Tag Archives: ideas

Did you see Meet the Press on Sunday morning?

Posted on by
Reply

Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) participated in a bipartisan news conference to discuss the Senate health care bill in Washington on Sunday.

However, that wasn’t the most interesting part of the scene. The background for our Colorado Governor’s interview was a shot of a ski run in the Rocky Mountains taken this summer. Not only did that show how beautiful our mountains are for recreation in the summer, it also suggested that those ski runs are just as beautiful with snow and skiing in winter.

isguide_blackcanyon2

Using this photo of the Black Canyon isn’t nearly as appealing as the ski run in the summer.

The backdrop for Governor Kasich was the blue, Meet the Press background. What a missed opportunity for Ohio to showcase their state. AND brilliant use of the National stage to showcase Colorado.

You don’t need to be on television to use this media feature. These backdrops can be used in photographs, video (i.e., You Tube and Face Book videos), and during interviews. If you were to have media exposure, what would you want in the background to showcase your expertise? I would feature my Emmy. This represents my involvement in television and representation on the Regional and National Television Academy Boards. Right next to that would be my book.

Advertisement

The Most Expensive Strategies

Posted on by
Reply

The biggest difference between what you have now and your vision of what you want to have happen is time AND the right strategies. Of course, there are some really dumb ideas that don’t manage to take off and become successful. But generally, what stops you is time and an individualized plan with the strategies/tactics that work. Think about all those great ideas that were lost because they didn’t result in success.

Most expensive strategy

Recently, John Assaraf said that the most expensive strategy for building your business is doing it yourself. It will take that much more time to accomplish your goals. You’ll make the same mistakes that have been made by many, many other business owners. It costs you lost revenue when you don’t work with someone who can guide you to find the right strategies for your business. It all may be lost to time.

There’s no shortage of opportunities including a favorable time for dramatic growth. Never blame anything or anyone. Look at what you are doing and think bigger to achieve your vision.

Of course, first, you’ll have to find a way to identify those opportunities. Next, you’ll need to develop a strategic plan to exploit them. And then there’s the ongoing task of managing your new program to reach your new goals.

It’s a real challenge. No doubt about it. Imagine being able to shorten that list of things to do and reach your goal more quickly. Yes, Mariner Company is accepting new clients and rewards referrals.

According to the SBA, it often takes business owners three years to start up a business and get it to a point where it’s producing income. Imagine taking the shortcuts and knowing exactly what tactics will produce those big results. Imagine learning what to eliminate. Those are the wasters of time, money, and energy that produce little or no results.

Strategy: So get motivated for a fresh start, a new beginning, and a whole new reinvention of your life to change the results and gain success.

“Be a Leader. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.” Dale Carnegie

Are you ready to tap the magic of 26-hour days?

Posted on by
Reply
During a virtual seminar that I taught with 20 small business owners attending, we discovered the secrets to creating more time and balance in work and home life. We identified feeling overwhelmed about having too many things to do, constantly put out fires where other people decide what we do, and spending all their time on business and taking little time for fun.

Loading

According to Small Business Trends, business owners identified TIME as one of their biggest problems.
Few seem to have enough of it, even if they are working 60 hours a week or more. After working long hours for years, they begin to feel they have become a slave to their business … that it is running them rather than they running it.
If you are working more hours than you want and not feeling like it is getting any better, then consider some changes. What if you could initiate the 26-hour day?
Let’s not stop there. Why wish for only two more hours? Think bigger. Imagine having seven, 48-hour days each week. Would that make a difference in how you spend your time?
Carol Naff, Marketing Coach, taught that the first step is to think differently about time. What will it take to eliminate those days that are not productive? Eliminate those outside forces and external circumstances.
Become very clear about what needs to get done each day. Begin with the big picture of your vision and mission. Then write your plan of how to get there. Be certain to plan every 90 days and then continue to identify what strategies and tactics are most important and need to get done each week and each day. Choose to be responsible for how your day will go.
Then when you eliminate those days that are not productive, it’ll seem as though you have 48 hours in each day.
Strategy: Decide on only three things to do each week that will affect the impact on your vision the most. Identify your biggest problems in your business with this assessment at Marinerco.com
If you are not getting as much from life as you want to, then examine the state of your enthusiasm.
– Norman Vincent Peale
If you are self-employed and not talking to people, you are unemployed.

Kidding Around – Are you ready to have fun?

Posted on by
2

How quickly we lose the simple pleasures of childhood.

Plan now to have a great time when the weather is perfect for outdoor activities. Make sure you accomplish all that you hope to do. Now is a good time to plan for some fun before summer gets away from you. Yes, schedule these activities on your calendar.  We all need more childlike moments to balance our serious natures. This is the kind of carefree, timeless moment that children experience while having only one goal in mind ~~ FUN!  How quickly we lose the simple pleasures of childhood…. Kidding Around - Are you ready to have fun?

In the spirit of lightening up, here are some ideas that might help you to reawaken that little kid in you.

