If I Had Only Known

There used to be this place in San Antonio called Playland Park. It was like a little Disneyland. Okay a very, very little Disneyland. But for someone growing up in San Antonio in the 60’s it was so very, very cool!

It had this huge wooden roller coaster. I can’t remember the name of it but it was BIG and scary for a little kid. I loved riding that roller coaster. I actually loved all the sounds and smells and noises of that place…Playland Park.

It was a part of me and my life and my memories. As I grew older I would go there with family and friends and ride that BIG, scary roller coaster. The older I got, the further back I moved in the cars on the coaster. Then one day I was in the last car. When you reached the top of the big hill, everyone would throw their hands up in the air and scream and act like idiots as the coaster raced to the bottom, leaving your stomachs and your cares somewhere far behind you.

Twitter & The Meaning Of Life

Sometimes we get caught-up in things which really aren’t that important when you look at the big picture of life.

I am basically a positive person but sometimes I am tempted to go off on a negative rant.

That almost happened this morning when I was watching the news. I saw a story about Lady Gaga moving into the position of Most Followers on Twitter.

I started to become indignant and then I remembered, in the whole scheme of things, how unimportant Twitter and Lady Gaga and the “Most Followed” really are.

You know what’s important?

LIFE!

That’s really important. Not just life, but living life. Determining that no matter what hand you’ve been dealt, you’re going to come out on top…with a smile.

MY WIFE!

She’s a great person who has stuck with me through thick and thin…And believe me when I tell you there has been a lot more thin than thick. She causes most of my smiles and a lot of my gray hair.

I CAN

What are you believing about yourself, right now? Are you believing you can…or you can’t? Do you think you have what it takes to succeed?

Someone once said, “Every success is built on the ability to do better than good enough.” Are you able to do better than “good enough?” Are you able to keep trying, even when you’re losing?

You know what? Sometimes we lose. That’s just the plain truth…we lose. BUT we are not losers. Every loss helps you become the winner you are destined to be.

Michael Jordan put it this way, “I've missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot . . . and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Twitter Powers

“The earth seemed to move with me. I found a new source of power and beauty, a source I never knew existed.” Roger Bannister

In my last post I gave you some great websites and blogs to follow and learn from to help you get a strong foundation on Twitter. In this post I am going to show you Twitter Powers and begin the “how to get Twitter Powers” process.

Remember what it was like in high school or college? Learning was actually a lot of reading. Well, to learn about Twitter Powers you have to start learning from some real Twitter Powers. You need to study what they’ve done…and what they’re doing…NOW!

This will mean doing some reading. Are you up to it? If so let’s start.

These Twitter Powers are by no means the only people on Twitter you can learn from nor are they the only ones you should learn from. BUT, if you study them and what they have done and put some of it into practice…POOF…you’ll be the Twitter Star we talked about last time.

Tweet Night

“Sometimes I lie awake at night, and ask, 'Where have I gone wrong?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night.'” Charles M. Schulz

Love it! That quote by the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip hits home on so many levels. The one I'm going to talk about here is trying to be a Twitter Star overnight.

I'm sure you've read the DM's (direct messages for all you twitter neophytes) touting "Get 1000's of Followers - Click Here". When you click on the senders profile you notice they have 129 followers. I guess they haven't done the "Click Here" part, yet.

Like all things good, you may have to wait a while to become Twitter Star. Unless your name is Beyonce, or Ashton, or Ellen, or Kardashian you probably aren't going to set the Twitterverse on fire overnight.

37 GREAT Success Quotes

I know many of us spend “some” time thinking about success on a regular basis. Several people have asked me for more of the Success Quotes I mention from time to time. I have put together 37 Success Quotes which I really like and muse on.

They are in no particular order, so #1 isn’t necessarily the best nor is #37 the worst. Please don’t complain about where your favorite is on the list…they are random.

I know there are many more I could have included but this list also is not exhaustive. It’s simply 37 Success Quotes which I like. If you have a quote you like on the subject of success, share it. I’d love to see some I have never read. Here goes…

1. "Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success."
   Thomas J. Watson
   
   
2. “In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.”
   Bill Cosby
   
   
3. “Success is dependent on effort.”
   Sophocles
   
   
4. “Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven't planted”
   David Bly
   
   
5. "Success is a journey, not a destination."
   Ben Sweetland
   
   
6. “If there is no wind, row.”
   Lain Proverb
   
   
7. "The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore."
   Dale Carnegie
   
   
8. “A man is not defeated by his opponents but by himself.”
   Jan Christiaan Smuts
   
   
9. “Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”
   Jim Rohn
   
   
10. "God gives every bird a worm, but he does not throw it into the nest."
    Swedish Proverb

I Am Not Ashamed

Some people tell me that I am going to lose followers and hurt my business because I tweeted about prayer. Actually I tweeted about praying for a sick person but I get the point.

I would like to say this:

10 Ways To Say Hello

I thought I would get deep with this post and give you "10 Ways To Say Hello." Here goes...

1. Hello
2. Hi
3. Howdy
4. Wassup
5. MEH
6. Halloo (Estonian)
7. How do you do
8. How you doin'
9. Shalom
10. Hola

Personally, I like the "head-bob to the back" but that's just my opinion.

