Why Running is a Mental Game…

December 3, 2012 in General, Social Media with 0 Comments

I did it.

I committed to run 500 miles in 2012 and as of 7:45pm on December 2nd, i have hit that goal. Yeah, me!

Back in January, I made the following pledge. And over 100 people joined me. The concept was simple.

MOVE MY BODY.

Average 10 miles per week for 50 weeks. Some weeks I ran NO miles, one day, I ran 13.1 during the Disney Half Marathon (see pic above)

Only rule was you had to be going at least a 15 min/mile pace so while walking would count it had to be fast (not walking your dog). For the record, I ran 500 miles at an average pace of 11:27 for the year.

Halfway into the journey, I wrote this.

As of today, there are only 12 of the original 125 that still have a prayer of getting to 500 miles. As you can see, it was not an easy task.

Here’s what I learned:

1. Running is mental. I rarely ever felt like it. If i didn’t mentally decide I was going to run come hell or high water the night before my body usually won and talked me out of it.

2. The first step is exactly that. Take the first step. Move. Put on your shoes and go outside and just take one step at a time.

3. A “runners high” is an elusive thing. I can honestly say I can count on 1 hand the few times I ran and felt great. Like I was Forest Gump on maybe 2 occassions where I didn’t want to stop running. Considering I have done almost 200 runs this year, feeling amazing a handful of times is not great odds.

4. Life is in the journey. For me, running allows me time to reflect. In today’s busy world, i don’t get this often so this is definitely a benefit.

5. I never regretted a run AFTER it was done. I’ve never heard a runner say they were sorry they went running. Which is why it’s mental.

So, that’s it. I’m going to take a little break and reflect on what my next running goal will be. One thing I do know is, there will be a next goal. And i highly encourage everyone to put on some running shoes and get out there.

 

 

 

Election Marketing

November 8, 2012 in Business Development, Marketing, Sales, Social Media with 0 Comments

Whew, it’s over. I pretty much hated everything about the election.

Disclaimer: I’m a Republican and voted for Romney. I also believe he lost because Obama out marketed him.

Fortunately for all, this blog has nothing to do with my affiliation or even the outcome of the election.

It’s about Marketing.

And what those of us who do that for a living can learn from the Campaigning process.

Here’s a quick list of things I learned:

Know your target audience. Now this is tough for a lot of people to hear but as true to both campaigns, they didn’t spend a ton of resources on the people they knew were in their corner. They both focused on the battleground states and spend a lot of money trying to influence prospective clients rather than the ones they already had. It’s doesn’t mean you ignore your core as you will see later but they key to the game is NEW customers.

Know what you want people to do & make it easy for them to do that. Somehow I accidentally ended up in the Obama database. Well, actually it wasn’t an accident. When I was trying to educate myself on the issues Obama owned the SEO (search engine) and so he came up more often. Kudos to him. Owning your SEO is a key marketing plan.

I also firmly believe he won b/c he got more people to vote than ever before. He did this in 2008 and again this year. He did it by making it simple. Here’s a sample email I got on election day.

Lynn – 

The polls are closing in a few hours.

If you’ve got any nervous energy, there’s plenty you can do right now to have an impact on the results tonight:

1) First, make sure you vote, if you haven’t yet. You can find your polling place here:

http://www.barackobama.com/lookup

2) Then, forward this message to everyone you know to make sure they vote, too.

3) Finally, jump on our call tool to reach voters in key states to make sure that they know where they can go vote — and that they do it:

http://my.barackobama.com/Start-Calling-Now

All of our hard work comes down to what happens right now. Let’s not leave anything to chance.

Thank you,
Michelle

Use all Marketing means possible to get your word out. I got emails, voicemails, direct mail. Anything and everything and constantly. I even heard Obama on Pandora radio. Apparently the less is more philosophy doesn’t work for a campaign. At one point I was getting easily 8 emails a day asking me to donate to the campaign. While for most of us in marketing barraging people like this leads to unsubscribes, it apparently worked here. My point is not on frequency but more about the method. Direct mail is not something that is used as much anymore but I found it effective. When there’s nothing really in your mailbox anymore, a direct mail piece stands out. It’s like the clutter of direct mail has shifted to email marketing which is making me reevaluate direct mail.

