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Happywork TV Episode 35: Thank You Chris Brogan!

Chris Brogan
 
In the video below, I give a huge thank you to Chris Brogan for everything he’s taught me and done for me.

It’s more than just the blurb on the back cover of my book. Back when he blogged on a near-daily basis, I read every single post (sometimes multiple times). I was finding my way in this new social world of ours, working hard to leave my CPA job behind me. I wanted a new career, and Chris was one of the thought leaders who, unbeknownst to him, served as a “remote teacher” of mine. All he did was give, and all I did was take. I’m proud of the self-education I gave myself, but all thanks goes to people like Chris Brogan.

Hell, he even jumped on a 30-minute call with me last year to discuss my diet. He said he wanted me in better shape for when my book comes out. Gotta look great during those speaking engagements, he said. (full disclosure: I’ve lost 10 lbs at this point, probably. 😉 )

Chris Brogan, thanks for being you.

p.s. Two of my faves: Trust Agents and The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth (not affiliate links because Missouri don’t play that game. They’re BUY links!)

 
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Watch Episode 34 here!

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My 3 Words for 2013

Wow, it’s 2013. Happy New Year to all! Glad we’re together here instead of being mired in some sort of Jerry Bruckheimer-ish Mayan catastrophe. That was certainly a nail-biter, wasn’t it?

Now, what are we going to do with this 365-day clean slate? Resolutions are usually in order, except that I don’t normally make them. I have resolved to get in better shape ever since the age when that resolution starts making sense (age 24? 25?). Also, I’ve never enjoyed the arbitrary nature of starting really cool initiatives on January 1. If it’s worth doing better, then start doing that thing right now!

In lieu of making New Year’s resolutions, author Chris Brogan chooses three words with which he aims to shape his year. He’s been doing this since 2006. This year, I see people like Mark Schaefer, Jason Konopinski, Justin Levy, Christopher Penn, Mitch Joel and C.C. Chapman choosing their three words, so I decided to give it a try.

Write – This one kicks everything off for me. I am writing a book. Besides getting married and having children, this is probably my life’s most important work. A few months ago I did a Facebook post announcing I had submitted a book proposal to a publisher. It was an exciting post to make, an exciting time for me, and …. I still haven’t heard anything from the publisher. This is something I had better get used to. I’m just going to have to keep plugging away on the deal, but I should not forget that, regardless of whether I get a book deal or not, I have a book to write. I can always self-publish it if every publisher tells me no. Out of 45,000 to 60,000 potential words, I have about 15,000 written. This year, I must write, write, write.

Ship – Part of my problem with writing is that I’m a former CPA. I didn’t gravitate towards a math-laden profession because I’m an awesome writer. Sometimes, the words flow. At other times, great prose escapes my pen, a sort of brain constipation. Seth Godin talks about shipping creativity – watch this David Siteman Garland interview and zero in on the 12:30 mark. Everyone can be creative; everyone has thoughts and great ideas. The trick is to ship that idea – to release it for public consumption and ridicule. Most people do not like to be ridiculed, and because of that, they won’t execute on their best ideas – they won’t deliver. They won’t ship it. I have this really cool book premise (no, it’s not a social media book). I believe very strongly in the idea of civility and happiness in the workplace (and our lives) and want to dedicate a book to it. I’m afraid. I must get over the crippling fear that none of you are going to like it. I must get over the idea that the people I look up to, like the authors I linked to above, are going to laugh at the book’s premise. Truth be told, some will laugh and scoff – that’s just the world we live in. I have to plow ahead and worry about writing the very best book I can, while simultaneously not worrying about what the very worst book review is going to sound like. My creative bent is this book called The Impossible Contract; I must ship this idea.

Bacon – Wait, trust me, it’s not what you think. After 100,000+ tweets and 5 or so bacon-themed t-shirts on my website, I am now known far and wide as a lover of bacon, as the preeminent authority on bacon, as the guy that needs to know when anything bacon-related is going on in the world. Without even really trying, I branded myself as Mr. Bacon, or the Baron of Bacon as Shelley Satke Niemeier donned me. I know the bacon t-shirts helped this self-branding take place. But I had no concerted strategy to be known as the Baron of Bacon. I don’t think I even tweeted about bacon all that often. Again, and I’ve publicly admitted this before, I will sometimes go weeks without consuming bacon. And yet, all of a sudden, people are tweeting me pictures of their bacon Trapper Keepers, bacon toothpaste, bacon cigarettes, bacon shaving cream, and hundreds of other bacony products.

