by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Celebration, Creativity, Mindset, Opportunity, Tools, Wellbeing
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 55 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Sharing accomplishments on social media? Be generous, authentic and enthusiastic
— From The Art of People: 11 Simple People Skills That Will Get You Everything You Want by Dave Kerpen
In The Art of People, Dave Kerpen recalls sharing accomplishments via social media and the reactions from his friends:
“So excited! We won the WOMMIE award for word of mouth marketing excellence for the second year in a row!”
After this announcement, a casual friend of Kerpen sent him the following private message: “Enough already, Dave! I know you won an award or two, I know you’re excited about it all, but stop shoving all this self-promotion in our faces!”
That message stung “probably because there was some truth to it,” says Kerpen. His company had just won the award for the second year in a row, and he was very happy about it and had been sharing accomplishments (this and others) “proudly and liberally” on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Very likely, the person that messaged him saw the posts on all three networks and got tired of it.
Kerpen remembers being upset and confused. “I was genuinely proud of our work and wanted to share the good news… On the other hand, I certainly didn’t want to get attention for being an egomaniacal braggart.”
He took the feedback to heart. “[He developed] a more modest attitude toward posting to social media… [being] humble, grateful and not overly self-promotional in [his] social media updates.”
In the meantime, unknown to Kerpen, the word humblebrag was being added to the Dictionary to describe exactly what he had started to do when sharing accomplishments.
So, when the following year his company won the WOMMIE Award again, he posted: “So honored and humbled to have received the WOMMIE Award for the 3rd year in a row! Thanks to the whole team @Likeablemedia!”
And to this post, came a different reaction from another one of Kerpen’s friends: “Dude, what’s with the humblebrag? Just gloat man, no need to fake being humble when you are dominating the award circuit!”
Kerpen was exasperated: “It seemed that no matter what I did, I couldn’t share my joy about accomplishments without offending some people.” The author goes on to say, “The problem with sharing accomplishments on social media… is there is no tone or body language to help convey your meaning, and that means it’s very easy for people to lose the context and not get your intention right.”
So, what to do? Does this mean no more sharing accomplishments? Never ever?
For Kerpen, the answer to that question is no, with two important caveats:
1. Be unafraid but as authentic (noncontrived) as possible in sharing accomplishments on social media.
2. Heap lots of authentic praise on others via social media as well.
The first point is simple: You’re going to be judged by people no matter what, so just be your authentic self and stand behind that authenticity no matter what people may say.
The second point is important too: Be quick to praise others in social media (and face-to-face). Authentic praise and compliments make people feel good, help them feel more comfortable in sharing their accomplishments, and, most important, show the world that you’re not all about yourself and are just as apt to sing another person’s praises as your own.
And the author sets out a challenge for us: “Scroll through your social media news feeds looking for opportunities to praise, congratulate, and promote others: your friends, colleagues, and followers. Be generous in retweeting people. Promote the heck out of everyone.”
My take on this?
As long as you are sharing your accomplishments with generosity, gratitude, authenticity and enthusiasm, your true friends and the people that love you are going to be genuinely happy and excited for you. And if you return the favor in sharing that excitement and congratulating people on their accomplishments and important milestones, everybody wins and we make this world a happier and better place.
ACTION
TODAY: What do you have to celebrate today? Big win or small win, share what makes your heart smile! Your circles will be very happy for you, and if you tag me on social media (Facebook, Twitter) I will be delighted to read about your accomplishment and happy to share!
FUTURE: Kerpen, a master of social media suggests the following: “Take a look at your last twenty social media updates and do a quick audit. How much are you promoting yourself versus promoting others? Ideally, you want to strike a balance of no more than 30 percent promoting yourself and at least 70 percent promoting others. […] Audit your next twenty social media updates and compare them with the previous twenty. Have you helped people see you as someone willing to praise others and unafraid to share his or her own accomplishments?”
And speaking of sharing… please do! Email, Facebook or Twitter.
by Helena Escalante | Celebration, Creativity, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 39 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Your first day, every day
— From This Is Day One: A Practical Guide to Leadership That Matters by Drew Dudley
Drew Dudley, leadership guru with one of the most watched TED Talks (“lollipop moment”) has published a new book, This is Day One, and I love it!
