Connected

There are tens of thousands of businesses making many millions a year in profits and still haven't ever heard of twitter, blogs, or Facebook. Are they all wrong? Have they missed out or is the joke on us? They do business through personal relationships, by delivering great customer service and it's working for them. They're more successful than most of those businesses who spend hours pontificating about how others lose out by missing social media and the latest wave. And yet they're doing business. Great business. Not writing about it. Doing it.

I'm continually amazed by the number of people on Twitter and blogs , and the growth of people (and brands) on Facebook. But I'm also amazed by how so many of us are spending our time. The echo chamber we're building is getting larger and louder.

More megaphones don't equal a better dialogue. We've become slaves to our mobile devices and the glow of our screens. It used to be much more simple and, somewhere, simple turned into slow.

We walk the streets with our heads down staring into 3-inch screens while the world whisks by doing the same. And yet we're convinced we are more connected to each other than ever before. Multi-tasking has become a badge of honor. I want to know why.

I don't have all the answers to these questions but I find myself thinking about them more and more. In between tweets, blog posts and facebook updates.

~ Howard Mann

Meaning

~Hugh MacLeod

Gumption

Dictionary.com defines this word as informal but equates it to initiative, aggressiveness, and resourcefulness. To me it means just a little bit more.

To me it is a word that my grandfather might say and as such, carries with it the feeling of an older time.

Gumption is what our grandparents had. Gumption is the ability to do  what is needed in order to succeed at any cost. We seem to forget that as technology has advanced this fundamental idea has not  changed. There are plenty of people jumping on the social network bandwagon. These people are in most cases hardworking people and truly want to succeed. What they fail to realize is that  social  networking and free valuable content are all necessary to earn a reputation and ultimately build a sustainable customer base.

Although the tools have changed we need to have the fortitude to keep forging ahead.

One good blog post will grab a readers attention. That reader has never heard of you. He might stop back by and see what you are up to later. When he does, will you disappoint or will you have something else for him? If you can get him to read something else and he decides to sign up for something on that second trip (or 3rd, 4th, 5th) then you have the most valuable commodity on the web, a subscriber. Subscribers depend on you to inform, entertain and give them something of value. This is an ongoing relationship and not a single event. Take care of your subscribers and they will take care of you. All the old rules have changed. Have the gumption to stick it out and continue giving yourself to your subscribers. They will give back.

~Joshua Marquis

FEAR

Have you ever wondered who’s behind that little voice in your head that tells you, “you’re in this by yourself, one person doesn’t make a difference, so why even try?” His name is Fear. Fear plays the role of antagonist in the story of your life. You must rid yourself of him using all necessary means.

We’re often impressed by those who appear to be fearless.

The people who fly to the moon.
Chase tornadoes.
Enter dangerous war zones.
Skydive.
Speak in front of thousands of people.
Stand up to cancer.
Raise money and adopt a child that isn’t their flesh and blood.

So, why are we so inspired by them?

Because deep down, we are them.

We all share the same characteristics.

We’re all divinely human.

Until Fear is gone, (and realize he may never completely leave) make the decision to be courageous.

The world needs your story in order to be complete.

~Anne Jackson

Excellence

The 19 E’s of Excellence

1. Enthusiasm! - Be an irresistible force of nature!

2. Exuberance! - Vibrate—cause earthquakes!

3. Execution! -  Do it! Now! Get it done! Barriers are baloney!  Excuses are for wimps! Accountability is gospel! Adhere to the Bill Parcells doctrine: “Blame no one! Expect nothing! Do something!”

4. Empowerment! - Respect and appreciation rule! Always ask, “What do you think?” Then listen! Then let go and liberate! Then celebrate!

5. Edginess! - Perpetually dancing at the frontier, and a little or a lot beyond.

6. Enraged! - Determined to challenge and change the status quo! Motto: “If it ain’t broke, break it!”

7. Engaged! - Addicted to MBWA/Managing By Wandering Around. In touch. Always.

8. Electronic! - Partners with the world 60/60/24/7 via electronic
community building of every sort.

9. Encompassing! - Relentlessly pursue diverse opinions—the more diversity the merrier! Diversity per se “works”!

10. Emotion! - The alpha. The omega. The essence of leadership. The essence of sales. The essence of marketing. The essence.
Period. Acknowledge it.

11. Empathy! - Connect, connect, connect with others’ reality and aspirations! “Walk in the other person’s shoes”— until the soles have holes!

12. Ears! - Effective listening: Strategic Advantage Number 1!

13. Experience! - Life is theater! Make every activity- contact memorable! Standard: “Insanely Great”/Steve Jobs; “Radically !rilling”/BMW.

14. Eliminate! -  Keep it simple!

15. Error Prone! - Ready! Fire! Aim! Try a lot of stuff and make a lot of booboos and then try some more stuff and make some more booboos—all of it at the speed of light!

16. Evenhanded! - Straight as an arrow! Fair to a fault! Honest as Abe!

17. Expectations: -Michelangelo: “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” Amen!

18. Eudemonia! - Pursue the highest of human moral purpose—the core of Aristotle’s philosophy. Be of service. Always.

19. Excellence! Never an exception!

If not Excellence, what?

~ Tom Peters

Generosity

When the economy tanks, it’s natural to think of yourself first. You have a family to feed a mortgage to pay. Getting more appears to be
the order of business.

It turns out that the connected economy doesn’t respect this natural instinct. Instead, we’re rewarded for being generous. Generous with our time and money but most important generous with our art.

If you make a difference, people will gravitate to you. They want to engage, to interact and to get you more involved.

In a digital world, the gift I give you almost always benefits me more than it costs.

If you make a difference, you also make a connection. You interact with people who want to be interacted with and you make changes that people respect and yearn for.

Art can’t happen without someone who seeks to make a difference. This is your art, it’s what you do. You touch people or projects and
change them for the better.

This year, you’ll certainly find that the more you give the more you get.

~Seth Godin