Becky Robinson's Blog, page 76

Featured on Friday: #MeetingsMatter

What are you doing next Wednesday?

If your answer isn’t, “Attending the FREE #MeetingsMatter webinar”, then listen up because this is a unique and exciting opportunity! On Wednesday, May 28th at 1 pm (EDT), Becky Robinson is hosting a free webinar with Kathryn Heath, one of the founding partners of Flynn Heath Holt Leadership. Kathryn will be discussing what she and her partners at FHHL found when they delved into why executive women say that they feel less effective in meetings than they do in other business situations. She will also be sharing advice on what women, and men, can do to step up their performance at the next meeting. Register today!

Meet the Speaker

Kathryn Heath is a founding partner at Flynn Heath Holt Leadership whose goal is to move women leaders forward faster. She serves as a developer of leadership programs, researcher, coach, and training designer. One of the hallmarks of Kathryn’s work is addressing organizations’ specific business targets through customized programs that move women forward faster.

Before she co-founded FHHL, Kathryn was Senior Vice President and Director of First University at the nation’s fourth-largest bank, First Union (now Wells Fargo), where her inventive and results-focused approach won her numerous awards in the field of learning and development. She created highly successful leadership development programs for high-potential employees – many of whom became the company’s top-most leaders. Additionally, during a period of explosive growth, Kathryn centralized training, expanded the tools and channels both onsite and remotely, and increased the training hours per person exponentially.

Discover the Book

In 2011, Jill Flynn, Kathryn Heath, and Mary Davis Holt published Break Your Own Rules: How to Change the Patterns of Thinking that Block Women’s Paths to Power. This book distills the six faulty assumptions (or “rules”) most women follow that get in the way of achieving their full potential—then delivers the correlating new rules that promise to clear that path all the way to the executive boardroom. Based on their research, years of coaching successful business women, and over 1,700 interviews with executives in Fortune 500 companies, Break Your Own Rules reveals how women everywhere can start to change the thinking that drives their actions—and start winning in greater numbers.

 Coming to the webinar? Read this first!

If you’re planning to attend the #MeetingsMatter webinar (don’t forget to live tweet using that hashtag), here’s some pre-event homework that will help you get the most out of the event. Flynn, Heath, and Holt were recently published in the June Issue of the Harvard Business Review. The article is now available online, and is the basis of what Kathryn Heath will be sharing next week as she talks with Becky Robinson. Read it this weekend and get your questions ready!

Invite Your Friends!

Planning to attend the webinar? Can’t make the webinar but know someone who would enjoy it? Send this tweet now to share the news!

Women – it’s time to Find Your Voice! Join @FlynnHeathHolt on May 28 and discover why #MeetingsMatter: http://bit.ly/MeetingsMatter

 

Quick Tip: Try Poll Everywhere

Bill Treasurer gave me some great advice regarding how to punch up my first keynote speech.

“Use a live poll,” he said. “Poll Everywhere.com. It’s easy and it will engage your audience and wow them.”

His advice? Spot on.

I signed up for polleverywhere.com, added three polls to my presentation, and tested out the software in advance.

Although I am admittedly fairly comfortable with technology, I think most anyone could use Poll Everywhere easily and flawlessly. I felt slightly nervous about trying something new in front of a large audience. I worried needlessly.

Here’s how it works: You create polls which you can embed into your presentations. Participants in your session use their cell phones to text their responses or post their responses through a website or Twitter. In real time, responses are tallied and updated within your slide deck.

When I presented my closing keynote using Poll Everywhere in late March, my final slide included an open-ended question. I asked participants to share their action items from the event. This question elicited some powerful responses.  It engaged the audience. They took action. They looked at the screen in anticipation of seeing their answers displayed.

Using Poll Everywhere elevated my presentation, one which I spent considerable time preparing and creating, from good to outstanding. The interactivity of the polls made me and my message more memorable.

If you are a speaker looking to increase your effectiveness in presenting, I encourage you to try Poll Everywhere. The price (yes, I paid for the service) is worth the investment. I will definitely use it in my future presentations.

Polleverywhere is used in corporate settings, educational settings (my daughter’s Algebra teacher uses it), and at conferences everywhere.

