Dan Tyminski plays guitar in Alison Krauss’ band, Union Station. Union Station, including Alison, is a world-class band. Dan has been a member since 1994. He tells a story about being asked by Ms. Krauss to join her band as a guitar player. There was only one problem. He wasn’t really a guitar player. Banjo? Yes. Mandolin? Sure, proficient. But guitar? Not so much.

He confesses he knew chords, but not much else. So he spent some months in a shed teaching himself. All the while facing whatever fears he may have had. Shutting up the voices in his head that may have said, “Dan, you idiot. You can’t do this. You can’t go on the road or in the studio with Alison Krauss as her guitar player. Give it up, dude.” No, Tyminski apparently didn’t listen to any of those fears. He just got busy learning to play the guitar. One man. One guitar. One shed.

Magic does happen when men face their fear by refusing to surrender to it. Now, Dan hears crowds applaud. But it could have turned out so much differently had he never hit that shed with the tenacity to be able to tell Alison, “Sure, I’d love to be your guitar player.”

Fear takes on many forms. It morphs like the cyborg assassin chasing John Connor.

And it can be just as tough. In every way.

People wake up in the morning afraid of something. They lay awake at night worrying. Shadows, clouds and stormy weather don’t much care if you’re wide awake or sleepy. Fear is like a roach. It can thrive in any environment. It only needs a brain. The brain need not be rational, bright or highly intelligent. Any old brain will do. As long as it’s alive.

Vision is blurred when the corridor of fear is closing in. It doesn’t matter that clear skies are at the end of the hall. We often struggle to see that proverbial light at the end. Those shadows are in high def though. We can see them in vivid detail. 3-D even.

They change shapes as we embrace their closeness. Sometimes they take form as the risk of failure. Other times they’re the possible outcome of success. From one extreme to the other we embrace our fears and use them as excuses preventing us from what we claim we really want.

Sit down with anybody willing to acknowledge their fear and you sense their pulse accelerating. Their fingertips grow cold. And even if don’t feel it, you can almost see the knots form in their gut. Don’t let anybody tell you that fear isn’t real. It’s very real. Your body’s response proves it.

Our rational minds can fail us. Deception. Delusion. Imagination. Those are the fuel sources for our fears.

Questions can bring clarity because they demand answers. Deny answering at your own risk. If you do, fear will overtake you, run you down like a crazed trucker, beat you with chains and leave your dead carcass as a reminder for the rest of us…that it means business! Of course, it’ll all be a figment of our imagination, but we’re certain we can smell dead flesh.

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This is Rosie and Rocky – our two White West Highland Terriers. Brother and sister. That’s Rosie you may hear barking as the podcast begins. They were born in The Woodlands, Texas over a decade ago.

You should know I love cartoons. I have four full color prints of Jerry Van Amerongen hanging on my studio walls. He’s the creator of the greatest cartoon on the planet – Ballard Street. I purposefully surround myself with Jerry’s work. It inspires me, but quite often it shows me how little creativity I really practice. I hope to do better! Always.

“Who are you?” is the question asked. Some people may find that offensive, but not me. Don Crowther, whose work I respect and enjoy, would take issue with me even sharing personal stuff with professional stuff – but when people ask, what are you to do? People say, “Tell me your story.” I’ve been gently criticized for not sharing enough of my personal life with people interested in my professional services. Just this week Fast Company posted a story about Sarah Austin and her balance between personal and professional. It’s a story of how she seamlessly intertwines her personal and professional life. The fact is, some people are interested. I confess I’m still struggling to figure it all out. Don and other experts at such stuff are teaching me. We’ll see how good a student I am.

WHO ARE YOU? It’s not an offensive question to me – because I’m certainly not well known (yet). Fewer people know me compared to those who don’t. Lebron James doesn’t have that problem. Thankfully, I’m not that popular or famous. Nor do I run the risk of losing my anonymity any time soon. Going to the Wal-Mart is not a problem. I can’t imagine what it must be like when people know who you are, everywhere you go.

This is grandson number one, Max. His mom, my daughter, blogs about him (I contribute every now and then) at his website. Jake is his little brother. Jake has his own website.

Rhonda is my wife. She has a website where she sells her doll dresses. That would command an entire podcast episode all by itself. I didn’t even mention it, did I? She’s just getting her blog going. It’s a work in progress. She’s one of those people who is too busy creating stuff. She’s not got much time for this unproductive website stuff. She does, however, have quite a loyal band of followers, friends and customers. Her business is growing. Proof that no niche is too small.

I doubt I’ve answered the question as substantially as I could have, but this will have to do. Consider it part one of my answer. Will there be more parts? It all depends on who asks, how often they ask and if it will help me serve you better. So, maybe. Just maybe.

Thanks for listening. Thanks for reading. Thanks for letting me occupy part of your life and your attention.

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]]> http://bulanetwork.com/2010/07/20/episode-39-my-answer-to-the-question-who-are-you-kinda-sorta/feed/ 0 noThis is Rosie and Rocky – our two White West Highland Terriers. Brother and sister. That’s Rosie you may hear barking as the podcast begins. They were born in The Woodlands, Texas over a decade ago. You should know I love cartoons. I have fourRandy CantrellThis is Rosie and Rocky – our two White West Highland Terriers. Brother and sister. That’s Rosie you may hear barking as the podcast begins. They were born in The Woodlands, Texas over a decade ago. You should know I love cartoons. I have four full color prints of Jerry Van Amerongen hanging on my [...]business,marketing,management,coaching,consulting,entrepreneurship,dallas,sales,marketinghttp://bulanetwork.com/2010/07/20/episode-39-my-answer-to-the-question-who-are-you-kinda-sorta/http://bulanetwork.com/audio/Episode0039-07.20.2010-Bula-Network.mp3 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bulanetwork/GkLb/~3/i4p9dYqinF8/ http://bulanetwork.com/2010/07/19/episode-38-torqued-off-two-life-coaches-about-the-pursuit-of-passion/#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:13:01 +0000 results@bulanetwork.com (Randy Cantrell) http://bulanetwork.com/?p=1909

Wanna hack off a life coach? How about two? Take issue with the typical sounds about pursuing passion found all over the web. Recently a couple of life coaches took issue with my notion of pursuing passion.

We just have a philosophical and practical difference of opinion. Vastly different. And I wasn’t the least bit angry, but I touched a nerve with these two guys. You’d have thought I called their mama, “Fat!”

That word “practical” was at the heart of it all. In my mind.

The fact is, my approach is far too real-world for some life coaches. I don’t market myself as a life coach, but any of us in the “helping businesses” should be concerned with serving the lives of others – not pushing popular opinion or riding the wave of the latest, greatest notion.

Pursue your passion. Does it really serve the person who is up his ears in credit card debt, contemplating bankruptcy and struggling with daily life because of those pressures? Does it really serve the husband and wife are trying to make ends meet so the financial burdens don’t rip their marriage apart? Does it really serve the father who cries at night because he’s losing his teen to drugs?

Some life coaches seem to think the panacea for all of life’s problems is pursue your passion by being your own god. Law of attraction. The Secret. All the rest of the drivel that deludes people into believing they have full command of the universe.

Yes, I strongly disagree with that belief. For starters, let me give you my so-called bias. I believe in God Jehovah. That is, I believe in the God you read about in the Bible. I also know I’m not Him. I don’t think you are either. That fundamental belief means I don’t think any of us have full command of the universe. In fact, I rather believe the control we have is limited to ourselves. We control our behavior, our beliefs, our actions, our reactions and our choices. I also believe that’s sufficient for us to do the right thing.

