What’s wrong with the election? The People

What’s wrong with the election? The People

Forget who won, what legislation passed and which party has the power, there is a problem with the election process and it is not the Electoral College, Advertising or the Politicians themselves, It is the people. We are to blame because we let it happen and point the finger at what needs to be changed. The blame falls on us because of we focus on what divides us rather than what unites us. Blame belongs to us because we for the most part talk more than we listen.

In this country the people have the power, go ahead and say it is the Electoral College and you are right to a point, however we forget that we can change the election process. We the people can change the way that we elect officials. If this is done we allow for a more parties to be in the game and more change to take place. Point the finger at advertising is pointless because we fund these campaigns. We put our hard earned dollars into organizations that fund the mudslinging rhetoric. Lastly we blame the politicians, which is ironic considering we are the ones who put them there.

It is about time we put the United back in United States. In case we have all forgotten we are all in this together. Over this past election cycle I have been threatened to lose friendships over who I vote for, what I believe and where I stand. Families and friends break apart over one issue instead of focusing on what unites them. You can vote for whoever you like but lets get together and go change the world.

When was the last time you actually listened to another person across the aisle? How long ago was it that you did research to find out not what you believe but why you believe it?  We listen to the vile and hate filled rhetoric but do we listen to the people? Do we show the slightest bit of respect and prove that we are united? We have two ears and one mouth for a reason.

In this past election I have been thinking a lot about the complaint that our youth is no longer interested in politics. Can you blame them? We fight and bicker over where our vote will go. Watch disgusting videos pointing out every mistake that the other person has made and all the time we sit back and point the finger at someone else. The fact that the youth is not interested in politics does not bother me but inspires me.

It is not too late, the people still have the power and there is no time to change like the present. While it is true that the people are to blame for this rhetoric we are the ones that can and will change it. We live in the greatest country in the world. If you need any proof take a look at the power of the people to help after Hurricane Sandy. This is the country that America needs to be every day. Go change the world.

Just one drop...

Even the greatest oceans started with just a drop of rain, which is made up of molecules, pretty simple science. The greatest movements have stated with one thought that led to a passion which led to an action, which led to a movement. Our life is made up of years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds. Every action that we take thought that we make and idea we have has the potential to change the world.

The greatest oceans started with just a drop of rain. The ocean is massive body of water going on for miles and reaching miles below the surface. Can one drop really matter? Can one decision we make in our life truly make a difference?

Every action you take may not seem like a lot but it is. The best part, its okay to screw up, its natural it teaches you a lot and it gives you an opportunity to improve. Every action can change the world. My friend Christian Jensen followed his dreams because of a video. The video lasted five minutes, changed his life, he found his passion, he took action and began changing the world. One drop matters. I have been lucky in life to have amazing opportunities, people and events change my life. Rotary Youth Leadership Awards is one of them. One of the biggest gifts I have ever been given is a note, on sticky pad, letting me know the gifts I have given. It was a drop in time for my life but made an impact. One drop matters.

Your one drop creates a ripple; it carries the energy out to the world. Christian has made an amazing impact on me. His passion, dedication and love for what he does has changed my life. Imagine the ripple affect, imagine a child at the age of 13 having chancer, what is the impact he can make? The impact he made is great, his name is Bo Johnson and sadly he passed away on September 28^th 2012 and let me tell you about the impact he has made. He has inspired thousands to love one another, give the gift of themselves and change the world. I have witnessed it first hand. A complete stranger to the family and friend of my self, Brian Gruender dedicated to running 100 miles to honor Bo and the passion, love and lessons he gave to the world. A close friend of family and my good friend Heather Goodwin dedicated to following Brian for the first 50 miles. It started at 9:00 pm and ended at 6:30am the next day. Now how can a child of just 13 years old impact a man who lives over an hour away, who he never met, never knew and never would. He chose to add just a drop to the ocean and watch the ripples create magic.