In the book, Dudley recalls the story of Mustafa, his tour guide in Qatar who had the most wonderful and infectious energy of anyone he’s ever met: “he vibrated with energy.”
As they were dune bashing (“flying off sand mountains at 70 miles an hour”), Mustafa was “cackling with laughter” and having an incredible time, whereas Dudley was trying to brace himself as much as he could.
What follows is the exchange that took place at the scene, as Dudley describes it. I left it verbatim because the story is absolutely beautiful. It left me with an a-ha! moment and a powerful lesson—I hope it does the same for you!
[As] he pushed the accelerator toward the floor [we] were absolutely flying toward what appeared to me to be a sheer drop and Mustafa was having the time of his life.
Bracing myself against the dash, I looked over at Mustafa and shouted: “Mustafa! You’re having a better time than I am! You do this every day! How do you stay so excited about it?”
Mustafa looked over at me, and with a smile that showed every one of his teeth, bellowed back:
“Oh! It’s my first day!”
I just about crawled out the back window.
Look, I understand that everyone has to start somewhere, but if your job involved driving me off of a sand cliff (hell, if your job involves driving me off of any cliffs really), I’d rather prefer not to be assigned the new guy.
I’m going to assume that thought showed very clearly in my expression because Mustafa let out a laugh and hit the brakes. The 4×4 skidded to a halt maybe twenty feet from the edge of the dune.
At that point I had both feet on the on the dash and had pushed myself basically up to the roof. Mustafa put the vehicle in park and looked at me with pure amazement.
“Mr. Dudley,” he began, leaning in. “Don’t you realize? You want the new guy!”
My heart still in my throat, I managed a weak, “I’m not so sure, my friend.”
“Think about it, Mr. Dudley,” Mustafa replied. “Think about your first day of work! On your first day of work you show up early; you dress your best; you try everything you can to impress your boss. You are patient with your coworkers, even the ones you know right away you’re not going to like. You ask all the questions you have because there’s no shame in doing that when you’re new. You double-check everything that you do. You stay late. You are never more committed to your job than you are on your first day. You are never more convinced it is going to be the best job you have ever had than you are on your first day.”
He leaned closer and continued, “As soon as your second day of work begins, all of that starts to stop being quite so true, doesn’t it?
He leaned back with a broad smile.
“The first day that I ever came to work at this job was seventeen years ago, Mr. Dudley. But I had such an incredible experience that I promised myself something. I promised myself that I would NEVER have a second day of work.”
He paused to look me right in the eye.
“Mr. Dudley, it has been my first day of work for seventeen years. Five years ago I bought this company. All I ask of anyone who works for me is that they treat every day they come to work like it is their first day. The customers love it. It’s why we are the best tour company in the country.”
ACTION
TODAY: Go back in your memory and relive the excitement of your first day of work. Take that enthusiasm, energy, and can-do-it-all attitude with you throughout the day and see how this changes your approach to things.
FUTURE: Adopt the first day mindset and share it with those that surround you. If, as the saying goes, hindsight is always 20/20, imagine what your wisdom of hindsight plus the energy and excitement of the first day can do for you and your business today: simply magic!
Know someone with infectious energy and enthusiasm? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Celebration, Collaboration, Creativity, Growth
Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 8 seconds.
Hi there!
EntreGurus is celebrating 250 posts today and I wanted to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, for reading it and for coming along for such a joyous ride!
It’s an honor and a privilege to share a daily idea with you, and I hope so far you have experienced many a-ha moments and will continue to experience them as we go along.
In the spirit of fun and celebration, I want to share some fun stats with you.
If I were to put all the posts together in one document the results would be:
- 380 Pages
- 4,497 Paragraphs
- 17,265 Lines
- 157,055 Words (as a comparison, a regular business book averaging 200 pages has 50,000 words.)
- 738,558 Characters without counting spaces
- 892,369 Characters with spaces (this would be the equivalent of 6,374 tweets at 140 characters each.)
Crazy awesome, isn’t it?
