Expert in the Rough, Brian Monahan

I created my first blog over a year ago and I posted 3-4 times.  I started my second blog around a year ago and posted 30 times.  I have 2 new blogs and have around 30 posts between the two blogs.  I now have over 60 posts online.

That is 60 more posts than I had in 2006.  My point is before you become prolific at anything you must first make progress one step at a time.

My first blog had no comments, my second blog had 1 comment.  I now have 2 comments on my blog.

In 2010 it’s going to be hard to count my posts, but I will have other new ventures such as my second published book, My first keynote speech or maybe that will be next week.

Get started today.

SquiDoo, take me seriously on this one!

Squidoo is a serious website with a silly name.  Quite simply Squidoo is a website that allows you to host free one page websites on any topic of your desire.  Squidoo calls these web pages “Lenses.”  A “Lens” is basically your take or “view” about your chosen topic.  The idea is your lens will help others focus on what is important about your topic.

Besides the opportunity to share some knowledge, Squidoo is focused on creating value for you the user.

The entire focus of the website is creating an environment that everybody can win.  Of course as with any open forum people will try to take advantage of the system but Squidoo’s team has been vigilant about keeping it a credible and authentic place.

Here are my ten reason’s why you should create your first lens:

1. It’s Free
2. Part of the profits go back to charity (you can donate as well)
3. You can express yourself
4. Google loves it (most of the time) and will help your website if you have one
5. You can use it as a website if you do not have one
6. Great training on internet and website development
7. Squidoo is a dedicated community who will share the love
8. It’s a great place to learn about a variety of topics
9. I forgot you can make money too (don’t quit your day job)
10. It’s addictive once you get started

This is your Momentum Monday assignment;

Learn more about Squidoo.  Sign Up and create your first lens.  If you already have a Squidoo Lens you can create a new one or update and old one.  Whatever you do, please share your creation via the comments section.

Here are some links for my Squidoo Pages:

Brian Monahan’s Profile

Marathon Training Schedule (My best ranking)

White Elephant Gift Exchange (my best montly performer ever)

Brian Monahan’s Book List

After you get an opportunity to get aquainted with Squidoo, I will be sharing more detailed strategies to create traffic for your website or blog.

However, in the mean time think of it this way.  Advertising and creating content for your website alone, limits your exposure.  Squidoo is like having your own personal billboard.  I have one caveat before you proceed and this applies to Squidoo and anything you create.  Content is King and unless you create something of value the opportunity for benefit is nullified.

Go ahead and Create Something Awesome!

I am voting for Barack Obama.  With that out the way, I can now waste a bunch of time confirming my decision.  John McCain is surely going to say something I don’t agree with and he will surely make a mistake in his campaign I can exploit.  That is why I am voting for Obama.

But, so will Barack Obama but I won’t notice.  I have already made my decision so I look
to confirm he is right via John McCain’s missteps and old school opinions.  It really doesn’t make much sense to use this as evidence but that is how I will proceed.

You might find it interesting that I am admitting this but I am getting the feeling this is a pretty common
practice.  With the presidential election drawing closer, I am dipping on more and more restaurant conversations.

The election is a hot topic outside of gas prices.

It is very interesting when a table full of people are in agreement and talk freely about their candidate or should I say their candidate’s opponent?  What I have noticed is much of the talk is about what is wrong with the other candidate versus what is right about their candidate.

Now, this is not a political post.  I consider myself very a-political.  I think politics are a bit of a bore.  However, I do think it is something to be aware of in your life and business.

First start to take notice.  When faced with a decision, do you already have your mind made up?  Do you
engage in arguments or discussions with an openness that there might actually be a valid opposing opinion or do you already know the answer?

Second, when sharing an idea, concept or opinion, have you taken into account the other person either agrees or disagrees with you already?  What is your plan to overcome this scenario?  What do you focus on in presenting your case?  Do you focus on what is right about your idea or what is wrong about others?  By the way, why are politics and religion off limits?  It is just your opinion.  Don’t you want to share it?

Just something to think about.

Do you agree?

I am heading out for a little vacation today, here is some info to keep you busy until next week.

Your Momentum Monday assignment.  Get some perspective.

My favorite blog and newsletter are below:

Jeffery Gitomer, Sales Caffeine, sign up via his home page.  Well worth your time and its free.

Seth’s Blog, Seth Godin awesome, he is the best blogger on the net.  Click on his bald head to get to his blog.

These are the best on the net.

Hopefully Natalie Golderg will update her classic book “Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within” to include and updated addendum on blogging.  Natalie, if you are out there, you can even have my post title if you follow through with this idea.

Throughout Ms. Goldberg’s book she constantly takes you back to the idea of writing daily.  This is a central theme I have heard from all writers.  I have been lucky enough to spend some time with some well known authors such as Jeffrey Gitomer and Matthew Kelly.  Both alluded to some form of daily writing method.  I personally have started and stopped over the years and often wondered if I had what it takes to write.

That leads to one of the other themes in her book.  Squelching the editor.  You cannot be the editor and the writer at the same time.  In fact if you can allow someone else to be the editor that is even better.  The way to overcome being the editor falls back on the concept of writing daily.  If you want to be a writer, then write.

Ms. Goldberg’s book’s focus is on writing poems, novels and memoirs which can be a distraction at times, if your writing focus is on knowledge, expertise and opinion.  With that in mind I encourage you to push through this book.  I started reading this book in April and just finished this weekend.  It is a good read, a few chapters at a time.  This allows for digestion of her concepts.  With some writing practice in between readings, you will notice a difference in your voice.

