Sadly most people don’t think about taking control of their own destiny until the winds of change force their hand.
The people in this film, and more than a dozen that I have personally spoken with, exude joy and love to say that the day they got fired was the greatest day of their lives. Not that they thought that at the time!
By having the “safety net” taken away and being thrown into the world and told, “Make it!” these folks did what felt great to them.
Gary Vaynerchuk said that someone that is “bat-shit crazy” about coffee and blogs like mad and just LOVES everything about coffee is going to be huge. The guy in this movie, with his coffee roaster and mobile shop, made me think of that again.
I promise that you love a thing and you love to research out it and find out everything you can about it, you’ll find others that love what you do. They are your people, your tribe.
Could it be that your mask is just that you’re not showing up to be seen??
There are tons of ways to be out there on the Internet: websites, blogs, FaceBook, Twitter and about a million other forums, groups and apps. Each has it’s own advantages and disadvantages.
But the one thing that they all offer is the opportunity to put yourself out there, to get you seen and recognized by thousands of people that you would otherwise have had about a 0.1% chance of connecting with.
Lots of folks are confused about the value of some of these tools, so here’s my spin on the big players in Social Media. (And, no. I am not calling myself a Social Media Guru, like every third person on Twitter.) Let’s talk about blogs, FaceBook, and Twitter with a nod toward the common website.
Website:
Yes. You need one. And it’s amazingly easy.
Get hosting. (Yes. They’ll give me a couple of bucks if you use my link. My kids thank you!)
Get WordPress. (You probably don’t even have to do this as most hosts will install it for you.)
Create some pages for the various aspects of your business. Product or Service descriptions, Rates, About Us, Contact, etc.
This is your place that you put your official marketing stuff. It’s your company billboard/brochure. It’s relatively static and you can sell like crazy here and have optin boxes and whatever else it takes to get people into your funnel and have them buying your stuff.
Here is where you get to show your personality for your business. Let people get to know you. There are many levels of personal revelation available, from “What goes on behind the scenes in our workplace” to “I love cats!”
People get to know you as a person ongoingly. They get to like you because they know you. And people will always buy moer from people that they know, like, and respect.
FaceBook:
Some will cry foul, heresy, or stupidity about this one, but…
FaceBook is for personal contact.
I have nobody on my FaceBook that I don’t really know. I talk to them weekly, or have done business with them, or I went to high school with them… some number of years ago.
Yes, I have done business with some of those folks. But, now I know them. They’re not just prospects. I could call any of them and they’d answer. (I hope!)
There are fan pages for doing business on FB, but something about being fans annoys me. <shrug> That’s just one of my things to work through, because I know a lot of people are using FB fan pages and it wroks for them. So, go ahead and market like crazy through a fan page, but keep your personal account… personal.
I like the idea of having a place where I am never selling and I am just connecting with people that I know and like. Sharing life’s little suprises and wisdom.
Twitter:
Ah, Twitter!
At first, like everyone else, I said, “Who cares about what I had for lunch?”
Then one day, I had a great conversation with social media socialite, Tia Singh. (I don’t think she calls herself that, but she’s super friendly and knowledgable about these things, so I’m calling her that!)
I had a great shift in thought about how Twitter lets you join in on conversations with people, in practically real time, about the various things I’m interested in.
Here is a great article from the NY Times about Why Twitter Will Endure. Read that and understand that Twitter is changing customer service, too.
My true Twitter story
I had just read that article a week or two ago and when I had a problem with my bank (Suntrust) this week. I tweeted about it and I got results too.
I woke up on Wednesday after a holiday weekend. I needed to check one of my personal bank accounts and to my horror that I was massively overdrawn. There was some confusion due to the way that the website reported transactions and how soon deposits clear. Combine that with the holiday effect and it all added up to calamity.
When I called, the rep explained to me why I had 11 overdraft charges at $36 each. GRRRR! After checking my account, I was told that since I have been such a “good customer” for so long that he’d be able to refund one of the charges. I felt like I was told I was a “good doggie” and then thwapped on the nose!
