by Kirby Hasseman
We all have days when we wake up feeling stuck. I do too. I wake up lacking the motivation to do nearly anything, let alone the important work that is often taxing and hard. So what do I do when that happens? I spent 10 minutes talking about a few tactics on a recent DMJ Podcast here. But one of the tactics I use is to push “good into my brain” first thing in the morning. I have a few “go to” places that provide me inspiration…and help to remind me to get after it. Here are a few I use…feel free to steal them!
6 Places I Find Inspiration
Seth Godin’s Blog: I don’t view Seth’s blog as “motivational” exactly. But it is a blog that shows up (every single day) and makes me think. I love that. And in making me think, it inspires me to be better. His blog is here.
Gary Vaynerchuk’s Daily Vee: There is no way I watch every Daily Vee. Gary produces so much content, I don’t know how (if you are grinding too) you could consume it all. BUT, it seems like when I do, he says something that reminds me or inspires me. His Youtube channel is here.
Casey Neistat’s Vlog: I love Casey’s shooting and editing style in his videos. So while many of them are not “inspirational” by nature, they do show me what I want to create. And Casey has a personality that is fun and charming too! Here is one of his latest videos…fun.
Jeff Haden articles: Jeff is one of my favorite writers on the interwebs. Apparently I am not alone because he is one of the top read writers on Inc.com and Linkedin. He also recently wrote the book called Motivation Myth which I really enjoyed. As a matter of fact I featured it on a recent article and podcast about the books I recommend here.
Grant Cardone: Grant can be a little over the top for me. But when I need a boost or a kick in the pants, he can be rocket fuel. If you are aspirational in your goal setting, Cardone can help you think bigger. Here is his Youtube channel.
John Lee Dumas: I have talked about being unreasonable before (here)…and JLD was definitely that. John Lee Dumas created Entrepreneur On Fire and interviewed a different entrepreneur on a podcast EVERY day. It’s impressive and he created a ton of valuable content. His website is here.
Speaking of inspiration…I loved this graphic and it originally showed up here: https://ukessay.com/. Thanks so much!
So these are just a few of the voices I go to in order to get me going. There are countless others that include books, podcasts, blogs and more. What are your sources of inspiration? Let me know! Oh..and if this blog is providing you some inspiration and value, subscribe to our VIP newsletter here!
by Kirby Hasseman
One of the toughest things about overcoming challenges in the present…is the past. It’s hard not to look at what you have already put in, what you have already done, what you have already sacrificed. You see that huge pile…and you can become discouraged and distracted. Unfortunately focusing on that “pile” is not helpful, or even, pertinent. There is a term in Poker called “Pot committed.” The idea is that you have already put so much of your chips into the pot, you feel like you have to see the hand through. Even if, intellectually, you know you don’t have the best hand. The emotion in “the pile” has you committed to finishing, even if you lose. But what if you started from today? Most decisions are not forever. I wrote about this here. This is a question that I find useful when I am frustrated about a project. Why? Because it does not discount the “pile.” On the contrary, it compliments it. It helps you look back at all of the experiences you have gained and say “Wow…look at how much I have learned! Look at what I have built!” But with those experiences, you know a lot more today than when you started. So if you were to start this journey today… *How would you begin?*What would you do first?*What would be your goals?*What would you do differently or change?*How could you make this project be successful or make you happy? By asking the question, “What would I do if I started from today?” it helps to reframe the discussion in your mind…with the experience. So if you have a project that is stalled, failing or frustrating you…what if you started from today? Let me know what you think! And as always, our goal is provide value to you through content. We are posting every day…so stop back. And make sure you never miss an update by signing up for our VIP list here.
by Kirby Hasseman
It’s July 4th and (in the United States) that means it’s Independence Day. For many of us that means cookouts, family get-togethers, fireworks and cold beverages. That is great. But as the halfway point of 2018 is here, Independence day also reminds me of a few more things. 1. Freedom to chase my dreams.2. Freedom to create my life intentionally.3. Freedom to give.4. Freedom to be happy. I find that halfway through the year is a great time for me to re-evaluate my goals for the year. How am I doing? Am I on track at all? This holiday in the middle of the week is going to serve as an opportunity for me to reflect on my goals…and how I am doing to create a happy life for me and the people I care about. My hope is, you are doing the same. So here’s to you! I hope you have a great holiday…and work to create real independence in your life. Good luck. Make sure you never miss an update by signing up for our email newsletter here.
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 tackle a topic that happens to all of us. Sometimes we are just “not feeling it.” That lack of motivation can keep us from starting…and that keeps us from finishing. So today I discuss this real issue and what to do when you “are not feeling it. Listen in here. So those are my tips. But what do you suggest? Do you have other “go to” moves when you lack motivation? Let me know! And keep coming back to the Hasseman Marketing blog each day. We are working to post a brand new piece of content every day. Make sure you never miss an update by signing up for our VIP newsletter here. We do a weekly update with content and specials!
by Kirby Hasseman
I preach the power of consistency. A lot. I talk about it content marketing, sales, building a business, fitness…and life. We need consistency and patience. Intuitively we all know it’s true. Sure…some people might take off like a phoenix to success. But most people have to “show up” over and over and over before an audience starts to notice. It makes sense and I know it’s true. But knowing it doesn’t mean it’s easy. Let me give you an example. I decided about a month ago that I needed to double down on my content marketing efforts for Hasseman Marketing. I even blogged about it (here) at the beginning of the journey. “We are a media company, and we are going to start acting like it.” I also decided that I wanted to be unreasonable and I talked about that here. So I did. I started to post a blog on the Hasseman Marketing website every day. One of my goals, as you might expect, was to increase traffic to our site. I looked at our web traffic for the year and took a snapshot to see what that looked like before the journey. We had had one month in the past year where we had the most traffic by far (it was because of one post) and the previous month (May) was our lowest traffic month of the year. I knew that if I posted every day, we could have a significant impact on our website traffic. I just knew it. Right? About 10 or 12 days into the month I decided to take my first look. I was on vacation and I had time. So I decided to check on the progress so I could brag about the difference I was making in our online presence. What did it look like? Well by posting each day, our traffic (at that point in the month) was lower than May. That’s right. The traffic was lower than our worst month for the previous year. I know…it was only 10 or 12 days in…but I would be lying if I said that didn’t hurt. At that point it would have been easy to say “screw it.” It’s not working. But instead I decided I wanted to see the experiment through. Spoiler alert…I was glad I did. By continuing to post each and every day, something cool happened. Though I did not have any “hits,” the cumulative effect of showing up, started to work. Each day the numbers started to climb. People on Linked in might comment on a post that I had put online a week ago. And with each passing day, there are more posts for them to find. Over the next few days the numbers went past our worst month and worked their way up the list. We continued to track up…slowly but surely. By the end of the month, the best month’s traffic was in range. Did we pass it? Yes. And we did it with no “viral hit.” It’s hard to see the progress and the impact of a goal while you are grinding toward it. That’s the reason to focus on the daily list of tasks. We all want a quick hit to the top. But in the end, it’s slow and steady that still wins the race. Make sure never miss an update (or any piece of content!). Sign up for our VIP newsletter here.
