“Hire for passion, train for skills,” is a quote I heard on a recent Social Media Examiner podcast. The people that are the most passionate about what they do are the ones we remember most; they are also the most prolific and usually the most profitable.
What would happen if you hired a social media manager who was your number one fan? Passion is admirable, charming and inspiring. It’s positive, decisive and purposeful. It’s about pleasure and growth through pain. That love and obsession with something is what pulls us through the hard times and leads to pure happiness and ultimate satisfaction.
You won’t find a more driven and determined person than that person who is most passionate about your (or their own) brand, business or project and success.
So, look for passion first, then train them or collaborate with them to reach your goals. And if you’re thinking along the lines of volunteers or brand influencers, seek the most passionate there as well. It’s not only sex that pays!
Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Yesterday I replaced the batteries in my electronic tooth brush with new ones and when I turned the toothbrush on inside my mouth, I nearly swallowed the head of the brush out pure shock. I had no idea how old the previous batteries were and how ineffective they had become since the brush still seemed to work albeit rather unenergeticly.
So what does all of this have to do with marketing, business, life or blogging? Well, as I thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of the super charged brush cleaning my teeth, I had one of those Elizabeth Gilbert moments of inspiration where I suddenly realized the importance of recharging. What does that mean you ask? It means taking time off. It means stopping, relaxing, taking time off to enjoy the real things in life. Too often we get stuck on a treadmill of the daily grind, day in day out working, fighting the clock to get as much done as possible and still feeling like the list never gets any shorter. I wonder if the batteries are just getting tired after working and pushing so hard for so long. Perhaps if we just switch out the batteries in ourselves, we’ll have that boost of energy like new batteries in your favorite electronic device. (I’m sure there are only a few things which are as evident in a tactile form as an electronic toothbrush, but you know what I mean.)
Are you feeling fine, normal, same old – same old? Is it time for you to take time to recharge your batteries?
Advice from Dad: “Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.” My Dad is English, so in the U.S. this would be “Take care of the cents (also called pennies here) and the dollars will take care of themselves.”
A corollary: Take care of the people and the business will take care of itself
I’m working on a proposal for San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority and in reviewing their website, I noticed this inspiring little video about the world’s most environmentally friendly ferry that I hadn’t seen before. Yes, I get most of my news and information online, but I also listen to NPR and my ears are particularly interested in local green technology. I’m sorry I missed this video when it aired on CNN, because it is a great accomplishment for San Francisco and our beautiful bay.
Have you taken the ferry lately? What do you like about it? Did you know we have the most environmentally friendly ferry in the world?
Last night I taught a Marketing with Search Engines class for Classes for Causes. The class was held to benefit Symphony Parnassus and I raised $64 for the orchestra. Classes for Causes is a non-profit dedicated to connecting people to raise money and awareness for various causes through teaching and learning. Anyone can teach a class about anything they want and the money they earn in tuition is donated to the charity of the instructor’s choice.
There were just two students, so it was very intimate and actually just perfect. Most people would cancel or postpone a class if only two people signed up, but not me, I guess I just love the experience of teaching too much. It was such a pleasure to have time for each student to participate, ask as many questions as they wanted and really understand the concepts of the subject. Teaching that way is a lot more like consulting than giving a lecture. It’s a conversation which sparks ideas and nurtures the learning process. When learning is fun, you learn more and digestion of the knowledge is easier.
I am extrememly grateful for the interest my students have in the subject matter and confidence in my ability to help them learn. It is an honor to teach and a pleasure to learn from my students. Thank you Aimee and Brian. I can’t wait to see what you do with your new found Marketing with Search knowledge.
This recently posted video has become top of the viral video charts and for some reason the author has prevented embedded. It looks like they may even be removing it from YouTube. Why did it go viral?
1. The video makes you smile.
2. The video is real.
3. The music is shocking for a church and surprisingly appropriate for the ocassion.
4. It’s a unique kind of wedding entrance and fun to watch from the very beginning.
5. Don’t you wish you were at or in this party?
Yesterday I got a phone call from “Kim Smith” of Federal Government Grants. She had a decidely East Indian accent and persisted that she was calling because the U.S. Federal Government wanted to give me $7,000 because my credit is good, I am a good citizen and I pay all my bills on time.
She said that when I get the money I have to promise not to use it for anything bad like gambling, alcohol or drugs, but that I should feel free to use it for anything positive, like towards my mortgage payment, buying a car, school for my kids or home improvement.
The phone call went on and on with lots of requests for agreement and she kept asking me to speak up because she couldn’t hear me. Eventually she told me how to claim my grant money. She needed me to answer a few questions confirming my address, phone , date of birth…. you see where this is heading now, right? Then after all the questions, I had to call (213) 599-7374 which I was told was the Federal Government Grants Accounts department and let the person on the other end of the phone know that I talked with Kim Smith and give my confirmation number.
Well obviously I didn’t call, so Kim Smith called me back a couple of hours later asking me why I hadn’t yet called and asked me to tell her when I would call. I told her I would call by 2 p.m. So at 1:55 p.m. for the hell of it I called, and what happened?
The same story all over again with another woman with an Indian accent explaining the nature of the program and what was involved with lots of questions, asking me to speak up so that she could hear my response. (Do you think she was recording my responses perhaps?)
Does this sound fishy or phishy or vishy to you? It did to me so I hung up. I’m wondering if anyone else has had any similar experiences and what you did or would do if you got such a call. Care to share?
