Tag Archives: Twitter

Episode 81: Twitter and Relationship Building | John Sparks, Owner of Online ImageWorks

John Sparks owns his own social media company, an internet marketing business where he helps businesses expand their reach online: Online Image Works. One of the things he prides himself on is his experience on Twitter and how he’s been able to use Twitter to build a massive following and build some word-of-mouth marketing. In this interview he has some great tips and advice on using Twitter.

John Sparks is the Owner and CEO of Online ImageWorks. He has a passion for helping others learn about social media and technology and has become known as a nationally recognized social media coach.

Zeb’s Take – Twitter and Building Relationships Online

It was a blast talking with John. It’s always great to talk with someone in the same space as I am. We were talking about Twitter. I love the examples he gave and how he was able to help people out with Twitter. One of the things that he said that I thought was interesting was strategically stalking people with excellence in a good way. He mentioned it a couple of times. It’s something he uses to build a Twitter following and get people to engage and interact with him on Twitter and it could be used on other social media channels as well.

What he does is, if there is a person he wants to go after (he used the example of Oprah) he will do a little research and find out who is really connected to that person. Then he reaches out to those people, works to build a relationship, a genuine relationship, and potentially get that opportunity to meet the person you’re trying to go after.

I’ve never used Twitter in that sense, but it’s not a bad idea. On LinkedIn they do have that function sort of built in to their system. One of the cool things LinkedIn does is show your connections and how you are connected to them. For example, if I wanted to target golf course general managers, I could search for that and in the results it will show my connections. 1st Degree Connections are people that I’m already connected with. 2nd Degree Connections are people who are connected to someone that I know. If that is the case, I can ask for an introduction from the person I know who is connected with the person I’m trying to get a hold of.

LinkedIn is great for that, but I really like how John is using that same idea and strategy for Twitter. That has been working well for him. He’s been able to build up quite the following. He’s one of the top Tweeters in Dallas, which is very cool.

It was a great interview. I hope you learned a lot about using twitter and social media. Thanks to John for the great interview.

Go out there and find your success.

Find out more about John Sparks or Online ImageWorks

Visit OnlineImageWorks.com, which is his website hub.
John can also be found on all the social media platforms at /iamJohnSparks (ex. facebook.com/iamJohnSparks, twitter.com/iamJohSparks and at gplus.to/iamJohnSparks)

Quotes

“It’s building those relationships online and then taking them offline.”
“You can have anything that you want in life if you just help enough other people get what they want.”
“People reach out to people who reach out.”
“Make sure when you’re messaging people that your intentions are coming across as being good natured.”

More From the Interview

John has a media background working at television stations across the country. He was a newscast writer for broadcast journalism. Then ventured into the business world, then into education and finally was able to bring all that together when he started his business Online ImageWorks.

Social media, and the whole idea of people being able to access things when they want to and to interact was really exciting to John. The idea of using his background and skills to help people use these tools properly convinced him to start his own company.

Among other things John works on SEO, conducting social media campaigns, websites, design and coaching. It’s important to make sure people’s name looks good out there online. Coaching, how to use social media; sharing the idea that people reach out to people who reach out and that it’s a powerful tool if it’s used correctly.

Twitter
Twitter is John’s favorite social media platform. The area where we can have instant communication is interesting.

Businesses can use twitter to engage customers and as a listening tool.

John says businesses should use social media for several reasons. Social media increases your visibility. It shows people that you have something of value that you are offering in the market. It gives your business the chance to show what makes you different from everybody else. It can help you stand out in the crowd. And, it’s a great relationship builder; everyone wants to feel like they are welcome, special and appreciated. It’s building those relationships online and then taking them offline. It’s a great stepping stone for the offline conversations that happen later on for businesses to convert customers into possible clients down the line.

John sees so many companies that put up a twitter logo or pinterest logo and then you go there and there’s nothing there. There is nobody managing it. John’s advice for those companies is that if you’re not using the tools then get rid of the links.

What’s one trick or piece of advice that the average person may not know about social media and how to use it effectively?
Strategically stalking people in excellence in a good way.

The people that they are most socially influenced by on Twitter are the people at the very bottom of their friends list. Those are the people that instantly came to their mind when they first joined Twitter.

Oprah, just for an example, follows about let’s say 230 people. So if you can interact with and build a relationship with one of those people on Twitter. Then you could potentially get an introduction from that person. Thinking about LinkedIn and their 1st 2nd and 3rd connections, look through her list, look through their lists, look for Oprah’s 3rd connections. Look towards the bottom of the list and pick out the ones that do not have the verified account, the blue checkmark. Those people are probably going to be easier to connect with.

John says a lot of cool things have happened over the last 2 years owning Online ImageWorks. Just having the opportunity to work with some of these people and watching their businesses grow. John says seeing these Twitter accounts grow to a point where they’re getting verified on Twitter and build a following by thousands, and it’s not just about the number of the followers, but about the quality of the followers you have.

Mistakes
In conversations with people on twitter you have to be really careful how you talk with people so you don’t offend them. Twitter has the reputation of being light and fluffy. Where people don’t hear your voice, they don’t know your voice, they don’t know your true intentions. So make sure when you’re messaging people that your intentions are coming across as being good natured.

How did you get where you are?
Going out there and basically, I wanted to be a social media influencer. I’m soon to be on the Forbes and Huffington Post list of top 50 social media influencers. Going through and doing my research and finding out, okay if this is what I want to be who are the people that are on that list right now, and who is following those people, and how can I get some of those people to come follow me. And what can I add of value to get those people to follow me.

Advice
I would say finding those people that are in your industry that you’re interested in. And making a list of those people. And then going out and seeing who’s following those people. Provide good content and follow those individuals and see if you can engage with those people and follow them as well.

On Twitter, you just have to get out there and do it. Get out there follow people, engage, you’re going to make some mistakes, it’s gonna happen; mentioning people incorrectly, retweeting incorrectly… but you just gotta do it.

Define Success
John recommends the book, See You at the Top.
You can have anything that you want in life if you just help enough other people get what they want. That’s what success is about.

You have to have that positive mindset and take every positive thought captive. Turn those negative thoughts into thoughts of being successful. Even in your darkest moment. If not, you’re going to get sidetracked.

That positive self talk that’s so critical when starting a business and being successful on social media. John prides himself on his positive uplifting tweets — It’s amazing how many people go out there and will retweet those over and over again.

Episode 80: Networking vs Working a Room with the Mingling Maven | Susan RoAne, Author of How To Work a Room

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This episode I interview the Mingling Maven, Susan RoAne. She is the author of How to Work a Room. In the interview she gives great ideas on having conversations with people, how to start those conversations, and how to feel comfortable in those scenarios. One of the things she highlighted was the difference between working a room and networking. The real key to networking is in the follow-up.

Susan RoAne, or the Mingling Maven, is the best selling author of How to Work a Room. If you’ve ever walked into a roomful of strangers and felt uncomfortable, you’re not alone. According to research, over 90% feel the same way. Because it’s essential, to building our businesses as well as our personal life, we must be able to comfortably attend gatherings and meet, connect and converse with people we don’t know as well as the ones we do.

Zeb’s Take

What a great interview with Susan. She gave a lot of really great tidbits of information about how you can work a room, how you can feel comfortable in networking situations and meeting new people. I really love the advice she gave.

One of the things she pointed out that I’d like to talk about more is the difference between networking and working a room. Working a room is the initial interactions, initial discussions, and how to make sure your presence is known throughout the room. The networking side of it is through the follow-up. Networking isn’t the mingling and interacting at the location, it’s the follow-up afterwards and that is where the value comes in with networking.

I’ve seen it a lot at networking events. Business owners go wanting to grow their business and they expect outcomes the first time they show up. They walk in, they’re interacting with everybody, they are very outgoing, shaking everyone’s hand and exchange business cards. But they don’t get any business that one day and you’ll never see those people return again. I know from experience with our Chamber of Commerce that my continued presence there, the follow up I did with the people I met at the chamber, that ultimately it led to a lot of sales for me and my business down the road, as people began to trust and know me. Now that I’ve gotten better and gotten more experience at networking I have a good system set in place that encourages follow up, that promotes myself and reaching out to people. Then it’s either getting coffee with them or just connecting through email or social media networks.

The networking at the event is not the goal, it’s about the follow-up afterwards. If you are going to networking events to get the most value out of it make sure you follow up with the people you meet at those events. Because there is always an opportunity. Even if they are not going to be a customer for your business they have the potential to refer your business or connect you with people who can benefit your business. You can also help them in different capacities and build a relationship that way.

Go out there and find your success!

Find out more about Susan Roanne, The Mingling Maven

Go to www.SusanRoane.com or HowToWorkARoom.com
Email Susan at Susan@SusanRoane.com with your questions

Her Book, How To Work a Room
She says, “Please go to your local bookstore, if they don’t have it on the shelf they will order it for you. We have to support our local book stores. But of course it’s in online bookstores. The book is How to Work a Room, the Silver Anniversary Edition.”

Quotes

“I think that’s part of success, being willing to say yes and stretching ourselves.”
” If you are not re-tweeting, letting someone know you appreciated a tweet, responding, engaging, commenting then you are a lurker, not a worker.”
“I found that the people who created their own luck[…], they said yes when they wanted to say no.”
“Real networking happens over time, it’s a process. It’s not something that happens once at an event.”
“The people who I find with the most success are people that have diverse relationships with people of different ages, different backgrounds, different interests; as well as those who are in their field.”
“Some of the best networkers are people who used to be shy, but they realized there was a benefit to meeting interesting people.”
“The banquet of banter is a potluck: what are you bringing to the banquet?”
“Bring who you are to what you do.”
“At a certain point the stuff that we have isn’t as important as the stuff we’re made of.”

More from the Interview

Susan was a former public school teacher in Chicago and San Francisco. In San Francisco they had massive layoffs, Susan was one of them. She was then able to help former teachers find new career paths. That evolved into Susan writing books including How to Work a Room. She designed a career change workshop for teachers. Made sure it got on radio. When the editor of the San Francisco Examiner contacted her to do a local career series she said, “Yes.” She immediately got a headache because she wasn’t sure what she had gotten herself into.

“I think that’s part of success, being willing to say yes and stretching ourselves.”

Susan’s Book – How To Work A Room

The main premise of her book is to make it easy for any person that has to walk into a room, a meeting, a party, a reunion, a wedding, a conference, a retreat. So that no one stands at the door and feels uncomfortable walking into a room full of people they may not know. Susan’s mission is to take away that discomfort and help people prepare so they can make the most of whatever event they are going to.

In a Room

If Susan is at an event and sees someone standing alone, she’s the one that will seek them out and try to start a conversation with them. Because, she says, one of the top traits of people we really remember are the people who noticed us, came over to us, made us feel included. For the people already in the room, being cognizant of the people who are alone and welcoming them is not only a wonderful trait, it’s a brilliant business strategy.

For the first version of her book, Susan did most of her research at her local chamber. She saw things that people did that were wonderful. She also saw things that made her question how some people were raised.

Being able to work a room is a skill. To be a networker is a different skill. There are people that are wonderful in a room; we’ve all seen them, they are very conversant, they are interesting, fun to be around, but they have no interest in following up and no skill at following up. In her book Susan refers to these people as One-Night-Stands.

