Thursday, April 30, 2009

Responsible Reporting....A thing of the Past?


I've thought that News Reporting has been less then responsible for quite some time now, but with this over reaction to the Flu is startling and even down right scary. Every network and most reporters are all out there looking for the next BIG story because they want BIG ratings.

Unfortunately, when these stories are only half told or slanted to a particular viewpoint it creates a false perception of realty...and guess what, perception IS reality.

This whole Swine Flu reaction is unbelievable to me. Here is Texas, schools are being closed for weeks, ALL athletic events for youth activities have been canceled, and the state is just in a tizzy. Seems every place I turn or each person I interact with has the Swine Flu on their mind.

The frightening part to me is not the flu or it's potential to end the human race like it is being reported, but it is how easily people get sucked into believing everything they hear. Nobody seems to be questioning any of this reporting or it's viability as a real threat to everyone.

Is it that simple to scare an entire country of people and force them into an abstract belief of reality?

What are the facts?


  • Over 30,000 people die every single year due to the regular seasonal flu. Many of these are children under 5 years of age because they immune systems are not as strong as adults.

  • There has been 1 death from the Swine Flu in the United States. This was a child under 2 years of age that is from Mexico visiting family. The child was not a U.S citizen and he suffered from another medical ailment already.

I just cannot wrap my arms around how this new strain of the common flu demands this kind of scrutiny. If it is this easy to scare a nation, what else is possible? How easily can a country be tricked into something?

All this fear mongering really has me worried that as a country we are not as independent in mind set as we should be. Has nothing been learned from tactics of "leadership by fear" in the past? Where will the fear tactics stop? More importantly when will the people stop following blindly the advice and thoughts of people that have ulterior motives?

  • Be vigilant in learning about something for yourself.
  • Do NOT take everything you hear as fact, even if is from an outlet that should be providing facts.
  • If EVERYONE is being led down a particular uncertain path, it is a GOOD time to ask questions BEFORE following.
  • Use your mind and create your thoughts. Opinions that are not the same as the majority are good. They create an educated dialogue.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Can we Lose the Gloom and Doom already?


I gotta say, I am just about totally fed up with the doom and gloom media coverage and other such "world ending" mantras being thrown about by our countries leaders.

Let's see here, we have Swine Flu, The New Great Depression, Wars, Terrorism...

This is all so ridiculous that there must be some agendas out there.

Let me tackle a couple of these items:

Swine Flu: The world is not going to succumb to some random strain of flu. In a regular year, approx 30,000 people die from the regular flu in the U.S. As of this morning, we have 1 death from the Swine Flu, yet it is the lead for every major news network and the President is actually addressing the issue.

A few years ago, the world was supposed to succumb to the Avian Bird flu...seems that turned out to NOT be the pandemic that was being reported.

The NEW Great Depression: Give me a break. Our country and the world is currently cycling through a downturn. We are NOT in a depression. After 8-10 years of consecutive record shattering growth and boom, we have scaled back. You can't continue to peak year after year without a setback forever.

Many people have lost jobs due to the newer slowed down pace and many companies are now having to pay the piper for years of greed and bad management. I have had several close friends lose jobs as a result of this, but in less than a month, they are all now employed at new companies making the same amount of money. If we were in a depression, there would not be new jobs....

Everyone needs to take a step back and really think about what is being reported and why it is being reported. Do NOT take everything at face value, because very seldom is the published story the real story.

Media outlets like big ratings. Why? Because they don't care about reporting news, they care about the advertising revenue that is received when ratings are high.

Political folks such as congress and even the President ALL have agendas. To further an agenda or goal you need your constituents (the public) to buy in. Fear is the Number One way to deliver a message as it gets to the emotional fabric of every human.

If you want to pass legislation to somewhat nationalize banking, what would you do? Perhaps report stories everyday of failing banks and the non-lending of money...

If you want to pass legislation to nationalize health care, what would you do? Perhaps pray on the fears of the public of a flu epidemic....

If you want to pass legislation and gain support for war funding, what would you do? Perhaps report each day of impending world doom from terrorism....

I'm not making political statements, I'm just saying, that all these people have agendas and your genuine well being is very seldom one of them. Don't be so quick to believe what you read and hear. Use your common sense and start filtering out the nonsense.

