Category: passions

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Why Wait?

I had a conversation at the airport with someone about the big lottery a few weeks ago. He was reflecting on what he would do with the money, and then he said something that struck me.
“That’s really why we play the lottery. It lets us dream.”

Wait. Why do we need a piece of paper with numbers to dream?

I say keep buying your dream numbers if that’s what it takes to get your creative brain to think about what you truly want out of life.
But why wait? Do it now.
Challenge yourself. What would you buy? Why? What would you do if you were not required to be at a J.O.B. daily?

Get creative, have fun, and really put yourself there.

Now, what’s holding you back? If what you wake up to daily is not what you love, change it. If you would buy a big plot of land and have five buildings, bust your ass and find a way. Maybe you don’t do it all in one shot, but you could get the land first, pay it off, and build your dream place one building at a time.

If your heart, your passion, your love, and your values are not what you do for work, find a new one or do your own thing.

We get stuck in the rut of what society says is normal. Job, car, mortgage.

“I won’t be conforming to the working man’s monotony” From Rain by Ben Badger

Ben BadgerIf you’re into traveling but your job only lets you travel on vacations the one or two weeks a year that you have vacation days, get a job that requires you to travel. Save your points and go where the road and your heart lead on your days off or build in days while you are already there. Here’s an idea: skip the house, get an RV, and take off on a journey working as you go or create a way to earn your money while you travel.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that you walk into work tomorrow and tell your boss what you really think. I’m not gonna lie, this road is not an easy one. You’ll have people tell you that you are crazy and to get your head out of the sky. You may have to work that job you hate five days a week and another job at night and on the weekends. You may have to be a mom, balancing your time between work and family and friends while you go to school online or at night. *SIDE NOTE: This one section here is another whole blog on its own. I really feel the need to give more disclaimers about making sacrifices and going for it. In the entrepreneurial community, I think there is a lack of thought toward being okay with not making it before you try and make it.

You jump when you can afford to drown” Gary Vaynerchuck (look for that blog soon!)

When you’re in the “I’m doing this, digging in the trenches” mode, you are going to get tired. You are going to hit walls. You will face things that will make you question what the hell you’re doing.

Don’t quit. Don’t give in. Plant your feet. Ground your emotions. Pull out your dream paper. Remind yourself what you want, why you want it, and get back to work, busting your ass and making it happen.

Look at your bigger picture and look how far you have come. Don’t let a minor setback derail your whole dream.

One last thought. You can’t do this alone.

A single warrior doesn’t win a battle. Surround yourself with people. The kind of people who breathe life into your soul, not the kind the suck the life out of you. Diversify your personal circle. Find people who are smarter than you, people who are talented in different ways than you. People who will inspire, not tear down. People who will ask you the toughest questions and hold you accountable.

If you don’t know those people, find them. We live in a digitally connected world. Find inspiration and strength in the books you read, the podcasts you listen to, the people you follow on social media. (On that last one. Don’t just follow. Engage and connect. Reach out to the author you just read or the speaker you just heard and let them know they inspired you. Ask them questions, talk to the unreachable. They might surprise you.)

Feed your soul

Read books! In your field, about business, about social media, and throw in a nonfiction every now and then.

Listen!

Podcasts! Man, they are everywhere on every subject. Listen when you wait, listen when you drive, listen while you’re working that gotta do job until you get to your wanna do life.

Music! Music feeds your mood and your soul. Have a variety of playlists. Work, workout, dream, inspiration, have one for all your moods.

Write! Maybe you’re not a writer. Many people find journaling to be healing. Recording thoughts, ideas, feelings, emotions, and lessons learned. There are also people who have to physically write. Use a google doc, use evernote, heck just use your word processor. As digitally connected as I am, I still use a paper journal.

You be you. Dream big, reach high,
and go get what you want from life.

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My 5 Must Have Books

 

#1

Almost isn’t good enough by Wayne Elsey.

#2

Branding Yourself by Erik Deckers and Kyle Lacy.

