Archive for December, 2006

It’s almost 2007, and my mind is racing. I’m scrambling to think of some goals and resolutions for the new year. The pictures start to appear… a new job in an office with an ocean view… maybe a new car… how about that house on the hill… hmmm? If I send out my resumes today and start putting aside $100 a week, it shouldn’t take too long… maybe I should call the Realtor.

Hmmm… what about that book I want to write, how about that new business club just starting.?? Jared just called and wants me to check out his new multi-level marketing plan… and my wife’s best friend just got her new Mercedes from selling Arbonne… Gotta start something quick… Hmmm… I can pick up that new suit I’ll need on sale today… I better look at some new furniture for those house parties we’ll be having… uh-oh… I better lose 10 pounds before I get the suit… where is that weight-watchers number??..

Sound familiar?

We’ve all been there. The dreams come fast and furious and sometimes the spoils come before the process. Credit card companies love this time of year. Before we get too carried away (and have the credit card bills to prove it) lets take a step back and look at 5 reasons the scenario above won’t work…

1. The number one reason goals are not accomplished is that they are NEVER written down. Plain and simple, if you write your goals down on paper you are much more likely to accomplish them. There are some amazing statistics that say that only 3 percent of the population will ever write down their goals. And this is the same percentage that will actually achieve them. In the scenario above, everything is in my mind. There are phone calls to be made but nothing is said about actually writing anything down.

2. The jumble of things above illustrates another reason that goal setting doesn’t work for many people. There are just too many goals! If you actually tried to accomplish the things on this list you would be spending many hours everyday in this pursuit. Most people have real jobs and finding even an hour a day is tough. The reality of how long something actually takes is a killer of so many lofty goals.

3. The fact that there was nothing specific about any of the items will lead to a very cloudy picture. What kind of car are we talking about? Just where is that house? What am I really doing on that job and how long was that commute? The clearer the picture, the more likely the goal will be accomplished. Dreams are cloudy, goals need to be in sharp focus.

4. One of the things about the scenario above is actually looking at the reality of the picture. Landing that incredible waterfront job will take a lot more effort than sending a resume. That house on the hill will actually require two incredible salaries to be able to make the payment. The fact that the new car actually costs $30,000 over 5 years instead of the $22,000 price tag may have some bearing on the bottom line. Goals need to be realistic.

5. While the list above has some great sounding stuff in it, there really is no Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal. If we took one of the items on the list and focused on it and wrote down the steps it would take to get there, we might have something. With so many vague, competing goals we actually have set our bar way too low. Only goals big enough to inspire us one, five, or ten years down the road will work here.

Usually around the first week in February this whole house of cards usually comes crashing down. Those lofty sounding goals evaporate into thin air and reality takes over. The daily grind comes roaring back and another shot at really making a difference in our lives is gone for another year… maybe next year… hmmm?

Does it really have to be this way?

Over the next few days we’ll look at some simple systems for goal setting that anyone can do. They don’t require a PHD, just some simple tools and 48 minutes of your time.

Stay tuned…

Technorati Tags: Goals, Resolutions

As the year 2006 winds down I would like to congratulate all of the bloggers that kept at it. They made a difference in their world and their voices were heard by an ever growing audience. Blogging takes discipline, creativity, and time… lots of time. The bloggers on this list found their voice in 2006. They were able to find a unique niche in cyberspace and fill a void.

Here are my picks for Five Truly Outstanding Blogs of 2006.

1. Most Interesting Blog: Copyblogger
Brian Clark has taken the paper based occupation of copy writing and applied it to blogging. His site is full of amazing tidbits of information. Each post draws you in with a compelling title and then weaves a web of interest throughout. Sometimes he will leave you hanging… you’ll have to wait a day or two to find out more. Sometimes he will just make you click on the “more” link to find out the conclusion. With posts like 5 Simple Ways to Open Your Blog Post With a Bang and 10 Effective Ways to Get More Blog Subscribers you are sure to spend a lot of time exploring this site.

2. Most Useful Blog: Pearsonified
Chris Pearson has taken blog template design to new heights in 2006. He is the author of Cutline for Wordpress, a new easy on the eyes template featuring widgets and a very clean look. Chris offers great support and has a full list of modifications for blog users. Recently Chris has taken user support to even higher levels with his SEO series including blog sitemaps and title modifications. He co-authors a video resource site with Brian Clark called Tubetorial. If you use Wordpress as your blogging engine, this is the site for you.