Yes...there are MANY more ways to say "Hello". Unfortunately my "10 Ways To Say Hello" list only had room for 10.

Sorry!

If there is a demand for it, I can do a bigger list.

Adios (that means good-bye).

Keep Believing

Social Media 201

So I'm in Seattle this week for Social Media 201, an exciting, mind-blowing experience and chance to learn from some of the best in Social Media and marketing. I am humbled and truly blessed to involved with such great people as those putting on this event and those speaking at this event. I am truly honored to know them and be associated with them.
This whole experience has been one of serendipitous cosmic alignment, the likes of which you would have to be an eyewitness to fully appreciate. We have come together from all over the nation to meet at the Microsoft Executive Conference Center, many of us meeting "face-to-face" for the first time, having an intimacy as friends and collaborators which developed because of the very Social Media we're here to talk about.

There's A Homer Simpson Inside Of You

Did you know there’s a Homer Simpson inside of you?

“Dope!”

Seriously, I’m going to list a few of Homer’s quotes and see if any of them are familiar to you…or if you have an eerily similar thing you've said…or thought.

“Oh, so they have internet on computers now!”

“Son, if you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet! They're about to announce the lottery numbers.”

“Well, its 1 a.m. Better go home and spend some quality time with the kids.”

“Doughnuts. Is there anything they can't do?”

“When will I learn? The answer to life's problems aren't at the bottom of a bottle, they're on TV!”

“Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.”

“I want to share something with you: The three little sentences that will get you through life. Number 1: Cover for me. Number 2: Oh, good idea, Boss! Number 3: It was like that when I got here.”

“If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing.”

Tomorrow Is A Choice...

Tomorrow is a choice...that you make today.

This is something which I firmly believe…you can have the tomorrow you want and desire, if you make the right choices today.

What kind of tomorrow do you want?

What are you doing today, to have that tomorrow?

Tony Robbins said, “How am I going to live today in order to create the tomorrow I'm committed to?”

Things Aren't Always The Way They Seem

The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to protect my stupidity.

I have three hands-free headsets on my desk.

One for my cell phone.

One for my computer and Skype and making videos.

One for my landline, business phone.

So today, I’m sitting at my desk, minding my own business, jamming to some GREAT music, and working.

My business phone starts ringing and I look at the caller ID. It says Otis Ortiz. I don’t personally know an Otis Ortiz, and I wasn’t expecting anyone named Otis Ortiz to call and I was very busy, working.

By the time I decided to answer it, the call had already gone to voicemail. Oh darn! I missed the call from someone I don’t know. I’ll have to listen to the message.

You Can't Always Get What You Want

I know this may sound weird coming from someone who signs off with "Keep Believing" but I believe it's true, nonetheless. Let's see if you agree...

I'm not going to go through all the obvious things you can't control, like other people, the weather, when the fish are biting, that tee shot AFTER it's left the tee, how long you have to wait at the doctor's office, what your three-year-old is going to say at dinner with you boss, etc.

If you could control all the things in your life, you would see me on TV every week, winning the PowerBall. Well, I guess actually if YOU could control all the things in your life, I would see YOU on TV every week, winning the PowerBall.

I'll Have Fried Brains, Please

If you haven't read Chris Brogan's "The Assault On Anywhen", you must do so...NOW!

Seriously it's poignant, and timely, and got me thinking about the situation we've gotten ourselves into. It seems we have to be "available" 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

NO QUESTIONS ASKED! NO EXCUSES!

Someone close to me recently went home after work and set his Blackberry down on his dresser. His wife happened to be sick, so he cooked dinner and helped her as much as he could. He went to bed after a long day of work outside the home and at home.

He also happened to be on call and missed several alerts from work. He didn't get them until the next morning and by then it was too late, the damage had been done.

Now I want you to understand this, he worked 40+ hours at his job and was expected to regularly be "On Call" if needed, at home. He joined the ranks of us "Self-Employed" 02/26/2010.

I'm sure he'll be much happier AND much wealthier but the point is most of us are "On Call" the same way he was.

You Cannot Go Where Your Thoughts Have Not Been

You cannot go where your thoughts have not been.

Consider this, if you’re leaving on a trip to Amsterdam, don’t you mentally go to Amsterdam first? You plan your trip. You determine where in Amsterdam you actually want to go. Are you staying in a hotel?

Hostel?

The streets?

You think about your trip in advance. Your thoughts go to Amsterdam before you ever physically arrive.

Even if you are one of these people who say “I never plan anything. I just go where the road leads” your thoughts are on the road ahead of you, planning, scanning, organizing, preparing. That’s just the way it is.

Okay, forget Amsterdam.

Let’s say you want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Your thoughts go into the kitchen to make the sandwich before the sandwich actually manifests in your hands. Unless your REALLY lucky and have a spouse who will go into the kitchen and make the sandwich for you. The way you like it…slices perfectly aligned…peanut butter spread uniformly across the whole slice of bread…grape, or better yet, blackberry jelly on the other slice topping a nice thin layer of butter, or SmartBalance, whatever, just so long as there is nothing dripping over the sides of he bread.

Did you just start thinking about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Even if you can’t eat peanuts without going into anaphylactic shock, you were still thinking about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Your mind went there. Your thoughts went there.