There are people out there with phenomenal networking skills. Networking is really the key to success. They have immense follow-up. They do what they say they’re going to do when they say they’re going to do it. They stay in touch. Those same people may feel very uncomfortable when they walk into a room full of strangers.

Those two skills together, working a room and networking, really are dramatic and they contribute to our personal and professional success.

New Rooms

Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, there are new rooms that we need to appropriately work, appropriately be social in, and behave appropriately in. Each one has a different etiquette. If you are not re-tweeting, letting someone know you appreciated a tweet, responding, engaging, commenting then “you are a lurker, not a worker.”

Twitter is the most fascinating time-suck Susan has ever experienced that does not involve the TV.

In video chats for Skype and Google Hangouts, make sure you look great. Make sure you have the right lighting and that it’s not too dark. It’s different on the camera than it is to your eyes. Look at your office and make sure it looks they way you want it to be seen. When you are doing something face to face remember that you are really in that room with them, so you have to remember the same manners you would have in a real room. It’s still about paying attention and listening. Don’t look at your smartphone while you’re in a Google Hangout.

Teaching

Susan still loves speaking at a to universities and colleges. Sharing these techniques to empower a whole new group of people so they can go to places and meet people and get the first job, or the second or third. Even at high schools; giving kids the tools so they can connect with each other and people they need to know. “I think it’s wonderful.”

“I found that the people who created their own luck[…], they said yes when they wanted to say no.”

Advice

For people that feel uncomfortable going to an event, know that if you come prepared you will feel more comfortable. There are some things you can prepare ahead of time. There’s no reason now, with the internet, that you can’t do some research on the event ahead of time so you’re not walking in cold. Prepare your own self introduction, it should be specific to the event. Susan says her introduction at her chamber of commerce meetings is very different than at a friend’s wedding. Tailor your introduction to give people context for how to talk to you. It’s not the 30 second upchucking of an elevator speech; it’s 7-9 seconds, it’s a pleasantry. Give the benefit of what you do set in an interesting fun way that engages people so they get to ask what it means. Then you are invited to speak more. Only go on a little bit. Stop, look at the other person and say, “How about you?” not, “What do you do?” how about you, it allows them to talk about their passion which could be something different than their job.

How are networking and working the room different?

Working a room, you’re really just socializing. You’re mixing, meeting, greeting, you’re having a lot of little conversations and you’re circulating. It’s a social party. Nobody invites you to hog the time of one other guest.

Networking is very specific in that it’s the follow-up. You can’t network a room. Networking is a mutually beneficial process whereby we change ideas, information, ideas, advice, laughter. The real networking happens over time, it’s a process, it’s not something that happens once at an event. When you are developing a network you are developing a group of people where there is a stronger connection and it is the beginning of building relationships.

“The people who I find with the most success are people that have diverse relationships with people of different ages, different backgrounds, different interests; as well as those who are in your field.”

Icebreakers

Just look at the room/the event you’re going to. That’s what’s happening to everyone, it’s something in common. Susan talks about the food, she talks about how long it took to find a parking space. Look for name tags. If you are at a fundraiser, ask how someone came to support the cause. Say something that’s relevant to the event at hand, because that makes sense. It’s easy, it starts the conversation with small talk and then you can move from there.

Complement a tie, a nice scarf, an interesting necklace. It’s okay to compliment someone as long as it’s sincere. Notice things: pins, ties, jewelry; then you are in an easier conversation.

If you want to have something interesting to talk about make sure you know what’s going on in the world. Get it from a newspaper, online, TV, anywhere. Know what’s going on and you can always talk to other people.

For the Shy

In 1980 about 80% of people considered themselves shy, by 2000 it jumped to 93%. If you think you are shy, know that at least 90% of people in that room also feel shy sometimes. Some of the best networkers are people who used to be shy, but they realized there was a benefit to meeting interesting people. So they approach it as, “Oh my goodness, isn’t this great! I’m going to meet interesting people therefore I’m going to learn new things.” and it’s that attitude that gets them over the shyness.

“Some of the best networkers are people who used to be shy. but they realized there was a benefit to meeting interesting people.”

Susan suggests that if you walk into an event with someone that you don’t stay with them for the whole evening. Decide to split up and talk to other people then come back and introduce people to each other. Even for couples. Don’t stand face-to-face talking to each other; stand side-by-side facing room.

Susan’s Top Tips for a Great Conversation

Number one: Listen. Listen. Listen.

Two: “The banquet of banter is a potluck: what are you bringing to the banquet?” Be sure to bring your favorite stores. Listen to other people’s stories. Susan does this thing where she barrows other people’s stories, you can relate to people with kids even if you don’t have any. If you listen and pay attention to their stories that’s another story you can share to someone that has similar interests.

For conversation it’s listen, participate, don’t be afraid to ask questions, and don’t ask only questions. Share something of yourself.

“Bring who you are to what you do.”

On Success

“Can you look in your own mirror and feel comfortable with the person you are, how you treat people, how you’ve walked around this planet; and what your contribution has been?”

“It’s how you treat people.”

“I have a wonderful network of people around the world that I’ve stayed in touch with that has made me have the most wonderful life.”

“I want to know that when you’ve listened to me that you’ve got something that you can do to make your life just a little bit easier, better, and that to me is success.”

“At a certain point the stuff that we have isn’t as important as the stuff we’re made of.”

Episode 49: Just Show Up! | Photographer Chris Carlson from the Associated Press

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Chris Carlson has done photography in more than 40 different countries covering some of the world’s greatest sporting and political events. He’s been involved in the business a long time but attributes his consistency and reliability to be one of the keys to his success. Learn how to just show up in Episode 49 of the Defining Success Podcast.

Chris Carlson has been a staff photographer at the AP in Southern California for the past 6 years, Prior to that, he has been on the staff of the Orange County Register where he shared a Pulitzer Prize for coverage. During his career, he has been on assignment in over 40 countries.

Chris’s family was in the newspaper business. Early on he realized his spelling was so bad that the only way he could stay in the newspaper business was by becoming a photographer. Like any field you get into, you have to hone your craft. Chris was very lucky to work with people who were very skilled. Many people took Chris under his wing and helped develop him into a world class photographer.

When Chris started in photography, there was a huge delay between the time he took a picture and the time he had it developed. In some cases it was several hours. Now, photographers know very quickly whether or not they have shot something great or not and they have the ability to take more if they are not happy with what they’ve shot. Twenty years ago photographers were not as lucky because if they took bad shots, they would not be able to recognize this until hours later and in some cases this meant the opportunity was gone for good.

In photojournalism, they have deadlines and now the deadlines have sped up excessively.

One thing that Chris thinks many people in photography may not realize is the way that professional photographers are able to effectively use lighting to create a better picture. The average person would be able to look at a picture and say it’s beautiful, but the professional photographer would be able to understand why the picture looks beautiful. A good photographer can take any situation and make it look like it was shot with photo studio lighting.

Some people get into journalism because they want to get into the world. Chris got into journalism because he wanted to see the world. Being a photographer has given Chris the opportunity to see how the world has unfolded before him.

One of the best assignments Chris ever had was the 2007 U.S. Open where Tiger Woods won in a 19 hole playoff and watching him make a put on the 18th hole to force a playoff was probably the most exciting thing he had ever seen. Watching the crowd react and watching Tiger’s reaction and seeing how competitive that day was was amazing. And he felt very fortunate that photography was the vehicle that gave him the opportunity to witness the experience in person.

A lot of pressure comes from being a photographer. Chris works hard to capture special moments, but sometimes many factors can contribute to the missing of a moment which can be lost and gone forever if he doesn’t capture it as it’s happening. The stress of capturing these events can be a burden. Over time the stress of having to capture that one moment can weigh on you a bit.

Chris attributes his success to luck, good decisions, hard work and sometimes, no matter how hard you try, something happens that you couldn’t plan for and in his case he feels very lucky. Somebody once told Chris that a key to success is just showing up. If you show up and do work you’re already ahead of your competition. He looks at his colleagues that are very successful, he sees that it’s because they have a very strong work ethic.

One of the biggest mistake Chris has made was that he didn’t know if he enjoyed it enough in his time. He wonders if when he retires if he’s going to say that he enjoyed it enough while he was doing it.

Working at the Associated Press, Chris feels fortunate that they cover big stories and the one event Chris wants to go to that he hasn’t yet is the Masters Golf Tournament. Every year Chris covers the Kraft-Nabisco women’s golf tournament events which conflicts with the Masters, but he hopes he can make it to the Masters.

Chris has done countless brush fires, earthquakes, civil unrest. He was on the presidential campaign with President Obama and he’s done the Iowa Caucus and recommends that if anyone has an interest in politics that they should visit Iowa during that time because they are all very knowledgeable about politics.

If you’re interested in becoming a photographer you need to decide what kind of photography you’d like to do and then position yourself to be able to do that. Sometimes it means starting at the high school level and hone your skills to build up to the big time. Photography is incredibly competitive and in order to be successful you must love photography and if you have a good work-ethic, you’ll have a chance to be a good photographer.

When they started introducing digital cameras, your competition grew and the ability to make a living in photography is a lot tougher than it used to be.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

What does it take to make a great picture?
How important do you think being reliable is to business?
Would people say you just show up?

Links to Great Stuff:

AP Images – “AP Images gives you access to the world’s largest collections of historical and contemporary photographs, so you have all the imagery you need, right when you need it. AP’s timely, powerful and informative images cover topics ranging from breaking news and sports to business, entertainment, weather, fashion, travel, royalty-free, rights-managed, microstock and more. You can purchase the images you need immediately on our site or set up a subscription service with your sales representative. And with our new API delivery method, you get images in a more flexible, fast and reliable way, within your own interface. AP’s Assignment & Publicity Services is also ready to assist you with start-to-finish planning, execution and distribution for all your promotional needs.”

The International Center of Photography – “The International Center of Photography (ICP) is the world’s leading institution dedicated to the practice and understanding of photography and the reproduced image in all its forms. Through our exhibitions, educational programs, and community outreach, we offer an open forum for dialogue about the role images play in our culture. Since our founding, we have presented more than 500 exhibitions and offered thousands of classes, providing instruction at every level. ICP is a center where photographers and artists, students and scholars can create and interpret the world of the image within our comprehensive educational facilities and archive.”

MSNBC – Pictures of the Week – “NBC News Digital is a collection of innovative and powerful news brands that deliver compelling, diverse and visually engaging stories on your platform of choice. NBC News Digital features world-class brands including NBCNews.com, tv.msnbc.com, TODAY.com, theGrio.com, NBCLatino.com, NBCPolitics.com, Nightly News, Meet the Press, Rock Center, Dateline, Newsvine, Breaking News, and the existing apps and digital extensions of these respective properties. We provide something for every news consumer with our comprehensive offerings that deliver the best in breaking news, segments from your favorite NBC News shows, live video coverage, original journalism, lifestyle features, commentary and local updates. NBC News Digital reaches an audience of more than 58 million unique visitors who generate more than 1.2 billion page views and 140 million online video streams each month.”

New York Times – Lens Blog – “Photography, Visual and Video Journalism.”

Success Quotes:

“Success is balancing my career, my family life, my social life and my future.”
“I got into journalism because I wanted to see the world.”
“The one thing that separates amateur photographers from professional photographers is the way they handle light.”
“Photography is about capturing the moment.”

Special Requests:

Engage with us on Facebook, Twitter and leave reviews on the Defining Success Podcast in iTunes.

