Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 266

Great Storytelling - Lessons From Ira Glass

Great storytelling is a lot of very hard work.

It's sad that so many individuals (and this includes marketing professionals) feel that there is either a story to tell or that there isn't. This isn't always true. A germ of an idea does not a story make, and turning on a microphone and hoping that someone with a story to tell will now know how to tell it in a compelling way is also false. Great storytelling is a ton of heavy lifting. Brands claim that they need to get better at storytelling, and yet so few of them put in the time, allocate the resources, or even understand the intricacies and sweating over details that is required to get to a place where something becomes a great story.

There are people who are master storytellers. 

Ira Glass  is one of those masters. He is the award-winning host and executive producer of the documentary radio program, This American Life (produced by Chicago Public Media and distributed by Public Radio International). The program began in 1995 and is now heard on over 500 public radio stations each week, by more than three million people, and is downloaded as a podcast more than close to one million times weekly. The show is all about storytelling... and it is a sight to behold (and to be listened to). Glass recently sat down with Googler, Logan Ury, to discuss his favorite episodes, his thoughts on technology, and how hard it is to create an amazing story. This Talks At Google is brand new (it was published two days ago) and it's very worthy of the hour that you will spend with it.

Spend an hour with one of the world's best storytellers...

Tags:

brand

chicago public media

google

googler

ira glass

logan ury

marketing

marketing professional

public radio

public radio international

radio

radio program

story

storyteller

storytelling

talks at google

technology

this american life

The Art Of Writing Well With Roy Peter Clark

Episode #386 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to.

Every so often, I get the chance to dive deep into a topic that is of huge (and personal) interest to me. This is one of those episodes. Roy Peter Clark is widely regarded as "America's writing coach." He has a stated desire to create "a nation of writers." He has taught writing to everyone from children to Pulitzer authors at the infamous The Poynter Institute - a school for journalism and writing in Florida. His books are "must-haves" for anyone who is a writer (or for those who have a desire to write). I own almost all of them, including Writing Tools, Help! For Writers (which is also a great mobile app) and his latest, How To Write Short. While some might confuse his latest book as a "how to write for the Twitter era," it is so much more than that. He has more honors from the writing and academic world than I could ever list here, but let's just say that to spend some time with someone who is so highly regarded in the writing world, is a pretty cool thing. So, if you tinker with words, have a desire to be a better writer or toil over what to tweet, this episode is for you. Enjoy the conversation...

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via iTunes): Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast #386.

Tags:

advertising podcast

blog

blogging

books on writing

brand

business book

business podcast

david usher

help for writers

how to write short

itunes

journalism

marketing podcast

podcast

podcasting

pulitzer

roy peter clark

the poynter institute

writer

writing

writing coach

writing tools

writing world

Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #180

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, Solve For Interesting, the author of Complete Web Monitoring, Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks and Lean Analytics), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist's Manifesto) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".

Check out these six links that we're recommending to one another:

Moldover's Four Track - Documentary. "I first met Moldover at Foo Camp a few years ago, and he's an amazingly creative guy. Some traditional musicians hold on to their analog instruments, bemoaning the saccharine of autotune; others dive so far into electronica that the result is almost unrecognizable as music. Moldover seems to have found the right balance. Watch this brief (4 minute) documentary and pay attention to the instruments and general hackery: when was the last time you saw a singer design their own mic?" (Alistair for Hugh).

The Infinite Jukebox . "While we're on the subject of music technology, this one blew my mind. It's the missing piece for computers to do remixes humans couldn't possibly manage. Pick a song, or upload one (there are already plenty) and the software will figure out how to loop it endlessly. It shows fragments of a song that are similar, making it possible to jump around in a track without noticing the changes. I could play with this for hours." (Alistair for Mitch).

The great middle-class identity crisis - FT Magazine . "How we used to define ourselves by our professions, and how that is changing." (Hugh for Alistair).

The Hidden Technology That Makes Twitter Huge - Bloomberg BusinessWeek . "Paul Ford looks under the hood at Twitter, and finds all the metadata that is attached to every tweet you make. And why that's so important." (Hugh for Mitch).

This I Believe: A Manifesto for a Magnificent Career - Occam's Razor . "There is no hiding my love and admiration for my close friend, Avinash Kaushik . Over the years, I have probably quoted or been inspired by Kaushik's thinking more than anyone else (he's right up there with Seth Godin , Tom Peters and Clay Shirky in my mind). I have no idea what I did to deserve the honor of becoming friends with him, but I'm so thankful that he found his way into my life. Most people know Avinash as the analytics guy from Google (he was their former Analytics Evangelist). Avinash is still at Google, with an expanded role of Digital Marketing evangelist. He's written two amazing (and bestselling) books ( Web Analytics - An Hour A Day and Web Analytics 2.0 ). He is a blogging behemoth. His posts are deep and long (some can be as long as 4000 words). He is as tactical as he is strategic. So, when he dug deep into what a great career looks like, this became the result. It was first published on November 11th, but I have read and re-read it countless times since then. When was the last time you could say that about a blog post?" (Mitch for Alistair).