Rally the Troops through social media. Hopefully, you have fans of your product.  Obama & Romney did a great job of encouraging social media as a platform. They both  had ardent fans fighting for them via social media. They encourage fans to “like”, RT etc and made it easy for them to do so. Best part of social media is it’s free.

La Tomatina Festival

August 29, 2012 in General, Humor, Social Media, Travel with 0 Comments

It’s virtually impossible to put my experience today into words. So, I’ll do my best to show you via video.

Let’s start with the obvious. I’m in Bunol, Spain for the La Tomatina Festival. I’ve always wanted to do it and it just so happened my vacation coordinated with the timing of this event.

All i knew going in was it was a tomato fight. People forgot to mention the 4 hour waiting in the sun on crowded streets.

If you are claustraphobic, this event is not for you. I have now seen multiple people hyperventilating CLOSE UP and i was freaked out just watching them. If you don’t like crowds and tight spaces, do not go.

Now that we got the disclaimer out of the way…

It all starts around 9am with a bunch of idiots trying to climb up a greased pole to get a ham. Yep, you heard that right.

There is not enough alcohol in the world to get me up that pole or anywhere near those boys fighting each other and the greasy pole. And for those of us incentive based, want to know what the lucky guy who get’s up the pole wins? the freaking Ham hanging off the top & of course the notariety!

Once the ham has been had, you head over to get in line for the tomatoes. Let the fight begin! Or at least that’s what we thought. But then, this happened.

that’s right, you pretty much just stand there while people in that truck throw tomatoes at you.

Let me say this, after waking up at 6am, waiting around in crowded streets for 4 hours (Tip: get there by 9am or they won’t let you in the city) and then being in a stampede only to see this truck throwing tomatoes at us, we were all very disappointed and had pretty much decided the whole thing was a bust.

But then a great thing happened. A street fight broke out. Think water balloon fight with tomatoes. It was kind of awesome really. It all eventually ended up looking like this:

Thousands of people getting pelted with tomatoes. It was insane. And for me, totally worth it.

Here’s what I learned:

1. If you have a IPhone people will purposely throw tomatoes at you while you are trying to film. Basically, b/c they are jealous that you are awesome and bought a waterproof case so you can document this event, you are now a moving target and will get hammered.

2. A tomato thrown hard to the back of your head hurts.

3. Tomato juice in your eye’s burn.

4. It is possible to get tomato bits down your actual ear lobe and find them after you shower.

All that being said, it was awesome.

To quote my friend “this is like Gasparilla confined to a 4 block radius”. Those in Tampa will know what that means.

Definitely not for everyone but I’m glad i did it.

 

 

NewsFlash: Rome is in Ruins

August 22, 2012 in General, Humor, Travel with 0 Comments

Ruin Exhibit A: The Colisseum. (it is AWESOME)

Now, I could bore you to death with a ton of photos of churches, old dilapidated buildings and art all of which in person is AH-Mazing.

However, none of my photos (even this awesome one to your left)will do it justice and since we now have a little thing called Google which has way better images of all of this than I do, I have decided instead to do a blog on random things to know about Rome.

Since, I’m a firm believer that everyone should visit Italy in their lifetime, here are some tips that will help you travel here.

Trust me, this is all the stuff you can’t find in the books but it’s helpful to know.

So, here we go in no particular order. You can thank me later!

