THE GREATEST LESSON OF 2015

We are nearing the end of the year and one of the
most important (and profitable) investments you can make is
to review the past few months very, very carefully.
Humans are creatures of habit. We are examples of Newton's
law that, "a body in motion tends to remain in motion." We
tend to plunge ahead, repeating yesterday's mistakes and
failing to learn from experience. We take great pride in
the fact that we "can" learn, but my observation is that
we rarely do.
We tend to assume that what worked last year will continue
to work next year. We know that we should be innovative,
creative and original, but in our daily work it's easy to
get trapped in old habits, whether they serve us or not.  

When Jack Welch was the head of General Electric,
he insisted that half the company's profits come from
products and services that were less than five years old.
Why? Because he knew that yesterday's methods won't fit
tomorrow's world.
Take time to review the following questions: 

1. What worked best this year? What surprised me, inspired
me or taught me something new for my work or my life?  

2. What did not work, or is working less and less well?
What was less profitable or effective than I expected? What
should I drop in the new year?
3. What's new in my field? What are my colleagues
doing that I should apply to my business?  

One of the BEST things any professional, business owner or
manager can do is invest in seminars and conferences. The
chance to "see the forest for the trees" is incredibly
valuable. Conferences generate new perspectives, and new
ideas create vast new opportunities! Invest in yourself!

PERSONAL BRANDING TIPS

Since the taming of fire, people have aligned themselves with various clubs, clans, groups, movements, organizations and sports franchises. The obvious illustration of this is rooting for your home team. Where were you last Super Bowl Sunday? The odds are high that you remember where you were, and that you weren’t watching the big game alone.

This fact about association presents a great chance for anyone promoting anything, not just advertisers with over the top TV ads, but individuals too. In your case, this collective behavior offers a ripe opportunity to promote your book.

In Seattle, a city where football team spirit is high. No, wait – high is an understatement. Football here is a mania, after the local team took a couple trips to the Super Bowl. Walk down any street on a Sunday afternoon, and you may feel like Charlton Heston in a scene from The Omega Man or Will Smith in I Am Legend. It’s that quiet; everyone is inside, watching the game.

Fans don’t cheer feverishly only on game day here. Head out some Friday night to any pub, tavern or bistro. You’ll find that nearly 50% of the folks are dressed up in team jerseys and logoed sports caps. They’ve joined the tribe, and they live it. These fans give new meaning to the term “die-hard fan”.

Imagine if just one-tenth of them were wearing the logo from your book cover too. What would your career as an author look like then? What if your book could revolutionize the culture and galvanize people together the way a sports team unites beer drinkers, even on a team’s night off? Using social media, this idea may not be as far-fetched as it seems.

Social Proof Can “Show You The Money”

Social proof is a concept that plays to the deep-seated human need to be socially accepted. We assume that if other people are doing it, it must be the right thing to do. We don’t take into account what they know – just borrow their actions, believing the research has already been done for us. We don’t do it because we’re mentally lazy. We do it because we want to fit in and be accepted.

This desire is so deep-rooted that we will even do things that are contrary to our best interests – financial or otherwise – in order to stay consistent with what we assume about other people’s decisions. Most people leaving a theater will go through the same door everyone else is using, even if there is an unused door right next to it. We subconsciously assume it’s the right thing to do. We do it on autopilot.

The principle of social proof means we will convince ourselves of the correctness of other people’s decisions and make choices that conform to them. To speed up the decision-making process, we choose the path more traveled in the blink of an eye. Flying on autopilot is a fundamental aspect of human nature, and it helps us process the bombardment of messages we get all day long.

Leading the Pack

According to a 2014 study by Edison Research, 67% of Americans are active on some kind of social media. More than 75 million Americans check their social media accounts several times a day. About 58% of us use Facebook.

With two-thirds of the country checking in with their friends, family and neighbors at breakfast, lunch and dinner, there’s a whole lot of opportunity for you to promote your book – just by showing up.

5 Tips to Build Reputation on Social Media

1. Testimonials & Reviews: Using testimonials on social media are a great way to access the phenomenon of social proof. Using social media, you can publish testimonials and reviews from people who fit the demographic or psychographic profile of your target audience. The idea is to show that there’s support for your book from people who look “just like me”.
   To do this, ask your biggest fans for real testimonials (yes, this can include your mother). You will be surprised by what people have to say, and you just may learn a thing or two about your book. The more you can demonstrate that many people support your work, the more others will perceive your book as something worth reading.

