Today's Pioneers and the New Frontier

Evolution of social media can be traced back before Paul Revere and his horse, Brown Betty. True pioneers discovered, invented and made a difference that impacted the world.

What does it take to be a true pioneer? From the tangible land of the free to today's intangible landscape of technology and communication, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Today's frontier is a new world, an intangible landscape of technology and communication but it takes a true pioneer to lead and innovate.

When I think of a pioneer, one of my favorite movies "Far Far and Away" comes to my mind. This film, starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman was a big hit back when the superstar couple were still married and seemed "normal." The movie was about two young people living in Ireland, both seeking a new world. From entirely two different upbringings, one a farmer, oppressed and who lost his father and his own farm due to the tyrant of his land at the time. The other, a young woman with a spirit for adventure who yearned for any thing non-conventional. Watch a trailer here >

The two main characters set out on a journey, a true pioneer story. And, as their paths crossed and they ventured overseas to a land of the unknown, they experienced life as a true pioneer. An open range of land, freedom and opportunity. They came across groups of people and circumstances they would have never imagined. Their standards of ethics and integrity became more pronounced throughout their venture and once they arrived at their destination, standing on a hill near a stream, with one hand holding a white flag to claim their own land, the sun set in the west and the movie credits began to roll. A success story of a pioneer - or, only the beginning?

That was then. Pioneers went westward bound on their pursuits of happiness, seeking natural resources like land, streams of water, oil and gold. These opportunities were available to those who dared to step out beyond the boundaries of status quo.

Today's pioneers have the same reasons and passions that drive them. They have the same rugged- and character-building journey. They are also on a pursuit of happiness but today's pioneers are not discovering America, the land of the free. That was then. This is now. America has been discovered, acquired, capitalized and over-utilized. Today's pioneers are venturing out in an intangible land seeking life and liberty in a new frontier, a new world of intangible possibilities.

They're the entrepreneurs, inventors, designers, writers, all with creative minds and a fearless spirit that drive them forward, in hot pursuit of innovation. The far away lands and turbulent seas that once shaped a pioneer's journey is much different than the landscape just ahead in the eyes of today's pioneers. Today, our new frontier is a cyber world endless and rich with intangible resources, just waiting to be discovered. The future discoveries and inventions are going to change the world.

Are you ready for the intangible adventure? Let's go!

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Get Motivated: In Review

Get Motivated Tip #2 by Rudy Gulliani: Leaders have lost their own individuality, their passions their principles. Technology is a great tool and it is profoundly making an impact on our society and its leaders. Read how to manage technology and improve your leadership. Read below for more leadership tips > > >

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This week I attended the Get Motivated business seminar at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. There was a bounty of accomplished world renown speakers all sharing tips, techniques, tidbits and truths that have kept them on a steady path of success. I would like to publically thank my friend and fellow Toastmaster, Jan Houin who secured a ticket for me and arranged for transportation for me even though we left at 4:45 a.m.!

Here is a list of the speakers who made the most impact on me and a quick take away I gained from their talk. I share it with you in hopes that you may find it interesting and encouraging for you and your journey.

Steve Forbes:
Don't forget the basics.
(This was the basic tip I basically heard, although, I was late for this presentation so I didn't get the full message. I would have loved to have learned more on what Steve shared however! )



Terry Bradshaw:
Terry was honest and genuine. He told the audience of 15,000 of his flaws, his journey of divorces and family problems, his struggles with depression and ADHD and more. Then he said, "Our lives will always have adversity." He encouraged audience members to work on those simple things in life like smiling and just being happy. He encouraged people to define their gifts, passions and what makes them truly fulfilled.

Terry was told most of his life he was "stupid." He even admitted several times that all he had was "a P.E. degree." He shared about his experience of running through the tunnel onto fields and being booed. Despite the negativity, the adversity, he claimed that he owned the title and deed to his dream and no on could take away his dream.



Rudy Gulliani:
Rudy Gulliani told the stadium of guests that technology and the rate of how information is delivered by technology is having a profound impact on our world. He claimed that one of the problems leaders are faced with due to this information technology is that leaders have lost their own individuality, their passions their principles. There is a tendency to follow majority too often. They follow the polls instead of using their minds and their hearts. He encouraged leaders to develop individual plans and ideas based on experience, education and beliefs. "Collective opinions lack creativity and lean towards a tyranny."

Rudy recognized the impact of technology and offered suggestions on how to cope with this major impact of overwhelming information.

1. Stay connected.
Don't be afraid of it. You will be left behind. Learn how to use a computer.
2. Read.
Read books. Go deeper into a subject you enjoy. Read about a subject that challenges you. Read about subjects that you enjoy.
3. Listen.
Learn from others. Copy other leaders, fit it to your own self. Learn to be a better business person, go to another leader and ask them to teach you.
4. Write. Hand write notes on what your interested in. List pros and cons. Write down goals.
5. Stop and think.
Reflect. Take a moment to search for your own Instinct. Your instinct and individuality needs to be accessed and preserved.