After tweeting my disgust at Suntrust, I was contacted by their Twitter folks and given a different number. Apparently this was a hotline for the disgruntled. I spoke with a soothing, apologetic, nice woman and I was refunded more than half of the charges. Not all of them, but they hoped I’d understand that it wasn’t really a bank error and I might need another way to track my accounts than the website, which might not always be real time. (I swear I usually do, but just upgraded OS and computer parts and had let my receipts accounting fall behind.)
So, yah. Ultimately it is my problem and they Could have given me nothing. But, by using Twitter and treating people like people, Suntrust saved my accounts from being moved (I have 4 accounts there… still).
Companies are starting to see the value of having people on Twitter, FaceBook and other social media channels in order to show a human and humane face. Soon, all business will go that way.
Take off the mask!
So just like maybe 8-10 years ago, you couldn’t understand why anyone but drug dealers and doctors would need a cell phone… you might consider getting your Twitter and other social media outlets working for you!
Jump in and play the game, not behind some mask, but as you; the real, authentic you. Share as much or as little of the details of your personal life, but be honest and tell your truth. That is how you get to know people, enroll clients, and get more business.
As a bonus, you may meet many other really great authentic people that are creating greatness in the world. Maybe you’ll meet new business partners or even friends!
A traveler came upon a group of three hard-at-work stonemasons, and asked each in turn what he was doing.
The first said, “I am sanding down this block of marble.”
The second said, “I am preparing a foundation.”
The third said, “I am building a cathedral.”
This story has been repeated thousands of times, each with it’s own twist on the details. But, the main point is always the same: It’s not the work you have to do. It’s your perspective on it that makes it either a trudge, just some work, or a visionary creation.
Before I tell you why I bring that up in relation to your website or blog, I offer another 2-paragraph viewpoint.
Stop looking for other people to handle things. Don’t believe that someone will swoop in and get it all done for you. Of course you can delegate tasks that need to be done. But, expecting others to fix your business, your website, or your life is a self-defeating mistake.
Successful people in the world realized that if something needed changing, they would have to change it.
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the conditions that surround him… The unreasonable man adapts surrounding conditions to himself…
All progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – George Bernard Shaw
How does these things apply to you, someone that lives to be a contribution to the world?
If you need a website, you could take some time everyday complaining about how it’s not done, how you can’t find a good person to do it cheaply, or you are computer illiterate. Of course, none of those things get a website built.
Go read a book about either How to Pick a Good Web Developer OR How to Create a Site with WordPress. Learn enough to get it handled. Get it done!
Grrrr!
With your site complete, you can be confident when you give people your business card. No more excuses about how, “It’s under construction” or “It’s only 2 pages now, but maybe next week I’ll get more posts up.”
You won’t be able to enroll people into your coaching or your event if you are waffling about your website.
It’s one less thing for you to be spending brain power on. You would just know that it works and that they will get to know you and your message by visiting your site.
Pet Peeve:I’m Computer Iliterate.
Nobody expects that you go learn how to be a programmer. But, don’t wear it like a badge, either. Do not argue FOR your limitations!
If someone told you that they were illiterate, you’d would most likely champion them to go learn to read in order to make their life easier. In the world of the future (meaning today) you need to know how to get around on your machine and how to talk to people about common computer and internet terms.
Don’t hobble yourself on purpose. Take a class, get a consultant or coach (Like me!) that will help you learn the basics so that you get these things out of the way of your message.
You want to be a contribution to the world and you’re letting little things get in your way. Get educated enough that you can get your message out there!
Focus on your end result, on your message and your contribution. Get your technology handled, whatever it takes. It’s a small block keeping you from creating your masterpiece, your cathedral.
You don’t have to learn everything about technology. Nobody knows it all. Even those of us that have spent 20 years in the guts of computers and code don’t know it all.
You don’t have to know it all. You just need to know enough to get IT started!
There are three things that you could start using Right Now in order to create a really great business and a fantastic life.