One drop matters but think what ten drops can do, 100 drops and 1,000 the impact is inspiring, you actions matter. Brian’s journey to honor Bo, started with just one step, a step in the miles he would run to honor Bo and his legacy. Take the first step. The Grand Canyon, one of the greatest wonders of the world was formed by trillions of drops carving through stone. Keep giving you drops, its what will change the world.

Do not get lost in the ocean of life. It is an amazing and fascinating place and at the same time it is easy to feel alone and see you actions as nothing but splash in the pan, but it is so much more. Your actions, thoughts and ideas are what will change the world. The greatest movements, innovations and achievements started with one thought, that led to a passion, which led to action that led to a movement that changed the world. The greatest oceans in the world stated with just a drop of rain

Embrace the spirit of a marathon

I recently had the great opportunity and privilege of being able to run in the Cellcom Green bay marathon. It was amazing for a number of reasons. First and foremost I had the ability to run, others cannot. Second I was able to work with an amazing organization called myTEAM TRIUMPH. They help challenged athletes compete in endurance races by having Angels push them in buggies. Third the atmosphere and spirit of a marathon is amazing.

I have the ability to run, it is a gift. A gift that far too often many of us see as a burden, “I have to run today”, “I need to train today”, “I need to run x miles today”; yet we forget that there are people in this world who cannot even walk. They can barely move themselves. In my book the ability to run is truly a privilege. The speed you go at, does not matter, the distance does not matter, just be happy you can run.

myTEAM TRIUMPH is an organization that is dedicated to helping challenged athletes compete in endurance events. The challenged athletes are called captains; they are the ones in the race, the ones who get the shirts, medal and whose name is behind the time. They are the inspiration   behind every step we take. Angels are the ones who push or pull the captains. It is an honor, privilege and pure motivation to be able to be an angel. I an inspired constantly by the passion, greatness and love these captains live there life with everyday. Thank you to everyone who cheered us one. Thank you for your inspiration and the ability with a phrase to power us through the run. I had the privilege of running with a father who was pushing his daughter the whole way. The words, signs and smiles meant more to us than you can ever know.

Embrace the spirit of a marathon, it is truly amazing. Runners, your dedication to training proves that if you believe, you can do pretty much anything. Getting up for at 7am for a 20 mile run then getting on with your day is fantastic. The sport is addicting and even though running seems like it is a solo sport, we are all in it together. The power and awe of a marathon goes beyond the runners. To the trainers, staff and volunteers who dedicated their time just to ensure we would be okay, thank you. We could not compete without you. Last but not least, lets not forget the fans along the course who cheered us on. Many of them had no one to specific to cheer for, but they choose to stand out in the heat just to cheer random strangers on. They made signs, turned on their hose and handed out water just to see a total stranger succeed in a dream.

What if we lived everyday like that? What if we invested our time, energy and passion into helping people succeed, with nothing but the satisfaction of knowing we helped them succeed. In my opinion, life is not about us, it is about everyone else. How can we live each day to provide inspiration, motivation and dedication that helps people achieve their dreams?

The greatest pleasure in life?

The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do - Walter Bagehot

With all do respect to Walter, I have to say his belief is absolute bull. Since when is the greatest joy we get in our life from showing the people that never believed in us that we can do what we knew all along? More importantly what kind of culture and society does this build? The question you need to ask yourself is, who are you living your life for? Are you living it for the ones who denied you the power to believe in yourself or the ones who stood by you, the ones that are willing to push you along and show you how much they loved you? The very concept of seeking pleasure by showing the non-believers is a slippery slope that can only end in disaster.

This quote instills in us, that if we want to truly be happy we must prove that someone is wrong. It sets us on a path to search and find the ones that do not believe in us and waster our time on them. This takes away from the time we could be spending with those who have supported us all along, degrading the true friends that we have. Instead of spending time with and appreciating the true friends in our lives we try to justify our every move to the ones that do not matter. The fact of the matter is, it does not matter who started it, where it came from or why it started, what matters is it stops, that we choose to change the world.