  • Buy a giant pad of paper and some pastels and schedule a time to draw, using your fingers to smudge the colors together. Buy several cans of Play-Doh and keep them in your office.  Create a new monster every week.
  • Spend an hour in the mountains noticing the height of the trees, the color of the grass, and the little pine cones, sticks, and rocks.
  • Close the shades, put on your favorite dance music and dance in your living room.
  • Get dirty. Go out and weed the yard, plant a tree, or simply dig holes in the dirt.
  • Visit a local toy store and spend some time picking out a favorite coloring book. Keep this book in your office and between your adult duties, steal some time each day to color.
  • Spend an hour sitting on the grass looking for a four-leaf clover.
  • Buy a hula-hoop and see if you can still swing it. Learn how if you never could.
  • Have a serious conversation with a dog.
  • Gather a group of friends for dinner and play musical chairs.
  • Grab a friend, buy a watermelon, and have a seed-spitting contest.
  • Buy a teddy bear and/or sleep with a stuffed animal.
  • Spend fifteen minutes mimicking your cat or dog.
  • Camp in the mountains and talk to the squirrels as the sun comes. Enjoy them as they throw pine cones at you and chatter away.

These are the kinds of things to create joy in your life. Do them for no other reason than to upset the apple cart of life and interfere with the rigidity of our daily lives.

Strategy: Create your JOY list of things you want to do for fun. What’s on your list for fun? Need more ideas?

Use content marketing for guaranteed results with proven easy strategies

Posted on by
Reply
Success with Content Marketing

Success with Content Marketing

Thanks! Thank you for your participation in Marcia Reece and my Power of the Media seminar last month. If you were unable to be there, you were missed.

Headline Analyzer – If  you were at the seminar, you now know the top 12 power words to use in your headlines and subject lines. We were able to analyze many of your power statements and improve your ratings. Now, based on what you know, write your top three sentences you would use if you were asked to describe what you do or what your business does. Pretend you are writing a subject line for an email, business social media post, or a headline for a media release. I will analyze them based on empathetic, intellectual, and spiritual marketing value. I will  share the results with you, and brainstorm with you to make them powerful. Contact CarolNaff@comcast.net for a special low-priced package to exponentially improve your headlines.

You will receive:
* Tips on writing copy that sells
* Learn how to write for your niche
* Analysis of your content
* How to obtain more favorable responses
* Website address so you can analyze your copy

As a bonus, visit CarolNaff.me for tips on how to get extra mileage on your media coverage after you receive it. Learn where and how to post links and videos of your media articles.

Remember, let me know if you’d like to send your three sentences to me to receive this valuable package. Contact me at CarolNaff@comcast.net.

Marcia and I had a blast spending our afternoon with many of you at our Power of the Media seminar. Please be sure to let us know of your successes. We are happy to promote your businesses as we can. Thank you so very much for giving us your time.

Have a wonderful holiday season.

Six Subtle Things Highly Productive People Do Every Day

Posted on by
Reply
Carol Naff, Marketing Coach

Wake up happy or cranky?

Ever feel like you’re just not getting enough done?

Do you know how many days a week you’re actually productive?

About three.

People work an average of 45 hours a week; they consider about 17 of those hours to be unproductive

These are some very good tips that Tim Ferriss, author of the international bestseller The 4-Hour Workweek wrote about in the Business Insider. Manage your mood and don’t check email first thing in the morning are just two pieces of advice. What do you think about the other ideas? Are you ready to try them?

Choose to be happy

Posted on by
Reply
Marketing Coach

Wildly exuberant people

Many people spend their lives waiting to be happy. You may say to yourself, “if only I had more money,” or “more time,” or you fill in the blank, then I would be happy. Well, here’s a secret: you can be happy right now. It’s not always easy, but you choose to be happy. In the vast majority of circumstances there’s no one who can stop you except  yourself.

The truth is, happiness doesn’t come from wealth, perfect looks, or even a perfect relationship. Happiness comes from within. This is why, if you truly want to be happy, you need to work on yourself, first.

Read the article published on HungryforChange.tv by Dr. Mercola here at 22 Habits of Happy People

Marketing Coach: Eliminate forgettable content in your blog

Posted on by
Reply
Marketing Coach Carol Naff

Be memorable

Take notice of what you remember and what sticks. Walt Disney didn’t just create another amusement park. He created an experience. What books stand out in your mind and you didn’t want the end to come? Watership Down was one of those books. Just recently I attended Creative Connections and someone told me that he hadn’t seen my enews around recently. That it is terrific. Hmm, just what I needed for motivation to get back in the swing with regular contributions. My intent in my blogs, carolnaff.me and solobizmarketing.com, and my enews is to help professionals. I hope it is memorable. Register at MarinerCo.com for your free copy.

Mark Hermann in Content marketing, Motivation, Standing out wrote sage advice on how to become memorable. In his blog, boostblogtraffic.com, he gives several (as a matter of fact, many) useful tips on becoming memorable. Become original and authentic. Create your own voice and art. Read the full article on Content marketing, Motivation, Standing out

In Mark’s studio, a framed poster on his desk fuels his imagination and speaks directly to this question. It’s from acclaimed filmmaker, Jim Jarmusch.

“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery – celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take them to.”

Then, take action. Nothing will happen until you take just one step forward. Keep writing your blogs, articles, enewsletters, tweets, and/or FB posts. You’d be surprised at who is following you and just waiting for the perfect time to buy your service.

American joy

Posted on by
Reply

 

America the Beautiful
Appreciate America