Until the masses decide that no more of this is acceptable, nothing will change. Be an individual. Be a thinker. Be different. Don't follow. Lead.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Doppler Radar Marketing


As I'm typing this here in Dallas / Fort Worth, we are under a severe weather storm warning. This time of year, we are pretty much always under the threat of a severe rain storm at some point during the day. Sometimes it rains, sometimes it doesn't.


I started thinking though. When there is even a small hint of possible severe weather around here it glues people to their TVs. It could be rain, wind, snow, ice...you name it. It is "stop down" viewing when the weather person interrupts your regularly scheduled TV show to give an update.


What if you could tap into that kind of "stop down" reading for your marketing efforts? What would that entail? How could anyone possibly pull that off?


My thoughts are this:



  1. Be Original...ALL the time. Don't start out with original thoughts then revert to what everyone else in your business does.

  2. Don't be in people's face ALL the time. It's good to stay in touch and communicating with your fans, but I am referring to the emails, commercials, ads, etc, that are ALWAYS preaching "limited time" or "unique." We all know that is crap. If you are selling something for one price today, I guarantee I can get if for the same price tomorrow. Stop lying to us. We are not that dumb.

  3. Don't always hold the details back from the public. If you are going to build up your skills, products, or whatever, then give us a taste. A good taste. Don't provide a million testimonials from people we don't know and think we will hand our money over. I want to see a decent sample of your "uniqueness," not just words.

Watching weather reports on TV and looking at their ratings, should be a message to everyone that it is still VERY possible to hold someone else's attention span for longer then 2 minutes. All you have to do is provide people with valuable information that has an impact on their life. The trick is creating your information in such a way that people have no doubt that you can have an impact on them.


When you do that. People will listen. Everything else is just noise.



Thursday, April 23, 2009

Article Comments..Feeding the "herd" mentality?



For about the last 10 years or so, I have primarily read the news via the Internet rather then the newspaper. The Internet has been my source for basically everything over that period of time. Not surprisingly, that seems to be the case for a huge percentage of people.

Several years back, it became the norm for "reader feedback" via a comments section at the conclusion of every article. The initial thought was to get the readers involved and "feeling" as if they were contributing to something, which leads to greater loyalty and interest.

The results were good. The website (news outlet) would get increased traffic to the site because people that left comments would often tell their friends about it, thus raising awareness of a particular web site or a specific news column.

The writer of the article enjoyed it because they could receive immediate vindication about their article and they would also increase people's awareness about who exactly "they" were. Which has created several quasi celebrity Internet authors.

My theory is this:

At some point in time, with every venture or any idea, you get to a point of diminishing returns. Basically meaning, without corrective action or change, the initial idea / plan no longer receives a worthwhile return on investment. That "idea' actually starts to have a negative effect on business returns or public perception.

If you read any article on a major news type website today there is a comments section. When you click on the comments tab to see what others are saying about that particular piece, it has become a virtual zoo. When people decide to make a comment via the Internet, they write things they would never say in front of people. They insight hatred, nonsense, ridiculousness, or just crazy talk.

It is confusing to me, why they don't just shut off the comments feed to these articles. For any information that is to be gained by reading an article, it becomes diluted in all the nonsense that "cyber" commentators unleash on it.

It doesn't even matter what the article is about anymore. You will find a ridiculous division of wild comments and almost silly view points.

I am all for free speech, but in my world and in my mind, if you are not willing to stand up and make the exact same comment in person, you should not have the ability to make a written comment.

I also believe in different view points. Differing thoughts should be the fuel that creates progress and opportunities. However, adamant "hateful" opinions only further divide people from ever wanting to make a concession or agreement.

With millions and millions of people around the world viewing the same content and reading other people's nonsense type opinions we are falling further and further into a large division of groups. For whatever reason, people read these comments and get rilled up about them.

Here is the truth about what is happening:

Let's use politics as an example since it is a very divisive subject.

An author writes a story that delivers a factual account of the Presidents Actions. The story contains no bias, it is just relating information to the public.

Suddenly, in the comments section, you have certain individuals that make dumb statements that stereotype a Republican view and then you get equally ignorant comments that stereotype the Democrat view point.

To the somewhat non super political following reader (which is most people), they start to believe that ALL Republicans believe a certain thing or ALL Democrats feel a certain way about something else. Truth be told. The wild and careless commentators are not smart people. They are simply representative of random people sitting at home that enjoy inciting chaos.