Lastly he shared a great quote from his father, "Weddings are discretionary, funerals are mandatory." You need to care about people. Be a true friend to others.


Zig Ziglar:
While most of the speakers paced the stage from corner to corner with a supernatural enthusiasm, Zig Ziglar, 84 year old man sat on a chair next to his daughter. His daughter introduced her father and told the crowd that Zig had fallen almost a decade ago and needed his daughter to help him on stage when his memory would wander. A strong message in the act was almost as powerful and memorable than the words they shared. Here were some of the principles Zig shared:

Never worry. Tell the truth.
Encourage and court your spouse just like when you were first in love.
Sales techniques come and go but integrity and truth is always in vogue.
Be a life time learner. Put good stuff in, and good stuff will come out.
No one gets anywhere on their own, we all need others. Help one another.
Money buys a nice house, but not a home.
A sense of humor is valuable, don't suppress it. Laugh out loud.
Love your wife. (He kept referring to his wife throughout his presentation.)
Pump pump pump hard and tirelessly. Then, when you least expect it the water will just flow...
See you at the top.


General Colin Powell
Shared his own techniques he has used in all sectors, at all levels in his life:
Be a leader, get followers, bond and give them goals, a mission, a PURPOSE. They have to believe that they are making a big impact, benefitting society.
Have a purpose, believe, have passion, show it, show moral and ethical integrity.
Motivate and inspire, people need to believe in what you are doing, so they can achieve in what you need them to do. Make sure they have the tools to get the work in.
Just because you are cold wet, be a leader and don't show it.
Show affirmation, say thanks.
Check in, have human connection with others.
Great leaders are tough too. Don't be a pushover, do not allow bad followers to stay.
Trust is shared by good leaders and their followers. They'll follow you even it it is out of curiosity.
Radiate. Think new thoughts.


Laura Bush
It can be difficult to recognize yourself despite others opinion. She shared her secrets to sanity and told about how she handled stress while living in the White House on 9/11. She shared:
Stay in the moment.
Know who you are.
Respect previous leaders as decent men.
At times we lean to left and to the right but America is the big ship that sails on.
Live thru the adventures, count your blessings (realize the value of your own children safely tucked in, know the job of a leader, take a stand, make q difference, face failure, humiliation and change)

Danica Patrick
Her number one tip: Don't give up. Success takes hard work. Most people quit too early and just give up.
Danica's secret to success: Obstacles only charged her, made her want to be more, to be better, to keep going.
She suggests that others need to identify their passions, find their talents. It is good to have lofty dreams and high goals. Keep big picture in mind.
When asked if she had any advice for other underdogs, she responded with disbelief, "Am I an underdog?" Evidently, she has always seen herself as a winner even as a female in a male dominated sport, from a young age, she never recognized parameters. Her parents helped formulate this belief from early on in her childhood. She shared, "We are our own limit."

A full day packed to the minute of ideas and testimonies from some of the powerhouses and aspiring leaders. From 8:00 a.m. to past 6:00 p.m. the stage was oozing with information and inspiration. We hope you will find these leaders to be role models for you as you form your own ways to manage stress, be a leader, take a stand and change the world. Are you motivated?

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Retreat Day 3: The Change Agency and the Infotech Revolution

"The modern computer has been with us for more than half a century. But it was arguably a member of the supporting cast, not a prime determinant of enterprise strategy, until the early- or mid-1990s. Then the emergence of the Internet and the wild growth in telecommunications technology together changed everything. Virtually overnight.

Fact is, depsite sectoral turmoil and disappoinntments of the last two or three years, we are merely in the baby stages of the infotech revolution. Established organizations do not exactly shine in discontinuous times. Neither do successful 40-year-old middle managers. On the contrary, orgs and hiearchs tend to hunker down, to guard their turf ferociously - and to pray that "This, too, shall pass." Well it won't..."

- Tom Peters, reinforces the staying power of social media, "Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age"

The infotech revolution is upon us and admittedly has hit this almost 40-year-old middle manager-type with much angst. From day one of entering into my career, I can't seem to get the right footing for the pace of this infotech world. To stay abreast of just the terminology let alone mastering the latest tools has required a level of endurance, like sprinting up to the top of Kilimanjaro without one day of training. And, once you arrive to the top, no one else is there. The timing is all off. Sometimes I wonder if I've missed the boat, when I see someone offering social media advice to their following of over 10K tweeps, for example. Other times I feel like I am just way too early, especially when some of my prospects are still trying to understand what "branding" means.

Understanding the world of business is critical for success. Keeping up with the trends of finance, management and marketing alone is a full time job. Add on top of that a dedication to understand the basic coding languages and proper software tools. Tech knowledge that is necessary to make what was once needed to happen, and at times still is necessary for printing on paper is now needed to produce social media. Then, sprinkle on the style, the aesthetics, most importantly to uphold credibility and add value to any collateral deemed acceptable in today's commerce. A strong sense of business, an understanding of the latest technologies and a creative flair is the necessary combination for success in today's infotech revolution.