2. Join Groups: Another tactic you can use is to join groups within your social network. Find congregations of people who most closely match your book’s natural demographic. Groups make for a ready-made audience, and often they are hungry to associate with published authors. You can find groups that are indirectly related to your topic as well, populated by your ideal audience. The key is to become a regular and active voice in the groups. LinkedIn is a great place to get started.

3. Start a Group: Consider creating your own group, either within your social network or on your own membership site. You can promote your group to your network of like-minded friends of colleagues, and watch your engagement numbers skyrocket.

4. Solve a Problem: Communicate a compelling promise or purpose that speaks to an intense pain or pleasure for your group. Offer a newsletter or ecourse so you can stay in touch with them, and show them how to overcome the pain or increase the pleasure.

5. Street Team: Finally, you can create a tribe with the groups you affiliate with. Use these contacts to build a street team, a small collective of three to twenty people who are avid fans of yours. If you put them to work to promote your books in social media channels, you could well find yourself at the hub of a jersey-wearing crowd – one with your number on it.

When it comes to measuring your influence in social media, many professionals turn to services like Klout.com to measure their effectiveness. Setting up a profile takes a few minutes, and the ongoing reports will help keep you on-track with your effectiveness in social media channels.

AMELIA EARHART'S CONTINUING GIFT

I recently read Doris Rich's biography of Amelia Earhart
and what struck me was that Amelia's great gift was to
always know her direction in life.
Obviously, Earhart is most famous for the records she set--
first woman to fly the Atlantic, first person to fly across
twice, and so forth--and of course, we remember the mystery
of her disappearance. What we often miss is the genius of
her living.
Earhart was a model of grand dreams and down-to-earth
practicality. She wrote and loved poetry, she was a
political activist, a feminist, a nurse and public speaker.
She was a social worker before she became famous, and she
understood the connection between our dreams and our
schemes.
Earhart understood that achieving our dreams requires a
practical SCHEME and the WILL to pursue it. That was her
real genius.
While I stand in awe of her skill (courage!) as a pilot,
what impressed me even more was her capacity for hard work.
She regularly gave speeches (often two speeches per day) in
a different city every day, for weeks on end. She would
speak, sleep a few hours, drive all night, have a press
conference over breakfast, rest a couple hours, then give
her speech and repeat the process. Imagine doing that day
after day, for weeks!
Now, imagine speaking and traveling every day, while also
writing articles in your spare time, being politically
involved and working with Congress on the future of
aviation, and simultaneously preparing for another world-
record flight. That is an amazing example of energy,
persistence, determination and force of will!
How did she do it?
Well, I admit that I think she had an extraordinary genetic
gift--that may be an excuse, but I just can't imagine the
schedule she maintained, so I cop-out and claim she was
"different" than the rest of us!
But, how about the similarities?
Earhart always knew what she wanted and used her desire to
set her course.
Most of want so many things that we don't truly know, at
the end of the day, what we want most. We want things that
actually contradict each other, like losing weight while
eating more and more food. We tolerate things that distract
us, that drain our energy, and take us away from our
primary goals.
Earhart didn't fall into that trap. Her ability to say, "I
want to do this" and then focus her spirit, her energy and
her will on achieving her goal were astonishing.
Fortunately, we, too, can choose our directions, choose our
goals and focus our efforts.
If anyone had the excuse of "too much to do," it would have
been America's most famous woman. The demands on her time
were incredible, but she learned to choose her battles, to
focus her attention and discipline her efforts. We can
learn from that!
In the coming year, what will be your most important goals?
Like every year, 2016 will bring the unexpected and
unpredicted. It will tempt us in a thousand ways with a
zillion opportunities, a ton of problems and daily
distractions, but through it all, a few of us--the high
achievers everyone else calls "lucky"--will stay focused on
their critical, passionate goals. 
Earhart was gifted, but more than anything else, she worked
hard, knew her destinations and let nothing blow her off-
course. We can learn from that. Know your destination. Stay
awake. Stay focused. Remain disciplined. Keep going when
others quit.

HOW HARD SHOULD YOU WORK?