Episode 46: Real-Time Marketing | Author David Meerman Scott

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David Meerman Scott is a marketing strategist, advisor to emerging companies, best-selling author of eight books including three national best-sellers, and a professional speaker on topics including marketing, leadership, and social media. In Episode 46 of the Defining Success Podcast, David shares his ideas on real-time marketing and how you can use real-time marketing to help your business grow.

David Meerman Scott

David Meerman Scott wrote the New Rules of Marketing and PR and he’s helping businesses understand how the marketing world has shifted to giving and receiving instant feedback so you can be found online. In Episode 46 of the Defining Success Podcast, David Meerman Scott talks about Real-Time Marketing and its implication for the future.

David’s first job was at a Wall Street Street Bond Trading desk which he hated. He then began selling economic services to traders and he learned that he was really doing more marketing than he was selling. He then got a job in marketing for a company called Knight Ridder and he’s been a marketer ever since.

In 2002, David Meerman Scott worked for the News Edge Corporation was acquired by Thompson-Reuters and he was an officer and was asked to leave because they didn’t need the management team going forward and it gave him an opportunity to see what he wanted to do moving forward. At 39, he realized he could do some consulting on his own and in 2005, his second book was called Cashing in With Content and his most well-known book is the New Rules of Marketing and PR which has sold 300,000 copies.

Since 2007, David has been earning his income on the speaking market. He drifted from one point to another. David wasn’t afraid to do things that others said would be a mistake. And these events all worked out great for him. In 2002 when David decided to start his own thing and many people looked down on people who started their own businesses because it was seen as if you couldn’t find a real job.

Each of the things that paid off the most were risks that Scott took.

The old rules of marketing and PR were that you either had to buy attention for your business or yourself in the form of advertising, you had to convince media outlets to write about you or you had to reach customers individually through direct selling. The new rules of marketing and PR is the idea that on the web there are millions of people who are looking for things online to buy or do and they go to search engines or they ask their friends, colleagues and social networks. The organizations and the people that create the best content will be the ones that show up in search engines and the more likely friends are to share them.

The New Rules of Marketing & PR Fourth Edition

The New Rules of Marketing and PR is about how to create content. World Wide Rave is another book by David Meerman Scott and in the last year, David has made his book completely free, and to get it search for World Wide Rave. David wrote another book called Real-Time Marketing and PR. When people are making purchasing decisions, they are doing it right now and his book is designed to show how to engage people in real-time. Most companies and organizations are focused on campaign marketing and most companies are doing that exclusively.

The idea of marketing is switching it around from doing it when a business is ready to when the customers are ready. News Jacking is the art and science of turning your ideas into a news story. It provides really cool ideas on how you can create something that people will see because you’re piggy-backing off of a breaking news story.

David gives 35 speeches a year all over the world. This month, David is traveling to Cairo and Cutter and he’ll be gone for six days. In November, he’s traveling to Buenos Aires and Istanbul.

The biggest mistake David sees companies make is that they talk about themselves way too much. And that doesn’t work in today’s world.

It’s very important to create content on the web. To have a great website, to have real-time content around that website, whether it’s a blog or YouTube videos and it’s important to put yourself out there on the web and through social networking.

Facebook has only been open since 2007. Twitter has only been around since 2007. It’s important for businesses to understand what this means for them and their future.

David Meerman Scott

Engaging Discussion Questions:

Do you interact with your customers in Real-Time?
Are you creating content on the web? If so, how?

Links to Great Stuff:

David Meerman Scott – “David’s book The New Rules of Marketing & PR opened people’s eyes to the new realities of marketing and public relations on the Web. Six months on the BusinessWeek bestseller list and published in 26 languages from Bulgarian to Vietnamese, New Rules, now in its 4th edition, is a modern business classic. Scott’s popular blog and hundreds of speaking engagements around the world give him a singular perspective on how businesses are implementing new strategies to reach buyers.”

Success Quotes:

“Success is creating a path that allows you to enjoy life.”
“Social media is about engaging people.”
“Social media is about listening.”
“Social media is about sharing the content you create elsewhere.”
“The way that people are solving other people’s problems on the web.”
“No matter what you’re doing you’re gaining incredible knowledge, you’re learning and interacting with people.”
“Everything that I’ve done all pointed me to where I am now so I don’t have any regrets.”
“Create the content that will be valuable to the people you’re trying to reach.”
“You need to be helpful on the web that will be beneficial to people.”
“The New Rules of Marketing and PR is the idea that on the web there are millions of people who are looking for things online to buy.”
“It’s the organizations and the people that create the best content that generate the higher search engine results and promoted in social networks.”
“The New Rules of Marketing and PR is that the better your content is the more attention you drive to yourself and to your business.”
“If you’re blogging, creating videos and active on social networks than you’re more likely to get noticed than someone who isn’t.”
“I enjoy helping people and being able to interact with people and share ideas.”
“I wasn’t scared to do things that people actually told me were a mistake.”

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Episode 39: Liberating Genius | Angela Maiers from AngelaMaiers.com

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Angela Maiers has a lot of experience teaching students and educators on how to build systems and environments that promote learning and education. She has many educational goals, but one of her favorite is liberating genius. Listen to Episode 39 of the Defining Success Podcast to learn how Angela Maiers is helping to liberate the genius of others.

Angela Maiers

Angela Maiers is a teacher, educator, author and consultant. She has spent the past 22 years working diligently to help learners of all ages succeed by recognizing their powers as readers, writers and global communicators. Whether she’s addressing an auditorium full of educators or sitting on the floor helping first graders find their way through the pages of a good book, Angela’s message is the same – literacy changes lives.

Angela got in education because she knew she was destined to be an educator. She was on the path to become a doctor and was working four different jobs, all of which had to do with children and someone asked her why she didn’t choose education. Angela realized that education was her calling and took up the cause.

She has always been passionate about learning, how the brain works and how to promote learning. It compelled her to never look back and pursue how to help others learns.

Angela’s background was in linguistics, reading and writing and social media was just an extension of that to her. She began blog writing to explore her own writing and eventually began using her blog for educational purposes. She encountered a very passionate online writing community and social media and Twitter have always help her to increase her literacy.

Social media has revolutionized communication and it’s fascinating to see how our world has changed. One thing that Angela suggests is that, for educators, we constantly promote the tools when we should be promoting the people. Social media allows for conversation and discussion on a wide variety of topics and creates new ideas for people moving forward.

By communicating with others on social media tools, you not only get to learn from passionate, highly-qualified educators, but you get to learn with them and that process is a “game-changing” process. When you talk about learning it doesn’t matter how you do it, but once you’re in the communities you don’t really talk about the tools, you talk about the community.

Angela Maiers

Angela Maier’s passion and her main goal in life is liberating genius. It doesn’t matter what room she is in or who she is speaking in front of, Angela works hard to unleash the potential of not just the individuals in the room, but in the room as a whole. Your job is not just to unleash the genius of the individual but to unlock the genius that exists collectively in the room.

Right now we see individuals that are doing amazing things, but are we liberating genius in our collective intelligence, which is the wisdom of the community. The only way you can leverage the collective community is to have someone who can lead the community and we are just on the edge of unleashing this potential.

Several years ago, Angela wrote a book on how to create an innovative, passion-based culture, where she used models like Google, FedEx and 3M, companies that have created a culture of innovation. Many of these companies give their employees the opportunity to work on something they were passionate about for 20% of the time they were at work.

Angela applied this system in the classroom and first began teaching students about passion and learning about a cause, project or subject. Once students began to connect with other communities to focus on learning a topic, she then introduced ways to create collective action in order to make changes for the better. These changes were usually associated with empathy and compassion for the cause.

One question they would ask is “What breaks your heart about that?” And then they would take collective action to fix the problem and change the world. As a result, Angela started a non-profit called Choose to Matter to help change the world. She would then help students use social media to connect with organizations that could help them accomplish their goals.

Twitter is Angela’s favorite tool to get more of the information she needs and she also is able to use it to connect with other people. Twitter has so many different functions for Angela. It’s her news source. Her way to see what’s going on in her industry. Her way to connect with experts, family and friends. And her way to engage others more authentically in her cause.

When kids want to learn something, kids are not necessarily learning in the classroom anymore. They are taking their learning online. One great example of this is NASA, who has created a tool kit which students can go on to learn and get information from NASA on a wide range of topics. Schools that don’t take advantage of these resources than they will become obsolete.

Right now, Angela Maiers is working on a new partnership to provide students with access to real-time information and mentors which will help to inspire the young generations to pursue their dreams. Angela has just solidified a partnership with what she calls living legends to help mentor young students who have made the decision to matter. It’s an exclusive network of four and five-star generals and medal of honor winners and they want to be able to pass their experience and expertise onto the next generation.

Last year, Angela Maiers wrote a book called Habitudes and wanted to share and show that these habitudes matter. There are classrooms all over the country are adopting these habitudes. And this is a common language of habitudes.

Angela feels like every day is a wow day. Being passionate as a learner and having platforms to share her learning out loud has attracted amazing individuals into her room. She’s learning from educators, students, and leaders and every single day is an exciting adventure.

There hasn’t been one day since Angela started working on the web that she hasn’t had a wow moment. For Angela, a wow moment means worthy of the world and it’s when you encounter something that makes you stop and take notice. That is something worth sharing with the world.

One thing that Angela would like to instill upon our listeners is that there is genius everywhere. Every person has some form of genius and as individuals we need to recognize what genius each person possesses and incorporate that into our network and our room to make our communities smarter and better at solving our problems.

According to Angela, if you have a discussion with 5 year olds and ask them if they think they are geniuses and have something to offer to the world, every student raises their hand. Every year past the age of five, the percentage drops dramatically. Every Google employee believes that they are essential because they have used the skill set of their employees and they celebrate those successes. In order to make change, it’s a culture-shift, not a mind-shift.

There are strides and major efforts made to change the dynamics of the current classroom. The idea of being child-centered and the idea that every student needs to learn everything at the same rate are two completely different narratives. Angela thinks we need to shift the conversation and right now the conversation is around standards and directives and it’s changing.

Angela gave a TED Talk back in 2011 on You Matter. And when everyone realizes that they matter, the world changes.

Angela Maiers

Engaging Discussion Questions:

If you went into every interaction and discussion as if you had the potential to change the world how would you act?
Have you had a WOW (Worthy of the World Moment) lately? If so, share it with us.

Links to Great Stuff:

AngelaMaiers.com – “My life path has always been about teaching and communication. My twenty years as an educator and my passionate pursuit of literacy and learning, gave me the healthy dose of courage and skills that have led me through a wonderful variety of experiences, including classroom and University teaching, instructional coaching, research, writing, publishing, corporate training, and starting my own business.”
Google – “Since the beginning, we’ve focused on providing the best user experience possible. Whether we’re designing a new Internet browser or a new tweak to the look of the homepage, we take great care to ensure that they will ultimately serve you, rather than our own internal goal or bottom line.”
FedEx – “FedEx Corporation provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenues of $44 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 300,000 team members to remain “absolutely, positively” focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities.”
3M – “3M is a global innovation company that never stops inventing. Over the years, our innovations have improved daily life for hundreds of millions of people all over the world. We have made driving at night easier, made buildings safer, and made consumer electronics lighter, less energy-intensive and less harmful to the environment. We even helped put a man on the moon. Every day at 3M, one idea always leads to the next, igniting momentum to make progress possible around the world.”
TED Talks – “TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences — the TED Conference and TEDGlobal — TED includes the award-winning TED Talks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize.”
NASA – “NASA’s vision: To reach for new heights and reveal the unknown so that what we do and learn will benefit all humankind.”

