Not Quite Bear Grylls or Steve Irwin...More Like Kevin Costner...sort of.

Today I:
(a) Woke up in a hotel room and realized I'd forgotten dress shoes and belt
(b) Went to WalMart before 7AM in slacks and running shoes while holding up my dress pants
(c) Spoke to students from 4 different High Schools (they all came over to Frederick High School to hear me)
(d) Hiked within 100 yards of an American Bison...in the same field....with NO FENCE between us
(e) Stood atop a dam built in 1933
(f) All of the above.

For those of us who stay on the go (like Peter Shankman), you have to take your recreation time when you can (Shankman skydives, I hike and run). Today, I had a few extra hours to burn in the afternoon, so I went exploring at the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.

This place is REALLY COOL! There's a few nights sleeping in my tent to happen here real soon.

Enjoy the footage!



The next time you hit the road for work....steal some time and visit a museum, take a hike, or...reinact the "tatonka" scene from Dances with Wolves!

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Man + Twitter Profile Pic + Peer Pressure = Social Media Success

Earlier today, I ran into a friend of mine (we'll call him JB..no, not that one...the other one) who works in corporate communication for a large regional bank. He's a terrific fellow whom I have known for several years. Everyone I know who knows him has nothing to say but how great a person he is, how professional he is, and how passionate he is.....about his bicycle.

His bicycle?

You see, JB is a Twitter user. He doesn't go overboard with it, but he regularly posts tweets for his friends and followers (currently about 300). Often times, he tweets about his bike. I mean, he is a Dad and all, but he LOVES his bike. I'm just jealous because I am ready to trade in my running shoes (at least a couple days a week) for the adventures that await me in the saddle....but we digress.

SO, realizing that JB's followers were beginning to mention his place of employment and ask him information about the Bank itself, he started thinking about his "online image". Careful not to post anything inflamatory (EVER) and always helpful, JB decided to change his profile pic to something more....professional.

Well, within MINUTES of his next tweet, his followers let him know what they thought about the new picture...THEY HATED IT! What's wrong with a corporate, black and white head shot for someone who holds a professional position at a respected company as the profile pic on Twitter....well, apparently EVERYTHING!

JB's picture (which was QUICKLY restored) is one from a function he attended several years ago. It features his trademark smile along with the corniest, Woody-from-Toy-Story-look-alike, cowboy hat perched atop his noggin.

The Redux:

If you want to connect with your followers on Twitter (After all, what is SOCIAL Media without the Social?) do the following:

1. Be relevant and timely
2. Be yourself
3. Keep your profile pic a little corny
4. Drop @jboudiette a tweet to let him know you love the hat!
   

Credit Where It's Due:

The role of JB was played by @jboudiette.
The role of peer pressure was played by @NatLoveBug, @jroby, @Nnascenczi, @beckyendicott, and @mattgalloway.

The obnoxious blogger who took this story to the web? @CookseyConnects

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How to Get The Most of Any Networking Opportunity

You've heard me say time and again how much "success" is such a subjective term. Perception is a powerful aspect of how we as people and professionals (as if those are two different things) are viewed, it is amazing to me how many of us still miss the point from time to time.

Just this week, I was invited to visit a networking event with one of my clients, whom I have networked with for years. My travel schedule makes it tough for me to be a regular member of a group that meets weekly, but I figured it could be a fun way to meet some new people. When it came time for my 60-second commercial (as a guest I was granted 120-seconds), I glanced down at a few notes I'd scribbled on an index card and just started talking. They laughed. They smiled. We connected. Isn't that the goal? At the end of the meeting, several people in the group requested the opportunity to meet one-on-one over coffee to learn more, and one fellow even handed me a referral AT THE MEETING!

Here are a few tips to get the most out of any networking opportunity. Try these the next time you walk into a room full of strangers. You never know where your next opportunity or client will come from:

1. BE CONFIDENT - You are who you say you are, if your actions are confident. You are a subject matter expert for what you do...ACT LIKE ONE! [Need help in this department? Visit a local Toastmasters club!]
2. TELL A QUICK STORY - Which do you think is more memorable: a) "Hello, my name is ______ and I work for _________." or b) "**insert a quick 30-45 second story about how you solved someone else's problem**:..
3. LET THEM KNOW HOW TO GET MORE INFO ABOUT YOU - Two great ways to do this are: a) direct them to YOUR website (ask them to connect with you on a professional, social networking site like "LinkedIn" or if your organization has a "Fan Page" on Facebook, direct them there or b) Tell the audience to ask the person who invited you to the meeting to tell them how you successfully worked with them! What's better than a live, word-of-mouth success story from a CLIENT!?

Above all...If you don't have any business cards (hey, sometimes we forget them or run out)...make sure to get one from everyone in the room and make it a point to follow up with each one directly! Anyone remember the hand-written note? It works! Now...get out there a find some business!

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Why I Don't Like Suze Orman's Advice (Or, Why Variable Annuities CAN Work)

My speaker's intro includes something about my self-description of being a "recovering financial advisor". It's true. I was in the business of giving financial advice for over 8 years, during which I saw some amazingly interesting market events - good and bad.

One of the most consistent things I saw, though, was a number of media-described "experts" on financial matters, who often gave blanket, broad-brushed advice that didn't always tell the entire story. While I can't say that everything she has ever said is bad, generally speaking, I don't care too much for the scrubbed-for-the-lowest-common-denominator-sound-bite-media advice dished out by people like Suze Orman.

First here's a clip of her somewhat infamous bad call from a show on CNBC from a few years ago. Before the days of YouTube, it circulated among emails of many financial pros as a laughable example of her being called out by a viewer....just note how angry her face gets when she realizes what the screener didn't screen out....



Then, today, I received an email from an industry trade group with further proof that NO SINGLE INVESTMENT is ALWAYS BAD (or good) - see this article. As the old saying goes, I guess "Every Dog (truly) Has His Day". Go figure - then, get with a true financial pro to find a plan that works for YOU.

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