Day 22 Don’t Give Up! (revisited 2013)

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Les Adkins

So I took a look at this original post and believe it or not, some of the same things are still true! I have not done everything I can to succeed and live outside of the comfort zone, but I am seeing a lot more momentum in my business and personal life than when I first posted and went through this 30 day journey in 2011.I have updated the links to go back to the (revisited 2013) days so you if you are reading this for the first time you will be able to go back to the most current post for 2013.

The message is still the same: We are all human but we must remember to Never Give Up! No matter what! Like the saying goes:

Go Big or Go Home

And if you ever feel like giving up and you don’t feel like reading the original post I ask that you do take 4 minutes out of your day to watch the video in the post. After watching take a look at yourself and my hope is that you will see life a little differently. I know I have.

Les Adkins is the CEO of Orange SMS Consulting and an International Social Business Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn Join us on FB and Google+ as well.

(Original Post -Posted on October 31, 2011)

So how are you doing on this 30 day journey? If you have been taking the weekends off your still on the journey, if you haven’t the journey has ended. So on the 22nd day is a good time to look around and see if your life has changed or your business has changed because of this journey. Let’s remind ourselves at this time of what the journey was all about. It started with a simple poster that was posted from my friend Cathy Cunningham Hankinson.

It began with a simple premise. “To Live Outside The Comfort Zone!” So on this day I personally looked around and realized that I still needed to finish organizing my office (This was Day 1) and get rid of the clutter. I realized that I don’t do everything I need to, every day or every week. And I sometimes work when I should be relaxing and relax when I should be working, but through it all I keep on moving forward. You could say that I’m human, imagine that. I bet most of you are too.

I am still reading “The 4-hour Work Week” and a few other books. Yes, I have trouble Focusing (Day 17-revisited 2013). So why am I telling you all of this. Because I want you to know that if you aren’t doing everything you need to do to “Live Outside The Comfort Zone”, DON’T GIVE UP!

Don’t give up. There are too many nay-sayers out there who will try to discourage you. Don’t listen to them. The only one who can make you give up is yourself. - Sidney Sheldon

Fall seven times, stand up eight. – Japanese Proverb

What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters to what lies within us. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

And for all my truly Geek friends out there!

Never give up, never surrender! – Galaxy Quest

So Today: Relax, Spend Some Time With Your Family, Work If You Need To, But Whatever You Do:

DON’T GIVE UP!

Day 21 The Power of One (revisited 2013)

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Les Adkins

So lately we have been discussing your Brand, Networking, Going Against the Norm, Productive Meetings, Focus….but where does it all start? Who helps you begin your own journey? Yes you can read as many inspirational and motivational blogs your heart desires, spend 1000′s on motivating seminars and 1000′s more on programs and books that talk about ways to help you move ahead, live a more fulfilling life, make money beyond your wildest dreams, change the world, change your world, but in the end there is only ONE person that can change your life!

Les Adkins is the CEO of Orange SMS Consulting and an International Social Business Strategist, speaker, consultant and author.

(Original Post -Posted on October 28, 2011)

So we talk about Networking as a way to meet the people we need to meet in order to change our lives. You have heard it been said, that the more people you help get what they want in life then you will get what you want in life. Or as Richard Branson has said “Screw It, Let’s Do It”. But where does it all start? Who begins it? What do you need in order to make that one change that will make a difference in your life and others and allow you to “Live Outside the Comfort Zone”?

You can work with others, connect with others, help others but it all begins with One. YOU! One person can make a difference in the world, in the country, in the community, and in your life. But the only person that can make a major difference in your life is YOU!

Remember One Person Can Make A Difference…And You Can Make A Difference if you just Try!

Day 20 Go Against the Norm! (revisited 2013)

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Les Adkins

So it has been one crazy ride since I started this revisit of my 30 day journey that I first went through in 2011. All the things that are happening with my business and other pursuits are exploding. This is one of the reasons I’m behind a day. But it is all due to the work that has been done to get to this point. It is also a little scary how relevant the posts are to my current daily life and business. It just goes to show you what the Crazy one’s can do.