But guess what? The perception is now out there in the public arena that certain people believe this because they affiliate with Republicans or those people believe that because they are Democrats. It is ALL Ignorant "sheep" type thinking.

Stereotyping has NEVER been a good idea. It still isn't. With gender and race, stereotyping is perceived as one of the worst things that can be done....somehow though, in recent times, stereotyping people based on political thoughts has become accepted.

It's time to cutout the comments field from articles because it perpetuates "herd" thinking and has in some part contributed to many false judgements about other people. It's time for people to learn to form their own thoughts about an article or an individual again. People inherently want to belong to something, it makes them feel "safe." But belonging to groups based on false information and theories is one of the most dangerous things that can happen.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Pressure


What do you define as pressure?


The Thesaurus defines pressure as: physical force, weight, demand, difficulty.


I define pressure as opportunity. Meaning, when I think of pressure, I think of my obligation to take advantage of situations to create a better opportunity for myself, family, or friends.


To me, real pressure is bigger than an individual moment in time to meet a deadline, make a phone call, or get a timely response. It is more about the big picture of the overall scheme of success.


For example:
In many jobs or professions, people are depended on to take care of their business in a timely and results oriented fashion. Basically, the success or failure of that individual is based over a specified / fixed period of time. That is all good. I have no issue with that.


The problem that occurs, however, is that companies / employers become so fixated on certain overall results, they begin to focus on all the small details creating unrealistic and false pressure situations for their employees.


The company goal is simply that if they focus on all the small minutia stuff the overall result will improve. They feel by doing this it will limit certain items slipping through the cracks thus creating a better final scenario. Typical increased pressure means more meetings, increased reports, more employer / employee performance reviews, etc.


What companies / employers either fail to realize or fail to care about is that this behavior of turning up the pressure on their employees actually has the reverse effect over a period of time.


Why?


  • Continued increased pressure on everything numbs the employee to focusing any longer.

  • Not allowing the employee to prioritize their own business to self generate pressure, creates an employee that will begin to no longer think as a business person and they will stop caring about the company.

  • Micro Prioritizing false pressure will result in less efficiency when "true" pressure is needed.

If you are in a position that requires a disproportionate level of pressure, speak with your manager about your frustration. Bring a plan with you of how you can show them you are handling your business and you can self generate your own urgency / pressure when needed.


If you are self employed or in a little more loose sales environment focus on the end results. Create a clear picture for yourself of how you can benefit in the future by creating your own pressure. Focus on the details, but only in the capacity that your future accomplishments are enhanced by it.


Simply put, don't expend vital mental energy on items that do not lead to future results.


Understand what you expend your mental energy on and re prioritize it if necessary. Wasted mental pressure on a continual basis is the largest factor of burn out and future give up. When you maximize your mental focus and mental pressure on the important items only, much better results will be received and your attitude will be improved as well.


Tuesday, April 21, 2009

15 Minutes


It seems everyone is looking around trying to capture their 15 minutes of fame. With all the social networking sites and you tube videos, people can plaster themselves all over these days.


The problem with this approach today is that it is no longer original. To gain a new following via any of these type sites is going to be very difficult if you are relatively unknown. With people everywhere around the world inundating these sites every moment of every day it will continue to get harder and harder to gain recognition this way.


So how do you grow a following?


There is actually no big secret here, just know that unless something out of the ordinary happens, it will take some time, consistency, courage, and hard work to get yourself out there. Once you are out there, these other social media sites can serve you very well in growing your personal brand.


What to do:



  1. Start small with a core group of people that are loyal and believe what you do is something great.

  2. Ask your core group of supporters to help you by passing the word to their sphere of influence.

  3. Repeat


Stay consistent and your personal core group of supporters will start to grow exponentially. Many folks call this pyramid marketing. I just call it common sense. No fancy terms. You can't start marketing on a large scale first if people don't know you. Build your brand, create some value, and enlist the support of those that believe in you.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas


Almost every single week, I speak with someone that will say the following line.

"I had that idea years ago."

When I hear that line, I never doubt that the person is telling the truth. I think many people have fantastic ideas ever single day. But I do always stop for a second and say, "I guess you should have done something about it." Within minutes of the conversation beginning, it almost always ends with little to no residual thoughts of remorse from the idea person.

It's that moment in the conversation that I find very sad. To me, it says that even though I have great thoughts and ideas, I am not destined to do anything any better than what I am doing right now. How can that be? How can you ever feel resigned to some pre-determined fate of mediocrity?

