diligence

I have just laid down the gauntlet with a close friend that 2010 needs to be our year of "diligence".

diligence - constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind.

Now I am a pretty productive person. Don't get me wrong I have a good track record of getting a lot done, more than most in any given day. But am I truly "diligent" when it comes to things that really matter?

I have plenty of business, personal branding and self-help books. Productive work plans to be filled out, dreams to be found yet these exercises tend to go unfinished, unresolved and unrealized.

So for 2010 I am working on finding the diligence that will move me forward to the next level of productivity. That will unlock or propel me to the next level or stage of my life.

Where will I find this diligence? Hopefully in the same place I found it to meet my goal of getting to the gym, three mornings a week at the crack of dawn. Really before the crack of dawn given it is still dark out when I drive there. I have been doing this consistently for more than two months - I am quite proud of myself.

Next I must find the diligence to get up the two other mornings a week and spend some time fitting in the reading and projects that need to stop getting pushed to the wayside for things like cooking, baking, cleaning, TV, movies and naps!(Okay I really don't nap much but it would be nice.)

entertainment and escapism

It never ceases to amaze me when I stumble across an article, book or blog post that so clearly exemplifies a feeling or behavior that I identify with on such a base level.

This week one of those eye-opening (but deep down you knew it all along) revelations came via Darren Hardy's blog Seeds of Success. Darren is the editor of Success magazine and does an amazing job of providing great stories of those who succeed at a level beyond most.

The blog entry titled "Tips on Out-Preparing Your Competition" gave four great tips but it was number one that resonated with me immediately:

1. Study: This is the advantage that Jamie Moyer and so many other superachievers exercise better than their competition and the rest of us. While others are filling their time with entertainment and escapism, superachievers are studying and improving their craft. Having more knowledge, data, background and intelligence will always give you the upper hand in any situation.

And there is was, right there out in the open. A true aha moment - yes I do fill my time with "entertainment and escapism"...

Think about how many of these circumstances you too have found yourself in...

- I surf around my bazillion cable channels telling myself that I am just looking for background noise while I work on my project du jour but I end up landing on a movie I've seen 100 times before or the rerun of a sitcom or TV drama that I should be able to pass by

- I subscribe to more magazines than one could possibly read in a month

- I consistently am in the middle of more than one book, sometimes three or four. Different genres, different book clubs, same distraction

I often have described myself as an entertainment junkie, now I am forced to look deep down and wonder if I really am an entertainment junkie because I love it, or because I love that it allows me to avoid what I really should be doing.

Read Darren's blog post for yourself, it is a good one.

dynamic

For those of you who know me, you know that I have been working on developing my personal brand.

I've been reading, or I should say working, Dan Schwabel's Me 2.0, Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success. Doing the exercises in this book is a very thoughtful and insightful process.

Working with my friend, former boss and mentor Jeff Jackson I have worked to develop a personal brand logo which is now on my blog page in addition to being used on my weakly followed Twitter account (@lmaherkelly)and on my Facebook page.

I believe Jeff did a great job taking in my direction of how I want to be represented - having worked together for nine years and having a continued friendship for more than 16 years I know he gets who I am.

In addition to developing a brand logo I am trying to cull down my personal mantra to one word, one word that not only helps define and describe me but one that I know I live up to, embody and embrace on a daily basis. This is the word that keeps coming to the forefront of my mind:

Dynamic: pertaining to or characterized by energy or effective action; vigorously active or forceful; energetic.

I am hoping that that as I keep developing my brand that I will continue to improve my focus and clarify the journey on which I'd like to embark.

Next up writing a strong personal value statement...

I will keep you posted!

personal branding

Akin to social media, where the focus is on finding others – friending or connecting with fellow alumni or former colleagues – another phenomenon emerges as the way to find yourself.

Didn’t realize you were missing and needed to be found? Perhaps you are not. I, however, am. So off I go to discover my personal brand…

As a marketer I get branding, the process of defining a product, company or service so that it exudes an essence, a palpable existence that illicits a response – good or bad, but hopefully good when people encounter it.

There are many parts of a brand:

- Brand Message
- Graphic Imagery – logo, color, style choices
- Tagline

What is difficult for me is applying all of these branding methods on myself as the “product” that I need to elevate, promote and sell.

Do I know enough about who I am and who I want to be to actually build my brand?

Will I recognize myself in this brand I create?

I’ve asked some people whom I’ve worked with, whom I like and respect personally and professionally to help me with a “tagline, a brand statement” that they think defines me and I’ve gotten some good ones. They have helped me remember who I was back when I was happy in my work. Several gave me car analogies and you’ll see my own car self-analysis in a future blog.

But years have passed and the resume has changed. I know my core values, I know my strengths and yes I am well aware of my weaknesses. How to weave these in to a brand is my dilemma.

So I have found a great resource “Personal Branding Magazine” an online publication that comes out bimonthly published by Dan Schawbel. It has great columnists who can give you plenty of insight on discovering your personal brand and growing and using your brand online. I would highly recommend taking a look and seeing if it might be something you’d find useful for yourself.

In the meantime I am in discovery mode and I hope to share bits of my journey with you along the way.

what do I want to be when I grow up?

What do I want to be when I grow up?

What a loaded question!

Ask most 8-year old children and they can give you an answer on the spot without hesitation. Most may never actually fulfill that 8-year old dream, some may not get what the job actually entails or the rough road it might take to get there. Some with clarity and wisdom of aging may just simply choose another path.

Now ask a 40-year old woman who has been out in the workforce 20+ years and see if you get an answer at all.

For me I might think "well I am already grown up, aren't I?"

Well in years here on earth and measured based on the legal driving, smoking, voting and drinking ages then yes, technically speaking I am.

Being as career-minded as I am and a sometimes* workaholic there must be a next step, a career challenge, another rung to climb on the ladder. Unfortunately I fear that I find myself on the rungs of the wrong ladder.

So if I can't identify the right ladder, or the answer to the big "what do I want to be when I grow up" question, then what do I do?

Well for now I take on the exercise of personal branding. (This topic, I assure you, needs to be addressed as its own subject in next blog post.)

But to finish this post I guess I will just jot down the non-specific, not-quite-tangible answers that come to mind when I ask myself "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

I want...

• a career, not a job. I had one once. I recall it vaguely and believe it went out with the Hefty bags during a file purge at my last place of employ.
• to LOVE what I do. Unrealistic @ 100% okay, but I think 85% is a totally reasonable number.
• to be engaged, challenged, measured and held accountable.
• to work in an environment where my level of standards is met or exceeded. Ideally I'd like to go back to the 1990s when I felt they were at their highest.
• to suit up and be in the game

* I am most prone to workaholic tendencies when actively employed and doing something I love. When bored and disengaged I tend to procrastinate and avoid like most people and I probably work more hours just from being less productive during the work day than anything else. I would love the opportunity to become a "real" workaholic again!

social media... friend or foe?

Well dare I say it I have been sucked into the technology vortex of time and space... social media.

I am now LinkedIn. I have been friended on Facebook. I am teetering on the edge of Twittering which is good alliteration for the twitching I should be doing by the time I start that! And now I am daring to think that people out there will care enough about my insights to make blogging a worthwhile endeavor.

I wonder how people have the time to stay so engaged on these different sites. I wonder who cares "what I'm doing right now". I wonder how I got so engrossed so quickly.

My efforts have been primarily business related in an attempt to research how my company might best use these tactics to build business relationships and get new clients but I can see how the personal networking and communicating aspect can become addictive.

I am going to continue the pursuit of learning more and maximizing exposure in an attempt to not get left behind as the techie generation passes me by.

This blog will help journal the journey!