#3

UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging. by Scott Stratten

#4

Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion  By Gary Vaynerchuk

#5

The Thank You Economy By Gary Vaynerchuk


Fine Print: These are in no particular order. I have not received any money for my endorsements. I did receive my copy of Branding Yourself for free because I hassled Erik to death about it:) The Links are to my affiliate Amazon account.
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Don’t Wait

Last week, I did a vlog about rushing back into my life. I didn’t plan for this to take as long as it has; I’m supposed to be better by now. My schedule for January was pretty packed by mid-December. I did a bit of rearranging, and was able to clear a few weeks to have my procedures. This past Wednesday was the day that things started appearing on my calendar again. An event Wednesday night, TV spot Thursday morning, followed by speaking at a school, wrapping the day up with private corporate training. Apparently, it was a little too much in such a short amount of time.

That night, when I was telling my best friend about my day, he noticed a huge change in my voice and over all personality. That little glimmer of participating in my life as it was before had made me happy.

What if?

Tonight, a dear friend reminded me that there are others out there who are not going to recover. People with chronic pain, chronic illnesses that don’t get a chance to get their life back. “Could you imagine how it would be?” She said. How committed are you?Do you know if some of the things you’re doing can cause you harm? If you were able to take a glimpse into what it would be like to lose the lifestyle you have now, would you change your behavior? So many of us know that we participate in activities that are detrimental to our health and wellness, but yet we continue along these destructive paths in our lives.

What drives you?

Maybe the reason so many people don’t care about the outcome is because they don’t love what they do. I remember a time when I didn’t love what I did. I took the time to find my true values, and to make sure the work that I do is aligned with those values. Now, because I’m driven with purpose and a reason behind what I do, I have a much stronger desire to take the path of least, or at least, lesser destruction.

Don’t wait

I know what it feels like to love my life, and not be able to live it. If you have a behavior that you want or need to change, don’t wait until your lifestyle is taken from you to put it into perspective, do what you have to do now. Change what you have to change, and hold on to what you have.

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Rushing Back to You

 
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hN9jYQjzsg&hl=en&fs=1]

Now you know why I am itching to be back with you all, enjoying your company, teaching, speaking, laughing and loving the life that is mine.

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Evergreen

Most of you know me for my social media efforts, but those of you who know me well know that I have several things that I am passionate about, and a lot of them are green. One of those things is plants.  I am an Advanced Master Gardener, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at the fabulous weeds in my backyard. This was a crazy summer for many people, as it was for me.

I love that we live where there are trees that change color, but I also love evergreens! There is something magical to look out amongst the snow-covered blankets, and see the little hints of green. This is a how-to post on one of my favorite evergreen projects.

Some people buy small potted evergreens to place by their front door.  Some people hang wreaths of greenery on their front door. This is what I do to keep those evergreens close all winter long.

I trimmed back the mums that were in these pots, and watered them thoroughly.

(Any pot will do, but make sure that if it is not under a protected area, that it has room to expand or it will crack when it freezes.)

Next I gathered of a variety of evergreens. You can use various types of pines, hollies, magnolias, ivies, or anything that stays green all year long. (If you are using evergreens that are not from your own yard, be sure to ask permission first.)

I trimmed the bottom few branches from the cuttings and stuck them into the pots. If the bottom branches were large enough, I used them to fill in as well, being sure to get the clipped parts completely in the soil.

*****

Next, I added some store-bought glittery branches to add color and pizzazz.

These greens will remain green throughout the bulk of the winter even though they have been cut. The moisture from the soil will keep them fresh.

If you decide to make one of these for yourself, I would love to see your pictures!

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Are You Willing?

I was watching a video of Scott Stratten or @unmarketing as you may know him on twitter. He wrote the book “Unmarketing- Stop Marketing and Start Engaging” He is now on a book tour, really going out into the world and not only engaging with his over 66k followers. But he is doing more than that. He is taking a stand. He is like this wild, radical Canadian man on a mission to change the way people market. Why?

 (Hint: cuz what your doing is not working, it is annoying and not making you any money off me cuz I am tired of this BS you try to sell me all the time.)

He is taking a stand because he, as a human being wants what we all want. He wants to be heard, he wants to be paid attention to, and he wants you to treat him with respect and kindness, as you do business with him. He is pointing out some really obvious facts. He is sharing real life stories of how hard it was. (I love the one where he took 30 days and lived twitter. Tweeted 7000 tweets in 30 days. After those 30 days he had 10,000 followers. )

He rants on people not wanting to take the time to put in the work to create 7,000 tweets, who moan that “tweezer” does not work for them. Then he said it. That moment where if you were in a Baptist church you would stand to your feet and proclaim AMEN! He said:

Social media does not change the fact that relationships take time!

