No living thing is the same today as it was yesterday. And no living thing will be the same tomorrow as it is today. Living things grow and thrive or decay and die. They are in a constant state of change.

We are living things. We are in a constant state of change. And because of this, every decision we make helps us or hurts us. If we choose to eat well, exercise, and get sufficient sleep, we will be better off tomorrow than we are today. If we eat poorly, remain sedentary, and get little sleep, we will be worse off tomorrow than we are today.

The same is true for our professional lives. What we choose to read, or what we choose to watch, will either move us closer towards our goals or further away. In difficult situations, we can hold to the truth, or we can lie to save face. One strengthens our integrity, the other weakens it.

Whether our daily decisions are related to health, spirituality, people, or professional success, we have choices. Each time we choose one option over another, we are making a decision to move forward or fall backwards.

Are you hampering your success by the everyday choices you make?

I recently read a post by Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired magazine, on the concept of having 1,000 true fans. I recommend reading the entire article, but here’s the gist. If an artist can acquire 1,000 dedicated fans who will spend one day’s wages each year on what the artist sells, that artist can make a living doing what he loves.

I also read a post by Seth Godin called “First, ten“, in which he proposes that “the secret of the new marketing” is finding 10 people who will be your evangelist (my word not his). If those 10 people truly believe in your product or service, they will tell others, who will tell others, resulting in the proverbial pebble in a pond.

If your goal is to make a living selling widgets, you can probably calculate how many customers you’ll need to reach your objective. On the other hand, if your goal is to spread literacy throughout Africa or change the financial landscape of Paraguay, a simple calculation probably won’t cut it.

Do you intend to change the world? If so, how many people will it take?

Earlier this year McDonald’s came out with it’s new line of coffee. They apparently spent $100 million in marketing and advertising. I personally felt bombarded with McDonald’s coffee ads telling me it’s as good as Starbucks at a fraction of the cost. Well, the marketing worked for me at least, and I tried their coffee – twice.

Honestly, I thought it was pretty good. But both times I ordered it, my order came out wrong. Once it had whipped cream on top when I asked for no whipped cream, and the other time the size was wrong. On top of that (no pun intended), the coffee cup lid was awkward, and I constantly felt like I was going to end up with coffee running down my chin. All that to save less than a dollar in comparison to Starbucks? I think not.

Just a few weeks ago we received some food and beverage coupons in the mail from Sheetz. Ironically enough, one coupon was for a free cup of their new coffee drinks. Not wanting to miss out on an offer for free coffee, my wife and I stopped at a Sheetz to redeem our coupons.

I ordered an iced mocha, but what I got tasted like watered down Nestle Quick chocolate on ice with a dash of weak coffee. I couldn’t drink it. Unfortunately for Sheetz, I got a free coffee drink that will ensure that I never stop there for coffee again.

There is much more to launching a new product than simply marketing it.

Is your branding, marketing, or advertising giving your potential customers or clients a realistic view of what they’re going to get? Do your offerings fall in line with what your business or organization can deliver well? Can your product or service hold up to repetition and scrutiny at all phases of production and delivery?

Most people aren’t extremely successful, and those that are get recognition for it. Whether they’re athletes, musicians, politicians, business leaders, or pastors, only a few rise to the top. Ever wonder how they got there? Me too.

I’m not at the top, so I can’t answer that question. But I can tell you that I’m more successful now than I was 7 years ago.

Seven years ago I was broke and jobless, desperately looking for anything to pay the bills so I could get married. In fact, I turned down a job selling coupon books door-to-door in 100 degree temperatures to work as a cook in the 100 degree kitchen of a tavern. That lasted one day. The next day I was offered a job with Enterprise Rent-A-Car. I then got to wash cars in 100 degrees wearing a shirt and tie. But I also got management training, and was able to work during the days to help pay for the MBA I earned though online and evening classes.

Today, I’m the Executive Vice President of CrossComm. You won’t see me in the news, but I’m heading in the right direction. And I’ve learned quite a bit already. So let me give you my list of 7 simple ways to get ahead of the crowd and be more successful tomorrow than you are today.

NOTE: Remember how I used the word “simple”? That was intentional.