Our life is full of choices, one of the most important, is who are we living for? We can choose to live for the negative or we can choose to live for the positive. I believe whole-heartedly that if we choose to seek pleasure in proving others wrong, we will never truly be happy and if we choose to live for the positive, nothing will stop us.

It is time that we start living our dreams for the ones that believe in us. These are the people that have always been there for us throughout the journey. What greater joy can you have then showing everyone that believed in you, that they were right?

So here is my challenge, lets start believing in the people we care about. Let’s start helping people achieve their dreams and start to take them seriously. I believe that we all have gifts that will change the world.

Change the world

The difference between those who change the world and those who don't is that those who do believe they can.-Simon Sinek

I believe this to be true, and that is why it scares me.

In our society today as it stands, hardly any focus is being put on helping people realize that they can change the world. Yet we question why not everyone is not changing the world, it is simply because they do not believe they can. Our focus has been on finding out how we will change the world, which will not work.

Rarely in your life will you ever truly change the world in the way you imagined. While this may sound bad, I believe it is one of life’s greatest gifts. I believe that we are all put on the earth for a reason. Yet this can be discouraging for many people, because they road is rarely paved and the path is never clear. Every step that we take is a step in the right direction.

When we “fail” we lose faith in ourselves, when we lose faith we stop believing. This creates one of the greatest tragedies in life, when we stop believing we can change the world.

It is time we start to engage others to believe that they can change the world. We cannot do the work for them but we can help them believe. Start telling people what they mean to you and how they have changed your life, it will change their world. Let them know that you will support them, be a friend. If our goal is to truly change the world, we must give people the courage, belief and power to realize that they can too.

Go out and change the world

Start with why

To begin, I should mention that much of this is inspired by Simon Sinek’s video that explains his golden circle. In the outer layer is what, the middle is how and the bullseye is why. It has to do in which the way organizations explain their product or service. However it has so much more to do with life and how to live one with passion and achieve your dreams.

For the longest time I have been involved with a lot but most of the time have not felt connected. As much as I could find a reason for the other members, mission and vision or it all being part of the progress, what it comes down to is I never gave my self permission to understand why. Why is it that I take part in everything I do? Why do I want to have an impact and why do I have the dreams I do. It is great to have a dream of changing the world but until you understand why, something will be missing.

They why is your story. It is the inspiration you drive from and help create the difference. Everything that you do is built on the foundation of why. Don’t believe me, here are some examples. A company has a choice on how they want to market themselves. They can choose to talk to their customers about what and how they create or do what they do, or they can talk about the why. Telling the story of the passion, commitment and drive they have every day when they walk in the door. The fact of the matter is, what and how will change frequently, just look at Nike. What they did in the past, selling shoes in retail markets has now changed. They sell almost any sports equipment one could imagine and a lot of it online. Yet what they do has not changed, they provide people the ability to become athletes, the ability to live a healthier life.

Live your story and start with why. In my life I have had the amazing luck to have met so many people who have the story of why down, you can tell the moment you talk to them. They have a passion and fire that cannot be put out, because they will not let it. They know that what and how is just a vessel for why and the impact they will make on the world.

The first person is Christian Jensen. He is on a mission to change the world and understands why. He wants everyone to know that they are not valued by their disability, speed or talent, but by the gifts they bring to the world. Christian realizes the why, if we let everyone know that they are not judged by their disability, they will be set on fire to change the world. Choosing to include everyone and help them be part of the team, will let them know they matter. That is what we are all looking for, to know that we matter.

Second is Peggy Eserkaln, she is on a mission to help people build better teams with communication, acceptance and trust. Peggy realizes that these three qualities are the building blocks for a great team. When this is set in the foundation, teams and organizations become dynamic and truly achieve success. She also realizes that at the very inner of every person people want acceptance and trust. They want to be supported in their dreams and help others achieve their dreams.