I said yes! When I teach classes people always ask me “how much time…” I hate that question. At first I assumed that it was because I was in denial about my addiction, and just did not like being called out on it. Then I started answering in a very professional way: “That’s not a fair question.” I followed it with- but this is what I do.

 When Scott said that “Social media does not change the fact that relationships take time!” I realized it. I do take a lot of time to build relationships online. I do still play responsibly and work hard to get my offline responsibilities done. –I may work harder and longer, but I just do it, because to me, to my business, the time is well spent.

So if you are not seeing results by auto scheduling your tweets, or running a great promotion, or give away, if you’re still focusing on the media of the term Social Media- forget the push!

Try to find ways to really connect. Listen *Comment* Help* Show you care. The time you spend caring about the people will be time well spent that will change you.

 Social media does not change the fact that relationships take time!

Are you willing to take the time to make this relationship work?

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Saying Goodbye to a Hero

First let me say, this is baseball. “You win some you lose some.” That phrase is usually reserved to the game play itself. Today I want to use it to talk about the loss of a player.

 Second let me say that what I am saying here is simply my perspective as an Otters fan and as a proud mother.

 This year we became members of the Otters Booster Club. As part of that membership, we attended the pre-game picnic where we were introduced to the team and staff of the Evansville Otters. At that picnic the host families sat with their new players. Some of the players did not have families yet, and a few had families that could not attend due to work. We were fortunate enough to have several players sit at our table. They laughed and played with my children like they had been best buddies forever.

Over his short season, my children developed a respect for one of those players: #25 Carlos Romero. In the exhibition game he made an astonishing catch. The kids beamed, proud to know such a player. After the game, they held to tradition and ran the bases. They skipped the rest of the team and ran straight for him.

We could not be a host family this year due to space issues, but we “adopted him.” We took him to eat dinner one day before a road trip. He graciously listened to my children yammer on and on. He answered all the questions. He was kind a courteous and respectful to everyone we encountered.

More than that he was a team advocate. He encouraged the wait staff to come watch the team, talked up the history of the ball park and was proud to be an Otter.  

My boys looked up to him, more as a person than a player, but as both. They insisted that we go to Sam’s to get him snacks for the road. They packed a few goodie bags with enough supplies to last him the trip, if rationed well. When we gave them to him, he looked in the bags and said “Oh good there is enough for me to share.”

During that away game two major things happened. #1 Carlos broke a bat. #2 Carlos almost broke his hand. He came home on the injured list.

That first game back we came to the field, hand drawn get well bag in hand. He said to Eric (my  6 year old) “I brought you something too!” He went into the dugout and came out with a bat all taped up.  It was the bat that he broke. He had taped it up and brought it home for Eric. He signed it for him and he went into the stands beaming.

The day after Carlos came off the injured list, he was released from the team. We all cried. This is by far not the first player we have watched go. Some we knew were the right decision, some we wondered about and figured that the trade must have been worth it. This is the first time I have really asked “why?”

I am a social media strategist. I help companies build brand advocates. I help with customer service and PR, I help with that and much more under the guise of social media.  I usually encourage people start building brand advocates from within.

So here is my take on Carlos. 

From what we saw of him during his time with the Evansville Otters, he appeared to be a good player. Due to circumstances he was not really given the opportunity to showcase his ability.

But that aside, he is a heck of a brand advocate. He loves what he does, and it shows. He loved working for the Otters, and he told the world through his facebook, and through his interactions with the community, on and off the field.

When we went to the bank, my son would see the Otters schedule and would tell anyone within earshot how great the Otters were and all about the “best player, my friend, #25 Carlos Romero.”

In talking to him about what was next for the outfielder, he was determined to continue playing ball.

Because he was a brand advocate for the Otters, he created other brand advocates. That is a priceless value to any team. He loves baseball; he loves kids; he loves community.  Add to that my opinion that he is a good player, and you have a good package deal.

I can’t do much for him right now. I offered money. He was not as concerned with money (Even though I knew he was struggling to buy his ticket home.) He was concerned about some kids he had coached, and promised more play time / lessons. He is truly a gentleman with character.