Change the Station

Change the station on your radio. If you have any sort of commute to work or school, stop listening to music and start listening to talk radio. Lean right? Try a conservative AM station. Lean left? Try a conservative AM station. Only kidding. You’ll probably want to go with NPR. Why talk radio? Because they discuss current events, politics, new books, social events, local and national issues, race relations, religion, world news, and environmental concerns. Don’t believe everything you hear, but at least consider the topic and its implications for you, your business, or your future success.

Turn Off The TV

That’s right. Turn off the TV. Read a book. Talk to your spouse, your kids, your room mate, or your neighbor. Exercise. Start a new hobby. Start a new micro business. Do affiliate marketing. Do something productive.

Subscribe to a Few RSS Feeds

If you don’t know what an RSS Feed is, read this post. Sure, books, magazines, and newspapers are great, but subscribing to rss feeds is an even faster way to get the info and insight you want. Whether it’s a news outlet like Wired, Fox News, or the NYTimes, or a respected blogger such as Seth Godin or Chris Brogan, subscribe to a few feeds that interest you. They’ll increase your knowledge base, encourage thought, and give you great talking points so you can sound cool and impress the ladies (or men).

Blog

Have you ever tried blogging? Serious blogging? I mean, writing a post every day or every other day? I did once. It was hard. If you want a challenge that will increase your creativity, on-your-feet thinking, and written communication skills, blog. Pick a topic that interests you, set up an account at blogger.com, and write a new post every day for a month. Let me know how it goes. In fact, leave a comment and a link to your blog and I’ll subscribe to your RSS Feed.

Ask Questions

Whether you’re talking with friends over dinner, or you’re doing your best to network on a Thursday night at a business “afterhours”, stop talking about yourself and start asking questions. People enjoy talking about themselves, and there is a higher chance they will like you if they feel that you are interested in them – asking questions is a great way to show your interest. But be sincere. And remember, the person asking the questions is in control of the conversation.

Make Connections

Connect people. The next time you find yourself talking with a new acquaintance, try to find a way to connect them with someone else you know. For example, if you meet a CPA, think about small business owners that could use his or her services. If you meet someone who does home repairs, could you connect them with someone looking for renovation work? A successful connection will not only benefit the two parties involved, but will most likely lead to a returned favor.

Go to Sleep

No need for a lot of details here, just go to bed and get 8 hours of sleep. You will think more clearly and be more productive. You may even be more creative, finding new ways to solve problems or resolve long-standing issues. Guess what. You’re not an exception to the rule, you can’t miraculously function better than others on 6 hours of sleep. So go to bed.

What are other simple ways to get ahead of the crowd?

I recently saw a post on Twitter spreading the news about a new promotion Starbucks was doing through Facebook. Apparently they’re launching a new product line of coffee flavored ice cream, and this was their big viral marketing effort.

They gave away 800 coupons for free pints of ice cream per hour until they gave away a total 20,000. All that was required to receive a coupon was to visit their application and enter a friends information to whom they would send a coupon via snail mail. I sent one to my wife (she has the coupon – hasn’t tried the ice cream yet).

This promotion obviously spread very quickly, and even I found myself telling numerous people about it.

What was interesting is that every time I told someone about the promotion, their immediate response was “Starbucks sells ice cream?” To which I responded, I guess they are now and I assume that’s why they’re doing this promotion.

Most people I told didn’t end up getting a free coupon, but every single one of them now knows that Starbucks sells ice cream.

Do people know what you’re selling?

Wowed By Apple

I went to the Apple store last night to pick up a case for my iPhone. I was looking at all the cases and feeling slightly overwhelmed by the sheer number, variety, and shades of pink. Fortunately, an Apple employee was nearby, so I asked him if there was a particular case preferred by most customers. He said no, but described the basic types of cases – hard plastic, rubbery, leather, etc.

I picked one that seemed to fit my needs and then took a quick glance around the store for the checkout line. I realized that I hadn’t seen a checkout counter since the store was rearranged a while back, so I asked the employee where I should go to pay. He told me that if I was using a debit or credit card that he could check me out right there on the spot.

WOW!

