I had recently parted ways at a job I felt I really should be working at. It was a responsible, grown-up move to make: consistent income, a young and talented group of people, the ‘right’ place for me. But somehow I knew it wasn’t. In fact, I think my boss knew it wasn’t. There just wasn’t any way I was going to be able to simply ‘hang on’ or ’stick it out’ or ‘wait, and things will get better’. When it came right down to it, I felt I was missing out on life – or more importantly – my life.

Yes, I’m waxing poetic here. But this is really where I was. 27 years old, I was trying to get away from running a business which I started with youthful exuberance at the age of 21. It wasn’t doing so well financially. My passion had really gone out the window. So I turned off the phones and went to work for the aforementioned employer.

6 months – that’s how long I lasted punching the clock for someone else. The night I decided to leave the job I sat down at my computer to write my letter of resignation. Man, I suck at those. It’s one thing to quit, but a whole other thing to do it gracefully without disrespecting yourself or the opposing party. Either way, I did it. They read it. And I was abruptly discharged.

It felt good at first. “Back to the freedom of being my own boss!” That lasted about 7 days. Soon I was faced with the reality of my situation. The laundry list of reasons I had for abandoning my business came back and smacked me in the face. “I shall overcome! I will conquer all of my fears and be a new me!” I was convinced.

When I haven’t worked out for 3 months and I go hop on the treadmill, I’ve always got “Rocky” music playing in my head. I hit the .4 mile marker and I have visions of those little red numbers climbing into the 2o’s and 3o’s, then at .8 I’m sucking wind and sweating profusely. About that time I realize I’m actually fat and out-of-shape. Sortof how I felt when I went back out on my own.

In a year’s time I tried a lot of different things. Conferences, groups, associations, competitions, more groups, getting connected to various people online. I turned 28 in October. I felt the shadow of 3o looming over me. December rolled around and I didn’t feel much different. The books and gurus and everybody tell you to go out and experience life. Probably good advice. But the thing they forget to tell you is that when you try something new, nobody’s going to be standing at the finish line waiting to reveal behind some magical curtain what you’ve supposed to have learned from such an experience. There’s no Wizard of Oz.

We each have a course in life, and some of us sprint ahead, then realize we’re lost. Others plod along thoughtfully, just to someday realize they’re far behind where they should be. People like me, I think, feel compelled to run the course that everyone else is running before we realize we can’t choose someone else’s course in life – we’ve got to find our own.

Each time I write a post, for example, I start in one place thinking I’m heading somewhere specific. But as I go, I’m taken down some path I didn’t know existed. When I reach the end I hope that it was a trip worth taking, because I can’t go back and start again.

Maybe that’s why I’m glad 2009 is over. I took a lot of forks in the road and sometimes I ended up back where I started. But hopefully this time, I’ll be smarter.

Happy 2010 everybody.

We buy their books, read their blogs, attend their conferences and then wonder why we don’t have what they have.

I have a strong suspicion that “they” are doing something that “we” are not. Doing something.

Sure we have tasks, lists and to-dos. We schedule appointments, meetings and networking events. But what are we really accomplishing? Is it the important thing we know we should be pursuing, or are we trying to stay out of the hot seat by giving ourselves more and more distractions.

I know I have.

Maybe it’s time to focus on your own purpose in life. Turn off the noise, ignore the competition and the hot-air blowers. Make a list of what YOU are doing, and what YOU want to do. And write it down in big, bold letters. Be proud of it, and keep it close so you don’t forget.

The little voice inside all of us needs to be heard. But to do that, we have to turn down the volume on everything else.

I do have a new business website & portfolio in the works. Of course I will link to it when its live (shameless self-promotion, I know).

Oh, and I’m giving away 3 more  to BarCamp Omaha over the next 3 days on twitter.

“Do something you’re passionate about.”

“Try to find your true passion!”

Is passion just a driving force to help us accomplish our goals in life? Is it something that we really need to discover, or do we already know but won’t admit to ourselves what it is?

