What's a Senior?

6 months ago, I turned 50.

All of a sudden I have all kinds of offers coming my direction because I'm a "Senior".

No, I'm not.

AARP wants me to join.

Numerous retirement homes want me to move in.

My wife who is a couple years older than me takes advantage of the "Senior Coffee" at McDonalds, which is 1/2 price. She's smart. And cute too.

What kicked off this little rant is yesterday, I got a newsletter in my email directed to the Seniors 50+.

Hey, I'm not a Senior Citizen!

A friend of mine who is also 50 has an 11 year old daughter. He's getting the same crap in his mail too.

Being in the advertising and marketing business, I understand that we used to think that seniors were old, wrinkly and retired. I recall my own parents being in their 50's when I was in my 20's but I never thought of them as being old and a senior citizen.

Now I'll admit that one of my business cards says Senior Account Executive, but that's because I've been there, successfully, longer than anyone else. (Currently in my 8th year under the same roof).

But if you see my wife and I at the movies, we order the kids meal. It comes with Popcorn, Drink and a packet of gummy bears.

And you can shove your Senior status in your Depends!

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Linchpins

I had three copies of Seth Godin's book, but I gave two away.

You should read it.

Everyone should read it.

There will be a meetup of Fort Wayne area Linchpins June 14th. Click here for details.

Here's more on the subject from Seth:

Surely not everyone

A newspaper asked me the following, which practically set my hair on fire:

What inherent traits would make it easier for someone to becoming a linchpin? Surely not everyone can be a linchpin?

Why not? How dare anyone say that some people aren't somehow qualified to bring emotional labor to their work, somehow aren't genetically or culturally endowed with the seeds or instincts or desires to invent new techniques or ideas, or aren't chosen to connect with other human beings in a way that changes them for the better?

Perhaps we need people to sweep the floor or clean the deep fryer. But it doesn't have to be you...

Some people want to tell you that your DNA isn't right, or you're not from the right family or neighborhood. I think that's wrongheaded.

Bob Marley grew up in one of the poorest villages in the world. Sir Richard Branson has dyslexia that makes it difficult for him to read. Hugh Masakela grew up in Witbank, a coal mining town. It's not just musicians and entrepreneurs, of course. The Internet makes it possible for a programmer in Russia or a commentator in South Africa to have an impact on a large group of people as well.

We've been culturally brainwashed to believe that the factory approach (average products for average people, compliance, focus on speed and cost) is the one and only way. It's not.

We make a difference to other people when we give gifts to them, when we bring emotional labor to the table and do work that matters. It's hard for me to imagine that this is only available to a few. Yes, the cards are unfairly stacked against too many people. Yes, there's too many barriers and not enough support. But no, your ability to create and contribute isn't determined at birth. It's a choice.

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Saturday Night Classic Music Video

Continuing with the K's....

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Social Media Gives Consumers a Voice & Power

Last night I was on Twitter when a link to this story was sent to me and 3962 other followers of @BenPhoster. My ReTweet went out to 982 followers, less than a minute later.

That's how social media sites like Twitter and Facebook can work and the Public Relations departments at companies that act like bullies, need to realize this.

Here's the story from engadget.com:

AT&T warns customer that emailing the CEO will result in a cease and desist letter

By Nilay Patel

Sure, Steve Jobs might be a one-man email PR machine, but his pal Randall Stephenson at AT&T doesn't appear to be quite as gregarious -- as reader Giorgio Galante found out today, sending AT&T's CEO two emails in two weeks results in a phone call from AT&T's Executive Response Team and a warning that further emails will result in a cease and desist letter.

What did Giorgio's emails say? The first was a request to bump up his iPhone eligibility date and a request for a tethering option, and today's outlined his displeasure with AT&T's new data rates and ultimate decision to switch to Sprint and the EVO 4G. That prompted "Brent" to call Giorgio back and thank him for the feedback, but also politely warn him that further emails would be met with legal action.

Ouch. As you'd expect, AT&T just lost itself a customer. We've followed up with Ma Bell to find out exactly why they went the lawyer route instead of oh, say, filtering Randall's email -- we'll let you know what they say.

P.S.- Amusingly, Giorgio says he emailed both Randall Stephenson and Steve Jobs last year about offering tethering and actually got a response from Steve -- maybe these two CEOs need to talk about more than data rates and service quality the next time they meet up.

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Giving

from the DLM Blog:

How to Really Begin Adding Value

Posted: 28 May 2010 07:54 AM PDT

Many of us have been brought up to think that there is only so much to go around and we must grab what we can before other people get our share. But there is another paradigm which insists on the importance of community, emphasizing our interconnectedness and interdependence. In this view, helping others, giving something of ourselves and reaching out are the keys to success and happiness.

