Covey is so right; “sharpening the saw” provides much needed renewal, revitalization, and clarity of purpose.

It is really, really helpful to slow down, take a deep breathe, and relax. Do it. Make the time. You really don’t have any excuse not to.

First “perceptions” are so frequently wrong. Fight the urge to make judgments with limited information. Gather facts and then decide.

What’s your take on Gary Vaynerchuk? For whatever reason, with very, very little data, my perception of him was not positive. I never watched an episode of Wine Library TV, I didn’t follow @garyvee on Twitter, I actually don’t think I ever even had a discussion about him, but for some reason, in my mind I had formed an impression, that kept me from wanting to learn more. Frankly, it was probably envy, I don’t know, whatever it was, it was DUMB.

Have you read CRUSH IT!? Last week I listened to the audio version. Wow, what a book. Not because it was ground breaking social media content (though that was good too), but Gary read the book himself. And I felt like in those few hours, I got to know him. What a story he has, what an inspiration, an entrepreneur through and through. The book is filled with excellent advice on how to prepare yourself and your business for today’s future. His vision and passion for why he does what he does are his strongest assets. Listen to the book, hear for yourself, and put Gary on your radar. I predict he will be one of the most influential leaders of our time.

Back to the point of this lesson, you see how easy it was for me to form that impression with little to no information. You see how much my perception changed by reading just one book. A true testament to the power of great content and its ability to influence perceptions and lead to the creation of customer advocates. Are you producing great content? Need help?

As much as people say we should “unplug” while on vacation, it’s my opinion that doing so simply makes life less efficient.

I mean if I truly would have unplugged, just as one example, I would not have been able to use Google Voice search on my iPhone to:

  • Determine the high and low tide (find the best spot to build our sand city)
  • Check for the exact time of the sunset (find the best time for our family photo shoot)
  • Locate a restaurant (eat)
  • And on and on and on.

Why do that do ourselves? I checked email, Twitter, wrote a bit, but guess what, those are all things that I LIKE to do. Why should we deprive ourselves of what makes us happy when on vacation?

Similar to Twitter, it is not until you break through the initial “idiocy” of Foursquare that you realize the power it has to extend the way businesses market themselves and connect with consumers.

We live in exciting times and all of us can benefit from a dose of removing the blinders and thinking and dreaming much bigger than what we see in front of us today.

Foursquare is big (has a tremendous visionary as a founder) and just getting started. Just imagine when they hook up with Groupon – check in at restaurant, no specials, click nearby places in app, restaurant ½ mile away by one meal get one meal. Where are you going?

Think bigger.

I’m rested and ready for an exciting end to 2010. Are you?

Side note, if you happened to see this tweet last week, the picture above is the ferris wheel that I was on. It was high and I remain afraid of heights.

<!–[if !mso]> <! st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } –>

  1. Covey is so right; “sharpening the saw” provides much needed renewal, revitalization, and clarity of purpose.
    • It is really, really helpful to slow down, take a deep breathe, and relax.

  1. First “perceptions” are so frequently wrong. Fight the urge to make judgments with limited information. Gather facts and then decide.
    • What’s your take on Gary Vaynerchuk? For whatever reason, with very, very little data, my perception of him was not positive. I never watched an episode of Wine Library TV, I didn’t follow him on Twitter, I actually don’t think I ever even had a discussion about him, but for some reason, in my mind, I had formed an impression, that kept me from wanting to learn more. Frankly, it was probably envy, I don’t know.

But have you read CRUSH IT!? Last week I listened to the audio version. Wow, what a book. Not because it was ground break social media content (though that was good too), but Gary read the book himself. And I felt like in those few hours, I got to know him. What a story he has, what an inspiration. The book is filled with excellent advice on how to prepare yourself and your business for today’s future. His vision and passion for why he does what he does are his strongest assets. Listen to the book, hear for yourself, and put Gary on your radar. I predict he’s someone we will know and learn from for a very long time.

    • Back to the point of this lesson, you see how easy it was for me to form that impression with no information. You seem how much my perception changed by reading one book. Great content influences perceptions and leads to the creation of customer advocates. Are you producing great content? Need help?

  1. As much as people say we should “unplug” while on vacation, it’s my opinion that doing so simply makes life less efficient.
    • I mean if I truly would have unplugged, just as one example, I would not have been able to use Google Voice search on my iPhone to:

i. Determine the high and low tide (find the best spot to build our sand city)

ii. Check for the exact time of the sunset (find the best time for our family photo shoot)

iii. Locate a restaurant (eat)

iv. And on and on and on.

Why do that do ourselves? I checked email, Twitter, wrote a bit, but guess what, those are all things that I LIKE to do. Why should we deprive ourselves of what makes us happy when on vacation?

  1. Similar to Twitter, it is not until you break through the initial “idiocy” of Foursquare that you realize the power it has to change the way businesses market themselves and connect with consumers.
    • We live in exciting times and all of us can benefit from a dose of removing the blinders and thinking and dreaming much bigger than what we see in front of us today.

Foursquare (and services like it) is big and just getting started. Just imagine when they hook up with Groupon – check in at restaurant, no specials, click nearby places in app, restaurant ½ mile away by one meal get one meal. Where are you going? Think bigger.

Side note, if you happened to see this tweet last week, the picture above is the ferris wheel that I was on. It was high and I remain afraid of heights.

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Author: Jeremy Victor | Website | Twitter


Jeremy's the founder of Make Good Media and Editor In Chief of B2Bbloggers.com. B2Bbloggers.com is a B2B Marketing online magazine discussing the evolution of B2B marketing. Topics include content marketing, B2B social media, demand generation, marketing automation, and more. Sign up. Get all the articles via email.


Join 7,000+ B2B Marketing Professionals

Stay up to date with the latest trends in B2B marketing, social media, and content marketing for free. Enter your email below to join the B2BBloggers community of more than 7,000 B2B marketers, CMOs, and agency and company executives across platforms. Your information will never be shared.