Category Archives: MySylbert

Living Up to Your Potential

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So what books have you read lately on helping you to live up to your potential?” 4 hour work week“  by Timothy Ferriss “sleeping your way to the top” by Ben Angel those are just two of the books I am currently reading. What does this have to do with Social Media you ask. Well if you think about it everything. The main thing everyone seems to say is they don’t have time to do Social Media with all the other things that they have on their agenda for the day. Getting new customers, keeping customers, working with employees, marketing, and so on, and so on…. One of the things these two books talk about is creating your own goals and living a life that is productive yet simplistic.  I am still reading but thought that I would try to put into words what I believe this means to Social Media. YOU ARE MAKING IT TOO DIFFICULT! There are people, consultants and agencies out there that will help you, but most important, Social Media needs to be put on your agenda as something you need to do internally and strategically. More than just a FB page or followers. In 2011 I spoke about how to pick a  Strong Social Media Consultant or Agency more recently I put this link as one of my daily Twitter #socialmediatip /s. Yes it is two years old but still very relative.  So I am going to try to help you live up to your potential using a few of the methods in these books specifically in regards to Social Media. (I have not been paid by either author or organization for using these two books) So put your thinking caps on and get ready for action. As they say in the movies, Ready, Quiet on the Set, ACTION!

In 2011 I created a 30 day blog series that was meant to help myself and others improve their lives and reach their personal or business goals. In conjunction to the above new series  I will be posting this series again. For myself to refresh my memory and also for those of you who need a gentle or BIG kick in the butt. It’s time to pick it up and move to the next level both in your personal life and in pursuit of your business goals and dreams.

Happy May Day!

Profile Pic

 

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.

My Toughest Challenge Accomplished! Tough Mudder

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So this past Saturday I ran a 12 mile, 24 obstacle course called the Tough Mudder. If you are a friend of mine on Facebook or a Social Media Connection you have seen some of the pictures of our event. So I have been traveling non stop for the past three weeks and this was the finale of my 3 week travels. I started in North Carolina facilitating an Elite Consulting Course for NetApp then spoke at a Sales Conference in Vegas to 100 sales people, managers and operations for Peak Campus Companies. Flew back in town, Atlanta, and then woke up and drove to Society Hill, SC to participate in the Tough Mudder with the High Achievers Muddervation team. I tell you all this not to impress you but to show you that you can do anything you put your mind to. I went from NO EXERCISE 20 weeks ago to exercising every week including doing a month of Operation Boot Camp.

The Tough Mudder Pledge:

I UNDERSTAND THAT TOUGH MUDDER IS NOT A RACE BUT A CHALLENGE.

I PUT TEAMWORK AND CAMARADERIE BEFORE MY COURSE TIME.

I DO NOT WHINE, KIDS WHINE.

I HELP MY FELLOW MUDDERS COMPLETE THE COURSE.

I OVERCOME ALL FEARS.

I have been amazed at what I have accomplished in the past 20 weeks. I have done more business, I am in the best shape of my life, and I feel great overall. When I was on the course it was a great experience to see everyone helping each other. It did not matter your age, fitness or lack their of, everyone helped everyone through the challenges, with encouragement, support and even lending a hand through the mud, dirt and water. People who had never met before that day, and didn’t even know each other’s name, all were helping each other get through this challenge. I thought to myself, and then said it aloud to friends and family, that if life worked that way everyone would definitely be better off.

Everyone was working together to complete the same goal. To finish the challenge. If we helped out everyone to finish the challenge of life, life would be better for all.

There wasn’t anyone just asking to be carried to the finish line, and everyone in the challenge was muddy, dirty, and tired with some skinned knees and injuries along the way. Just something to think about the next time you say you can’t or you wish someone would do it for you.

I’ll end with another great quote from the Tough Mudder:

NO QUIT IN HERE!

I don’t know what your “In Here” is; maybe work, maybe circumstance, maybe marriage, maybe LIFE. But the next time you are looking to Quit, remember the Tough Mudder Quote! And remember that you need a team around you to complete the challenge regardless of what that challenge is.

So if you are wondering where I have been and what I have been up to since my last blog from Brazil in September now you know. My company has been invited to  Istanbul, Turkey at the end of November for CeBIT. Life is Good!

Next blog on “Email is Dead”

 

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.

5 Tips for Networking On LinkedIn

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So how do you Network using LinkedIn. With all the resources and tools that are available out there online how do you use them and what are some key things you need to remember when networking with LinkedIn.

First thing to remember is that you are connecting to real people. Well you are supposed to be connecting to real people. Remember the blog LIAR

Just a few things to keep in mind when connecting with someone on LinkedIn. Remember to make sure that they have a profile pic of themselves. If it is a logo or an avatar shy away from those. Also they should have a history of employment and some recommendations from legitimate people about their character or their work. Then  what do you do?

