The Zen of Success – Connectedness
Published June 22, 2010 | 
People who live from paycheck to paycheck normally keep close ranks socially, they tend to stick to family and close friends, while the Successful open their circles to anyone including neighbors, colleagues, and friends of friends, anyone 
who might be an ally financially or in business, and that means not only joining the appropriate groups, but putting yourself out there as a Leader.
It is part of the human DNA in each one of us that we connect with others, and most of us feel strongly that things happen for a reason, many are sure of it, sure of it because in their soul they know that we are all connected. The Successful understand that yes, we are individuals, responsible for our own judgments and in possession of our own free will, but nonetheless we are part of something larger, and the more connected among us are part of something even larger again.
Some might call it the collective unconsciousness, while others have labeled it kindred spirits or life force, but whatever 
your word of choice, the Successful gain confidence from understanding and knowing that we are not isolated from one another or from the earth, and the life on it.
Successful Entrepreneurs understand well that this feeling of Connectedness implies certain responsibilities, and as we are all part of a larger picture, we must not harm and seek to take unfair advantage of others in business because we will be harming ourselves, we must not exploit because we will be exploiting ourselves, any success quickly fades, and our awareness of these responsibilities actually creates our value system.
The Successful understand that being connected requires commitment and being proactive – it’s all about building and maintaining relationships, Connectedness is being non-judgmental, being of and delivery excellent service to others, keeping one’s own 
negative thoughts under control, rejecting any need to be ‘right’, recognizing and valuing diversity of opinion and culture.
Many successful Entrepreneurs fully understand and easily develop and maintain their market Connectedness as the most significant linchpin and driving force in the success and growth of the valuable relationships, without which their entrepreneurial and personal success would remain elusive and unattainable, and as we move forward into the Age of Connectedness which seems to grow more complex and difficult to unravel its secrets, we only need to see with a simple vision to understand and find success and elusive happiness.
Understanding the Art of Generosity
Published June 15, 2010 | Let me start by making a statement about you and generosity, which is “the more you give, the more you get in return,” and being generous is something that you must develop, an art, and reach the understanding that when you are generous, you are making a difference,
and the more you practice your generosity the better you get at it, because you learn how to target being generous where it makes the biggest impact on people or projects that change them for the better, and many times, forever.
When you make a difference in someone’s life or even a group, you actually start to make lasting connections, and more importantly you interact with people that want to be interacted with because it is in human nature, our DNA, and many times the changes you make and the difference in lives will be respected by the people, the difference they actually yearn for.
Now more importantly, as you begin to make a 
difference, people will naturally start to gravitate towards you, they will want to engage with you and what you are doing, interact with you, and get you even more involved in by now what has become your Art of Generosity, and with time you will experience the exhilaration of getting more in return then you give, and by doing so you will reach a level of understanding achieved by very few.
The recession has taught us that when the economy begins to suffer our natural instincts of survival are activated to take care of ourselves and our families first, and many among us will focus only on what our instincts lead us to do, but a community that is connected and the connected economy doesn’t respect this natural instinct, although the instinct is well understood, and instead, everyone turns to those among us that are generous with who we are, and what we do, looking for the difference, the impact, and the empowerment that changes a life, changes lives, changes a village, and changes the worlds we are connected with.
Many Entrepreneurs share the art of being generous and are able to weave it into the fabric of their business, into what they do and who they are, and they understand completely that they get back much more in return through strong connections and relationships with their customers, employees and community, and the success that comes their way is in many ways a direct result of the Entrepreneur’s understanding of the Art of Generosity.
Business Blogs and Content Marketing – The Future Now!
Published June 8, 2010 | Just in case you have been living somewhere in isolation and missed it, global marketing strategies have been going through some crazy evolution for small businesses and Entrepreneurs throughout the world, as times are changing, marketing has evolved, and you can rest assured that what was true 
yesterday no longer applies today, and tomorrow, this is why I can make the following true statement with complete confidence and certainty, since it’s already started, “Within the next 5 to 10 years, Blogs will be the foundation of any successful business and individual brand.”
That’s right, what was originally looked on by many in the market, as just a bunch of online noise and market clutter that would never find its voice, has revolutionized commerce, economies, and information sharing as we know it.
The world as we have known it has changed forever, for proof, think back and remember that just twenty years ago, what generally defined ‘having a business’ was the ownership of some type of ‘brick and mortar’ storefront or professional office, compare that to today, in 2010 and beyond, what defines the image of that very same business is its website, and the increased value added to the business by its comprehensive Web presence.
Also, not to long ago, it was common that company websites were few and far between, and seen as part of the world that belonged to Programming and Technology Geeks, but now, in an incredibly short span of less than ten years, businesses are expected to have websites as part of their Strategic Social Media and Web Marketing Plan, and even the mere mention of such an idea would have been viewed as completely preposterous by most of us less than a decade ago, during that same period of time, the Social Media (R)evolution has come in with such a furry that a website has become the expected core representation of any business and its brand.