So here is what I can do: If you believe in “America’s Game” please repost, retweet, share, digg, or whatever. Help me share the news that there is a player for hire that will be more than an asset to any team.

 

  Carlos Bats/Throws: L/L HT:5’10” WT: 190
A full information sheet can be found here if you are interested in his stats.

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Valiant Defined…

debbieV

Wife of one
Mother of three
Grandmother of seven
She is:
• caring by nature– after all, she has a degree in nursing
• a business owner
• a good neighbor
• a caregiver
• a protector
• a friend  to many

This woman is many things to many people.  As I have become acquainted with her over the last few months, I feel like I’ve known her my whole life. She’s often appeared with a plate of cookies to make me feel better.  I have watched her life unfold and I am amazed at the extent to which she’s involved in, actively giving and outreaching to the community, personally and professionally.

She is a caring neighbor, weekly driving her elderly neighbor to the hairdresser, the grocery store and other places she needs to go.

She is a caring sister to her brother who is experiencing severe health challenges.

At the end of the day, she should be utterly exhausted.

However, from her social media posts and in talking to her, you would never know it. She is happy for the opportunity to care for new grandchildren. She is happy to be entertaining family on a Sunday. She is happy to drive that elderly neighbor to the salon. Her medical background helps her to act as her brother’s champion. She’s glad to go to work. She treats her employees as family, honors them and lifts them up verbally and in writing. Most importantly, she does this publicly on social media.

She could so easily think,  “pity me; look at all have to do; look at all of my burdens”. But she doesn’t see it that way. She doesn’t dread work, because she truly loves the people with whom she works, and this shows.

Valiant, is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, as “strong, courageous, to be of worth, marked by or carried out with courage or determination.”

That pretty much describes this woman, my friend, Debbie Valiant.

Debbie and her Husband Walter own AmeriStamp SignARama. They were given the Integrity Torch Award from the Better Business Bureau and are  finalists for the 2010 Small Business of the Year Award  From The Evansville Chamber.

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New Year’s Resolution: FAIL

We’ve all done it, made New Year’s resolutions year after year, only to see them fail within the first month. I did it, but this year, I thought about why I made the resolution, and why I failed.

My resolution? To discontinue the service of website work for our company. The preparation for this was started in October or November of last year. I slowly found new vendors for all my current website clients. I knew I had one website still going as a work in progress. I was not going to count that as a failure, but when that website was done, there would be no more new website clients.

 Yesterday, I said yes, instead of no. So, on January 6, 2010 less than one week after the resolution was made, I FAILED.

So I got to thinking, why did make that resolution? That would help me figure out why I failed. I chose to discontinue website maintenance for 2010 , because I don’t love it. I love much of what I do. I’m passionate about much of what I do. But I found myself repeatedly, not happy, while working on websites. Life is too short to not be doing what you love. So why did I say yes?

I think the answer is because they needed help. I mean, everyone that calls me needs help, in one way or the other, but somehow I felt compelled to say yes. As a mom who has a tendency to be caring and giving above and beyond what I’m capable of sometimes I saw a need that I had the skills to fill.

I wonder how many moms out there, do the same thing. Their school, their work, their church all asked them to do things that they know that they have the skills to do without thinking, if they have the time or the energy in which to complete these tasks efficiently.  If you have skills that you are good at, but that you don’t love say NO.

 Life is too short to not be doing what you love.

Years resolution take number two:

Do what you love to do, and do it well.

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Passions

Why are you here?

Did you forget you were supposed to be changing the world?

I saw @JamesBurns speak earlier this month. He talked about some BIG ideas. He shared a video that asked those questions and he really made me think about my passions.  The next day I had the honor to meet and hear @SuzyWelch speak. She asked 3 questions at the beginning of her talk that I could not answer. Later she talked about knowing the answers to those questions:  knowing what your VALUES are, knowing who you were,  knowing what belief structures fueled your decisions.  That brought me back to my passions.

What are they? Why do I have them, why do I feel driven to them, why do I find time to pursue them, and leave no time for me? What is it about them that makes me passionate? As I look to answer these questions for myself, I look now to you too and ask…

Why are you here?

Did you forget you were supposed to be changing the world?  <– Watch the Vid that sparked this search for passions.