Here are 5 Tips that you can use when networking online through.

  1.  Don’t try to sell anything to someone you are connecting with for the first, third, fifth or twentieth time. Go back and look at Building Trust. Don’t provide a link to your website. (LinkedIn will not allow you to provide a link or phone # to someone you are not connected to.)
  2. Ask for an introduction from someone you already are connected to. You might be surprised to find out that you have a strong connection with someone who is also connected to the person you are looking to meet. (It is always better to have met the person face 2 face that you are asking to make the introduction. )
  3. Be Yourself! People who are your friends or become your friends usually trust you and it usually ends badly when that trust is lost. So be yourself and check out this old blog on Building Trust to Sell Stuff (In this case it is YOU that you are trying to sell,)
  4. Don’t connect with anyone before you know the value you might be able to bring to them or their organization. Remember it’s about “givers gain” Wikipedia describes “givers gain” as the belief that when (business) people set goals to help others and honestly work to achieve these goals, they usually gained the most out of the experience – through a reciprocal benefit. 
  5. And Last a tactical way to Network on LinkedIn Use the advanced search on LinkedIn when looking for specific people within companies that you might be trying to get into. The advanced search is pretty user-friendly, but just in case you get confused here is a video for you to view.
This blog was specifically designed as a follow-up for the Corporate Connections Circle of Excellence Educational Moment. But my hope is that it helps all who read, Network a little smarter, connect more often, and get more value from Networking on LinkedIn.

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.

Day 17: FOCUS

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One of the hardest things to do in today’s hectic environment is to focus. A recent article was shared on High Achievers Network by Doug Grady

The title “4 Secrets To Get Focused, Stay Focused & Increase Sales Today” by Kristoffer Thompson on Sales Leadership Coach website. (If you’ve been reading my blogs you know that I do not support or get compensation for any of the websites, people or articles that I reference as of this date, it’s just information that I feel might help or add value to my audience.) OK so much for the legal disclaimer.

So a few highlights that I am using both for sales and for running my business and life are below:

Gary Blair taught me a great way to think of focus is the following….

Follow

One

Course

Until

Successful

Now unlike most, I do believe that Gen Y and others can multitask productively. I think the science is outdated regarding the brain on this topic and we won’t know for sure till more time and more studies have been done. Having said that, for the majority of us. We need to do more regarding FOCUS!

Be Laser Focused….

One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus, we never concentrate our power. – Tony Robbins

If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing to patient attention than any other talent – Isaac Newton

….It is so much easier to STAY focused than it is to GET focused.

- Kris Thompson

Focus is the tool of domination – Gary Blair

Here are 4 ways to increase focus adapted from the article to go beyond sales.

  1. Block out time for each project. Schedule chunks of time each day where you focus on that activity. Don’t talk to anyone that’s not directly associated with the project during that period of time. It can be 10-12 or 2-4 or any other block of time. Tell your family and friends not to contact you during this time. Lock your door or put a “do not disturb” sign on your chair.
  2. Don’t be on the internet unless it is absolutely necessary for the project or activity. It is too tempting for you to check the score of the game, news, , facebook or a number of other social media platforms. Do that after you can’t work on the project or activity. 
  3. No text messaging. Instead call them live. Now this one I am kind of torn on. Being in Social Media Consulting I find that I have had success with both. It really depends on the age of the person you are trying to reach and their digital awareness. I interact with many partners and prospects both live and with text. The key is to determine which way the person involved likes to be contacted.
  4. Only check email a few times a day. Most of the emails you get can wait at least an hour or 2 before a response is necessary. (I recommend checking your email three times a day. 1 hour in the morning, at luch and then again in the evening after 5 or 6pm. Unless you are waiting on an important response that is vital to your project, then let your phone be your screening guide. Quick looks, don’t get distracted)
Block this time out in your calendar like you would an appointment with a client. Do not schedule over blocked time.
- (adapted from the 4 Secrets To Get Focused, Stay Focused & Increase Sales Today – Kris Thompson)

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 16:Rest

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

If you are new or just discovered 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!

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 15: Volunteer

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To Volunteer meaning:

To choose to act in recognition of a need, with an attitude of social responsibility and without concern for monetary profit, going beyond one’s basic obligations. – By the People: A History of Americans as Volunteers by

…from the perspective of the doer: Someone who gives time, effort and talent to a need or cause without profiting monetarily.

…from the perspective of the recipient of service: Someone who contributes time, effort and talent to meet a need or further a mission, without going on the payroll.

- Susan J. Ellis and Katherine H. Campbell


This is for the message: Not promoting the Bay Area Volunteer Center

There are many ways for you to volunteer. You can provide help to a Soup Kitchen.

