I’ve met Peter Childs a few times, but it was only today that I decided to really get friendly with his site, DailyDinner.tv.

At first glance, the site seems pretty straightforward….plain, even. There’s no funky graphical header or image rotator. There’s no long section of “follow me here”, or “tweet me there” calls to action. There’s not even a whole lot of text.

The genius in Peter’s idea is not in his ability to leverage social platforms to maximize the engagement of users and the authenticity of the experience and yadda yadda blah blah blah. (Thank goodness!)

Nope. What Peter does is way simpler, and WAY more effective. He solves a problem that each and every one of us have on a daily basis – what to make for dinner tonight.

DailyDinner.tv does one simple thing and does it well. Every day, at around 11am EST, the site posts a new, delicious recipe, that can be made with simple ingredients, simple kitchen tools, and in around 30 minutes. Peter tells me that his recipes are generally “an amalgam of several recipes to add flavour or reduce time, and some classics that everyone does the same.”

On the home page you’ll see the day’s recipe, with ingredients listed and either a high quality photo or a video. The photo and video thumbnail are the only images on the page, and that’s exactly how it should be. I want to see the yummy, not some fancy flashy graphics that mean nothing. I see the photo and I want to make it. It’s that simple.

I can sign up to receive the recipes by email, or I can subscribe to get them in my Reader. I can login and favourite recipes, or view an alphabetical list of previous recipes (which in this case is better than a searchable archive because it’s more practical and taste bud tantalizing to scroll though a delicious list!).

Here’s the point.

Every day I talk to people who are afraid to get started on the Web. They don’t have the time, or the technical/design chops. In fact, you don’t need any of those things. You just need to have an idea that solves a problem, and solves it well. Peter Childs is solving a fundamental problem, and doing it in a practical way – you don’t have to be a gourmet chef to follow his recipes. His recipes have only a few criteria – they have to be delicious, nutritious, quick and easy, and satisfying.

Perhaps we need to take a page from DailyDinner.tv’s book. Forget the fancy gizmos. Forget the latest trends. Build a site that is based on passion (I know Peter is passionate about food!) and the willingness to help peoples’ lives be better, and you’ll have a winner every time.

[photo credit: Peter Childs, DailyDinner.tv]

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When I was growing up, it was sometimes dark all day.

Because of my Dad’s job, we lived in small, isolated communities, including the Canadian Arctic. When you’re an active kid, it’s 50 below, pitch dark at 1pm, and there’s one channel of television, you have no choice but to find resourceful ways to fill your time. In spite of the perceived lack of stuff to do, being “bored” was not allowed in our house. We had tons of books and crafting supplies, and if I still couldn’t find something to do, then a toilet brush and mop were always close by too. I was given choices, but ultimately, my parents mostly let me and my brother figure out stuff on our own. It’s one of the best lessons they ever taught me, because today, I’m very independent. I have a “figure it out” attitude, and it’s driven me directly to the successes I’ve had to this point.

Thanks, Mom and Dad.

The past 10-15 years has seen a social transformation like at no other time in history. Even the printing press and the telephone, both inventions that revolutionized the way we communicate, were unable to connect people the way the Internet has. The phone and the press are two-way interactions. The web is multi-way. And that’s the difference.

I’m astounded on a daily basis at the way we’re all able to connect out here. I am blessed to have so many strong friendships and to be able to do business with so many remarkable people. I think we are all aware of what a brilliant space this is, and how fortunate we all are to be here together.

For all the wonderful things the Web has brought us, there have also been some unfortunate side effects of this always-on dialogue we’re having. The other day I discussed the Culture of Free. Chris has been talking about the problems with Anywhen. Frustrations are growing at a rapid rate in the Twittersphere with noise ratios and spam on the rise. There’s one other unfortunate trend I’m seeing, and it may be the one that concerns me the most.