Third would have to be my father. He wants to help everyone succeed because he believes in the potential that every person brings to the table. Where people are right now does not determine where they will be or who they can be. The path we are all on, is meant to be a journey and every step we take will bring us closer to who we are truly meant to be.

Not once in any of these stories did I tell you what these people did, I did that on purpose. Unless you know any of the three above, you have no idea of what they do and how they do it. Yet you understand why. Do you feel inspired?

fearLESS

I have made an awesome choice to join a group that is truly changing the world. The name of the group is my Team Triumph-Wisconsin. For those of you who do not know the short story of this group is they help disabled athletes compete in endurance events. I am sure you will soon see that is just the surface.

Fear is something that we all have to deal with. The world creates fear around us daily and rewards us to give into it. We fear we will not fit in, so we buy the clothes, home and care we cannot afford. We are afraid we will lose our job, so we agree and go along for the ride. We are afraid that we actually have the potential to change the world so we let the evil take control and let our soul be taken. I do not write this as a judge of the rest of the world, I write this as someone who has done it and continues to do it.

However as life does almost every day, people are put into our life that changes it forever. This is where my Team Triumph comes in. I had the great opportunity to run with a group of Angels and Captain Mary to train for the Cellcom. The path had hills, more hills and then you guessed it another hill. However what struck me most about the run was not the miles, the scenery, pace or finishing it. It was a simple comment made at about mile 12. We were going up a hill (there were a lot) and I was able to push Captain Mary up the hill. The whole time we had “light thoughts” to help us get up the hill faster, it helped. Mary told me about the time she went out on a hot air balloon. The experience, seeing other balloons takes flight and the scenery. She talked about how she saw the horses in the field, then moved on to the time she rode a horse. While this may not seem like a feat to many, what you may not know is that Mary has Muscular Dystrophy. Many of the things that you and I take for granted and many of the things you and I complain about doing, she cannot.

What struck me about this conversation was not the fact that she rode the horse; it was what she had after “I have very little fear”. Mary has many problems, so few of us could imagine. She has to deal with difficulties most of us could only dream about, yet she chooses to not let fear hold her down. She puts fear to the side and takes on whatever life gives her. Mary will not let fear control her life, she chooses to control the fear. This may be the point where I say if Mary can make this choice, we can too. However that is unfair to Mary, you and your future. The fact of the matter is, we should be making the choice to not live in fear regardless. Comparing our self to someone else builds fear that we are not good enough. Just like the hot air balloon, it is not until we let go, that we can see all the world has to offer.

Forgive but don’t forget

Forgive but don’t forget

There is a difference between forgiveness and forgetting. One is a powerful tool that will set you free and open your future. The other is a truck that will blindside you if you do not pay attention.

In my journey I have gotten the two mixed up far too often. I forget what happened but refuse to forgive those involved, including and probably most often myself. Looking back I have noticed that it does nothing for me, I forget the cause of the problem and what should have been done and just focus on the people, looking for what they did wrong. When in reality I should forgive those involved, because 99% of the time they did it with their best intentions, and I am willing to be trick by the 1% to see the awesome power the 99% has.

When I forget what happened, I forget to learn the lesson that came along with it, most likely the reason why it happened. The lesson sits on the side of the road as I run pass it chasing those who “did wrong”. As Pat Hopkins of Imaginasium writes in a blog post “It’s about the Experience, Stupid”, I have far to often forgotten to realize the awesome potential the experience will teach me if I take a minute to learn from it and remember it.

A failure is not the end; it is a fork in the road. It is a point in time where you can realign, regroup and look at what is a head.

I will start to look for the opportunity, experience and lesson from each step in my life. I will start to forgive and love people for who they are and the talent they bring, I will be set free. I will not forget the lesson I have been taught making them propel me forward, not hold me back.

Here is to forgiveness, an awesome virtue that far too often I have forgotten. Let’s remember is all about the experience.

Marketing

I know what marketing is!