(Original Post – Posted on October 28, 2011)

Go Against the Norm! What does that actually mean? Well, when I was a little boy, my parents gave me a little stain glass window that I still have that says:

If A Man Does Not Keep Pace With His Companions. Perhaps It Is Because He Hears A Different Drummer. Let Him Step To The Music He Hears However Measured Or Faraway. - Thoreau

This sits in my office and is one of my prize possessions. It even has tape on it, because I apparently dropped it over the years, and had to put it back together. If you can relate to that then you know that if you Go Against the Norm, you also, at times, have to put your life, your career, and your relationships, sometimes back together because you almost always go against the norm and this can cause things to not go exactly smoothly. We always hear about the successes, but very few times do we hear about those individuals still trying to succeed. Which one are you?

Recently Steve Jobs passed away and if anyone could be the poster child for this motto it is him. If you read the poster to the left you will understand that he, above all, understood what “Go Against the Norm” meant.

Yes there have been others: Michael Dell; Dell Computers, The Google Guys; Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Bill Gates; Microsoft, let’s not forget Ted Waitt, Gateway Computers, Richard Branson; Virgin and the list could go on.

Those names are the current ones but remember the Wright Brothers; first to fly, Columbus; credited for discovering the earth is round, Albert Einstein; theory of relativity, Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb and holder of 1093 patents, Alexander Graham Bell, phone and many, many more.

Like I said in the beginning, history remembers the successful ones or those that got credit for giving the world something they needed or wanted. But if you read their histories they were thought of as individuals that “Go Against the Norm”. Life was probably not easy for them before their fame and in some cases even after.

I love this picture of the original Microsoft Team:

Anyway as you go through your 30 day journey just remember if you have your own business, are an entrepreneur or are passionate about a cause or anything you may be labeled one of the crazy people. You might hear things like why can’t you just fit in? Well stay strong and remember the names above.

Here’s to you the crazy ones. Those who live outside the Comfort Zone!

22 Things Happy People Do Differently

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Les Adkins

Reblogged from Bucket List Publications:

This article is from Chiara Fucarino. Enjoy!

There are two types of people in the world: those who choose to be happy, and those who choose to be unhappy. Contrary to popular belief, happiness doesn’t come from fame, fortune, other people, or material possessions. Rather, it comes from within. The richest person in the world could be miserable while a homeless person could be right outside, smiling and content with their life.

Day 16: Rest (2013 – revisited)

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Les Adkins

So I began this journey (again) a little over 16 days ago. And has been the case as I revisit this daily journey from 2 years ago, it falls on an appropriate day. Friday and with the long Memorial Day Weekend coming up it couldn’t be more perfect than to briefly discuss “Rest”.

Millions of US Citizens either already are traveling, or getting ready to head out for the beach, lake, mountains, cookouts, parades and parents and grandparents houses to spend a long weekend of celebration and hopefully rest. I still try to follow this routine of 1 day of Rest and though it does not always happen my body and brain are very thankful when I do.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend Everyone!

Looking out on the ocean from Manly, Australia

Les Adkins is the CEO of Orange SMS Consulting and an International Social Media Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn Join us on FB as well

(Original Post -Posted on October 21, 2011)

So today is Friday but I am blogging about Day 16 which was on October 16.

If you are new or just discovering this blog, I embarked on a 30 day journey to continue living life outside the comfort zone. And to take myself and business to the next level.

October 1st, 2011 I began by Getting Organized. You can follow this journey by checking out Social Media Solutions on Facebook. I am logging every day’s activity, or revelation in real-time on this page.

I am only blogging Monday thru Friday and resting on the weekends. If you know me you know that sometimes I rest and sometimes I work. It all depends on my mood but I do carve out time on the weekend to; Rest, Have Quiet Time, Contemplate and Worship.

No matter what you believe, you need to believe in something bigger than yourself. Remember the words of Steve Jobs:

Live each day like it was your last….Stay Hungry and be Foolish! - Steve Jobs

And remember to take one day and rest, I pick weekends and most of the time, Sunday!

Have a great weekend!