Success Quotes:

“Good is the enemy of great.” – Jim Collins
“When you know that what you are doing is what you were meant to do, not what you like to do.”
“Passion and purpose leads you to significance.”
“The greatest fear we have is the fear of insignificance.”
“Success is the intersection of passion and purpose.”
“This is the most extraordinary time in human history to be alive.”
“I am fearless and I am courageous and I am more passionate than I’ve ever been.”
“I have a network that will not let me fail and I have never felt that in the 25 years of teaching.”
“The smartest person in the room, is the room.”
“If you keep putting people first, there is no difference between online and offline interactions.”
“The people who have always led us offline and online have always been readers and writers.”
“The extensions of social media was never a technology thing to me, it was just a natural progression of reading, writing and literacy.”

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Episode 34: The Stages of Acceptance for a New Technology | Warren Whitlock from Social Media Radio

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Warren Whitlock discusses the stages of acceptance of a new technology. Most people when they get their hands on new technology experience three different stages in adopting the new technology. The first stage is labeling the new technology as useless. The second stage is using the new technology as just a sales tool. And the third stage is wondering how you ever lived without this new technology. Learn more about social media, Warren Whitlock and how adopting new technologies can help your business grow.

Warren Whitlock

Warren Whitlock is a digital business development strategist. He wrote the first book on Twitter and mobile marketing and the best-selling “Profitable Social Media: Business Results Without Playing Games.” He’s the host of Social Media Radio, a speaker on social media and was named one of Forbes’ Top 10 Social Media Power Influencer’s of 2013. And he is the Producer of Billions Rising.

When Warren was learning how to sell, he learned that business was different that what he was taught. Warren learned what he learned about business from Zig Ziglar, who taught others to get what they wanted by helping others get what they wanted.

Warren got started in the online world since 1981 and has been working on the Internet ever since. Warren got started with social media writing blogs which is a two-way conversation. Mass media is on the decline because people don’t want messages pushed on them. They want to interact and connect with the businesses or subjects that interests them and social media allows them the opportunity to do that.

When I’ve started to say I don’t have time to keep up with this stuff, but when he’s incorporated new strategies to his business he’s found that his business has run better.

Email is Warren’s favorite tool of communication. He uses all sorts of tools to reach out to each other and it doesn’t matter what tool he uses to connect with others, but the important thing is establishing genuine connections with each other.

Warren Whitlock wrote the book Twitter Revolution because in early 2008 he saw Twitter as a standout because there weren’t any books on Twitter and so he decided to create the book to discuss the coming Twitter Revolution.

Warren Whitlock

The guys that invented blogging and sold it to Google were ready to go do something else and they started talking about texts that people could all get at the same time. Most businesses want their discussions to be public because they can demonstrate that they care about the best interests of their customers.

The three stages of Twitter acceptance: the first stage is what do I care what somebody else had for breakfast, the second stage is how am I going to monetize this and how am I going to blast this out, and the third stage is how did I get along without it. When you think about phones, computers or any other technology the acceptance of these new technologies have pretty much been the same.

The biggest secret to social media is understanding that it’s a two-way conversation. People want to do business with people they know, like and trust.

A popular trend right now is to talk about the visual web. No one would ever ask to put your logo or your face on a business listing. But business has become a lot more social. Personal branding is extremely important and putting your picture out to give people an opportunity has really shifted as more and more business owners are realizing its importance.

Somebody said we’ve reached a saturation point with mobile phones and it’s going to continue to change. And technology will keep changing extremely fast. Database marketing is also going to be critical as most businesses work on developing relationships with their customers.

The Billions Rising Project is about self-reliance. Being able to take care of yourself and take responsibility for your own self is not a selfish thing. If you want to be able to help someone you have to be standing on higher ground.

Warren Whitlock

Engaging Discussion Questions:

Where do you think the future of technology is going?
What inventions or changes in the way we live are going to impact us the most in the next 5 years.
What social media tool do you like to use the most?

Links to Great Stuff:

Warren Whitlock – “Warren helps businesses transform to a new way of doing business using social media and online marketing and promotion to attract the right audience from the 2 billion people using the Internet. His breakthrough strategies to integrate mobile marketing, public relations and and lead generation with conversions to return on investment for lifetime value has helped hundreds businesses achieve rapid and continuing results from their marketing process.”

Twitter Revolution – “Warren is the author of the first book ever written about the social media platform, Twitter Revolution: How Social Media and Mobile Marketing is Changing the Way We Do Business & Market Online. The revolution is underway. The power of social media lies with the people who use tools like Twitter.com. You decide how to use your power, and Warren’s book helps you make that decision effectively.”

Profitable Social Media – “Warren’s also the author of Profitable Social Media: Business Results Without Playing Games. Social media can be profitable if you go in with an open mind, a plan, and listen to your audience! It’s the old market cliché, many markets are an inch wide, and a mile deep. Without profits, social media and your business are just a hobby.”

Success Quotes:

“Failure and success are just data.”
“We are all people trying to connect with other people and share stories.”
“What can I do to help someone get ahead and treat them as if they are equal.”
“If you’re small, this is your time because in the next 5 or 10 years you can create a billion dollar company because these dinosaurs will be going away.”
“The biggest secret to social media is figuring out this is a two-way conversation and do business with people that they know, like and trust.”
“The idea of two-way conversations is with us.”
“If you’re not going to be dead, you need to learn how to use the computer.”
“More important than the answer to the question is the answering of the question.”
“Marketing of the future is to find the people you resonate with and doing a lot more with that.”
“If you can tell the difference between work and play, you’re not doing it right.”
“All media is becoming social.”

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Episode 29: Relationship Marketing is Viral Marketing | Christopher Mance II from Nichevertising

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Christopher Mance II is trying to get entrepreneurs to build power connections and work together to market together and give them a chance to get their products and services to go viral. Nichevertising is attempting to use relationship marketing as a way to manufacture viral marketing by bringing businesses together to reach out to consumers.

Christopher Mance II

Christopher Mance II is the owner of Nichevertising. Nichevertising is a product designed for entrepreneurs from all walks of life looking to get their mobile apps, books, music videos, websites, products and events to go viral.

Christopher has been involved with the Internet since 1996 when he was attending the United States Military Academy at West Point. All freshman were given access to the Internet and while Chris attended the school he tried to build online websites.

The first website Chris built was devoted to hip-hop music. The website he built was a hub for news about the artists Christopher was in to, like the Wu Tang Clan and Nos. He saw himself as a curator of content and got the news from the hip hop community and people began visiting his website in more and more numbers.

Christopher tried to run many different businesses, but they were always part-time businesses. Looking back, Christopher saw himself saw himself as more of a wantrepreneur than an entrepreneur, which helped make him decide to become an entrepreneur full-time.

In 2011, Christopher came up with the idea of trying to bring people together to help them advertise their business. With the goal being that people could then bid on projects in order to make those businesses develop strong viral marketing campaigns. But, he decided to shift the direction to what it is today . . . nichevertising.

The concept being that Christopher is trying to connect businesses with the same demographics so they can collaborate together to help each other and each others campaigns go viral. Multiple businesses can join a campaign together and help each other go viral.

Christopher and his wife have been business partners since they began dating. At first, they had an online magazine that they used to sell advertising with. The only way they could have an online magazine back in 2003 was that they had to be a coder and both Christopher and his wife were coders which meant they experienced a lot of success prior to 2006. In 2006, blogging became a much more mainstream activity and they had lost their competitive advantage. Many of the blogs began to reach out to Christopher and his wife to see if they could promote their blog . . . which is how the idea for Nichevertising began.

Christopher began thinking of ways that he could automate the process of connecting and collaborating businesses and blogs. Right now they are working in a closed beta test and are slowly getting the kinks worked out, but very soon it will be an open marketplace for businesses to connect with other businesses.

In order to sign up for Nichevertising, first you have to visit their website and sign up, then self select yourself into a niche, create your marketing campaign and then connect with a who’s who of entrepreneurs who are looking for partners as well. Looking at their database and campaigns to determine who is a good match for you and it’s up to the business if they want to accept the partnership you’re offering.

One campaign is composed of five different businesses coming together and it’s about creating a scale of partnerships. Going viral is not the same for you as it is for say, Time Warner. For a young entrepreneur, viral marketing is not the same as it would be for those large organizations. Your goal as an entrepreneur is not to get a million views, but it should be your goal to bring people into your world so they will refer you.

The biggest mistake Christopher says he’s made is thinking that he could be a successful entrepreneur while he was working for somebody else. He thought he would be able to start online businesses and make enough of an income to replace his income from his full-time job. Christopher wishes he would have started right away building his lifestyle around being an entrepreneur.

The people who created the Harlem Shake video were people who were very passionate about dancing and the reason for its ultimate success was that they were passionate about the project. The original Harlem Shake people were constantly making videos and eventually their Harlem Shake video went big, but it’s because they had a built in audience from their other videos. When you get to the point where you are good at what you’re passionate about then and only then will you have developed a great viral marketing opportunity.

Hubspot is a great example of a company that went viral. They created the concept of inbound marketing and an entire industry has now sprouted up around the idea of inbound marketing. Hubspot managed to go viral though by creating great content day in and day out. All entrepreneurs should think of how they can go viral like Hubspot went viral. There are loads of companies that offer inbound marketing advice now though, you can learn more here if this is something that interests you.

Christopher Mance II

Engaging Discussion Questions:

What do you think it takes to make something go viral?
What do you think about relationship marketing?
What do you think about viral marketing?

Links to Great Stuff:

Niche.fm – We fast-track the process of “going viral” by: providing a secure web-based software application for entrepreneurs like you to join a cooperative advertising network; providing a way for you to double, triple and even 10x the reach of your campaigns; and vastly increasing the likelihood that your campaigns goes viral!!!
HubSpot – “HubSpot all-in-one marketing software helps more than 8,000 companies in 56 countries attract leads and convert them into customers. A pioneer in inbound marketing, HubSpot aims to help its customers make marketing that people actually love
Sunny Coast Skate – Creators of the Harlem Shake.”
West Point – “The United States Military Academy has been educating, training, and inspiring leaders of character for our United States Army and for the nation for more than
200 years. West Point provides a 47-month leader-development program steeped in
academic rigor, military discipline, and physical challenges, all built upon a
moral-ethical foundation. The academy is an internationally recognized
institution for academic, military and physical excellence, and we are proud
that today’s cadets will become tomorrow’s military, public and private-sector
leaders.”

Success Quotes:

“Success is not defined by credentials. It’s really defined by your mental health, physical health and the relationship you have with your family.”
“Focus on your authenticity and not try to fake it.”
“If you are not passionate about cats then do not try to create a viral cat video.”
“If you create great content or have great customer service and you get great referrals you’ll continually go viral.”
“Nichevertising is a simple idea of a business finding a partner, getting a partnership connected and getting a campaign out in the world.”

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Episode 27: The New Way to Read – Snippet | CJ Alvarado from the Snippet App

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CJ Alvarado

Teaser:

CJ Alvarado recently developed a new app called Snippet. The Snippet App will change the way we read books and consume information. It’s essentially Twitter for books as each chapter is only allowed to have 1,000 words meaning that you’ll be able to get to the “meat” of the content right from the get go.