  • There are over 1 Million scooters in Rome. You see about 3 of them for every car. In fact, I think the city buses are more prevalent than cars. My point is these scooters are dangerous so watch yourself crossing the streets. And do not bother renting a car.
  • This fact is for my Arena/Sports friends. Watch out, i’m about to drop some knowledge on you :) The colisseum originally had a layer of sand on the top b/c that would help soak up the blood of the dead animals and Gladiators (gross right?) Anyway, the latin word for Sand is ARENA which is why all arena’s are named that today.
  • The tour bus is FUN and a great way to see the city.
  • Rome is comprised of 7 hills. Walking around is comparable to San Fran.
  • All Italian men try to kiss you on the check upon seeing you. Both cheeks. Apparently this is normal but I still don’t like it. The good news is if you let them (especially wait staff and restaurant owners, this usually amounts to free drinks and sometimes free dinner)
  • In August, it is HOT. And I’m from Florida and it’s still HOT. Bring LOTS of water with you at all time. All of vendors will sell water that is FROZEN. Get that kind as it will melt in 30 min and will be a lot more refreshing.
  • Wine is super cheap. If you drink wine, you will be very happy in Rome. Excellent wines at the same prices as Boones Farm J
  • Pinocchio is a really big deal here. You will see him in all the gift shops. Stock up!
  • All meal are 4 courses and there is no rush what-so-ever when it comes to services so just relax and enjoy the meal. They are in no rush to get you out of a restaurant.
  • I have not tried it but people will drink water from anywhere. Fountains, faucets on the side of streets. It does not seem sanitary to me but yet everyone does it. I was in a fountain and someone came and dipped there water bottle next to where I was standing.
  • There are a lot of ruins with nothing to see. Circus Maximus and the Forum are good examples of this. Read a history book and look online and save yourself the time if you are pressed. There are much better things to see.
  • If you order seafood it will come with it’s head on and eyeballs in. Be prepared.
  • The food is unreal. What they serve in the states is NOT real Italian. The cheese & pasta is truly amazing. I will come back here just for the food.
  • The toilet seats have no rims. Which makes for a very large seat. Which means you could fall in the toilet if you aren’t careful. Don’t ask me how I know this.
  • Blue jeans are actually from Genoa, Italy. They were the first to create the indigo dye and so jeans (Genoa) were named after them.
  • I would recommend the Roma Pass but only if you aren’t going to pay for tour guides. It’s worth the price b/c you get to skip all the lines.
  • There is no real homeless here like in other countries or people asking you for money. It’s refreshing.
  • For some reason, people seem to know we are American on site.
  • Gelato here is actually healthy and can be eaten 3-4 times a day. Half of this sentence is a lie J

Chow!

Rome – Day 1: The Vatican, Fountains, Statues & HEAT!

August 20, 2012 in Humor, Social Media, Travel with 0 Comments

Let’s get started with a little tip for any of you looking to take over a country. Yep, you read that right. If you are looking to take over a country, I highly recommend Spain.

Why?

You know how most countries you visit want things like a boarding card and answers to a few basic questions like “why are you here?”

Well, Spain has no interest in that what-so-ever.

Easiest customs ever. Didn’t even look at my picture. Barely glanced at the passport and that was just to make sure the stamp actually landed on a page.

So, now you didn’t hear this from me but Spain is ripe for the taking. Someone get on this quick. All i need for the tip is free Sangria and Paella for life. Thank you!

I’ll right more about Spain later as we were only at the Madrid airport for about 6 hours before heading to Rome.

Roma. My kind of city.

Rome is my niche. I love it here. And I think people love me here. Could be b/c I’m blond, might be b/c I’m loud & American but anyway, so far me and my friend Court are a HIT.

Here’s  a pic of us with the restaurant owner last night.

As you can tell by the photo, I’m a little scared & surprised. One minute we are minding our own business at dinner. The next, the wait staff is asking for kisses on the cheek. And then the owner is greeting us & our dinner is free. Fun times!

Random, but does anyone else see a little Ed Asner in this guy?

So free food, is 1 great thing about Rome.

Here’s another reason I love Rome. Pasta. Cheese. Wine. Gelato. Repeat. Then Repeat again.

Today, we headed off to the Worlds Smallest Country. That’s right, the Vatican. After a 3 hour tour of art and more art I came away with this thought.

