-Wow (and I look forward to attending the next one)

But the most important thing I gained from this blog is even more simple than any of this:

I’ve gained a LOT of new friends!

I’ve enjoyed connecting with folks from around the world, that I can call, email, or write to, and that are there to listen to me and bounce ideas off of.

Thank you to each and every person who has read one of my blog posts, who cared enough to leave a comment, to send me an e-mail, to call me on the phone, and to connect with me in some small way.

Coming soon will be another big change. Please stay tuned!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!