Recap:

CJ Alvarado is the CEO of Bamboo Creative and creator of the Snippet App. Snippet believes reading a book should be quick, rich and engaging. Writers and readers should be able to connect, share and discover in entirely new ways.

CJ got involved in the online world at an early age. He started his first Internet company in his early 20’s by helping musicians put information out online. He tried to help artists distribute their content and music online by integrating multimedia to push music and create brands.

CJ Alvarado

Bamboo Creative is a design and innovation company and they have a service side by helping organizations with app development and they have an innovation arm to generate ideas for companies and for themselves. They work on ideas and develop them into products.

A lot of businesses are not sure how to navigate the online world and are unsure about what the future looks like in their business. Bamboo Creative will help them generate their new ideas that represent their core values. For them it’s been a great success.

Lately, one of the coolest things CJ has done was creating the Snippet App and it’s one of the most exciting things he’s working on right now.

Snippet is a mobile reading app and publishing platform. They limit their chapters to a 1,000 words max, but they incorporate pictures, audio, videos and social media making it easy to absorb information and it’s priced in a way that consumers will love.

CJ has tried to make something that appeals to the changing culture and how people are consuming information. It will allow you to move through a Snippet and gives them an opportunity to absorb the content so you feel like it’s easier to connect with the author and the ideas presented into the book. Snippet makes it really easy to connect with the community and to hear what they’re talking about.

Snippet just launched slightly over a month ago.and went to the top of the best sellers list almost immediately. They’ve had a group of 25 content creators and the day they launched they had 425 authors who were interested in creating content. They’ve had Pat Flynn from the Smart Passive Income blog, Bee Bosnak, a yoga instructor, Alejandro Reyes, Shawn Murphy, Ted Coine and more exciting folks coming down the pipeline.

The Snippet App

CJ recommends reading the Alchemist because it’s a fantastic book that focuses on the importance of listening to your heart and your passions and acting on them.

A lot of the research that CJ has done is showing that our reading habits are definitely changing. He believes we’re reading in different ways, but that we’re consuming more content at different times of the day.

You can go to the SnippetApp.com you can sign up as a writer and you can create your own Snippet (if you’re approved).

The best-selling Snippet so far is Pat Flynn’s Snippet, Let Go. It’s a phenomenal read and he encourages everyone to read it.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

Do you think the way we are consuming information is changing?
Do you think social media is a great way to interact with books?

Links to Great Stuff:

Bamboo Creative – “We think, create, tinker, and build. We are a passionate group of creatives that love seeing people explore and develop their creativity and ideas.”
Snippet App – “Like Twitter for books, we limit the word count to1,000 words max per chapter (unlimited chapters). So, in essence, we’re between a tweet and an e-book. Now as a writer, you can get new ideas to market faster, share expertise, test new book ideas, create companion pieces, or tell entirely new stories—all in less time.”
Pat Flynn – “I’m Pat. I’m a 30 year old dude from Southern California who makes a living on the internet. I consider myself the luckiest person on Earth.”
Bee Bosnak – “I began my yoga experience with Iyengar in a small and cozy studio in Los Angeles. One day, I discovered Core Power Yoga and there, as I sat in lotus pose in a 100 degree room, I knew this was it. It was the feeling I felt that made me want to go back for more. I had found a physical path that harmonized my mind, body and my soul. After moving to the Pacific North West in 2010, to a city called Portland, I decided to take my practice to the next level. Through CPY I became a certified Power Vinyasa yoga teacher, and for the first time, I began to see the world through a wider lens.”
Alejandro Reyes – “I want to help you get famous! No I’m not talking about getting on TMZ or Keeping up with the Kardashians, I’m talking about having more influence & impact to grow your income.”
Shawn Murphy and Ted Coine – “There’s a better way to do business. Better from the human side. Better from the customer side. And as it turns out, better from the profit side as well. This blog is dedicated to exploring that better way. On this site, leadership authors, speakers and consultants Shawn Murphy and Ted Coiné have combined their blogs to amplify their message. Shawn’s focus is on the executives and managers within an organization. Ted’s is targeted more at the C-suite and the board.”

Success Quotes:

From Einstein, “Try not to become a success, but rather a man of value.”
“How are these reading habits change and how can we meet those needs in a new and creative way?”
“We are consuming content throughout the day . . . all the time.”
“We have some incredible content creators coming down the pipe soon and people are going to be really excited with the way they can consume that content.”
“It’s kind of like Twitter for books.”
“It’s easier to connect with the author, to connect with the community around that topic and thoughts about that topic and specific to that topic.”

Episode 23: The Impact of One | Alejandro Reyes from the Get Internet Famous Podcast

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Thank you for visiting the Defining Success Podcast. Please download, subscribe and rate our podcast on iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-success-podcast/id619459909 Thanks for listening!

Alejandro Reyes

Teaser:

Alejandro Reyes grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. His life was filled with struggle, but he did have one thing going for him . . . a supportive grandmother who would pray for him every day to succeed. Alejandro is now the host of the Get Internet Famous Podcast, author of the book, Get Internet Famous and has experienced success in a variety of different capacities. Learn from Alejandro in Episode 23 of the Defining Success Podcast.

Recap:

Alejandro Reyes wants to help you get famous. Not the TMZ or Kardashian kind of famous, but the kind of famous that will offer you influence and impact to grow your income. He is also the host of the Get Internet Famous Podcast and author of Get Internet Famous: The Ultimate Guide to Building Your Platform, Growing Your Influence and Changing the World.

Alejandro got into marketing online in 1999. The only reason he started his business online was because he didn’t have a car and needed to figure out a way to make money. He heard Bill Gates say that by 2010, half of all sales would occur online and so he sought out to see how he could grow his business online.

In 2003 and 2004 Alejandro learned how to drive traffic to websites using MySpace and in 2006 he built his first six figure business online and he didn’t work very hard to make that happen. Because of his success he wanted to help people learn how to use the online skills to grow their businesses. In 2008 he came out with a coaching program and he had a belief that everyone was going to become a social media guru.

He worked offline and started running workshops in Sacramento to help local businesses use social media and the Internet to reach more customers. He was featured on almost every major news outlet in Sacramento and developed quite a following.

Last summer, Alejandro’s wife applied for a nursing school in Seattle, was accepted and within three weeks Alejandro sold his business and took a job in Seattle working for the same school his wife was attending so she could attend school for next to nothing. But Alejandro wanted to do more so he re-launched his brand online, Get Internet Famous and he’s been able to connect with old friends.

The inspiration for Get Internet Famous came from an article Alejandro read in Wired magazine which basically said that anyone can get Internet famous. The article helped him understand that there was an opportunity for him to get out of his poor lot in life. He wanted to inspire people who have buried their passions and wanted to help them get it out. He thought that if he could help people unleash their passions he could help change the world for the better.

Alejandro attributes his success to the prayers of his grandmother. Alejandro grew up around drugs and alcohol within his family. His family was broke and they felt dysfunctional. His grandma would continually pray for Alejandro and encouraged him to pursue his dreams. Alejandro says his grandma was the most successful person he knew. Even though she had no money, she was rich because everyone loved her, she was lively and always happy.

One thing Alejandro mentioned was that sometimes there are people in your life that help you and support you and that sometimes you owe it to those people to go on and do great things, and to not be complacent.

Getting Internet Famous has nothing to do with marketing. You have to have passion. If you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life. It would be something you would do regardless of whether or not you got paid to do it. You have to also be good at what you’re passionate about. You have to be gifted and have some expertise at what you’re passionate about. In order to become great at what you do, you have to work really, really hard to be good at what you do. When you’re willing to work really hard you can start to come up with your messaging.

Alejandro suggests asking 5 to 10 friends who have your best interest in mind. Once you ask 5 to 10 people what you’re passionate about and then find out if you’re good at what your passion might be.

Alejandro Reyes started using Snippet to write Get Internet Famous and then he decided to start his own podcast right at the same time. He basically re-launched AlejandroReyes.com, but wanted to make it more about the other customers. Alejandro says, your personality gets you to stand out online.

Alejandro Reyes

Email is the first thing people check in the morning is and almost everyone sees emails more likely than Facebook, Twitter or any other platform. It takes between six and seven encounters before people make a decision to purchase.

A huge opportunity exists for people to create offline connections with people they meet in the online world. By connecting with people you meet online you can establish long-lasting fruitful relationships with people online, enhance your credibility and become an expert.

Alejandro thinks he’s made lots of mistakes, but the two biggest that came to mind for him was not generating an email list quickly enough and not spending enough time with his family when he first started his business.

Alejandro thinks he’s helping change the world by helping others make a difference by helping them create a larger audience to have a larger impact.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

What would you be doing whether you got paid to do it or not?
Do you work hard for yourself or for others?

Links to Great Stuff:

Get Internet Famous – Alejandro Reyes has been helping entrepreneurs & companies with online marketing for over 10 years. He plans on sharing guest interviews, insights and inspiration to help you grow your business and change the world.
Wired Magazine – “Wired (stylized as WIRED) is a full-color monthly American magazine and online periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics.”
Gary Vaynerchuk – “Meet Gary Vaynerchuk, a 36 year old New York Times and Wall Street Journal Best-Selling author who is also a self-trained wine and social media expert. From a young age, it was clear that Gary was a businessman. At 8-years-old he was operating seven lemonade stands in his neighborhood and by 10 he had moved onto selling baseball cards at local malls. In high school while working at his family owned liquor store, Gary started reading The Wine Spectator and wine books, and realized collecting wine offered an allure similar to his previous hobby of collecting baseball cards. With a wealth of knowledge and an entrepreneurial spirit, Gary spent every weekend of his college years at his parents’ wine store. Recognizing the importance of e-commerce in 1997, Gary launched Winelibrary.com and helped grow his family business significantly from $3 million to $45 million by 2005.”
Snippet – Like Twitter for books, we limit the word count to 1,000 words max per chapter (unlimited chapters). So, in essence, we’re between a tweet and an e-book. Now as a writer, you can get new ideas to market faster, share expertise, test new book ideas, create companion pieces, or tell entirely new stories—all in less time.

Success Quotes:

John Wooden “Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
Zig Ziglar “If you help enough people achieve their dreams, along the way you will achieve theirs as well.”
“Do what you’re passionate about, love what you do, and serve people with a crazy enthusiasm.”
“If your personal life is out of order, your personal brand will suck.”
“Email marketing is the biggest opportunity in marketing online right now.”
“What would you be doing whether you got paid to do it or not?”
“When you marry your passion and your gifts, that’s where the magic happens.”
“The soul purpose of getting known online has everything to do with the people that you serve.”
“How do you stand out and pierce through all the noise?”
“We owe it to people sometimes to be the best version of ourselves.”

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Episode 19: The Importance of Learning from Your Mistakes | Brian Roberts from In-Store Radio

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Brian Roberts, aka “The Voice,” is the announcer for the Defining Success Podcast, but he also manages his own business, In-Store Radio which are custom radio stations for retail locations. As an entrepreneur, Brian knows the value of learning from your mistakes and shares with us why making mistakes are some of the most important things you can do.

Brian Roberts

Recap:

Brian Roberts is the owner of In-Store Radio, which creates a customized radio station for retail and corporate locations. He also happens to be the voice you hear at the beginning of every podcast for the Defining Success Podcast.