Hold my hand, I’m too scared. Yep, the Web can be a scary place sometimes. I’m not just talking about trolls and malicious web sites; we have thousands and millions of gigabytes of information thrust at us on a daily basis. The stream is active 24 hours a day,  7 days a week, and there’s pressure (mostly self-imposed) to keep up with the flow (and the Joneses). People get stressed because they might miss something, or might not understand the next new thing when it crosses their path. They are afraid they’re not going to be with the “in-crowd”. And unfortunately, what happens is, they start to lean heavily on others to calm their fears. They send emails at all hours of the day and night (and then re-send them if you don’t respond right away), asking what happened here or what to do about this or for advice on that. They tell you they are “not tech savvy enough” and expect, because you might be, that you can just tell them all the answers and solve their problems.

Oh sure, it seems innocent enough at the beginning. A little free advice never hurt anyone. But if you’re the resourceful type, you probably spend a good whack of time out here on the Web, reading voraciously, experimenting with new tools, refining your use and knowledge of the existing ones, and taking your knowledge and experience to the next level all the time. You have a day job too, so most of this hunting and poking and learning occurs when most sane humans are sleeping. So when someone grabs onto your hand and won’t let go, it gets to where it slows you down. After all, if YOU can get out there and put in the hours to figure it out, why can’t the hand holder do the same? Before you know it, resentment sets in, and suddenly, in our social world that is so much about being helpful, you don’t want to help so much anymore.

It’s time to take down the pedestal. The great irony here is that the Web contains all of the answers, but unfortunately there is a culture of pre-occupation and laziness afoot that makes people not want to bother to find things out for themselves. After all, that’s what all these people are for, right? You know, the social media experts, the gurus that give away all this info for free but also write books and things. But heck, I am too busy to read. I’m too busy to put in the time to go and research and just install the stupid thing and play around with it and break it until I get it right. I might as well just go to the source, and get the answer from the horse’s mouth, right? That’s easier, and way faster.

You might be thinking “No way, that doesn’t happen. People aren’t that rude.” In normal social circles (i.e., in person), you’re absolutely right. People aren’t typically so rude when it’s face to face. But you see, people like to hide behind their computer screens. They’re more ballsy when they’re not walking right up to you. Social graces are pretty much the first thing to go when you throw the anonymity of the Web in the middle.

Not only that, but we continue to put people up in some sort of social throne, and then fully expect their wisdom to be handed out on demand. We don’t consider where that wisdom came from (hard work and independent study and experimentation). We just want to know it, and we want to know it now. After all, we’ve got our own success to consider, our own bestsellers to write. Hurry, hurry hard. Get to the end of that tunnel using the fastest means possible, which for some reason, we’ve decided, is by picking brains, instead of picking up a book.

So, what’s the solution? I don’t know yet. I do know that a significant culture shift is going to have to happen. The social media bubble is about to burst. People are reaching their breaking point of free, of personal time, and of noise. I know I am. But what I do know is it rests firmly on our shoulders to figure out what to do next. Each one of us needs to evaluate what we are getting out of this space. We have to go back to the basics, of balancing our level of effort versus our individual payoff. Instead of doing the ROI on your social media campaigns, do the ROI on yourself. Remember why you got in here in the first place. Throw out the stuff that isn’t working for you anymore. Streamline the stuff that does.

Let’s discuss.

[photo credit: 40 below in Inuvik, by Eclectic Blogs on Flickr)

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“You can close more business in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.” — Dale Carnegie

We spend so much time and energy talking about the next big thing, the killer app or technology that’s going to help us be successful in achieving our goals. We talk strategies, toolsets, and ROI. We want to know what the secret is, and we lean forward into the future, hoping that some incredibly insightful thought leader is going to share with us the big revelation that will change our lives.

We focus intensely on what’s next. We forget that Dale Carnegie wrote those words in 1936.

I spend a lot of time with other entrepreneurs. We share our ups and downs. We commiserate about what a struggle it is to win new business, in a market that’s gun-shy about spending too much, one that’s intent on measuring every penny in for penny spent. It’s exciting, frustrating, and sometimes, we reminisce about our former cubicle-dwelling days and wonder if that’s the easier option.

