Tons to learn from this book.  Written in a story format, It’s Not About You focuses on a young man named Ben.  Throughout the story, Ben learns five Keys to Legendary Leadership…

1. Hold the Vision

2. Build your People

3. Do the Work

4. Stand for Something

5. Share the Mantle

These five keys as well as a pile of one-liner supporting points have given me a week’s worth of material to ponder and begin to implement.   Living a life of character sometimes seems to run counter to good business.  Books like this illustrate how business done right can look.  If you haven’t read Burg/Mann, this is a great one to start with.  If you have read Burg/Mann, you know you need this book.

Get Off Your Attitude

• Ryan has lived out what he talks about.  He’s been through some tough stuff in life.  Yet every time I talk with him he is Mr. Upbeat.  Always positive.  Always seeing the bright side of situations.
• This book has great stories.  Ryan ties the teaching principles to stories.  Read about the time he was shot.  How he failed in business.  Got dumped by his girlfriend.  Learn about his sweet grandma.
• The lessons always point to the ways you have control over your life and outcomes in your life.   Don’t be a victim!

By the way, Ryan Lowe is a super nice guy.  The kind of guy you’d wish all the success in the world to.  So read his book.  Hear him speak.  Visit his website.  Oh, and after you read the book be sure to “Like” it and give it a positive review on Amazon or wherever you buy and review books.  Thanks!!

The tube contained a pair of khaki’s that were exactly my size.  I promptly put them on and wore them to the play we attended last night.  They were super comfy and I am super impressed by Dockers’ aggressive promotion direct to consumer.  I’ve bought a few pairs of Dockers from Dockers.com and a few pairs of Levi’s from levis.com over the past couple years.  That’s how they knew my style preferences.   But I’ve also bought similar styles from Lands End and J. Crew.  By reaching out unexpectedly to give me something of value for free, Dockers just won my loyalty.

What can we do to spark that kind of reaction and loyalty in our customers?

About a month after I heard Scott at XBM and got Make a Name For Yourself, Jon and I were at Book Expo America(BEA) for a day.  We were standing in line at one of the food vendors when I noticed the guy in front of me holding the very same book I was reading on my way to BEA (How To Be That Guy).  When I asked him about the book, he said what an amazing speaker Scott is and that he had just heard him.  I was very disappointed that I had missed him–didn’t know he was going to be there.  After lunch, Jon and I decided to walk through the Tech conference downstairs in the Javits Center.  As we were walking through the sparse exhibits in the Tech conference, Jon punched me and said “Is that the guy you were telling me about?”  Sure enough there was The Nametag Guy being interviewed.  We waited until the interview was over then kidnapped Scott for a while over lunch.  After spending some time with him, I’m a bigger fan than ever.  At some point I hope to convince him to do a book with me.  =)

So I’m sure you’re wondering about How To Be That Guy: 47 Ways to Create an UNFORGETTABLE Brand That MAGNETIZES More Business.  He had me at the subtitle.  Scott’s quirky way of out of the box thinking makes this book shine.  Some are principles you’ve heard 47 times in your life already, but the way Scott frames them makes you stop and think for a few minutes.  And I’m pretty sure that is exactly what he wanted you to do.  Mostly we already have the answers to our dilemmas.  It’s just that we(I) seldom stop and think for a while.

So here are some of the reasons I love How To Be That Guy:

• Kiss your power suit goodbye… “The outfit that allows you to feel most comfortable and most like yourself will, in fact, give you the most power.”
• Is your idea simple enough that a five year old could understand it?
• The most important word in marketing… hint: it all depends
• Allow customers to participate in your brand.

In case I haven’t made it clear–Scott Ginsberg is awesome.  Check out some of his videos on YouTube.  Buy his books on Amazon.  Check out his website at www.hellomynameisscott.com.

I devoured the book.  I felt bad about marking up the beautiful, colorful pages…but it’s the kind of book that begs to be personalized.  Here are some of Scott’s strategies that jumped out at me:

• Become a student of success.  Read books and interview successful people in your field.
• Walk with the wise.  “You are (and become) the average intelligence of the people you hang out with the most.  Choose wisely.”
• More books, less TV.
• Do what nobody else is willing to do.  “What are you doing that nobody else is willing to do?”
• Networking works. A chapter of 50 actionable networking tips.
• Wait for nothing.  Don’t wait for the perfect timing, someone to give you permission, someone to lead the way–take action!

Bottom line…The book is easily worth the $20 if you’re interested in thinking through some things that might be holding you back from the person you hope to become.  I am now a fan of Scott and will write more about him in future posts.