I made this word cloud that shows the most used words throughout all the posts:
And here’s a table with the top 50 words throughout the posts. (Thanks to databasic.io/en/wordcounter for the great online app to count the times a word appears in a document!)
| RANK # |
WORD |
FREQUENCY |
RANK # |
WORD |
FREQUENCY |
| 1 |
time |
768 |
26 |
every |
251 |
| 2 |
today |
730 |
27 |
go |
248 |
| 3 |
one |
635 |
28 |
mind |
244 |
| 4 |
people |
565 |
29 |
like |
236 |
| 5 |
make |
520 |
30 |
would |
231 |
| 6 |
idea |
486 |
31 |
better |
227 |
| 7 |
work |
485 |
32 |
important |
226 |
| 8 |
get |
442 |
33 |
person |
225 |
| 9 |
take |
383 |
34 |
new |
216 |
| 10 |
want |
382 |
35 |
ideas |
214 |
| 11 |
way |
378 |
36 |
book |
210 |
| 12 |
action |
355 |
37 |
good |
206 |
| 13 |
think |
343 |
38 |
many |
205 |
| 14 |
things |
328 |
39 |
give |
202 |
| 15 |
know |
317 |
40 |
see |
198 |
| 16 |
us |
313 |
41 |
much |
197 |
| 17 |
day |
308 |
42 |
keep |
195 |
| 18 |
life |
306 |
43 |
help |
192 |
| 19 |
need |
293 |
44 |
change |
192 |
| 20 |
future |
292 |
45 |
someone |
189 |
| 21 |
success |
283 |
46 |
others |
187 |
| 22 |
something |
263 |
47 |
great |
180 |
| 23 |
business |
261 |
48 |
done |
176 |
| 24 |
best |
260 |
49 |
find |
173 |
| 25 |
says |
251 |
50 |
say |
173 |
Please let me know in the comments here which one has been your favorite post so far and why — I’d love to write a post listing the most popular ideas from EntreGurus and feature your comment.
Thanks a lot again for reading, and I look forward to continuing to share with you the ideas from the books I read every day.
With much gratitude,
Helena
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Celebration, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Miniseries, Opportunity, Planning, Resources, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 56 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: The Encore Effect – Part 6
— From The Encore Effect: How to Achieve Remarkable Performance in Anything You Do by Mark Sanborn
Welcome back to the last part of this miniseries. So far, we have learned what the Encore Effect is (from the book by the same name from leadership guru and author Mark Sanborn) and understood what it takes to create a remarkable performance, the one that causes your audience to want more and more.
The author has focused on several Ps along the way: passion, preparation, practice, etc., as the ingredients to create a remarkable performance. However, all the while, he’s been wondering what came first: the remarkable performance or the remarkable person?
“Distinguishing between remarkable performances and remarkable people is like asking which came first—the chicken or the egg?”
Sanborn says that remarkable performances often result in increased rewards. “These rewards may include money, but they also come as increased exposure, recognition, influence and opportunity. […] The person who strives to perform more remarkably without also focusing on becoming a more remarkable person is missing the larger point.”
So, how do we ensure that, along with our remarkable performances, there is also growth in the personal area?
Sanborn suggests “six areas of focus that, when developed and mastered, can’t help but make anyone a remarkable person.” He calls this The Pyramid of Possibility, and pictures each of the six areas—each one starting with a P—like an inverted pyramid (that is, in a V shape) “with potential as the foundation for being remarkable and personalization as the highest expression of it.”
It looks like this:
The Pyramid of Possibility
\ Personalization /
\ Persistence /
\ Principles /
\ Passion /
\ Purpose /
\ Potential /
Let’s take a quick look at each of the six Ps on the Pyramid.
Potential: “Our potential—both individually and collectively—has no known limits. Many of us know how good we are at our jobs and responsibilities, but none of us knows how good we could be. That is the magic and mystery of our potential.”
Purpose: “Potential without purpose is like a sheet of metal that has not yet been formed to make a useful object. Feed that sheet of metal into a press and its value is transformed. Every human being has unlimited potential. But we need the press of purpose to create a channel for expression and action. Purpose focuses potential.”
Passion: “Passion is the fire-in-the-belly that we bring to human endeavors. Of course, passion that is not tied to purpose is like lightning firing in the sky… But electricity that has a purpose—well, that’s a different story. That kind of energy can run a household of light up a city.” (For more on passion, read this post.)