You can be a volunteer to help clean up at a beach.

No matter what you decide to do you just need to get out there and volunteer!

This past Saturday, October 15th, I volunteered with a large group to help the community. There were over 2200 volunteers that did everything from cleaning up a few schools, repair houses for the elderly, Red Cross Blood Drive, Food drives and the list goes on to helping Single mom’s to having a Block party for a struggling community, and many more. The organization is 12Stone

So why should you volunteer? 20 Great Reasons to Volunteer from Volunteer Match:

  1. Help others
  2. Make a difference
  3. Find purpose
  4. Enjoy a meaningful conversation
  5. Connect with your community
  6. Feel involved
  7. Contribute to a cause that you care about
  8. Use your skills in a productive way
  9. Develop new skills
  10. Meet new people *
  11. Explore new areas of interest
  12. Meet good people
  13. Impress your mom
  14. Impress yourself
  15. Expand your horizons
  16. Get out of the house
  17. Make new friend
  18. Strengthen your resume
  19. Feel better about yourself
  20. Meet influential people *
*So number 10 can help you make 10 to 20 new contacts per day

*Number 20 I added, there’s was “Your favorite reason here”.

Meeting influential people can help you with your business by gaining new prospects or being connected to someone else who may need your services. (but make sure you are volunteering and not looking for new business – remember the definitions at the beginning of this blog).

Volunteering is a selfless act. This should always be your first thought when volunteering. If you are just looking for new business then you won’t be asked to volunteer again and your business will suffer.

So one last reason to Volunteer!

So Happy Volunteering!

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

I’ll add right here that it also can help you make contacts for your business.

Day 14: Blog, Blog, Blog

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So if you are not blogging; why not?

If you have a business you should be blogging about the industry you are in and giving helpful information, that adds value.

What am I talking about? I hear you out there saying, shouldn’t I be selling my company on my blog? Well have you read a blog lately? Most of the good one’s give valuable information without asking for anything, and that is the way it is supposed to be. Yes you can mention your company but only in your bio at the end. Here’s why:

Home Depot was starting to lose sales to Lowe’s. They came up with a great idea. They decided to offer free workshops to the communities where they were and provided these workshops usually on the weekends. Amazingly enough most of the materials that they used in these workshops were also sold by them, but at the end of the workshop there wasn’t a “sales pitch”. They really didn’t care if you went somewhere else to purchase the materials needed. So what do you think happened? Well there sales went up because they became a trusted partner in the community.

That’s the reason. Here’s the how.

You can use a number of different free blogging tools here’s a couple.

WordPress

Blogger

Now there are a number of different free tools out there that tell you how to blog. Click on blog for a great site on “How Blogs Work”.

Your blog should be concise, short (as possible), and informative. But why should you blog and also why should you comment on other blogs.

Influence! When i write this blog it is networked and goes on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. I then post it on Google + and a few LinkedIn groups that I participate in.

If you only blog and post but don’t interact then your missing the point. There have been many ‘Blogs’ written about blogging, but you need to understand that as an individual or business you need to engage with your audience and others and a ‘Blog’ is an easy way to do this.

Social media is about interacting. In order for you to grow your online influence you need to make sure you are initiating dialogue with others. Not just for the sake of selling, but to truly provide helpful, insightful, and inspirational information to others.

Happy Blogging!

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 13: “Get Out There”

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So in today’s world we wake up, go to our computer, put out fires, answer emails, engage with our social networks, play “Farmville” (or the game of your choice), write blogs, write content, make a few calls and then it’s time to go to bed and start all over again tomorrow.

On October 13th I received an email from Don Crowther which stated that he “…realized I originally met virtually EVERY person who has had a major impact on my business at a live event of some kind!”

My friend Cathy Cunningham Hankinson and I decided to meet at a Networking Event called LIQUID here in Atlanta. She made the statement “People would get a lot more business if they just got out there”

So “Get Out There” and meet people. Now granted since I help others with social media I believe you can connect through social media, but you also need to “Get Out There” and rub elbows.

Last year I probably attended over 30 networking and live events. This year it has been closer to 6 or 7. I have noticed a sharp decline in my business opportunities as opposed to last year.

I made a conscious decision to be more focused and strategic with the events I attended this year (and I still believe in this strategic focus concerning the events you attend) but there has to be a happy medium between 7 and 30!

If you look at the platforms like Google+ and LinkedIn they are discussing and promoting live events all around the world that have specific goals of people in  technology or photography or other like interests meeting face to face.

With everything new we learn and adapt to make it the most productive it can be. Social Media is learning that it needs both the online community interaction and the face to face interaction to truly bring people together and create great ideas. Just look at TED.

