Expert in the Rough, Brian Monahan

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!

Have you ever given yourself permission to write a rough draft for your life?

Instead of creating goals, create drafts.  They are more flexible and allow for more creativity.

Drafts are guides which lead to goals and results.

Momentum Monday Assignment:

Write a rough draft of 10 things you could do in the next 6 months to spice up your life.

Don’t censor, just draft.  A draft is a place to dream.  Most of us quit dreaming when we graduate from High School or College.

Let me know if you feel less pressure when you call it a draft versus a plan?

The world according to the movie Dumb and Dumber:

Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) wanting to date Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly)

Lloyd: The least you could do is level with me. What are my chances?

Mary: Not good.

Lloyd: You mean like one out of a hundred?

Mary: More like one out of a million.

Lloyd: So you’re tellin’ me there’s a chance.

Sometimes we all need a little encouragement when starting a new adventure.

Today I submitted my blog to be included in the branding section of Alltop an up and coming blog aggregater.   Alltop describes itself as the as a “digital magazine rack” for the Internet.  It categorizes popular blogs by topic.  The cool thing about Alltop is the listings are hand submitted by a real person.

A real person included my blog, I am so excited!  Of course I sent them an email and a bribe with an Alltop banner on my blog and asked for them to include me on Alltop.

Hence, not only do I have a chance but they like me.

You can see me at the bottom of the branding section on Alltop, which if you read about Alltop is actually the top.

Alltop Listing

Have you ever felt like a fraud?  If you are new to blogging or writing you may be experiencing what I like to call Fraud Factor.

I experienced my first case of Fraud Factor when I started my personal coaching business in 2001.  In 2001 blogs were a mere sparkle in your eye.  E-zines or E-newsletters were all the rage for marketing your coaching business or just about any business for that matter.

I started by giving my E-zine a title “What’s Up With That!?” it later morphed in to “What’s the Big Idea?” and that is about where the  fun ended.

I figured it would be an easy venture but as I sat down to write my first article I started to experience this weird feeling that I was a fraud.  There was no reason for me to feel this way.  I was not trying to mislead or rip off anybody but inside I felt like I was misleading or better yet, maybe I was not up to the task.  Maybe I really did not know what I was writing about.

How could that be true?  I was merely sharing my idea or opinion.  How could I be a fraud? It was my opinion or idea…right?

You might be experiencing something similar.  In many writing books they call it the inner or self critic.  Whatever you call it, it can be a crippling experience.  Sometimes when I feel this critic creep up in my mind, I can’t even write a draft.  I start and stop, rethink and judge my work.  Over the years I have created some strategies to overcome the critic or Fraud Factor.


Here are 5 Strategies to Overcome the Fraud Factor:

1.  Write frequently and request feedback from friends and family.

2.  Set a time limit for writing an article or post make no edits until after the time limit has elapsed.

3.  Write about what you know like the back of your hand, put away being clever write about the obvious.

4.  Forgive yourself for being less than perfect. You will probably never feel 100% confident about all that you write.

5.  Take a class, a seminar or read a book; continued education is the key to becoming an expert.  The more you know the greater your confidence.

As you grow the Fraud Factor will creep up from time to time.  It can mean one of two things.  You are trying to share what you don’t really know or you are actually growing and claiming new territory.

So the next time you feel like a fraud it might actually be a good thing.

STOP Right Now and write down one thing that is nagging you!

Have you written it down yet?  I am not going to move forward until you write it down.

OK, now write down one thing that is nagging you that can be fixed within the next 24 hours.   This could be dirty dishes, paying bills, a phone call to Mom.  You get the picture.  The key is you must be able to complete it in the next 24 hours.

I am going to let you continue reading only if you promise you will complete this item within the next twenty four  hours.  Otherwise, come back when you are ready.

In 2001, I when I was training to become a Personal Life Coach, I was introduced to this simple but effective assessment called the “Clean Sweep Program.”  It’s 100 items broken up into 4 categories including physical environment, health/emotional balance, money and relationships.  The goal of the program is to clean up loose ends and lighten your life increasing energy and balance.

In starting my blog Expert in the Rough, I have found when I have lots of loose ends it is hard to write.  I think anytime you are trying to make a transition in your life the negative loose ends are like the parachute on a drag racer, it slows you down.  Your goal is to eliminate that drag.

Your Momentum Monday Exercise is two fold:

Take take the Clean Sweep Assessment.  You can download a pdf copy by clicking here.

Second to complete your 24 hour assignment.  Feel free to use the assessment to come up with other items.

Note: Not all items are going to be applicable to all people. If you feel something is unrelated cross it out and add your own.  It’s the spirit of the assessment not the items listed.

Use this tool anytime you feel stuck.  I think it’s good to take the assessment quarterly and check your progress.  I will be sharing some more advanced assessments in the future but have at this one.  It can be a very powerful tool to create momentum in your life.

If you are “blogged” down with too much content, RSS, is your answer.

You have surely seen the letters “RSS” or the “Feed Icon” around he internet.

RSS Feed Button

If you’re a “Web 2.0 Expert” you can go ahead and skip this post but for those of you who are still getting your feet wet; this is they key to filtering the muck without blowing up your spam filter.

I have had various explanations of what RSS stands for but the most common reference is Really Simple Syndication.

Basically speaking an “RSS Feed” is a broadcast or reference which allows a “RSS Feed Reader” to know when a blog or website is updated.

This is beneficial to both the publisher and subscriber.  The updates are automatic and come in various formats.

My favorite part of subscribing to a RSS Feed is it allows me to keep track of my favorite blogs without actually having to visit each and every website to check for updates.  It’s a huge time saver. You might be tempted to say, “I could just bookmark my favorite sites” but remember your bookmarks will not tell you if there is new content. (Some browsers may be able to provide this information)

My favorite feed reader is Bloglines. It allows me to create folders and publish a public list of my feeds.  I like the public feed so you can see the blogs I read.  I think it’s a great way to share where my opinions are influenced.  You can see the feeds I subscribe to to the right listed as “The Blogs I Read.”

I also recommend Google Reader.  Its easy to use and allows for sharing of your feeds with other Gmail users.

All About RSS, BlogOhBlog (Great Overview of RSS!)

RSS Wikipedia Entry

Ed Dale YouTube Video On Bloglines

Your Momentum Monday Assignment:

Set up a feed reader account.  If you don’t want to use Google Reader or Bloglines there are a number of other options.  Do a Google Search and pick the one that fits you best.

Now that you have your feed reader set up.  Subscribe to the Expert in the Rough Feed on the top right.

Extra Credit:

Send me your public list of feeds in your reader via the comments section below.

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?

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.