Hey Jim, listen to this.
Everyone else, go buy Jim’s book, Attention: This Book Will Make You Money.
It just might.
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Author: Rex
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Get the Secret Message
I’ve got a secret I want to tell you. Listen here.
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A Motivational Message for You
The car was parked this time.
And I know, the music sounds horrible. I guess you can’t get high def sound through the cell phone air waves.
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Audio Post From the Car
I just had to do it.
If you haven’t heard about it, Seth Godin, one of my favorite authors, is on a mission to change the book publishing industry. As someone who has written many books, he knows the industry, the players, and the forces involved, so he knows what trends are happening now to create an opportunity for a new model to emerge.
This new model is called The Domino Project. And even though no one really knows exactly how it will work, you can bet that it will be remarkable because it has the genius of Seth Godin behind it.
This is a new model for spreading ideas, because books are just the medium or the souveniors of the ideas. He has a small team who is working with him on this project, but he is looking for more people to be messengers ‘on the street’ so to speak, to spread the word and work the ‘outposts’ of this effort.
If you want to be a part of this movement, apply here by Friday, January 28th at noon ET.
Otherwise, at least just subscribe to the newsletter so you can be in on what’s happening.
I think it’s a fascinating idea. Seth knows what he’s doing. So be on the lookout for changes coming to the business of spreading messages.
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An Email Post
Now I’m just testing the capability to post by email. I know this feature has been around for a while, but I’ve never tried it.
Seems simple enough.
This does make it easy, so there’s really no excuse not to post more often. The only problem is coming up with good content. So with this blog I’ll keep the freedom of posting about anything, whereas on my http://grootship.com blog I need to be more focused.
Thanks for paying attention.
…if you are.
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1st Audio Post – Too Cool!
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Ideas Come and Go – Give Them Life
There are a lot of things I haven’t done.
Let me re-phrase that. There are a lot of things I had the idea to do, planned on doing, then just didn’t follow through with it. (There are even more things I haven’t done that I haven’t thought of doing yet.)
But…
There are a lot of things I have done.
So, have I done things because I’ve thought of a lot of things to do, and at least some of them have happened? Does the principle that the guy with the most home runs has the most strike-outs apply here? Or he who has the highest number of stolen bases also get thrown out the most?
Does a lot of success necessarily mean a lot of failure?
I saw a quote today that says, “Success and failure. We think of them as opposites, but they’re really not. They’re companions – the hero and the sidekick.” by Laurence Shames
To me, that means that in order to do great things, you need to do a lot of things.
And the way to do a lot of things is to get the ideas from your head out into reality, so they have some form and substance.
And the way to do that is to write.
That’s why blogging is so good for you.
There’s something really amazing about writing. Do you know what it is?
It’s like giving birth.
Kind of. (I don’t want to get too deep into the analogy here.) It’s like creating something, producing something. It’s taking your thoughts and pushing them out onto the paper (or screen.)
And sometimes it’s painful. It doesn’t come out right, or we might be a little ashamed of it. Why is it always uncomfortable when someone is standing over our shoulder, watching what we are writing? (Everyone knows the old trick of cupping your hand or holding your arm real close to your pencil when someone walks by or tries to look at what you’re writing.) Only after you are complete are you ready to show it to someone. But even then, it’s still a little unnerving because you hope they don’t make fun of it, or criticize it. It’s your baby.
And most people are sensitive to that with real babies. They don’t say, “Well that’s an ugly one, what did you create that for?” (Even though they may be thinking it.)
Everyone realizes that the process of giving birth and bringing a new child into the world is so amazing that it doesn’t matter what it looks like, this mother has done such a tremendous thing, she should be praised and honored. And what she produced should be loved, protected and handled with the utmost care.
Shouldn’t we treat other things that people create in the same way?
It’s Exhilarating
The other point is that producing something is exhilarating. Maybe because it’s so painful. Just like any great accomplishment. If it takes hard work, it feels good when you’re complete, and you can take pride in what you’ve accomplished.
If it’s easy, there’s no reward. No pain, no gain.
So I’d like to create more. I’d like to have more babies – mind babies – getting ideas from my mind out into the world.
That means writing and making things happen.
What about you?
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Looking Back
Do you know what’s fun?
Looking back.
Especially if you have done something good in your life in the past. Sure, we always talk about focusing on the future and forgetting the past because there’s nothing we can do about what has already happened, and it seems like ‘the past’ is mostly associated with all the mistakes we made. But you know what? I’ve done a few good things in the past. And I think you have too.
So if you’re stuck in a rut, and things aren’t going so well, or you just need a boost…
Look back.