Banning the Negative Book Review - The New York Times . "It doesn't get more meta than this, when it comes to books. This is a very well-written (and funny) op-ed piece in yesterday's New York Times by advertising pundit and author, Bob Garfield . Apparently, BuzzFeed 's new book editor, Isaac Fitzgerald, will no longer publish hatchet job book reviews. There are so many layers to this story, that I don't know where to begin. Let's just say that this is a criticism piece about literary criticism and the end of literary criticism (which the writer is criticizing). You can follow this piece of yarn to figure out your own nuances and ironies in all of this. Decades ago, I wrote tons of record reviews. Personally, I never liked trashing a band's work. It was a matter of two personal principles. Number one, if you have nothing nice to say, don't say it. Number two, if a reader is going to spend any time with you, why not turn them on to something they will like, rather than dismantling the hard work of someone else based on my own, personal, biases." (Mitch for Hugh).

Now it's your turn: in the comment section below pick one thing that you saw this week that inspired you and share it.

Tags:

alistair croll

analytics evangelist

avinash kaushik

bitcurrent

bloomberg

bob garfield

book a futurists manifesto

businessweek

buzzfeed

clay shirky

complete web monitoring

digital marketing evangelist

foo camp

ft magazine

gigaom

google

hugh mcguire

human 20

iambik

isaac fitzgerald

librivox

link bait

link exchange

link sharing

managing bandwidth

media hacks

moldover

occams razor

op ed piece

paul ford

pressbooks

seth godin

social media

solve for interesting

technology

the infinite jukebox

the new york times

tom peters

twitter

web analytics

web analytics 20

web analytics an hour a day

year one labs

Great Storytelling - Lessons From Ira Glass

Great storytelling is a lot of very hard work.

It's sad that so many individuals (and this includes marketing professionals) feel that there is either a story to tell or that there isn't. This isn't always true. A germ of an idea does not a story make, and turning on a microphone and hoping that someone with a story to tell will now know how to tell it in a compelling way is also false. Great storytelling is a ton of heavy lifting. Brands claim that they need to get better at storytelling, and yet so few of them put in the time, allocate the resources, or even understand the intricacies and sweating over details that is required to get to a place where something becomes a great story.

There are people who are master storytellers. 

Ira Glass  is one of those masters. He is the award-winning host and executive producer of the documentary radio program, This American Life (produced by Chicago Public Media and distributed by Public Radio International). The program began in 1995 and is now heard on over 500 public radio stations each week, by more than three million people, and is downloaded as a podcast more than close to one million times weekly. The show is all about storytelling... and it is a sight to behold (and to be listened to). Glass recently sat down with Googler, Logan Ury, to discuss his favorite episodes, his thoughts on technology, and how hard it is to create an amazing story. This Talks At Google is brand new (it was published two days ago) and it's very worthy of the hour that you will spend with it.

Spend an hour with one of the world's best storytellers...

Tags:

google]]>

brand

chicago public media

googler

ira glass

logan ury

marketing

marketing professional

public radio

public radio international

radio

radio program

story

storyteller

storytelling

talks at google

technology

this american life

Keep Calm And Carry On - 5 Steps To Getting Rid Of Stress And Anxiety

Are you feeling a little stressed? Anxious? Having a panic attack here and there?

We all deal with stress and anxiety in a multitude of ways. People will often comment on how calm and collected I seem. In the back of my mind, all I can think about is a duck swimming across the pond. How calm and relaxed it seems, until you look beneath the surface and see how frenetic and chaotic it is scrambling to stay afloat. That's me. I'm that duck. Quack. Quack. We're all ducks - to a certain degree. I've been very interested in how many people have come forward - quite publicly - to talk about their anxiety, stress and depression. Successful people. People you would never suspect. In fact, I love it. There has always been a stigma around mental health, and it's about time that we recognize how any illness in the mind is no different from any other illness we experience. The marketing industry is notorious for burning people out to the point of deep depression, severe anxiety and more (sexy, I know). Around this time of year, it gets exasperated for a myriad of reasons (end of the year rush, dealing with family through the holidays, the shift towards winter, that moron in front of you who doesn't know how to park... you get the idea).

It's all in your head.

Sadly, we still hear that a lot. I wish more people would end that sentence with, " BUT... the mind navigates the body." It's easy to tell someone to talk their way out of how they're currently feeling, so I came up with an exercise for those who think it's as simple as "calming yourself down." Here we go: think of someone you are desperately attracted to. It can be a celebrity, your spouse or anyone (but keep it legal!). Now imagine that they have reached out to you, they're interested and they have declared that they must be with you. Imagine what that night would be like. Forget whatever relationship you're in, let your inhibitions loose and really let your mind wander. Think about what they're wearing, how they smell, where you would meet and how the events of the evening might unfold (make it really naughty, too!). How does your body feel? What are your thoughts? Are you turned on? Now, forget all about it. Don't ever think about anything that you just thought about ever again. How did that work out for you? Impossible, right? Stress, anxiety and depression are typically a multiplier of that. Once those wires are connected (and they connect for a ton of different reasons - traumatic moment, a chemical imbalance, genetics, etc...) - it is ever-complicated to disconnect and untangle those wires. So, it's never all in your head. It may start there, but it becomes very physical and very biological very quickly. The mind navigates the body.