If you have "the" idea. Go do something about it. It isn't the ideas that separate highly successful people from normal people. It's the follow-through on making it happen.

Don't be the guy (or girl), that watches in the background as someone else runs off with your idea.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Don't be afraid to CHANGE the Status Quo


Status Quo is boring. It's ordinary and everyone else does it.


Make an effort to change it. The Status Quo is what it is because there are so few people out there willing to risk the opportunity for change. Just go do it. Do something.


If your work group does the same pointless stuff all the time, and the reason is, "just because." Guess what? It MUST be changed.


Take some initiative. Ask your boss or co-workers how they would feel about taking a different approach to something. Doing something over and over just because that's the way it has always been done is nonsense.


You have a brain and most certainly have your own thoughts. Why not share a few? Who knows, perhaps your suggestion with be implemented and it will change the course of your once pre-determined future.


If you go to work for 9-10 hours per day and it is mundane, eventually it will lead to your unhappiness. You owe it to yourself to spice things up a bit and make some suggestions. Make it fun. I guarantee other people will appreciate the effort.


Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Social Networking a Crutch?



Social Networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc, have become sensations in a very short amount of time. There are scores of articles and blog posts about these sites and how great they are. I'm gonna take a slightly different approach.

If your an aspiring speaker, trainer, marketer of any sort, or your goal is somehow to create new business by networking on such sites, its gonna be a tough road for you. The reason these sites are so popular is simply because they pique that little twinge that 95% of people have called curiosity.

These sites make people feel like they are part of a group. It really helps those people that are more reserved or shy in their real life interactions, but the mask of the Internet allows people to come out of their shell just a bit.

However, creating new business and marketing yourself via these sites will have very little impact on your future success. People use these sites as an escape from their workday reality. They want to relax and communicate with their friends or acquaintances. That being said, it makes these sites not very receptive to being hit with solicitations.

Unless you are already established in your business with lots of followers, this will most likely not be a good payoff for you to spend time marketing to these sites. I'm not saying don't do it, I am just suggesting that if your allocating your time to certain areas of business development, this should not be the area with the most time allocated.

There is no substitute for face to face encounters and good old fashioned hard work. Build your business by hitting the street and talking to warm bodies. Maintain that contact with your business via these social networking sites. That's the order. Not the other way around.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Open to new ideas or Keeping the Blinders On?


In the market that we are in today, more than anytime in recent memory, it's important that people keep their mind open and receptive to new ideas. It's funny though, because I have found the opposite to be true.


I'm the kind of guy that gets involved in many different things. I like new ideas, trying new things, and am always open to risking failure for the opportunity to succeed. That being said, I recently got involved in another income business because I thought the theory was sound.


It's with an Energy Company called Stream and it began in Texas after deregulation occurred several years back. The principal idea is simply to switch people from their energy provider to Stream and you can earn bonuses and residual income.


Is it a get rich quick scheme? No

Does the money roll in overnight? No


The idea is that you stay consistent and over a period of time your client base will grow and so will your income. The 2nd thing to do, is to try and sign up a few people as associates to work under you in what is called a "down line." These associates have the exact same goal as you and you work together to succeed. The real goal is 10 Energy Customers (People Switching) and 3 Associates (People doing the same thing as you.)


Seems like a simple concept right?


Well it is. And it works. No tricks. No schemes.


It's funny though. While I have had success already, I still encounter people each day that have a preconceived notion that it is a big trick. I have actually saved every single person that has signed up with me an average of $20-$35 per month in their electricity bill. Yet some people still think it is a scam.


I find it amazing, that anybody could think a 3 Billion dollar company (Fastest Growing Company in U.S History by the end of 2009-Faster than Google) that is regulated by the PUC (Public Utility Commission) can possibly be a scam. It's just silly closed minded thinking.


I recently spoke to someone about switching their electricity and was explaining how it works. They were so closed minded that it was somewhat comical. I tried showing them that all I wanted to do was save them money each month, but they just couldn't see it.


The more I thought about this, I started thinking that this is precisely the problem we face as a country today. People are stuck in this closed minded world and they cling to their outdated thoughts.


What if you just opened your mind to NEW ideas. Perhaps gave something a chance. Go out and try something new. I guarantee that you will be surprised at what you realize.