Becky Robinson's Blog, page 82

The Twilight Zone

Note from Becky: This post marks 600 posts on the Weaving Influence blog. Yes, 600! I started blogging at weavinginfluence.com in December of 2010, although the 600 posts published here also include several from my days blogging at LeaderTalk, with dates reaching back to April 2009. Since I often coach clients about blogging, I am feeling the weight of these 600 posts. I think, by now, I can safely say I know a bit about blogging. I’ll own that.

Here’s the welcome post I wrote to kick off  weavinginfluence.com. Here’s the most read post - it’s the most read because it is candy for Google, apparently. This one, the 2nd most read, is appropriate for today — ideas about how to celebrate social media milestones. Later this week, I’ll share a few lessons about blogging I learned from writing 600 posts. For today, though, let’s celebrate.

How am I celebrating? As a small thank you, I am giving away all my e-book resources for free. Go to 12minutemedia.com and enter the code 600FREE. Grab whatever you want. My most read resource is 31 Days of Twitter Tips, so if you aren’t sure what to choose, choose that. And tell your friends, please? 

I just downloaded FREE resources from @beckyrbnsn to celebrate 600 blog posts. Visit 12minutemedia.com and use the code 600FREE. Tweet Now!

This post, however, is not my writing. Instead, it comes from the guy we call Mr. Becky on this blog, my husband. This blog and my business would not exist without his support, but he is not a fan of social media channels himself, especially Facebook. Read more to find out why.

Season 3 of The Twilight Zone (1961) featured the story of a six-year-old boy named Anthony Fremont who appeared to be like any other child, but who had godlike powers. This episode was so popular and well-known that I remember to this day how Anthony terrorized his family and community, with not only his powers to change the world at his whim, but also to read people’s thoughts. It all culminated with Anthony reading his father’s mind and turning him into a jack-in-the-box, to everyone’s alarm.

Imagine the horror of living in a world where every thought was broadcast. Your secrets known, your dirt on display, all that is hidden uncovered. Consider what life would be like if your neighbors could hear every fight with your spouse or were aware of each time your children misbehaved. What if friends knew your stupid mishaps and received notice on their smartphone of your every fault?

Welcome to Facebook.

I carry a healthy loathing for Facebook and its ridiculous displays of immaturity and inanity. A favorite website of mine is lamebook.com, which chronicles the absurdities of people who freely tell the world their secret vices, arguments, and countless childish blunders with cries of “look how foolish I am.”

Remember the days when your folks said, “Let’s not fight here in public”? Now every fight is open and searchable. If a person wasn’t book smart, there used to be ways of hiding it. Facebook has a remedy for that: get in a heated argument with some idiot who claims that the sun is a star. Back in the day, Walmart was the only place to catch the exploits of unruly children and incompetent parenting. Any more, if you missed the empty threats to “take you outside and paint your back porch red” Mom has graciously posted every detail of today’s Mountain Dew-infused meltdown.

I’m not as smart as I try to convince people I am. I’m not as nice as I let others believe. There is a short list of 44,000 humiliating stories, any of which would keep me from ever showing my face in public. Somewhere in our house is a shoe box of embarrassing pictures that needs to remain in a shoe box.

I find that not looking like a clown is a full time job for me. That’s why I don’t have a Facebook page.

It’s What I Didn’t Do

Running a virtual business requires a high degree of connectivity. My clients are virtual; most of my team are virtual. To serve them well, I must stay connected via email and social media channels. I am nearly always tethered to my iPhone.

That my company is a social media one compounds the issue. If I’m going to preach the importance of showing up on social media channels (and believe me, I do), then I have to show up.

Toward the end of the day Friday, I had had ENOUGH.

I turned off my cell phone, people. Powered it off. I closed my laptop and closed my office door.

I can tell you about what  did this weekend, but it’s what I DIDN’T do that is more significant. I didn’t look at email — not once. I didn’t sneak a peek at Facebook or scroll through tweets. I. DIDN’T. DO. IT.

I did power my cell phone back on sometime Saturday morning, mostly because I wanted to contact friends about fun activities we might enjoy together. I may have answered a random text or two from my team.

But I DID NOT look at email or social channels. Not for a moment.

While sitting at the hair salon on Saturday, hands idle in my lap, it occurred to me how I’ve spent every other appointment mindlessly checking email and scrolling Facebook, which seems kind of silly now.

Leaving my phone in my purse — It was wonderful.