I sometimes question how the hell this happened. It might have been preferable had this been a plan, because I would be able to definitively say it was a smashing success. Go read this article and pay special attention to no. 1. I want to better understand who I am and how people think of me. If I had a better grasp of that, it might allow me to get bigger things done. If I had grasped this bacon phenomenon sooner, I might have jettisoned every non-bacon t-shirt I have on my site and focused only on bacon products. In 2013, I want to better understand what I’m good at, and what I have to offer the world.

Please let me know what your 3 words are in the comments below, or link to a blog post of yours where you offer your three words. And let me know what you think of my choices, as well. Happy New Year.

 

KTCO – My Appearance with Chris Brogan and Joe Sorge

Thanks to Chris Brogan and Joe Sorge for inviting me on the show. This was my third appearance on KTCO, and it was unlike the first two. This one seemed a bit more unstructured, or as I told Bob Burg on Twitter, “happily discombobulated.” They emailed me a show outline beforehand, and we didn’t stick to it at all! For me, that made it a blast.

Thanks again guys.

Link to the show, in case the embedded video above does not work for you.

Four Great January 2012 Blog Posts to Read

Internet DJ

Playing the role of Internet DJ, here are four great blog posts worth reading.

1.) Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg says that social media is a bright spot in the challenged world economy. “This is about growth, jobs and empowering people.” App makers, advertisers, small businesses and civic groups are all using Facebook to promote their work and connect with people. And Facebook is the number two driver of web traffic (guess who’s #1).

2.) Author and friend John Morgan offers 10 reasons we won’t support your business. So much of it seems like common sense, but alas, it is not. See numbers 2, 7 and 10.

3.) Mitch Joel is thinking smarter. He asks us to think about where our learning is taking place. The digital generation (which I just barely squeaked into!) is learning on their iPhones and iPads. As Joel writes, “Every day, new content comes online that can and will make you smarter.” For example, if you want to know how to start a t-shirt company, you can ask me “How did you start your t-shirt company?” Or you can thoroughly research the subject via Google and ask me the very specific left-over questions you have. Technology has made it possible to “set your own curriculum,” Joel says. Do that!

4.) Chris Brogan gives a fantastic list: 97 Ideas for Building a Valuable Platform. I read this from a personal branding perspective. Your personal brand is being more heavily weighted by employers every day. There will come a day (we’re close) when CPA firms will hire junior auditors and consider their social graph when doing so. If I’m hiring, I want to know about your valuable platform and how you plan on using it to help me advance my business agenda. It’s less about being a clock-watching cog in the wheel and more about being a team member. For me, this piece is another “Beethoven’s 9th Symphony” post from Brogan. Read it twice.

Gary Vaynerchuk In a Seminal Performance at the 2011 Inc 500 Conference

And now a YouTube version for those of you on Apple mobile devices

(WARNING: the above video contains lots of foul language. You should not watch this video if such language offends you)

Apologies in advance, but I’m a brown-nosing Vayniac. I’ll get that out in the open right now. However, I have learned a ton from this guy, have watched dozens of his speeches, was sitting in the front row of this presentation, actually got mentioned in the speech between 33:00 and 33:30, and can tell you that this talk was one of his best ever. Watch this presentation.

I speculate that he really brought his A-Game because he was amongst peers. The room was filled with 1,000 (?) of the best entrepreneurs in the world, and that’s who he is. Even though most of the attendees are not doing social well, or not doing it at all, Gary and these folks still share much of the same DNA. They build businesses. I think Gary felt like he was talking to a different crowd here than one he might address at Big Omaha or SXSW, and that this required something different. All I can say is…. watch the whole thing, including the last question he takes during Q&A. He brought the house down!

And Gary, thanks for the hug afterwards.

 

RATHER AWESOME POSTSCRIPT

Thank you to both Gary Vaynerchuk and Robert Scoble (via Mike Stenger) for rebroadcasting this for me. Needless to say, my blog has seen some traffic in the past few days. By the way, I had a few people say I was lucky to get the attention of these guys. As Harvey Mackay recently said in his Chris Brogan interview, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” Basically, I do stuff. Lots of stuff. Some of it “hits the big time,” whatever that means. So….. Blog. Post. Comment. Reshare. Listen. Interview. Videotape. Write. Sit in the front row. Do stuff!

