I am pleased to announce the release of a new book edited by my good friends Missy Ward and Shawn Collins. Internet Marketing from the Real Experts is a collection of affiliate, email, blogging, podcasting, video, search engine, and social media rock stars that break down the how and why of Internet marketing in a clear, easy to understand way.

There are dozens of contributors including Brian Clark, Joel Comm, Jim Kukral, Jeremy Schoemaker and yours truly. These are the people that do this stuff every day… the people that I seek advice from. Find out how they do what they do to achieve success with their online businesses.

Buy it now! (Amazon Affiliate Link)

Last year was my first year ever running a marathon. I started off pretty slow but managed to complete 5 full marathons through the year without stopping once during any of them. My best time was 4h 07m 58s in Atlanta on Thanksgiving day, with times for every race coming in under 4h 20m. I can honestly say that I am in better shape now than I was in my 20s and I feel great.

My 2010 New Year’s Resolution is to run eight full marathons and one ultra marathon. Here are the races I have have booked or will book as soon as registration opens.

January : ING Miami Marathon
February : Jacksonville Marathon and Gasparilla Marathon
March : ING Georgia Marathon
April : Charlottesville Marathon
May : Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon
June : Newport Marathon
July : San Francisco Marathon
August : Extraterrestrial Full Moon Midnight 51k (Ultra Marathon!)
September : TBD
October : Steamtown Marathon
November : NYC Marathon and Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon
December : St. Jude Memphis Marathon

Commit to Success, Plan for Obstacles

You may have noticed that I have more than 8 marathons listed above. I have done that for two reasons :  1. I fully intend on shattering my goal. 2. I realize that I may get sick or have to deal with an emergency causing me to miss a race. I had scheduled the Disney marathon earlier this month but had to punt because of illness.

Big, audacious goals require upfront planning and milestones along the way. You can’t just say “I am going to run 8 marathons” or “I am going to lose 30 pounds”. When and where do you plan on running each race? When do you intend to lose your first 10 pounds and how? You need to break up big goals into smaller, achievable pieces and create a clear path to success.

Quick Tip

I find that blogging my goals helps me really stick to them. Once they are on public display it is hard to take them back or make excuses.

I have been overwhelmed by the support for earthquake victims in Haiti. The country has been torn apart by the disaster, but the world is coming to their aid. From concerts and telethons to text messages and twitter campaigns these past few weeks have been a testament to our global humanity. I am especially proud of America, no matter where tragedy strikes our government, companies and citizens provide relief like no other.

I am trying to do my little part too. I have decided to sell a one of a kind piece of art that I have been working on over the past month or so. I didn’t start the project with Haiti in mind, but when the disaster struck I knew exactly what I needed to do. The artwork is black ink on paper, about 8.5 inches square. It is a peace symbol that appears to be almost solid when viewed from a few feet away but reveals intricate patterns and objects when viewed closely. It is for sale on Ebay, all proceeds go to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

This artwork would look great in a frame sitting on a desk.

I have spent the past few weeks traveling the country non-stop. That means hours of my life wasted in the airport, many of those sitting in the security screening line on the way to my gate. Despite all the videos, signs and screaming TSA employees there is apparently still some confusion about procedures at the security check point. For those of you who have difficulty I have compiled my own guide to getting through security quickly and not annoying your fellow passengers.

The Expert Lane

In most of the major airports there are special expert lanes designated for people that travel regularly. These lanes are designed for people that fly more than twice a month and are “experts” in TSA security procedures. If you don’t fly regularly or are traveling with children you should get in another lane with the proper designation.

Common Questions

Q : “This is my first time flying. Am I an expert?”

A : “No. Expert means you fly all the time.”

Q : “I am an expert but my 2 year old, 5 year old, 7 year old, wife, grandma (in a wheelchair) and dog are not. Should I get into the expert lane anyway?”

A : “No. While you are an expert you are traveling with your family. You should get in the family lane.”

Take off your shoes

Shoes are the things you wear on your feet to protect them and provide comfort. Shoes include sneakers, flip-flops, boots, sandals, pumps, clogs and variety of other styles. “Take off” refers to the act of removing your shoes from your feet.

Common Questions

Q : “I am a woman. Do I have to take my shoes off too?”

A : “Yes. Men and women are treated equally by TSA.”

Q : “I am wearing boots which makes it hard to take off my shoes. Do I still need to take them off?”

A : “Yes. Next time wear shoes that are easier to take off.”

Q : “Is unlacing my shoes the same as taking them off?”

A : “No. Unlacing them is just unlacing them.”

Q : “Are you sure flip flops are considered shoes?”

A : “Yes.”

Remove all metal from your body

Metal is a chemical element that is used in a variety of everyday objects. Common metals include silver, steel, iron, nickel, gold and zinc. Metal is typically hard and shiny. You probably have metal in your belt buckle, glasses, piercings and umbrella. You should remove all the metal you have on your body and place it in a bin to go through the X-Ray machine.

Common Questions

Q : “The change in my pocket is hard and shiny. Is it made of metal?”

A : “Yes. Change is metal and should be removed from your pocket.”

Q : “My necklace is made of metal. Is that still considered metal?”

A : “Yes.”

Discard Sharp Objects

Your are prohibited from carrying any sharp objects on to a plane. Sharp objects include box cutters, ice axes, meat cleavers, razor blades, sabers and swords. Sharp objects must be discarded (thrown away or mailed back home) in order to pass through security.

Common Questions

Q : “Can I bring my pocket knife on the plane.”

A : “No. A pocket knife is technically a knife.”

