by Kirby Hasseman
The week between Christmas and New Years is always tough for me. Why? Because it’a s transition week. I am not completely “off work.” I don’t go on vacation, so I go to the office on days we are open. There are usually some things that need attending to. There are calls that need returned. On the other hand, I am not really “on” either. Many, if not most, of my clients are off. The HMC team is mostly taking the time off. So even if I wanted to be working “full speed ahead,” it would be tough to do that. So while I get some things done, I am never working at a pace that feels productive or satisfying. It’s a transition week. Most of us are just waiting for the New Year to put the hammer down. Seasons of transition can be challenging in life. We spend a big portion of our life working to create one reality. Then when it goes away, it come be tough to adjust. You hear about it a lot from people that retire. Studies show this can be one of the most challenging transitions in life (believe it or not). Frank goes to work for 30 years to the same job. He reports to the same area and makes the same widget. He has a purpose. That is who he is. When retirement comes, and no one is telling him where to be and what to do, he loses his meaning. Though I have heard many people say “that will never happen to me,” it happens more than you think. Transitions are tough. Parents understand this all too well. You work to raise the child (or children) so they can become independent. Then they become teenagers. That is a season all it’s own. Then they grow out of that…and enter a new season of their own. If you are in a season of transition (as I am in a few areas), I think a few things help. Be Patient: These times are challenging. But remind yourself that it’s only a season. Sometimes these seasons last longer than others, but on the other side of this week comes the New Year. Be Grateful: Times of transition give me a great deal of stress. I am a person that wants things “yesterday.” So when I find myself waking up in the morning with that anxiety, I take a deep breath and mentally list the things in my life I am thankful for. It sounds simple. But it helps me reconnect my day. Be Joyful in the Process: If you are in a season of transition, then you have the chance to create the next season. Be intentional about creating it. Spend some time thinking about the life you want to create. Take the time to make it something you are excited about. In a sense, it’s like creating goals for the year. Do it on purpose. If you are living through one of these seasons, understand that you are not alone. Many of us go through them at different times and in different areas of your life. But get ready, the next season is coming. Thanks so much for reading! Make sure you never miss an update. Sign up for our VIP list here.
by Kirby Hasseman
For me, Christmas day is a day of thankfulness. Not only am I thankful for the time with family, but I am also thankful for you. Those of you that take the time to read this (occasionally or regularly), I really do appreciate it. It’s a noisy world out there today. So if any of my content breaks through and provides you value…that brings me a great amount of joy. So Happy Holidays. Merry Christmas. And thank you. Make sure you never miss an update. You can ensure you get each update by signing up to be a part of the VIP list here.
by Kirby Hasseman
Today is Christmas Eve. So many people are busy with last minute plans, heading to parties, going to church, making food, and running to the store to buy that one last minute gift. It’s a busy day. But remember this. Today is a great day. Today is a great day to Be Kind. Today is a great day start something new. Today is a great day to Spread Joy. Today is a great day to make someone smile. Today is a great day to give generously. Today is a great day to give a hug. Today is a great day to be better than you have been. Remember, the best day to plant an Apple Tree is 40 years ago. The next best day is today. Today is a great day. Make it so. Thanks for reading and engaging. If you want to make sure you never miss an update, sign up for the VIP list here.