That’s what I did today. And it worked. I was really impressed with myself. I’ve written some pretty good blog posts, that I completely forgot about.
I have been in somewhat of a blog posting fog, not able to produce very much at all. (Now if you haven’t been following, I switched my blogging from here to http://grootship.com which is a more focused topic, which may be why it’s harder to produce every day.) So I decided to look back and see how I was able to crank out something every day.
And I was impressed.
Then what happened? I started writing this post. It didn’t take any planning or real effort at all, it just came to me, “I’ve got to write this.”
So it worked.
Maybe it’ll work for you.
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Hiring & The Potter’s Wheel – A Book Review
I don’t even hire people, but I was completely captivated by the entire story that Phil Wrzesinski tells in his book “Hiring & The Potter’s Wheel: Turning Your Staff Into A Work of Art”.
Everyone wants to be on a ‘dream team’, where all the players are absolutely fantastic and everybody gets along. But usually at work, ‘you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit’ (sorry, parent saying) which means that not everyone is perfect and you have to learn to deal with certain conflicting personalities.
That may still be true, but if you have the task of hiring, you certainly have a major influence on the overall character of your team, although it’s not as easy as just picking all your best friends.
First you have to start with the raw ingredients at the right amount and without impurities. Phil’s detailed pottery analogy enables you to reach a deeper level of understanding about people and the process for bringing them on board. Pottery is one of those subjects that everyone thinks they know something about but most don’t realize the specific intricacies involved in creating a quality piece of pottery.
Profound learning doesn’t require a lot of words, just the right ones. And this book has them. It’s small enough to sit and read during a lunch hour, yet deep enough to go back and study multiple times. With 10 clearly laid out lessons, Phil packs powerful insight into a few pages.
Even if you don’t currently hire people, the lessons in this book provide basic principles that will help your interactions be more effective, no matter what you do.
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The Importance of Story
When I was a kid, about 7 or 8 years old, word got out that for my birthday I wanted some Hot Wheels cars. On that day, I had a big party with lots of friends over which also meant lots of presents. I was so excited.
When I opened my first present, it just what I wanted, Hot Wheels cars! Perfect. Next present, more Hot Wheels. This was working out great. The next one, Hot Wheels again! I couldn’t believe my luck.
Then it happened, present after present, every single gift I received that day, all matched my desire: Hot Wheels! It was like a dream come true… except for one thing.
It was too much.
Sure, I wanted some Hot Wheels cars, but I liked other stuff too. I didn’t necessarily want every present to be Hot Wheels. Couldn’t someone be a little creative and think of something else?
It was one of the strangest birthdays I ever had. I was excited and happy about what I received, but not quite fulfilled because the final outcome wasn’t really what I wanted. I learned that very basic lesson of “be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it.” But to me it answered the question, “Is that all you want?”
Sometimes it takes an experience to really learn something. And each experience is a story.
We learn the most from stories.
Whether they are our own, or we read or hear them from someone else. They are powerful. And that is why they have been used for generations since the beginning of man to teach basic principles.
If stories have been so effective throughout time, then maybe we ought to use them more often today. Well, some people do.
Some of us just need more practice. Do you? Will you?
Post inspired by Chris Brogan: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/importance-of-story/
Hey everyone! (both of you)
I’ve started a new blog: grootship.com
But that doesn’t mean I won’t still be posting here, maybe just not as often. (But how can I be less often than I am now?) Ok, forget that. Maybe I’ll be posting here more often, just so I can drive traffic over there.
But I’m not making any promises. You’ll just have to keep checking back.
So what the heck is “grootship”?
I’m not even going to tell you. You’ll have to watch my launch video and then go read the blog page that answers the question.
I’m going to shoot for a post every day over there, excluding weekends. Pretty ambitious, I know. Some of them are going to be really short.
I just wanted to start something that I have a little bit of experience in, not an expert, just some experience, and that I think is fun and worthwhile.
(And yes, I made up that word. Is that cool or what? You can too at wordoid.com)
So come learn how to practice good grootship.
I was there!
Yes, I made the trek from one end of the country to the other just to meet some people in person that I only knew online. Plus, it was an opportunity to meet Seth Godin. But the real reason was to bond with the Triiibe.
I know I’ve probably mentioned it before, but here’s a little background. Before Seth’s last book launch, Tribes, he offered an invitation to join his online community if you purchased the book before it was released. I knew it was going to be good, and I’d probably buy one anyway so I said, why not?