3. Most Friendly Blog: Successful-Blog
Liz Strauss must have hit over 5000 comments on her blog this year. Her weekly open mic nights draw readers from all over the blog-o-sphere. Liz is the friendly, positive voice that makes blogging fun. Her Successful-Blog has resources for writing, collaborating, and business success. But her claim to fame is reaching out and promoting other blogs with her SOB (Successful and Outstanding Blogger) awards. If you haven’t met Liz, be sure to stop by and say hi. Her friendly style is contagious.

4. Best Learning Blog: Joyful Jubilant Learning
Creating a network of bloggers takes a lot of time and effort. Rosa Say did this in the fall of 2006 when she put out the call on her Talking Story blog for articles about learning from her Ho’ohana community. From this first round of 27 articles by different writers emerged a new blog, entitled Joyful Jubilant Learning. This blog has taken on its own personality and has become a great place for shared learning. Stop by and get involved in this amazing learning adventure.

5. Most Proactive Blogger: Phil Gerbyshak
Blogging takes time… plain and simple. The more time and effort you put into it, the greater the results. Phil Gerbyshak is a great example of a blogger who takes the time to be a part of other people’s blogs. I constantly see Phil’s name in comments and articles throughout the greater business blogging community. Phil also managed to find time to write a book and collaborate on other blogging projects this year. Thanks Phil for making the Blog-o-sphere a better Great place.

While these outstanding blogs each fit into a unique niche, there are so many other voices that have found their own place this year. Check out these 10 distinctive blogs for inspiration and information.

Genuine Curiosity: Check out the latest Travel Gadgets.
StudentL Inc: Download the free Meeting Planner Organizer.
Slacker Manager: A cool Google Timesaver Trick.
Life Beyond Code: The inspirational Quought For The Day.
Entrepreneur’s Journey: Want to Run Your Own Business?
Scott Hodge: A Ferrari and the MySpace Dating Video.
Troy Worman: Discover Positive Pop Pulp for the rest of us.
43 Folders: No more Distractions on the Desktop.
Kinetic Ideas: Tell People about your Defining Moment.
Extreme Leadership: Experience the OS!M.

Blogging matured in 2006 and the quality of material has exploded. There are so many great sites to experience. Those listed above are just a small portion of the incredible richness of voices available at a moment’s click.

I want to thank all of you who have made this blog richer this year with your comments, e-mails, and suggestions. You have truly made this year an exciting adventure.

To an amazing 2007!

Cheers!

John Richardson

Technorati Tags: blogging, awards,

In a quote from one of my favorite movies, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Bailey opens the book Tom Sawyer and reads an inscription from his guardian angel…

Dear George:—Remember no man is a failure who has friends.

Thanks for the wings!

Love Clarence.

Thank you to all of you who have visited this blog this year, who have left comments, or added your inspiration.

Merry Christmas!

John Richardson

As the year is winding down, I offer a paintbrush.

What would the perfect year look like to you?

Would it be pain free easy living?
Would it involve winning the lottery, sitting on your butt, and watching lots of TV?
Would it involve other people, or would you live it all to yourself?

Ask yourself some questions…

Will you set easy goals, or pick more challenging ones in the coming year?
Will you sit back and let the year happen, or turn off the TV and make something happen?
Will 2007 be all about you, or will the year have a more outward focus involving others?

Lets spread some of that paint around…

Is that full year of prime time television something you want in your perfect year, or would that time be better spent on other activities?

Lets focus…

What great thing would you do in 2007 if you knew you could not fail?
What TV show would you be willing to give up to help accomplish this?
What would you do in this time slot to work towards your goal?

Who is that?

Who is in your picture?
Who would your goal help?
Who are the mentors, coaches, and collaborators that are helping you?

Where are you?

In the landscape portion of your picture what do you see?
Are there tall buildings, bright offices, or maybe just a subtle countryside?
Is it all bright and sunny or are there some clouds for contrast?

Final Touches…

As the paint forms an abstract picture, with scenes of people and places, listen to the sounds. Are there horns honking, tires screeching, and people yelling? Are there smiling people clapping in an audience. Are there machines roaring, computers clicking, and pencils writing? Or maybe there are just birds chirping in a cloud filled sky.