It's less about control and much more about acceptance.

Some people are more anxious than others. Some people produce more types of hormones and chemicals than others. There is no "normal." We are all unique, and with that comes a unique sense of being. I probably spend too much time thinking about my finals days. For me, it is a key driver of success (I don't want to waste a moment before those last ones), but it is one that can cause quite a bit of anxiety (the uncertainty of it all - from how it will end to when it will end to how sad I will be to leave my loved ones). With that, I can recognize that stress and anxiety is as much a human trait as joy, love and happiness. In fact, finding and accepting the balance is key here. Humans have a full spectrum of emotions. Just as you can't be thrilled about life all of the time, you also can't always be anxious or stressed (even though it sometimes feels like it). In the end, we all deal with this spectrum of emotions in different ways. Some have a drink at night to calm down, others smoke something funky. Some might jump out of a plane, while others might go looking for a Swami in the Himalayans. All of those are ways in which we self-medicate and try to tranquilize our awareness that we're alive and ever-aware of our own mortality. 

Give me a break.

It's not foolproof, but here are a five tools that you can deploy to manage the times when things get a little too stressed and/or anxious. It's even a great path out of the occasional panic attack:

Be prepared. The best way to deal with these emotions is to know that you will get them. So, when they come on, don't act surprised, don't question why this is happening to you. Just accept it. You're anxious or stressing out or having a panic attack. It happens. Try reading the book, The Happiness Trap as soon as possible. It is chock full of great examples of how to better understand what's happening in your mind and body. Having that knowledge and the skills within the book will allow you to be better prepared when you're not feeling great.

Stop time travelling. Most people know James Altucher as the angel investor, bestselling business book author and blogger (you can hear my conversation with James right here: SPOS #366 - James Altucher Wants You To Choose Yourself). He's all that and more. I can't remember where I read it, but James was talking about stressing out (something he knows a ton about) and he reframed that deep and dark moment by asking himself if he's time travelling or not. Yes, time travel. Most people suffer with fear and anxiety over things that have either transpired in the past or thinking about things that have yet to happen. They're time travelling (or as he says: "Don't get lost in the future. Don't get lost in the past. Turn off your time machine. Live right now. We need you here in the present moment. We need you because the world is a better place when you are here and not time traveling."). They're not in the present (where, more than likely, everything is actually just fine). Anxiety and panic sets in when we think about things that have happened in our past (which are sadly done and out of our control at this moment in time) or worrying about the future. Tony Blauer is a very close friend and my former close quarters combatives coach. He always says that fear is an acronym for: False Evidence Appearing Real. So, when we stress about the worries of the future, we are simply building a case with false evidence (you can hear my conversation with Tony right here: SPOS #355 - Overcoming Fear With Tony Blauer). So, the next time that panic sets in, ask yourself if it is legitimate (it's happening in the now and you should be concerned!) or if you are time travelling. More often than not, you are time travelling. Stop time travelling.  

Breathe better. Remember, the mind navigates the body. When we stress, it causes a chain physiological reaction that manifests itself into some very physical things. What most people don't realize is that if you can better understand your body, it sends messages back to the reptilian brain that there is no reason for the fight or flight system to be triggered. One of the best breathing techniques I have uncovered is from Dr. Andrew Weil. You can see the full video of this simple three-step technique below (or see a more in-depth explanation right here: Take A Breather). The best part about this breathing technique is that it works. Really works. And, you can do this while being in a room full of people and nobody will be any the wiser. Along with this breathing technique, I'll also recommend that you think about your jaw. This was something taught to me by Jim Fannin, who is a recognized expert in helping pro athletes get into "the zone." I first met Jim because we were both speaking at the same event. The difference between us, was that it was my first speaking event and it was in front of thousands of people. When I cornered him in the hotel lobby and told him how nervous I was, he asked me to focus on my jaw. Loosening it. Moving it around. Open and closing my mouth to relax the jaw. When you watch pro athletes (think about Michael Jordan's wagging tongue as he drives for the hoop), you will notice that the most trained professionals are in the zone and relaxed with a very relaxed jaw (you can listen to my conversation with Jim right here). Together these two techniques should help you better understand your body. Many people praise meditation. I enjoy meditating, but find these two techniques exceptional and quick.  

Go with flow. When the negative feelings happen, we tend to tense up, resist it, ignore or try to fight it. There has been countless pieces of research lately that will tell you how much worse doing any of those things can be. Don't fight it, go with it. Here's a simple visualization: when you're feeling stressed or have anxiety coming over you, find a quiet place. You can sit, lie down or even go for a walk as it happen. Don't fight it. Imagine you are standing in a river. Everything is safe in the water. You can go against the current or allow your body to float. Let the rushing water take you. Accept it. Go with the flow. Most people try to fight against the current. Don't do this. More often than not, when you let go of fighting it and let it wash over you, it will dissipate a lot quicker and your recovery time will be much shorter. You're accepting it as a a part of who you are and you're letting it run its course. Another visualization (which I may have stolen from The Happiness Trap book I mentioned above) it to focus on the thoughts you're having. However negative or strange that they may be, imagine that each thought is a piece of clothing on a clothing line. If the thought is a negative one, just unclip it from the line and let it go. If it comes back, just unclip it again. Our mind is full of stories, images and imagery. Most of it is random. So, when you have a negative one, unclip it and let it go. We have millions of thoughts every day. Some are helpful but most are random. 