I tried not to seem surprised because I thought it would make me seem older and less cool than I want to be (I’m probably not their target market). But I couldn’t help but think “this is a great experience; technology is freak’n awesome; Apple rocks”. (yes, I mentally used the word “rocks”)

The man proceeded to scan the item with his hand-held machine, one that resembled those used by FedEx or UPS. Then he took my card, swiped it with the device, asked me if I wanted my receipt emailed, printed, or both – I chose email since I generally despise paper – and that was it. My purchase was completed, right there in front of the wall of cases, and I was on my way.

I left the Apple store thinking that was a great customer experience, and wishing more places provided that kind of service. I also started wondering if we’re doing enough to wow our own customers.

A Church Wows Seniors

I recently had a discussion with some friends about the different ways churches market themselves to visitors. During the conversation one of them told us about a church that decided to target more seniors in order to balance out the large number of youth.

To reach this market, the church designated a separate entrance to the church for seniors and provided valet parking. They also designated a separate lobby for seniors to make them comfortable – no young kids running around, bumping into them, or hitting their walkers and canes. The music during the worship service isn’t as loud on that side of the building, and the service always includes at least one traditional hymn.

Can you imagine how welcoming that must be to the seniors who visit that church? I’m not familiar with this church, but I would be willing to bet that they are seeing great success in attracting their target market.

Are you “Wowing” your target market?

I’m a businessman in a world of Techies. I am constantly surrounded by terms, acronyms, phrases, and jokes that have absolutely no meaning to me. Given my line of work, and the amount of time I spend online, I am always learning new words and phrases, and eventually incorporating them into everyday communication.

Obviously, each industry or business has its own set of terminology or lingo, but the online world differs in that its user-base is made up of all people. The problem then is that many of those who spend most of their time online forget that a large portion of their readers are not familiar with what they consider common language.

Therefore, I thought it would be valuable to provide you with a list of “common” internet terms or phrases that you may not fully understand, but probably should.

RSS Feed

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is typically represented by the orange icon at the top of this page, or some variation there of. Instead of constantly revisiting the same blog, news source, or website, if you subscribe to the RSS Feed, any new posts or updates will be sent directly to a central “hub”, called a feed aggregator or feed reader. A feed aggregator is a website or client software used to house all RSS feeds you subscribe to. Most web browsers such as Internet Explorer, Safari, and Firefox have a feed reader built in. Subscribing to RSS Feeds and using an aggregator is a great way to improve your online efficiency and productivity.

Wiki

A wiki, Hawaiian for “quick”, is a website that allows multiple users to add, edit, delete and link content. The most well-known wiki is wikipedia.org, an enormous online encyclopedia created by thousands of people submitting their own content. Once submitted, content can be edited by other wiki users, creating a self-policing system where the user base decides what’s accurate. Wiki’s are also used in many businesses as a way to promote collaboration and share information. You could set up a wiki at your business to post policies and procedures, documentation, online brain-storming sessions, training materials, and much more.

Phishing

Not at all associated with the band, phishing is a method by which criminals try to fraudulently obtain personal information, usually in attempt to steal ones identity. It’s usually initiated via email and often requests that the recipient visit a particular URL to verify or add information such as birthdays, passwords, or identification numbers. The problem is that the websites are designed to look nearly identical to the organization being falsely represented. One common phishing scheme sends users to a fake PayPall website and asks them to update their information. Here is some additional information on how to recognize and avoid phishing schemes.

Viral Marketing

Viral marketing sounds as bad as spam or phishing, but it’s actually a good thing, especially in the world of marketers. Viral marketing is simply the use of existing networks of people to promote a brand or product by creating something that quickly spreads from person to person. Viral marketing can take the form of games, video clips, images, text messages, or even interactive commercials. The goal is to create something that users will want to pass on to their friends, family, coworkers, or online networks. The rise of “Web 2.0″ has boosted viral marketing to new levels.

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 simply refers to a more interactive internet experience. Web 1.0 focused on simple, brochure-wear websites where the primary purpose was to push info to the user in order to tell them about your brand, product, service, or cause. Web 2.0 takes the online world a step further by allowing the user to create content. Some of the most well known Web 2.0 sites are Facebook, MySpace, and Youtube. Each of these sites essentially contain only the content that is created and submitted by their users.

Are there other internet terms you would like explained?