Q : “If they X-Ray my sword can I bring it on board.”

A : “No. It is still a sword.”

Q : “Is a spear gun considered a sharp object?”

A : “Yes. It is a spear… and a gun (see below).”

Discard Weapons and Self Defense Items

Much like sharp objects, you are prohibited from carrying on weapons along with  martial arts and self defense items. These include guns, grenades, billy clubs, black jacks, brass knuckles, kubatons, mace, nunchakus, stun guns and throwing stars. If it could kill someone it is best to leave it at home.

Common Questions

Q : “I just bought these nunchakus, do I still have to throw them away?”

A : “Yes. It doesn’t matter how old they are.”

Q : “My gun is in a locked case. Can I bring it on board?”

A : “No. Cases can be opened.”

Q : “I am pretty sure that this grenade doesn’t have any explosives inside. Is that O.K.?”

A : “No.”

I hope that you have found this guide helpful. For more information please visit the TSA website. The frequent travelers of the world would appreciate it.

I had a dream last night that included domesticated miniature camels (bonzo size), Gary Coleman, a flying hot dog cart and my unborn son. While I was impressed that the camels could use the toilet and Gary Coleman was taller in person, I woke up most excited about my unborn son. No, I am not married and no, Tara is not pregnant (that I know of anyway), but in my dream there was a bun in the oven and I had just scored a major victory for branding freaks and taco lovers the world over.

I have talked about personal branding quite a bit in the past. I believe that it will be an area of growing importance in the future as the global economy becomes more competitive. A strong personal brand can make the difference between landing a job, winning a client or even finding a mate. Most of us start with a disadvantage… our own name. Do you know how many Ted Murphys there are in the world? It is much more difficult to build a brand around a name when other people have the same name. That is why corporations trademark and protect their name and celebrities adopt new names they can uniquely call their own.

In my dream, I convinced Tara to name our son Taco Murphy. Partially because I love tacos, but mostly because the domain name and trademark were available. Yes, the name Taco Murphy is a little crazy. I’m not sure that I would really name my kid Taco, but the concept is more important than the execution in my dream. When I do have a child, I want to make sure I can secure their domain name, trademark and, possibly, some social media profiles (though I am not sure they will all be relevant by the time they grow up). I want my kid to be able to “own” their own name from day one and use that name to propel their personal brand.

We are all products. We are all selling ourselves to one  another. A memorable brand name is a key component of any successful product development strategy. Why not apply the same principle to “human product” development?

—-

After an initially difficult childhood Taco Murphy grew to become the CEO of a vast Taco empire. His breakthrough was taco shells made out of bacon that somehow didn’t make your hands greasy. He named his children enchilada and chimichanga.

Yes. I bought the domain. Just in case.

Sniff sniff. Can you smell that? I smell a skinny you in 2010. Don’t get too crazy tonight, you have work to do starting tomorrow. You are going to rock out 2010 and I am going to be right there with you.

New Years day is right around the corner. Now is the perfect time to commit to making your 2010 resolutions a reality. Don’t wait until New Years Eve! You know what you need to change in your life… prepare yourself before 1/1/10 rolls around so you can start the new year off strong.

Earlier this year I posted a downloadable Twitter T-Shirt design on this blog. Variations of the design have popped up all over the place, including shirts from Shaw Collins, Laurie Pooh and Naoma Doriguzzi. It’s been awesome to see people using the file I provided, it took off way more than I expected. I thought I had seen it all, but this use of the design really “takes the cake”.

Happy birthday to Michael Brito! I wish I could have made the party buddy : )

This morning I came across a fake video for the Apple tablet (posted below). It is incredibly well done, the person who put it together has real talent. While the goal of this video appears to be web traffic, I believe it also represents the ultimate job application. If I was a designer looking to land a position at Apple this is exactly what I would do. What better way to demonstrate your value to a company than broadcasting your vision of their future?

You can do the same in your job search.

With the unemployment rate in double digits competition is fierce right now, but you can stand out. Don’t just submit a resume, get creative and blow your perspective employer away. Create a presentation, make a video or write a white paper on the future of the industry and figure out how to get it in front of the decision maker. Even if your vision is slightly off base it illustrates your passion, commitment and understanding of the company.

BTW, we are hiring right now.

I am delighted to announce that I will be keynoting In Control Orlando this February. In Control is a web design workshop conference presented by AIGA Orlando. Speakers include internationally recognized educators and industry leaders such as Jared Spool, Stephanie Sullivan, Christopher Schmitt, Derek Featherstone and Ethan Marcotte. You will learn to harness creative inspiration, unlock your potential, amplify innovation, and broaden your reach.

Workshops

If you are a web developer or designer here is your chance to learn from and share with the best. The interactive workshops include:

• Kelly Goto - Day 1 Keynote Address
• Christopher Schmitt - HTML5 Workshop
• Stephanie Sullican - CSS Workshop
• David McFarland - jQuery Workshop
• Ethan Marcotte - Adv. XHTML+CSS Workshop
• Ted Murphy - Day 2 Keynote Address
• Derek Featherstone - Accessibility
• Greg Rewis - Web Workflow Workshop
• Shari Thurow - Findability & SEO Workshop
• User Research Workshop - Jared Spool

I love that the AIGA is bringing quality programming like this to Orlando. I plan on sending a posse from the IZEA team over participate.

In Control Orlando Discount Code

Want to save $50 on admission? Register here and use code “INCTEDM”. Reserve your spot now! Attendance is limited to 100, creating more opportunities to interact with speakers and other attendees.

SPECIAL BONUS : I will be wearing pants.