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I have this theory that marketing and dating are the exact same thing. (I posted a podcast about this a while back.) Now, as a single guy (by which I mean, “not married”) I’ve been on my share of dates. And as a marketing guy, I’ve seen my share of unique ways to spread the word about ideas, products and websites. Not it’s time to merge the two and…

When I submit a book manuscript to my editor, I hope she uses up an entire red Sharpie marking up my draft. Because I want to know what sucks. Sure, it hurts. But I’ll take hurting over sucking any day. Also, notice I said to find out “what” sucks, not “who sucks.” Don’t take it personally. It’s not the author who sucks; it’s the writing that sucks. It’s not…

This week I was back in Vegas working with Jurni, the best travel agency consortium in the world! These guys know how to party! To kick off another great year, they put on a spectacular event including a 50’s sock hop, poodle skirts and all. I may or may not have eaten an entire meal comprised of juice-filled wax bottles, candy cigarettes and strips of colored dots.) They were…

Absolutely the best business/life decision I’ve made in the past few years was to start hanging out with people who are smarter than me. It’s like Proverbs 13:20, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” If you want to make a name for yourself, you must make friends, hang out with and learn from other people who have already made a…

Alright. Something weird is going on here. In the past few weeks, I’ve had three different people make almost the exact same comment to me. First it happened in Salt Lake City. I was recovering from a multi-speech day, resting in my hotel room, watching Anchorman. I checked the voicemail on my cell. It was from a strange guy named Mike. His message explained that he’d read my first…

I ventured back to Toledo last week for a few speeches… First I worked with WEN of Toledo (Women’s Entrepreneurial Network). It was excellent. There were a lot more men than I expected! I gave away a few free books to my “homeboys,” aka “The MEN of WEN,” who clearly stood out from the crowd! When people walked into the break out session room, I collected business cards for…

He might be a jerk… He might be a lazy, unmotivated cheater… He might instigate fights with all the people from accounting… He might screw around and get into trouble a lot… …but deep down, he’s a really good guy. Right. Let me tell you something: deep down doesn’t matter. People only give you credit for that which they SEE you do consistently. Think about it: if someone says,…

Being a 26 year old professional speaker sucks. Actually, not really. I love my job. You couldn’t pay me NOT to do it. But picture this: you’re about to walk on stage to address hundreds – sometimes thousands – of seasoned business professionals who are twice your age, have three times your knowledge and four times your experience. Every one of them watches you with skeptical eyes and crossed…

A is for ATTITUDE B is for BREAK PATTERNS C is for CONSISTENCY D is for DISCIPLINE E is for EVOLUTION F is for FRIENDLINESS G is for GOOD WITH NAMES H is for HAPPINESS I is for IDEAS J is for JOY 1. You HAVE to write all of your ideas down on paper. Get a notebook, a journal, a jotter, a dry erase, whatever. Write it on…

You can’t deny it: word of mouth works. And the most fascinating about WOM are the little stories, encounters and contexts in which it is spread. Me, I monitor my company’s word of mouth in a WOM journal. (I suggest you do the same with your company.) Anyway, the WOM Gods have been good to me this year, so here are 11 recent encounters that have boosted sales, increased…