I loved my unplugged weekend so much, I might make it a monthly event. Because I took off an entire weekend and nothing catastrophic happened, I have hope that there may be a real vacation in my future (not a working one.)  I loved it so much, I found myself dreaming about reverting to a flip phone.

Because admit it — I’m not the only one who’s contemplated chucking my iPhone in a sewer or tossing it into a lake. Am I?

Featured on Friday: Tara Alemany

Today’s guest post comes from Tara Alemany, author of The Best is Yet to Come, which was released on November 8, 2013, and is available on Amazon. Congratulations, Tara! Like what you read today? Follow her on Twitter, visit her website, and don’t forget to buy her book.

It’s All About Community

For me, it started in 2009. I’d just lost my job and had to figure out “what came next” in a time where jobs were scarce. I was concerned that staying home all of the time would isolate me.

What was I going to do without a job or work?

I’d worked from home before, so that wasn’t so much the issue. My real concern was losing my community. The people I had spent the past 6 years of my life with were either losing their jobs too, or still going to work every day.

So, where was my new community going to come from?

Little did I know at that time, that social media would deeply connect me to a whole new network of people. Or that my presence there would open doors, create connections, and generate opportunities I had never even imagined before.

Or how those new connections I’d made would spider-web outward, introducing me to even more people.

Meeting Arvee Robinson at SANG (the Speakers and Authors Networking Group) last year led me to meeting Sheli Gartman, Lori Whaley and Terilee Harrison; three incredibly gifted speakers who are part of the Christian Women Speakers Movement that Arvee founded. From there, Terilee introduced me to Kate Wedell at an Embrace Real workshop Sheli was holding.

Social media also enabled me to keep up with the progress my friend, Barry Spilchuk, was making as he completed the publication of his newest book, THE cANCER DANCE.

And it enabled me to strengthen a chance, in-person meeting with Croix Sather, The Marathon Man, who ran 100 marathons in 100 days and gave a keynote speech every single one of those days.

Add to the mix my own personal friend (like in real life, without social media!), Carol Barnier, and I’m surrounded by people who have incredible, inspirational stories.

As I considered the launch of my new book, The Best is Yet to Come, I knew I wanted to be lining up as many speaking engagements as I possibly could. But my greatest hope for my book is that it touches the lives of as many people as possible.

I want to reach those who are struggling with a significant loss in their life. Through my own story, I hope to show them how to take any painful experience and change their perspective of it. It doesn’t need to be an anchor that holds them back. It can be a beautiful gift that enables them to live life knowing that the best is yet to come.

Thankfully, I am one of many people who have chosen to use past hardships in their lives in ways that will change the world.

So rather than simply tell you how to make that shift in perception, we’re going to show you how at The Survivors Summit.

The Survivors Summit is a 3-day virtual conference taking place November 19-21. All you need is access to a computer or phone line.

Whether or not you attend live, you’ll receive the complete set of replays with your conference registration. Or, you can purchase the replay to a single talk if that’s all you’re interested in.

Social media has taught me that the power of a community can change the world. I invite you to let this community of speakers change yours.

Featured on Friday: Tara Alemany {Guest Post}

Today’s guest post comes from Tara Alemany, author of The Best is Yet to Come, which was released on November 8, 2013, and is available on Amazon. Congratulations, Tara! Like what you read today? Follow her on Twitter, visit her website, and don’t forget to buy her book!

It’s All About Community

For me, it started in 2009. I’d just lost my job and had to figure out “what came next” in a time where jobs were scarce. I was concerned that staying home all of the time would isolate me.

What was I going to do without a job or work?

I’d worked from home before, so that wasn’t so much the issue. My real concern was losing my community. The people I had spent the past 6 years of my life with were either losing their jobs too, or still going to work every day.

So, where was my new community going to come from?

Little did I know at that time, that social media would deeply connect me to a whole new network of people. Or that my presence there would open doors, create connections, and generate opportunities I had never even imagined before.

Or how those new connections I’d made would spider-web outward, introducing me to even more people.

Meeting Arvee Robinson at SANG (the Speakers and Authors Networking Group) last year led me to meeting Sheli Gartman, Lori Whaley and Terilee Harrison; three incredibly gifted speakers who are part of the Christian Women Speakers Movement that Arvee founded. From there, Terilee introduced me to Kate Wedell at an Embrace Real workshop Sheli was holding.

Social media also enabled me to keep up with the progress my friend, Barry Spilchuk, was making as he completed the publication of his newest book, THE cANCER DANCE.