Einstein wrote, ‘Only a life lived for others is worth living.’ This idea can sometimes be called adding value. Why is this way of looking at things so valuable?

1. When you add value, the whole that you produce is greater than the sum of the parts which produced it. Unlike the ‘not enough pie to go round’ paradigm, the adding-value paradigm insists that when you enrich the life of someone else, the pie gets bigger and there is more for us all.


2. It makes the world a better place for all of us. When you help someone, you add value to their life and you make the world a better place. Whether you’re a teacher who helps a student to pass an exam or encourages him to apply for university, or an author who writes a book that helps thousands of people, you make the world better for all of us, including yourself.


3. You’re going to get a whole lot in return. This is not the reason for doing it, of course, but it’s a fact – when you give you receive. Maybe not in the way you think, but when you really try to add value with no expectation of reward, the rewards start rolling in. Life is strange like that!


4. It makes you feel good. Steven Covey, in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, speaks about an inner darkness which is created when you live a life without integrity. Living a life of integrity and value is the only way to truly feel good about yourself.


5. It brings opportunity. If you become known as someone who always helps, always tries to find a solution, you’ll win friends and influence people. There are two kinds of person, my friend (can you guess the movie?), problem people and solution people. Which are you seen as? You future success could depend on being in the right category.

So how do we add value? What can we do to experience this rich and rewarding way of living? Here are some examples of how to make sure you are adding value in every situation as much as you can.

1. Make sure you know what you can do. What are your skills? What are you good at? These are the tools which will allow you to add value.


2. Do what you love. When you do the things you love, adding value comes naturally. Look at Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Madonna, or any number of rich and successful people: what do they have in common? They do what they love! And they are successful because they add value naturally.


3. If you’re not adding value, get out! If you’re in a job where you don’t feel you’re systematically adding something, either you need to change the way you’re doing things, or it’s time to quit. You can do better.


4. Adding value will guide you to the right job or enterprise. If you have a choice of two or more paths, be they career paths or anything else, always choose the one that allows you to add the most value. This will keep you in alignment with your true purpose in life and will, ultimately, bring you greater happiness and greater reward.


5. Keep on learning new things and expanding your comfort zone. This is how you learn more skills which will enable you to add more value. Go on a course, do a part time degree, put together a website, write a novel – but do something new.


6. Don’t be scared to fail. When you do something new, you’ll do it badly and you might even be afraid to do it at all. If and when you do fail, you might not want to go through the experience again. But if you push through that initial failure, pick yourself up and keep going, you’ll start to improve and eventually you’ll be good at what you’re doing.


7. Encourage other people. Try to get the best out of people – encourage them to be the best they can be. This will inspire them to take their own risks and add their own value to the world.

So there are seven ways of adding value. I could have made a list of ten, twenty or even more. Perhaps you have more ideas?

Written on 5/28/2010 by Mark Harrison. Mark Harrison writes about personal growth, communication, and increasing personal wealth. Check out his new book, Thirty Days to Change Your Life.

Photo Credit: Wonderlane

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The Formula for Success...

Sorry, there isn't one.

There are several.

And you need to discover yours.

This reprint from the DLM Blog has some hints:

The Hard Truths About Building Your Own Success

Posted: 28 Apr 2010 07:03 AM PDT

Have you noticed that society often looks at successful people in hopes of somehow copying their magic formula? I know I have done this and fallen into the trap - the trap of thinking, praying even, that there is one magic solution for success and that it can be replicated by anyone with enough sheer will and desire. Clearly this is not true.

I don't want to miscommunicate here; of course it makes sense to learn lessons from people who have achieved the goals we want. They did something right and some of their ingredients may indeed work in your success recipe too. As Tony Robbins says: "Success leaves clues".

Clues however are not the entire story and as mentioned above, this is your success plan. Realizing this and taking full responsibility for yourself makes a huge difference. Look at you, your desires, your abilities, and with that, your chances of actually being successful increase substantially.

Here are some key realizations that I believe you should consider along your path to success. Take one, or a few, and if they are counter to your current beliefs debate yourself on how this view impacts your plan.

1. There is no magic formula
   Sometimes we have a warped way of looking at success as a magic formula to be cracked. Life in this ‘post magic formula cracking’ world is easy, abundant, problem free, but completely illusionary. The other point is that successful people have put the effort into achieving their success. Most of the time success hasn’t fallen into their lap. To achieve success in any area of life we need to put one foot in front of the other and move towards our goal.
   