So the obvious questions that always come to mind is “What’s the next phase of the Social Media (R)evolution,” and “What’s next that consumers in the global market will expect and demand?”
Over the next few years, as consumers continue to embrace Web technology even further, and as they become more and more adept at judging a business by its website, they will soon look for a company’s, or an individual’s, blog, yes, that’s right, just as a website is expected and searched for by today’s Web savvy consumer, a business’ blog will be expected by the consumer of tomorrow, and I don’t mean months or years from now, I do mean literally, tomorrow.
Although I know that many of you are in agreement with me right now, there are sadly still some that feel like blogging, and even websites hold little importance and consequence when it comes down to the successes and failures of a business.
Understanding Your Market Connections and Relationships
Published May 24, 2010 | The Social Media (R)evolution has created an unprecedented level of engagement between consumers and business, and shifted how customer service experiences is viewed by all parties directly involved in shaping the experience.
I think it is safe to say that consumer connections and relationship building is quickly becoming the norm in 2010 and beyond, and the brands that fail to recognize or adjust to the new and changing realities presented by the market will be quickly left behind and out in the cold, not because they aren’t good at what they do, but because they either fail or refuse to understand the importance of building lasting connections and relationships with the consumer market, that places great value on creating and maintaining strong connections and relationships.
In the world of Social Media and Social Networking your understanding of content creation is critical, as many times it is the main reason for the initial contact and engagement with your customer, and when you are perceived as transparent and engaging, the result can be powerful, especially if each subsequent occasion you have for direct engagement is as rewarding an experience as before. 
It is difficult for some to fully understand the dynamics at work with the concept of providing free information and online content such as videos, access to articles, and even eBooks, which actually adds great value to the consumer relationships and experience. So when it is time to sell your book or service the customer gladly pays, keeping the “value” of what they have already received for “free” in mind, and more times than not, they buy more product or additional services because of the “value” you have created in their experience.
Social Media” facilitates direct engagement with consumers to levels never seen before, causing a fundamental shift in the concept of customer service in the markets, where before, no one expected CEO’s to call or ring their doorbell on their birthday, because it wasn’t feasible. But Social Media Technology provides the tools, and greatly reduced the cost of direct interaction, which has plummeted to the lowest levels ever seen, as business 
leaders text simple “thank you” messages from cell phones, or hang out on video streaming platforms or chat rooms to answer questions, or send @ replies on Twitter, and all at very minimal cost.
Every CEO and business must recognize that customer service is now their primary business and focus, and what “was” unreasonable becomes essential, as the empowerment of the individual consumer through “social media” affects every brand and businesses value to the consumer, which directly translates to business success now and in the future.
Social Media and Web Marketing Success – Bacon Salt
Published April 7, 2010 | Many times it’s good to find cases and stories of real Entrepreneurs that were able to create a little marketing magic in their quest to build modest business success, but the quest turns wildly successful, something they could never have envisioned before starting the entrepreneurial adventure, and we want to learn from how they were able to achieve their great success.
Having said that, there are two technology executives named Justin and Dave that had absolutely no experience in the food industry between them, and no budget for marketing, but they decide to launch a product they called “Bacon Salt.”
To understand the market they begin their search for people who profess a great love for bacon on social networking sites, and then friend them of course, and begin to inject information about “Bacon Salt” into the vast social networking echo chamber, and awareness starts to build with a small percentage of the bacon lovers, and their enthusiasm begins to spread about “Bacon Salt,” and what began as a small group or tribe of bacon enthusiasts quickly begins to multiply as the word spreads throughout the many small silos of networks that make up the fabric of larger social networking sites, and turns into approximately 37,000 fans between Facebook and MySpace.
Time passes, and months later, the buzz that has been building starts to spill over into other media in newspaper articles, television interviews, until finally they reach the pinnacle of public relations, with an appearance on Oprah. Okay, so Justin and Dave with no knowledge of the food business and with no marketing budget, that find themselves in the unique position of having what some would call a cult hit, and feeling the inspiration, they create several other bacon-flavored products, which finally gives birth to the “Bacon Salt” brand.
Their wild ride to success began with a very small group of self-indentified fans of a category of food and spice, and even when social networks have millions of members, the odds are great against the group being able to transform into a larger group of millions of active buzz-spreading fans. 
Now Justin and Dave’s Bacon Salt success story serves to illustrate how what is typically a very small percentage of the tribe of fans who find it important enough to spread the word, and this small inner tribe of actively vocal fans normally makes up one percent or less of the larger tribe of fans, and reaching them should your targeted objective.
This extremely small percentage of the market is difficult to define, since they are not your typical name-brand bloggers, mommy and daddy bloggers, or even business bloggers, and they are scattered throughout all market segments and niches, yet you have to understand in no uncertain terms their importance to your immediate and long-term business success, because they are where word-of-mouth begins, the roots of word-of-mouth, and should be at the very top of every Entrepreneur’s list to not only find them, but attract and connect with them as well.