Inc 500 Conference crowd for Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk Chris Reimer Rizzo Tees Inc 500 Conference

 

RizzoLinks – What I’m Reading In Early August 2011

Playing the role of Internet DJ, here’s a sampling of what I’ve been reading, watching or staring at lately, via my tweets (links below are clickable):

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[blackbirdpie id=”98043327659786242″]

[blackbirdpie id=”98085076402835456″]

 

This one includes poetry:

[blackbirdpie id=”98049119859380224″]

 

And a few funnies:

[blackbirdpie id=”98092582596386816″]

[blackbirdpie id=”98087032991129601″]

 

Chris Reimer On The Air With @ChrisBrogan and @JoeSorge – Kitchen Table Talks

It was a true honor to appear on Kitchen Table Talks with Chris Brogan and Joe Sorge. Thanks for the invite, guys!

Chris Brogan Says Believe In Yourself First

I love this video from Chris Brogan. What did Woody Allen say? Eighty percent of success is showing up? I believe in this wholeheartedly! My quick point to you today is this:  you really have no clue how other people view you.  If you think that everyone absolutely loves you, I assure you that you’re undoubtedly wrong.  However, much more importantly, if you think everyone else is stronger than you… that everyone views you as easy prey – you could not be more wrong.

Believe in yourself – carry yourself like a seasoned businessperson, even if you’re in your early 20’s.  Don’t ever be something you’re not, but just realize that your self-perception is probably way off.  Don’t give up, don’t stop trying, don’t drop out of the game.

Link Roundup on Rizzo Tees – What I’m Reading 5/4/10

Playing the part of Internet DJ, here’s a sampling of what I’ve been reading the past few days.

1.) Jason over at A Smart Bear breaks down American idiomatic usage in a rather hilarious way.  What does it mean when a fellow businessperson says to you, ““It’s not personal, it’s just business?” Read the post and find out!

2.) Back in March, Chris Brogan wrote about a visit to a charter school.  I took particular interest, since my daughter will be starting kindergarten at a French language immersion charter school in August. Kids in some of these charter schools are learning in vastly different ways than we did back in the day.  My daughter’s school is going to be no exception, and we’re quite excited about it. Kids are being trained in these schools to handle real-life jobs and real-life situations.  They’re even going to teach my daughter about food. How cool would that be – growing up understanding that organic vegetables are better than candy made in a factory?  Hell, she might even learn how to prepare healthy meals for herself! Why can’t a school teach this? To me, it sounds like the way to raise a healthier generation.

3.) Ari Herzog over at AriWriter.com is going through a time that sounds way too familiar to me.  Ari is trying to make a career transition, and after 18 months, he says he’s back to square one.  Starting off on your own is tough – there are times when I’ve thought that Rizzo Tees would be farther along by now.  Everything worth doing in life takes time – sometimes lots of time!  I have said this before – I am not some 150% full-speed-ahead entrepreneur that would step on his own mom’s neck to succeed.  There are times when I have self-doubt. I have ups and downs. I just do everything I can to stay in the game – stay focused, and just keep plugging away.  Half the battle is just not quitting. People completely underestimate this fact.

Gary Vaynerchuk Talks Twitter on CNBC With Some Fellow Panelists That Are Highly Confused

Gary nails it here in the first 30 seconds – real-time search has tremendous value.  (video below).  Companies need to pay hyper-attention to what people are saying about their brands, and they need to follow up with the proper kind of interaction.

Peter Kafka of All Things Digital says, “You don’t go to Twitter to search for stuff.”  I highly disagree! (and I call him “highly confused” in only the nicest way!).

Like Gary says, Twitter can monetize with advertising, just like Google did.  Google used to be so very simple, and now it’s so huge and monetized with 100 different services… and people are still flocking to Google.  Frankly, like Chris Brogan said here just the other day, people are completely beholden to Skynet, er I mean Google.  There has been no mass exodus from Google, and there probably won’t be from Twitter either once they decide to take the monetization plunge.

Contrary to what some of the panelists said, Twitter is a really big deal, and companies that are running in the other direction are making a huge mistake.