I must say, this book has had great impact on me, I have been looking for a topic to write about for nearly five years.   Ms. Goldberg’s tips, tweaks and inspirations are scattered within her book which has inspired me to launch two blogs in the last 4 months, including this one “Expert in the Rough.”

So, I offer a “LifeHack” for “Writing Down the Bones” instead of journaling with a pen and paper, I recommend creating a blog about your life’s passion.

Donny Deutsch is on the line and he wants you to be on his show “The Big Idea.” You start rifling through your pile of napkins and scrap paper, but your “Big Idea” is nowhere to be found.  Donny hangs up.  You have just missed an opportunity to work with the “Oprah of Entrepeneurs.” You start to cry, but you’re a serial idea junky and you pull out a napkin, note to self, “Create a better way to take notes.”

You  missed the boat again because Jott.com found your napkin.

Jott is a very powerful and free internet application that allows you to  combine the powers of phone, email and text messaging.  I recommend it for the Expert in the Rough crowd to document their ideas.  This does not replace the “Super Cool Journal” but compliments it.

My favorite way to use Jott is to email myself ideas or notes when I am driving.  (Please don’t hate, I will be careful.)  Often times when I am driving I have an idea and I am not able to write it down.  I simply have Jott.com’s phone number stored into my cell phone.  When you call Jott it will ask who you want to Jott.  You say myself or whoever you want to Jott and speak your message.  It will confirm it recieved your message.  You hang up and it will email or text you the message.

You also have the ability to text or email others, create lists, text groups, set reminders and other powerful features.

I don’t want to spend a lot of time on tutorial which you can get at Jott. com but I did have a few tips.

Set yourself up with multiple personal boxes.  If you load your cell phone number and email address into Jott it will send you both.  To save on text messaging, I created another contact for myself with an email address only.  I also like to use Jott to send text messages to people who I know are in meetings and can’t answer their phone but can view a text message.  You can also set up reminders if you are a person who loses track of time.

The opportunities and ideas are endless.  Just be sure to Jott them down.

Scott Ginsberg, The Name Tag Guy wrote today about the frequent question he gets, “Should I Blog?.”

He has a list of 15 compelling reason’s why you should blog.  Good thing there is a guy like Scott out there.  Because I am sure you have a list of 15 “compelling” excuses why not to blog.

So here is #16 for Scott:

Blog because people need your reasons to be great and if you don’t blog they will be left with just excuses.

Do you want to be apart of the Reasons or the Excuses?

Alec Baldwin said it best with his famous line from the film Glengarry, Glen Ross, “Coffee is for Closers.”

MySpace & Facebook are for the kids, Linkedin is for Professionals, “The Closers.”  Before you do anything else online you must take a look at your LinkedIn profile.  Oh you don’t have a LinkedIn profile.  Then you’re fired.

LinkedIn now has over 24 million registered users.  These are professional users.  Not a bunch 20 something kids living at home extending their youth with a subsidized broadband connection.  24 Million professional users who can make or break your career.

Recently LinkedIn was valued at 1 Billion Dollars and you don’t even have a profile or have taken no steps to optimize it.

Well you are in luck.  Just like the movie Glengarry Glen Ross, the company has provided leads.  If you are a “Closer” you can have the leads, if not then you will just have to stick with MySpace.

Here is your lead: Linkedin Strategies for Closers

If you feel up to it add me as a contact:

Here is a link to the Closer Clip if you feel up to it.  There is plenty of cussing, but closers can handle it.

By the way your assigment for this weeks Momentum Monday is:

Set up your LinkedIn Profile:

If you already have a profile be sure to use one of the power features such as Public Profile, Answers or LinkedIn Groups.

Extra Credit:

Add me as a connection, reference my blog Expert in the Rough with the “What I am Doing Now” feature or make a recommendation.

Be sure to comment with your successes.

Introverts revolt.  Your blog and internet brand must be promoted online as well as in person.  Word of Mouth Marketing is still alive and well.

Be sure to carry cards with your blog address.  People are genuninely interested.  Do them a favor, have a card ready.

Today is the first day of my weekly series, Momentum Mondays.

Overview

Each week I will post an assignment for you to complete by the following Monday.  The idea is to create momentum for you blog and internet presence.  I will be focusing on beginner to intermediate topics for now assuming most of my readers will fall into this category.  In the future I will start adding advance topics to the series.

Advanced Users

If my weekly assignment is something you have already accomplished, create a challenge for yourself and post a comment to the weekly Momentum Mondays’ post. If I feature your challenge on future Momentum Mondays I will give you credit and a link to a web url of your choice.  I will work on some better prizes as I get some momentum.

Opening Assignment

Create a blog.  Start at Blogger, it is one of the easiest websites to start a blog.  You may eventually abandon this blog but it will be a good training ground for you.

The benefits of a Blogger blog numerous.  It shows up in search results fast because it is owned by Google.  It is easy to set up.  If you already have a Google account you can simply use your Google account to get started.  If not no worries, you do not need a Google email address to open a blogger account.  However, I do recommend opening a Google Gmail account, the tools Google offers are invaluable and I expect you will eventually want an account after I cover all the powerful tools available via Google.

This blog does not need to be well thought out.  Just something you are interested in writing about.  You could simply start with a hobby.  The idea here is that you start to learn the structure of blogging.

After you have created your blog, post a comment below so I can see your work.

If you have any issues you can comment below and I will try to assist you in getting started.