“Passion is a prerequisite for success”

“Success follows passion”

“Find what you are passionate about and…”

I’ll be the first to raise my hand and admit how redundant and cliche these statements sound.

There are many, many quotes, phrases, opinions and theories on the topic of passion and how it can be the critical component in ones personal or professional life. If you’re anything like me though, you often dislike the “perfect-world cop out” nature of it’s proclamation that befalls most instances. You almost want to slap the philosophical mouth of the lovely person delivering the lecturing phrase. Everyone knows it, or has at least heard this sure-fire theory, but is it really a down to earth forumla to succeed? Why?

I like simple. And I think that is what it is.

Hate him or love him, I’d say that there are many clearly impressive factors when you look Donald Trump’s professional career. I say that because I’m obviously going to reference a morsel that came straight from his chops. In one interview with Inc. Magazine, he listed 7 important things pertaining to a successful career. “Passion is the No. 1 ingredient for success … because it’s necessary in order to withstand the challenges and difficulties one will face.”

Damn straight, Mr. Donald. Damn straight.

How easy is it to throw in the towel, and say *%&$@# it, if you don’t have a strong anchoring reason or passion behind what you are doing?! Very easy. And in that instance, we can often think of a million reasons why we should quit to make ourselves feel better. Lack of passion would be the root at the top of the list, whether or not it’s acknowledged in that way. Sometimes we even wonder why we find it so easy to just let go. Is it so bad? No. Don’t beat yourself up for it or allow it to immobilize you. It usually just means that you haven’t got it quite figured out yet. Keep moving on, Spartan.

If you are not passionate about what you do, you simply won’t have enough grit to pull you through the tough times. And lets be honest, there will be shitty times and enough angst to go around – so it’s this definitive passion that is the single ingredient that allows you to muscle on through, no matter what. Without it, you have no protection against the elements. You’re ill-equipped.

It’s fairly simple to reverse engineer this elusive passion pursuit. Start With Why! Simon Sinek effectively explained this theory in many practical applications, with strong backing in his Book as well as his TED Talk. Don’t just do something, then create a line or sugarcoat as to why – think of why you do things, and format your application afterwards. That’s how something sustainable can come together.

At different stages in our journey we find some things more relevant and useful than others. Obviously, I don’t write simply based on mastery, but in the areas that I am also needing work in. This is because I believe that writing creates an exact mind, and narrowing it to specific areas of improvement is helpful. So, this list of 4, will likely be different next week or next month, but it is top of mind for right now.

Concentration – It has been said that one of the human minds’ greatest abilities lies in it’s capacity to focus solely in one direction for an extended period of time, for the purpose or attainment of a specific set outcome. We see the results in the form of exceptional products and creations from those who have mastered the ability to concentrate. Those that are producers, know how to concentrate. Often times, a large asset in being able to concentrate effectively, is to put effort into elimination. Identify all and anything that can distract you, for even a moment – and remove it, if just indefinitely. When a pattern of thought or concentration is broken, it takes a substantial amount of time for the brain to be able to re-focus to the level you were at prior to the interruption. ie// answering texts, phone calls or shooting off a “quick” email prohibit you from experiencing fluent concentration. That’s why it is great to set aside time in chunks and dedicate them solely in concentration to a project, whether that be 30, 60 or 90 minutes.

Organization – Producers and sloths both have the same 24 hours in a day. The difference is in how they use it. There’s a reason why that guy with two jobs manages to fit in time at the gym every day. He knows how to organize. The ability to set clear parameters and structure to your life and your undertakings is huge. I’m talking about not being able to see the colour of your desk, but also prioritizing what you could and should be doing. Taking the 30,000 feet approach, and taking all things into account and acting accordingly. No one likes to major in minor things, so it’s best to organize and go after the high priority objectives. Things that actually move the needle, so when you look back over your day, month, week or year, you think “damn, I’ve done a lot”. Sort your lists, prioritize, condense, and remove the fluff. If you’re like me, you feel the need to write down every painstakingly small detail, so that you don’t forget even the smallest thing. Don’t. The main thing is to organize and prioritize so that your valuable time is spent on the things that matter the most. There is a lot of truth in the statement that says, “how you do something is how you do everything”. Organization can give you that edge, a great way to get a leg up on your competition.

