Epic Living - Wellbeing Expert, Entrepreneur, Author, Man on A Mission

The Price of Fame

The price of fame could be summed up in the following statement:

Everybody loves you when your famous...not really. It's just that many flock to whatever is the "new. This too shall pass."

In many parts of the world, being or getting famous is not difficult to do. If you strike certain notes you may even take off like a rocket. You can thank social media for this.

The reality is fame is a cost of doing what you do. It should never be a pursuit. If it is a pursuit then more than likely you're looking for something or some people to fill you up. The end of this road is often addiction.

In some of the roles I've played, I garnered much applause. The inevitable end always led to an empty auditoruim. It really felt quite embarassing. Think of unrequited love here. Thankfully, I found solid ground getting over it. I've learned the importance of just creating the best work you can.

Everything else is mostly distraction.

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My 2011 Finds

The following are my 2011 finds:

1. Rebels at Work-a great work from Lois Kelly and Carmen Medina.  It really is a movement that will have impact in the years to come.
2. Hootsuite-yes, I know I'm late with this one.  Great app to manage your social media.
3. Broken Music by Sting-A great book for me personally.
4. The Inn and Spa at Cedar Falls-a spot where I gave a couple of workshops. I don't think there's a better spot to do this.  A great place to stay as well.
5. Take Time for Your Life-maybe an obvious, since we offer their experience.  The program has elevated my life.
6. Gallup-Healthways-eye-opeing statistics and research.  Informs much of our work in the well-being arena.
7. Joe Gerstandt-this video explains a lot about why I like him. Authentic, authentic and authentic.
8. PenUltimate-this i-Pad app has been a game changer for me.  Haven't used paper for over a year.
9. Gotham Gal-a great writer that is very tuned into the life she's living.
10. AnyMeeting-my preferred method of conducting webinars and such.

Facebook, Twitter and Epic Living

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Thanks for the support and interest.

A Few Of My Favorite iPhone Apps

I've been an iPhone user for almost a year.  I currently using the iPhone 4.  The device has made a positive impact on my work and personal life.

The following is a list of the apps I like most:

1. YouVersion - My Bible app of choice.  Very functional and user-focused.
2. TweetDeck - Great for my updates on Twitter and Facebook.  Everything is right before your eyes.
3. Facebook - Allows me to stay connected to my Facebook account wherever I am.
4. Milebug - Great app for keeping track of all of those business miles.
5. Gist - A tool that consolidates news from the people I follow on various social networks.
6. CNBC - All the financial news and information I need.  Bloomberg is good too.
7. Entrepreneur - The app from Entrepreneur Magazine.  Great to have access to interesting articles when I'm not in front of my notebook computer.
8. Cor.Kz - This app keeps track of the wines I love and has a great database for search needs.
9. Nutrition Menu - An app for keeping track of what I eat and the nutritional value.
10. Nke+ GPS - A great tool for my running.  Keeps me informed on my time, distance and the routes I take.
11. iFitness - An app that has helped my fitness plan in spades.  A very interactive app.
12. ESPN ScoreCenter - This app lets me stay updated on the scores and stats of the teams I follow.
13. Pandora - A good app that has help me find music that I had forgotten.

I'm sure I could list more, but these are the ones that stand out.  By the way, the phone calling is much improved over the 3Gs version.

 

How Social Media Can Save Customer Service Training

Was doing some research for a friend/client on customer service training materials this week.  I decided to use Twitter (my top choice for social media portals) as a tool to do some research on the matter.  A simple search on the term "customer service training" is all it took to create a hmmm moment.  And though my research was not very scientific, it did reveal some things I knew instinctively.

First, customer service is a very popular discipline for a number of companies/consultants.  Must mean that bad customer service is more the norm than the exception.  I agree with that on its face.

Second, I don't think the customers (organizations) of the customer service training product are fully aware of what's going on inside their own walls. 

Here's what brought me to the above conclusions:

1. My typed search "customer service training" revealed that for every two consultants offering training, there were an equal number of employees who were referring to customer service training as a boring event, a cure for insomnia, or a pain in the rear.  Again, this wasn't a scientific result, but it seems that many employees are nodding yes, but thinking and feeling no.
2. Employees, especially those in larger entities, feel like their targets for cost cutting and lay-offs.  Creates a jaded, if not callused view of things.  Wonder how these folks treat customers who have legitimate needs/issues?
3. Why the disconnect?  Leadership.  Some managers may think they're leading well, but have yet to look behind them to find no one following.
4. Fixing conclusion #3 creates a bridge for change.
5. Employers are missing out on the power of social media.  See this article for more on that.  But I'm speaking of finding out what's REALLY going on with the employee base.  Might save them some money and go a long way in reinventing how they serve-employees and customers.

What Your Organization Could Learn From the U.S. Air Force

Caught this post from Lois Kelly today and I was shocked. 

I confess that I've never looked at the U.S. Air Force as being that progressive/innovative.  As Lois points out, they seem to understand social media and the impacts.

If the Air Force can do it, can't your organization?

It's All Twitter's Fault

I have been neglecting my normal (widescreen, if you will) blogging because of Twitter.  I guess I've been getting into the micro nature of it more lately. 

Have no fear, more to come here too.

By the way, you can follow me on Twitter under the epicliving name.  My tweets are also listed on this blog as well.

BizJournal Column

I wrote this columnfor BizJournals back in August.  It addresses the opportunity of social networks-inside and outside of the organization.

I hope it inspires!

Friday's Epic Living Hour with Special Guest Ryan Bettencourt of Learn From My Life

 

Join me Friday when Ryan Bettencourt of Learn From My Life will be my special guest on The Epic Living Hour.  Ryan is a gifted thought leader and entrepreneur, who will give us a great conversation around what a life can teach us.

Hope you can tune in.

What A Little Video Can Do

Found this advertisement from Cisco that just struck me.  What threshold do we have before us?  Where do you think we're heading with video and other like tools.

Jump in and give me your thoughts.