Archives for December, 2009
December 24, 2009
In May my desktop machine that I use for work got hit with *nasty* malware. Up until this point, I had been completely virus free — mostly because I have always practiced ultra-safe (re: paranoid) practices: i.e. don’t download files from people you don’t know, use virus scanning software, have a great firewall, etc.
So I have no idea how malware breached my defenses. I only know that once it infected my machine, it caused pain. Lots of pain.
I spent hours reading techie boards trying to figure out how to dislodge it.
I spent more hours running programs designed to delete it — to no avail.
I paid over $500 to have a computer tech guy come to my office and remove it.
Nothing worked. The malware was so evil, it turned off Windows automatic updates, refused to allow anti-malware programs to open and run, took over my scanner, and then ultimately my Web browser. When that happened, I knew I was hosed.
That morning I unplugged my machine and lugged it to the local computer fix-it guy who did a complete “wipe and reload” — computer speak for reformatting my hard drive and then reloading the operating system.
Because of the havoc with my machine, I had limited access to files and information, including Outlook and ACT! — and began using Gmail as a stop-gap measure.
Once I got machine back and began reloading all of my software programs, the proverbial light went on . . . and I realized how much time and money I had been wasting all these years on bloated software programs that forced me to work their way, not my way.
Using Google’s Gmail, Tasks and Docs apps got me thinking about cloud computing . . . which got me thinking about how I really work . . . which got me thinking about cloud computing again . . . which led me to doing demos with products that I had never even considered.
Thinking about how I really work made me think about my business in new ways — which opened up a whole treasure trove of ideas and possibilities. I even bought an iPhone, something I had resisted. Buying the phone made me see marketing from a whole different perspective.
I began asking myself, “What do I really want to do?”
In their book, The Power of Focus, Canfield, Hansen and Hewitt talk about how our normal behavior is based on ingrained habit. For example, we may have one way of driving to the supermarket — and take that way every single time — without thinking about it. Driving the same route means we never see anything new on the way to the market.
It’s the same for our work habits. We get locked into doing a task the same way — and never change — which can blind us to new opportunities or ideas.
Looking back at the notes I kept during my “malware” period made me see that having an infected machine was the best thing that could have happened to me — although at the time I didn’t see it that way.
It forced me out of my rut, got me to try new things, and opened my eyes to new ideas and vistas — all of which I’m in the process of implementing.
I don’t recommend infecting your machine with malware to get you to “think different.” However, I do recommend you try different ways of working to see what pops up for you.
Look at what you’re resisting and instead of resisting it, embrace it. For example, I am a book lover and could never imagine reading a book on an electronic device (shudder). However, I recently downloaded the Amazon Kindle iPhone App and can’t believe what a pleasure it is to read books this way. I even fell asleep on the couch while reading it — something I believed could never happen. How cool is that?
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Do you have an experience that forced you to do something in a different way — and what did you learn from it?
December 13, 2009
“There is more simplicity in the man who eats caviar on impulse than in the man who eats Grape-Nuts on principle.” — G.K. Chesterton
In the December 12, 2009 edition of the NY Times, Sylvia Ann Hewlett writes about how corporations who offer flextime to workers find it a “win-win” situation (Flexible Hours Can be a Win-Win).
It was her answer to a question about how she unwinds that caught my attention, however. Instead of giving the trite answer of doing yoga or working out she replied, “Nothing. Nothing at all. What I crave more than anything are chunks of empty space — no expectations, no agendas.”
Her audience of women went wild.
Doing nothing — or doing whatever you want in the moment without any goal in mind — isn’t something we come by instinctively. America has a solid work ethic that goes back to our Puritan mothers and fathers who had to maximize time due to having to survive a grueling environment.
As a to-do list oriented person with an ingrained work ethic that started with my first job — a paper route at age 11 — I find myself craving and relishing the chunks of empty space where I’m free to read, nap or putter around the house.
When I get these chunks of time, I purposely steer clear of any work-related thoughts and focus on just enjoying the moment, such as sipping a cup of tea in the silence of my house while taking in the beauty of winter sunshine filling my kitchen.
The air is still — as are my thoughts. No work, no agenda, no to-do list. Just the peace and quiet of . . . nothing.
I usually come back to the “real world” refreshed, relaxed and focused.