Day 5 Motivation – 2013 Revisited

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Les Adkins

Motivation is a driving force for any success. But in life, Motivation sometimes wanes and we need a good stiff kick in the pants to get us going again. Or at least some of us do. I don’t know about you but I try to stay motivated continuously but that may be unrealistic. There are times that you need downtime, but the motivation to succeed must never be too far away or you may see your dreams drift off into the clouds and find someone else who moved forward with your idea…Don’t let that happen. It has been over a year and a half since I wrote the blog below but I think everyone should listen to the Steve Jobs video if not daily at least once a month. If that doesn’t motivate you well, then you probably can’t be motivated.

I hope you are enjoying this journey with me and I hope you are taking the time to make these daily suggestions a part of your every day lives. I know I am, again.

(Original Post – October 7,2011)

So Day 5 in the 30 day journey to “Live Outside the Comfort Zone” is MOTIVATION. You need to find what motivates you personally. It is different for everyone. For some it is Money, others Success, others Fame and for some just to be able to Provide for their Family. Find out what motivates you and then find books, videos and other things that motivate you every day.

A friend of mine Jennifer Dunphy, VP of Sales and Marketing at Vayu Media once told me she makes sure she has meetings scheduled in the morning so she get’s up and starts moving. Like most people, including me, if you don’t have something scheduled you might end up sleeping in or turning on the TV. You need to have what works for you to motivate you to get out of bed in the morning.

Steve Jobs gave a great commencement speech with many motivational statements:

If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right. It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? And whenever the answer has been No for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something….

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose…. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” – Steve Jobs

Another great motivational tool is visualization. That is where you truly sit down and close your eyes and visualize what you want to achieve or the person you want to become. The mind is a powerful thing and if you visualize your perfect dream your subconscious will work very hard to not make a liar out of you and help you achieve this dream.

Find what works for you. But find something that Motivates you and gets you out of bed in the morning, every morning!

Regrets, Review, Resolutions

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Les Adkins

So a little late is better than never and if you are following this blog you are realizing how erratic the posts are. Well I’m about to change that. My goal for 2013, or the rest of 2013 is to write a blog a week. Shouldn’t be too hard and since I tell my clients to do this and more I better start practicing what I preach. The last blog I posted was on October 29, 2012. Now here are a few of the things that happened, but I need to remember that I wrote a blog before then that declared:

Well first let’s begin with the Regrets (If you don’t have any you are not human!) Only in movies are you allowed to say you have no regrets. But remember some of the regrets got you to where you are today so believe it or not, regrets can sometimes have a positive effect although they may be negative at the time.

Regrets -

The first thing that happened is we lost our baby girl Abby who was a Papipoo and 6 years old in a tragic accident on November 16, 2012. We will miss you Baby girl:

Then when I got back from Istanbul, Turkey I got a call to let me know that Jim Marten, my best friend since college, was missing. At the writing of this blog he is still missing and has been now for over 2 months since 12-16-12. We talked almost every week and I had just spoken to him right before I left the country. Jim was having some challenges but I never thought he would just disappear, but he has and I grieve for him and his family every day.

The last thing that happened was I went into the hospital between Christmas and New Years with mild chest pains. Found out my heart was good but I had to have emergency gallbladder surgery. The surgeon said it was the sickest gallbladder he had ever seen. By the way it was gangrenous and I found out you can die from that. But I’m great now and doing fine.

Review of 2012 -

All of the above
Expanded presence and staff within the US by partnering with Resonate Marketing
Went on a Business Trip as a guest of the Georgia Department of Economic Development for CeBit Eurarsia 2012 to Istanbul, Turkey
Gained several new clients
Developed Whole Brain Messaging methodology
Began working with a start-up to develop the Next Big Thing (stay tuned for more information)
Developed great relationships with top business executives in Atlanta and Internationally
Several Speaking Engagements – just a couple highlights (Peak Campus sales meeting in Las Vegas at Hard Rock Casino , Fused2012 in Orlando, Florida with SalesFusion customers and resellers) and many educational and training events throughout the year.
Training Engagements in Sao Paulo, Brazil, NYC, Dallas, Washington, DC, Research Triangle Park in North Carolina and a ton of other places.