You can also use it on the web… let’s try it. Click here to take my poll about using presentation software. (I created that poll in seconds…)

Tell me something! What do you add to presentations to create the WOW factor?

photo credit: marc.thiele

Featured on Friday: Meet Our PR Team

When Becky Robinson started Weaving Influence in 2012, she had a vision for using social media to promote authors and thought leaders. As she grew the team of contractors (you can read her post from earlier this week to see how I joined up), her vision also grew – eventually including in-house graphic design, web development, and public relations.

Last summer Megan Constantino joined the team as our first Public Relations specialist, moving quickly to bring first class PR support to our existing clients. She likes to describe herself as “scrappy” when it comes to putting our clients in front of the media – both local and national, and over the last year she has worked diligently to build media connections and relationships with top tier media outlets.

One of Megan’s proudest achievements is landing regular posting opportunities for Chip Bell at Entrepreneur, something that she credits as much to Chip’s responsiveness as she does to her own tenacity.

“Building on what Becky is famous for saying, I think the magic happens in every realm when clients show up, but this is particularly true in PR.”

Megan says that in her experience, there is nothing more appealing to media outlets than a fresh piece of writing, even if it’s just a short 3-5 sentence paragraph. After securing Entrepreneur for Chip, she went to work on behalf of Karin Hurt, successfully cold calling Forbes for an interview based on Karin’s new book, and landing Karin her own stand-alone article with Entrepreneur.

“I feel like Chip and Karin work harder than I do on PR! They respond in real time, meeting the PR team halfway, and have experienced great success because they can speak on a variety of sub-topics under their umbrella of expertise.”

In February of this year, Ashleigh Tweedie joined the team, doubling the size of our PR department. Ashleigh majored in public relations and says she really appreciates the opportunity to not only put her degree to work, but to do it under the guidance and mentoring of a seasoned professional like Megan. Calling Megan her “role model”, Ashleigh has already landed plenty of press during her short tenure with Weaving Influence.

She lists working with clients and landing opportunities as her favorite parts of the job, and Ashleigh’s enthusiasm for her work is obvious.

“Every single PR strategy is personalized for the client. We find what works best for them and then move forward from there. Even though it might look completely different than the strategies Chip or Karin use, we know that success is finding the sweet spot for the individual client and landing media that will help them reach their goals.”

Highlighting the fact that every PR plan is unique, Ashleigh enjoys talking to the clients, figuring out what they need, what they want, and then how we can achieve that for them. She shared that flexibility is one of the keys to the Weaving Influence public relations success, and notes that finding common ground is important when working with our clients. Not everyone will fit with every media outlet, but her goal isn’t to connect with every outlet, just to find an “in” with the outlet that will work the best for the client’s overall strategy. That would be what we would call a “win”.

Planning a book launch for Fall 2014 or Spring 2015? We’d love to connect with you and explore how our full-service book launch team can be a part of helping you reach success. Contact us today!

Looking to Hire Great Team Members? Consider Twitter

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I start (nearly) every day with the same tweet: “Good morning. Who’s awake?” Over the years, this tweet has produced some interesting conversations, helped me make some key connections, and provided a way for me to ease into my work day.

By far, the most important connection I’ve made through sending that tweet is the one I made with Carrie Koens, who recently marked two years of subcontracting with Weaving Influence. On April 27, 2012, Carrie responded to my tweet, which started a conversation…

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Which led to a Direct Message…

Which led to kindnesses…

…which led to more conversations and Carrie becoming a permanent member of my growing team.

I tend to trust my gut with hires, sometimes skipping the typical steps you should take (checking references, reviewing resumes.) In some situations, I will admit that trusting my instincts has been an abysmal failure.

In getting to know Carrie, I read her blog and talked to her by phone. That’s it. So off-the-wall was our connection, that her husband didn’t believe it was a legitimate job until she received her first paycheck in the mail.

I can say without question that my business would not have developed the way it has without Carrie’s dedication, discipline, conscientiousness, focus, and diligence.

And it all started early one morning, on Twitter.

It shows me that the story of my business is much bigger than me — it is the story of the people God is bringing together, in sometimes miraculous ways, to do great work together.