When I don’t plan ahead, I have a tendency to have a few highly productive days then slip back into old habits.  Sometimes when my schedule gets off kilter, I don’t take the time to sit down and think intentionally about what I’m spending my time on vs. what I need to be working on in order to achieve the goals I’ve set for myself.  Brian Tracy encourages us to continually ask ourselves “What is the most valuable use of my time, right now?”

I need an Easy button

This week I was reading Dan Kennedy’s No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs(Great book!) and I came across a simple little tool to add to my productivity arsenal.  Dan has identified one activity that brings him closer to his goal.  He has decided that each day he will do one thing to stimulate demand for his services.  Doing one thing each day that moves him closer to a specific goal is similar to yet easier than The Rule of 5 that Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen used to make Chicken Soup successful.

Narrowing focus to one most important task that must be done each day no matter what, takes some of the thinking and planning out of it.  Less discipline is required to do ONE thing each day.  Focus is easier if we only shoot for one main goal at a time.  I’m thinking this is a good way to work up to The Rule of 5.  Anyone care to join me?

I’ve decided to grow the personal development/business line of books our company started a couple years ago.
1.  Working with speakers to come up with more great product.
2.  Beefing up the website (you can see why this is needed and watch my progress at http://soundwisdom.com)
3.  Next up is to design some awesome products.
4.  Product marketing and placement…we have great placement in stores…now thinking outside the box to get the personal development messages to those who need them most.

Teamed up with Tremendous Life Books.
Not far from here is a publishing company that Charlie “Tremendous” Jones started.  Charlie passed on a couple years ago.  His daughter Tracey is now running the company.  Our publishing companies have remarkable similarities and complementary markets.  We’ve now teamed up to sell each other’s products in our respective markets and help one another grow.

More fun with Toastmasters.
1.  Achieved Advanced Communicator Bronze status.
2.  Attended District leadership training in Baltimore.

Family stuff.
My grandmother who has been a dear friend to my wife and me the past 13 years especially has been diagnosed with cancer and we’re told her time on earth is growing very short.  Becky (DW) and kids are happy and healthy.  Enjoying winter festivities.  I’m ready for warm weather!

The truth is we don’t necessarily need more information.  I certainly know enough to get started on most of the dreams that I have.  I guess it’s just easier to read/watch/listen to other people talk about how to make it happen than to get out there and do the work and stay disciplined myself.

If you’re like me you have excuses like:

1. I’m too busy to get involved in that.

2. I’m not an expert at that.  I don’t know enough.

3. That’s too big a project to tackle.

4. If I can’t do it perfectly, better not to do it at all.

Of course there are many more excuses to add to the list.  But the truth is most all of our excuses aren’t even true.  For example look at the four that I listed above.  Aren’t the below statements more true?

1. I have time for what I want to have time for…I could cut out some TV time, get up a half hour earlier, stay up a half hour later, spend time on my lunch break, etc.  Maybe I need to drop a couple things that aren’t as important to me.

2. We know enough about most of our ideas to get started.  If we take time to sketch out a rough outline we could seek help on the parts we got stuck on.

3. Big projects are rewarding when finished.  The trick is to break them up into steps.  Use the rough outline from #2 to sketch out a timeline.  Then just aim at one milestone at a time.

4. I heard a couple statements from Mike Litman that have stuck with me:

“You don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it going.”

“Insignificance comes before significance.”

We do so many things out of habit, we often don’t even realize how we spend our time.  Part of my new year mantra of Be Intentional is to thoughtfully, yet aggressively Take Action!

Hopes, goals, and dreams are valuable.  But sometimes hopes, goals, and dreams aren’t enough.  Ty Howard talks about having unstoppable goals.  Easier said than done.  I find myself having many goals and passing interests.  Staying focused is tough…especially without identifying what Napolean Hill talked about as a major definite purpose.  So many good things divert our attention from what is truly important.  Whether it’s January or any random day when you can take some time to stop and think, reflection on goals is worthwhile.  Wandering through life with no ambition or meaning gets old.  Try setting goals.  Try being intentional.  Just setting goals and thinking about what COULD be in your life brings energy.

For 2011 I’ve decided to focus on a theme.  My theme, my mantra for 2011 is Be Intentional.  I’m hoping by keeping that front of mind that I’ll move more quickly toward my goals.  Hopefully, I’ll be less distracted.  I’ve noticed that even good habits that I’ve established have diminishing returns if I’m not intentional.  Example: without focus and intensity my exercise time is not near as productive as it should be.  Same goes for time spent with family…quantity of time does not negate the need for quality time.  So I’m making an effort this year to Be Intentional.  As the saying goes, “Wherever you are, be there.”