But I also believe in the practical realities of life. Passion is not always the answer. Sometimes cash flow is the answer. Sometimes a medical doctor is the answer. Sometimes a family counselor is the answer. Sometimes God is the answer. Come to think of it, when isn’t God the answer? I clearly have what some might call a “religious bias.” I admit it.

Click play and I’ll tell you more about the two life coaches who disagree with my take on pursuing passion.

UPDATE: I love words. Especially ones I don’t know how to spell. Ironically, I’m usually a good speller, but I posted this post using the term “torked” instead of “torqued.” Thankfully, it was called to my attention early on, but it’s taken me all day to get around to changing it. I like the look of “torked” better, but thanks for the correction. We aim to please.

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“People with dirty jobs are the happiest people I know,” said Mike Rowe of the Discovery Channel show, Dirty Jobs.

“Follow your passion is probably the worst advice I ever got,” says Mike.

Zig when everybody else is zagging.

Go in a different direction from the herd.

It’s possible to love what you do. That doesn’t mean you’re doing what you love. It may not mean that you’re following your passion. If you’re not following your passion then you’re destined to live a miserable life – wrong!

The masses preach that we must chase our passion. We must do it or success will elude us. We must do it or we’ll wind up empty, pathetic and broke. And we believe it. So more often than not we’re discontented. With everything that is our life.

Are we destined to live our entire life questioning, “If only…?”

A blogger recently wrote how she was so engaged in her work that she lost track of time. She found herself working more hours than ever because she loved her work. She was somewhat offended – or so it seemed – when somebody commented about her “work.” She doesn’t think of it as work. It was as though the very word repulsed her. Interesting.

Work is not a dirty word. There may be dirty work – but work isn’t dirty. And loving what you do is not necessarily the same as doing what you love. Productivity, efficiently, effectiveness, fulfillment, contentment – they can all be yours.

Maybe it starts with us making up our mind we’re going to do remarkable things and find joy in the daily actions that make up our lives. Maybe it starts with us making up our mind we’re not going to chase fairly tales, but instead we’re going to write our life story and grow where we’re planted. Maybe it starts with making up our mind we’re going to provide value and service by doing those things we’re able to do – not because we’re doing what we love, but because we love what we’re doing!

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Our country – the entire world – is full of such people. Not everybody is chasing glamor and a 4-hour work week. Not everybody is meant to be self-employed. Not everybody is meant to live the way you think they should. Fact is, our world would come to brick wall stop if everybody sat on their butt Tweeting and Facebooking every day. Besides, don’t we have enough folks doing that job? I could name names!

I love Mike Rowe’s work, his humor and his style. I also love the stories he shares with us. His narration on The Deadliest Catch ain’t half bad either! In fact, I’m so fond of him I may just go buy a Ford. That Flex looks pretty sweet. In case you hadn’t noticed, Rowe is Ford’s current pitch man. When you’re hot, you’re hot. And Mike now has a killer line of Hawaiian red dirt items, including shirts, caps and a nifty bag. I’m eyeballing that bag to tote my reading material.

Work may be a dirty word to some folks. I’m rather fond of it – and even more fond of those who engage in it honestly every day. These are the people who are unafraid to do what must be done. They provide value. They provide for us, and their families. I don’t think less of them for it. You shouldn’t either.

The pursuit of passion may well begin with knowing ourselves better. Avoiding self-delusion, recognizing our natural tendencies, knowing our abilities and seeing ourselves in honest and true ways – those are among the elements required for improved self-awareness.

This is hard work. It’s demanding. It’s often stressful. Coming to terms with who we really are can be some of our most important work. We ought to give it more time and attention. We ought to strive hard to figure it out.

It’s made harder because we like to compare ourselves with others. We look to emulate others. We often judge our success or failure based on how others are doing, or have done. It’s a trap. And it will consume us. Because there’s always somebody who is stronger, faster, bigger, better, more popular, prettier, more handsome, richer, funnier…

Be who you are, but be the best person possible. Improve. Grow. Develop. Mature. Be unique. Be remarkable.

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Passion. Lots of us are still searching for ours. We hope we’re gazing in the right direction to find it.

It’s not the easiest thing to discover. You’d think it would jump out at us plain as day. After all, it’s our passion. It shouldn’t be so hard. You’d think we were looking for a Balinese starling, the rarest bird in the world. Passions, like rare birds, are often very tough to spot in real life. But, there’s no zoo where we go to look at our passion. We have to find it in the real world.

Books. Speeches. Blogs. Podcasts. Webcasts. Videos. Forums. There are about 33,700,000 results on Google for “find your passion.” Clearly, many people are still on the prowl to find their passion.

Why is it so hard? Do you need binoculars or a microscope? It all depends on how close or far away you are from finding it. But, how do you know if you’re even in the ballpark? What if we’re looking in the wrong area of the sky? What if it’s right under our nose?

Today’s show focuses on just one question that might serve to help. Be forewarned though, it might not help at all!

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I’m taking some time off and traveling since this is the July 4th holiday week. But I’m not going to avoid my responsibility to provide you something. The value proposition may be compromised, but hopefully not. We found value in Seinfeld, even though it was a show about nothing. Today’s show may be kinda sorta about nothing, but actually it’s a show where I explain in greater detail who I am and how I came to launch the Bula Network.

Please hit PLAY and permit me to pull back the curtains a bit. I hope you find it profitable.

I’ve even been encouraged to open up comments on today’s show. Do you have the courage to leave a comment? I hope so, but I won’t be offended if you don’t. Embarrassed maybe, but not offended.

Thank you! Lord willing, I’ll be back the week of July 5th. Be safe.

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Edwin Newman was a newscaster with NBC. Newman was very observant about speech, words and language. In 1974 he wrote a book entitled, “Strictly Speaking: Will America Be the Death of English?” Almost a decade later he wrote, “Civil Tongue.”

Strictly Speaking was a book I read when I was a high school senior. I had aspirations of being a writer and frequently read books about effective talking and writing. Newman was among the very first I heard discuss some of the stupid speech habits of English speaking people.

Business people – in fact, all people – seem to fall in love with phrases that sound good, but if we’d stop to think about them – even if for a moment – we’d realize they’re stupid. Some of them are really stupid. But the masses still consider them profound.

I’ve long been convinced that lemming-itis is rampant in America. Perhaps it is worldwide, but since I’m not a globe trotter I can’t confirm that. Daily I witness lemming behavior in offline and online situations. Mark Twain made a statement about this long before I was born, so I know modern technology has very little, if anything, to do with it. Hit PLAY and I’ll explain.

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The time it takes to be average or bad could just as easily be spent being creative. But, we all have roadblocks that get in our way. That doesn’t mean we have to accept average or bad – in ourselves or in others. It does mean we need a better, perhaps deeper understanding of the challenges that stop us from being creative.

Jeffrey Gitomer is brilliant. He’s creative. I have a man-crush on him. He’s in good company, too. Sir Ken Robinson has the current top spot. Sorry, Jeffrey. Gitomer has long used a story of checking into a hotel as an illustration of how people – in this case, the clerk who checks in guests – lack creativity. He argues that they could just as easily be creative and provide a remarkable experience, but sadly – they don’t. They recite the same drivel day after day, guest after guest. Southwest Airlines proves the point with creative delivery of pre-flight instructions. If you’ve ever flown Southwest you recognize creativity immediately. Same FAA mandated pre-flight instructions as every other airline. Completely different (better) experience for passengers though. Why? Because Southwest Airlines decided to use a creative delivery of the exact same message.