And it enabled me to strengthen a chance, in-person meeting with Croix Sather, The Marathon Man, who ran 100 marathons in 100 days and gave a keynote speech every single one of those days.

Add to the mix my own personal friend (like in real life, without social media!), Carol Barnier, and I’m surrounded by people who have incredible, inspirational stories.

As I considered the launch of my new book, The Best is Yet to Come, I knew I wanted to be lining up as many speaking engagements as I possibly could. But my greatest hope for my book is that it touches the lives of as many people as possible.

I want to reach those who are struggling with a significant loss in their life. Through my own story, I hope to show them how to take any painful experience and change their perspective of it. It doesn’t need to be an anchor that holds them back. It can be a beautiful gift that enables them to live life knowing that the best is yet to come.

Thankfully, I am one of many people who have chosen to use past hardships in their lives in ways that will change the world.

So rather than simply tell you how to make that shift in perception, we’re going to show you how at The Survivors Summit.

The Survivors Summit is a 3-day virtual conference taking place November 19-21. All you need is access to a computer or phone line. Whether or not you attend live, you’ll receive the complete set of replays with your conference registration. Or, you can purchase the replay to a single talk if that’s all you’re interested in.

Social media has taught me that the power of a community can change the world.

I invite you to let this community of speakers change yours.

Social Media Is Not The Enemy

Working in the world of local television news, social media was once seen as an enemy, just another thing added to a long list of things we have to get done by deadline.  There just wasn’t enough time in the day to get everything done and to have it done well! Unfortunately, the world changes and to keep up with it, we too must change.

I will say that adding social media to our workflow has been a challenge. Getting reporters to focus on putting their stories out on Facebook and Twitter ahead of their on-air deadlines is something even the newest and most modern reporters couldn’t get into their heads. Of course getting our on-air product should be the focus! We don’t want to give our competition a headsup on our stories! These were all complaints I listened to daily. They seemed very valid complaints at the time, but I’ve learned that instead of fighting change, we need to embrace the change.

Something I’ve learned about using social media is that it is a great tool for engaging your audience. Instead of just telling people what is happening, you can gain a greater depth of understanding of the fallout from certain situations. You can get a more personal touch on a story – finding the daughter of a murder victim who is crying out for justice, or a family that lost everything in a fire. Using social media, not only can we report the story, we can be part of the answer as well.

What I find the most useful when it comes to using social media is the open ended question. If you are posting on a topic that you want feedback on or shares, it’s vital to invite someone to do what you want. An example of how to spark conversation could be, “Government shutdown enters 15th day. What do you think needs to be done to get the government back on track?” Or perhaps, “A walk to cure diabetes is coming up next week. SHARE this post to let everyone know and get involved.” This is a proven way to increase hits and shares on your post.

People like to be engaged. They want posts that are interesting. Appealing to emotion or action are good ways to get people involved, whether it be a story or an event. In the news business, I find that if you post a story on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter, you need to be concise but get the vital information. If the words READ MORE… appear on your post, people aren’t interested. They will likely scroll past and keep reading. Grab their attention as quickly as possible. We need to tell them why this post would be interesting to them. We try to use this on a daily basis in the news, but it could be used in business as well. Say you have a fantastic product or service you’re trying to sell. You want to use the growing world of social media to capture attention and develop interest in what you’re doing. Like in advertising, you need to sell it to your customers.

Look for ways to grab attention in the fewest words possible. An even better idea is to use a picture to draw people in. Give them a reason to be interested. I’ve heard a lot of people tell stories about how they’ve got that one friend on social media who posts everything they do all day long… “I’m eating a sandwich now” or “Walking the dog.” These kinds of posts don’t draw people to what you have to say; rather, they cause people to avoid your posts. Instead, try to find the interesting angle on the action – for example, “I’m eating a sandwich now. I can’t believe the price of bread these days!” Or, “Walking the dog earlier – stumbled on this great place at the park.” The posts aren’t much longer, but now you’ve peaked interest, and you will start conversations, likes, shares, and even have people talking about you in the real world.

Something I’ve also found useful out of social media when it comes to television news. It takes our audience from something intangible – a faceless person out there – and lets them interact with us, gives them a chance to add the personality to the stories. The time we have on television is limited to the best and most compelling. Often, there are times when there are people in the communities affected by the stories we tell that we are not able to reach. Using social media, we are able to reach a much wider audience. An audience that can add perspective and insight, sometimes even help.

While many of us who worked in local news production for years fought the change of our workload and the addition of SOMETHING ELSE to do – we’ve long since embraced it and are trying to see it for the benefits it brings. There are more changes headed our way. Even social media won’t stay the same for long.