Principles: “What are the beliefs that allow you to shape your world your performances) instead of being shaped by it? [… Remarkable people are] unswervingly committed to their core values, ethics and personal and spiritual beliefs…When what you say is reflected and amplified by how you live, you are almost certain to live a remarkable life.”
Persistence: There’s an important difference between persistence and endurance. “ Remarkable performers and people don’t simply endure—they exercise persistence. They refuse to give in to despair, and they work hard at doing what’s right. Persistence is a strategic word that suggests purposeful action…”
Personalization: England’s equivalent to the U.S.’ American Idol is The X Factor, where the X refers to that one “elusive and indefinable ‘star’ quality that separates one performer from the rest.” For the purposes of personalization, Sanborn wants you to think instead on what he calls the “U Factor”: “those qualities that make you unique among the world’s performers. The U Factor is not something that you have to acquire or search for. It’s something you already possess, and something no one else has… It’s how you use purpose, passion, principles and persistence to make your actions you.”
And with that, this miniseries on The Encore Effect comes to a close. I hope you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it. What was your favorite part? Did you get any a-ha moments while reading it? Let me know in the comments here.
ACTION
TODAY: Think about your potential. How do you see yourself? How do you see others? The author asks us to ponder, “do you see yourself as ‘finished’ in terms of your spiritual and career advancement or as just getting started?”
FUTURE: Think about your goals. On which of them are you just enduring vs. purposely persisting to make them happen? Make a list of next steps to move that goal forward – there are 100 days left in the year for you to make it happen or to advance it significantly!
Know someone who is an encore performer? Please share this miniseries with them via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Celebration, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Miniseries, Opportunity, Planning, Tools
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 17 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: The Encore Effect – Part 4
— From The Encore Effect: How to Achieve Remarkable Performance in Anything You Do by Mark Sanborn
As promised, today we’re going to talk about PASSION. This is one of the various Ps that are needed to achieve a remarkable performance as explained in the book The Encore Effect. Stay tuned over the next few days of this miniseries to learn about the other “P” components.
In yesterday’s post, the author, Mark Sanborn, said, “Passion is the fuel that drives performance.” Today, he expands on a very important point about passion: “remarkable performance isn’t just about what we do; it’s also about how we do it.”
And he centers on an important point. “Life isn’t just about living our passions but about living passionately.” And while subtle when reading, this makes a world of difference once we understand it.
Sanborn explains, “In the everyday world, most of us don’t get to focus exclusively on doing those things we are passionate about. The solution? Do everything important with passion.”
No matter your role, if you infuse it with passion, creativity, and enthusiasm, you’ll guarantee increased value in the eyes of those around you. This, in turn, will generate opportunities and doors will open for you. “As a parent or spouse, as a volunteer in your church or community, as an employee making a sales call, teaching a class, or leading a company, bringing passion to what you do each day is an exercise in living fully and influencing others by your example.”
“The good news is that passion can be created and stoked. It’s up to you to do so.”
So, how can we develop and cultivate passion?
Sanborn suggests the following five things:
1. Study and learn. “You can go a long way toward becoming a passionate performer by buying the best books, subscribing to the best magazines and going to free university lectures [online]. […] Given the unlimited amounts of information available today, there is little justification for anyone not being a reader [hmmm, let me tell you about a blog that can help you with this… 😉 ] There is no shortage of ways to become an expert in your field—and grow more passionate in the process.”
2. Use small achievements or successes to fuel larger ones. “Remarkable performances are like losing weight. Which goal sounds more achievable—losing one pound per week for a year or losing fifty-two pounds? The result may be the same, but psychologically these goals are as different as night and day. Focus on achieving a remarkable performance today, then another one tomorrow.”
3. Look to other passionate people as role models. “Reach out to people you respect for their passion and performance. Start a group of like-minded people with similar goals. Avoid the people who act as ‘blockers.’ Remember, passion begets passion.”
4. Plug the leaks. “Examine those areas in your life where your resources (your time, talent, and skills) are not being put to the best use. […] Don’t spend time on things that diffuse your focus and do not advance your goals.”
In here, Sanborn tells the story of a student asking Albert Einstein how many feet were in a mile, and him saying he didn’t know. Upon seeing the student’s amazement, Einstein explained, “I make it a rule not to clutter my mind with simple information that I can find in a book in five minutes.”
