Scion of NLP

Archive for the ‘Biz Excellence’ Category

(*sigh*) Sometimes the toughest thing to do in this world is stand by and watch as ‘injustice’ happens … but deciding to do nothing in some cases is simply the best option to choose.

As many of my readers know, a base concept of NLP is that everyone has their own model of the world — their own way of thinking how the world works — and many of us support every person’s right to have their own point of view on things. That sometimes also includes their own way of doing things … especially their own things.

I remember many years ago, the Aikido dojo where I trained (and occasionally taught beginner classes) had one high ranking student whom everyone complained about. I would have endless numbers of lower ranking students talk about how he was ‘too rough’ and they often asked why nothing was done about it. At one point they even asked me as a higher ranking student to take their concerns to the dojo Sensei … and I did. [BTW, just a little FYI for any Aikidoka out there -- the dojo Sempai is the one who is supposed to deal with issues of etiquette in the dojo ... not the Sensei ... so don't go straight to the Head Instructor before you talk to the Head Student]

What was the end result? … when the issue was brought out in the open no one would stand up and support my claims — and I ended up looking like I was holding a personal grudge or something … the result being I was disciplined for my ‘false’ accusations.

Now, skip ahead to today … a family friend of mine is going through some real tough times right now, and to make things worse, the whole world has begun to turn on her and her family — having suffered a personal tragedy she originally went to the media in order to get the police to take her case seriously … and now that they are, she’s happy to move on … but it is no longer that easy.

I watch helplessly from the sidelines as her family are verbally bullied and attacked … and they do nothing. Even in the face of all the proverbial mud-slinging the family has chosen to take the high road … refusing to fight back … allowing all the internet crazies out there stir up more and more trouble for all of them — and no matter how upsetting it might be it’s not my place to fight her battles for her (although I’d be happy to help if she asked … and even tried a little too) … I must constantly remind myself that it’s not my place.

Sometimes the toughest thing to do in this world is see something that you can’t comprehend and– even though you don’t know what to think or say or do — you wonder if maybe you should possibly do something about it? … or do you just leave it? …

… and in the end I’ve learned that it’s really not my place (especially as an NLPer) to judge the choices of others … whether or not it’s ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ in my own model of the world … whether or not it’s the way I would do things … sometimes, I’ve learned, the best thing to do when you see something that you may or may not consider to be ‘injustice’ is to simply do your best to accept what is and just let it go …

I’ve tried to ‘get’ the concept of this social media thing for several weeks (perhaps even months) so I decided it was time to get help from a social media coach (Jodie Gastel of In Jodie’s Brain) and with her help I think I’m finally really beginning to get a bit of a knack for it … or, at least, understand what’s happening … and what I need to do. 

For anybody who’s wondering about social media, and what it entails, I’ll give you a general idea of what it looks like for someone in my position:

Twitter Stuff

Keeping up with twittering means having a finger on the pulse of what’s happening now and responding to people and sharing my opinions and input … times 3 for me — because I’ve got 3 Twitter accounts that need to be kept up at least twice daily:

• @Scion_of_NLP
• @Verbal_Sensei
• @Dr_Dan_Says

Facebook Stuff

Facebook (or LinkedIn or whatever social networking sites you belong to) is all about connecting with people who share your interests. In my case that means I need to be involved with stuff happening on my profile page as well as my fan pages and my group discussions:

• My Facebook Profile
• Soaring Success Fan Page
• Verbal Defense Tactics Fan Page
• My Anti-Bullying Group

Website Updates

In this case I’m working on 5 websites (currently only 4 are ready and working) which need at least a new post/article per week … and yes, I am aware that of late I haven’t been keeping up on my social media responsibilities in this area — I’ve been working on getting my sites backend PHP coding cleaned up so that updates and website upkeep would be more manageable.

• Scion of NLP (my personal blog — this site)
• Soaring Success (the NLP side of business website)
• Verbal Self Defense Tactics (the Verbal Self Defense side of business website)
• Dr. Dan Says (my professional behaviorist site)
• The ‘Un-named’ Site (a website about defense against inappropriate uses of NLP)

Yep… a year ago I’d have said it was a tall order, however, today it’s becoming more and more within my level of skills and abilities. In no time I shall become a true Social Media Jedi (*add in sound effect of swinging light-saber here!*). 

If you have a small business of your own, and you have any hope of building it into a self-sustaining business these days, I strongly recommend finding yourself a social media coach like Jodie — she actually sat beside me and walked me through how to pick and choose what I respond to … what should (and should NOT) be said … all the lingo … everything!

Thank you Jodie! — you soooooo ROCK!

It is amazing how many people still feel that websites are over-rated! Businesses that don’t have websites have to be insane in today’s market — the number of people who go to the internet before the phone book to research available goods and services in their area! OMG! You would think it obvious when Google filters your search results for people in your area first.

So, why do people avoid getting online? What keeps people thinking this whole World Wide Web thing is just a fad? — My guess is fear. When people don’t know how to do something or they don’t understand it, then it can seem scary. I mean, nobody likes to fail and if you are certain that you don’t really know how to do it … well … failure can seem almost certain … UNTIL NOW!!

A colleague (and close personal friend) of mine has (after much poking and prodding from friends, family and people in the local business community) put together a complete, take-me-by-the-hand, step-by-step, through-every-tiny-detail, 2-day workshop for people to build a website … and learn how to keep it up to date with minimal effort!

Her name is Jodie Gastel and she is an online business guru who totally helped me turn my business around and put me on the map! Since I met her 2 years ago my business has exponentially increased in both exposure and income! Plus, the best part is that it is still continuing to grow even in these “hard economic times” that everyone keeps talking about.

With everyone crying “Oh know! How can I make extra money? Maybe I should start an at home business…” blah, blah, blah — it makes sense that you would want to stand out from the rest of the home-based businesses on your street. It makes sense that you NEED a website! … This is usually where the sense of overwhelm and uncertain begin to set in for people: What do I do? Where do I go? How much should I spend on this? What do I do first?

Enter stage left: In Jodie’s Brain, the simple and inexpensive solution (only $250.00 for the whole course — that’s as much as people pay someone else to do it!), where you get a personal guarantee that at the end of the workshop you will have a fully functioning online website of your own design! That’s right, I said a ‘Guarantee’ that you have a working website or she will give your money back.

If you are even considering putting together your own website you need to check out her workshop:

I got an email today from my internet provider, Shaw Cable. It mentioned that Halloween was coming in a few weeks and wanted people to remember that safety is one key element to a fun night for everyone. Usually I simply delete junk email without a second thought, but just as I moved the mouse over the delete button, my eyes were randomly scanning the computer screen and caught hold of a phrase which piqued my curiosity …’Shaw Pumpkin Patrol’.

Instantly I jumped to the conclusion that Shaw was going to send out their vans and get the people to notice neighborhood pumpkins, watching for one that would be recognized as best pumpkin …blah, blah, blah. The thought was, “Just another pumpkin carving contest I’m sure.”

Then I noticed the next few lines of text – and I smiled. I have an 8 year old son and when I clicked through to the Shaw Pumpkin Patrol website at ShawPumpkinPatrol.ca I was pleased to see how a local business was putting their staff out on the streets to help patrol for problems. The police can’t be everywhere at all times, but this Halloween they’ll have help thanks to Shaw Cable and their pumpkin patrol.

Thanks Shaw – you guys Rock!