Innovation – Innovation is a mindset and a thought process. One that simply sets a mandate for change, revolts the status quo, and  sets a trained eye to creating something new. Something better. Not looking at challenges, but seeing opportunities. Not looking at what is needed now, but the factors that exist now that will create a need in the future. Looking what is being done, and improving upon that. Creating something that solves a problem or fills a void. Don’t be like all others that operate in an industry for the sake of it having always been that way. You may not need to reinvent the wheel, but you can improve upon it. Just look at Kodak. They created an entire industry, but lost out due to innovation and went broke. There are hundreds of comparables to their scenario. Do not get complacent, because innovation will simply make you obsolete. Be the one to do it. Innovate or die.

Communication – You do not need to be a profound orator who regularly graces the podium, but simply one who effectly gets points across to all that you are in contact with. Whether it is in the communication process of face to face sales, selling the vision, mission, values and plan to your team, delegating to a staff member, to your customers via your brand, tasks and outline via email communications, or to your family, wife and kids – the ability to communicate effectively makes all the difference in the world. It can be digital, verbal, through your body, or a perception via online property…so be very aware of how you are communicating, through different channels, and to different sources. It can be the difference in the flop or fruition of an entire project.

Now, the adage of “if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten” is not even true anymore. Perhaps it was when the statement originated, but in today’s era, if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get less than what you’ve always gotten – and you’ll put your ass on the line. Maybe even your business. What worked before doesn’t necessarily work now. We can’t be complacent in anything we do. We all know that the day a business stops building, it starts dying. You can only coast downhill. Always be improving, whether its the list above or other things entirely.

Please comment below and let me know your thoughts on this or highlight some things that I missed.

With the decline in flash and the rise of HTML5 and CSS3, the nuts and bolts get better, but a few things remain constant – the value of great user friendly and effective design.

We’re now in 2012. Where classical design meets modern functionality. Vital messaging with lazer clarity. A quick conveyance of value in a “right now” society. Oh, and today’s consumer knows an outdated site when they see one…

In today’s design world, simplicity and cleanliness are what really aid in the conversion of interest to potential customers. A clean purposeful layout encourages interaction, if there is a solid call to action, and value from the visitors standpoint. If you’re trying to shout your message louder than your competition, then you’ve got more problems than just design. The same thing applies in the social media arena. Shout, and get shut out. The adoption of a simplistic design strategy is backed by a strong informational backbone and engagement strategy.

So, here are a few design trends to keep top of mind in 2012:

Make your calls to action specific and clear. In order to cut through the overabundance of “noise” online, you need to attractively convey a concise message and call to action. Online, perception is reality – and you’re simply as good as you look, or as big as you look. Take that one step further, you only have one-tenth of a second to convey the perception that you desire to your audience. How are you going to say it? What are you going to say? What are you going to make sure you do not “say”… Hint: if you have such a short amount of time before a perception is formed, keep in mind how long it takes to read a block of text.

You’re not a Skittle or rainbow. Keep colour simple and clean. Ignore the contrast and trying to select the most effective plethora of colour combinations. Ofen times an effective layout can be complimented best with structure, lines, shading and gradients as opposed to colour variances by sections. The subtle differences of a designers eye. Shouting with colours won’t get you far. There is a psychology behind colour selections. Leverage one that is the most consistent with your brand. Use contrast in selective moderation, and use those that have proven best for conversion in things such as “learn more” or “submit” buttons.