I am so grateful for Carrie and the ways her life and work have blessed my life and business.

I’m not sure you can replicate the results of my early morning tweet, but Twitter can be a great place to make connections that can lead to great opportunities.

Tell me something! Have you ever hired someone you met on Twitter? If you have worked with Carrie, what do you most appreciate about her?

Featured on Friday: Meet Team Member Joanna Jones!

Becky Robinson, author Bev Kaye, and Joanna at ASTD

You’ve already met Amy, Rachel, Christy, Elizabeth, and Megan, but today I am so pleased to introduce you to another behind-the-scenes member of our team.

You may recognize her name if you’ve been a part of our recent book launch teams. Joanna is the sweet person behind the emails and follow-up that you receive, and she’s a true delight to have on our team. I’m amazed at how much she accomplishes while taking care of a toddler and a newborn! She puts me to shame, and is a definite inspiration with her time management skills.

Meet Joanna Jones

Tell us a little bit about yourself, Joanna:

Born and raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which means I am a die-hard Bronco fan, despite their abysmal Super Bowl Performance. I come from a large family and hope to have one myself. I am married to a worship pastor and we play house with our two kiddos, a dog who is afraid of the toaster, a cat who thinks she is a dog, and my daughter’s two fish, whom she affectionately named Mickey and Donald. 

Do you have any quirks that you want to share?

I hate it when my food touches other food. I love the plates with sections normally used for little kids, and if a meal is served with bread, I usually use it as the buffer between two runny things so their juices don’t mix. The only exception to this is Thanksgiving, during which the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and bread all get unified into one tasty blob thanks to gravy.

When you get downtime, what do you enjoy doing?

Reading, drinking coffee, and family dates.

Tell us a little bit about your WI experience (when did you start, what do you enjoy, your title, etc.)…

I have been working with Weaving Influence since February of 2013, and my favorite part of the job is the times we step away from work talk to do life together. I love the times when we share with each other via Facebook or email or whatever things that are going on in our lives, and I find great joy in knowing that I work with a wonderful group of people who all often take time in their day to pray for one another. My official title at the moment is operations, although it doesn’t really fit all that I do. I am trying to convince Becky to give me the title Jack of All Trades, Master of Nothing. 

Do you have a social media tip you would like to share with our readers?

When tweeting, just deal with the fact that 140 characters often prevents you from being grammatically correct. Breathe. It’s okay. Life will go on.

Thanks, Joanna! We love having you on the team! If you’d like to connect with Joanna online, you can  find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

May 2014 Leadership Development Carnival

Five years ago, I started blogging about leadership on a blog called LeaderTalk. Many of the bloggers on today’s list supported my early efforts. In fact, Dan McCarthy, who generously offered us the opportunity to host this month’s carnival, was one of the first bloggers to give me a shout-out. It’s not a stretch to say that I would not be where I am without the support of many of the folks included in this carnival, people who welcomed me to this leadership blogging community. Thank you! You have made my life better. I am a better leader today because of you! 

Today’s carnival features some seasoned leadership bloggers with some excellent post as well as some new voices in the space. I hope you’ll take the time to read settle in and learn from all these contributions and then share these posts (and the carnival) with your online communities. 

Big thanks today to Carrie Koens, who has worked with me for two years here at Weaving Influence. She did all the heavy lifting on this post, curating the posts and links. We highly recommend that you follow these talented leaders (if you aren’t already) on Twitter and add them to a leadership list. 

Anna Farmery (The Engaging Brand) is sharing a tip this month in Here’s An Easy Way To Become A Better Leader, “Leadership can be hard because we grow our busy-ness, yet our business growth doesn’t increase at the same rate. Here is a tip that I have used for the last few years…” Find her on Twitter @engagingbrand.

Annamarie Lang (Talent Management intelligence) shares What the Basketball Court Taught Me About Empowerment and says, “Empowering others wasn’t easy as a basketball coach—and it won’t be for leaders in organizations either—but when done well, there is the possibility of great things!”

