I hope you'll indulge me for a moment. I want to brag a little. (But I promise there's a point.) I've been using a phone app to learn Spanish, which has been a goal of mine for over a decade. It usually takes me about 10 minutes a day, so it's not a huge investment of time. But it's something. And a few weeks ago, I hit my 365th day in a row practicing Spanish. I'm pretty excited about that. I'm not saying that I've mastered it (Duolingo says I'm 59% fluent, which feels about right). The next step would be to find some speaking Meetups or even a trip south of the border to immerse myself in the language for a week or two. But … [Read more...]
The Problem with the Paralyzing Power of Self-Image
"Play as loud as you can, as fast as you can, as hard as you can." That was a quote written in black Sharpie on one of my cymbals when I was playing in a band. I wrote it there because that was the energy I wanted to bring to our live shows. And our shows reflected that ethos. They were high-octane dance parties (even if there wasn't anyone at the show - we were more than happy to entertain ourselves). It's how I saw myself as a musician. It was the image in my mind that I tried to live up to. It's how I self-identified. There was nothing wrong with that self-image, but when I listen to old recordings of our shows, I can also … [Read more...]
Monday Morning Mash-Up – …Then You’re 40 and Married
If you are reading this post on the morning it comes out, it's a national holiday in the US: my birthday (well, it's Labor Day too, I guess). It's a big birthday because I'm turning 4o today! To add even more fun for the month, in just a few days I'll be getting married to an amazing woman. That's a lot of life changes in less than two weeks. Combine that with my new focus on Hyper-Connected Selling, and it's been an interesting summer! And it's been an exciting summer. And at times... a frustrating and challenging summer. I'm always amused by the personal development types who throw out quotes and sayings about how awesome change … [Read more...]
The Six Secrets of Change – Michael Fullan
This article was originally published a few years ago at the RockStar Success Library. I have to admit, I was a little surprised by The Six Secrets of Change. I’m usually pretty leery of any book that has the word “secret” in the title or has a number in the title (that smacks of “prescriptions” for success i.e., short cuts that don’t work). Michael Fullan undercut my fears, though, in his introduction, when he suggests his secrets as ideas that people already know, but don’t engage with fully. In doing so, he presents an interesting theoretical study of how to effect organizational change. What makes The Six Secrets of Change so … [Read more...]
The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell
This article was originally published a few years ago at the RockStar Success Library. It's ideas were influential as I was writing Networking in the 21st Century. The Tipping Point is the biography of an idea…Ideas and products and messages spread just like viruses do” (pg. 7). That’s the description of the book straight from Malcolm Gladwell’s mouth, er, keyboard. Basically a sociological and psychological study on how cultural ideas spread, The Tipping Point offers an interesting examination and extrapolation of the factors that cause a message to become “viral”. All you have to do is google viral marketing and you’ll see the hold … [Read more...]
If I Were 22 I Wouldn’t Try to Change the World
Me giving advice to a 22-year-old is a lesson in irony; because I know that the 22-year-old me wasn't good at listening to other people's advice. I'd like to think that I've gotten a little better over the years, but I'm a work in progress. Feel free to take or leave what I have to say. So I guess that's my first piece of advice: decide on your own who and what to listen to. But after that, I guess my second thought would be: Don't try to change the world - Try to change yourself The earth has been here for over 4 billion years and countless humans have walked its surface. It takes a lot of hubris to think that it needs you to save … [Read more...]
In Social Media, Attitude is Everything
When someone brings up social media, do you cringe or do you get excited? You don't have to tell me what you thought, but your answer to that question is the strongest indicator of your success in using social media to drive your career. In training thousands of professionals on how to effectively use sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to accomplish their goals, I've found one certainty: Attitude is everything Your Social Media Approach Matters How someone approaches social media is the biggest determinant on how effectively they integrate it into their business life Why? Because social media isn't about technology or about … [Read more...]