This blog is now hosted at www.coreykgraham.me/bizblog - As you can expect I am ever evolving and when its time to move its time to move.
Now if you are reading this message in an RSS Reader it would mean that you are not subscribed to my feedburner feed. This means that when I change feeds you would not have a seamless transition and you will have to subscribe to - http://feeds2.feedburner.com/coreykgraham.
Subscribe to my feedburner feed! It helps me to know who is reading which is certainly a motivation to keep writing.
This move is going to be a pretty silent one, no big splash.
Its Friday, time for a good lime time to relax, grab a beer and chill out with some good friends. Talk about the week's joys and sorrows, and of course talksome foolishness.
I am sure that at the time of posting some of you are reaching for another beer, or calling for another round. Others might have already reached their limit and tapping out, no more alcohol. Yet others might not have touched a drop of alcohol, but enjoying laughing and the energy of the time.
If you ever limed with me you that I have a tendency to get a little loud and share in the spirit of the moment with everyone else. I won't tell you about that time I .... Anyways back to the blog post.
Most of you will read this post after you have had their usual friday "after work lime", when all the boose has passed out of your system and thinking clearly again and looking forward to a new week which will of course have another Friday.
Now, for next week I want for you to focus on only talking about the things you are committed to, and do not present those random thoughts and ideas to people like if they are set in stone. Basically just trying to impress.
"Come On don't go into denial, it's just you and me here. You know you do that! Mention little things while you are accepting another beer, paid for in full by your listener. Ah lol. So you doooo know what I am talking about now?"
Alrite good we are on the same page, now here is what I would like you to try to do next week. Put away the conversational goals and deals. Yes, those ones that pretty much the only thing about them is that they sound good. You have in no way committed to them. Try to stick to sharing them as ideas. Actually be honest! Start your statement with "I had an idea..." Of course its fine to share those things you have actually committed to. Its this fakeness, I am talking about.
The short version is, make sure you are a person of your word.
I am not saying to not to discuss your ideas. I am 100 % behind sharing of ideas however, I am also a fan of being a person of your word. It is something I have become very aware of over the last year especially noticing how my influence has grown since I started to take blogging seriously. I found out ...
If you want to grow your audience and your influence, keeping your word is key. Give people the opportunity to believe and find comfort in your words. This earns you their attention and respect in a significant way. In a very silent way, but in a significant way, One day you might wake up and find your words reach far beyond your imagination. Corey Graham 2.0N
Do the things you say you are going to do. REMEMBER , if you know there is a good chance that you might not do it, don't communicate it with any definate details. Give yourself the opportunity to keep your word! Keep social, keep liming its important. Enjoy next Friday night.
As we go through the day we notice those we consider to be experts, gurus or masters their craft at work. We readily give them time out of your busy schedules to watch and admire these 'superhuman' displays of true mastery. it could be the coconut vendor serving some of our tourists with lfancy tricks or a politician delivering an impromptu but very coherent and motivating speech I know what this feels like, when people watch you in awe. Amazed by your talent. People often ask me, Corey Graham 2.0 you are sooooooooo crazy!
Well I am reading their emphasis on "so" to be an indication of how in awe they are of my talent to be crazy. And yes, crazy is a talent. It is a skill! Well at least my brand of crazy.
Alrite now stick with me here, let me tell you how to master a skill like crazy! I think that there are many skills out there that we can aquire once we figure out how to master a skill like crazy.. Let me break it down into 3 steps.
Get the perspective
Seek it out. Talk to a guru or expert about the skill you want to aquire. Even talk to some fans of a particular thing. Try to get a flavour of what it is really all about! Get it from different sources. Try to read books or get into a conversation with them. People will enjoy sharing their passion with you. They will love to tell you about it. Listen well. Listen carefully. Listen for the concepts and the perspectives.
Do it, Practice, Practice, Practice
Choose something, some project you want to accomplish and get into the drivers seat and start to drive. Make sure you seek feedback and listen. Make sure you seek it. Put it into practice. Keep moving, keep learning and getting better.