Resolutions or Goals for 2013 -

This year I just have 3 very vital Goals for my business. I won’t go into all the personal ones I have but I will start out with how I am going to act in 2013:

By uncomplicating my life. The other Business Goals I have are very simple as well:

Expand Orange SMS Consulting in the US by training staff and bringing on more clients.
Finish my Book that talks to Executives on How to Leverage Social Media for their businesses (no there is not one out there yet but there will be.)
Expand Orange SMS Consulting to have an actual presence in Istanbul, Turkey.

That’s it! My Regrets, Review and Resolutions or rather Goals. What Are Yours?

You have had enough time to think of them as it is not too late in the year and the excitement of the beginning of the year has passed.

Above all may 2013 be your Best Year Ever!

Day 30: Review, Review, Review and LIve, Live, Live!

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Les Adkins

Congratulations on Making it through the 30 day journey to Live Life Outside the Comfort Zone. Here is a song just for you. If you haven’t made it yet keep moving forward.

So what do you do now? Well as the song says “Live Like You Were Dying”! And your saying OK, OK but really what do I do now. Well here is a few things to remember: First go back to the list of the past 30 days:

Day 1: Organization
Day 2: Goals
Day 3: Make 10 to 20 Contacts Per Day
Day 4: Follow Up
Day 5: Motivation
Day 6: Stop Worrying and Start Living
Review, Review, Review
Day 8 & 9: Prioritize for the Next Week
Day 8 & 9: Prioritize for the Next Week (not a typo; just matching days with #’s)
Day 10: Develop 30 second commercial
Day 11: Visualization
Day 12: Live To Learn
Day 13: Get Out There
Day 14: Blog, Blog, Blog
Day 15: Volunteer
Day 16: Rest
Day 17: Focus
Day 18: Branding Yourself and Your Business
Day 19: Productive Meetings
Day 20: Go Against the Norm
Day 21: The Power of One
Day 22: Don’t Give Up
Day 23: Break That TV Addiction, NOW
Day 24: Whole Brain Approach
Day 25: What Did I Do Wrong
Day 26: Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda…
Day 27: Getting Back To My Roots – Digital Presence
Day 28: Specifically, What Are You Trying to Do
Day 29: Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
Day 30: Review, Review, Review and Live, Live, Live

Then see what has changed and what is the same. And don’t worry if you have not achieved every single thing that is on the list. Take them in groups or even one at a time. Remember it takes 21 to 30 days to create a habit!

For me my life has gotten more fulfilling and busier in a very good way. As my friend Denise O’Brien said in one of her Facebook posts;

“I love my life”

My next goal is to accomplish living a life with the principles behind the 4-hour work week. Don’t worry I will share.

So thank you for joining this adventure with me. And remember that the adventure is never over as you continue to “Live a Life Outside the Comfort Zone”.

Les Adkins is the CEO of Orange SMS Consulting and an International Social Media Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn Join us on FB as well.

Day 22: Don’t Give Up!

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Les Adkins

So how are you doing on this 30 day journey? If you have been taking the weekends off your still on the journey, if you haven’t the journey has ended. So on the 22nd day is a good time to look around and see if your life has changed or your business has changed because of this journey. Let’s remind ourselves a this time of what the journey was all about. It started with a simple poster that was posted from my friendCathy Cunningham Hankinson.

I am still reading “The 4-hour Work Week” and a few other books. Yes, I have trouble Focusing (Day 17). So why am I telling you all of this. Because I want you to know that if you aren’t doing everything you need to do to “Live Outside The Comfort Zone”, DON’T GIVE UP!

Don’t give up. There are too many nay-sayers out there who will try to discourage you. Don’t listen to them. The only one who can make you give up is yourself. - Sidney Sheldon

Fall seven times, stand up eight. – Japanese Proverb

What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters to what lies within us. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

And for all my truly Geek friends out there!

Never give up, never surrender! – Galaxy Quest

So Today: Relax, Spend Some Time With Your Family, Work If You Need To, But Whatever You Do:

DON’T GIVE UP!

Join us on FB as well.

Day 16:Rest

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Les Adkins