“I would rather shoot myself in the foot than be an artist”.

Michelangelo spent 4 years painting the Sistene Chapel ceiling. I spent 4 minutes looking at it and was too tired to hold my head at that angle any further. Here is a drawing of the angle Michelangelo had to be at in order to paint that ceiling.

If I was the painter I think I would have gone to the Pope and said “Look dude, I think this painting is really about Jesus and Mary, let’s paint them & a pretty blue sky and call it a day”.

I guess that’s why I’m in Marketing.

Other than that the day can be summed up with the following: Statues, Art, Walking, HEAT. All in all a fabulous first 24 hours in Rome.

Chow baby!

Basic Needs

June 14, 2012 in Business Development, Marketing, Social Media, Travel with 0 Comments

I often think about Creativity and how to obtain it. Or more like will it into existence from the doldrums of everyday life. See in my line of work, I am paid to be “creative”. But yet, I rarely find “creativity” when I’m chained to my office with a revolving door of staff, meetings, problems, etc. Like a hamster on a wheel, it’s tough to see the trees when you are in the forest.

I usually do my best work when I’ve been inspired. Sometimes, this comes from a break from the grind, or time alone to reflect/think but often it just comes from experience. From seeing something new. From getting out there and doing something. anything.

I could probably write a book on why I think taking care of yourself is the most important thing anyone can do for your job, your family, your friends etc. but i’m sure there are tons out there.

When I want to be inspired, the best thing I can do is go do something inspiring. Get out of my comfort zone. Do something different. Personally, this is why I like to travel and literally see the world but there are ways to do this that don’t require a passport.

Recently, inspired by our owner, the Lightning have pledged to do 4,000 community hours in the Tampa Bay area. That means about 25 hours for each staff member. Getting out and about gives you a new perspective. Often helping others, makes me realize how good I have it. It’s inspiring. It’s been a humbling experience b/c I often feel like it’s me that’s getting the true reward when I volunteer.

I ran across this quote today:
You’ve got to have something to eat and a little love in your life before you can hold still for any damn body’s sermon on how to behave. -Billie Holiday, jazz singer and songwriter (1915-1959)

Isn’t that the truth?

It reminded me of a lesson I learned in Africa. See, I was privileged enough to go with World Vision  (PS – if you want to really make a difference, sponsor a child, you help their entire community) on a trip to see the work they are doing. The most amazing thing to me was here I was in a place that I considered “sheer and utter poverty” and almost everyone we met seemed truly JOYOUS. One of the workers there told us that the goal of World Vision is to teach them how to provide for themselves. So rather than give someone food, give them a goat that will feed them. Educate them. Teach them how to provide for themselves.

Pretty simple stuff actually. And it applies to a lot of areas.

So, what does providing basic needs in Africa or shelter to people locally have to do with my creativity? The same thing it does for you. If you are stuck in a rut, it’s most likely your own fault. Don’t do the same thing everyday and expect a different result. Get your basic needs (whatever they are) met so you can be a contributing member of your staff, your family, your community whatever!

There are a million ways to be inspired. Go find one today!.

Why Cheer?

June 10, 2012 in Business Development, Marketing, Social Media with 0 Comments

I had an epiphany this weekend.

It happened Friday night in the middle of the FSU/Stanford game.

Well, to be exact it happened during the 4th inning. See, up to that point it was 0-0. Between lack of action, the fact it was Friday night after a long week and impending weather, I was tired. And just kind of there waiting for the team to make something happen.

But, during the 4th period one of the Animals from Section B started rallying the crowd with a variety of songs. And guess what? It worked. Not for me, not right away. See, I was still tired. But others (better fans) got into it. Soon, the whole stadium was rocking, even my tired self. Frankly, NOLES Nation was the LOUDEST I’ve heard at Dick Howser. It was an amazing experience.

And the Stanford team got rattled. Plain and simple, R-A-T-T-L-E-D. Their pitcher, Appel does not get rattled often and we took him for 17 runs. Well, actually we took about 5 of their various pitchers for 17 runs b/c Appel got pulled. And we won big.

