Expert in the Rough, Brian Monahan

What can you learn from a Pumpkin?

Last week I was out picking up lunch for my wife and I passed a “farmers market” selling pumpkins.  Alright, I admit it was not much of a “farmers market” it was the strip mall’s parking lot.  But a real farmer had a trailer load of some great looking pumpkins.

50 cents a pound was a little steep but these were “round hard walled pumpkins.”  So the farmer says.

I went ahead and purchased two pumpkins.  One was to take home to my wife and one was to take to the office.

The one for my wife was more a symbol of my love, the night I proposed to my wife Sweetest Day 2002, we celebrated over a pumpkin pie.  I also thought it would make a great prop for a  picture next to my pregnant wife. (Luckily she agreed.)

The second pumpkin for the office was for social reasons.  That’s right.  Social reasons!

I really do love attention and I like to socialize so I knew a pumpkin was going to be a perfect decoration to place at the door to my office.

When I returned from lunch I carried the pumpkin to my office.  On the way a few co-workers asked why I was carrying a pumpkin.  I thought that was a silly question being it is was early October and surely a pumpkin would be appropriate in October.  I simply replied, “For the fun of it!”

After getting to my office I realized that putting the pumpkin on the floor outside my office would not be enough.  I needed a pedestal.  I took a walk to the warehouse and found a stool to place my pumpkin.

It was a busy week and I went back to work.  Over the next hour about 10 co-workers stopped by to comment on the pumpkin.  They would peak in and say nice pumpkin or make some general reference to the pumpkin, but one co-worker stopped and asked, “what is this?”  I thought that was kind of a silly question.  I said “It’s a pumpkin.”  She started to laugh.

I could not see the pumpkin from my desk and she said, “Oh you haven’t seen the pumpkin lately.”

She then waived for me to come out.  The Pumpkin had been dressed up.  I mind you this pumpkin had only been in the office for about an hour.

Here is the pumpkin that resides outside of my office.

Now these are just a few examples of how a pumpkin can make a difference in the world.  I have created a list of what you can learn from a pumpkin.

What you can learn from a pumpkin:

1. Pumpkins are social.  Put one outside your door and it’s and invitation to converse and interact.
2. Pumpkins are versatile.  Pumpkins make great pies, decorations, door stops and conversation pieces
3. Pumpkins are collaborative.  You can’t help but want to add to somebodies pumpkin.

Next time your are working on a blog post or marketing piece ask yourself.

• How is this post like a pumpkin?
• Does my post make me more approachable?
• Does my post provide value?
• Does my post attract collaboration?

Be a Pumpkin and rule the world.

Recently I ran a contest on Twitter.  I offered 100 Word Promo to my 100th follower on Twitter.  I find it rather interesting that a Social Media Company ended up being my 100th follower.

For those of you unfamiliar with Twitter, it is basically summed up as a Micro-Blogging platform limited to 140 character length blog posts.  This seems like a ridiculous format but it has become the rage of the blogosphere.  The key feature of Twitter is the “Follow” feature.  You choose who you want to follow and therefore you get only the information you approve.

Twitter lends itself to Personal promotion and interaction but many Brands have jumped in setting up Twitter profiles.  The jumping in of Brands on Twitter often pisses people off since many of these brands forget Twitter is a personal platform.  They forget to talk to people versus broadcast at them.  Their manners often come off as a one way conversation.

I have not been following @HubSpot for very long on Twitter but I will give them a pass on setting a Twitter profile since they add value in a number of ways.

Hubspot’s tag line is “Inbound Internet Marketing System”

Hubspot is actually an evangelist for the new marketing model.  Instead of broadcasting at everybody they teach you to develop a web presence which attracts the people who want or need your product.  It’s the smell of home cooked cookies approach versus the megaphone approach to marketing.

I recommend 4 HubSpot Products:

HubSpot Internet Marketing Blog

Website Grader is a great tool for identifying what areas your blog/website is performing well and what areas your blog needs improvement.

Free Internet Marketing Kit, They might call you once but they have not bothered me since.

Twitter Grader is just another way to benchmark yourself against other websites and bloggers.

My Grades:
Website Grade: 89 (up from 59 in July)
Twitter Grade: 59 (My first reference)

Thanks HubSpot for following me @coachbriany

I think that was a bit more than 100 Words!

Besides my addiction to notebooks and notepads, I have an addiction for Google Tools.  One of my favorite Google Tools is Google Docs.  Google Docs is a free web based word processor.  It has most of the features of Microsoft Word and has a few other benefits Word cannot offer.  Those benefits include online collaboration, sharing and search capabilities to name a few.

If you are addicted to ideas like me but have a hard time taking your ideas from inspiration to blog post then Google Docs might be the tool for you.

First you are going to need to sign up for a Google Account.  If you don’t have one you are missing out.  I currently use over 19 Google Products regularly and Google Docs is one of my favorites.

Google products are all about saving time, collaboration and most importantly search capabalities.

One of the first things you will notice is the ease of use.  I don’t even give my documents titles.  I simply type my idea on the first line and that will be its title.  Of course you can choose a title if you like but I like the speed of this technique.

I use Google Docs 4 ways.

1. Compiler of my journals.  I will type in my hand written ideas periodically for easy access when searching for new post ideas.
2. Primer tool.  Often times I will simply type one sentence as a primer idea for a later date.
3. Working area for blog posts.  I take the primers and flesh them out before posting.
4. Search tool.  You can search your Google Docs just like searching the web.  It’s a great way to see trends in your ideas or writing.

In a kind of Pavlovian way Google Docs actually spurs my creativity since I have established it as the home of my inspirations.

Give it a try, it’s free.