Brian ran Goodwill Industries in Central Florida and at 33 Brian decided to come out to L.A. to become a rock star. His dreams as a rock star weren’t really working out and he knew that he wasn’t going to be able to keep his dreams and his family. Someone told Brian he had a great voice and suggested he be a voice actor.

The idea to run In-Store Radio came when he visited Walmart and Walgreen’s and listened to their customized radio station. He then began to think of the opportunity that he could create a customized radio station for smaller businesses and thus In-Store Radio began.

His association with Goodwill Industries got his business started and being somewhat of a computer geek, Brian was able to create a usable system for small businesses to have their own customized radio station inside their business locations. His love of computers, Goodwill and entrepreneurship helped him build the foundation for his business.

Brian was then able to set up a live radio stream into their business and as long as the location has access to the Internet they can get access to their customized radio station. Brian is trying to get into 1,000 locations by the end of the year.

A great success story Brian likes to share is that every year they had an event which never seemed to get a lot of visitors. The first year that they had Brian create a short advertisement and for the first year ever they sold out their tickets and the next year they increased ticket sales by 300% selling out again. For Goodwill Industries, Brian was able to encourage shoppers to donate and encouraged those who donated to become shoppers.

When talking about learning from your mistakes . . . Early on in his career, Brian offered a deal to a friend of his that was unsustainable. Once Brian realized he couldn’t deliver on the deal he offered his friend he told him he couldn’t do it and they re-negotiated. Brian felt awful, but he learned a valuable lesson that mistakes are acceptable and as long as you learn from your mistakes and move on that you can never fail. Learning from your mistakes is an important skill to have as an entrepreneur and business owner.

Brian has two children and Brian thinks it’s interesting that when his kids were younger they would constantly make mistakes and they were encouraged to do so, but that as they got older he became less willing to encourage his children when they made a mistake.

Brian’s mom was a teacher and he had a complex early on about asking teachers questions. And for his entire ninth grade year he was lost in Algebra and sometime during his junior year he finally raised his hand and said that he was completely lost and asked for help. The teacher helped him understand the material and afterwards many of his friends came to him saying they were having the same problems. It taught Brian a lesson that it was ok to ask questions because if you had a question, it was likely others had the same question as well.

Being an entrepreneur taught Brian that he can do pretty much anything he can put his mind to. It taught Brian that all along he had a unique gift that he could offer the world. Once he learned that he could make money as an entrepreneur it became very freeing.

Brian believes that he has certain talents and has developed particular skills. His singing ability has helped him become a successful voice actor. He was able to find the emotional connection in his writing just like he did when he was a singer. The computer has been invaluable to Brian’s success in business as well.

Procrastination and over-thinking got Brian in a lot of trouble early on in his business. The way Brian describes the way business should be done is “Ready, Fire, Aim.” Meaning that as an entrepreneur, it’s important to take action first and then analyze your results.

In-Store Radio

Engaging Discussion Questions:

What mistakes have you made?
What is the importance of learning from your mistakes?
Do you think “Ready, Fire, Aim” is a good strategy to use for entrepreneurs?

Links to Great Stuff:

In-Store Radio – Brian’s mission is to spread the “Good News” of not only Goodwill, but of ALL businesses throughout America and abroad through In-Store Radio. That mission will put a custom-designed and professionally-produced radio show into every retail store and waiting room around the globe.
Voice123.com/BrianRoberts – Brian’s voice is varied and strong. He has the ability to do all types of work from the “Classic Announcer” to “Young punk” and anywhere in between!
Goodwill Industries – “Goodwill® works to enhance the dignity and quality of life of individuals and families by strengthening communities, eliminating barriers to opportunity, and helping people in need reach their full potential through learning and the power of work.”
Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce – “The Chino Valley Chamber offers a wide variety of opportunities for members to market their businesses, a strong legislative action committee, and a commitment to the continuing education of a diverse workforce. For additional information, check out our convenient links to city websites, selected businesses and current projects.”

Success Quotes:

“Success is being happy . . . Nothing matters unless you’re happy.”
“I really love helping people accomplish things they didn’t know they could accomplish.”
“I was perfectly content being an employee and letting someone else tell me what I was worth until the fire was lit.”
“I’m completely unemployable . . . because there is no possible way I can survive working for someone else.”
“There are a lot of people who are bound up by their fear of looking silly that they pay this horrible price.”
“The more mistakes you make the more money you make.”
“What business owners do better than the people that don’t own businesses is make mistakes and are ok with making mistakes.”
“The reason entrepreneurs succeed where other people don’t succeed is because they understand that as long as they didn’t quit, they didn’t fail.”

Special Requests:

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Sign up for the Defining Success Podcast Newsletter.

Episode 18: Use Twitter to Build Relationships and Grow Your Business | Chris Reimer from Falk Harrison

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Chris Reimer used Twitter to create and build his T-shirt company, Rizzo Tees. He’s since used his knowledge of social media and Internet marketing to his advantage landing him a job as the Vice President at Falk Harrison. Chris is also in the process of writing his own book. Learn how Chris was able to use Twitter to build relationships to help him grow his business.

Chris Reimer

Recap:

Chris Reimer is an award winning new media strategist and is the V.P. of social media at Falk Harrison, a marketing agency in St. Louis, MO that specializes in branding, design, communications and social media. He’s also the founder of Rizzo Tees and was named the most influential Twitter User in St. Louis by STLTweets.com in 2010 and 2011.

Chris went to Marquette University in Milwaukee and graduated with a degree in accounting. He passed the CPA exam and became a CPA. His last accounting job was as the CFO of a non-profit in St. Louis, but in 2007 he became interested in starting his own business. His grandfather owned his own business and Chris developed his entrepreneurial spirit from his grandfather at a young age.

Chris jumped into the t-shirt business with his t-shirt company, Rizzo Tees. Once his site went live the world changed. He just heard about Twitter and Facebook, but he decided to start using Twitter in order to get the word out. He was out of money and he jumped on social media.

Once he started with Twitter he started using it to connect with other people and would at times he would meet people in person. Using Twitter to build relationships was a very powerful feeling. Chris became much more interested in doing Twitter than he was by working as an accountant. He was forced into using social media when he ran out of money to promote his T-shirt business.

Chris got into the t-shirt business when he was checking out funny t-shirts online and ended up ordering some for his birthday. When the packages came he looked at the brand, American Apparel, and the t-shirts felt awesome and he started thinking that he could do the same kind of things.

Gary Vaynerchuk Props to My Tweeps

Some of Chris’s best sellers are his “Props to My Tweeps” shirt, which he got Gary Vaynerchuk to wear on his wine library website. “I Hate Pants” took off because it landed on Buzzfeed and Break.com. Then he got known for his bacon t-shirts which became very successful. And then his other popular one is “Bacon You Like This” and he became known as the bacon guy. People tweet him everything related to bacon. Chris got some guys at Epic Meal Time to wear his shirts. Whenever he gets people with a big following, those have always helped to increase his sales.

Chris really enjoys helping organizations become successful using social media, working on his book, meeting people and doing interviews.

We get to work and a lot of the time we don’t get to work right away. We talk to each other to say how our weekends went and what our days were like and the ability to use Facebook and Twitter to let people get to know you. And when you meet more people, you have a larger opportunity to have an influence in other people’s lives.

Bacon You Like This

According to Chris, he uses the 80 – 20 rule when it comes to his tweets where 80% of his tweets are not aimed at selling his product. He also recommends Bob Burg’s book, The Go-Giver, and loves the message. He’s been living the philosophy of helping people to make him feel good and that what you give comes back to you. He would give presentations on social media, would educate others and occasionally he would tweet something about his t-shirts.

One of the things Chris learned early on is that sometimes what you think will be successful may not be the case. So listening to customer feedback and altering your strategies to improve your business is critical to the success of any business. He’s learned to adjust his strategies to the needs of his customers to help his business grow.

When Chris left his last accounting job, he got another job as a chief marketing officer for a small business and knew John Falk, one of the three owners of Falk Harrison for over 20 years. He then reached out to his friends and John thought they might be able to work together. The friendship that he had with John led to him getting the job at Falk Harrison.

The coolest thing Chris has done is won an award in some local social media contests and he was able to win an award for social media campaigns for some businesses he’s worked for. Falk Harrison ended up helping this company start their social media campaign and got them going using social media services and did an outstanding job. They won best in class for social media and won best in show for a marketing award in St. Louis.

Chris is currently working on a new book called The Human Team. The book is about the lack of civility in the business world in regards to employers and employees and how those relationships are managed. Chris always noticed how people treat each other at work actually effected the productivity of workers. He’s creating a proposal that should offer a change in the workplace for the better.

Chris Reimer

Engaging Discussion Questions:

How do you use Twitter?
Do you think the way employers treat their employees affect the bottom line?

Links to Great Stuff:

Rizzo Tees – Rizzo Tees has one employee, Chris. Chris operates Rizzo Tees out of his basement (henceforth known as “Rizzo World HQ” or “ManLand”). He has a full-time job, so he works on Rizzo Tees at night. He prints, picks, packs, and ships your order himself. He have four industrial shelves filled with 1,400+ shirts. His basement can hold a whole lot more shelving units, and his goal is to grow the business but never grow it out of my basement. He operates the whole business by himself on a MacBook Pro and a couple of printers.
Falk Harrison – “For 40 years, Falk Harrison has helped companies and organizations strengthen brand equity through a proven blend of strategy and design. We bring our unique perspective and a positive approach to consistently deliver results – connecting your brand to your audience and shaping your place in the market.”
StLTweets.com – “STL Tweets is a new way to keep up with what’s happening in St. Louis. We help you tap into local happenings focusing exclusively on St. Louis news, culture, people, business, and more.”
Gary Vaynerchuk – “Meet Gary Vaynerchuk, a 36 year old New York Times and Wall Street Journal Best-Selling author who is also a self-trained wine and social media expert. From a young age, it was clear that Gary was a businessman. At 8-years-old he was operating seven lemonade stands in his neighborhood and by 10 he had moved onto selling baseball cards at local malls. In high school while working at his family owned liquor store, Gary started reading The Wine Spectator and wine books, and realized collecting wine offered an allure similar to his previous hobby of collecting baseball cards. With a wealth of knowledge and an entrepreneurial spirit, Gary spent every weekend of his college years at his parents’ wine store. Recognizing the importance of e-commerce in 1997, Gary launched Winelibrary.com and helped grow his family business significantly from $3 million to $45 million by 2005.”
BuzzFeed , Epic Meal Time and Break.com – Rizzo Tees has been featured on BuzzFeed, Epic Meal Time and Break.com.
Bob Burg – “Bob Burg shares information on topics vital to the success of today’s businessperson. He speaks for corporations and associations internationally, including fortune 500 companies, franchises, and numerous direct sales organizations.” He also wrote the book, The Go-Giver which Chris highly recommends.

Success Quotes

“Success is happiness and having fun.”
“Twitter is your 21st century education.”
“When you tweet a lot, you’re giving yourself the chance to be seen by more people.”
“It was really about being honest and transparent and letting people get to know me.”
“It’s about knowing what I like and how I think.”
“Everything is made easier when you have friends that you know well.”
“Buying myself a birthday present turned the light bulb on over my head.”

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Like the Defining Success Podcast Facebook Page.
Download, review and subscribe to the Defining Success Podcast on iTunes.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter – @DSuccessPodcast
Sign up for the Defining Success Podcast Newsletter.

