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Success Runs in Your Second Nature

by JimRaffel on April 4, 2010

You have found your true passion when what you are doing is so easy it’s second nature.

Find work that feels easy, comfortable and second nature. When you have done this look at all the other aspects that come along with that work and find ways to live with them. I’d argue that having a crappy boss but doing something you like is preferable to the alternative. After all, how often do you interact with your boss versus doing the actual work?

Joe, Sarah and Angie

L-R: Joe, Sarah, Angie (photo by Cheryl Raffel)

A quick story: Angie and Joe Sorge joined a group of us at their restaurant AJ Bombers recently to celebrate our friend Sarah’s Birthday. Being their together to relax and have fun, however, did not stop Joe and Angie from doing the little things that make their restaurants a success. I watched as Angie kept an eye on the shelf where fresh hot food comes out for the wait staff. More than once in what I can only describe as second nature behavior she grabbed the plates and made sure they got to the customer promptly.

No looking around to see who’s job it is, just a “let’s get this done to satisfy the customer” attitude.  I’ve been in plenty of restaurants where the owners’ would have ignored this situation or worse yet thrown a hissy fit asking which server wasn’t doing their job. I’m positive neither Joe or Angie thought about the little things they did over those couple hours to server their customers and support their staff. They just acted and did what needed to be done.

Following a passion you are comfortable with doesn’t feel like work. Instead of being work it’s just what you do. Sure their are parts of the life that are hard and we don’t want to do. That my friends is life. If I never had to look at another financial statement or process another invoice I’d be the happiest man on the planet. Instead, I’m talking about the core of what you do which in Angie and Joe’s case is running restaurants.

If your business is say, running a blog, then writing blog posts better not feel like work. Writing blog posts should just come naturally and easily. Does it become more natural and easy with time? Sure it does, practice makes perfect and all that jazz. Could the layout and design aspect of your blog be a big pain in your you know what? Of course that or finding advertising to foot the bill. The writing of the core content better be something that is, or is becoming second nature to you.

Did I get this right or are Angie, Joe and I to small a sample size? We all deserve to be doing something we are passionate about so please jump in the comments and let me know what you think.

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Continue Reading 2 comments }blogging, motivation, personal development

Foursquare Flash Mob for Milwaukee SXSW

by JimRaffel on March 1, 2010

Yesterday my wife and I decided to be the ultimate social media nerds for an afternoon. We went to AJ Bombers to earn our Foursquare Swarm Badge. The rules for earning the badge are simple. A minimum of 50 of us nerds had to check-in on Foursquare at the same time in the same place.

Joe from AJ Bombers worked with the Milwaukee SXSW group to organize a fundraiser for their little party in Austin, TX during the social media be all and end all event of the year South by Southwest. When all was said and done something like 164 people checked in over the course of the day. I observed about 82 or so checked in simultaneously.

I’m not the world’s biggest fan of Foursquare. I’m pretty sure I only do it so my social media friends won’t think I’m a square. It was cool to be part of an event where many of our new friends met through social media showed up. Plus, it did result in a nice blog post complete with video.  Oh, and let’s not forget getting to eat our favorite burgers and such in Milwaukee. (I finally tried the Sprecher Root Beer Float – a MUST try at sometime if you even remotely like root beer floats.)

My friend Susan Kim asked me a question recently, “Is social media (specifically Twitter) real?” Yesterday was certainty real for Cheryl and I but let’s help Susan out with a whole bunch of comments here.

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Continue Reading 1 comment }blogging, Shop Local

Twitter Works: Dining Like a Local

February 18, 2010

On my home turf of Milwaukee Twitter has significantly changed my social life. With Twitter as the enabling technology my wife and I have found a whole new group of friends with interests similar to our own. We have also tracked down local places like AJBombers, Streetza Pizza and Water Buffalo where the Milwaukee Twitter [...]

Living the Dream

January 27, 2010

At approximately 4:00pm yesterday I walked into AJ Bombers restaurant, sat down in “our booth” (the first booth my wife Cheryl and I ever sat in at Bombers) next to my friend and owner of AJ Bombers, Joe Sorge. Across the table from us sipping his Lakefront brew was Chris Brogan. YES! That Chris Brogan [...]