Maybe today’s show can help provoke thoughts about how you can be more creative. That’s my goal. Click PLAY and listen to at least 3 of the things that sometimes stand in our way of being more creative.

Be more creative. Be more remarkable. Deliver remarkable experiences. Achieve remarkable results.

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It was announced this week that BP had extended invitations to a limited number of people to demonstrate their technologies to see if any of these things will help solve the oil spill problem. BP has likely received many solicitations from people who say they’ve got a technology or process that can help. I have no way of knowing how valid each claim is, or how seriously BP has even humored these solicitations. Now that we’re well into the worst oil spill disaster ever, it appears BP is more willing to listen.

BP is inviting a select group to come to the Gulf where they can demonstrate their services live, on the water. I rather doubt BP will ask a single candidate to describe their “core values.” Something tells me BP doesn’t likely care about the story behind how a single entrepreneur was driven by his passion. No, it’s likely they care only about one thing, “Will it work?” Okay, two things. Will it work? AND “How much will this cost?” Welcome to Capitalism where we put a price tag on everything. Where performance and effectiveness matter – even if you’re a jerk with a suspicious purpose.

Honestly, I have no problem with that approach. It’s smart. After all, if one of the oil spill fix pitch men has a compelling story based on the core values of his enterprise, but his service or product is less effective in cleaning up this mess – I’d boot him out of the boat! BP shouldn’t care. I’m rather certain they don’t.

I’m not in the oil spill clean up business. I’m not even in the oil spilling business. How would you like to be the company who will forever be known as the greatest oil spiller in the ocean? Not a good claim to fame. That is not the best road to being remarkable – remarkably BAD.

Here, at Bula Network we’re focused on one thing – helping people. It happens that our tagline is more than that – it’s a mission, a quest and a driving force. The art of being remarkable. And because the process and interaction is so personal, it does matter what core values are. Convictions and demeanor do count. Personal connectivity counts.

In today’s show I reference this book, written by Al Stubblefield – “The Baptist Health Care Journey To Excellence: Creating A Culture That WOW’s!” (That is NOT an affiliate link) We all consider our best doctors those we like the most. We assume competence. We assume a certain degree of expertise. A doctor can be very skilled, but if our experience with him is bad – we complain about him to everybody we know, and we may even decide to go to another doctor. Bed side manners do determine the quality of the experience. It may not be quite like core values, but a doctor’s personality and ability to interact with us is surely determined by what’s in his heart.

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So, let me talk with you about coaching, consulting, core values and why BP doesn’t care about the core values of the outfits who may be able to help pull their fat out of this fire. Remember one thing though – BP may not care about the principles of the folks who can best help them, but they’ll always behave in ways congruent to their own values and principles. Those things they value most will rise to the surface just like all that oil. Your career and business are no different.

*You can leave audio feedback 24 hours a day. Leave your name, your location (city/state) and email address plus any feedback you care to share. I may play your feedback in a future show. Your feedback can be as specific or generic as you’d like. I honestly don’t care. It’s YOUR feedback to me.

On Monday, July 5, 2010 I’ll make a random drawing and give away the book FREE. No, I’m not going to charge you twenty bucks shipping. It’s 100% free, including shipping – my bribe for getting you to give me feedback.

Thanks.

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No blog post. Just today’s show. Why? Because I’m lazy. And busy. So hit that PLAY button and you’ll understand the title. The subject is building relationships. Yes, relationships. Trust me. You’ll understand when you listen to the show.

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Great leaders see the future first. This includes YOU, as the leader of your own life.

The question is, “What do you see? And what are doing about it?”

Some people view the future with wishful thinking. They dream of winning the lottery. They dream of having the cabin by the lake. They dream of living in that bigger neighborhood. People have lots of dreams. Visions of grandeur.

It’s been said that the difference between a dream and a goal is a deadline. No it’s not. There are significant difference beyond the scope of a deadline. If not, then the mere passage of time would elevate our dreams into goals. Just let time pass and as we approach our deadline – the dream is realized! Would that it were that easy, but it’s not. Not even close.

Deadlines without any action taken to meet those deadlines are meaningless.

Well over 10 years ago my son – then a teenager – had car envy. He wanted a Honda Civic Si. A blue one. It was a really great shade of blue. He could see himself in that car. He daydreamed about having it as his own. He had no trouble seeing a future with a Civic Si in the driveway of our house. I encouraged him to apply himself to make that dream a reality. That meant making some tough choices. It meant doing some things, sacrificing some things and taking the time necessary to put himself in a financial position where he could realize the future he saw with this car.

Note: When you listen to the show you’ll hear me talk about my Acura Type R – bright yellow with white Volks wheels. What I fail to tell you in the show is that I eventually sold my son that car. What he didn’t know is that when I bought the car I fully saw a future where I’d be able and willing to sell the car to him for a greatly reduced price. And I did, a few years after I bought it. For him it might have appeared as serendipity. For me, it was a future vision I had as his dad.

My son saw his future with this Honda Civic Si and he made it happen, with my help. But every day – check that, every moment – people make choices that create a future they don’t really want. So they say. They find themselves in circumstances that they hate. Jobs they despise. Stuck in places they’d rather not be.

They often refuse to believe that there is anything they can do to remedy their situation. They play the blame game and find many reasons to excuse where they’re at. One of their favorite phrases is, “If only…” If only they had their college degree. If only they had been given the lucky break they saw somebody else get. If only they could make $500 more a month.

If only “if only” would work, they’d be the world’s richest people. But, alas, “if only” doesn’t work. So these people are stuck in a defeated, discouraging life. It’s a life where you don’t look to the future because you’re too busy staring at your shoes. See the man on the right. That man may be YOU. I hope not.

Let’s begin our quest to consider the importance of thinking about our future with the intention of doing something to make it happen!

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Mental toughness has long been a popular area of study for me. It began years ago as I coached little kids. One player with fairly limited skills and abilities would battle through all adversity until he succeeded. Undeterred by difficulty, defeat and failure – this player seemed quick to recover and get on with his pursuit of success. Contrast that player with a much more skilled player who allowed the smallest challenge to defeat him. He’d quickly give up and want to quit. Success just didn’t seem as important to him.

I’d find myself devoting more and more time to the skilled player hoping to encourage him to battle through the tough times. Encouraging this player to not give up sometimes became job one. It had nothing to do with the player’s skill. It was all about this child’s apparent need to learn that adversity is just part of life – and that it must be managed. Sometimes it can be overcome. Sometimes it can avoided. But sometimes, it just must be endured. And it was equally important for me to demonstrate to these young players that we all face challenges. Our success isn’t determined by the size of our adversity, but rather by the size of our willingness and determination to overcome it.

I bought books on mental toughness. I talked with veteran coaches. I even visited with professional coaches. I developed relationships with coaches from all parts of the country. I even tracked down coaches from European countries. I was looking for techniques and strategies that might help young children learning to play a game. The bigger lessons were almost always in the art of tenacity. It was a noble quest – the quest to teach children how to conquer their fears, overcome adversity and keep moving forward.

I despise the “everybody gets a trophy” notion. It robs our children of resolve. It hinders their ability to properly deal with adversity. It gives them artificial expectations. It does not elevates a child’s self-esteem. I’ve looked into the eyes of too many kids to know the futility of sending every child home with a trophy.

No matter what our age there is a simple, profound answer for chasing down a dream – for making sure we endure until our dreams are realized. It’s simply this: make up your mind to outlast your adversity by just one moment!

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The idea seemingly comes out of left field. All of a sudden you’re struck with a profound thought. An idea that spurs on creativity. And it’s something that never crossed your mind before. At least that you can remember.

