by Kirby Hasseman
We all want to grow. It’s in our human nature to want to be challenged and have purpose. And if you are leading an organization, a team, or a family, it’s your job to seek growth for yourself and those you serve. So how do you do it? How do you challenge yourself to grow? And how do you help members of your team grow? If you know me at all, you probably can predict that I will say “read more.” If so, you would be right. But read what? Here are a few books that I think are awesome for leaders (and those that aspire to lead). First things first, I wrote this post about books I want my daughters to read. These books are foundational, and I think these should probably be first on your list. Now let’s jump into the “Leaders Reading List.” Leaders Eat Last: Simon Sinek burst onto the scene with the TED talk and the book Start with Why. It’s really good and I recommend it too. BUT, I actually enjoyed Leaders Eat Last even more. I loved how Sinek dove into the biology of what makes a great leader and why we react the way we do. Powerful stuff here. 4 Disciplines of Execution: Have you ever felt like your team was busy, but never made headway on new initiatives? Raise your hand (every leader). The 4 Disciplines book digs into why this happens, and gives you a roadmap for getting your team to get more done. It starts with the Wildly Important Goal (WIG). Good to Great: Jim Collins created a classic and destroyed the myths on what makes a great leader here. Collins explains why certain companies are able to become amazing…and leadership tells the tale. Extreme Ownership: This powerful tale of what leadership really looks like comes from two Navy Seals. This one was a gut punch to me about blaming anyone but myself…for anything. Everything in my organization is my fault. This book taught me that. Culture Code: I just finished this one and really enjoyed it. This is filled with great reminders about what make teams great. And it introduces some counter-intuitive truths about great organizations from the Navy Seals to Pixar. These are 5 books that have helped shape the way I think about leadership. I am hardly a guru. But inside these books you will find philosophy and tactics that will help you get better when it comes to running your team. Become a VIP! Sign up for our VIP newsletter here. We send out one email per week to catch you up on all of the content!
by Kirby Hasseman
When I decided that I was going to write a blog post for this website every day, most people thought it was dippy. Truth be told, many still do. But I decided to do it for a few reasons… 1. I wanted to be unreasonable. I felt like the most successful people I followed did things that most other people feel is unreasonable. I actually talk about that here. 2. I wanted to provide value. I know most people will not be able to read these posts every day. But when they want to read, or when they need a boost, I want to have new content. 3. I wanted to see if I could do it. I love goals that stretch me. And from a content perspective, creating something new every day excited me! These were the reasons I started. But I have discovered some interesting truths along the way. Here are the reasons I am still excited to keep going. 1. It’s working. From an audience perspective, the traffic continues to grow. Content marketing is a long term game. 2. I want to see if I can maintain it. At this point, I have posted well over 100 days in a row. That’s exciting! Will I break the streak? I might. But not today. 3. I keep coming up with new ideas. That’s one of the big concerns, right? You will run out of ideas. But the opposite has been true for me. Jeff Haden talked to me about this. When you are doing it every day, your brain is constantly looking for things to write about. When you are doing it once a week…not so much. So though there are days when I struggle to come up with something, it’s usually no more than when I was writing twice a month. 4. I feel like I am getting better. The reality is, if you want to be great at nearly anything, you need to put in the work. It’s what Malcom Gladwell called the 10,000 hours rule. So no matter whether you want to get better at sales, content, fitness, or cooking, the secret is…there is no secret. You need to keep putting in the work. You need to keep it up day after day. You need to keep going after other people stop. That’s the secret. The great news is, it’s completely in your control. The better news is, it’s probably not as hard as you think…if you just start…and keep going. Make sure you never miss an update! It’s time to sign up for our VIP newsletter! Why? Simple. We are posting a lot of content. Once a week we send you an email to recap it all in one place. Sign up here.
by Kirby Hasseman
“For myself I am an optimist — it does not seem to be much use being anything else.” Winston Churchill 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! Today on the podcast we discuss why I don’t see the downside of being an optimist. We also dig into a book called Becoming Supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza. There’s a lot to discover and a lot to discuss. Listen in now…and let me know what you think! As always, thanks for listening in! If you want to check out the book Becoming Supernatural from Dr. Joe Dispenza, you can do that here. Thanks for listening! Make sure you never miss an update by signing up for our VIP newsletter here.