 

About the Author: Valerie Sullivan is an Orange County, NY native. She graduated from Concord University in 1999 and has worked in the world of local news production in Southern West Virginia for nearly 15 years. Her greatest accomplishments are her sons. You can find Valerie on Facebook and Twitter.

photo credit: Rosaura Ochoa

Featured on Friday: Deb Mills-Scofield

Curious about the Featured on Friday posts? Learn more.

We are so grateful for all of our clients and their decision to entrust their book launch or social media promotion to us. It’s an honor to be able to stand behind these amazing people and support their efforts through social media channels. However, over time, no matter how much you might enjoy certain aspects of your work, a job is still a job, and there are still going to be days when you would rather do something else… like grab a box of Dunkin’ Donuts Munchkins and curl up with a good book – without worrying that the content is too long for a tweet. But then you meet a client who quickly moves to the next level and becomes a friend, and you remember why you love this job, and you feel blessed to play a supporting role in their work. And that’s exactly how I feel about today’s Featured on Friday guest…

MEET DEB MILLS-SCOFIELD

Deb is one of the kindest, sweetest women who you will ever have the privilege to meet. She’s also one of the smartest. After she helped create a brand new concentration called Cognitive Science, Deb graduated from Brown University in just three years. She went on to work at Bell Labs where she designed and patented an integrated multimedia-messaging platform (don’t ask me what that means – I was an English major!). She’s now one of the top 40 bloggers on innovation, a mentor to young entrepreneurs, a college instructor, inspiring speaker, writer at Harvard Business Review, wife, mom, and a fan of the Maine coast. To read more, you should visit the About page on her website. You’ll be amazed at what this woman has already accomplished, as well as all that she continues to do.

WHERE TO FIND DEB:

CXO Talk - This is taking place on Google+ TODAY (Friday, Nov 8) at 3:00 pm (ET)!

Harvard Business Review – Control is for Beginners

Business Innovation Factory – Love and the network in an I-Thou world

Switch & Shift – Posts by Deb

Lead Change Group – Linked Posts

CONNECT WITH DEB:

Visit Deb’s website, follow her on Twitter and connect on LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google+.

WATCH DEB IN ACTION:

Watch Deb in action at #BIF9! If you can find 15 minutes in your day, I highly recommend listening to what she has to say, and not because she’s a client or a friend, but because I actually learned from it and I think you will too!

Share Your Thoughts: When and where did you first come across Deb? If you could ask her any question, what would you ask?

6 Ways to Improve Blog Post Visibility

If you have a blog, you want people to read it. You probably aren’t writing just for yourself, otherwise you’d keep it offline. And you probably want more than just your mom and few good friends to read it. You want people to comment and share it with others. And you would love to have it show up in Google searches – say, somewhere in the first two pages, rather than the 200th page.

So how do you make that happen? It involves one part SEO, one part categorization, and one part engagement. In simpler terms…

Choose a good title. Search engines look for keywords, and humans look for uniqueness. So combine the two. Choose a title that will catch people’s attention – but also something that includes a key term from your post. Think about what people search for. If you’re writing about a better way to peel potatoes, the title “Losing Appeal” might catch people’s eyes, but probably won’t show up when someone types “how to peel potatoes” into Google. Find a creative way to combine the two, and you’ll have a stellar title.

Add a relevant, high quality photo. When you skim through your news feeds, what catches your eye? Photos, right? We are turning into a more visually-stimulated society, and bloggers must be aware of that, whether they like it or not. Find a photo that relates to your topic somewhere like photopin.com (make sure you properly attribute everything!), or create a simple graphic yourself with a site like picmonkey.com. Think especially of what your readers will be likely to share: a single ugly, brown potato? or a beautiful layout of multi-colored spuds? or maybe even a graphic with a picture and the post title?

Add text to your photo. Unlike humans, search engines prefer words instead of pictures. So click on your image, and change the title to something other than the default “IMG 25843.” Describe the picture in a few words. Also, fill out the alternate text. It’s a good idea to use the main key word or phrase that your post is about – or at the very least, your post title.

Add a call to action. At the end of your post, tell your readers what you want them to do with that information. Do they need to go buy their own potato peeler? Then share a “buy here” link. Do you want them to share their favorite potato recipe? Ask them to leave a comment. Do you simply want them to share the article across their own networks? Give them a tweetable phrase, and ask (nicely) if they could share it with others. If you don’t ask, they probably won’t do it.