Do you make time to do nothing? How do you feel about it?
Hat tip to work-life balance coach Sharon Teitelbaum for telling me about this article — and for her post, “Pajama Thanksgiving.”
December 13, 2009
In her fabulous book, Fashion Secrets Mother Never Taught You, image consultant Ginger Burr lists 50 secrets to looking good. Fashion secret #48 (which really should be fashion secret #1) lists six tips for avoiding clothes buying “mistakes.”
The full six tips are too long to list here, but to summarize, you should only buy an item of clothing if you think it looks great, if you like what you see when you look down at yourself (i.e. look at your tummy, your legs, etc.), if the item you’re trying on feels comfortable to you, and if the color looks good on you.
Most important, however, you should purchase something “ONLY if it suits your personal style.” Ginger goes on to write:
“Anyone who has ever shopped with me knows that I’m a big believer in keeping an open mind, trying new things, breaking out of a rut, BUT if you don’t recognize yourself when you look in the mirror, you won’t ever wear it. If you’re going to try something new, start small.”
Suffice to say, the biggest fashion mistake you can make is to buy clothes based on someone else’s style or trends. (For example, one trend that’s been around for a few years is low-riding pants for women — pants that ride at the hip versus the waist. I look like hell in these pants, so I stick with the high-waisted kind, even though many women think they look “matronly.”)
Ginger’s advice is applicable to clothes shopping — and to your business and your life.
I know, because I’ve come face-to-face with the fact that a few years ago I got “off course” when I bought into someone else’s business plan. This plan sounded great on paper and it is a viable business plan for many successful people.
However, it didn’t fit me, my values, or my life — a realization that took me months of self-reflection to figure out (which is why I haven’t posted to this blog — for which I apologize). My period of self-reflection included finding answers to the following:
Who am I? What are my values? What do I like to do? What do I do NOT like to do? What are my goals? Why am I in the business I’m in? If I could start all over, what would I be doing instead? What are my dreams? What am I passionate about? If I could write my story for the rest of my life, how would it read? What do I want to accomplish with my life and why?
It takes a lot of time to find the answers to these questions. If you’re like me, you have to wade through years of gunk and “beliefs” that somehow attach themselves to you like barnacles. They’re hard to remove, too.
Self-reflection also takes a great deal of quiet time — and by quiet time, I mean you have to find that quiet place inside of yourself and start listening to it. What is the little voice inside of you saying?
After months of self-reflection, here’s what I’ve learned:
My family is my number one priority. For me, this means work – life balance is very important to me. I have to ensure that I have the time necessary to be involved in my son’s life — which includes everything from baking cookies to attending his events to just hanging around doing nothing.
I value my independence. I love being in business for myself, I love being free to make my own decisions and to decide my own destiny. This is one reason I don’t work for a corporation — I don’t like feeling boxed in.
And, lastly I value learning. I must have books, newspapers, and magazines to read. I consume them. I love working with clients and trying new marketing tactics to see what works and what doesn’t. I love new things like social media and figuring out how it all works. I love working with my hands and doing something huge, like learning how to refinish hardwood floors. If I’m not learning something new, I feel dead inside.
Once I figured out what I truly value, it was then pretty easy to plan my life and my business around these values (although that took some time, too).
And this is where the rubber met the road. One thing I realized (among many things) is that I really do not like being in the information products business — i.e. developing products to sell. Really. I hate it. I don’t like the time it takes to develop products, the expense, the commitment, and the fact that I have to constantly market and sell them.
I’m giving it up — even though lots of people will tell me it’s a great way to make passive income. Yes, yes, yes. I know that. However, when I look in the mirror, I don’t see me.
Once I gave myself permission to give up this side of my business, a tremendous weight lifted from my shoulders. What I really want is to pursue the one thing that resonates with me on a very deep level: helping my clients achieve business success through strategic, hands-on, get-in-under-the-hood, results-based marketing.
What it all boils down to is that to be successful, you have to listen to your heart — and do what is inside of you — versus what the rest of world tells you you should be doing.
Have you gone through a period of self-reflection? What did you learn and how did it impact your business? Please feel free to share your story.
(By the way, you can now download my email marketing mistakes e-book — Goof-Proof Email — for free. Enjoy.)