1. Become Staggeringly Positive.
2. Play Everything as a game.
3. Inspire everyone you speak with.
1. Going into anything, a meeting, an interview, a party, Anything. Envision that it is going to be great. People are going to like you. Someone there is looking for exactly what you have to offer. The Right person is going to be there.
AND, WHY NOT?
If you don’t, then you probably go in thinking things will be horrible; there won’t be anyone interesting to talk to; you might do something dumb and look bad.
That will keep you from meeting the right people and will likely create the very things you worried about!
If you go in thinking, “Nobody will really want to talk to me,” then NOBODY will want to talk to you!
Who do you want to do business with?
Assuming similar products, you’ll work with the person that is enthusiastic about their product and gets you excited about it too.
Someone in sales ho-hum about the product won’t be in sales for long!
Just the other day, I was talking to a businessman that was about to launch a new business idea. He’s got a million dollar business and he’s going to give away free books, 50,000 actual paperbacks.
I don’t know the business model or how it’s going to work, but he said, “I’ll either win or I’ll learn.” That is a guy living a great life!
Don’t live in What May go Wrong. Live in What Will go Right!
2. Treat everything like a game: The game of parenting, the game of work, the game of starting a new business. Everything is a game to play.
Did you read or see Tom Sawyer? He got those kids to work on the fence because he made it seem like a game to them. They paid him to do the “work”!
So, for those kids that paid to do it, was it tedious or hard?
No. It was a game to play. It was just the way that it got framed as a game that made it fun for them.
There are lots of games where people throw a ball around from here to there. They use a stick to hit a ball into a tiny hole. They take a big ball and throw it into a small, high hole. And we pay to watch them play football, golf, basketball…
But are any of those things inherently fun? Sweating, puffing and straining things!
But we said that’s a game and it’s fun and… Doing a spreadsheet is not fun.
We heard that enough times that now, working on a spreadsheet is not fun.
The things we call games and fun are just as made up as the work we do. So you may as well choose to look at it in a way that is more empowering and more fun for you!
You know, everything really could be fun.
A spreadsheet? How could that be fun? Make a game of it. Compete with someone to get them done first. Or with yourself. More today than yesterday or whatever.
Connect with the fact that for some people… it really IS fun. They dig it! The only reason you don’t is that you’ve told yourself it’s hard, boring, or whatever and that you shouldn’t Have to do it. Instant tedium!
3. Inspire everyone you speak with.
In any conversation you get into: with the clerk at the store, the maintenance man, and the principal at your child’s school, get them to see a winning future.
You may be called in for a parent teacher conference. You Could have it like this guy is mean or out to get your kid.
What do They really want? They probably really want the best for your child. Their goal is to produce great, smart, creative kids that will change the world.
Listen for that. Mirror it back. Acknowledge the work that he’s done. It’s really great of you to look after my kid. I get that your job is to create great children. Thank You.
The word inspiration is derived from the Latin root spirare meaning “spirit,” to breathe, to give life.
When you listen to someone’s story and mirror it back to them even more golden than they see it now, it Creates life over there, for them. And for you!
When you are inspiring people to live in their dreams and to go for what they want, your life is better too.
You get to live a life of inspiration, creativity and joy. You’ll always be surrounded by people that are up to great things.
Now, take a moment.
Think of something that you really want in your future. Really picture it.
What game could you build around that? A way of scoring, measuring progress, rewards.
Now, envision it having all worked out the best way possible. Complete. $$. Romance
What’s available to you, now? How do you feel?
And now, know in your heart of hearts that it Really is possible.
And then anything you have to do to make it happen will just fall away. It doesn’t take willpower to live your dreams.
I’d love to talk with any of you that want to share your future with me!
Please leave a comment and tell me what are your best tools for creating, joy, excitement, and sheer happiness in your life!
Want to end the “recession”? Start a business and employ some people!
And please remember: There is no recession. It’s all made up. You can’t point at a thing called a recession. It’s just an agreement.
