Social media is not my business. Over the past six months, however, social media has radically changed how I do business. I've become a solid practitioner of this craft. No I don't have 10,000 followers on Twitter but if that's what I wanted, I could accomplish it within a month or less. Instead I … [Read more...]
Goals Define Choices
Everything you do in life takes you closer to your goals, or further from them. Without clearly defined goals you have no standard by which to judge your choices. Yesterday I shared four of the key choices I have made in my life over the past year. Each of those choices has brought me closer to my … [Read more...]
Choices Define You – Your Choices
In the past year, just like you I have made hundreds if not thousands of choices. Four of my choices stand out and helped define who I am today. The payoff has been huge. I have a clear vision of where I, my family and my business are going. I'm taking the steps everyday to stay on the path defined … [Read more...]
Trust as Currency
Today I experienced first hand what if feels like to hold the currency that is the trust of another human being. Early in the day I learned that a new customer has chosen to go with my proposal based upon the recommendation of "Fred," a customer I wrote about in my Regaining Trust post. Later in the … [Read more...]
Life Needs a Compelling Why – What's Yours?
My "why" is making JimRaffel.com the best blog I can. Writing for this blog everyday is following my passion. That passion is what drives my desire to find ways to make ColorMetrix more successful with less and less of my time. I've managed to reduce my ColorMetrix work week to about 50 hours (down … [Read more...]
Perspective on Decision Making: Is Your Glass Half-full or Half-empty
In the past I kept a stiff upper lip and claimed my glass was always half-full and never half-empty. I realize now that was not always reality. I chatted about half-awake vs half-asleep the other day with my friend Angie Sorge on Twitter. It was early in the day and she commented that when she is … [Read more...]
Blogging is How I Live Real, Authentic and Sustainable
It's real because writing is the doing part of thinking. It's authentic because my writing comes from the heart about what's going on in my life right now. My life is sustainable because my thoughts turn into words which in turn become actions. Earlier this week I had the privilege to speak at … [Read more...]
Produce and Ship Daily
With the release of Seth Godin's Linchpin (which I have yet to read) there has been a whole lot of buzz in the Blogosphere about "shipping it." It's good talk folks about the need to produce deliverable product each day and you should be paying close attention if you are not already doing so. Ask … [Read more...]
Patience and Smiles – vBlog
Twice in the last few weeks I have found myself in the middle of snow storms while on the road. While sitting in my hotel room in Stamford, CT yesterday I recorded some thoughts on how smiles and patience help me deal with the uncertainty of business travel during inclement weather. I was also able … [Read more...]
Smiles and Patience Part II
Your ability to shift or totally eliminate the point at which you become completely frustrated and quit will dramatically improve your life. I have always been good at the not quitting part (perhaps to a fault). You don't stay self employed for almost 15 years without that tenacity. On the … [Read more...]