Anne Perschel (Germane Insights) asks 3 Inspirational Leadership Types: Which One Are You? “As a leader, how do you inspire people to act, but how do you do that? Discover the three inspirational leadership types and learn which one you use best.” Follow her on Twitter @bizshrink.

Art Petty (Management Excellence) shares Just One Thing: Cultivate Your Project Leadership Skills. “Given the import of projects in our workplace today, it’s essential for all of us to cultivate the skills needed to cultivate high performance with groups called together for temporary and unique (projects) endeavors.” Excellent points! Follow Art on Twitter @artpetty.

Beth Miller (Executive Velocity) says, “Leaders can be crippled by their concern that sharing bad news will lead to panic amongst employees. A commitment to internal and external transparency, and the practice of sharing both the good and the bad, can prevent small problems from becoming full-blown crises.” You can find more in her post, Why You Can’t Be Trusted Unless You’re Transparent. Find her on Twitter @SrExecAdvisor. 

Chery Gegelman (Simply Understanding Blog) shares, “This post contains a real example of a frontline employee that owned something way outside of his job title and made a lasting difference.  (Yes – You really can lead change, no matter where you sit!)  Who would you rather work with:  People who choose to be a part of the solution or people who choose to be a part of the problem?” Keep reading: Ignoring It, Fussing about It, or Owning It. Follow Chery on Twitter @GianaConsulting.

Chip Bell (Chip Bell) recently posted The Pursuit of Significance in Mentoring on Careers in Government where he says, “Mentoring is not about the transmission of expertise or the conveyance of knowledge; it is about the fostering of insight—the light that goes on inside the mind of the protégé.  Insight leads to understanding, not merely retention; wisdom, not rote competence.” Follow him on Twitter @ChipRBell.

Dan McCarthy (Great Leadership) discusses what sets a great leader apart in his submission, You Can be a Tough Leader and not be an S.O.B. . “They can be demanding, have high expectations, and push their teams to their upper limits. But they do it in a way that a way that makes people feel valued; that their ideas and work matters, and enables people to achieve more than they thought was possible.” Find him on Twitter @greatleadership.

Dana Theus (InPower Consulting) poses an interesting question to all leaders: “We often give advice to leaders, ‘Be bold!’ Why?” In Being Bold at Work, Dana shares her reason for encouraging others to BE BOLD. Follow her on Twitter @danatheus.

Erik Samdahl (i4CP) submitted a post on behalf of Cliff Stevenson entitled The Keys to Successful Business Strategy Execution. “Make strategy execution an organization-wide effort. Too often, the strategic plan is considered the exclusive purview of the C-suite.” Follow @i4cp.

Frank Sonnenberg (Frank Sonnenberg Online) offers a helpful Leadership Scorecard graphic for us this month. “What are the qualities of a great leader? How do you rate?” Lots of great links and information in this post. Follow Frank on Twitter @FSonnenberg. 

Jeff Harmon (Jeff’s Blog) says Leaders Must Ask for Their People’s Fine China. “A willingness to trust is critical to a relationship in which your shared work can thrive.  As you work to lead a person, team or organization, what you really want is for them to place the “fine china” of their life in your hands.”  Follow him on Twitter @jeffdharmon74.

Jennifer V. Miller (The People Equation) gives this summary of her post: “Jennifer V. Miller recalls a watershed moment in her leadership journey when she discovered that her much-admired boss was capable of causing great disappointment.” Don’t miss reading about her experience in There is No Such Thing as an Ideal Leader. Find her on Twitter @JenniferVMiller.

Jesse Lyn Stoner (Seapoint Center) says, “An emergent, non-hierarchical view of leadership makes the most sense in today’s complex world. But emergent leadership without supporting practices will spiral into chaos. These 4 practices provide the vehicle that enables leaders to move forward smoothly.” See what 4 practices she suggests in The 4 Practices of Successful Flat Organizations. Follow on Twitter @JesseLynStoner.

Jill Malleck (Epiphany at Work) asks an interesting question this month: Do you pass the sniff test? “You may underestimate the long-term impact of failing the sniff test. Trust, once lost, is difficult to regain. Worse, you may not even know you’ve failed, losing your chance at recovery and adding to the level of cynicism on your team.” Follow Jill on Twitter @epiphanyatwork.