Get help. I don't mean talking to a spouse or a loved one. Get real help. Don't be ashamed. There is nothing to be ashamed of. We wake up everyday and look at our bodies and think about ways to improve our physical health. We do Crossfit, we go for a run, Yoga poses, we diet, we bike, whatever. Why don't we take the same kind of care and training for everything that is above our shoulders? Talking things out with a professional (who is paid to listen and give an outsider's perspective) will make you feel almost as good as finishing a marathon. Even if you don't think you need it, you will be amazed at the self-actualization, empathy and better overall health that you will have when you can hash out your thinking with someone who better understands how our brains work and why we think the things we think. Mental training is as important as your physical training.

Thank you.

It's Thanksgiving for many people today. I'm thankful for everything that has happened in my life. Yes, the good, the bad, the ugly and the stressful. It's all a part of what makes me "me." I am also thankful that I have you - out there - reading, listening, connecting and engaging.

With that, what are you best tips, tricks and techniques to find a better center space and more mindfulness?

Tags:

andrew weil

angel investor

anxiety

anxious

blogger

breathing technique

burn out

business book

chemical imbalance

choose yourself

close quarter combatives

crossfit

depression

dr andrew weil

emotions

exercise

fear

genetics

get professional help

illness

james altucher

jim fannin

marketing

marketing industry

meditation

mental health

mental training

michael jordan

mind

mind body

mind navigates the body

normal

panic

panic attack

physical health

self medicate

stress

success

thanksgiving

the happiness trap

the zone

time travelling

tony blauer

visualization

yoga

Keep Calm And Carry On - 5 Steps To Getting Rid Of Stress And Anxiety

Are you feeling a little stressed? Anxious? Having a panic attack here and there?

We all deal with stress and anxiety in a multitude of ways. People will often comment on how calm and collected I seem. In the back of my mind, all I can think about is a duck swimming across the pond. How calm and relaxed it seems, until you look beneath the surface and see how frenetic and chaotic it is scrambling to stay afloat. That's me. I'm that duck. Quack. Quack. We're all ducks - to a certain degree. I've been very interested in how many people have come forward - quite publicly - to talk about their anxiety, stress and depression. Successful people. People you would never suspect. In fact, I love it. There has always been a stigma around mental health, and it's about time that we recognize how any illness in the mind is no different from any other illness we experience. The marketing industry is notorious for burning people out to the point of deep depression, severe anxiety and more (sexy, I know). Around this time of year, it gets exasperated for a myriad of reasons (end of the year rush, dealing with family through the holidays, the shift towards winter, that moron in front of you who doesn't know how to park... you get the idea).

It's all in your head.

Sadly, we still hear that a lot. I wish more people would end that sentence with, " BUT... the mind navigates the body." It's easy to tell someone to talk their way out of how they're currently feeling, so I came up with an exercise for those who think it's as simple as "calming yourself down." Here we go: think of someone you are desperately attracted to. It can be a celebrity, your spouse or anyone (but keep it legal!). Now imagine that they have reached out to you, they're interested and they have declared that they must be with you. Imagine what that night would be like. Forget whatever relationship you're in, let your inhibitions loose and really let your mind wander. Think about what they're wearing, how they smell, where you would meet and how the events of the evening might unfold (make it really naughty, too!). How does your body feel? What are your thoughts? Are you turned on? Now, forget all about it. Don't ever think about anything that you just thought about ever again. How did that work out for you? Impossible, right? Stress, anxiety and depression are typically a multiplier of that. Once those wires are connected (and they connect for a ton of different reasons - traumatic moment, a chemical imbalance, genetics, etc...) - it is ever-complicated to disconnect and untangle those wires. So, it's never all in your head. It may start there, but it becomes very physical and very biological very quickly. The mind navigates the body.

It's less about control and much more about acceptance.

Some people are more anxious than others. Some people produce more types of hormones and chemicals than others. There is no "normal." We are all unique, and with that comes a unique sense of being. I probably spend too much time thinking about my finals days. For me, it is a key driver of success (I don't want to waste a moment before those last ones), but it is one that can cause quite a bit of anxiety (the uncertainty of it all - from how it will end to when it will end to how sad I will be to leave my loved ones). With that, I can recognize that stress and anxiety is as much a human trait as joy, love and happiness. In fact, finding and accepting the balance is key here. Humans have a full spectrum of emotions. Just as you can't be thrilled about life all of the time, you also can't always be anxious or stressed (even though it sometimes feels like it). In the end, we all deal with this spectrum of emotions in different ways. Some have a drink at night to calm down, others smoke something funky. Some might jump out of a plane, while others might go looking for a Swami in the Himalayans. All of those are ways in which we self-medicate and try to tranquilize our awareness that we're alive and ever-aware of our own mortality. 

Give me a break.