Add some meta data. Most blogs have a basic meta-data setting underneath the section where you write your post. This is gold to search engines, so make sure you fill it out! It doesn’t have to be complicated. This is where your chosen key word comes in handy – make sure the title and description box both include your keyword. Those two things are what will show up in Google searches. So make them readable. Keep your title concise (it’s okay if it’s different than your actual blog post title) and limit your description to under 150 words.

If there’s a place to add meta keywords, make sure you fill that out too. Think about what questions people might ask that would lead them to your post. For instance: “better potato peelers, how to peel potatoes, things to do with potatoes, red bliss, food preparation.” You can also include your post’s category and tags here, too.

Share across your social networks. But don’t share the same exact thing at the same exact time across all your accounts. Vary the wording a little, or ask an open-ended question that will draw people to read your post – for instance, “How do you peel your potatoes? Find some great tips here!” And spread it out. Not everyone is around at the same time each day. A good rule of thumb is to share it once in the morning and once in the evening on places like Facebook and Google+, and several times throughout the day on Twitter. 

 

Tell me something! How else could you improve your blog post visibility?

 

Elizabeth Johnson is an author and blogger, disciple of Christ, wife of a soldier, and fighter of Wegener’s Granulomatosis. She loves reading theology, savoring dark coffee, playing with words, and hiding away on mountain trails. Find her at DogFurandDandelions.com, where she shares encouragement for Christian living, and connect with her on Twitter or Facebook.

 

 

Image credit: scyther5 / 123RF Stock Photo

 

Featured on Friday: Mike Myatt

Curious about the Featured on Friday posts? Learn more.

If you haven’t picked up on it by now, allow me to let you in on a little secret: we get to know some amazing leadership experts in our work at Weaving Influence. We have the unique opportunity to read through their books and blogs and soak up their wisdom and experience while we offer advice on social media and book launches. It often feels like the more I read, the more I understand how little I know, but it’s a journey, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to learn from these amazing men and women. Today it’s my honor to introduce you to one of these leaders, currently preparing to enter a busy book launch season…

MEET MIKE MYATT

Mike is a leadership advisor to Fortune 500 CEOs and their Boards of Directors. He’s also the author of Leadership Matters…The CEO Survival Manual and Hacking Leadership (launching December 16, 2013), a Forbes leadership columnist, and serves as Chief Executive Officer at N2growth. When he’s not writing books and columns, running a business, or advising top-level executives, you can find Mike giving lectures and keynotes on topics of leadership and innovation. As you can imagine, he stays busy!

As I mentioned before, his new book, Hacking Leadership, is launching this December (with a couple of pre-order weeks between now and then). I’ve read a lot of leadership books over the last few years, and I have nothing but good to say about this book.  I would highly encourage you to download a free sample of Hacking Leadership today (no email address required)!

WHERE TO FIND MIKE:

N2Growth – Learn more about how they serve world class leaders

Forbes.com – The #1 Problem Every Leader Has But Isn’t Aware Of

Hacking Leadership Webinar – Register for the November 5th webinar (it’s FREE)

YouTube – Videos from N2Growth on Leadership

CONNECT WITH MIKE:

Visit Mikes’s website, pre-order Hacking Leadership on Amazon or check out the Bulk Buy offers, follow him on Twitter and connect on Facebook and Google+.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR MIKE?

Coming up next week, on Tuesday, November 5th at 12 pm (ET), Mike will be joining Becky for an hour-long Q & A. Sign up today, then join us on Tuesday and come prepared with your toughest leadership questions – Mike is up for the challenge! Remember, Mike regularly works with top CEOs and writes for Forbes, so this is a tremendous (FREE) opportunity to learn from a much sought after leader. In fact, why not bring a friend? Send a tweet now!

COMING IN DECEMBER:

If you enjoyed the sample chapter, go ahead and pre-order a copy or two this weekend! It’s available in hardcover or Kindle, and is full of great information to help you create your leadership roadmap. Want to tell your friends about it? We have a page of free resources to help you spread the word!

Share Your Thoughts: Will you be joining us on Tuesday for the webinar with Mike and Becky? What question would you like to have Mike answer?

Facebook: How to Leverage the EdgeRank System

Or, why having a large Facebook following is not enough…

You’ve spent months building up your social following on Facebook. You’ve run fan-gating promotions, optimized the images on your profile and even included social icons on all your marketing materials. Finally, you’ve reached your goal of 1,000 Facebook Fans! So what’s the problem? A little something we like to call EdgeRank.