by Kirby Hasseman
It’s hard to believe it’s been 7 months. On May 30th I decided to start writing this blog every day. And since that day, come hell or high water, I have put something up. Sometimes it has been good. Sometimes…not so much. But the hits kept on coming each and every day. But why though? What is the point of the exercise? As I said in the beginning, it’s because I think we are a media company...and we need to start acting like it. I still believe that…and I wanted to revisit the idea. Since I have started this exercise, I have gotten a lot of questions. I wanted to address them here. Why are you doing this? What do you hope to gain? This is a question I get a lot. The simple answer is, attention and website traffic. Our website traffic, as you would hope, has gone up a lot. We have increased the number of people on our newsletter and we have increased the amount of opens on that newsletter. So not only do we have more people on it, but they want the information. That’s good stuff. We have also increased our sales over that time. It’s a funny thing about content marketing. It’s tough to point to one post and say “oh…that’s the one that caused our increase in sales.” For us, it has been “drip, drip, drip,” over time. During that same time…sales are up. BUT there is no way I can read it every day!I hear this a lot too. Totally cool by the way. And I guess, from my perspective, I don’t expect you to. I never had the idea that people would be sitting by their computer just waiting for the “ping” to come though to let them know I had published more amazing nuggets of knowledge. That would be great…but not my expectation. The idea is I can reach you when you want to be reached. For me to make sure I was there when you needed…I posted every day. In addition, I never knew what idea was going to resonate. I talk about that a bit here. Where Else Can I Find Your Content?As I mentioned above, I want to reach people where they want to be reached. So if you are not a reader, then this might not be for you. So here are some other pieces of content you can find. Delivering Marketing Joy: Hosted at PromoCorner, this is a video interview series that I am incredibly proud of. I have been doing this for 4 years now (so hard to believe). If you want to check that out…it comes out every Wednesday. Here is the latest episode. The unScripted Podcast: Another product of PromoCorner, my buddy Bill Petrie and I talk about the world of marketing and branding every week. We are a bit silly at times and certainly unedited in our opinions. I am proud of this award-winning podcast…and you can listen to the latest one here. Day In The Life: This is my vlog and I have been pleasantly surprised about how many people watch this (here is the latest). It’s about some daily adventures…and it’s usually fun. You can find it on my Youtube channel as above, or you can follow my Facebook page here. What Is Next?This is a question I am asking myself right now. Though I did not have specific measures of success when I started this, I have been incredibly pleased with the results. But do I want to keep this up every day? Is blogging the best way to do it? I am not completely sure what I want to continue to do in 2019. (Opinions welcome here if you want to weigh in). Here are some things I do know. Content is fun for me…and it works. I want to continue to create…and I want to get better. I am excited about 2019. How about you? Thanks so much for reading, listening and watching this year. Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for our VIP list. As I mentioned above this list is growing. We send one email per week with all of the content! Sign up here.
by Kirby Hasseman
In a staff meeting this week I was talking to the team about GOALS. As many of us start to wind down the year, it’s a great time to be introspective.
How did your year go? Did you do the things you wanted to do? Did you move toward your goals? I talked about the 1 thing holding many people back here.
In addition, I spent a bit of time talking about my thoughts on big goals. I believe you should stretch yourself. These big goals are not Pass/Fail. Read more on that here. But there is one thing that I don’t think we talk about enough when we talk about goal-setting.
If you want a well-rounded life, you should probably have well-rounded goals.
Most of us have goals that center around two areas; finance and fitness. Though those are both important areas, they are not the only ones. That’s why I talk about the 5 F’s of Goal Setting. Finance, Fitness, Family, Faith, and Fun. If you want a well-rounded set of goals (and a well-rounded year), this is a good list to start with.
Finance: This time of goal might center around how much money you want to make, how much you want to save or the sales number you want to achieve.
Fitness: Do you want to lose 10lbs? Want to run a half marathon? Maybe you just want to improve your diet. These are all great and they fall here.
Family: This is the place where I remind myself that I want to spend time with those that I love. Do I want to have a date night with my bride? Do I want to do something specific with my girls?
Faith: Do you want to give more? Do you want to get involved and volunteer? How can you make an impact in this area?
Fun: Yes…I think this area is important too. And it’s great if a few of these might overlap. For example, if you want to take a great family vacation, that might cover two of the five “f’s.”
This is not a comprehensive list. But it’s a great start to getting you thinking about creating a year that you will be excited to live. Now let’s get them on paper! Oh…and if you want to dig deeper on goals, we have created a FREE course on goal setting here.
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