My point is this. The crowd changed the game on Friday night.

Now, you might not believe me. But, I was there and I watched the crowd ignite the team and change the game. I’ve worked in sports for over 15 years. And I’ve seen crowds work their magic and get in the oppositions head. Crowds = Game Changers.

It’s the main reason our entire marketing campaign for the Tampa Bay Lightning has been Be The Thunder. Fans can and do make a difference.

Here’s my favorite story of the night:

As he stood on second base during a wild fourth inning Friday night, Florida State junior Devon Travis felt a tap on his shoulder and then fielded a question from one of Stanford’s infielders.

“Is it like this every night?” the Cardinal player asked. ‘There’s not a program out west that I’ve ever seen like this,’” Travis recalled. “And I said, ‘We’re blessed.’”

Now, that’s cool. I think every sports team needs their own version of the Animals of Section B (and alot of them have them) And honestly, it works best when the team recognizes the fans for their work. Which all of FSU did Friday night. Like with this tweet here.

Devon Travis‏@DeVoTrAv

Without our fans tonight, the game doesn’t end up the way it did. Loudest I’ve ever heard Howser. Thank y’all do much. #ONE

However, this isn’t just for team sports. I think cheering works for individuals. I’ve run a few races now and I always write my name on my running bib b/c when I do random people will cheer for me. And everytime I think about quitting, someone will yell out “Go Lynn, you can do it” or “almost there Lynn” and I keep going.

Cheering makes a difference.

So, what if we took this to the small accomplishments. What if we cheered for children making good grades? Or someone at work making a big sale? I guess my point is. Don’t let life pass you by as you watch. Stand up and cheer for something. Be an active participant b/c it really does make a difference.

Why I’m running 500 miles in 2012…

April 16, 2012 in General, Social Media with 0 Comments

I wish there was some heroic reason for me deciding to run 500 miles this year. And I wish I currently looked like this girl to the left. But neither of those things are true.

The unfortunate truth is I’m competitive. So, i do better when I can measure against others.

And I was tired of sitting on my butt during a LONG hockey season and not making time to exercise.

So, on Jan 1 when I was setting my goals, the idea to challenge my friends and co-workers to attempt #500milesin2012 just seemed like a great idea. And it some days it really was.

Over 100 people committed to run. Apparently, alot of people felt the same way I did and needed some motivation.

And guess what? Inspired by my blog, WigWam socks donated a pair of socks for each of the runners. They came in a huge box to my office. Now, THAT is cool!

In fact, it was one of the coolest emails I’ve ever gotten. Who knew a company like that cared about the little people.

And the socks, holy cow! There truly is a difference. I will never run in another sock again. In fact, I don’t even call them socks. I call them “running cradles”.

Thank you Wigwam! The people’s choice :)

Currently, we are over 1/4 of the way there. I’ve personally run 160 miles in 4 months. As a group we have run over 5000 miles. If you are doing the math, you can tell we’ve lost some people. We are down to about 40 core runners.

Probably because it’s not easy.  On the surface, 10 miles/week seems relatively simple.

Simple to do like once. Every week for 52 weeks is a different story. It’s tough.

Truly a mental game each week.

But, i keep going b/c I came up with this idea. Plus, alot of you when you aren’t cursing my name have sent me very encouraging notes about what this running challenge has done for you. So, thank you for all those participating.

And it’s not to late to join the challenge.

 

An Easter Blog

April 10, 2012 in General with 0 Comments

Today, as millions celebrate His resurrection, I celebrate my relationship with Jesus. And the fact that i have one. In spite of myself.

It’s kind of one-sided. He loves me. I do stupid things. He still loves me.

It’s not something I talk about very often. In fact, for the last week as I’ve debated writing this blog I’ve questioned myself many times. I mean, it’s easy for me to write about things I love. If you know me at all, you know I love my family, friends, sports, the outdoors, the beach, my dogs, the Iphone, and the Seminoles yet you may not know I love Jesus.