A “Blog Recession” is when you do not post to your blog on consecutive days equal to your average weekly posts minus seven times two.

Blog Recession Formula:

My blog is 19 Weeks old and I have 48 posts.

Average weekly posts equal 2.53 posts per week.

7 - 2.53 = 4.47

4.47 x 2 = 8.94 days.

Therefore, if I do not post for 8.94 days my blog is in a recession.

In fact I did not post to my blog from September 11 until September 20th.

My blog was clearly in a recession.

So is your blog in a recession?

Here are 9 Tips to overcome a blog recession.

1. Update post.  Instead of telling your readers you are sorry you have not been able to post, tell them about what you been up to.  This is far more interesting than “Sorry I have not posted.”
2. Do a book review.
3. Share a link with commentary.
4. Drop a bomb, announce something controversial or private.
5. Share a picture or a graph that inspires or touches you.
6. Share a quote
7. Request a guest post from another blogger.
8. Write something totally unique, such as your own metric, as I have done with the Blog Recession Formula.
9. Use the Nike technique, Just Post!

Thinking tommorow will be a better day to get started.

“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

A classic philosophical riddle for the ages, but also it’s a great metaphor for the many talented people I know who are unaware they are hiding their greatness.

You might be the best real estate agent, the greatest dock manager or the most artistic jewelry maker but only a handful of close associates, friends or family members might aware of your talent. Notice I did not mention blogger or writer, however, you too are my intended audience. Expert in the Rough is a place to learn how to make sure your tree is heard.

The world has changed and the internet is still only in its infancy. You have an opportunity to be the next ABC, CBS or NPR of your area of expertise, a broadcaster or a focused channel of information. The only difference is you won’t be wasting your time with the masses. The internet allows for a focused broadcast. This will ensure your tree will be heard.

You might be thinking, “I can see a blogger or a real estate agent or some obviously sales oriented career benefitting from the information on Expert in the Rough but what about me.” The truth is if you are in not in one these “sales or public” type careers you have the greatest opportunity to succeed. These areas are the least addressed and you have the greatest opportunity for standing out. On the flip side, if you are a real estate agent or a sales trainer or a business writer you better getting hopping. The competition is already embracing these concepts.

So, here lies the problem of the proverbial fallen tree in the forest. Your thoughts are falling down all day in the forest of your head. The simplest form of communication is verbal or (audible). You share your opinion or idea with a friend, coworker and family member. If it’s worthwhile or interesting they might share it with another. The only problem is there is no way to document the source. You might luck out and get credit for your wisdom but often times it will just fade away.

This is where the extra effort comes in. It’s time to start documenting your ideas and thoughts. That means recording them.

Let’s take for example the dock worker. For the sake of this example I am going to use the name Tommy to represent the dock worker. I figure he is pretty famous dock worker from Bon Jovi’s hit song “Living on a Prayer.” You might think this is a no brainer type job but there are many factors and processes associated with all jobs.

How does Tommy stand out from other co-workers? .

For thirty days Tommy could take notes on his biggest challenges or observations. Over the next thirty days he could then formulate a game plan to overcome these challenges. Then Tommy could record his successes and failures implementing these changes.

Tommy has a number of options for documenting his ideas and observations. He could get a notebook or a voice recorder. He could transcribe his notes at night and put them in a word document. The key here is record his thoughts. He could even host an internal blog. This would allow for collaboration.

The reason I am using an extreme example like Tommy is you can quickly see how Tommy can differentiate himself by documenting his thoughts and ideas. When it comes time for a promotion or raise Tommy has a number of things going for him. First of all he shows great initiative and secondly he has a record of his accomplishments.

Now let’s take it to the next level. Tommy is looking for a job. Currently Tommy is a shift supervisor at XYZ dock and ABC is hiring a lead Dock Manager. This would be a big promotion for Tommy.

In Tommy’s resume, he includes a link to his blog (caveat, be sure you do not publish confidential company information on the web) which documents his successes. Tommy now has a living resume. You could say he is “Living on a Prayer” but I would smack myself for making that pun. You might even be able to find Tommy in a Google search. The idea is Tommy no longer needs to rely on conveying his accounts of his thoughts but has a real life recording which has greater impact.

Tommy can even build further on his success, he can publish a public blog sharing his dock management systems and write books. He could even be hired for speaking engagements or consultations, all because he documented his ideas.

Expert in the Rough is about documenting your ideas and creating useful information or inspiration for others.

We all have inspired thoughts inside but most of us allow them to fall like trees in the forest on deaf ears.

Let me hear your trees!

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” — Seneca, Roman philosopher

My wife bought me the coolest journal ever.  It’s so cool I had two people ask to see it at the airport last week.

Over the years I have had all sorts of notebooks and scraps of paper on which I have jotted down ideas.

Which is fine, but I encourage you to take it to the next level.  Find yourself a “Cool” but convenient notebook to carry around with you.  The “Cooler” it is the greater the Inspiration.

Are you ready for your “Next Big Idea?”

Write what you know. This may sound obvious but it’s an easy oversight.

Of course you write what you know, but do you really? Next time you are feeling blocked ask yourself :

• What am I trying to prove?
• Who am I trying to impress?
• Am I really passionate about this topic?
• What additional research do I need to do?
• What am I afraid to say?

Your answers should help you decide how to proceed with your writings.

Feel free to abandon what you don’t know, it will help make room for sharing what you do know.

This also applies to speeches.

Liberate your voice.  If you can’t get past the censor inside, you will never get past the censor in cyberspace.

A quick way to liberate your voice is to write mad.

Now try the flip side; simmer down and write nicely on the same subject.

Which one is more interesting?

So why are you writing nice?