And they will come…via mobile devices. Are you aware of the traffic stats of your site? Your industry? In general? You should be. Chances are, you’d be quite surprised at the mobile device stats, the stats of which are only going to continue to grow this year and every year following. It’s vital to truly understand the habits and patterns of your site visitors, so that you don’t miss out on the great opportunity when they visit your site. It’s a costly mistake if you don’t. You can’t afford to miss the ever-increasing percentage of visitors that arrive via mobile devices. Show them you are here for them – by designing a page that you know works for them and their surfing habits. Take into account the screen sizes and abilities of different devices when it comes to navigation, scrolling horizontally and vertically, and presenting the most pertinent info first in effective navigation methods. If possible, sometimes it is advantageous to plan and design a landing page for mobile, prior to designing for desktop, so you don’t miss out, and you add features and design accordingly.

High quality images, simple typography, more video and interaction. Combining text and images have been around since the inception of the Gutenberg press, but the combination of such has grown increasingly important, and delicate. Less can very often be more. Invest in high quality images. Use them well, even broadly. Leverage the emotion the images provoke with your text. Eliminate distractions for the sake of streamlining your results. Take your “message”, and cut it in half. Use concentrate, but don’t add water. Condense navigation and clickable options to main objectives. Leave the detailed further information to your qualified clickers that are looking for it.

Social integration and widgets, registration forms and buttons. Social integration is vital and widgets are great – but only if you are heavily invested in social media, the campaigns, information and interaction you host on those social platforms. If you’re not doing much, then act accordingly on your website. You wouldn’t set up a party as a host and not show up in real life would you? Just keep in mind, in your flow and plan, that you OWN your website platform, you don’t own your Facebook page. Use them for different levels of interaction and action, and design accordingly. Know what different properties serve purpose wise. Send users there to engage them in contextual conversations and join your brand party, but bring them from social platforms to your site when you want them to act on something specific, or to retain their information. Plan for this. When you have someone land on your page – you know what you want them to do. In order to encourage your visitors in that flow plan and direction, you have to make the path clear, simple and concise. Again, eliminate distractions. Speaking of simple and concise, keep your registration forms non-intrusive. Only place an asterisk next to a couple valuable items you need, like email and name. Don’t ask for their grandma’s name, blood line, favourite fruit and phone number, you’ll guarantee abandonment of the form. Asking for more will result in losing out on submissions. Your strategy of follow up and email integration should be sufficient with just that information and enable you to obtain more.

Keep it simple. For the sake of reiteration, less is more. Simple is sexy. Live in the mind of your customer and their needs, and be aware of the perception and desire for cleanliness and usability. Know there habits, where they’re coming from and how they will be interacting with you.

Have fun with it. Always test it, analyze and revise it.

The all-to-common plague of speaking negatively of others… We’re all guilty of it. I know I am, or as a work in progress I’d like to say, used to be. But some of us are just more aware of this than others. The awareness in this capacity is what carries the possibility of improvement and change. Do we really want to be receptive and open to accepting garbage? Our minds can only take in so much in a given day, and there is a capacity limit, so why don’t we leave the BS out, refuse to accept it, and leave some more room for the good positive stuff? The influence it has is subtle, but over time it compounds without notice, and it rears its ugly head in some form down the line. Simplified, we can all take the simplistic advice of Thumper from the movie Bambi when he states: “if you can’t say somethin’ nice, don’t say nothin’ at all”. Or, we can make like Socrates and bust out a Triple Filter Test when we, or someone is about to spew some junk.

Those people who know me, or even do business with me, know that I operate close to the perimeters of what he outlined below, and I take pride in doing that. Just because something HAS worked in the past, or WAS the way things were done, by no means suggests that it should continue that way. Things have changed. You don’t even need me to insert some of the many many examples of this. Those that cannot change with the times, are simply left behind. We’re amongst the greatest technological shift that has dramatically altered the methods of commerce worldwide, and will only continue more so in that direction. The same concepts are relevant in life as well. You can go sit in your boardroom and sort through your policies and procedures if you’d like…I’ll just be over there running laps around you. You can’t progress in any fashion without change, so I tip my hat to change.

Here is what Jack said on CNBC.