Yet, the fragmented groups of the techies and creative types miss the mark when it comes to business sense. They lack the mojo to step up and only a few will have the stamina to keep up on the social media journey. The business executives who fear the change that technology brings or lack the zest to learn have regretfully slowed today's economy. These sub groups all speak a different language and hang out at different water coolers. They are missing the mark on how to work collectively in the internet era. Once they realize the value each bring to the table and respect one another, that is when they will settle, build a town, an enterprise.

Until then, most techs and creative types go unemployed. Corner offices are cursed with insecure chiefs who no longer know how to lead and thus, have instead grabbed onto fear. Fears that have led to corruption and the need to control. This begets less and less innovation that leads to more techies and creatives being unemployed...

What happens when droves of techie and creative types are unemployed? Well, I hope that a new free world is created. I hope that people will see today's business landscape of unpredictability and know for sure that there is opportunity in social media. We are living in an infotech revolution. Some see it as revolting. Not me. I see it as a golden opportunity and it is time to forge onward, fearlessly. March on social media soldiers.

Signed,

Social Media Maniac of The Midas Center

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Retreat Day 2: The Change Agency

"It won't be easy, just as it wasn't easy for those brave families in their Conestoga wagons, heading across the dusty and dry plains, and then on to the virtually impenetrable Rockies and Sierras. But if there wasn't always gold at the end of the rainbow, there was - almost always - an opportunity for reinvention. A new start. A new you."

- Tom Peters, encourages reinvention and restlessness, "Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age"

When I think of social media, I often visualize American pioneers and their journey of discovery. What was the fire in their bellies that kept them moving forward? What sort of support systems did they rely on when the they were faced with a "bad day." How did they keep their focus? At what point along their journey over the sea and vast land did they realize their success and relish the reward? Picturing the pioneers of our past inspire me to take on the new technology of social media.

Social media is the new frontier plentiful of possibility. Domains are like online real estate and just like the centuries before the cookie cutter subdivisions were created, here we stand with a blank canvas, a land of opportunity. Social media juggernauts are at the starting point of the journey.

Treading along in today's business landscape, I am hopeful yet somewhat anxious. The rate at which technology changes and shifts is speedy and the learning curve is steep. But, step by step, I move forward because it is the future and if I feel a calling, a purpose driving me forward.

Behind me, darkness is beginning to fall on those big businesses, those Fortune 500 leaders who once led all of us to drink the kool-aid from the same communal cup. Their big budgets for too long have controlled the messages and images that we have consumed through those old forms of media. Traditional media once gave us only three channels that worked through our rabbit ears all sharing the same messages on same schedules. Some of us could purchase more channels, cable provided us with options of 350 channels, yet nothing was ever on.

Sure, we had choices and freedoms, we even had the convenience of a remote control that only created us to become more lazy and complacent. The messages through advertising, through programming, programmed us, formed us into a mainstream culture that idolized name brands. Robotically, we digested the messages. At times, we would change the channel, channel surf and that was about all the control we had over the messages coming into our living rooms.

Today, social media gives society so much more freedom from the traditional one way communication. Not only do we have so many more channels to select from, we also have more avenues to comment, share, tweet our likes and dislikes about our consumer experiences. We can choose what messages we want to hear, when we want to hear them. The information highway is not just a one way road. Social media has created multiple lanes of two way communication.

Consumers now have a louder voice than just their pocket books. Now, consumers can tell it like it is and spread their feedback, the good and the bad, on a product or service faster and more effective than it takes you to find a 1-800 number to customer service. How businesses will respond to this new freedom of client feedback? That might be what separates those who will stand and and those who will fall.


And, from where I stand, the horizon of social media is more than just a flat line before me. It is a multidimensional land of opportunity that is going to divide mainstream into its natural habitat. It will impact the way we do business and the way we learn.

We can learn about anything we want as quickly as our wireless connections will allow. Sitting at a keyboard, we can travel anywhere on the informational highway. In fact, it isn't just a cyberspace of information, social media has extended the universe to include entertainment, socialization, consumerism, education and beyond!

Now, all humanity has a voice. Social media is a friend to all humanity, helping small businesses the disenfranchised minorities to become media movers and shakers. Small businesses that don't have the big corporate budgets to advertise will now have a voice and have opportunity to reach out and be a player like they never have before. That is, if they will hop on the band wagon and not be afraid to stake their claim on social media.

For too many years we have accepted the ol wagon wheel. Perhaps the wheel still works for you and you are comfortable settling in to where you are.

This pioneer is seeking more. We're seeking ways to improve that ol wagon wheel. We want to give a voice to minorities, the creative types, those non-conforming identities that you probably don't even realize exist! We're looking for new media platforms and tools that will help us all get to that place, over the rainbow.

We'll tweet ya, I mean, send you an email...um, I mean a post card or a message in a bottle when we get there!


Signed,

Social Media Maniac of The Midas Center

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