Because there are over a billion users on Facebook, and the average user has over 100 friends, there is no way every post that is submitted can be displayed in one’s News Feed. Therefore, Facebook developed EdgeRank, a complex algorithm used to determine what content is displayed on News Feeds, in what order and to whom.

Basically (and I realize this may come as a shock to some of you), not all of your Facebook fans see your posts. In fact, only about 15% of them do. All that hard work for 1,000 fans and you can only reach to 150 of them?! It just doesn’t seem fair. You’re probably wondering what you can do about this. Unfortunately, there is no slaying the evil EdgeRank beast, but there are a few ways to boost your chances of being seen in News Feeds.

Be relevant and engaging. Although your Facebook fans enjoy your brand, they don’t want to hear about it all day, every day. It’s important that you create occasional posts just for fun. The goal here is to create something interesting and relevant to your audience which will spark engagement. Fill-in-the-blank statuses are great at doing this. For example, if you are a company reaching out to college students you could say something like: “My favorite thing about campus in the Fall is _______ .” You would be amazed at how many people feel the need to fill in a sentence like that! The more that people engage with your posts, the more valuable Facebook will deem it, and therefore the higher its EdgeRank will be.

Variety is the spice of life, and social media. Let’s face it, we live in a fast-paced visual world where people get distracted very easily. The goal of your Facebook page may be to gain readers for your blog, but if you are constantly posting text-heavy links to your content you will get overlooked. It’s important that you share a variety of content: videos, pictures, articles, quotes, etc. Show your audience that you’re a dynamic brand that has a lot to offer.

Beat them at their own game. If you plan on putting up a marketing message (and you want it to be seen by a large audience), then you’re going to have to play Facebook’s way. As consumers we are constantly being hit with marketing messages and we have become really good at blocking them out. If your audience thinks your post is telling them to open their wallets, they probably won’t hit the “like” button. So what happens to your post? It earns a low EdgeRank, gets swallowed up by Facebook and never sees the light of the News Feeds again. What’s my suggestion? Post something “cute and cuddly” in order to get your page’s affinity up, and then hit them with the hard sell. Essentially, you are tricking Facebook into thinking people really enjoy your content and want to see more of it.

Sure, it’s important that we continue to grow our audience size, but having a million fans is useless if our content never reaches them. Social Media is an ever-changing landscape whose future we can’t predict, but together we can achieve social success.

For more information on leveraging social media, visit this article by Daniel Kushner.

 

About the Author: Rachel Testa is a Kentucky native and a recent addition to the Weaving Influence team. She has a background in social media management and is passionate about the promotional process. When she’s not chasing the latest digital marketing trend, she enjoys reading, painting and spending time in nature.

 

photo credit: infocux Technologies

That Look

We’re trail running, in step, crunching yellow leaves with every foot fall. The trail looks so different from the last time we set out, so it’s almost like a new run.

I enjoy these talks, these runs, but we have silent moments, too — I need to conserve my energy and my breath so I can persevere through this longer distance.

Lately, all I seem to have to talk about is work.

I’m sure my running partner, Laura, has had her fill of my whining and stressing. Yes, I’ve been whining and stressing.

About the whining and stressing, it’s all growing pains, how to manage the increasing demand for my company’s services while still enjoying my children and family.

So as we run, I share 6 ideas about how I can fix my business. To be honest, of the six ideas, I really only like one or two of them, but I share them all as we run.

When I share number three, Laura turns to me and gives me that look.

That look says “Are you crazy?” That looks says “No way.”

And with her look, and the encouraging words that follow, I know she’s right. Of all the ideas I brainstormed to fix my business, number 3 is the one I couldn’t possibly pursue. Aside from the truth that no one would likely want to acquire my business, I am not building this business to sell out. I am building this business to make a difference.

“This business is yours,” she reminds you. “This is your baby. What else would you do?”

“Work for whomever buys me out,” I try.

“No, that’s NOT you.”

And in our ensuing conversation, I suddenly realize what a treasured friend Laura is. She really knows me — she knows and sees my drive, my ambition, my focus. She sees it; she identifies; she values it; she accepts it; she honors it.

I see it in her, too, and it’s why she’s the perfect friend/running partner — in drive, ambition, and focus, we are well-matched. As a result, on those days that I want to skip the run, she won’t let me. When she wants to stay home  because it’s cold and rainy, I don’t let her.

And when I want to give up, give in, quit, or sell out, she reminds me of who I really am, and why the most important thing I can do is keep going.