Jim Taggart (Changing Winds) has submitted Six Enablers to Building Organizational Change Adaptability. In it, he says, “One of the cornerstones of strong teamwork is interdependency among the team’s members. Without it, it’s impossible to have a team. Interdependency of effort is a necessary condition.” Indeed it is! Find Jim on Twitter @72keys.

Joel Garfinkle (Career Advancement Blog) shares 9 New Leader Essentials – Get Up & Running Fast! “If you have stepped into a new position, your leadership role needs to be up & running quickly in order to succeed. Here are essential qualities that will guide you in your new role.” Helpful advice for anyone at any level. Find him on Twitter @workcoach4you.

John Hunter (Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog) says, “What is beneficial is a management system that demonstrates how the organization maximizes the ability of people to contribute to continually improving the success of the organization.” Continue reading about this in Steve Jobs on Quality, Business and Joseph Juran. Follow John on Twitter @curiouscat_com.

Jon Mertz (Thin Difference) asks an interesting question in his post: “Do you prefer a tested or inspiring leader?” And his response: “A blend may be required. Whatever quadrant a leader falls within, the goal is to strengthen our leadership skills and prepare ourselves to lead in any situation.” Continue reading Tested Leader or Inspiring Leader: What Is the Right Blend? Follow him on Twitter @ThinDifference.

Julie Winkle Giulioni (Julie WG) has shared, How Well-Populated is Your Pipeline? She says that, “perhaps it’s time to evaluate leaders by the most crucial output for which they’re responsible: the quality of their followers.” Now there’s some food for thought! Follow her on Twitter @Julie_WG.

Kathy Cramer (Dr Kathy Cramer) says, “In order to inspire, leaders must be self-confident and optimistic. Your own emotion is what will move and touch listeners. They will feel what you feel.” Don’t miss Get Them Excited! 4 Best Practices for Enrolling Others. Follow Kathy on Twitter @DrKathyCramer.

Lisa Kohn (The Thoughtful Leaders™ Blog), presents 5 ways to take back your power. “Giving your power away is not a good feeling. But it’s a feeling you can work through and hopefully avoid for the future. Take back your power now.” Find Lisa on Twitter @ThoughtfulLdrs.

Mark Miller (Great Leaders Serve) says, “Hope, and the ability to generate it, is a big part of what we do as leaders. But the truth is, at some point, we must deliver. Hope without progress is unsustainable. It actually fades rather quickly.” Continue reading ONE WORD… HOPE. Follow Mark on Twitter @LeadersServe.

Mary Ila Ward (The Point Blog) shares The Key to Motivating Others: Make them want to be better by buying them bloomers. “You motivate other through demonstrating the actions you want to see take place. Not because you are trying to manipulate them into action, but because you care. People are first. You demonstrate this and your results are multiplied because they, in turn, take on the People First mindset as their own, turning to more and more action.” Follow her on Twitter @maryilaward.

Mary Jo Asmus (Aspire-CS) is Inspiring Team Vitality in her post today. “Can you imagine what it would be like if there were more positivity and vitality in your team? What would you see people doing and how might it impact your business? What can you do to lead your team to be more vital and energetic?” Follow Mary Jo on Twitter @mjasmus.

Meg Bear (Meg Bear’s Leadership Blog) has submitted her post, Get a plan to increase your confidence. “Studies are pointing to a confidence gap as a reason for a lack of equality for women in Senior Leadership.  In this blog I attempt to provide practical suggestions on how to increase your confidence.” Find her on Twitter @megbear.

Michael Lee Stallard (Michael Lee Stallard) joins up with his post on 6 Needs to Thrive at Work. “Are you performing at the top of your game at work? Or are you struggling, losing interest, or so stressed that you’d just like to walk away?” I’m pretty sure we’ve all faced this situation as one time or another. Follow him on Twitter @michaelstallard.

Neal Burgis, Ph.D. (Practical Solutions) says, “In order to create breakthrough results, leaders and their organizations must use their critical thinking skills for questions that spark their innovation of thriving beyond where they are now.” Continue by Asking the Right Questions to Create Breakthrough Results. Find Neal on Twitter @exec_solutions.

