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Lessons on Fear and Criticism

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Last week one of my clients launched her first e-course.

About 72 hours before the first launch, we were on the phone and she asked me, "When did you know you were an expert?"

I had to take a moment to think about it, and I realized that the feeling of "expert" never really comes.

I easily have the 10,000 hours under my belt (also the bad eyesight that comes with staring at paper/computer screens for that long), I have my degree in writing (and the loans to prove it), and I my adult career is as a writer.

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The Marketing Idea That Changed Everything

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Your branding has nothing to do with you.

That's right. I said it.

I wasted so much time trying to "brand myself" and "position myself as an expert" and blah blah blah. Believe me, they're semi-important, but not as much as the marketing revelation my brain finally cracked.

First, a little background story.

The Other Side of the Coin: Where Millennials Get It Together

Millennials, we need to talk.

You know I came to your defense in my last article. No one gets the Millennial struggle more than I do, believe me, and I’m with you. The world that has been handed to us is pretty much broken.

Here’s the real truth though: Nothing will get better unless we make it better. We have to turn around this sinking ship we are on, because the alternative if we don’t… Well, we shouldn’t even go there.

It’s a huge responsibility and if we refuse to face it head on, we might as well light this world on fire and quit now.

Making Fun of Millennials is SO 2012

Look, I get it business people.

You don’t understand Millennials. You’ve written countless articles on that fact alone.

Unfortunately, instead of asking yourselves why we are like this, you go the easy route of, “LOL at these kids and their social media/always getting a trophy/living with their parents.”

I won’t get into how expensive college is, or how minimum wage is a joke, or even how full-time jobs are as common as finding a $100 bill on the street.

10 Things The "Guru's" Don't Tell You

I have been active on the internet for the past 14 years. I got my first computer when I was 10 and instantly hopped online, curious to see what all the hype was about.

Over these 14 years I have seen giant companies, websites, and "gurus" come and go.

The current fad is, of course, the technology industry and lifestyle design.

Everywhere you look online, people are talking about the new apps coming out, or how to start a business from your laptop so you can spend your days drinking margaritas on the beach.

Rules Are for Suckers and Other Important Things: Newsletter Opt-Ins

It's common business knowledge to not give attention to your competitors.

But I am not a big fan of rules.

Ashley Ambirge is the copywriting / marketing / vodka-drinking authority on the web. Her marketing is like crack to everyone who falls into her sales funnel because how can you not love everything she ever creates? Am I fan-girling out too hard? Probably.

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The Ultimate Guide to Storytelling on Social Media in 2013

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2013 is a tipping point.

Over the next few years, we will see companies start disappearing off social media because they failed to use it right. Up until this point, brands could butcher social media and still gain a following. This is the year when it all starts to change.

The younger generation is getting older and soon they will be calling most of the shots. Like I've said in other posts, they don't know a world without internet and they have been marketed to since they came out the womb, so they are ten steps ahead of every average marketer out there. They are taking social media by storm and if you don't understand social media from their perspective, you are going to lose.

Volkswagen: An Ad Done Right (Start Throwing ROI Out The Damn Window)

What kind of message is your company sending?

If you look around the internet, you can see that most companies don't quite have their message or voice figured out.

Check out this ad:

Did the ad even talk about the car? No. Actually if you watch the ad again, not one single word is spoken throughout the ad. Yet this video got 10 million hits only within a few days which is HUGE growth.

What I Learned About Writing By Hiking A Fourteener

When I hiked a fourteener last summer, I literally thought it was going to kill me.

In case you don't know what a fourteener is, it is a mountain that goes above 14,000 feet in elevation.

Although that experience was dreadful while it was happening, there are a lot of things I learned after completing it that relate to writing:

1. The journey up is the hardest part.

Keeping The Focus: Improving Your Communication With The MOST Important Person

Who is the most important person in your life?

If you didn't say you, we need to have a talk.

Recently, I was talking to one of my business mentors (Kadena Tate), and she said something in passing that has truly stuck with me: "Keep the main thing, the main thing."

As I thought about this, I thought about the fact that through the simple hustle of life, I constantly lose track of the "main thing".