by Kirby Hasseman
I am a believer is routines. Whether you have good ones or bad ones…you have them. And often, they are the driving force behind your life. I talk about that in detail here on the DMJ Podcast. That is why I have set up intentional routines in my morning. It’s a way I can get control of the first part of my day. And in my experience, the attitude in the first part of my day has a big impact on the rest of my day. But recently my family introduced a “routine destroyer” into my life. The havoc-wreaking hurricane of cuteness is called…a puppy. A puppy does not care in the least about my morning routines. It cares about barking, whining, peeing, pooping, chewing, scratching and sniffing. Pretty much every single noise they make signals that something bad is happening. They are constantly busy and constantly distracting. (I am just sitting down for the 4th time to continue typing this). There is a reason God made them cute. This is not a post to say “woe is me. My routines are screwed up.” Well, it’s not JUST that! It’s just a dose of reality. No matter what you do to create intentionality in your life, things will interrupt. If you work to be positive in your life, negativity will still fight to break through. I believe in setting up routines in the morning, but life is getting in the way. It happens. But now what? First, I think it’s important to understand that this is a season. Finn (yes that’s his name) will not be a puppy forever. As the old saying goes “This too shall pass.” It’s important to not get too frustrated (as hard as that is) in the moment. Next, I need to work with my new reality to create a new, intentional routine. I honestly don’t know what that is…yet. But I will figure it out. And once I do that, I will be able to get back to “normal” again. Finally, I can’t use this as an excuse. Yep…this is throwing me off. It’s harder to maintain my writing schedule every morning. And? It’s incumbent upon me to keep going anyway. We all have things that get in the way. It’s still on us to put in the work. It’s time to make sure you never miss an update! Join our VIP list here. We send out an email every Monday to give you a list of all the content for the week! Get it all in one place. Oh…and if you want to look for the best Promo the industry has to offer, you can check that out here.
by Kirby Hasseman
How many of you have ever started a new year (or a new quarter, or a new week) with the very intense desire to improve your fitness? Raise your hand…everyone. You had decided that “enough was enough.” You were going to put in the work. You were going to follow the plan. You had a goal in your mind. You had new “workout shoes.” You were fired up and you were committed. And you failed. Sound familiar? It does to many of us…me included. We know what to do. We just struggle with the discipline to do it. You know the quote I use all the time… The greatest distance in the world is the distance between “I know” and “I do.” I think the same is true for success in content marketing. As a matter of fact, I see a lot of similarities between success in fitness and in social media! Don’t believe me? Here are 10 ways Content Marketing and Fitness are the same! 1. Success takes a long time: One of the common misperceptions that causes frustrations in both is that results happen quickly. They don’t. The best plans for both start extremely slow and show only incremental progress at first. 2. You need to focus on the day…not the goal: If you continue to look at the marathon, you will get discouraged quickly. You don’t need to run 26.2 miles on day 2 of training for the marathon. You just have to run 2. The same is true with content. You don’t need a million followers. You just need to do the work today. 3. Consistency is Key: You can’t work out for a week and take 2 weeks off and have 6 pack abs (trust me, I know). The best success comes from consistent work. 4. It’s important to track progress: Most training plans have you weigh yourself at the beginning (and take pictures). That way, when you are frustrated, you can see how far you have come. The same is true with content. Start with your traffic baseline. The progress will be slow…but then you can look back later to your progress. 5. Most people start fast…and can’t keep it up: I started P90X the first time and went out of the gates like crazy. Then I could not lift my arms for a week. We have all see the company that started off with a Facebook page like crazy…and then have not posted in 2 months. 6. Most people use the same excuses about why they can’t do it: I know. You don’t have time. Bullshit. Yes you do. Do it or don’t do it. Your call. But time is not your issue. 7. The best plans do a little every day: You don’t have to go out the first week and run 25 miles. It’s often better to start slow and build up. The same is true on the content side. Start slow. There is no point firing out at a pace you can’t maintain. 8. The best people are intentional: You don’t have to (and probably shouldn’t) work out every day. You need to create rest days to let your body recover. But you need to do it on purpose. If every day becomes a rest day, then the routine is over. If you follow a plan, it’s much easier to stay on track! 9. The first 3 months are the hardest: In the program P90X, it’s 90 days for a reason. In that time you can create a habit in your day to workout. And you START to see results then. The work isn’t done. But that’s when it starts to become a part of you. 10. Most people know what to do…but aren’t willing to do it: Fitness and fad diets are huge business. We all want the shortcut. But if we eat less (or better) and work out more, most of us will get results. The fact is, we know that. Most of us are just not willing to DO it. These are just 10 ways that Content Marketing is like Fitness. There are more. So let’s put the excuses to bed. Create a plan. Then, let’s get to work! Make sure you never miss an update (like a mental workout). Sign up for our VIP newsletter here!