The other day I’m talking with a friend about a few business ideas. He says, “I’ve been constantly thinking about it.” I knock him on his butt when I admonish him, “Well, stop it! Quit thinking about it.”

He thinks I’m about to start my usual sermon on taking action. He’s not the most action-oriented person I know, but he’s hardly alone in battling that challenge. But that’s where I took our conversation. He was shocked.

Small businesses are often very creative. Entrepreneurs, small business creators and owners, are among the most creative people on the planet. But sometimes they suffer what my friend suffers from – over thinking or too much thinking. Creativity is frequently sabotaged because people don’t consider the power of rest or relaxation in creativity. Business creativity is often helped by the distraction of rest.

“Give it a rest,” I tell my friend. “What do you mean? Give up on the idea?” he responds. “No, I’m not telling you to abandon the idea. I’m telling you to step away from it. You’re constantly thinking about it and trying to force it,” I say.

For the next half hour I admonish him to disconnect from the business idea so he can prepare his mind to accept solutions that he may not be able to recognize now. He’s so consumed with his business idea that he can’t find the best solutions for developing the best strategy to implement. For almost a month he’s been “consumed.” That’s his word for it. Consumed.

Dr. Phil would ask, “How’s that working out for you?” I’m not Dr. Phil, but I asked the question. Long pause. Silence. Very softly he said, “It’s not working.” Exactly.

Business people often comment that they’re constantly thinking about some issue, some challenge or some new idea. It’s a badge of courage. Or so they think. It demonstrates how committed they are to the idea. They think it’s how it should be. But, they’re wrong!

More often than not ideas and creativity comes out of nowhere.

Think of the ideas you’ve had in those times when you least expected it. It can happen while you’re shaving, when you’re in the shower, while you’re driving or in a variety of other mundane every day activities. It can also happen when we’re having a conversation about something that has nothing whatsoever to do with our “idea.” Something is said, or said in a way, that sparks this EUREKA moment for us. We often don’t know and can’t explain why an idea leaps into our mind. Sometimes, they just happen.

“Stop working so hard at it,” I tell my friend. In fact, quit thinking about it. We talk about the books he’s reading – all of which were designed (at least in his mind) to spark him to finalize a strategy for his idea. I suggest he stop reading those books. He’s associating each of these books with pursuing his idea so I tell him he needs to set those books aside for the time. I recommend a few historical books (he likes history). Read the story of the Louisiana flood of 1927. Why? Because it has nothing to do with his idea. It’s completely different.

Contrarian strategies are the order of the day when we’re trying to get unstuck. Or when we’re trying to be creative. Or when we’re struggling to develop a strategy. It seems counter intuitive to disconnect in order to make a more meaningful connection, but that’s exactly how it works.

Quite often our best ideas and solutions come when we stop thinking about it. Sir Issac Newton remarked that he discovered gravity by “constantly thinking about it.” I doubt that very much. If we could have followed him around I’ll bet we’d find that he spent many hours not thinking about it.

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People who are still struggling to find success are often tempted to view those who are successful as being “lucky.” It makes them feel better about themselves. And their failures.

We know of many successful people. We know who they are. Some are online celebrities. But, we didn’t see them struggle. We didn’t know them when they were struggling, and poor. Sometimes we incorrectly assume they found success easily. And quickly. Worse yet, we may assume they were always successful.

I get a phone call asking me, “Do all successful people pre-think every action?” Words like “all” scare me. I’ve not found too many instances where broad brushes can properly paint an entire group of people. But I engage the conversation no matter.

I know people who have achieved wild success by shooting from the hip. They’ve not given much thought to anything because they were too busy moving. Sometimes they moved forward. Sometimes they moved backwards. Fast. Some are like those proverbial blind pigs and they did find it – success. Sometimes they hit it BIG.

I know other people who never make a move without giving it serious thought. They pre-think all the variables. They consider the possible outcomes. Nothing happens until they’ve properly considered every available piece of information. And success never comes. Failures happen slowly, but methodically.

There is no one-size-fits-all. However…

I think it’s a mistake to not pre-think our business and career actions. My advice is usually very specific because I rarely find people who share an identical circumstance, knowledge, experience, skill set, ability or opportunity. For the person who takes action – and lots of it – without ever considering the consequences – I encourage them to more carefully consider the possible actions they might take. For the person who thinks – but never acts – I encourage them to abandon another hour of data collection and take some meaningful action based on their current “best” information.

Generally speaking, I always encourage people to pre-think their decisions and actions. Have a strategy. Have a designed purpose. Answer your “why.” Nobody can guarantee success, but we can improve our chances. We can put ourselves in the best possible position. We can attract serendipity with meaningful actions.

You may become successful – we’ll use becoming a millionaire as a metaphor for success – without ever thinking about it. You may also be struck by lightning. Or win the Powerball. But the odds are not favorable. Develop a plan. Be strategic. Map out a route. Then follow that route as you course correct along the way. It will – in my opinion- greatly enhance your chances of success.

Will it happen tomorrow? I don’t know. You don’t know either. Nobody does. What I do know is you’d better prepare for success. You don’t know when you’re going to break through. Map out a strategy. Think about what you do.

Ask yourself questions and take some thoughtful time to answer them. Here’s just a few to help get you started:

- Will this action move me closer to my desired goal? How?

- Will this action be congruent with who I am, and what I’m trying to accomplish? Will it help me become who I hope to be?

Remain focused on what you hope to become. Work hard without being fearful of failing in public. Nobody is taking notes. Nobody is keeping score. That’s what makes today’s world so great. We can dive in without any worry of being embarrassed. Failure isn’t anything to be ashamed of unless you embrace it and allow it to define who you are. It’s merely a temporary state through which all successful people must pass. So, get on with it.

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Sometimes you just have to share brilliance and creativity. Watch it. Ponder it. Use it.

Many, if not most (perhaps all), Internet marketing gurus – those folks who earn their money by teaching others how to earn money online – advise us:

“Find a hungry market, then give it what it wants.”

They go on to tell us to serve a market that proves it will pay for what you offer. How do you do that? Well, easy. Just see if they’re buying solutions now. If they are, then it’s logical that they’ll be inclined to buy your solution.

We love stories. We love analogies. We can visualize thirsty and hungry people who have a strong appetite for the things to satisfy those desires (or needs).

Find a hungry crowd and BAM! Instant Success.

Do you know why that advice is so common? One, it’s true. Sort of. Two, it’s easy to talk about. Three, it sounds good. Right, even! But…there’s more to it. Isn’t there always more?

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Back in the 70′s I was in journalism school at LSU. I was 17 when I created my non de plume. It wasn’t because of writing and journalism though.

Stanley Bing may be among the biggest non de plumes of today. I have a serious man crush on Bing. It may be argued that Gil Schwartz isn’t half the man Stanley is – but they are one and the same. I must say I think Gil did himself proud with creating Stanley though. No matter, I’ve read everything Bing has written for public consumption.

John le Carre may be among the better known pen names. Did David John Moore Cornwell not have the ability to write killer spy novels? Sure he did. From the early 60′s he’s provided excitement for millions of readers. He is John le Carre.

Eben Pagen wears a guru badge among Internet marketers. He admits he reached a level of financial success with a product entitled, Double Your Dating. But, he did it under a non de plume, David DeAngelo.

Yesterday, Johnny B. Truant wrote a guest post over at CopyBlogger. In the post he admitted that Johnny B. Truant is a non de plume. Back in December James Chartrand of Men With Pens made a similar revelation at CopyBlogger.

Why create a non de plume?

I suspect there may be a variety of reasons. I have my own ideas, but as always I reserve the right to be wrong.