It's not foolproof, but here are a five tools that you can deploy to manage the times when things get a little too stressed and/or anxious. It's even a great path out of the occasional panic attack:

Be prepared. The best way to deal with these emotions is to know that you will get them. So, when they come on, don't act surprised, don't question why this is happening to you. Just accept it. You're anxious or stressing out or having a panic attack. It happens. Try reading the book, The Happiness Trap as soon as possible. It is chock full of great examples of how to better understand what's happening in your mind and body. Having that knowledge and the skills within the book will allow you to be better prepared when you're not feeling great.

Stop time travelling. Most people know James Altucher as the angel investor, bestselling business book author and blogger (you can hear my conversation with James right here: SPOS #366 - James Altucher Wants You To Choose Yourself). He's all that and more. I can't remember where I read it, but James was talking about stressing out (something he knows a ton about) and he reframed that deep and dark moment by asking himself if he's time travelling or not. Yes, time travel. Most people suffer with fear and anxiety over things that have either transpired in the past or thinking about things that have yet to happen. They're time travelling (or as he says: "Don't get lost in the future. Don't get lost in the past. Turn off your time machine. Live right now. We need you here in the present moment. We need you because the world is a better place when you are here and not time traveling."). They're not in the present (where, more than likely, everything is actually just fine). Anxiety and panic sets in when we think about things that have happened in our past (which are sadly done and out of our control at this moment in time) or worrying about the future. Tony Blauer is a very close friend and my former close quarters combatives coach. He always says that fear is an acronym for: False Evidence Appearing Real. So, when we stress about the worries of the future, we are simply building a case with false evidence (you can hear my conversation with Tony right here: SPOS #355 - Overcoming Fear With Tony Blauer). So, the next time that panic sets in, ask yourself if it is legitimate (it's happening in the now and you should be concerned!) or if you are time travelling. More often than not, you are time travelling. Stop time travelling.  

Breathe better. Remember, the mind navigates the body. When we stress, it causes a chain physiological reaction that manifests itself into some very physical things. What most people don't realize is that if you can better understand your body, it sends messages back to the reptilian brain that there is no reason for the fight or flight system to be triggered. One of the best breathing techniques I have uncovered is from Dr. Andrew Weil. You can see the full video of this simple three-step technique below (or see a more in-depth explanation right here: Take A Breather). The best part about this breathing technique is that it works. Really works. And, you can do this while being in a room full of people and nobody will be any the wiser. Along with this breathing technique, I'll also recommend that you think about your jaw. This was something taught to me by Jim Fannin, who is a recognized expert in helping pro athletes get into "the zone." I first met Jim because we were both speaking at the same event. The difference between us, was that it was my first speaking event and it was in front of thousands of people. When I cornered him in the hotel lobby and told him how nervous I was, he asked me to focus on my jaw. Loosening it. Moving it around. Open and closing my mouth to relax the jaw. When you watch pro athletes (think about Michael Jordan's wagging tongue as he drives for the hoop), you will notice that the most trained professionals are in the zone and relaxed with a very relaxed jaw (you can listen to my conversation with Jim right here). Together these two techniques should help you better understand your body. Many people praise meditation. I enjoy meditating, but find these two techniques exceptional and quick.  

Go with the flow. When the negative feelings happen, we tend to tense up, resist it, ignore or try to fight it. There has been countless pieces of research lately that will tell you how much worse doing any of those things can be. Don't fight it, go with it. Here's a simple visualization: when you're feeling stressed or have anxiety coming over you, find a quiet place. You can sit, lie down or even go for a walk as it happen. Don't fight it. Imagine you are standing in a river. Everything is safe in the water. You can go against the current or allow your body to float. Let the rushing water take you. Accept it. Go with the flow. Most people try to fight against the current. Don't do this. More often than not, when you let go of fighting it and let it wash over you, it will dissipate a lot quicker and your recovery time will be much shorter. You're accepting it as a a part of who you are and you're letting it run its course. Another visualization (which I may have stolen from The Happiness Trap book I mentioned above) it to focus on the thoughts you're having. However negative or strange that they may be, imagine that each thought is a piece of clothing on a clothing line. If the thought is a negative one, just unclip it from the line and let it go. If it comes back, just unclip it again. Our mind is full of stories, images and imagery. Most of it is random. So, when you have a negative one, unclip it and let it go. We have millions of thoughts every day. Some are helpful but most are random. 

Get help. I don't mean talking to a spouse or a loved one. Get real help. Don't be ashamed. There is nothing to be ashamed of. We wake up everyday and look at our bodies and think about ways to improve our physical health. We do Crossfit, we go for a run, Yoga poses, we diet, we bike, whatever. Why don't we take the same kind of care and training for everything that is above our shoulders? Talking things out with a professional (who is paid to listen and give an outsider's perspective) will make you feel almost as good as finishing a marathon. Even if you don't think you need it, you will be amazed at the self-actualization, empathy and better overall health that you will have when you can hash out your thinking with someone who better understands how our brains work and why we think the things we think. Mental training is as important as your physical training.

Thank you.

It's Thanksgiving for many people today. I'm thankful for everything that has happened in my life. Yes, the good, the bad, the ugly and the stressful. It's all a part of what makes me "me." I am also thankful that I have you - out there - reading, listening, connecting and engaging.