What does your painting look like?

With the Holidays fast approaching I decided to take a few minutes and visit some of my favorite blogs and say thank you for a great year. There are so many great sites that have started up this year with postings from conservative business talk to the most unusual things you can imagine.

As I was visiting I noticed that many of my blogging friends had a Z-list meme going on their sites. This is a great way to introduce bloggers from different genres to each other. I grabbed the list from power blogger, Phil Gerbyshak, and added a few of my own. According to Phil, the list originated with Mack Collier and has spread far and wide. I saw a similar list on Seth Godin’s blog, and if you follow his link you can add your own name.

Take some time and peruse the list. There are a lot of great presents under this tree.

This is like an AM-PM mini market… too much good stuff!

Joyful Jubilant Learning
Successful Blog
Genuine Curiosity
Scott Hodge
Copyblogger
Pearsonified
Zinger Leadership
Student Leaders
Talking Story
Business Performance Coaching
You Already Know This Stuff
Converstations
QAQNA
Ramblings from a Glass Half Full
Straight from the Barrell
Think Positive Blog
Passion Meets Purpose
Live Your Best Life
SuccessCREEations
Making a Difference
Unraveling to Understand
Deb_Inside
Rothacker Reviews
Blogging for Business
Purple Wren
Thoughts Philosophies
Creative Think
Soloride
Movie Marketing Madness
Blog Till You Drop!
Get Shouty!
One Reader at a Time
100 Bloggers
Critical Fluff
The New PR
Own Your Brand!
OTOInsights
bizandbuzz
Work, in Plain English
Buzz Canuck
New Millenium PR
Pardon My French
The Instigator Blog
AENDirect
Diva Marketing
Marketing Hipster
The Marketing Minute
Funny Business
The Frager Factor
Mindblob
OrbitNow!
Open The Dialogue
Word Sell
Note to CMO:
That’s Great Marketing!
Shotgun Marketing Blog
BrandSizzle
bizsolutionsplus
Customers Rock!
Being Peter Kim
Andy Nulman
Billions With Zero Knowledge
Working at Home on the Internet
MapleLeaf 2.0
Darren Barefoot
Two Hat Marketing
The Engaging Brand
The Branding Blog
CrapHammer
Drew’s Marketing Minute
Golden Practices
Viaspire
Tell Ten Friends
Flooring the Consumer
Kinetic Ideas
Unconventional Thinking
Buzzoodle
Conversation Agent
The Copywriting Maven
Hee-Haw Marketing
Scott Burkett’s Pothole on the Infobahn
Multi-Cult Classics
Logic + Emotion
Branding & Marketing
Carpe Factum
Steve’s 2 Cents
Simplicity
Popcorn n Roses
On Influence & Automation
Servant of Chaos
converstations
eSoup
Presentation Zen
Dmitry Linkov
aialone
Urban Jacksonville
John Wagner
Nick Rice
CKs Blog
Design Sojourn
Frozen Puck
The Sartorialist
Small Surfaces
Africa Unchained
Perspective
gDiapers
Marketing Nirvana
Bob Sutton
¡Hola! Oi! Hi!
Shut Up and Drink the Kool-Aid!
Women, Art, Life: Weaving It All Together
Community Guy
MBA on the Run
Social Media on the fly
Jeremy Latham’s Blog
SMogger Social Media Blog
Masey.com

I would just like to say Merry Christmas from Success Begins Today and wish everyone a productive and exciting 2007.

Cheers!

John Richardson

Technorati Tags: z-list, blogs,

In my last post I talked about the problems I had at Chipotle Mexican Grill along with the inability to access their Flash based website. I just wanted to post an update and exemplify great customer service.

I contacted Chipotle restaurants through their online comment form and explained the problems that I had experienced. Their representative, Joe Stupp, wrote me back within a few hours and offered to address each issue that I had. Joe explained that I was overcharged and offered me a coupon for additional items at no charge. He said he would contact the local store and update them on product pricing. He also explained that they will be redesigning their website soon, which will make navigation and alternate browser access much easier.

Bottom Line: Joe is a nice guy who actually cares about his customers.

With this type of customer service, I’ll be an even stronger Chipotle evangelist in the future.

Thanks Joe!

Technorati Tags: customer service, restaurants