Maybe being passionate about what we do for a job is a selfish pursuit. I mean, do folks who’ve been laid off get to choose something they love to do when they have bills stacking up?

Or is passion simply a point on the horizon that we should all be striving towards. Sure, maybe this minute we don’t LOVE the work we’re doing, but does that mean we need to give up?

I would like to think that passion is that little voice inside reminding us what is really important in our lives. Perhaps passion isn’t just an ingredient we need in our jobs alone, but also in every aspect of our lives. Something to keep us balanced, motivated, relaxed and inspired.

Maybe we should call it the “pursuit of passion.” We “pursue happiness” so why not passion?

This post is rather rhetorical, I realize. I’d love to hear you’re point of view.

Well, its a little more significant than that. Jeremy’s website gallery receives over 1.7 million unique visitors per year, so his putting on a T-shirt goes a long way and creates significant exposure for the advertiser who wins the right to put their name on his shirt.

Check out the Ebay auction to read details. This isn’t the first time he’s donated to local charities. This past January Jeremy auctioned the rights to his T-shirt wearing to raise money for another local charity, to the tune of $10,000. The winning bid came from Trainsignal.com, a software training company (see details).

The winner of the latest T-shirt auction is yet to be announced. Jeremy (aka Shoemoney) will be wearing the shirt at Affiliate Summit East, a national conference for internet marketers and entrepreneurs.

Unfortunately they are getting hung-up on technology. They are more concerned about the platform than they are about delivering their company’s primary message. It’s like debating what fire hose to use when the building is on fire.

Companies need to see the urgency that is ingrained in the ’social media’ age. It’s not about planning, planning and more planning. It’s about finding your best ideas and then showing the world in a unique and interesting way.

You don’t have an excuse to not be joining the conversation already happening in your industry. If you don’t speak up, your customers will make up their minds about you anyway.

Don’t get hung-up on technology. Your competition isn’t beating you because the have some super-secret weapon. They’re beating you because they’ve done it – and you’re still planning.

And my reply essentially echoing what he’s saying:

“Oh, so how are you going to do that?”

“Well, first, I’m going to get on Twitter, then get a Facebook Fan Page, then I’ll redesign my website…”

“Wait, I thought you said you needed to develop your brand?”

“Yes I did. Now, would you please pay attention? Next, I’ll upload a new profile picture…”

“But you haven’t said anything about developing yourself.”

“I’m talking about my BUH-RAND here. Social media lets me be whoever I want!”

“Oh. I get it. Cool.”

Alright, so this may be an exaggeration. I hope you keep reading despite my blatant attempt to ’setup’ this blog post.

I know a whole bunch of folks out there in 2009 will be hitching their respective wagon’s onto the Personal Branding star – and I’m absolutely OK with that. In fact, if you’re still oblivious to how you’re being perceived on the internet, many of the concepts wrapped-up in the topic of Personal Branding should be very eye-opening and helpful for you. I encourage everyone to get familiar with the concept, especially if you’re in the job market or starting a business.

Branding is definitely NOT a new concept. Brands have existed for hundreds of years, and as a child of the 80’s I’m pretty sure I’ve been over-exposed to branding – everything from Pepsi to McDonalds, Chevy to Folger’s. I’m convinced I grew up in the pinnacle of the advertising age. Brands as we know them today have expanded far beyond letterhead and uniforms. They have grown into huge, multi-billion dollar, living, breathing giants. But in the same brief span of my life, they have also begun to shrink back down into tiny, subconscious, minute-detail things; like organic packaging materials and personalized M&Ms.

So when did people – just regular folks like you and me – start to view ourselves as brands? I’m really not sure where it started. But it  has definitely become the norm. Most everyone in business has taken to to idea, and not only in business. Social activist groups, Churches (even Pastors), Politicians (of course) and, on a whole new level, entertainers and athletes all consider themselves brands. This may sound a bit obvious, I know, but things haven’t always been this way.