With that, what are you best tips, tricks and techniques to find a better center space and more mindfulness?

Tags:

andrew weil

angel investor

anxiety

anxious

blogger

breathing technique

burn out

business book

chemical imbalance

choose yourself

close quarter combatives

crossfit

depression

dr andrew weil

emotions

exercise

fear

genetics

get professional help

illness

james altucher

jim fannin

marketing

marketing industry

meditation

mental health

mental training

michael jordan

mind

mind body

mind navigates the body

normal

panic

panic attack

physical health

self medicate

stress

success

thanksgiving

the happiness trap

the zone

time travelling

tony blauer

visualization

yoga

Dear Nilofer Merchant

Dear Nilofer,

I thought about you twice today. Once this morning, when I got your email notification about your latest blog post, Gratitude, and then again when Tom Peters was tweeting about diversity on public boards (a topic that I know is near and dear to your heart). I find it amazing to think that we only met in 2009. It really does feel like we have been friends forever. That being said, I am forever indebted to Tara Hunt for introducing us. I'm not sure if you even know how your name came up, so I think it's time that I told you. I was telling Tara how much I enjoyed attending the TED conference, but how intimidated I was to just walk up and introduce myself to people. Without skipping a beat, Tara said that I HAVE to meet you. She made a quick email intro and - in those few email exchanges - you completely put my mind at ease and promised that you would be my wingman (wingperson... wingbud) at the next TED. Well, you haven't let me down since then. And, it's not just at our annual TED hangouts. I know that you have my back.

Thank you.

What you may not know is how much value I get from the content that you create. Sure, your blog is chock full of management nuggets and insights, but I was a huge fan of your first book, The New How and devoured (multiple times) 11 Rules For Creating Value In The #SocialEra, but that's the stuff that anybody can read. I wanted to share with you another component of our friendship that I cherish so deeply. I had a very fortunate upbringing. Not in terms of money and wealth (we were middle-class at best), but in terms of being exposed to and accepting people of all kinds. This was further deepened when I spent close to a decade writing for the alternative weekly newspaper in my hometown. I have always been surrounded by a veritable potpourri of different people from gender and religion to sexual preference and beyond. People were always people to me. At one point in my career, I did a small stint a public relations firm. During that time, I was attending a local networking event when an individual asked me what it was like to work for a woman. I was speechless. I was not mad or upset, just speechless because I had never even thought of it. It never registered. I didn't have an answer to the question because that thought had never entered my mind. I buried that moment in my life until I met you, hung out with you and realized how many people there are out in the world - smart people - who lack the ability to understand what diversity (of all kinds) brings to an organization.

You keep me thinking.

It's great to get new perspectives on marketing, the media and publishing, but when I'm connected to you (either in your online/public channels or when we get a chance to Skype or hang out in person) I learn more about people and how we can all work together better and strive for more. I don't get that from many others. That is something special.

Thank you.

I'm hopeful that you are celebrating Thanksgiving with your family and those that are close to you. While I may be a couple of hours away (by plane!), I just wanted to write you this note and thank you for bringing so much light and knowledge and friendship to my world. I can't wait for TED in Vancouver!

Big hugs,

Mitch

P.S. - I could not be more proud of you for winning the Thinkers50 Award. That organization knows thinkers, brains and class :)

I was very moved by the book, Steal Like An Artist, by Austin Kleon. Especially the section titled, Write Fan Letters. The truth is that I used to always write a note to the author of the book that I had just finished. I guess I got too busy (or read to many books or became lazy) to keep at it. In Kleon's book, he recommends writing a public fan letter and ends the section by saying: "The most important thing is that you show your appreciation without expecting anything in return, and that you get new work out of the appreciation." It's a beautiful concept. With your permission, I'll be using this space from time to time to write these kinds of letters. Welcome to Project: Public Fan Letter. Feel free to do a few of them yourself. I wrote a few of them already for people like Seth Godin and Tom Peters.

Tags:

11 rules for creating value in the social era

austin kleon

blog

content

diversity

email

email exchange

management

marketing

media

networking

newspaper

nilofer merchant

public board

public company

public fan letter

public relations

publishing

seth godin

skype

steal like an artist

tara hunt

ted

ted conference

the new how

thinkers 50 award

tom peters

twitter

write fan letters

Katie Couric Will Give Us The Internet That We Deserve

What kind of Internet do we want?

Some might consider this a vague, daunting and even ambiguous question, but it begs for an answer. Anyone who has been online for a long time knows how interesting, diverse and different the Internet - as a medium - was (and can still be). It was very different from anything that we had seen before. In my second book, CTRL ALT Delete, I frame it in a more simplistic way: traditional media was very passive (it was created, edited and distributed for us and we consumed it in a very passive manner). Sure, there were "letters to the editor" and more, but most of this interaction was still strictly regulated by the media owners and highly edited to fit a specific format. While there is nothing wrong with passive media (I like to sit back and soak in an episode of Charlie Rose as much as the next dweeb), the Internet brought with it a dramatic change: active media. From sitting back to leaning in. From looking to touching. From consuming to creating and curating. In fact, it hasn't been all that long since the Internet has been commercialized, and yet here we are at a fascinating moment in time when all of it can come crashing down in a massive heap of mediocrity.