Here is my frustration, just because you know what marketing is, does not mean you know how to do it correctly. If you want to go down that road, I know what open heart-surgery is, yet I should not do it. For some reason there seems to be a misconception that marketing is easy and has no real “idea behind it”. This is frustrating for two reasons, one it is wrong and second, for a group of people (marketers) dedicated to creating a message that compels and attracts people, we quite frankly suck at our job.

Here are some common misconceptions about marketing. It’s all about getting customers, no matter where they are from. Speak to everyone so your message hits as many people as possible. We need to be everywhere, that way everyone will see us. While there are many more, these are a few that bug me the most.

First off, yes the point of marketing is to get customers in your door, whether it be a building or online. However it is getting the right customers in the door. If you are selling airplanes, which would you rather have, a group of 100 college students or a group of ten fortune 500 CEO’s. It is about quality not quantity. Actionable Tip: Instead of looking at purely how many people you will reach, look at who they are. Anyone that comes to you and asks for advertising without this info, is not worth your time.

Along with the paragraph above, one major misconception people have with marketing is that your message should speak to everyone. When the truth is, the more direct your message is, the more it speaks in the voice of your customer, the better results you will get. Actionable Tip: Instead of focusing on a general and generic message, create shorter and compelling messages for each segment of your target market or line extension your company offers.

Finally wrapping up, just because your advertising is out there does not mean people are paying attention to it. A key to marketing is determining where your target market is looking and where they pay attention. It has been estimated that people see over 1,500 advertisements per day (http://ams.aaaa.org/eweb/upload/faqs/adexposures.pdf) however the real question is, how many do they remember? Just because you have an ad out there does not mean it will be seen. In fact most of the ads today because of the overload are just white noise that no one pays attention to. Actionable Tip: I will focus on placing my advertising where it will be seen and heard, even if it means a drop in “total reach”. I will instead focus on reaching the right people at the right place and time.

We have just gone over three of the foundations for marketing. They are customer segmentation (who are your customers and what compels them), messaging and channel distribution (where are you placing your marketing). If you start to determine these, your marketing will get a lot of help.

Live Extraordinary

I have fought the daily battle of trying to be ordinary or being extraordinary. From now on, I will choose to be extraordinary. I do not want to blend in, I want to stand out. My dreams involve changing the world, it is impossible to this if I choose to blend in.

Let me first make a few things very clear on what not blending in does not look like. Choosing to not blend in, does not mean you have to be at the front of the attention every minute. Not every decision that I make will go against the grain, be a world changing vision or be the best decision I should have made. Making the choice to be different does not mean you have to be obnoxious. It goes beyond your actions and the day to day life, it is a choice to create a mindset where you focus on not just breathing but living.

So why live the extraordinary life? Well lets just be honest, it sounds a hell of a lot more fun than just blending in. I promise I do have some “actual” reasons to stand out. The first being, it prevents you, your organization or community to settle for mediocrity. Secondly I do not believe that when you choose to blend in, you can make a difference, because you are not different. Choosing to blend in, you are directed where to go, instead of choosing where to go. Lastly blending in does exactly that, you blend in and no one can tell you apart. Redundant yes, don’t worry I have formed a committee to look into this and made sure that committee has a committee.

Choosing to blend in fuels mediocrity, it begs you to stick with status quo, not to go the extra mile and worse yet, not have an idea that will change the world. Choosing to stand out, breaks you free of status quo, gives you the freedom to change the world and the lead the life you love. There is no greater or scarier feeling than realizing the choices you make, will create you future. I beg you to not blend in, go out and choose to be extraordinary. Create a dream and go out and live it, do not let anyone demand that you are different.

You are far to0 awesome and amazing to choose a life where you blend in. It is my belief that God does not have time to just put anyone on this earth; we are all here for a reason. An idea that may seem dumb to you could very well change the world. Do not be offended or angry at those who try to stop you, many of them mean well. They are also scared to live outside of their comfort zone and try to change the world; they are letting their lives be driven by fear, not freedom. Do not be mad at them; help them realize the awesome potential they have if they choose to be different.