So I joined Seth’s exclusive Triiibes.com community on the Ning.com platform, and it was pretty fun. Here was all of these diverse and interesting people from all over the world starting up conversations about the new marketing, building communities (tribes), and making a difference in the world. Seth basically set the guidelines and left us alone. He didn’t do any directing except eliminating people who were spammy self promoters, to make sure the conversations were real and authentic, and to keep out the online riff-raff.
We began working on projects together, collaborated on a couple of ebooks, and generally had a good time discussing things. Over time, different people would drop in and out of activity, but if you hung around you knew who was who.
And then things got personal. We helped console someone through a death in the family, we provided moral support to someone going through a major surgery (sent lots of cards and flowers), and helped others get their personal business off the ground. We dabled in consulting by providing recommendations to a business with a specific problem. We started all kinds of sub-groups from surfing to online marketing to wordpress users and developed bonds as we shared things in common and learned from the wisdom of the group. We even helped one of our members win a contest to be able to be Dan Pink’s guest and speak at TED.
Some of us who were closely located met in person occasionally. But this year we decided to make it big and organize a Triiibes Conference (although nobody liked that word). And there was no better opportunity than Seth’s Linchpin book launch in New York. He let us in on the information about it way ahead of time so we could start planning.
So a small group of us put the plans and details in place and made it happen.
It was a truly remarkable experience, some might even say ‘life changing’. But not necessarily because of the activities we planned, but because of the opportunity to connect in person with some really amazing people who we had already gotten to know well online.
It really is hard to put into words the feelings I had about the experience. People were so generous and willing to share. And there was a lot of great sharing going on. We learned about each others’ business or positions, learned about some great ideas people were working on, and also helped each other with problems or roadblocks that we were encountering.
It was like a big family reunion, because we all knew each other, and even had some inside jokes around discussions that we had online. And people came from all over the world: London, Slovenia, Belgium, Texas, California, and Washington (me), plus those in and closer to New York. People were committed to this event.
We spent all day on a Thursday together getting to know each other, giving presentations and socializing at the Williams Club (a coincidence, or not). Then Thursday night we had a private dinner with Seth at a small Asian place with food we’ll never forget. Friday morning was the public Linchpin Session with Seth where about 500 people showed up to see his presentation and get some books signed. Then in the afternoon, we met again as a Triiibe, along with a couple of new friends we met at Seth’s session, at the Williams Club for more discussion and a nice catered dinner. After dinner we just socialized and talked some more, late into the evening until the club kicked us out.
Connections were made, friendships deepened, and new desire was spawned to make a difference and do work that matters. It will always be considered a milestone event for me and many others.
It’s amazing what a small group of people can accomplish.
What will you do?
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Are You a Linchpin?
Do you remember what a Linchpin is?
It’s a piece of hardware that keeps the wheels on. Not on today’s cars, but on wagons many years ago. Today, they keep all kinds of things together. The linchpin has the highest usefulness to weight ratio of any other part. Without one, your whole system falls apart. It’s indispensable.
And that’s exactly what Seth Godin says you can be.
Quoted as being his “most important work ever” Seth’s latest book, Linchpin, cuts straight to the core of where making change happens: inside each individual’s brain and their ability to choose.
“This time it’s personal” he says. Not personal for him (although it is very much so) but personal for you. He wants you to make a personal choice. He wants you to choose to make a difference.
When we understand that a simple decision is all that is necessary to get started, it doesn’t seem too far out of reach. And when we believe the fact that we all have a little genius in us, capable of looking at something that others are stuck on and getting them unstuck, then we can begin to create our art – the thing that only we can do, that changes other people for the better.
I experienced linchpin-like change when I ignored my lizard brain that tries to keep me safe and in the status quo, and traveled to New York for Seth’s launch presentation of this book and to meet members of his online community that he created for his previous book, Tribes. It was a remarkable experience that needs a separate post.
Right now, I just want to say that this work of art from Seth is so packed with powerful concepts that it’s going to take a few readings and underlining to help me really understand and apply it effectively. From my first read-through I know that I need to develop the skills of becoming indispensable to those around me.
For me, more studying is necessary because he doesn’t provide a map, he doesn’t tell you how to do it. He only explains the skills, abilities, and characteristics of a linchpin, and why they are so critical in today’s environment. Without the map, the easy ‘how to’ answers, Seth makes attaining linchpin status more meaningful. It takes real work to develop those abilities (for those who don’t already have them), but Seth makes a great case for why it is worth it.
I hope I’ve made the case for why you should read the book.
You may not have the same anticipation or excitement as I did in this video, but it makes the book so much better if you do.
The Rex Blog 