Traditional media wants to becomes active. The Internet wants to be like television (and become passive?).

What used to be the most charming thing about the Internet is quickly becoming somewhat homogenous and frighteningly similar to prime time television. It used to be that blogging opened up our minds to individual perspective. We would share these online diaries, comment on them, dissect them and more. It used to be that the trendy topics on Twitter was a driver of new ideas. Things, events and ideas to explore. The stuff you would never find mentioned on CNN. Now, the trending topics on Twitter tend to look an awful lot like the breaking news tickertape graphics that scroll across the CNN screen. Podcasting used to be the home of independent and niche thinking, but the most popular podcasts today are mass media re-iterations of their content. Where has the diversity of these ideas gone?

What makes Arianna Huffington any different from Katie Couric in this day and age? 

That's not a slight against either media personality. I'm a huge fan of all things Huffington Post (I contribute there regularly and Arianna was kind enough to endorse CTRL ALT Delete), but we are no longer seeing much diversity as consolidation and global behemoths battle for Internet supremacy. Look no further than Business Insider's The Future Of Digital 2013 slide titled, Value (and power) are still very concentrated. What you will see is that the market value online is divided up like this:

Apple = 41%

Google = 27%

Amazon = 13%

Facebook = 11%

Yahoo = 3%

Netflix = 2%

Twitter = 1%

Compared to "old media":

Disney = 24%

Comcast = 24%

21st Century Fox = 16%

Time Warner = 12%

Time Warner Cable = 7%

Viacom = 8%

CBS = 7%

News Corp = 2%

It's not a true apples to apples comparison, but you get the idea.

Sure, Amazon is one of the world's largest retailers, but they've also just announced more original programming like Betas and Alpha House (kind of like their own, little cable network). At the same time, Apple is still pushing iTunes Radio and Yahoo is making all kinds of waves this week by announcing that Katie Couric will be joining the company as their "Global Anchor" (does anybody know what that title even means?).

It's a strange world.

Newspapers, magazines, radio and television companies are all scrambling to figure out how to be more like the Internet, digital and active media to make themselves more relevant, while these online companies are developing television shows, buying newspapers and poaching television celebrities. What's going on here? We had too many people laughing at Google for things like Google Glass and driverless cars while we're handing out belly rubs and lollipops in the boardroom any time new media does something so very traditional.

My kind of Internet.

I don't know about you, but my kind of Internet is all about innovation, new platforms and the ability to do things with this technology that you can't do on a television or in a magazine. I love television, radio, newspapers and magazines, but I want the Internet to do a whole more. In fact, I expect more of it. My hopes are that Pinterest can grow to the point where they can build whatever the next Instagram could be. That they push the frontiers of how we define media and what the media channels of the future might look like. If all they do, is scale and bring on Martha Stewart to run a bunch of boards, it's going make me bored. We need the folks at Reddit to re-imagine the quirky corners of publishing, news and tidbits that will never have the mass appeal and scale to reach The New York Times. We don't need another Lady Gaga AMA. We need these new media companies to focus on the "new" and to keep pushing whatever their agendas are to be unique, different and not the same old, same old.

I am hoping that we get the Internet that we need... and not the one that we deserve.

Tags:

21st century fox

active media

alpha house

amazon

apple

arianna huffington

betas

blog

blogging

business insider

cable network

cbs

charlie rose

cnn

comcast

ctrl alt delete

digital media

disney

diversity

facebook

global anchor

google

google driverless car

google glass

huffington post

innovation

instagram

internet

internet culture

internet supremacy

itunes

itunes radio

katie couric

lady gaga

magazine

martha stewart

media

media owners

media personality

netflix

news corp

newspaper

online company

online culture

original programming

passive media

pinterest

podcast

podcasting

publishing

radio

reddit

retailer

television

television celebrity

the future of digital 2013

the new york times

time warner

time warner cable

traditional media

trending topics

twitter

viacom

yahoo

Forget Snakes On A Plane, We're About To Get Talking On A Plane

Every morning at 7:10 am, I am a guest contributor on CHOM 97.7 FM radio broadcasting out of Montreal (home base). It's not a long segment - about 5 to 10 minutes every week - about everything that is happening in the world of technology and digital media. The good folks at CHOM 97.7 FM are posting these segments weekly to SoundCloud, if you're interested in hearing more of me blathering away. I'm really excited about this opportunity, because this is the radio station that I grew up on listening to, and it really is a fun treat to be invited to the Mornings Rock with Terry and Heather B. morning show. The segment is called, CTRL ALT Delete with Mitch Joel.

This week we discussed:

The value is live traffic for GPS and mapping applications

Whether or not government's should compensate IT consultants to encourage them to do more social work.

The digitization of society, our health records and our signs.

The Internet of things... including your toothbrush.

Using mobile phones on a plane.

My app of the week: Garage Band.

Listen here...

