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!