Entertainers and athletes use to let managers and producers handle their brand. Not anymore. Increasingly they have leveraged their own popularity and fame to launch products like books, blogs, cookware, tv shows, fashion, clothing, restaurants – the list goes on. Watching these people pitch their products during interviews on whatever talk show, they unwittingly fall into one of two categories: believable or laughable. If Gwyneth Paltrow is touting her lifestyle blog, I’m inclined to believe in that product. Why? Because she embodies those things. She has a lavish lifestyle, she’s traveled the world and experienced life on a whole different level than the average person. However, if Madonna writes a children’s book…well…I think you get my point. How is this authentic? Could my kid relate to the imaginings of a over-sexed, should-be-retired pop star? It just doesn’t fit (although I’m sure the books still sell – one of the perks of being famous).

Branding is important, don’t get me wrong. But personal branding should not be like building a house of cards. Why I said you “don’t need Personal Branding” is because you really don’t. What you do need is a clear idea of who you want to be, and where you want to go in life. Once you’ve got that down, uploading this information to the internet won’t feel like you’re ‘re-branding’ yourself at all. It will seem natural, not forced. Publishing your thoughts and ideas on your blog, Facebook, and Twitter won’t take a ton of effort. Yes, you may have to edit yourself here or there, but you won’t have to struggle with what to say. Learning how to say it may take some finesse, no question.

If the goal in developing your brand is to further a cause: be it personal, professional or philanthropic – then it has to come from an authentic spirit. Nobody is going to buy into your brand unless you’ve done the work. Become the person you want to be. Challenge, question, and develop yourself and your ‘brand’ will fall into place. Be real, and people will believe in the product you’re selling – because they will believe in you first.

On Saturday, Palm released it’s first viable competing phone in the marketplace since the Treo Centro. The Palm Pre had huge buzz going since CES ‘09 back in February. Since I was in Las Vegas at the time, I was present for people’s first reactions. Several folks interupted non-phone related sessions at Wordcamp to applaud the Pre in all its touch-screen-slash-keyboard-combo glory.

The Apple WWDC (worldwide developers’ conference) keynote this afternoon brought forth the major controversy surrounding the iPhone — it’s lackluster network. AT&T was being trashed left and right by both the audience and off-had comments by even Phil Schiller himself as reported by gdgt.com:

11:52AM – Scrub and edit the video “just with the tap of your finger.” Applause. “Share it right here from your iPhone. If your carrier supports it, send an MMS.” Ha, ouch. AT&T, c’mon.

Not only is AT&T behind with MMS (sending pictures and video via text messaging), it was left out of a list of international carriers who support ‘tethering’ which allows customers to connect their Mac or PC to the iPhone internet data plan. Blackberry customers have convenient access to this feature by way of 3rd-party apps such as TetherBerry.

On a local level (here in Lincoln, Nebraska) AT&T has an uphill battle for reliable network coverage. Alltel Wireless, recently acquired by Verizon, has historically had the best in-town and rural coverage for southeast Nebraska. However, consumers love to hate Alltel, as their customer service is extremely lacking. Sprint is a close second in coverage (from my experience) and has the same woeful customer care as Alltel. But both companies are far superior to AT&T in terms of coverage, with AT&T’s lack of MMS notwithstanding.

Nationally, however, Apple’s decision to continue selling the current iteration of the iPhone (iPhone 3G) at the reduce price of $99 may be a very smart move. During the keynote, Apple mentioned the growth of the iPhone, which continues to accelearate. Bringing the pricepoint down to $99 is sure going to help new customers overlook the $180 chunk of change they’ll be dropping every month from now until eternity.

iPhone has some definite competition from Palm & Sprint. The list of 1-ups is pretty long:

• Touch-screen with Built-in Keyboard
• Ability to run multiple apps at once
• Sprint’s “Everything” Plan is only $99 per month
• MMS messaging available now (and years past, by the way)
• 4G network speed on the horizon

However the Pre has some challenges to overcome, many of which aren’t going to happen quickly:

• Apps on the Pre’s marketplace: a couple dozen vs. iPhone’s tens of thousands
• Unproven hardware durability vs. iPhone’s 4th generation proven design
• No on-screen keyboard, forcing users to open the 1-directional keyboard to enter text
• Market penetration has iPhone far in the lead

My opinion is mixed. If you live in Lincoln and you have to have coverage, go with the Palm Pre. If you live in Lincoln and want an up-to-date phone with the ability to download almost unlimited apps, and you know you have good coverage where you live and work, the iPhone will suit you just fine.

