by Kirby Hasseman
For many years now, I have said that all of us are media companies. It’s a mind shift in marketing your business or telling your story that is the result of cell phones with amazing cameras and the internet. You are no longer a company that sells cars. You are a media company that also sells cars. This shift makes you think differently about how you tell stories. I talked about it in this blog back in May. It really changes the way you think. You start to see stories that need telling. We did. We started to see those stories. But we were not sure this blog or website was the right place. So we decided to create “the right place.” That is why we created “Ohio’s Heart.” Ohio’s Heart is an online media company dedicated to promoting positivity and spreading kindness in, what we feel, is an underserved area in Ohio. What is that area? Think of the area along the intersection of 70 and 77. We will cover up to Wayne County and down to Washington County. We will have articles, videos and podcasts as we move forward. And we will be looking for ideas on stories to cover (so help us keep an eye out). We are starting slowly, as we are learning as we go, but we posted our first article to social media Friday (check that out here). What can you do? First off, feel free to follow us on social media. We are on Facebook and Instagram. Next up, share any articles you think have value! Finally, as you check into the site, you can make sure you never miss an update by signing up for the Ohio’s Heart email. It’s a great way to know about positive things going on in our region. So check out the website now and give us your two cents. We appreciate the feedback and the support as we try to make positivity louder in our region! P.S. Special shout out to Skylar Hasseman, who has been working hard to get this site up and running for the last couple of months! With the help of Josh Williams and Eric Dingler, we have it live. Nice job Skylar! We have a new post each and every day on THIS site. Make sure you stay connected by signing up for our VIP newsletter here.
by Kirby Hasseman
I hear the world “authenticity” thrown around a lot today. Heck, I even find myself using it a lot. It’s almost become one of those business cliche’s that pops up in every meeting. These are the words that lose their meaning, because they are used so much. (As a side note, friends and I would play Buzz Word Bingo at an old job. We would keep track of all of the cliche terms, and when we heard them all, we could yell “Bingo!” It was really funny…once.). There is a problem with authenticity though. It’s a term we like when it serves our needs. We don’t ALWAYS like authenticity. There is an asterisk beside the term. *We like authenticity in specific circumstances. *We like it for ourselves: We love the idea of authenticity when we are talking about ourselves! Yes…people will love the real me! “If I am genuine and honest and transparent (another new buzz word), the world will flock to love me.” But are we as excited and enthusiastic when other people are THAT genuine? *We like it when we agree: We love the idea of someone who is authentic and is saying what we believe. We can’t get behind that enough. We might (as a culture) even label them as brave for doing it. Good stuff. But what about those people who authentically disagree with us? Do we label them as “brave” or as “evil and misguided?” *We like it when we understand: This is a close relative to above, but it’s not exactly the same. We might not TOTALLY agree, but we have friends that do. We at least understand the plight. So you we can gladly laud them for speaking up! But what about the causes or efforts we don’t understand.? You get the point (I hope). We can’t just love and admire the authenticity of a few. And in the interest of transparency, I preach being authentic. I think, to find your voice, it’s incredibly important. But if it’s a characteristic that is to be admired and cultivated, we need to open our minds…authentically. We have a new piece of content every day. Want to keep up? Sign up for our VIP newsletter here. Our goal is to provide you value, so make sure you never miss a post.
by Kirby Hasseman
I was struggling.
We all have days like that. We have those days that make us wonder why we do what we do. Does it really matter? Does anyone really care? I don’t think it’s just me. So that day I was having “one of those days.” And then I got this message posted on my Facebook wall.
“Like a lot of people, I’m sure, I listen to podcasts while I’m driving. Yours is one that I listen to. Bailey (my 6 year old) generally hates when I “just listen to people talk”, but, the last few times she’s gotten in the car she’s asked if we can listen to Kirby. When I told her you are a friend of mine that I’ve known for a long time, she instantly declared “I want to be friends with him too”. I’m not sure that 6 year olds are the audience you are aiming for, but we are all fans of yours. ?” Sarah
I can’t tell you how much this brightened my day! But it’s not about me…it’s about you.
Though Sara and her 6 year old Bailey boosted my day, that’s not the point. The point is, we all have the ability to spread that piece of joy.
My rule is simple. If I catch myself saying something nice about someone behind their back…I tell them.
That’s an easy rule that we can all take a moment to follow. So give some thought to that person that helped you this week (or this month).
Make a list. Then take a minute to reach out to them on Facebook, or via text or pick up the phone. It’s very likely that you will lift someone’s day (like Sarah and Bailey did for me). And what’s even cooler is that you will likely lift your own spirits as well!
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by Kirby Hasseman
The Delivering Marketing Joy Podcast is back! Our goal here is to attack 2018 with a vengeance! The Delivering Marketing Joy Podcast will provide some inspiration, motivation and education to make it happen! Consider this your 10 minute “kick in the pants” to get your week started off right! This week on the podcast we look at something that is holding a lot of people back…perfection. Today we talk about the idea that “done is better than perfect.” What do I mean? Listen in now! As you may have noticed, I referenced a few books here for you. Here are some links to check those out! Scrum by Jeff Sutherland Lean Startup by Eric Riess Finish by Jon Acuff These are all some great resources to get you to move away from worrying about perfection…but getting to done. Thanks for listening! Make sure you never miss an update by signing up for our VIP newsletter here.
by Kirby Hasseman
I admire people that chase their dream. It’s hard to put yourself out there with a project that might not work. I know. (I talked about that here). So when people are willing to not only take the leap to chase their dream, but to put themselves out there, I love it. I even did a podcast about it here. So I am excited to give you a quick update on Tanner Ward. As I mentioned in the podcast, he was fishing in the College Bass Masters Tournament. It was a team tournament (two people in the boat) but Tanner qualified by himself. So it was a huge honor when, after two days of fishing, he ended up in the Top 12 (out of 136 boats) to fish on the final day. At this point I wanted to give a quick update…yes there will be spoilers. Here are a couple of quick points. *Tanner did well on the final day of fishing and he moved up in the final overall standings. *If you want to know specifically how he did, you can watch the College Bassmasters Tournament today on 11am on ESPNU. And if there is an updated Youtube link after the fact, I will post it here. *Tanner has also created his own website. On here he can post is results, pictures and he is considering starting a blog or podcast. Since I believe everyone is a media company, you can bet that I love this idea. Here is a quick link to the site. Feel free to follow up and support Tanner on his journey. I know I will. For those of you that are actively chasing the dream, I salute you. And I would love it if you would subscribe to our VIP newsletter here. Our goal is to provide you inspiration and motivation every day.