Join the community
Practice is fine and good, but you have to get around people who are doing the same skill, and preferably with people who are better than you so you have a very good picture of what being good looks like. Share your experiences and listen to theirs. Motivate them and let them motivate you. Keep growing!
That's it just do that and you will master oh this might be a 5 to 20 year process soooooo .... GET STARTED NOW!
I spent the better part of the day getting one area of my life more organised thanks to www.shelfari.com
Now I can say my reading is much more organised. Well at least my reading of books. You see anyone that knows me well knows that I have invested alot of time and money into reading books all the topics I had no clue about or I wanted to get a deeper understanding. Things like Leadership, business, marketing and the list goes on and on. I started out with John C Maxwell's The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You. I just wandared in the bookstore and picked up the most interesting book I saw on the topic of leadership. I didn't do much deliberating or research. I just wanted to immerse myself in the area, by getting a perspective from someone else. That book really changed my life and my perceptions of leadership! I found myself with a very good concept of what leadership was all about and being very inspired to learn more.
After I that, I began to purchase more books randomly and read to broaden my horizons. After a while my purchasing far outstripped reading and today I have a situation where I own more books than I have read. At the start of this year, 2009, I decided it was very important for me to get back into a good reading routine. I knew that ideally it would be great to have some kind of listing which shows the books I owned and the books that I have read etc. I also decided to make a special effort to blog about the books I have read and share my thoughts with you on my blog on an on-going basis. Help you to decde what is worth reading and what is not.
Shelfari.com does a wonderful job of helping me organise with this "read more" - New Year's Resolution. It is easy and it is very Web 2.0. Once you sign up for a profile you can start to add books to your bookshelf which you can fit in under the following categories :-
I plan to read
I'm reading
I've read
****************
Favourites
Own
wishlist
****************
Import Books
I basically now have a digital representation of your book shelf so that you can keep track of all the books you own, planning to read etc. It will help me decide what to read next! And of course being a Web 2.0 solution it will allow me to connect with other people who have also read the book and see what they thought etc. Each book has ratings, a listing of people who read it and comments. Shelfari is just what I was looking for. And I was not even looking for anything!!
I would recommend Shelfari to anyone and encourage our Caribbean Authors and writers to make sure their book is listed on Shelfari!
My idea of building a career is a little bit different. Honestly let me stop trying to be cool...It is a lot different from what I have learnt as I grew up in this world. My society and surroundings taught me to get into a particular discipline and keep my focus there. Build my career from that. Its not that i completely disagree with this approach, however I have found it to be incomplete in the context of my life. I couldn't quite decide where I should focus my energy. I have spent a lot of time with persons between the ages of 18 - 24 over the last 2 years and I realised that, similarly to me this way of thinking actually causes them more pain than good. They analyse themselves and their talents and think in many cases they realise that they are passionate about several different disciplines.
This can range from drama to music to marketing to business to engineering, and the list goes on and on. They become disillusioned by too much choice. They have too many paths that their life can take.
2.0 On Career 2.0
I would like to put forward a new perspective. Instead of making your mind about which career path you should take. Take some time and make a big mission or dream you would like to accomplish. Something the lends to your different passions. Once you have completely appointed yourself to fulfil this mission then you can build your career. Make yourself the General!
Now General 2.0 you can relax a little bit, because you know you are going after something you want. As the world is now evolving in to what some term as the new industrial revolution, you can now creatively blend your different talents and passions into a "pepperpot" that defines you and fulls your hunger to accomplish your mission/dreams. Web 2.0 is creating several new possibilities available to everyone.
Creative and talented people, especially in the Caribbean have so much to offer the world. Spread your wings and fly.
My first interview turns about to be with young aspiring Music Executive Simone Harris. A Jamaican by birth Simone now lives in Miami where she is pursuing her passion for the music business. Simone and I discuss the evolution going on in the music industry and how it relates to the Caribbean.