Go forth and set the world on fire
St. Ignatious Loyola


PS: Don’t think this relates to marketing, I can prove you wrong. As consumers rarely do we look for something ordinary, we want something extraordinary, it is just within a different body. We want a product or service that speaks to us in an extraordinary way. We choose based on what our heart and mind tells us will help us. This message is not canned or a fill-in the blank, it is unique. The fact of the matter is, you cannot talk to everyone effectively, you can try but it will not work. You need to develop extraordinary marketing plan, that identifies your customer, gives them a voice and helps you deliver a solution to their problem.

Set them up for success

Are you setting your goals up for success or failure? Are you investing resources and talents or holding off? If you expect people to be successful you better set them up for success. In my view there are a few simple tools you need for this to happen. The first is trust and it is the most important, it creates the culture. Second is making sure you have the resources. Set clear expectations of what you want, and what success looks like.

Do you trust that people will do what you want them to? More importantly do you trust that even though they will make mistakes along the way, they will still get the solution? Trust is a huge factor in success, if people do not feel they are trusted, they will not give their all, they will not speak their mind and they will not fully get behind the plan. As they should be, they will be looking out for themselves. If you want success, make sure you trust not only that it can happen but more importantly the people you are with can make it happen.

You cannot make a fire without at least some materials, depending on how resourceful you are, you may be able to get by with less, but the fact remains you need something. If you want a roaring fire you better have enough wood to do so. This goes right with making sure we are successful, make sure you have the resources available for success to occur.

If you want success make sure you know what it looks like, if we don’t know what it looks like, how will we know when we get there. If your favorite excuse is “I do not have time to explain what I want”, then stop complaining you never get it. If you are not going to take enough responsibility to explain what you want, do not get upset when you do not get it.

Not taking the time to explain, does more than just create confusion among the people you work with. It creates a culture that is not filled with trust, questions linger of why, not everyone is on the same page, why the whole story was not laid out and what is going to happen if I do this. Second, if you constantly find yourself having to deal with “fixing others mistakes” and are not sure if you gave a clear explanation, chances are you are a contributing factor. This means instead of taking 10 minutes to explain it, you spend 30 minutes fixing it. The cut runs deeper still, the person you asked to help you now feels, like they let you down and the trust is broken down, even just a bit.

If you want success, you need to make sure you are ready for it. Create a culture where trust is relevant and real. Let people make mistakes and know they will get it right, everyone does. Have the materials that you need to build the fire for success. Finally make sure you are taking the time to explain what success will look like.

Believe in what you want.

With the New Year freshly on its way, there is one key thing we all must remember. The biggest wall for most of our resolutions, coming true is we believe they cannot happen. We think we are stuck where we are at, and we cannot do better. However maybe on some off chance, we may just be able to do it. After all why wait until start of a new year?

Think of how backwards that is, we want to change, yet do not believe we can do it? We do not believe we are good enough to accomplish our biggest fears or dreams. This is why so rarely any resolutions is ever accomplished, not because we can’t, but because we think we can’t. I truly believe that people have amazing talents that will help them accomplish whatever they want. Far too often we doubt ourselves (me included) about if we are “good enough”, we all are.

I believe that the words you choose every day help you create the future of not only yourself but the people, businesses and organizations you touch. A simple word switch from “wish” to “will” can make a world of difference. Are we more likely to get behind “I wish we could be more strategic” or “We will be more strategic”, which sentence would you rather hear?

Take this into the workplace, personal life and wherever it still remains true. Far too often we wish for things that we never think can happen, after all it is a “wish”. I say we stop wishing and start believing.

Getting into the mindset of “this can never happen” will ruin you. It creates a self fulfilling prophecy, which we continuously create a filter that shows us exactly what we think we need to see. If you want something, you better believe it can happen, or it won’t.