I hear a lot of rumblings, people puzzling about how to “convince” clients to hire them. I see online seminars and Twitter chats about personal branding and how entrepreneurs can go about marketing themselves in this rough terrain. Don’t get me wrong – personal branding is important. But it’s only the first step. Once your exceptional personal branding efforts have paid off and gotten you in the door, then what? How do you translate your brand to paying clients?

Don’t pretend to know everything. Meeting a prospective client for the first time can be unnerving, even for the most social and outgoing type (if you’re shy it can be downright stressful). You run the scene in your head…you’re going to try to talk about yourself in a positive way, and hope to heck that they don’t ask the dreaded question, “So how much will this cost me?”, before you’ve had a chance to tout your value. You worry that you might not say the right things, or come off as “the expert” that your prospect is seeking.

Forget the impression you want to make by saying all the right things. It rarely works, and there is an easier way. Don’t claim to be an expert (ever). But DO ask questions. Lots of them. Find out what makes that person sitting across from you tick. Understand what their problems are. It’s not your job to be an expert in everything. It IS your job to help your clients figure out how to solve their problems. And you can only do that by asking questions.

Get people talking. You’ve heard before that the best way to strike up a conversation with someone is to ask them questions (I think that may have come from Mr. Carnegie too, now that I think about it). The part that’s often overlooked is by far the most important…listening to the answers. Want to know the secret to finding out what people are passionate about, even when they don’t think they know themselves? Ask questions. When you hit on their passion, you’ll know it, but only if you pay attention to what they are saying, and how they say it. Suddenly, their body language will shift. They might sit upright, or lean in. They’ll move their hands around. Their eyes will get a little glint. They will smile more. They will apologize for “rambling on”. That’s when you’ll have discovered their passion. Make note of it. That’s valuable information.

Keep on asking questions. Once you’ve nailed someone’s passion, ask more questions about that passion. Get them to tell you some stories. Everyone’s got stories. The more they talk, the more you listen and understand, the more they’ll want you around. This is not a trick…it’s human nature. It works both ways, too. Nobody wants to be around someone who’s a downer. Everyone wants to be around someone who is excited about what they are doing or saying. If you are genuinely interested (genuinely is the operative and essential word) in what the other person cares about, not only will that person be more inclined to be around you (and ultimately, maybe hire you), but you’ll enjoy being around them too. You’ll feed off their positive energy just as they feed off yours. That’s not a tactic…that’s physics. And as Mr. Carnegie said so wisely all those decades ago, being interested in other people is the best way to get them on you team, and ultimately, to win their business.

We’re all working hard on our brands, and that’s great. If Dale Carnegie were alive today I bet he’d be astounded at all the ways we have to connect with and influence others today. But I bet he’d also be using the same lines as he used back then. The tools have changed. The principles have not.

You’ve nailed your brand…now how are you going to nail your influence?

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How are those New Year’s resolutions coming along?

We set such high expectations of ourselves, don’t we? We want to do more, see more, experience more, save more, and yet…3 weeks into it we’re already feeling the pressure creeping back in. We just don’t seem to have enough hours in the day to meet all of those goals we set last month.

I’ve been thinking a lot about time the last few weeks. Perhaps it’s a side effect of watching too many back-to-back episodes of Doctor Who over the holidays, but at any rate, time is one of those elusive beasts that none of us ever seems to have a handle on. The title of this post, “How to Control Time” is probably somewhat of a misnomer. None of us really has control over time itself, after all. We’ve all got 24 hours in a day. What we do have control over, is how we use those 24 hours.

In the past few days, a couple of people close to me have asked if I’m “spreading myself too thin”. I’ve got a lot going on, it’s true. A few years ago, I don’t think I’d have been able to handle this much stuff at one time. But I’m learning what it takes to make the most of every 24 hour period that I’m given. I am hoping it might be useful to you if I share some of what what I’m learning.

Stop separating. I used to think that in order to achieve the perfect work/life balance, I had to have a distinct line drawn between what was “work” and what was “life”. Since I’ve been self employed, that line has blurred significantly…and I’ve realized that’s not such a bad thing.