Who Is Simone Harris? At 26, former LaCadco dancer turned Entertainment Business Consultant, Simone Harris is on her way to completing her 2nd masters degree in Music Business at Florida Atlantic University. She is the first Jamaican to be registered in the program and the only female. Read More on Simone http://kingston21.wordpress.com/about/
LISTEN HERE -
CLick here to download http://www.mypodcast.com/fsaudio/coreykgraham_20090228_0959-389869.mp3
I must write this message. Yesterday made it officially 1 year since I have added 2.0 onto my name. Today, 1 year later I feel completely humbled but the way it has spread. I could have never imagined a year ago that I could be in this position today.
Ironically, I encountered a bit of a set back on Jan 1. I had a terrible cold! Yes believe it or not. Badd cold and I was in bed all day. I could do nothing. Imagine what that did for my motivation! Was 2.0 meant to be?
Everything Is a Matter Of Perspective
I remember thinking that one day will not let me loose ground for the next 364 days. And then I actually appreciated the cold. I know I was going to encounter setbacks over 2008 and I was glad I was already given the opportunity to get the first one out of the way.
New Years Resolutions
Believe it or not Corey Graham 2.0 really came out of my New Years Resolutions. Corey Graham 2.0 is really like a code name. My New Years Resolutions were focused taking my entertainment career to another level and 2.0 became to code name that would remind me to stay on track. So when someone called me 2.0. I would be reminded to be sure to make it work.
People often say New Years Resolutions don't work. I actually think they do. All you have to do is keep them in focus all year round. Make sure you are constantly focusing your time, energy and money on accomplishing them. And where possible actually tweak them a little bit.
Life Is Messy
Now we always hear, all you have to do is focus. Let me make sure you understand ... focus is about being thankful when you get a cold on January 1. Focus is about finding motivation in a the desert of broken dreams. There are going to be several days when things feel fuzzy and you are questioning everything.
Too big
Its scary ... you know what you want to do, but you are in disbelief. "I can't do that its too big". Just be confident. In 2008 the world watched a USA elect its first Black President. Everyone seemed to be in a bit of disbelief. "It really happened in my lifetime" was on the tips of everyone's tongues. In 2009 too big is irrelavant.
Habits, Culture and the Power of People
We are human beings. We are creatures of habit. We are comfortable in doing what we are doing. Resolutions mean you need to change some habits. If you didn't know changing a habit can be a challenge. If you link pain to doing the right thing. You will never change.
Culture is something I have wondered about for a long time, to me when people have a certain culture everything just seems to work. e.g. A winning sports team. We see it over and over again when they just find a way the win. There is power in the people.
This Year
For this year CG 2.0 goes to N. N = Network. I will aim to actively included other persons and their dreams into my day to day existence. There is no fun doing it alone.
There is a revolution taking place in the world right now. People are being empowered via web 2.0 technologie/social media. Its now easier to get your voice or music heard via blogs and social networks. Its not only about the voice, we are all now much more capable people. You can launch you own radio station within minutes!!!!!
I personally think the way we interact with each other is changing in a very fundamental way and we are not truly appreciating it. Web 2.0 technology - Social Media is a technology. Technology is merely a tool for us complete our various tasks.
Being social is really the big idea here. Facebook, myspace, linkedin etc. are just tools. They are tools which make it easier for us to accomplish our various tasks. Its easy to get caught up with the facts, how many users facebook has or how many blog posts you wrote last month. The core concept is connecting with people.
Its allowed me to be more connected with persons across the world. To connect with people who share similar passions. To share ideas with them. This has allowed me to understand myself and my environment better. I have expanded my thinking. Now I am a much more confident and motivated person.
What are you using social media to do in your life?
