7:33pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California, USA, Wednesday night, January 19, 2023. Found out today the potential director candidate withdrew for consideration this morning so, back to square one. She was from the Midwest, which means she probably wouldn’t have stayed long any way. I don’t mind sticking around a couple more months. The site is finally rounding into shape after many weeks of dysfunction. Now I get to see this through. We survived the culture change, now comes profitability and success. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?
Tag: success
Learning a hard lesson
7:04am, apartment in Dana Point, California, Sunday morning, March 20, 2022. The first talk of job cuts happened Friday afternoon. I called my supervisor regarding another matter but she brought up the hard truth instead. I understand. Things are not going well and there isn’t a quick fix on the horizon. The situation is beyond frustrating for everyone involved. I personally feel incapacitated, like watching a slow motion disaster unfold; I can see the horror happening, but am helpless to stop it. In the past, I focused on what that meant to me; loss of direct income, family instability, bruising of personal pride. But today is different. Today I feel I let down those that depend on the businesses success to care for their families and sustain households. It is a crushing weight to bear and I feel every ounce of it. I am learning a hard lesson; there is no nobility in failure. Merely trying is not enough. I need to get better, improve my skills, or I am of no value to anyone else.
The 3 (really 6) Levels of Beginner Blog Success
Congratulations , you started writing a blog, now you are probably wondering how to make it successful. According to techjury.net, 7.5 million blog posts are created every day, so you are not alone! Perhaps you write for fun or maybe you want to get serious, either way, if you want to know what the levels of beginner blog success look like, the following 3 (really 6) levels provide a road map to track your progress 1. Your first posts. You started your blog and have written a couple posts. Perhaps you did this to work through feelings or share your thoughts on a particular subject. This is a great first step. Creating a blog and putting your name on it is a success in itself and something to celebrate 2. Improving your style. For some people starting a blog and writing one or two posts is enough. They forget about it and move on. Others, like yourself, stick with it and begin to write regularly. After enough time you have a body of work. At that point you can look back and see what you liked and didn’t like about your writing. Maybe you want to try a different style, or adopt other formats. Either way, making the effort to improve your writing is a meaningful personal achievement and another sign of success 3. Validation. After you have written regularly and improved your style you want other people to read it. That is validation. There are four levels to validation; views, likes, follows and shares. Let’s break each of these down. 3a. Your first view. People probably see your posts before you realize it. You can check your WordPress Dashboard to find out how many views you have had. While this can be validating it can also be frustrating if you don’t get as many views as you’d like. Don’t get discouraged, keep writing. If you remain consistent a larger audience will find you naturally 3b. Your first like. There is nothing more exciting than the first time someone likes your post. You have worked hard and expended energy to write something good. Now a reader appreciates what you wrote and acknowledges it. This is important, you have reached a great success! Enjoy the feeling of pride from getting your first like 3c. Your first follow. Once you get one like they will start to come in bunches. Before long someone will start to follow your blog. That means they will be notified every time you post something new. While this can be intimidating it is also exhilarating. Someone likes your writing so much they want to know when you post! 3D. Your first share. This is the final step of beginner blog success and it is a big one. Even though it is still in the validation camp it is a level all its own. Someone likes your post so much they share it. You go through a transformation after your first share. People share a blog post because they see what you write as having value, something they don’t mind having their name associated with. To them you are a trusted authority and a good writer. And just like that, you have reached the pinnacle of beginner success! So there you have it, the 3 (really 6) levels of beginner blogging success. Start writing, keep improving, find your audience and be proud of what you do. Keep up the good work and enjoy the process of becoming a successful blogger.
Am I too soft on people?
11:56am, in my office, Phoenix, Monday morning (almost afternoon), December 06, 2021. There is a narrative that I am a soft leader and easily taken advantage of. It started when a colleague visited and noted issues with scheduling. I am inclined to get defensive, place blame elsewhere, make excuses, but that isn’t helpful. I need to learn and grow, which can be a difficult process. I of course am disappointed but will persevere. You know, years ago I envisioned facing challenge and finding success. I guess I never considered what challenging myself and finding failure/hardship would look like.
Sales
10:01am the sales manager next door quit. It wasn’t surprising, he wasn’t very effective. Few sales people are. Anyone can get the general idea of sales. How to qualify an account learn what to say. Pretty much everyone can go over features and benefits and ask for the sale. But only one in ten, maybe one in twenty can truly “sell.” Develop an ephemeral alchemy that builds trust, desire and scarcity. That evokes a swirl of emotions in somebody. But not just anybody. It has to be the right person. A person that in sales terms “has the power to say ‘yes.’”
Consistent and persistent
6:05am I know this sounds like motivational material but it is not. It is an observation. Having been in sales and operations for 12 years I can tell you what I think is the key to success. The key to “success”-no matter how you define it-is consistency and persistence. I do not mean a talent worked on. You can’t get better at them. You can’t develop them. If you have to try to be more consistent or persistent you have already lost. Consistency and persistence come from within. They exist on a base level. They are mindless drivers of action. Consistency and persistence are the elusive traits so many sales leaders look for when hiring talent. But you don’t know if someone truly has consistency and persistence until they are in a situation when they are needed to persevere.
Salvation please
7:25pm Friday night, I want to be saved. To find success. Or even stability. My mind is exhausted. I think a million thoughts that add up to nothing. I have written over 1000 posts. Do they matter to anyone but me? I should solicit an audience, try and connect. Someone needs to knows I am alive. That I have thoughts. That I feel emotions. Why do I stay hidden yet want to be known? I wear myself the fuck out
Path to greatness
6:09am I see a path to greatness every day. A thousand possibilities laid before me. Most mornings I am eager to get started. To see what I can accomplish. I dream about success, love, happiness and contentment. I start many adventures, but seldom see them to completion. I get distracted by other commitments. I become overwhelmed by the complexity of the mission. I encounter obstacles. I doubt my abilities. I become dejected and give up. On the path to greatness I take the first exit afforded me. I stand on the side of the road and feel sorry for myself. I pout. I grieve. I become despondent. Then i begin the process of healing. I swear I learned my lesson. I vow to do better. I pick up my countenance. Go back to the starting line and do it all over again.
Seeker
5:29am will I spend my whole life being who I am, striving to be what I am not? I am a seeker. I meet people where they are. I validate others. But those traits don’t make money. They don’t make me “successful.” I work jobs that do not reward who I am. I try to be different but fail. Then I try again. And again. I can’t stay put. I am not allowed to stay put. I can’t change. I am who I am.
results scorecard
6:19am Saturday. Achieving goals are difficult. Making money, hitting budget. Similar to baseball if i get a positive result 3 out of 10 times I consider that a success. I have looked back at my career since end of 2009/beginning of 2010. First job since being a chaplain sales. I was successful and got results. But it was more from the team around me than me. Second job, executive director. Did not get results. Third job director of sales. Got results. fourth job, vice president of sales. a wash. The census and revenue went down but I don’t own it. Fifth job, marketing director. Got results because had good team. sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth jobs didn’t get results but tough situations. 10 job. true start up. Got results I am proud of but did not achieve volume or consistency. 11 job, executive director. Got results. 12 job. not getting results. My own personal scorecard. 6 out of 12 situations I got positive results.