For years, there's been a drum-beat that we "should" work
less and make more. The theory is that by being smarter and
more efficient, we should make more sales, and have more
profit for every hour we work.
I like the theory. I'm not sure it's that simple.
The reality is that the those who work hardest often seem
to make the most money. Beyond that, it seems to me that
the world actually prefers low prices, and that Sam Walton
(founder of Walmart) did alright by lowering prices and
making a bit less on every sale.
Now, obviously, we all want to be efficient, and we all
think we're just a bit smarter than the next competitor. We
are all looking for an "edge" to get ahead, and I suspect
that will never change. But I also think there is an
obvious edge we tend to over-look.
Customers actually like businesses that go the extra mile!
They prefer companies that answer their phone. They do
business with people who give superior service, and who
seem to care about customer satisfaction--actually, I like
companies that refuse to "satisfy" me and seem determined
to amaze me! And all of that requires hard, hard work.
Here's an old "law" of business: focus on the life-time
value of a fanatically loyal customer. Focus on the value
of a customer who sees him- or herself as your partner,
rather than as just a "shopper." When your customers refuse
to deal with anyone but you, your fortune is assured. How
hard should you work? About that hard.

7 GREAT REASONS TO BECOME A MENTOR

Mentoring has always been a noble thing. It is a powerful personal development and empowerment tool for both a mentor and a mentee. Many mentors believe that time spent together with young and inexperienced person is an investment in their future. I think every person needs a mentor in order to become strong, experienced and emotionally stable and ready to overcome various life issues and barriers. If you once try to become a mentor, you will have a chance to change the world of another person for better. Just find the person that motivates you the most and inspire them to become professionals in different spheres. Here are 7 reasons for you to understand that being a mentor is a wonderful thing.

1. You can change your community

Nowadays millions of children or young adults slip from the right path and need a mentor. If you have such individuals in your community, you shouldn’t be indifferent to their lives and future. Why not become their mentor and help them change for better? If you are mentoring someone younger than you, realize that both of you can face the problem of a generation gap. Try to be on the same wave with your mentees. Soon you’ll forget about generation gap while communicating with that person.

2. Inspire people

A good mentor usually provides inspiration and teaches the mentees to follow the aim till they reach their goal. Such inspiration helps people get through tough times. The mentor teaches mentees to see possibilities by bringing to life qualities they aspire for themselves. Mentoring can also change your life. It seems to be a good feeling to know that you’re having a positive impact on your mentee’s life. William Arthur Ward once said, “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”

3. Wonderful experience

There are many advantages of being a mentor. One of the most significant advantages is that you get valuable experience working together with your mentees. Some people treat mentoring as a job while others treat it like a hobby. By sharing fun activities and overcoming different fears and other emotional barriers together, both mentors and mentees get new experiences. Young mentees can even share new and interesting ideas with their mentors. Furthermore, mentoring provides personal satisfaction. It’s an amazing feeling to help another person succeed.

4. New visions of life

The experience you get by mentoring can give you an opportunity to get a new understanding of life. If you want to be a successful mentor, you have to put yourself in your mentee’s place and try to look at life through their eyes. You won’t be able to help them, if you life in two different worlds. Every person has their strengths and accomplishments. Mentor’s task is to help the mentee use these accomplishments properly. Mentoring sometimes requires you to face and experience different life situations that help you become a mature and all-rounded person.

5. Impact on community

Mentors usually make a profound impact on the life of the mentee. If you help your mentee to attain developmental assets of life skills, there is a probability that your student will start a domino effect. You don’t have to be an extremely popular and rich person to make an impact in your community. It’s enough to be wise and friendly to teach somebody to move through frustrations and happily in this harsh world.

6. Change your life

My experience as a mentor encouraged me to think over my life and change it for better. Fortunately, my dream to help somebody and become a better person had come true. I have always been a little bit light-minded person, but this serious step made me feel the responsibility for my mentees, because I wanted to be a wonderful example for them. Consequently, I’ve become strong, responsible and self-confident person.

7. Do something meaningful and rewarding

I think every person has at least once reflected upon their life and their mission on this planet. Nowadays the best way to do something meaningful and rewarding is to become a mentor and help someone succeed in something. It has always been my dream to help somebody, especially when these people are in need of someone just to talk to. If you help somebody to start a new life, they will be grateful to you.

If you want to get a truly rewarding experience, you should try to become a mentor. Though, becoming a mentor is a big and responsible decision that shouldn’t be taken too lightly. It is necessary to be mentally ready for this challenge. Have you ever tried to become a mentor? Share your emotions and experiences, please.