Nick McCormick (Joe and Wanda on Management) shares his post, The “I’s” Don’t Have It. “If we remember that “it’s not all about us” we’ll be good leaders and we may live longer.“

Randy Conley (Leading with Trust) points out that, “just like computers, our approach to leadership can become bogged-down and less effective over time.” In this fun article, Randy shares how you can reboot your leadership style by using Ctrl+Alt+Delete – 3 Steps to Reboot Your Leadership Style. Find Randy on Twitter @RandyConley.

S. Chris Edmonds (Driving Results Through Culture) describes how great bosses make it easy for teams and members to perform well and behave well in Clear the Path. As Chris says, “don’t try to address all the hurdles – simply create a formal pathway to high performance and values alignment.” Follow him on Twitter @scedmonds.

Steve Roesler (All Things Workplace) explains that, “We live in a time where saying ‘yes’ seems like participative leadership. But saying ‘no’ leads to real trust.” Read more about how to Build Trust By Saying “No”. Follow Steve on Twitter @steveroesler.  

Susan Mazza (Random Acts of Leadership) says, “There are a lot of things we take for granted, including our skills. There are also those talents and abilities that we take for granted, over-relying upon their presence, and it might just be costing us our effectiveness.” Find out more by reading What Skills and Abilities Are You Over-Relying On? Find Susan on Twitter @susanmazza.

Wally Bock (360 Degree Feedback Blog) is letting the cat out of the bag in Leadership Development at GE: It’s no secret.  “Leadership development is something General Electric is famous for. They’ve been growing great leaders for over a century. [...] The secret is that there is no secret. Here are five things I think make the GE process produce the results everyone envies.” You won’t want to miss this post. Follow him on Twitter @wallybock.

Featured on Friday: Bob Thompson

If we were chatting in real life and I asked about your worst customer service experience, I would bet that you could come up with at least one story to share. My “never again” list includes a major airline and a cell phone company. But it can go both ways, and I’ve also had some very pleasant experiences which I’m quick to share about through social media.

As we work with customers and clients, our goal is to provide the kind of service that we would like to receive – the kind of service we want people to talk about. If you’re involved in sales, leadership, management, or customer-centric work, you may already be familiar with CustomerThink.com and the man behind it. But… did you also know he was preparing to launch a book on the subject?

Meet Bob Thompson

Bob is founder and CEO of the research and publishing firm CustomerThink Corporation, and the editor-in-chief of CustomerThink.com, the world’s largest online community dedicated to helping business leaders develop and execute customer-centric business strategies. An author, keynote speaker and international authority on business management trends, he has been a thought leader in customer-centricity since 1998. Before starting his firm, Thompson held sales and technical leadership positions at IBM, where he advised companies on the strategic use of information technology to solve business problems and gain a competitive advantage.

Bob’s new book, Hooked on Customers, takes a fresh look at customer-centric business management, exploring what he has identified as the five key organizational habits that enable any company to execute its business strategy more effectively and, ultimately, to outperform its competitors. 

Connect with Bob Online

Follow Bob on Twitter @Bob_Thompson, and find him on LinkedIn and Google+. 

Join the Launch! June – 13, 2014

We’re excited about being a part of Bob’s book launch team, and it’s time to give you the opportunity to get to know him better and participate in building the buzz this June. If you are interested in being involved in the promotion of Hooked on Customers - including interviewing Bob, receiving a guest post, or reviewing the book – please take a minute fill out THIS FORM. As we get closer to the launch, someone from our team will be in touch with additional information and promotion materials. 

Ready to start promoting now? Go ahead and Send This Tweet! 

I’m excited about building the buzz for #HookedOnCustomers by @Bob_Thompson! http://bit.ly/HOC_Amazon

4 Ways to Make Anything Easy

Midway through the marathon course (26.2 miles), I found myself at the top of what felt like the largest elevation increase on the course, not a BIG hill, but a hill nonetheless.

Up that steady incline, I ran with Kate, a woman I met at mile 1 and waved on to run at her own pace. Kate, also a first time marathoner, chatted happily and waved back to me as the distance between us grew. Soon, I couldn’t even see her up ahead.

