Five Cranky Friends versus Three Happiest Men

If you have not partaken of the Five Friends series with Larry Winget, Mark Sanborn, Randy Pennington, Scott McKain and Joe Calloway, you are missing out. The Five Friends meet monthly to discuss what's going on in life and their point of view. Watch their latest get-together here: http://www.larrywinget.com/what-ticks-us-off/

Many months ago I wrote a blog about the three happiest men in the world. I have no idea why I didn't post it - oh wait, yes I do. I didn't post it because I didn't have a social media marketing plan and schedule (you need these too. Call me 503.949.6135)

.

The three happiest men, in no particular order, are Andy Cohen, Graham Norton and Alton Brown. They are in the same age group, run their own entertainment empires (created from each knowing what he really wanted to do and pursuing it), and are hilarious in their own right. All three started out on career paths different from the one they now preside over. All three are radio personalities. All three are authors. All three are hugely successful. All three spend the majority of their air time smiling. All three are happy.

If you are not aware of who these men are, Andy Cohen was a producer at CBS for many years. He went on to become Vice President of the cable network Trio, which became Bravo. He stepped down from VP in order to reign over Bravo's reality shows (his brainchild) and focusing on his own show "Watch What Happens Live."

Graham Norton is an Irish comedian who has been fronting his own talk show on the BBC for two decades. Bawdy and smirky, Graham interviews entertainment celebrities from stage, television and big screen, promotes new bands, and makes me laugh with his innuendos and red chair diaries.

Alton Brown is a Food Network star. He started out as a cinematographer creating music videos (R.E.M.'s The One I Love, for instance.) He loves cooking, but was less than dazzled with the cooking shows airing in the 90's. So he created his own show "Good Eats" which ran from 1998 to 2010 and still reruns regularly on the Cooking Channel.  He also has a strong dislike for single-use kitchen devices, which likely led him to his capstone "Cutthroat Kitchen" on Food Network.

Why is it important that you know I think these guys are the happiest mean in the world? Because they love what they are doing. And they are doing what they love because they worked their hind ends off for their own success. Each had a vision of what he wanted, and worked in areas that related to what he wanted to do.

Ultimately, each realized his dream in a big way. Possibly bigger than he could have imagined. Andy, Graham and Alton are kings in their genre. They make their audience laugh, they are relevant, and they didn't stop pursuing the dream.

The point of this is for all of us who know we can be bigger and better than we are currently. Very few people get a free ride to success. It may seem like it, but dig into the backgrounds and you will see that those who have achieved the success they want have worked hard from the beginning.

Keep your goals in sight. Do the drudge work when it will push you that much closer to your goal. Work hard, keep a smile on your face and know things don't happen overnight. Time, nurture and attention are the keys to success. Read the landscape and make changes as needed. If you drop the ball, pick it back up. No matter what, keep moving forward.

The Five Friends have done it. The Three Happiest Men have done it. I am doing it, and so can you.

Dr. Robyn MacKillop

http://blackdogcoaching.com

503.949.6135

https://plus.google.com/+RobynMacKillop

https://www.youtube.com/user/rmackillop1

https://www.instagram.com/robynmackillop/

https://www.facebook.com/mackilloponline

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynmackillop

https://twitter.com/robynmackillop

Follow me on Periscope, too!

Information Overload versus Information Privacy

Do you worry about privacy in this electronic world we live in? Do you question those people who choose to use cash, function without cell phones, and live off grid? Interestingly, even off grid you are likely to leave a footprint somewhere.

I read George Orwell's 1984 in 1982. It was a fantastic journey of the future, one that we scoffed at back then. It was 1982 and we didn't see any real sign of the type of future of which Orwell wrote. Jump ahead 20 years, and that future is reality.

Now, thirty four years after I read that book, I see Big Brother all around. I can be tracked from my front door to where ever I wish to go - there are cameras at every intersection in my town. If I use a debit or credit card, my purchases are documented. My grocery store sends me coupons based on my purchases. Facebook lets me know what items I've perused online. There are sites that will give anyone willing to pay every bit of public information out there.

We are not alone.

My ideal client is female, with her own business, age 45 and up. I coach women to expand their comfort zones and scale their businesses. That includes getting online - which means getting yourself out there.

I know you don't want to be online given the wildly disconcerting efforts of hackers, identity thieves and a myriad of other online criminal acts. CSI Cyber is enough to make you want to unplug everything.

Don Tapscott wrote "The Digital Economy" in 1995. He recently wrote an article about what has changed in our digital world since he wrote the book. One of his premises is “The destruction of privacy in an unprecedented and irrevocable manner.”

I believed this topic to be so important that I devoted an entire chapter to it. I wrote: “Most of us believe we have the right to decide what personal information we divulge, to whom, and for what purpose. Left unchecked, the internet could render such thinking irrelevant.”

Safeguarding privacy is now a major concern on people’s minds. So-called “data minimization,” or limiting what information we give away, is no longer feasible. Everywhere we go and in everything we do, we leave a trail of digital crumbs. Today, what happens in Vegas, stays…on YouTube.

Read the full article https://hbr.org/2016/03/after-20-years-its-harder-to-ignore-the-digital-economys-dark-side

However, as a business owner it is imperative you become comfortable online. I teach my clients how to safely advertise themselves and their businesses in a digital world. Social media is all about being social. How do you draw customers? By getting yourself out there. 1.2 billion YouTube videos are watched each day in the U.S. Clearly there is a call for video. Are you creating video?

There's a common adage in the coaching industry - "You're leaving money on the table." I have left a lot of money on said table, because I didn't have a social media plan and wasn't creating video. Don't be like I was.

Learn the system, as everything is a system. Learn to play in a way you are promoting yourself and your business without letting go of your private information. If the Internet strikes fear in your heart, remember that all things which cause us fear can be controlled - by re-shaping how we look at those things and changing our mindset.

You need to be online. What's stopping you? The business owner in you knows you need to jump on social media, video, blogging, creating content and webinars. I will guide you down that road so your online presence is manageable, speaks solely about you and your business, and creates a wider reach for clients, which in turn puts more dollars in your pocket.

Dr. Robyn MacKillop
http://blackdogcoaching.com
503.949.6135

https://plus.google.com/+RobynMacKillop
https://www.youtube.com/user/rmackillop1
https://www.instagram.com/robynmackillop/
https://www.facebook.com/mackilloponline
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynmackillop
https://twitter.com/robynmackillop
Follow me on Periscope, too!

Be Seen Challenge