Episode #16: Taking Action on Your Great Idea | Steve Pennington from Complete Cambodia

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Steve Pennington came to us around nine months ago and I knew right away he was a man on a mission. His passion shined through in the way he talked about his new project. In just nine short months Steve built a website for his cause and traveled to Cambodia on two seperate occasions to help bring aid and remove landmines in Cambodia that were left over from the Vietnam War.

Steve Pennington from Complete Cambodia

Recap:

Steve Pennington is the founder of Complete Cambodia, an activist organization committed to creating a dialogue and raising funds to support landmine relief efforts in Cambodia putting an end to the continued casualties of the Vietnam War.

Steve has been an L.A. city firefighter for 12 years. He’s active in volunteering with the Best Day Foundation where they take special needs kids out to the beach. He’s also been a cadet post advisor, being a mentor to kids from 13 to 21.

One day Steve was running on a treadmill watching a television show with a bunch of guys who were doing crazy pranks and eating foods and he saw them blow something up and something about that visual stayed with him. Steve went online and researched landmines in Cambodia and what he found amazed him. Rather than just reading about it, he decided to do something and he decided to take action.

The first thing Steve wanted to do was to create awareness for the cause by sharing what he’s learned. Through friends Steve came to us and we developed his Complete Cambodia website. Once the website was built he knew that he had to actually go to Cambodia to have the kind of impact that he wanted to make.

The first trip Steve made to Cambodia was eye-opening. He spoke to the Mine Advisory Group which is actively removing mines in countries all over the globe and they invited Steve to join them. From the second he landed in Cambodia, he felt at peace and he knew it was a place that he needed to be. Everyone seemed friendly, happy and they loved everyone.

Complete Cambodia

Steve plans to head back to Cambodia this May and early June. He’s going to be helping to build schools and helping projects through their organization.

Steve has been in the mine fields in Cambodia when demining teams have found cluster munitions which were detonated in front of him. At some point, Steve hopes to be a paramedic to the demining team when he makes a trip to Cambodia.

Most of the mines that are in Cambodia came from the Khmer Rouge during the Cambodian genocide, the Vietnamese would dig up old mines and place them in Cambodia, but most of the mines and explosives come from bombings at the hands of the United States during the Vietnam War.

The first thing Steve did was called Presents for Presence and he took 216 bags of goods to this village which contained little things to brighten up the day of those who received them.

Steve was given the opportunity to speak in front of one of these villages and he told them what he wanted to do in Cambodia. He told them that people from California cared enough to help them remove the mines. The village chief came to him and, in tears, told Steve how meaningful it was that Steve had come to help them with their problems.

Landmine Removal in Cambodia

One of the greatest moments Steve had was meeting Aki Ra, the mine ninja, CNN’s top 100 heroes, who has been demining in Cambodia for decades. Steve says he was demining with a pair of plyers, sandals and a stick when he first started.

Through Steve’s visit the first time he met Aki Ra and Bill Morris in L.A. and he’s become Steve’s hero. He funds an orphanage for landmine victims. They have a landmine museum. He still goes out for 26 day employments, still demining and Steve thinks he’s demined close to 50,000 mines by himself.

Through this process Steve has learned quite a bit about himself, the most important being that he knows that he can do anything. He had no idea what was in store for him when he first started his adventure, but the doors opened up once he made the decision to achieve something special.

We can create the lives for ourselves that we want. Opportunities will present themselves. If you can examine your own life and determine what’s important to you then it will be easier for your passion to present itself to you.

You may have no idea how you’re going to accomplish anything. But if you’re passionate about something you’re going to have an influence on people. People just want to help if you give them the opportunity to do so. Just striking up conversations about your goals and your missions, you never know who will be there to help you.

Each time that Steve has a conversation with someone he learns something that he can apply to Complete Cambodia and his efforts over there.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

What are you doing to change the world?
What is your passion?
Are you willing to help Complete Cambodia?

Links to Great Stuff:

Complete Cambodia – “Complete Cambodia is an activist organization committed to creating a dialogue and raising funds to support landmine relief efforts in Cambodia putting an end to the continued casualties of the Vietnam War. Complete Cambodia Goals: Generate awareness about this forgotten problem in a country that is still impacted by our war; Support humanitarian programs that positively impact Cambodian communities most affected and the families of landmine victims; Raise funds to support and accelerate Cambodia’s demining efforts with new, advanced technologies.
Best Day Foundation – “Best Day is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit (Tax-ID: 26-2223078) based in Santa Cruz, CA. The organization helps kids with special needs build confidence and self-esteem through safe, fun-filled adventure activities including surfing, bodyboarding, kayaking, snow-tubing and more. Best Day is run by an experienced team and supported by generous sponsors who help keep the programs free for all. Our Best Day chapters make a big impact in their communities.”
Mine Advisory Group – “Humanitarian Mine Action is not just about landmines. In many current and former conflict zones unexploded bombs, rockets, missiles, mortars and grenades still pose a risk of detonation. These dangerious weapons still threaten community safety decades after they were dropped. Most importantly, MAG works closely with affected men, women, and children – finding out what their priorities are and developing a response that best helps them to rebuild their lives after conflict.”
Welborn Media – We helped design the website for Complete Cambodia. We encourage you to check it out and let us now what you think.

Success Quotes:

“You’re a successful person when you’re doing what you love.”
“Be open to anything.”
“If you have an idea, move on it.”
“Can you imagine a world where people actually acted on pure ideas?”
“If people were taking action on pure ideas, this would be a completely different world.”
“How many amazing things could have happened in this world already if we would have just taken a chance.”
“I can do anything.”
“There are still 3 to 5 million bombs left in the ground in Cambodia.”
“It’s a significant experience to see them detonate a cluster bomb.”
“Even under the circumstances for a group of people that could understandably complain about their circumstances . . . they don’t.”
“Complete Cambodia is founded on the support of others.”
“I really wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but I knew I was going to do something.”

Special Requests:

If you’re passionate and you want help with your great idea, email me directly at Zeb@WelbornMedia.com
Download, review and subscribe to the Defining Success Podcast on iTunes.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter – @DSuccessPodcast
Sign up for the Defining Success Podcast Newsletter.

Episode 11: From Social Media Opponent to Social Media Expert | Principal of New Milford High School Eric Sheninger

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Eric Sheninger is the Principal at New Milford High School and used to be a social media opponent. After reading an article in his local newspaper, Eric changed his tune and is now one of the biggest advocates of social media and technology in the classroom.

Eric Sheninger

Recap:

“Eric is the Principal at New Milford High School located in Bergen County, NJ. He is passionate about establishing and fostering learning environments that are student-centered, collaborative, flexible, and prepare all learners to succeed in the 21st Century.

As an educational administrator he firmly believes that effective communication, listening, support, shared decision making, and the integration of technology are essential elements necessary for the transformation of school cultures. Eric has emerged as an innovative leader in the use of social media and web 2.0 technology as tools to engage students, improve communications with stakeholders, and help educators grow professionally. Eric is a NASSP Digital Principal Award winner (2012), PDK Emerging Leader Award recipient (2012), winner of Learning Forward’s Excellence in Professional Practice Award (2012), Google Certified Teacher, Adobe Education Leader, ASCD 2011 Conference Scholar, co-author of “Communicating and Connecting With Social Media: Essentials for Principals” and “What Principals Need to Know About Teaching and Learning Science”, writer on education for the Huffington Post, co-creator of the Edscape Conference, sits on the FEA Board of Directors, and was named to the NSBA “20 to Watch” list in 2010 for technology leadership. He now presents and speaks nationally to assist other school leaders embrace and effectively utilize technology. His blog, A Principal’s Reflections, was selected as Best School Administrator Blog in 2011 by Edublogs.”

Eric fell into education by accident. He was planning on becoming a marine biologist and was working on his masters while he began teaching at the graduate level and he realized that teaching was his passion. He then went back to school to get his credential and became a full-fledged high school teacher.

After five years, Eric made the shift to become an administrator because he thought he could have a larger impact. As a teacher, he saw many things that he would like to change and that’s one reason why he decided he wanted to become an administrator.

As a teacher and educator Eric really wanted to promote student-centered learning where students are actually in charge of the learning process and teachers try to facilitate the learning process. As an administrator, Eric tries to develop a system of learning that relates directly to the students and aims to make them successful.

Eric explains that teachers would use direct instruction to where teachers would lecture to students and that’s how education was handled in the past which was great for an industrial society, but as we shift to this new economy in the 21st century, it becomes essential to alter the way we teach. As technology develops and becomes a part in the majority of lives, why not adapt the teaching styles to make it easier for everyone. As marking tests and assignments is a large responsibility for teachers, having them look into a free online grader, to help them through the assessment process. From scoring papers, scanning forms and giving individual feedback, a large portion of the teacher’s work is pushed along by the help of technology.

Another aspect Eric advocates is having students involved in activities that involve critical thinking skills, team work, problem-solving where students create their own solutions and the teacher assists them along the way to help promote the learning process.

Eric was a social media opponent.

Prior to becoming involved in social media, Eric read an article in the The Staten Island Advance, his local newspaper that changed his career path forever. Prior to reading the article Eric thought Twitter was a place where celebrities competed to see who could get the most followers and the people who were on there were posting meaningless things like what they were eating or what they were up to.

Eric realized that he could get real-time information to stakeholders and update them on what was going on at his school. He then began to see what other people were doing in the educational community and began to alter his ideology in regards to the type of education he wanted to take place at his school. Once he opened his eyes to social media, Eric then began to find more and more uses for Twitter.

Eric Sheninger

Eric has created what he calls as the six pillars of leadership 2.0.

Communications
Public Relations
Establishing a Positive Brand Image
Professional Growth Development
Student Engagement and Learning
Discovering Opportunities for His School

The ideas, the strategies, the feedback, the discussions and conversations that we’ve had with a global education community has forced us to look into a mirror to ask us if we’re doing the best that we can. It’s led to positive changes and positive transformations in the education community.

Prior to using social media, Eric had not achieved any recognition for his work as a principal, but after infusing himself in social media, Eric has achieved accolades, written books and all because he was able to use the tools of Twitter to create a better school for his students. Through social media Eric was able to share the story of his school and staff which helped gain the school recognition.

Eric has learned some personal best practice tips, has developed a strong global presence for his school, and has improved his school.

Eric’s been able to create a strong digital footprint for New Milford High School in the global education community. Anything he puts online is creating a brand for himself as a professional and for his school.

Sometimes Eric gets really excited about some things and has rushed to get the word out about it and he’s learned to make sure to tell people in person first before he posts things to the Internet that should be discussed with shareholders first.

Everyone is connected to one another via social media tools and the disconnect you face will make your business and your role more and more irrelevant if you’re not engaging with your stakeholders in the spaces that they’re in. Everyone is in social media spaces for businesses or professional purposes in some form or another. It’s about forming positive relationships where at the heart of those relationships are conversations on how we can do what we do better.

Eric thinks there needs to be more autonomy in the educational system today. School districts and states should be able to create learning environments that focus on learning skill sets like communication, collaboration, creativity, global awareness, problem-solving, entrepreneurship, critical thinking, and technological proficiency. And to create those structures to use those essential skills, you can’t do it when you’re in a system that you don’t believe in. There’s a big discrepancy in resources devoted to schools. The more oversight there is at the federal and state level, it moves us further away from the country we used to be.