Here’s a good overview of the Palm Pre from cnet:

Not very unusual, as an unusually large percentage of Twitter users are “social media experts” according to their user profiles. I think I get why so many people feel they are “experts” at social media. Twitter has a way of making new users feel as though they have discovered something completely new. And in a lot of ways, they probably have. It’s practically impossible to find two people who use Twitter in the exact same way. Not only in who they follow, but also in what content they share.

That’s where “Personal Branding” comes in. What content are people sharing on Twitter, and more importantly, why are they sharing it? Each individual has a motivating reason for being “on” Twitter. As the service becomes more mainstream, it would stand to reason that more people are joining out of a sense of feeling left out. Just like when I turn on the TV just because I want to make sure I’m not missing anything. Do I really care what’s on TV? Or am I just doing it so as not to become “that guy who doesn’t know what happened on American Idol last night” to everyone I meet.

So back to “Personal Branding”. The difference between turning on the TV and joining a social media tool like Twitter, is that Twitter requires participation. Sure you can just read what others are writing or ‘tweeting’, but that doesn’t really open any doors so-to-speak. The pressure is there from the minute you sign-up to send out that “first tweet”. As odd as it may sound, that’s really the reason twitter is so compelling. It’s like water-skiing for the first time, or riding a roller-coaster. It’s thrill seeking on a very small level. “What will happen if I say this?” Or, “what if Oprah actually replies to me?” It’s the thrill of the unknown.

Maybe that sounds very uninteresting to you, but seriously this does relate to “Personal Branding”. Among the motivating factors for joining Twitter, the ethereal concept of “Personal Branding” is probably in the Top 2. Somewhere between the invention of Reality TV and proliferation of Text Messaging, it became socially acceptable to share all kinds of odd information about yourself to the entire universe. But instead of just labeling this behavior as “TMI” (too much information), which sounds a little too derogatory, we’ve somehow collectively decided to give this behavior a more professional moniker. After all, we wouldn’t want other people thinking we’re just wasting our time.

“Personal Branding” is one of those undefinable terms that one day falls out of the sky. Somebody promptly picks it up and starts using it in everyday speech. The funny thing, at least in my view, is that people who try to do personal branding aren’t actually doing anything. They’re just regurgitating information that’s all around them. Whatever it is they think they’re doing, its just adding noise.

“So why is this post was about Personal Branding. So far all you’ve done is ramble on about Twitter!”

Okay, point taken. Now let me get to that.

“Personal Branding” is a fad, a phenomena, a flash in the pan. But YOU are a person. YOU exist in reality without any need for a “brand”. YOU carried on just fine before – just as you will after – the invention of Twitter, or Facebook, or YouTube or whatever. If you are simply you – the same smart, like-able, hard-working person you’ve always been – then you’ll never have to worry yourself about ridiculous, impossible-to-define, buzzworthy terms like “Personal Branding”. You simply won’t.

If everything you do online is a fabrication, a figment of your imagination, then your “Personal Branding” efforts are bound to fail. Building a personal brand is like saying you going to develop your personality. You can’t be something you’re not. You can only reveal something that you are. No matter what platform is ‘ground-breaking’ or ‘the new thing’. You can only fabricate reality for so long. Just look at “The Hills” or “John & Kate Plus 8″. If the heart isn’t there, it can’t last.

So that, my friends is “Personal Branding”. If you ever hear someone say “You really need to develop your personal brand!”, just laugh at them. Be yourself, share it with people who care, and let the “social media experts” waste their own time.