5. Make passion part of your life. “Where the head goes, the heart will follow. You may not feel passionate, but when you decide you are going to become a passionate person, you will become one. If you act the part and succeed in the part, one day you will discover that you have become the part! If you deliberately and consciously act with passion, you will come to feel that passion.”
All remarkable performances require effort and energy, but they start with and continue to be fueled by passion all along.
As you know, I’m passionate about sharing the ideas I come across in the books I read (…barely noticeable, huh?). What are you passionate about? Let me know in the comments here.
And please come back tomorrow, as we will take a look at more of the “P” elements for remarkable performances in this miniseries.
ACTION
TODAY: Let’s plug the leaks today: find your sources of distraction and eliminate [or appease] them. For example, social media. If I don’t set limits for myself, I go in to read ONE tweet and I’ll still be there 2 hours later… ugh!… (#NotProud). While you don’t have to eliminate it, can you give yourself a set amount of time, timer-in-hand, so that you don’t get sucked into a time vortex? Can you silence or eliminate the notifications on your phone so that they don’t distract you until you are actually on your specified time for this? What other leaks are there in your life that you might be able to plug today?
FUTURE: Create the intention and commit to develop and cultivate passion in those areas of your life and business that are important for you. You will enjoy them more and become a remarkable performer at them.
Know someone who is an encore performer? Please share this post with them via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Celebration, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Miniseries, Opportunity, Planning, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 57 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: The Encore Effect – Part 3
— From The Encore Effect: How to Achieve Remarkable Performance in Anything You Do by Mark Sanborn
This miniseries on The Encore Effect has focused so far on explaining and understanding all about remarkable performances. But what do we need to make those performances happen?
According to the author, Mark Sanborn, the formula is simple:
P+D+A = RP
Where: P = Passion, D = Discipline, A = Action and RP = Remarkable Performance.
While this formula is not a panacea, it serves very well to convey the requisites needed to achieve a remarkable performance.
Let’s take a quick look at each:
Passion: “Encounters with passionate people are memorable,” says the author. “You are captivated not only by what they do but by the way they do it. You may not agree with them, but there’s no doubt that what they believe is important.”
Discipline: “Passion is the fuel that drives performance. But without discipline, passion is just loud talk and noise… When discipline is lacking, results are inconsistent and sporadic. It is discipline that enables us to do what needs to be done even when we are not at our best.”
Sanborn explains that discipline is the things that we do over and over again, “often behind the scenes, that ultimately result in remarkable performances.” For figuring this out, he suggests asking ourselves questions, such as:
- How many times did I rehearse and refine my sales presentation before giving it?
- How many books did I read (and re-read) about my industry/career/service/skills?
- How much time do I spend each day in the gym and how many days each week, to keep myself physically fit?
- How many thank-you notes and follow up e-mails do I send to important customers, clients, volunteers, or friends?
- How much of my income do I invest in myself to further my vocations and my passion?
- How much space do I make in my schedule to do the things that matter to me the most, whether developing my skills, spending time with my family, or giving back to my congregation or community?
Action: The most important thing, the author cautions, is not to confuse activity with action. “You can think the right thoughts all day long, but even if those thoughts make you feel good, nothing happens until you take action. […] Activity is effort without effect. Action is what achieves a desired outcome.”
Sanborn mentions that “some people hide behind activity and use it as an excuse to absolve themselves of responsibility (‘I’m so busy!’).” But it’s precisely that busyness that leads to lots of activity but no specific action to move forward.
The author closes by pointing out that “remarkable performers focus on the outcome they’re striving to achieve and say no to any activity that would divert their efforts. They know exactly where they are going, and they focus on how to get there.”
Come back tomorrow to read a bit more about passion. I’ve reserved a whole post for it, given that passion is the fuel for powering remarkable performances.
ACTION
TODAY: Sanborn suggests, “to discover what you are passionate about, ask yourself: What would I like to spend the rest of my life doing?” And says, “How you answer that question will lead you to your true passion.” Take a moment today to answer that question.
FUTURE: Look at your performances and see where they have had or have lacked passion, discipline, and action. Going forward, determine to have these three components whenever you need to do a remarkable performance. Commit to incorporating the three elements into, both, the preparations and the performance itself.
Know someone who is an encore performer? Please share this post with them via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