One day, someone woke up and said, “Things aren’t going well.” He told some folks and they told some folks. Sooner or later, one of the folks was a journalist and it got spread like crazy. Then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. People start fearing that it will be bad and so they stop spending and stop creating. And now, the economy slows down. And THAT provides evidence to the naysayers and they yell louder. Sheesh!
People, please… enjoy life. Go on vacation. Buy the car because you need one. Take your family out to dinner and really enjoy their company. Your life is going on while you are fretting about how it “should be” better and how you are playing small “because the economy is bad right now.”
There are a LOT of people out there right now, making a LOT of money.
Go create something that people want or need and, most importantly, get some people to Agree with you that it’s needed and you’ll be set!
Capture Everything – Chances are, if you can see it or think of it, Evernote can help you remember it. Type a text note. Clip a web page. Snap a photo. Grab a screenshot. Evernote will keep it all safe
Organize it – Everything you capture is automatically processed, indexed, and made searchable. If you like, you can add tags or organize notes into different notebooks.
Find anything fast – Search for notes by keywords, titles, and tags. Evernote magically makes printed and handwritten text inside your images searchable, too.
You can write text or clip it from any web site. You can put up videos or embed them from video sites. You can save pictures here from your computer or phone.
And then (and this is one of my favorite features!) if you do a search for something, it searches the text inside your pictures, too! Really great and fast Character Recognition means that you don’t have to transcribe something you see. You can just snap it and then search the text later. Awesome!
I use it for keeping track of trainings I do, clients information, as a daily journal, and for about a dozen other things.
It’s super easy to use, amazingly powerful, available on the web, through a downloadable program, or through your phone. It interacts with Twitter, Twitpic, Pelotonics, Jott (Which is awesome and deserves its own write-up!) and others.
I had just posted on Facebook about how sometimes people are afraid of doing things on their computers; about how often they’re afraid to push a button because they think they’ll blow it up somehow or wipe the hard drive in one click.
I wrote advising people to stop being so afraid. It won’t bite you and you will not destroy it just like that.
Then the next day I saw this Dilbert cartoon.
It cracked me up because I spend a lot of time and effort getting people over this fear.
Often people claim, “I’m just not computer literate” in much the same way that otherwise smart people will proudly trumpet their lack of math skills.
They can do that because it’s popular that both math and computers are Hard. And so, no matter how smart you may be, not knowing those things is quite OK. Society understands. Those things are HARD!
Well, can we all just give that up?
Computers are not hard. Math is elegant. (I swear that I used to be one of those proudly “innumerate”)
And, like I tell my kids, “Everything is easy if you know how.”
So, forget about, “Oh. it’s hard,” and just get it done!
This is a followup to a previous entry (IttyBiz) that I felt compelled to write because I wanted to point out something that Naomi does which I find to be quite amazing. Simple, yet smart!
I think it’s very cool that she puts her Phone Number up and invites you to call her. Who does that?!? Isn’t this the Internet? Aren’t we supposed to be anonymous?
So, today I called her to ask about becoming an affiliate because I couldn’t find info about it on her site. (EW! Shiny affiliate links! Go check out her stuff and make your business grow! Online Business School or Marketing 101).
We got to talk for a bit about her stuff and she gave me some advice about my stuff. Actual person-to-person communication. Nice.
What’s crazy is that she tells me she doesn’t get many calls, even from the people that signed up for the SpeakEasy, which has a large component of “Meet others online and work with them,” as well as her constant urging for us to call her with questions.
Are we afraid? Will she be mean OR are we just afraid that we’ll waste her time… because after all, who are WE to bother someone like that?
Give that up! Everyone is just a person and if they are literally inviting you to call, make contact!
So now, why don’t you connect with someone? Write an email to someone who’s blog you like. Find their contact info and give them a call. Who knows how it could change your business or theirs?
Products and services that I mention or link to on this blog may be products that I have a financial interest in promoting or have received some other non-financial compensation for.
Sadly most people don’t think about taking control of their own destiny until the winds of change force their hand.
Toby, thank you so very much for confirming all of the thoughts I had concerning what I should do with my computer issues. 