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Tom Petty sang, “It’s time to move on. It’s time to get going. What lies ahead I have no way of knowing.” The song? Time To Move On, from his record, Wildflowers.

That last line is likely one reason why so many struggle with moving – taking meaningful action. They don’t know what lies ahead. Fear.

The paralyzing kind. The kind of fear that makes us sweat with worry.

People waste time. The distractions beckon us like those Greek Sirens of seduction. We often don’t resist – we can’t. Or so we think.

Email, websites, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and all the rest – urge us to join the conversation. Read me. Listen to me. Consume me.

And that’s exactly what they do – consume us. Preventing us from taking meaningful action. Rather, we join the masses – the lemmings – flailing our arms, kicking our legs in the waters called Community. We’re one of the gang. Going nowhere, but we’re in good company.

Well, it’s time to move on. It’s past time to get going – toward making your life, your career and your enterprise a success. Forward momentum. Trudging forward. With meaningful action.

Thank you for sharing your time and attention. It’s not a small investment you make. I don’t take it for granted. My goal is to help you in the art of being (more) remarkable.

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What do you say when you talk with yourself?

Don’t deny it. You do it.

Out loud? Maybe not, although some of us do.

But we all engage with dialogue with ourselves every day. It’s possible to make those conversations more meaningful.

Self-loathing is not really meaningful dialogue. Beat yourself up all you want and it’s not likely to lead to positive action. If anything, it’s likely destructive – especially if it goes on too long.

“Know thyself” is an ancient Greek inscription. But it’s much more. It’s a lifelong quest that I suspect few of us achieve. All the more reason for us to engage in meaningful conversation with ourselves.

There are a variety of tools and resources you can use to help propel this conversation forward – that talk you have with yourself. I discuss just one such tool. The tool isn’t the important thing. The more important thing is to have the conversation and to make efforts to have a true reading on who we are.

Soar with your strengths. Be congruent. Be genuine. Work hard. Knowing yourself is heavy lifting. Profitable, but heavy.

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Making decisions. Any fool can. But add one word and it all changes. Making good decisions. Or, making great decisions.

One of the things I love about some books is the busting of assumptions. Myth busters.

Freakonomics was such a book.

I’m not a brilliant economist. In fact, I’m not even a dimwitted economist. But these guys shine a light on things in ways few of us ever considered before. Where most of us see nothing, they see patterns, explanations and details. The analysis of such things enlightens us. It makes us more aware. It can also help us think differently, better!

Most of us like to think we decide based only on hard facts, but that Pfeffer and Sutton book cover to the left is properly titled how most of us really do things. We fall prey to dangerous half-truths and total nonsense.

Another such book is Competing On Analytics. I loved this book when it came out a few years ago. Don’t let the title scare you off. Measuring things. Quantifying things. Looking at things from a different perspective – one that can be measured – can serve all of us well.

Sometimes we make assumptions based on incorrect data. We let our emotions soar or fall based on those assumptions. We launch forth with an enterprise riding high on the wave of blind optimism, assuming everybody will quickly see how terrific our offer is. Too often, we’re wrong.

The value of an analytic approach is found in the title question, “What if we are wrong?”

But merely asking the question is only part of the suggestion for making better decisions. There’s another component that you should always incorporate. Your failure to implement the second part of the equation to the question – What if we are wrong? – is vital to saving us time, money, emotion, passion and a host of other valuable resources.

Thank you for hitting play. Thank you for giving me a chunk of your time and attention!

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Would it be more beneficial to learn from the ground up, as you begin your enterprise? Or, would you be better served by outsourcing those things you don’t know how to do?

Apprenticeships once served to help teach and train artisans. Passing on knowledge to another served everybody. The knowledge and skills of the experienced weren’t lost. The student learned something he hadn’t known before. Society benefited from increased knowledge as the craft became more fully developed.

Today, we’re mostly interested in saving time. There’s no time to learn all the stuff we need to know. Knowledge is hitting us at such a fast pace that we simply can’t keep up anyway.

Skills we lack are also readily available today. From php programmers to simple WordPress installation – we can find people who know what we don’t. Why should we bother?

Maybe, just maybe, we’re not always best served by forfeiting our own learning. It’s possible our longer term success might benefit from learning a few things from the ground up – even if it’s simple, fundamental and basic.

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Cameron Herold’s company is BackPocketCOO.

Send birthday presents to my mailing address located at the footer of this website, http://connectwithrandy.com.

Yes, it’s my birthday. And I’ll cry if I want to. Because I’m quite old. Ancient in Internet years!

My birthday doesn’t really have much to do with today’s show. Well, maybe it does. You decide.

Spend some time in self-examination answering the riddle, “At my best I’m THIS, not THAT…”

I’ve decided to do that myself. Today. On my birthday. Permit me to grant YOU a birthday wish…

Find out what you are best at. Pursue it for all you’re worth. Chase it down. Make it your own. Be remarkable!

Listen to today’s birthday show and you’ll find out who I have a man-crush on. A serious crush. His most recent book speaks to the subject of today’s show!

(This just in – voicemail of Max, grandson #1, singing “Happy Birthday” to me today. Enjoy! I did.)

All the best,

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I’m watching the NHL playoffs and the color commentator says this, “The more comfortable they (the players) are, the better they perform.”

When a team is down by a few goals you’ll regularly hear the announcers say something like this: “They (the losing team) just need to get one goal here so they can start to feel good about themselves, and get back into this game.”

Confidence. Momentum. Comfort. Feeling good about yourself.

These are important ingredients to being remarkable. Without them it’s impossible to become remarkable. It’s an art. One you must practice. One you must engage in daily.

Give today’s show a listen and find a way to incorporate these things into your life. Equally important, find ways to incorporate these into the lives of others. Serving others is a great way to build your own comfort and confidence. Try it.

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Simon’s book website is here: http://www.startwithwhy.com/

I’m a big fan of the question, “WHY?” That explains why I’m a big fan of Simon’s work and the book.

Follow him on Twitter if you’d like. Listen to the Marketing Over Coffee’s John Wall talk with Simon. Subscribe to Marketing Over Coffee’s podcast while you’re at it. It’s among the best podcasts about marketing online. John Wall and Christopher Penn are both brilliant guys. I envy their youth, technical prowess – and their hair!

Enjoy. Think.

Do you have a dream? Some desire? Well, you need to write it down because that adds validity to it. Next, give yourself a deadline. When you do that, it becomes a goal. Suck up the courage to tell your friends and family about it because when you say it out loud you add a level of accountability that can help you achieve it.

There are some fundamentals of business that I was taught decades ago. For starters, marketing is getting your message out to the world. Have some intentions about your enterprise, or your career. You can’t simply wander aimlessly toward success – or your goal. You need to behave with clear intention.

There are people in my life – even if they’re only slightly connected to me through social circles or social media – who appear to have a single focus in life. A very clear intention. They seem to be chasing it for all they’re worth. Their intention is evident. They need, want and strongly desire ATTENTION.

Not all of them want attention for the sake of money. Many seem to be wanting something else – POPULARITY! They want the big three F’s: friends, followers and fans! They’re living their entire life out loud. Life is a reality program in which they are the star and they seem to be forcing it on everybody who knows them.

Pass me the barf bag because I’m sick of these people.

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I was in high school when KISS took off. Admittedly, they were not the greatest musicians. Nobody would ever describe them as “world-class” in their musical prowess. But boy did they have style? Yes, yes they did.