Cable and Wireless's rebranding of LIME has officially touched down in Barbados over the weekend. I came face to face with a few of the employees. We talked about LIME and I learnt some interesting things. I mean they are still tight-lipped about most of the things they will be doing, because most of the new stuff from LIME will be rolled out in their Christmas Promotion. (read more on LIME here)
The thing I found more interesting with those Cable and Wireless employees I talked to, was that they are genuinely excited. I mean at first, I thought it was something else in their life but, they are all excited about the things to come. I found this so interesting. Imagine if all the people involved with your business or those that you work with were genuinely excited. I mean wake up in the morning with a real smile on their face when they head out the door to go to work?
Think for a minute of that. Can you imagine that? Nah seriously, stop and think?
How would you greet everyone in the morning?
How would customers be treated?
How would your clients be treated?
What about a new idea? How would that be treated?
We wake up everyday dreading to go to work. Forcing ourselves to build our career or rather just going with the flow. How would your world change if everyone you work with are absolutely excited? It everyone were pouring real passion and true energy into their lifes?
Some people I know say the only absolute in their lives is Vodka - Absolut Vodka....
For me, I will dream of one day sharing a bottle with those working alongside me. Those excited people working alongside me.
Question is? Can you sit at that table with me? Sipping your Absolut Vodka and tonic water with a "lime" in the glass?
I am just came across the announcement by the Grenadian Tourism Minister, Peter David that there will be a ferry service between Grenada and Trinidad to begin in the early part of 2009. Apparently its the government of Trinidad that is providing this service accomodating approx 600 persons. He also said that St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Lucia will benefit from this service which is expected to improved the economy and relationships between these islands.
All i can say is wow! Its not that long ago, April fools day to be exact that I was lovingly playing a joke on my readers about a Cruising The Summer Carnivals Of The Caribbean. Imagine by early next year we can be able to move around the islands a little cheaper than before!
Just a few days ago LIME announced they are offering free Roamin throughout the Caribbean. Now we are going to have ferry going between the islands? Imagine what that can do for our businesses. It will be alot easier to move bulky stuff around. Think about it! You can take you car to another island for the weekend? You can take something you made in your homeland and sell it in a neighbouring island? I mean really think about the possibilities.
I just came across a video of Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook as he was interviewed by Ryan Carson at the Future of Web Apps conference.
I though Ryan did a very good job of interviewing Mark. This is the first time that I've heard Mark speak about his passion and ideas so openly. Mark shared some deep insights behind growing such an influencial company and communicated clearly what facebook is truly about. One thing you realise is that there is a strong sense of the vision and mission for facebook. I think that is very important to have everyone on the same page. Mark explains makes is that people are getting increasingly more comfortable with sharing information and it essentially facebook's goal to facilitate this human need to share. Mark thinks it will lead to a better world where everyone can understand and appreciate each other more!
Yeah I went. Hmmm interesting when i heard it too...
Another point he made was that he ensured that facebook had a technical DNA. Basically, he ensured that most of the persons coming onto the facebook team had a technical background. He feels it allows them to make better decisions. WOW! ... I think that is a true gem right there.
Many of us can be found guilty of building up teams with people who do not fit our DNA! Anyways enough of my rant. Corey Graham 2.0 now presents to you another great man of our time - Mark Zuckerberg
A few of my recent posts have been about ideas and getting them to spread. Interestly, enough a friend shared this link with me recently that I had to make sure I share with ya. I could not have planned a better example of how a simple idea can really create something rather powerful...
And to add to it had to be another Google idea. Got to like Google they are expanding into everything look ...they even help me write posts! Literally
THE IDEA (taken from article on makeuseof.com)
Let’s say that your email address is ‘GeorgeBush@gmail.com’, basically everything sent to any of the following email addresses will be forwarded to your primary email.
GeorgeBush@gmail.com
G.eorgeBush@gmail.com
Ge.orgeBush@gmail.com
…
…
GeorgeBus.h@gmail.com
GeorgeBush@googlemail.com
G.eorgeBush@googlemail.com
Ge.orgeBush@googlemail.com
…
…
GeorgeBus.h@googlemail.com
And that’s not all, you can place as many dots as you want, it can be even something like ‘G.e.o.r.g.e.B.u.s.h@gmail.com’ and you’ll still get it on ‘GeorgeBush@gmail.com’
I talked about spreading your ideas in a post last week. Here is another dimension to that ...