So be strategic, be focused, and GET OFF THE CHAIR AND GET OUT THERE! It will make you feel more positive and help your business grow!

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 12: Live To Learn

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So on Day 12 I remembered a concept that I had heard ever since childhood from my Mother who had started a nursing school in Anderson, IN, was a professor at Marshall University (yes the one they made the movie about in Huntington, WV) and then started an Allied Health and Nursing Program at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, NE. Oh and she went back to school to get her PhD in Adult Education my father also got his Doctor of Divinity degree as well. So the motto was “Live to Learn”.

 Both my parents were well into their adult lives and had high school and college age children when they got their Doctorate Degrees. So I come from a family of “continual learners”.

This is why I went back to school to get my MBA in 2008.

Brad Sugar founder of “Action Coach”  stated at one of his events, and I’m paraphrasing, that by reading 1 business book a week, you can become an expert in any business subject you choose and have the same knowledge of most MBA students after a year.

Recently I came across a great blog “Business Insider”   who had an article written by Bianca Male and Aimee Goth that was titled “…21 Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read”  I’d like to add to this list:

“Trust Agent” by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

“Empowered” by Josh Bernoff and Ted Schadler

“Good to Great” by Jim Collins (also check out his other books)

“4-Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferris

There are also several programs and courses that you can take online to continue learning in the subject that you are interested in.

If you stop learning you stop expanding your mind and then your imagination.  So go ahead and “Live to Learn”! Whether you work for someone or yourself!

The day we stop learning should be the day we die. In order for you to stay ahead of the rest and live outside of the “Comfort Zone” be sure to continue “Living to  Learn”!

I see baby’s cry, I watch them grow, They’ll learn much more, than I’ll ever know, And I think to myself, what a wonderful world -Louis Armstrong ‘What a Wonderful World’

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 11: Visualization

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So on Day 11, October 11, I wasn’t feeling that great. I literally did not feel like doing anything, but I realized that I was still on the 30 day journey so I was wondering what I could possibly do to move me forward in continuing to live a life outside the “Comfort Zone”. I also realized that this journey needs to continue even when I am not feeling well. So what I ended up doing was “Visualization”

Wikipedia states that Creative Visualization is the technique of using one’s imagination to visualize specific behaviors or events occurring in one’s life. Advocates suggest creating a detailed schema of what one desires and then visualizing it over and over again with all of the senses (i.e., what do you see? what do you feel? what do you hear? what does it smell like?). For example, in sports a golfer may visualize the ‘perfect’ stroke over and over again to mentally train muscle memory.

There is now scientific proof that brain wave training is a valid tool for mental and physical re-programming. Dr. Jill Ammon-Wexler was a pioneer brain/mind researcher who was among the first to prove this under hard science.

…we actually create our reality with our thoughts — and not the other way around. Researchers around the world agree that our thoughts have a very real physical reality — and actually causes things to happen in the physical world. We now know from quantum physics, for example, that subatomic particles will physically manifest IF there is someone there to observe them.

Remember being taught as a child that ‘seeing is believing?’ In other words — that you need to physically see something with your own eyes in order to believe it is real?

Well that old belief is today being replaced with a new, science-based belief that: ‘Before you can see it, you have to believe it.’ This viewpoint sees the act of achieving success as the result of FIRST creating a vivid, clear future vision of your desired reality. The belief is now: ‘what you see, is what you’ll be.’   - Dr. Jill Ammon-Wexler

So all this scientific information is saying is that “if you can see it then you can be it” (Yes I know that is a song). The problem is most of us don’t do this on a regular basis.

Thoughts if powerful enough, are accepted by our subconscious mind, which then changes our mindset accordingly, as well as our habits and actions, and this brings us into contact with new people, situations and circumstances. -Remez Sasson

Concise Guidelines for Creative Visualization:

  1. Define your goal.
  2. Think, meditate and listen to your intuition to ascertain that you really desire to attain this goal.
  3. Ascertain that only good will result from your visualization, for you and for others.
  4. Sit alone in a quiet place, where you will not be disturbed.
  5. Relax your body.
  6. Breathe rhythmically and deeply several times.
  7. Visualize a clear and detailed image of what you desire to accomplish.
  8. Use in your imagination all the five senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste.
  9. Add desire and feelings into your mental image.
  10. Visualize at least twice a day, about 10 minutes each time.
  11. Persevere with your visualization, day after day, with, patience, hope and faith.
  12. Stay positive, thinking positive thoughts, feeling positive feelings and using positive words.
  13. During the day, when negative thoughts and doubts arise, replace them with positive thoughts. As each negative thought enters your mind, immediately substitute it with a positive thought.
  14. Keep an open mind, so that you recognize opportunities and take advantage of them.
- Remez Sasson

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