I think this is because Jesus is offensive. He always has been which is pretty ironic if you know anything about Him and what He stands for.

I once posted I was going to church (which I actually do regularly)  and someone asked me if the walls were going to crumble. It’s a fair question I guess based on some of my history. I’m far from perfect. I guess that’s called being human.

I actually hate the word religious. Mainly b/c it’s so-called “religion” that is behind most of what is wrong in the world. More damage has been done to the innocent in the name of religion than I care to rehash.

I even struggle with the label Christian although that’s much more acceptable mainstream. I think that’s because half of the “Christian’s” I know, I don’t really like. Actually, I don’t like. There, I said it.

Let’s face it, there’s a lot of hypocrisy in the church. Of course, there’s hypocrisy everywhere but it’s seems to be most offensive when done by people calling themself Christians. See “religious”.

Truthfully, I’d rather hang with the people those Christian’s call sinners.

Not sure why I am writing this other than it came to me while running and seemed important to get out there. This blog isn’t to try and convert anyone. Frankly, that’s not my job. Nor do I want it to be. I’ve got enough problems trying to get myself up to my own standards.

Easter is about HOPE. In fact, it’s the greatest story of hope I know. (Matthew 28:1-10)

I think about the state of the World and am saddened daily. Bad things happen to good, innocent people. Our circumstances seem overwhelming.

Yet, today is Easter and it’s the story of good news. There is HOPE.

Yes, even for people like me. And you.

A friend posted this poem by Phillip Brooks today. I thought it appropriate to end this blog.

Tomb, thou shalt not hold him longer.

Death is strong, but life is stronger.

Stronger than the dark, the light.

Stronger than the wrong, the right.

Happy Easter. Here’s to Hope for all people.

Management Lessons from the Hunger Games

April 3, 2012 in Business Development, Humor, Marketing, Sales, Social Media with 0 Comments

By now, if you are human and on a continent you should at least have heard of the Hunger Games.

Let’s face it. The marketing and social media behind this has been nothing short of amazing.

However, in case any animals or dead people are reading my blog here’s the official trailer.

I’m not here to go into the movie. I do recommend you see it though. But first, do yourself a favor & READ THE BOOK. One, reading is good for you. Two, it makes the movie, this movie in particular, all the better.

Now that we got that out of the way, here’s some basic management lessons I learned from the Hunger Games.

1. In the absence of leadership or in the presence of bad leadership, people will rise up.  With bad leadership, this is a given. In the Hunger Games, almost all the leadership is bad.

But, what was interesting to me and the twist is, people are capable of more than you are probably giving them. The most unlikely person (Peeta) has immense potential when motivated.

2. People are inherently good. And more importantly, they want to be good. Do good. Help. Etc. The movie is called the Hunger Games. It’s about cold blooded killing. Yet, the heroine, Katniss never kills the innocent unless its a must. And she helps out the less fortunate (Rue, her sister, even her hated cat) whenever she can. Give people the ability to do good and they usually will. Doing what’s right is infectious if you set the environment.

3. People react differently to different leaders. Katniss, only opened up to a few people. Cinna was one. I remember when I first realized everyone was not wired like me. People are motivated in different ways. Figure out what motivates someone individually and the whole team will perform better. Haymitch is an excellent example of this in the movie.

4. “The only thing more motivating than fear is hope”. this is an actual quote from the movie. And it happens to be my favorite quote. We all know leaders who are fear based motivators. Unfortunately, this often works to get results. However, it’s best to use “hope”. Everyone wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves. And hope will win every time.

5. Love really can conquer all. Watch Katniss and her sacrifice for her sister and you know. Love is the single biggest motivator in the Hunger Games. I know it’s weird to talk about “love” in relation the work place. I don’t expect my employees to love me. But, I do hope they like me enough that they want to do a good job. And I hope that together we do meaningful work they can be proud of and even, love.

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