Tags:

chom 977 fm

chom fm

ctrl alt delete

ctrl alt delete with mitch joel

digital health care records

digital media

digital signage

garage band

gps

guest contributor

it consultants

mapping applications

mobile phones on a plane

montreal radio

morning show

mornings rock with terry and heather b

radio segment

radio station

social media

soundcloud

technology

the internet of things

traffic updates

Katie Couric Will Give Us The Internet That We Deserve

What kind of Internet do we want?

Some might consider this a vague, daunting and even ambiguous question, but it begs for an answer. Anyone who has been online for a long time knows how interesting, diverse and different the Internet - as a medium - was (and can still be). It was very different from anything that we had seen before. In my second book, CTRL ALT Delete, I frame it in a more simplistic way: traditional media was very passive (it was created, edited and distributed for us and we consumed it in a very passive manner). Sure, there were "letters to the editor" and more, but most of this interaction was still strictly regulated by the media owners and highly edited to fit a specific format. While there is nothing wrong with passive media (I like to sit back and soak in an episode of Charlie Rose as much as the next dweeb), the Internet brought with it a dramatic change: active media. From sitting back to leaning in. From looking to touching. From consuming to creating and curating. In fact, it hasn't been all that long since the Internet has been commercialized, and yet here we are at a fascinating moment in time when all of it can come crashing down in a massive heap of mediocrity.

Traditional media wants to becomes active. The Internet wants to be like television (and become passive?).

What used to be the most charming thing about the Internet is quickly becoming somewhat homogenous and frighteningly similar to prime time television. It used to be that blogging opened up our minds to individual perspective. We would share these online diaries, comment on them, dissect them and more. It used to be that the trendy topics on Twitter was a driver of new ideas. Things, events and ideas to explore. The stuff you would never find mentioned on CNN. Now, the trending topics on Twitter tend to look an awful lot like the breaking news tickertape graphics that scroll across the CNN screen. Podcasting used to be the home of independent and niche thinking, but the most popular podcasts today are mass media re-iterations of their content. Where has the diversity of these ideas gone?

What makes Arianna Huffington any different from Katie Couric in this day and age? 

That's not a slight against either media personality. I'm a huge fan of all things Huffington Post (I contribute there regularly and Arianna was kind enough to endorse CTRL ALT Delete), but we are no longer seeing much diversity as consolidation and global behemoths battle for Internet supremacy. Look no further than Business Insider's The Future Of Digital 2013 slide titled, Value (and power) are still very concentrated. What you will see is that the market value online is divided up like this:

Apple = 41%

Google = 27%

Amazon = 13%

Facebook = 11%

Yahoo = 3%

Netflix = 2%

Twitter = 1%

Compared to "old media":

Disney = 24%

Comcast = 24%

21st Century Fox = 16%

Time Warner = 12%

Time Warner Cable = 7%

Viacom = 8%

CBS = 7%

News Corp = 2%

It's not a true apples to apples comparison, but you get the idea.

Sure, Amazon is one of the world's largest retailers, but they've also just announced more original programming like Betas and Alpha House (kind of like their own, little cable network). At the same time, Apple is still pushing iTunes Radio and Yahoo is making all kinds of waves this week by announcing that Katie Couric will be joining the company as their "Global Anchor" (does anybody know what that title even means?).

It's a strange world.

Newspapers, magazines, radio and television companies are all scrambling to figure out how to be more like the Internet, digital and active media to make themselves more relevant, while these online companies are developing television shows, buying newspapers and poaching television celebrities. What's going on here? We had too many people laughing at Google for things like Google Glass and driverless cars while we're handing out belly rubs and lollipops in the boardroom any time new media does something so very traditional.

My kind of Internet.

I don't know about you, but my kind of Internet is all about innovation, new platforms and the ability to do things with this technology that you can't do on a television or in a magazine. I love television, radio, newspapers and magazines, but I want the Internet to do a whole more. In fact, I expect more of it. My hopes are that Pinterest can grow to the point where they can build whatever the next Instagram could be. That they push the frontiers of how we define media and what the media channels of the future might look like. If all they do, is scale and bring on Martha Stewart to run a bunch of boards, it's going make me bored. We need the folks at Reddit to re-imagine the quirky corners of publishing, news and tidbits that will never have the mass appeal and scale to reach The New York Times. We don't need another Lady Gaga AMA. We need these new media companies to focus on the "new" and to keep pushing whatever their agendas are to be unique, different and not the same old, same old.

I am hoping that we get the Internet that we need... and not the one that we deserve.

Tags:

21st century fox

active media

alpha house

amazon

apple

arianna huffington

betas

blog

blogging

business insider

cable network

cbs

charlie rose

cnn

comcast

ctrl alt delete

digital media

disney

diversity

facebook

global anchor

google

google driverless car

google glass

huffington post

innovation

instagram

internet

internet culture

internet supremacy

itunes

itunes radio

katie couric

lady gaga

magazine

martha stewart

media

media owners

media personality

netflix

news corp

newspaper

online company

online culture

original programming

passive media

pinterest

podcast

podcasting

publishing

radio

reddit

retailer

television

television celebrity

the future of digital 2013

the new york times

time warner

time warner cable

traditional media

trending topics

twitter

viacom

yahoo