Eric would recommend you not be a social media opponent.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

What changes would you like to see in our educational system?
What do you think about social media? How valuable is it?

Links to Great Stuff:

Eric Sheninger – “Eric is the Principal at New Milford High School located in Bergen County, NJ. He is passionate about establishing and fostering learning environments that are student-centered, collaborative, flexible, and prepare all learners to succeed in the 21st Century.”
New Milford High School – “Welcome to New Milford High School. Our mission here at NMHS is to provide your child with the best education possible in a way that is engaging, authentic, student-centered, innovative, integrates technology, and promotes an appreciation for life-long learning. We are an academic institution committed to excellence. This commitment requires not only respect for the differences in students and staff from widely diverse cultural, economic, social, racial, intellectual, linguistic, and educational, backgrounds but also a sustained effort to use that diversity to achieve this commitment.”
Staten Island Advance – SILive.com is Staten Island’s largest local website for news, sports, entertainment, jobs, autos, real estate and information. In addition to serving as the online home of the Staten Island Advance, SILive.com offers forums, blogs, and business listings on where to go and what to do on and around the Island.
Welborn Social Media –
The Tutoring Solution – Q & A with Eric Sheninger – Here is an interview I conducted with Eric Sheninger which I posted on my tutoring blog back in February 2011. It’s amazing how much can be accomplished in such a short amount of time.

Success Quotes:

“Success is defined as doing one thing extremely well, better than anyone else before moving on and trying to tackle another initiative.”
“The more people that get into social media spaces and have conversations about how we can improve our professions, the sky is the limit.”
“If you can engage one more person through social media that’s a win for me.”
“I want to be the best Principal I can for New Milford High School.”
“Extend my ideas out there to the world, to pick apart, to reflect upon, to borrow, to adapt and . . . we are now able to share all the great things that we’re doing here at New Milford High School.
“I firmly believe that (social media) has made me more effective at what I do.”
“Social media has really been a catalyst for change here at New Milford High School.”
“I had not had any significant achievements or accolades until I developed a social media presence.”
“Look at the world around you. Social media is the world.”
“I was adamantly opposed to social media, not just for professional purposes, but personal as well.”

Episode 9: Building an Online Golfing Community | Ken Lee from Bunkers Paradise

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Ken Lee is the Editor-in-Chief and Director of Social Media at Bunkers Paradise. Ken talks about how sometimes he tried to do too much too quickly and the importance of quality of quantity when posting on Facebook and Twitter. Learn how to build an online golfing community in Episode 9 of the Defining Success Podcast with Zeb Welborn.

Ken Lee from Bunkers Paradise

Recap:

Ken Lee has been involved in sports his entire life. Golf was something that his granparents got him into. They played golf together for 40 years and he watched them play as a young child. Ken loved playing all types of sports and while personally using social media he established contact with Gary Lee from Lakers Nation who had established Bunkers Paradise as a place for used golf clubs reviews. In 2012, Ken came aboard and changed the direction of Bunkers Paradise to make it an online golfing community and they use social media as a platform to build a strong social media community.

Ken’s vision for Bunkers Paradise was to create an online golfing community for anything and everything golf. “We live, learn, and love everything golf.” Any golfer from beginner to pro can connect and interact with us. They will learn news, the newest golf club releases, and they make it fun. They also want to help grow and appreciate the game.

Facebook and Twitter work well for Ken Lee to reach customers and clientele. Ken likes Twitter because there is quick and fast feedback. Facebook, to Ken, is an avenue to expose people to different articles, fun photos and an opportunity for other golfers to engage with one another.

One tip Ken would give for Facebook is to encourage people to interact with Facebook posts. If you write an article don’t just submit it, encourage people to discuss the article that you’ve written. That interaction will give you an opportunity to connect with other golfers.

On Twitter, Ken recommends implementing a strategy and they use it as a gateway for everything. Use introduction tweets to start discussions and then through the interaction start to develop relationships that can bring people to their Facebook page or to their website.

Social media is the reason why Ken Lee came on board with Bunkers Paradise and he says that it’s been the catalyst for the success of his business. What people don’t realize is that nowadays, people want instant feedback and any company can do that now. Anybody can utilize social media in a positive way.

As a result of social media, Bunkers Paradise has been in contact with hundreds of companies including Callaway Golf. Callaway golf has figured out that social media is huge for the game of golf. And they have struck up a strong relationship with Callaway through the social media presence Bunkers Paradise has established.

Ken feels he is a good communicator who interacts with people well in the community and people enjoy talking with him and engaging with Bunkers Paradise. They’re just a bunch of golfers who love this game. He interacts with people well and has fun while he’s doing it.

Sometimes, in the social media world you can push to fast and sometimes pushing too fast hurts your growth in terms of what you’re trying to accomplish. Ken’s trying to get Bunkers Paradise too big, too fast and he tends to think he should slow down sometimes and just enjoy the ride.

To Ken, success is different for each individual, but for the most part it’s setting up a goal and it’s not necessarily reaching a goal, but it’s a journey along the way that help people get to that goal. And whether you have failures or successes along the way, as long as you’re learning the entire time you’ll be successful. Ken considers himself successful because of the people he works and connects with on a daily basis.

Bunkers Paradise

Please connect with their Twitter @BunkersPGolf, search for Bunkers Paradise on Facebook and Instagram. You can also connect with Ken at @GolfingwithLee on Twitter. They will be giving away some prizes as they reach 6,000 Twitter followers.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

What is better to use for businesses, Facebook or Twitter?
Do you think moving too fast is a problem for some businesses?
How do you know how good a post is when you’re creating a Facebook or Twitter post?

Links to Great Stuff:

Bunkers Paradise – Bunkers Paradise is an online community for anything and everything golf. Ken Lee is the Editor-in-Chief and Director of Social Media for Bunkers Paradise.
Callaway Golf – Callaway Golf has figured out the importance of social media. Visit their website.
19th Hole Media – Although not mentioned in this podcast, I, Zeb Welborn have experienced a lot of success using social media at golf courses here in Southern California and recently started a new website with that goal, 19th Hole Media. Let us show you how we’ve been able to help golf courses grow using social media to build stronger relationships with current golfers and reach out to new golfers.
Welborn Media – Located in Chino, CA learn how we can use Internet marketing and social media to reach more customers.

Success Quotes:

“Social media has been our forum for success.”
“To get people to follow you, you have to tweet things that matter.”
“It’s not about quantity, it’s about the quality of the tweets.”

Special Requests:

Please tell anyone you know in the golf industry to visit – www.19thholemedia.com and contact me if they have any questions regarding how social media can help bring golfers to their golf course.
Download, review and subscribe to the Defining Success Podcast on iTunes.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter – @DSuccessPodcast.
Sign up for the Defining Success Podcast Newsletter.

Episode #6: Blog Writing to Learn | Erin Klein from Kleinspiration

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Erin Klein discusses how she uses blog writing to make her a better educator, to continue her learning, to share her learning with others and to communicate with other leading educators and education professionals. Pay attention to how Erin has used her blog to make positive change in her community and her classroom.

Erin Klein from Kleinspiration

Recap:

Erin Klein has been a classroom teacher and has developed her own blog which has been successful in its own right.

Erin has taught 1st grade, junior high school and now 2nd grade and she loves it. She used a website for her classroom highlighting her students work and her website became so successful in her school that she got recognition by her district. And then was asked to give presentations to other teachers and she began to blog as a resource sharing site to share her students work and share resources with other teachers.

As a teacher, Erin feels that the blog helps her become a better teacher and gives her an opportunity to share, get feedback, and offers an opportunity for self reflection. She knows that maintaining her blog has helped her become a better teacher and by sharing she has helped other teachers become better.

A recent activity Erin Klein did in her classroom that she shared with others is “If Our Characters Had Instagram,” where students are encouraged to act as if they were a character and then encouraged to think of what types of pictures they would take and share on Instagram which has taken off and teachers all over the world have been downloading her If Our Characters Had Instagram lesson plan.

Erin uses Twitter and Facebook to connect with educators. She loves using Twitter more so than Facebook because, to her, Twitter is more of a professional outlet. She loves the ability Twitter gives her to connect with different types of educators all over the globe.

Blog writing is important for Erin because she uses it to share resources and reflect on what she’s doing in the classroom and it also gives her a way to connect with the parents as to what’s going on in the classroom.

One thing Erin didn’t expect when she began blogging is the amount of businesses that would contact her asking her to use their product in her classroom. Some products she’s recently used in her classroom is the Sifteo Cubes and the Sky Livescribe Interactive Pen, which she says her students love.

Erin would like to see a lot more student choice in the classroom, more teacher-driven content, more creativity, more student voice, more projects, more top-level blooms taxonomy, more mobile and technology apps (used less by particular district approved apps). Ideally, she would like to put the curriculum in the students hands and having them create it and teach each other. Putting teachers in a more facilitative role and putting the learning into students’ hands.

Learning is a priority to Erin as she’s always looking for opporunities to learn and grow. She encourages teachers to ask administrators for things and don’t take no as a final answer. If she feels something is in the best interest of her students then she wants to ask why and that new teachers are so often told no and that that kills the creative process. Erin does recommend being professional, but still challenging administrators to accomplish goals that she feels would be in the best interest of her students.

Erin equates success and happiness to each other. Monetary value doesn’t mean success. Many people she knows who some people would deem successful are often very unhappy. She thinks if people are happy doing something they love, regardless of money than they are successful.

Engaging Discussion Question(s):

Where do you see the future of education going?
Where would you like to see education going in the years to come?

Links to Great Stuff:

Kleinspiration – “Erin Klein the technology chairperson for the Michigan Reading Association, a national A Plus Workshop Presenter, SMART Technologies Exemplary Educator, Really Good Stuff Monthly Blogger, Edutopia Guest Blogger, Edudemic Guest Blogger and Magazine Contributor, National Writing Project member, and award-winning EduTech Blogger.Klein has most recently appeared in the Scholastic Instructor Magazine and co-authored Amazing Grades with experts from 13 countries around the world.”
If Our Characters Had Instagram – A lesson plan designed by Erin Klein which can be used in classrooms from Kindergarten to High School – If a character/historical figure had Instagram, what kinds of pictures would they take?
Sifteo Cubes – “Sifteo Cubes are a magical new interactive game system built on the timeless play patterns of legos, building blocks, and domino tiles.”
Sky Livescribe Interactive Pen – “Record everything you hear, say, write and draw. Wirelessly sync notes and audio to your personal Evernote^® account where you can replay, organize, search and share your interactive notes any time and anywhere.”
The Tutoring Solution’s Share Your Passion Scholarship – The Share Your Passion Essay Contest is open to all High School students. For students to be eligible for one of their scholarships they had to write an essay from the prompt: “What are you passionate about? Why are you passionate about it? How do you plan on using your passion to help others?”
Welborn Media
#EdChat – Join the Discussion on Twitter.

Success Quotes:

“Put the curriculum in the students hands and having them create it and teach each other.” – Erin Klein

Special Requets:

Share The Tutoring Solution’s Share Your Passion Scholarship with any passionate individual in grades K-12 who is willing to share what they are passionate about with others.
Download, review and subscribe to the Defining Success Podcast on iTunes.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter – @DSuccessPodcast.
Sign up for the Defining Success Podcast Newsletter.