They could play – some. Enough. KISS didn’t have to be the very best in order to achieve superstar fame (and money). They found a way to be remarkable by having a unique style. Today, the money is still rolling in. Public exposure is still reasonably high for a band that taken on more iterations than any other band I can name. From Dr. Pepper ads to reality TV programs, Gene Simmons has made a handsome living for decades. How? He is remarkable!

Nobody did quite what they did. That’s why they were remarkable.

Alice Cooper had a style that was also unique. He was a rocker who also used makeup. But he added a dark side stunt show. And it worked for him. He’s been playing golf in Phoenix for decades. All, thanks to Alice Cooper, the remarkable theatrical rock ‘n roll character who hasn’t produced new music in years!

Genesis wore costumes and makeup. They were also a great rock and roll band who brought theater to their lives shows. KISS, Alice Cooper and Genesis were all different though. When you heard KISS, you didn’t mistake them for Genesis. Each had a unique and different style.

From athletic footwear to professional athletics to rock ‘n roll to talk radio – to whatever it is YOU do, style often makes the difference. Spend all your time trying to be “the world’s best” and you’ll likely fail. But if you make sure your substance is sufficiently high in quality, then focus on your style – making sure your style is unique to YOU – then you’ll be well on your way to greater success!

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Click the image, visit the Bula Network page and click that “like” button.

Thank you for liking me. It’s an interesting decision, isn’t it? I wonder how that Facebook debate might have sounded as they gathered in a conference room to decide what word they’d use. Like! Good choice.

Regards,

]]> http://bulanetwork.com/2010/04/27/bula-network-is-now-on-facebook/feed/ 0 http://bulanetwork.com/2010/04/27/bula-network-is-now-on-facebook/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bulanetwork/GkLb/~3/B1ZspHElrJ4/ http://bulanetwork.com/2010/04/26/episode-15-if-you-can-make-1000-then-you-can-make-10000/#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:15:48 +0000 results@bulanetwork.com (Randy Cantrell) http://bulanetwork.com/?p=1625

Almost daily I hear somebody say, or I read somebody’s writing – and the sentiment of that headline is expressed. The logic seems appropriate.

“Find a way to earn $1000 in your business, then just replicate it and you can earn $10,000.”

This week we’ve got thunderstorms in the forecast. It’s spring time here in Tornado Alley. Go outside during a storm, holding a ten foot metal pole and you can be hit by lightning. Maybe. Maybe not.

You might be able to walk outside without a pole and be struck by lightning. Or you might be better off with a 12 foot pole. I really don’t know because I’d rather not experience a lightning strike. The fact is, lightning strikes are quite random. Sometimes success – financial success – is equally random. Sometimes.

Life is full of happy and unhappy coincidences. Yes, I believe we can do things to improve our chances. Yes, I think we can make choices that will help propel us toward winning – or losing.

In your quest for a pattern, something you can follow – some step-by-step process you can execute – I wish you well. Sadly, you won’t find it here. Even more sadly, you won’t find it anywhere because it doesn’t exist. Life is simply full of too many variables!

But don’t let me leave you with the wrong idea. There are things you can do to succeed. Success isn’t necessarily random, any more than failure may be. Give yourself improved odds. Listen and I’ll tell you how. Be warned though, you’ll have to listen to the bitter end. You’ll be glad you did though. I promise.

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I’ve been part of many communities or organizations. Back in high school lots of guys wanted to be in different clubs because if you were accepted into certain clubs you could get good looking dates. Some clubs had strict criteria for admission. The National Honor Society required good grades, and solid recommendations from teachers. The sports teams required some athleticism (unless your high school teams weren’t very good).

All of the clubs and organizations had various requirements for admission. The more difficult they were to get in, the more exclusive they were – and typically, the more people wanted inside. The brainiac club (whatever name it was) was the likely exception.

It’s been said that people can only maintain about 150 meaningful connections. That is, we may find it difficult to manage personal connections with more than 150 people. I know some people who find it hard to connect with 1 person. And I know others who can’t seem to stop connecting. So, I’m unsure about that number, but I do tend to think most people wisely limit how many people they truly trust, rely on and consider “close friends.”

But then, there’s the “casual friend” or acquaintance. People we know. People who know us, or know of us. But it’s all virtual, or distant or quite casual. These are not people we’d call up to bail us out of jail if we ever got in trouble. Okay, bad example. These aren’t people we’d call up to borrow their pick up and ask if they’d help us move. That’s pretty personal. Or rude.

Enough beating around the bush. Community. Groups. Clubs. Call them whatever you’d like, but the other day I started thinking of all the groups that are part of my life. Some of them are paid groups. Some are free. At least in dollars. And I have a confession to make. You’re likely to think badly of me when I tell you my confession, but I can’t help it. I won’t lie to you about it.

Most of the groups to which I belong are utterly worthless. Hate me if you want, but it’s true – at least as I see it. Let me explain, if you’ve not shut me out by now.

Do you know how many forums you’re a member of? How many forums have you registered for? How many of them did you abandon over time? Me, too.

How much value do you get from all the groups to which you belong? Have you ever tried to quantify the value?

Well, I have. And I found that almost all the groups to which I belonged were…well, worthless. Now don’t get me wrong. Some of them were terrific time wasters. A few might even have offered some occasional entertainment value. But the time/money to reward ratio was ridiculously low in almost ALL of them.

No, I won’t list them, but I will tell you that I have unsubscribed to quite a few lately. I’ve canceled some subscriptions. I’ve exited the worthless groups to which I was joined. And it wasn’t just “low value” that caused me to do this. It was listening to the lemmings that started my self-examination. I realized that the mass group-think had begun to erode my creativity and productivity. I kept seeing the group collectively applaud the group’s rockstar. I suddenly realized that I was in a group, which necessarily made me just like the others in the group – I had become a GROUPIE.

Can you believe it, me a groupie? It’s true. And I hated myself for it. Come on. I know you can’t be remarkable and be a groupie. You can’t follow the herd and be unique. But in too many instances I found I was spending too much time (and money) doing just that. So, I decided to step out. Yep, I literally and virtually stepped out.

I quit. And it felt very, very good.

I unsubscribed from forums. I unsubscribed from RSS feeds. I canceled some paid forums. I canceled paid memberships. I decided I was going to be more selective with my time, attention and money! And it felt terrific.

You know what it felt like?

It felt the same way you feel if you make up your mind to not check email for a day or two. You just think it’ll kill you, but it doesn’t. In fact, once you embrace it – it feels quite good, doesn’t it? All that stuff you’re afraid you’re missing…you don’t miss at all. Life goes on. Sometimes a better life goes on.

I know your fear. Silence. Not knowing what’s going on. Being out of the loop. I also know why you won’t likely become remarkable. You won’t step out. You won’t say “good-bye” to the crowd. You love the crowd. You love knowing what everybody is saying on Twitter. You crave reading everybody’s Facebook update. You’re terrified that somebody somewhere will say something and you won’t hear it. And you’re petrified that your life will be meaningless without it.

You want to hear what everybody else is saying. Sometimes you want to chime in and tell them how wonderful they are for saying it. And how you agree. You always want to voice your approval of the rockstars in your life. You’re a lemming and you want to run full speed off the cliff. It’s fun. Everybody’s doing it.

YOU ARE WRONG.

So was I.

Most conversations aren’t worth hearing. Most aren’t worth participating in. Most information isn’t profitable in making you better, or in helping you become remarkable. Not every link on Twitter is worth following. Not every Tweet is worth re-Tweeting. Not every book is worth reading. Not every podcast is worth hearing (except for mine, of course). Honestly, sometimes mine aren’t worth hearing. Not every video is worth watching. Not every blog post is worth scanning. It’s a fact and you know I’m right – MOST communication and MOST groups are just not worth your time. Remarkable is scarce!

