Be More of Who YOU Are

I just finished up a nifty little book called Strengths Finder 2.0, by New York Times Bestselling author Tom Rath. Yeah, it's one of those self-help books that strives to help readers discover their best selves.

One thing I liked about the book: that Rath believes we all spend *way* too much time focusing on our weaknesses -- and straining to make them into strengths -- instead of honing our strengths to perfection.

Come on. You know you do it, too. Because you've been trained, since a wee tyke, to feel bad about your failings -- and to not, conversely, celebrate your God-given talents. Even Rath admits to doing so, after buying into the "You can be anything you want to be, if you just try hard enough" mantra:

"Like most people, I embraced this maxim at a young age. Along with thousands of other kids, I spent a good chunk of my childhood trying to be the next Michael Jordan. Every day, I practiced shooting hoops for three to four hours. I went to basketball camps each summer and tried in every way possible to be a great player. No matter how hard I worked at it, though, becoming an NBA star simply wasn't in the cards for me. After giving 100% of my effort for more than five years, I couldn't even make the junior varsity team."

Ouch!

My biggest failing? That I can't navigate my way through higher math. Geometry? Gag! Trig? Someone pass me a fork! Because of this, I wasted a lot of years feeling like an idiot. (Now, no longer caring, I simply turn to my very math-smart hubby and ask him to figure out any math-related problems!)

But back to Strengths Finder 2.0. Within this small book are 34 "strength themes" -- with just enough info on each to help readers identify their top five. In case you're wondering, I chose six: Achiever, Activator, Context, Relator, Responsibility, and Woo. To understand what that says about me, beyond the fact that I like people and projects, you'll just have to pick up a copy of the book. ;-)

But I will leave you with a life tip from Rath -- which I hope motivates you to stop and take stock of your strengths. Don't waste another day trying to be somebody you're not. Be your magnificent self!!

"You cannot be anything you want to be," writes Rath, "but you

can be a lot more of who you already are."

Whooot!

Forward Momentum

Sometimes a picture (or in this case, a video) says it all.

This video was made by Jeremy Nicoll, a fabulous (and deep!) guy here in Salt Lake City.

In presenting his video, Jeremy wrote, "Looking at our problems it can seem quite impossible to even budge them, much less make a significant impact. Often momentum matters more than strength and persistence more than initial impact."

Isn't that the truth with anything new we take on? From learning to walk to understanding social media!!

Next time you're discouraged at your own David and Goliath situation, just remember the impact this tiny ping pong ball -- weighing in at only 0.006 pounds -- had on the much larger 8-pound bowling ball.

"Just as the laws of physics dictate that everything has momentum," writes Jeremy, "everything we do builds momentum. ... The question is whether or not the decisions that we make build momentum in the directions that we wish to go."

Here's to our forward motion!!

Use Social Media to Find a Job

Okay, I'll admit it.....it was the sock puppet and British accents in this video that drew me in! HA!

But the video's info -- on effectively using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to find that "perfect" job -- is first-rate. Take a look for yourself, grasshopper. Here's betting your job-hunting becomes significantly more productive!



**Bonus article:

7 Secrets to Get a Job Using Social Media: do you know them?

Excelling at Social Media...or Not

Last week I spent a full day in a Social Media workshop presented by Mark Ragan, CEO of Ragan Communications. Though the social media arena is mind-boggling, it continues to gain momentum. And why not? The explosion of online tools (including Facebook and Twitter) make it so easy to connect with others.

Some takeaways from the session:

• If you're not using social media tools -- because you think it's just hype that will eventually fizzle or because you don't think you need to listen in on your customers -- you better plug in ASAP. Wait too late, and you'll never be able to catch up to your competitors. "Social media," says Mark, "is survival."

• Right now, social media kinda feels like the wild, wild West. The rules are still being drawn up. Don't, however, appoint yourself "Social Media Sheriff." Allow people to use the tools that work for their individual businesses. "Social media," adds Mark, "is all about being useful to your customers."

• Content is king. Want people to care about your business? Then produce great content on your website, blog, videos, or podcasts. Great content, by the way, benefits your customer.

• Make use of Google analytics. "It's the most amazing FREE tool out there," says Mark, "and the more Google tools you use, the higher you rise in Google rankings."

• Create a hub to integrate all of your social media platforms. One example: make sure your blog posts feed to your Facebook page.

The following links demonstrate how two companies, Mayo Clinic and Southwest Airlines, are excelling at social media -- and pulling far ahead of their competitors.

Sharing Mayo Clinic Blog

Mayo Clinic Facebook Page

Mayo Clinic Podcasts

Nuts About Southwest

Southwest Facebook Page

***Study them well -- or you may just find yourself stuck in the muck like United Airlines. United pilots have created an unapologetic blog to gripe about United CEO Glenn Tilton.

Worse, musician Dave Carroll has given United a black eye with his YouTube video, United Breaks Guitars, which bemoans the fact that United did just that!

Tips for Improving Your Writing

This past week I spent a full day in an Advanced Writing & Editing workshop presented by Mark Ragan, CEO of Ragan Communications, the industry giant that daily produces "News, ideas & conversations for communicators worldwide." Mark came to Salt Lake City at the invitation of the Social Media Club of Salt Lake City, of which I am the co-promotions director.

Some takeaways from the session:

• Be specific when writing: delete ambiguity, useless words, acronyms, and cliches. I've never written the phrase "at the end of the day," but I'm certain to NEVER do so now!

• ALWAYS use active voice. Just one example: "Managers decided...." vs. "A decision was made by managers..."

• Be sure headlines express what's in it for the reader. "Don't let your headline be a waste of real estate," said Ragan, as he offered up several visuals of women's magazines using catchy headlines to entice readers. Why not use the same technique for your in-house or company magazine??

• Another Markism: "NO MORE WHITE GUYS IN HARD HATS!!" Seriously, has that snoozer of a cover photo even once motivated you to rip into a magazine? Worse, the boring photos are usually not quality photography.

• Find real people on which to build stories. These individuals will create all the drama, emotion, and color needed to engage and delight your readers.

• As part of the editing process, read the story out loud. Doing so identifies too-long sentences, poor sentence structure, boring bits, and grammar problems. Seek to produce good pace and rhythm.

The Ragan site is chock-full of writing and editing tips. Spend some time there learning, and your publication(s) will soon soar. To get you started, I leave you with a Ragan video in which Mark offers up five great tips for improving corporate photos.