“Formality is the most silly thing in the world. Bunch of pompous bureaucrats! Formality slows a company down. Change is what excites people. If you’re stagnant, you’re dead. You’ve got to get people to embrace change, and not be paralyzed by it. People want CEO’s that care. Authenticity is enormous. Candor counts.”

Here are his 6 secrets to success:

1. Trust yourself. You have to dig deep down to really identify WHO you want to become, not what, but who. Not who other people want you to be, but what you do. Figuring out for yourself what makes you happy. Give yourself credit, and do that.

2. Break the rules. It’s impossible to be a maverick or a true original if you’re too well behaved and don’t want to break the rules. You have to think outside of the box. What is the point of being on this earth if all you want is to be liked by everyone and avoid trouble. The only way I’ve ever got any place was by breaking some rules.

3. Don’t be afraid to fail. Everything I’ve ever attempted, I was always willing to fail. You can’t always win, but don’t be afraid to make decisions. You can’t be paralyzed by fear of failure or you will never push yourself. You keep pushing because you believe in yourself and in your vision, and  you know that it is the right thing to do and success will come.

4. Don’t listen to the naysayers. I love it when someone says that no one has ever done something before, because then I do it and that means that I’m the first one who has done it. So pay no attention to anyone that says it cannot be done. I never listen to “you can’t”. I always listen to myself, and I say “yes you can”.

5. Work your butt off. Leave no stone unturned. Muhammad Ali was once asked, “how many sit-ups can you do?” He responded with, “I don’t count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting, when I feel pain. That’s when I start counting because that’s when it really counts. That’s what makes you a champion”. That is the way it is with everything. No pain, no gain. Someone out there at the very same time is working hard, someone is getting smarter and someone is winning, just remember that. There is absolutely no way to get around hard work. None of the other rules find a way to work, unless you do. There’s 24 hours in a day, you sleep 6 hours, and you have 18 hours left. Some of you say, ‘but I sleep 8 or 9 hours’, well I recommend sleeping faster.

6. Give back. No matter what path you take in life, you must find time and a way to give back. Something back to your community, your state or your country. Reaching out and helping people will bring you more satisfaction than anything else that you have ever done.

Remember these 6 rules. Trust yourself, break some rules, don’t be afraid to fail, ingore the naysayers, work like hell, and give something back.

Thank you, Arnold.

Today the sun was out. Yes, I say that in rare satisfaction. I live on the Wet Coast and its January…

Anyways, some beautiful sunshine today made me have an itch to dust off the ol’ Harley and go for a ride. Just a few more months and I think I’ll be able to do just that. I like to have these little things to look forward to. Hobbies, plans, trips, events, friends, whatever it may be. Keeps a good level of balance, and for people who work fairly hectic hours, these things are just that much sweeter once they roll around. Life is a constant game of balance, but it feels great to be on the Teeter of the balance Todder and ensure you make time to plan for the things that you enjoy as well. So, while I’m working today, I will admit that I my mind is on the open road, in a t-shirt with the warm Summer breeze in my face and sound of Screaming Eagle pipes below me. Also, this may or may not be enhanced by the fact that I’m putting together a campaign structure for a Harley-Davidson shop today…

But I rest, writing about sunshine and motorcycles in January – not being much of a Winter person is evident. I don’t hide that. As a matter of fact, I’ve contemplated being a seasonal British Columbian, and scooting off to another part of the globe during the Winter monts of November to February – ish’. I know of a number of people in my network that do that, and I have yet to find one that does not thoroughly enjoy it and have great stories when they speak of the experiences. It’s not feasible for everyone, I know – but I know it can be done for many. And for anyone that is blessed enough to be bound to work only by an Internet connection, I think that it’s really worth exploring. So, I think that is what I will be doing next year. Does anyone have any suggestions on places to go? (if you do, please share your stories in the comments below)

Keep the rubber side down! Ugh, I mean. Happy freezing cold Thursday January afternoon.