But, what if somebody says something and I don’t hear it? That’s your fear, isn’t it? Sure it is.

Well, here’s the sad truth. Even if all the conversations were worthwhile (and they aren’t), you couldn’t possibly hear them all anyway. Turn off the TV for a week. Don’t read any blogs for a week. Don’t read anything for a week. I love to read, but I’m telling you – go cold turkey for a week. Disconnect. Step out. Step away. Climb inside your head, with your own thoughts and your own ability to THINK. Write. Craft. Be creative. You won’t miss a thing. Your world won’t stop turning either.

But wait, Randy, what if I had done this when the Apple iPad came out? I wouldn’t have heard all the buzz about it.

So?

Keep following all the social media stars. Keep following all the gurus. Keep buying every offer from your favorite Internet Marketing SuperStar. Keep joining every community where people are gathering. Keep reading all the Twitter feeds. Keep chasing more followers. Keep looking for the secrets, formulas and blueprints. Keep failing. Please, do it…

Because when you refuse to step out from the crowd it makes it easier for the rest of us to become remarkable.

Update Monday, April 26th: You might enjoy this blog/podcast from Remarkable Retail if you’re rather fond of the idea of stepping out. Thanks!

It takes a thief to ruin the reputation of honest, hard working businesses. Or to ruin the long term viability of a business. It takes a thief to make people very angry when they discover they’ve been ripped off.

One phone call created the subject of today’s show. Preying on the ignorance of prospects is not a good way to create a remarkable business.

It’s the proverbial good news versus bad news scenario. The bad news is, there are lots of crooks out there. The good news is, the thieves give honest people the opportunity to display integrity as a remarkable trait – a way of doing business where we’re serving others with honorable intentions.

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“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he,” according to Scripture. Not religious? It doesn’t matter. It’s still true. We behave, perform and become what we think about. Heady stuff, literally.

Have you ever been in a great mood, but you allowed somebody – anybody (even somebody who means nothing to you) – to send you in a tailspin with the slightest comment? Sure. We’ve all done that. Why?

Because we’re often more fragile than we’d like to admit. Feeling good about ourselves is not nearly as easy as we’d like it to be. It takes work. Sadly, too many people don’t give it the effort it deserves.

So, we plod along each day. We lumber through our day just trying to get by – hoping for the end to come soon. The end of our work day. The end of our chores. The end of the daily tyranny, whatever form it takes.

And if somebody or something isn’t imposing tyranny on us, we’re busy imposing it on ourselves. We often defeat terrific ideas because we never get them out of our head. They’re defeated quickly by our fears, or other feelings that destroy us, choke our initiative and make us feel lousy.

Yogi Berra was onto something when he said, “Baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical.” So is success!

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How much should I give away for free?

I’m worried about giving away too much.

And how good should my free stuff be?

I sure don’t want to give away my best stuff, do I?

The conversations about free versus paid have been going on for awhile now. They don’t seem to be dying down any either. If anything, I’m finding more and more people are asking about how much they ought to give away for free. And they’re worried about it. Seriously fretting about giving away too much, in quality or quantity.

Can we work our way from free to paid? How do we do that? How will we know when it’s time to charge money for it? Here’s a hint. If your free stuff sucks, then you can forgo paid stuff. If your free stuff is remarkable, then you’ve got a fighting chance of selling even better stuff. Better stuff.

Better can be defined in a variety of ways. Maybe it goes deeper. Maybe it’s more detailed. Maybe it’s personalized. But, it must be different – unique – remarkable.

Above all, never betray the trust people give you. Free or otherwise. Betray the trust of those who follow you and you can save yourself time and money by just closing your doors, fast! You can build your business on quality free stuff. How much? Listen and I’ll tell you.

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I love this book. It’s ancient now. I think it was published back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, in 2007.

Marci Alboher is the author. Visit her website here.

We all have slashes behind our name. The more ambitious we are, and the longer we live – the more slashes we seem to collect. I have a few of my own.

Tiger Woods. Enough said.

Jerry Jones made the news this week. After the hoopla hit, Jerry made a statement.

This morning a message hit my inbox containing a variety of headlines relating to the furniture retailing industry. One headline mentioned a CEO who got behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated. He hit and killed a man. A husband. A father of two. Dead. Because a man skillful enough to become a CEO (that’s one slash behind his name) failed to be remarkable in another area of his life.

I’d challenge you, and encourage you, to work toward making yourself remarkable in every area of your life.

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“I just can’t seem to get started,” she says.

I say, “Why?”

She says, “I’m not sure. I’ve got plenty of good ideas. At least I think they’re good.”

“What makes them good ideas?” I ask.

“I think they’ve got great potential,” she answers.

“Define potential.”

She stumbles, but replies, “Well, I think they’d be valid in the marketplace. I think they’ve got income potential.”

“How much income have you earned from any single one of the ideas?”

“Well, noting yet, but…” she replies. “Exactly,” says me, Mr. Smarmy. No action. No starting. No income. No remarkability.

Starting is a challenge for lots of people. But so is stopping. Some folks can’t ever get going and others, workaholics – can’t seem to stop. Balancing our quest for income with the meaningful people in our life – it’s a never ending challenge. Being remarkable in one area of life – does it require that we completely sacrifice other areas of our life? Is it possible for us to be a complete person who is remarkable in all areas of our life?

Mentioned in today’s show is this video of ESPN’s Sports Science (I incorrectly identified it as a Sports Illustrated production). Watch the video on Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/sportscience/index

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Think. The admonition is given by parents to their teenage children. Students are exhorted by teachers. Employees hear it from the boss. Think.

It’s not that easy. If it were, everybody would be doing it. Clearly, not everybody is.

While there are plenty of idiots roaming the planet, there are other well-intended, well-educated and reasonably smart people who fail miserably – to think! None of us are immune from the dangers of delusion. And that’s really what it is, delusion.

We’re often deluded to think that if only we had what the other guy has, then our life would be better. If only my boss weren’t such a jerk, then I could enjoy my job. If only people would buy my stuff, then I could quit this job I hate and venture out full-time pursuing my passion.

The Ignorance Is Bliss Syndrome can affect people in one of two ways. One, people can see an opportunity – or what they perceive is an opportunity – and believe it’s easier than it really is. Two, people can an opportunity – or what they perceive is an opportunity – and believe it’s more difficult than it really is. I’ve often encountered both groups.

Lately, I confess I’ve encountered a lot more of the first group though. I suspect it’s because they’ve fallen prey to the Internet marketer who is selling the dream of easy living. Create the life you want. Design it how you’d love it to be. Now, buy my product and PRESTO! You, too, shall have the life you always dreamed about.

But the reality hits – hard – and that dream often becomes the nightmare. Higher credit card debt. Crushed dreams. The reality that it wasn’t as easy as they said – or implied – it might be. The Internet is littered with websites of people who thought, “If I just build it, they will come.” They built it, and nobody even noticed though.

How can we remedy this? What can we do to protect ourselves? Today’s show is merely today’s attempt to spur you to THINK. Thanks in advance for listening.

I wish you all the best…but we both know you’re going to suffer some defeat. That’s okay. Join the rest of humanity as we all struggle to find our way. THINK and enjoy the journey because we’re all just mortals here. Nothing more.

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The world is full of rookies and novices. It’s understandable that at any point in time there will be plenty of people just entering a market.

An abundance of novices and women seem to be entering the world of “I’d like to start a business.” As a result, there are more than enough providers willing to help them start a business. For a fee.