2. Life is never solved
   Life is never solved. Recently, I have started working on a self employed basis as a mentor. I have wanted to be self employed for a very long time, particularly doing work I love like mentoring, and it is great to finally do that. However, I have realized that success often brings new sets of challenges that we might not have previously thought about! I am acutely aware of being grateful for where I now am, but also aware now that I am here that there is no magical place to get to! Doing what you love everyday is great but it is not problem free.
   


3. It really is about the journey
   While the end result may be a great new product, website, or service, it's the process of developing that idea that often builds your character and provides the most learning opportunities. Look back on something significant you have achieved. Now look at the lessons you learned along the way. Would you really swap them so you could have fast forwarded to the result? However difficult things may be it has made us who we are today.


4. What’s the rush anyway?
   As society speeds up and we have more gadgets and technology to make life easier, we are getting used to quick fixes. If we don’t achieve something quickly we think it’s not worth achieving or that it is taking too long. Life isn’t a race. We don’t get a badge for the speed at which we travel through life. I sometimes find myself falling into that trap with my blog - thinking it should be more developed or have more subscribers. When I catch myself thinking like this, I try and take a step back and remind myself about what I enjoy about what I am doing and that building anything worthwhile takes time.
   


5. Nothing replaces hard work
   Following on from my last point, there is no ‘quick fix’. Anything worthwhile does take time. We need to learn to develop the skills of being persistent and keeping the bigger picture in mind. I think this is why people sometimes say that personal development books don’t work. What they are forgetting is that the missing link is hard work. Reading a book or going to a seminar alone will not change our life. Knowledge, taking action, inserting inspiration, hard work and patience is what will make the difference.
   


6. You can’t be taught ‘passion’
   It is for us alone to find our passion. No one can teach us their passion. Others can help us find our passion and can also share their experiences in a way that can help us find our own but our passion is fundamentally different for each of us. Our passion is a unique cocktail of our own inner whisperings, life experiences and individual skills and talents. It is our job to try new experiences in order to hunt our passion(s) down. For example, I didn’t realize I had a passion for blogging till I stumbled across the blogosphere last year whilst setting up my website for my coaching services.


7. Trust yourself
   By all means, enlist the help of good mentors and learn from others who are further along a similar path. But, remember that we all have a unique path and it is our job to work out how to bring that to the fore. Sometimes the reason we look to others for the answer to ‘success’ is because we don’t trust ourselves. We don’t trust ourselves to do our own thing, to take a risk and to shine. We need to learn to trust ourselves. Start today, listen to what your intuition is saying and start doing what feels right for you.

By seeing through some of the illusions bandied around about success we can get clear on what we need to do and see the wood for the trees. Things become much easier once we take responsibility for our own success.

Written on 4/28/2010 by Jennifer Smith. Jen is a Life Coach and Personal Development blogger who can be found at Reach Our Dreams. You can connect with Jen on Twitter @reachourdreams or if you liked this article then why not subscribe to her RSS Feed?

Photo Credit: Sugarmonster

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Tech Tuesday Tip

Another way to manage your Facebook privacy from Drew:

Facebook privacy -- how to protect yourself

Posted: 23 May 2010 10:45 PM PDT

Let's face it -- Facebook is becoming a significant element in many business' marketing plans. And with good reason. As the member mark approaches 400 million -- it's hard to imagine an audience that does not have a strong presence there.

It's also a potent tool for establishing your personal brand.

But at what cost? Facebook's most recent policy changes have people in a panic. There's more talk about leaving Facebook than I've heard in a long time. Most of that talk is ignorant panic. The truth is...most people don't understand the privacy setting and the risks well enough to know if they should leave or not.

I'm not suggesting that it's not an important issue but I'm guessing most people don't really know how to safeguard against the kinds of exposure we're talking about. People know they share a lot of stuff but they really don't know who is or isn't able to see it.

So let's add this up. Facebook, for most businesses and professionals, is someplace we should be. And, we have no idea if our privacy settings are what we want them to be. So what do we do?

You go to Reclaim Privacy. (reclaimprivacy.org) They've created a browser bookmarklet that will tell you exactly what's going on with your Facebook account AND help you fix it. All for free. (God love the internet!)

You simply drag their link to your browser's bookmark bar and then log into Facebook. Once you're there, just click on the link in your bookmark bar and voila, a window pops up and assessed your privacy settings. Here's what mine looked like:

It not only told me which areas were secure...but as you can see by the red and brown boxes... it told me when I should worry and when I was definitely not secure. But the best part is -- with a click on the blue boxes, it fixed (or gave me the chance to fix) the issue.

As with most things -- there is a happy medium. Thanks to the free tool from Reclaim Privacy, we can keep using Facebook without worrying about over exposure. Or without having to be Facebook fanatics who know how to modify over 170 settings located in 50 different spots. We just need to click the mouse!

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