Sometimes we can get caught up in casting our big dream or vision to people who, sit there and listen, understand it and internalise it and everyone is excited by the big prize at the end. However these same people may actually take weeks, months or even years to commit to making that dream a success. This might take the form of getting a work colleagues on board with your new project, to making a deal with a strategic business partner.
CREATURES OF HABIT
First, you have to appreciate that human beings are people of habit and it takes alot of energy and willpower to stop and start a new habit and for many persons we only put in this effort when we HAVE TO.
When willpower and want is greater than the disappointments and pain endured along the way, a phenomenon occurs ... success. Corey Graham 2.0
So when you cast a dream of vision to persons you are asking a tremendous amount for them to jump on board and even if the full desire is there they might not really appreciate what it feels like to have this new habit. Starting a new habit makes people feel weird. Not everyone is like me ... just naturally weird, crazy or my own word - ATYPICAL. Lol, yes, yes I am an ATYPICAL guy.
Its important to be able to transpose this big dream into what I call a "habit program". This will make it easier for persons to create the habit. Let me be sure to state that creating a "habit program" is hard work and it often comes down to your personal discipline and your ability to retain focus.
WHAT IS A HABIT PROGRAM REALLY?
Team sports is a good example of something like this, where coaches essentially have the basis of a great habit program in place already. Its called PRACTICE. The coach now has the ability to plan a program and easily cultivate the right habit patterns in the players. Many times he does not share the big dream of vision with all the players until they have been praticing for sometime. He then connects all the little successes so far from practices to the big dream. The players are in a position to appreciate it alot more, because have tasted some success and they get a chance to experience first hand the success of sticking to the plan. This all shows up in the pre-season games and practice games it all comes together when everyone gets to see first hand what works and what doesn't work.
Think about it? What about the "habit program" your personal trainer has gotten you on?
Have you been transfering your dream into a "habit program"?
Now that its has been almost 2 years of blogging and consistently evolving my online social footprint. I am now appreciating how the internet helped me along in delivering my message to different persons around the globe.
I can remember how much courage to took to get myself into the routine of expressing myself online.
It takes lot of courage to rant...lol to do things like interview yourself etc. Lol,
It does, it really does take courage to present your ideas and experiences to persons in the world.
Before I got started I wondered,
... I hope people can understand and respect my ideas and see where I am coming from. This was a decent-sized fear for me, as have not so conventional perspectives and I know very well that I can come across pretty abstract at times...
Once I actually made the commitment to share my ideas on a regular basis with you. I am realizing that your understand and you are appreciating me more. I am also able to understand and appreciate your perspectives more.
I have gotten a chance to listen to converse with you and engage you in conversation on a range of topic. Not always in a public forum .. But I hear your thoughts and ideas. As a result I appreciate you a lot more!
When persons understand each other its not peculiar to one medium.... Having a meeting or talking on the phone. And so your online credibility transfers in the offiline.
One thing I find key about online and blogs is that I am not defined to a particular time or space. There is no box. Well if you decide to not have a box. Blogs and social networks gives you the power to interact and share your ideas with several people. Unlike offiline where you are confined to a particular time and space,
Some time ago, I posted a blog on a speech about how to get your ideas to spread, which rocked me to the core. (check out post here). Essentially it hit me clear as day. Its one thing to have an idea., but its another thing to have it spread? To have people accept and use the idea.
Just take one idea you have for anything, be it for home, school or play and just have it spread. Get people excited about it and accepting it. No, No don't force it down anyone throats, just have it spread.
Note that this doesn't call for any fancy techniques or tremendous effort, simply connect your idea with people and watch it spread! Its that simple!
Its really not that simple, but the smartest man to have lived so far said....
Out of great complexies come great simplities. Albert Einstien
So even though your head hurts, think some more, its that simple!
Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe to RSS