Charging money isn’t a bad thing. I’m rather fond of money. And I respect those who charge for products or services provided. I’m also a big fan of Jason Fried and his compadres over at 37 Signals. They don’t want to work for free. Neither should you.

I don’t have a problem with charging, but I do have a problem with the value proposition. In too many cases I’m seeing businesses that take unfair advantage of those who don’t know any better. They’re picking the low hanging fruit because right now it’s easy. Meanwhile, that higher hanging fruit is sometimes rotting on the tree. Too many of these marketers ignore that higher hanging fruit – in part, probably because it takes greater skill and effort to pick that fruit that’s higher up in the tree.

The risks are low with low hanging fruit. Stand on the ground, reach up and pick it. Simple. Not so of the higher fruit. The risks are higher. But so is the reward if you’re thinking longer term.

Women and rookies are in abundance today – they comprise an enormous group of people looking to start a business. They are the low hanging fruit. And sometimes they are easy picking for unscrupulous and unwise marketers.

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This is art. Of course I would think so because Jerry Van Amerongen has given me more value than I can calculate. His creativity affects me. Daily.

How?

For starters, I’m a faithful daily fan of Ballard Street, his cartoon.

Additionally, I’m a paying customer. Hanging in my studio are four of his Limited Edition Giclee Prints. I look at them every single day. Jerry impacts my world. In a good way.

His passion serves me. It alters my feelings. It can positively change my emotions.

I’m also a paying customer because I’ve purchased all of Jerry’s books. My personal Facebook page consists almost entirely (and solely) of me posting his daily Ballard Street cartoon – so I’m not just a non-paying fan, and a loyal paying fan, but I’m an evangelist for him, too.

Seth Godin’s most recent book, Linchpin, speaks to the issue of art better than I ever could.

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Yesterday Dallas talk radio was somewhat abuzz about a sex tape that Jesse James supposedly has with wife, Sandra Bullock. If the reports are true the behavior isn’t appropriate for any public (or private) discussion.

Update 4/6 @ 3:56pm CST: Sandra reports there is NO sex tape. I feel some better. Can we believe her? I sure hope so. I kinda like her.

Tiger Woods is clearly the front runner in how to destroy your reputation. Behave poorly. Be found out. It works every time.

The question is asked, “How can I build a reputation, especially an online reputation?”

I’ll give you 3 components that I think must be included in any discussion about reputation building – which is really about making connections. There are likely many other things we could talk about, but I’m going to give you three things to consider. Hopefully, you can find things to help you build your reputation, online or otherwise.

Warning: You won’t appeal to everybody. Not everybody will like you. Not everybody will want to do business with you. Reputations are like farming, you reap what you sow. It’s important that you behave properly 24-7-365 if you want to have a great, remarkable reputation. I’d encourage you to behave well, all the time!

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I love books. I love to read. I am almost always surrounded by books.

A recent post in a private forum by a social media star provoked today’s podcast. I hope you enjoy it. I hope it encourages you to become a reader, if you aren’t already. Among the biggest benefit of books – they can make you THINK.

What we think is important. Our thoughts engineer our behavior. Our behavior determines our outcome. Reading, learning and thinking are important. Taking action is urgent. Do both and you’ll drastically improve your success!

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Are you a member of a community where you feel really comfortable? A place where you’re instantly connected?

Sometimes it can be tough to find a place where our sense of belonging kicks in right away. Today, we can be members of more communities than ever before. No longer are our connections limited to those who live and work near us. Proximity isn’t defined geographically any more. It’s more properly defined by interests.

Commonality is the key to community. What do we share? How are we alike? Those common denominators tend to be how we establish community. How can we find where we fit best? How we attract others who fit with us, and our community?

Two communities that I’ll specifically name in today’s show are Teaching Sells and Third Tribe. I’m rather fond of both and I’ll tell you why I’m a member of both of those communities. And neither of them are free!

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All this talk about pursuing passion presupposes that if you aren’t chasing your passions, then you are miserable!

I don’t find that’s often the case though.

People are going about their lives, doing what they must do to support themselves and their families, and while they’re not jumping for joy every moment of every day – they’re not miserable. Yet, all the passion talk would have them feel that if they’re not really living the life of their dreams, then their success will always be limited and their lives will always consist of quiet (or sometimes loud) despair.

That’s a crock! And I’ll tell you why.

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Erykah Badu decided to strip off all (yes, all) her clothes in a video shot on March 17th.

It was the lead story last night in Dallas. The lead story!

She exposed herself and the media rewarded her with publicity that even money couldn’t likely buy.

Oh, yeah. Her new record was released today. I’m sure that’s just a coincidence though. I’m equally sure that this buzz about her public display resulted in greater record sales.

Ms. Badu is going for creative remarkability. She’s just making a statement. There’s a message in her nudity, you know.

Well, that’s what she said yesterday. And today. You don’t think she’d get naked in downtown Dallas just to sell records, would she?

What do you have to do to get known? How can you get exposure? There are just 2 things I’d like to mention. If you’ll focus on these two things, you’ll be well on your way toward being noticed and becoming remarkable.

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Lots of people will buy easy answers. A click here. A mouse move there. Really, it’s easy. You just sit back and watch your bank account swell.

Passive income. It’s all the rage. We sit back. Do nothing. And makes lots and lots of money. It’s great!

It’s also killing us. It’s destroying families, in one way or another.

It’s killing careers.

It’s killing companies.

It may even be killing our country. But I’m apolitical so I’ll steer clear of that. I will, however, throw down a 4-letter word on you. Brace yourself.

By the way, I call this episode 1 even though I’ve recorded prior shows. Gotta start somewhere – so here it is. Fitting that it begins with this word, too.

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You may not want to. You may really want to earn more than you’re worth, especially if you’re worthless.

I have a personal story to tell. As a consumer. A customer’s perspective. The fellow I hired ended up earning exactly what he was worth.

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Even if you have no interest in “Internet Marketing” you’d do well to observe what goes on because some of the most innovative, creative and disciplined marketing on the planet is happening in that space. Marketing is marketing. Every serious student of sales and marketing would do well to maintain a portion of their attention on this crowd.

Why? Because we tend to flock together, with folks just like us. The result is we often complain together, whine together and tell each other why we’re not doing as well as we’ve done in the past, or as well as we’d like. I’m encouraging you to break free from that. Look at a group of people who you’ve likely never paid attention to before. It just may help you innovate your own career and business.

What’s the future of Internet Marketing? I’m not sure. I am sure it’s changing though. John Reese is an Internet Marketer of some notoriety. He was perhaps the first “Internet Marketer” to crack the million dollar mark in a single launch – one product offering made over a period of days. The product was called Traffic Secrets. It was a product designed to show you how to drive more traffic to your website.

Around October of last year he released a pdf entitled, “Internet Marketing 2010: The Road Ahead.” Go to John’s site to get a copy and read his blog. Can you find a better domain name for an Internet Marketer than income.com? Probably not. He’s no fool. Oh yeah, he also owns and operates opportunity.com. I told you he was no fool (deep pockets helps you get killer domain names, too).

I’m not telling you that John Reese is THE guy you should listen to, but it can’t hurt you to read his take on where Internet Marketing is headed. I’m NOT an Internet Marketer and Reese is. No matter. We can learn more perhaps by just paying attention to how other people use persuasion and influence (aka “marketing”).

Regards,

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Watch this video, then listen to the podcast. You’ll quickly make the connection and understand how context impacts our ability to market ourselves – and our companies.

Pardon my lip smacking audio, but food and drink wait for no man. I’m sorry, but it may happen again. I’ll work to make sure not for awhile though. Enjoy!

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