When I met up with her again at mile 17, we talked awhile and kept pace for a few miles. We faced the wind together and parted ways at the top of the hill.

Sharon waited for me at mile 19.

“You look great,” she said. “You make it look easy.”

And I did feel great. I was running with relative ease and, more importantly, I’d been running steadily — sticking to my plan, feeling strong. When Sharon jumped on the course to keep me company through the last 7 miles, I felt grateful for her friendship and company but didn’t need her, as I’d expected to, to help me power through to the end of the race.

In the early miles, I ran alone, watching a stream of people pass me as I purposefully slowed my pace. Nearing the last third of the race, I started passing people instead, because I kept running when others walked, maintained my pace when others lagged.

Somewhere along the line, someone gave me this advice about completing the marathon: trust your training.

If you train well, any task can be easy.

My 7 year old daughter Maggie is in first grade. She loves math. She thinks multiplication is easy. Why? She’s practiced, studied, and reviewed her basic facts enough that they are automatic.

I think getting up at 5 am is easy. I’ve done it for so long and so consistently that it is like second nature. No alarm clock needed. I just get up.

I think blogging is easy. I’ve blogged for over five years and, though I may not be the best or most read blogger, I can handle the technical aspects of posting to my blog effortlessly and can generate ideas and write copy without stress.

Any task repeated, with practice and discipline, becomes easier.

Training for the marathon was not easy. I had a disciplined regime of runs during the week and I ran one long run, increasing in distance, on the weekends.

During my training, I completed a 15.5 mile training race that felt far more difficult than the marathon itself. I felt like quitting. I felt discouraged. I even considered trashing the whole idea of the marathon when, after the run, I felt nauseous and depleted. Later, I realized that I let the excitement of the day propel me to a far-too-ambitious pace. I didn’t have any fuel, so I felt my stomach growl through the race and ended the race with low blood sugar. That 15.5 mile training run was really HARD.

That training run helped me see that I need to start more slowly and fuel regularly. I trained myself to know how to run at a slower pace and when to refuel with energy chews.

I trained myself to be mentally strong. I focused on positive thoughts. I chose to view every mile of the race as a gift.

One foot in front of the other, I ran. One mile after the other.

It was not effortless, but it was relatively easy. Far easier than I had expected.

Here is how you can make anything, even a 26.2 mile run, easy:

Do the work. Whatever you hope to accomplish will require hard work and training. That part is never easy. However, if you do the work, with repeated practice and training, that big thing, whatever it is, will become easier.

Mentally prepare. I ran a 5K race with my oldest daughter last year. From nearly the first step, she expressed her doubts about her ability to run. If you allow yourself to dwell on negative thoughts, complaining and doubting, your tasks will become exponentially more difficult. Choose instead to focus on your strengths and abilities, with ruthless determination, and your mental strength will propel you to accomplish what you once thought impossible.

Learn from your training. Training is not easy. It is very hard work. Along the way, you will learn important lessons about yourself that can help you become better. As you apply those lessons, you can adjust your approach and improve so that when your big day comes, you will be better equipped for whatever you face.

Run your own race. I am not a super fast runner and I don’t have to be. Running a marathon at my own perfect pace was relatively easy. If I had tried to run much faster, I would have had a very difficult time. Whatever you hope to achieve, it will be less burdensome if you allow yourself to run at a pace that fits your fitness and ability. I don’t try to run with the elite runners. I don’t try to stay with the fast pack. I run my miles at my own pace, in my own time.

What do you hope to achieve? If it seems difficult, remember that anything can be easy, if you train properly, mentally prepare, and approach the task with the pacing that is best for you. And when you train well, you will find that the journey is easy and joyful.

12 Hours Until I #RunToledo

Tomorrow morning, I will achieve a goal I’ve thought about for nearly 15 years.

Months before my 30th birthday, I stepped up my running and began training for a full marathon. My goal at the time was to run a marathon prior to my milestone birthday. I remember waking up before work and running nearly every day, until the morning I woke up feeling queasy and stayed in bed, instead. I put my marathon dreams on hold when I found out I was pregnant with our first child.

Now I’m almost 43 and my oldest daughter is nearly 13. I’ve run 3 half marathons in the intervening years but never run a full marathon.

I started training for this race just after Christmas and I’ve received so much encouragement and support — it’s been truly amazing.

I asked my Twitter and Facebook friends for some last minute encouragement and advice and I thought I’d share some here, to remind myself as I mentally prepare and to encourage any of you, who are training, planning, or dreaming of a marathon.

Just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
 Remind yourself why you are doing it and how far you’ve come.
 People succeed because they give up what they want right now in favor of what they want the most.
Completion is victory. It’s not about how fast you go. Do your best and you are a winner!
 Stay hydrated and stay cool.
Go get em.
Aim high on the road…
You are lighter than air. We are wind on back!
Stick to your plan – race day adrenaline can trip people up causing them to go out too fast.  
Trust your training!
When you hit those spots and need a little mental push, pick someone in front of you and make your goal simply to catch up and pass him or her. Then pick your next target…and your next target. Amazing how just having that little goal puts a little more energy when you think you have little in the tank. 
 Just finish. It’s okay to have a time goal, but just focus on finishing.
Feed the positive dog.
Just do it.
No one is given their destiny, you must choose your destiny.
Remember that God is your strength.
Find joy in the journey!
When it starts to hurt (and it will). When your mind starts to fatigue (and it tries to convince you to stop). Simply remember this, “Pain is temporary, pride is forever”
Run, Forrest, Run!
You can used to anything, even hangin’, if you live long enough!
 The only one who can tell you “you can’t” is you, and you don’t have to listen.
You’ll burn like 30,000 calories which means you can pretty much eat what you want for a year.
One foot in front of the other.
Remember, the finish line is proof of your strength.
There are two kinds of pain in the world, sacrifice or regret. You choose.
I don’t give up when I’m tired, I give up when I’m done.
Do it for those who no longer can.

Yesterday, I got my last bit of encouragement, via a text message from my nephew: a favorite scripture.

And though I may be running my marathon on my own, I will not be alone! I am surrounded by all of you, and when I run strong, it will be with your encouragement whispering in my ears. Thank you!

P.S. Big thanks to Brian Sooy (author of Raise Your Voice) for the beautiful graphic!

Featured on Friday: 2014 Berrett-Koehler Author Event

Last year I had the opportunity to travel to Atlanta for the Berrett-Koehler Book Marketing Workshop. Because the Weaving Influence team works remotely, my time in Atlanta for this event allowed me to actually work next to the “boss lady” (a.k.a. Becky Robinson) for two days, meet clients face-to-face (rather than email), and as an added bonus, sneak in a quick trip to the Dwarf House for some lemon pie.

Another bonus was the opportunity to learn from fellow authors and book marketers about the best way to promote yourself, your books, and your message. My favorite speaker (outside of Becky, of course) was Simon Bailey. Not only did he keep me in stitches, but he encouraged me to continue to make connections and set bigger goals. Just because you reach one dream doesn’t mean you need to stop looking for more.

I was also able to meet members of the Berrett-Koehler staff (pictured above, along with Becky and me), who were all equally delightful and stood ready to help and support those who were ready to take the next step in publishing. If you’re considering a publishing house for your manuscript, talk to the folks at BK.

See it for yourself!

July 17-18, you have the opportunity to hear from book marketing experts, authors, and leaders at the 2014 Book Marketing Worshop held in beautiful San Francisco. I would highly encourage you to sign up now and make plans to attend this important and helpful event. Take advantage of being in the presence of published authors and book marketing experts, ask questions, and plan to take notes because there’s a lot to take in in a short amount of time.

Share the Invitation

What could be better than attending this event? Attending it with a friend! Pick up the phone or send an email to a friend or colleague who has been talking about writing a book for far too long. Invite them to join you in San Francisco as the first step towards making their book dream a reality. If you want to invite your online connections there are graphics to use, tweets to send, and ideas for spreading the word – all found HERE. Check it out today!

Don’t Forget:

Register
Share

I won’t be able to attend the event this year, but I hope to hear from many of you who did, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have attended last year.

You Tell Me! Have you been to a BK Marketing Event before? What did you enjoy the most?