I’m not talking about being a workaholic (though I’m often accused of being that). Certainly we all need to have down time (more on that in a minute). I’ve got a lot going on, as do you…if I add it all up, between my company, teaching, freelance work, blogging, community projects, musical endeavours, and networking/socializing with friends and colleagues, my “work” week probably totals somewhere around 80-90 hours. But see what I did there? I lumped in things like “blogging”, “community projects”, “music” and “networking” to that mix. Why? Because all of that stuff, even the stuff I don’t get paid for, the stuff many people consider “life”, is all part of my “work”. But, it’s also all part of my “life”. That’s how the line gets fuzzy.

Once I stopped defining my activities as either “work” or “life”, and started to mesh them all together, a really strange thing happened. Suddenly I had more hours in the day. I wasn’t waiting till my “work” day was done to think about community projects or networking activities or music. I was incorporating them into my day, and as a result, accomplishing more.

I realize this is not always as feasible depending on the type of job you have (i.e. you can’t spend time when you’re supposed to be working doing personal emails and calls and networking or practicing your guitar). But..there’s no rule against thinking about stuff while you work, right? AND, you are allowed to take breaks? Maybe, instead of spending your lunch breaks or coffee breaks hanging out at the water cooler, try planning that web project you’ve been meaning to get to, writing a new blog post or connecting with your network.

Listen to your body and mind. The only downside of this new way of looking at “life” and “work” is that it’s easy to get caught up in it, and spend all those 24 hours thinking, planning, networking, and doing. It happens to me all the time – I get so excited about everything that I can’t stop thinking about it. I become enamoured with possibilities. It becomes difficult to shut down.

As much as getting control of how you use your time is beneficial, sometimes it can be difficult to slow down. The most important thing you can do in this case is force the issue. Make sure you plan your down time just as much as you plan your other time. If you have a day off coming up on the weekend, do everything you can to protect that. You almost ALWAYS have a choice. Even if you have kids, remember that down time with family is still down time! I often look at my week in advance and keep one day open for doing things I want to do. Sometimes that’s sleeping. Sometimes it’s hanging out with my family. Sometimes it’s Doctor Who marathons. Sometimes it’s even working at things I enjoy. But nothing gets in the way of that day. It’s sacred space.

I’ve burnt out more times than I can count, so I’m well aware of the limitations of my mind and my body. I was a bit sick this weekend. Not a full-fledged illness, but I was pretty tired and achy and stuffy. I knew it was my body trying to tell me to cool my jets for a bit. It was saying, “Sit down, take a breather. Rest.” I listened. Didn’t go out much. Stayed in, drank tea. Ate well. Spent time with my husband. If I’d pushed it, I’d probably still be a bit sick (or a lot sicker). But I’m not.

It’s okay to be busy, on the go, doing lots of different things. That’s the point of this life, to DO things. But balance that with the limits of your body and your mind. We all have a different limit. Find your balance. Listen to it. The result? Your productive time will be more productive. Your rest time will be more restful.

You know…we might not be able to control time (yet). That’s probably a good thing. But we can ultimately control our use of time. Use every minute of every day as well as you can (even if you’re doing something that sucks). And before you know it…good things will start to happen. That’s just the way time works.

No time like the present to get started, eh?

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I’ve had a horribly unproductive day. I did a few things I had to do this morning. I had grand aspirations to do a whole lot of other things today too. I’m doing a bit of freelance work this week. I’m planning my  projects for 2010, coming up with three words, setting goals. I’m getting caught up on my reading. I’m prepping for a new semester of school. I’ve got no shortage of things to do.

Instead, I had a nap, played Rockband, practiced my guitar for 2 hours, and watched some stupid shows on TV. I felt terrible about it, but I simply couldn’t move my brain or my body in any other direction today.

I was riddled with guilty feelings over the lack of achievement. I usually feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment at the end of every day, as I check things off my list and feel the satisfaction of forward movement. I am extremely uncomfortable when I’m unproductive.

Then I stopped and thought – what if this day was meant to be exactly as it was? What if for once, I wasn’t forcing myself to be doing, doing, and doing some more? What if this was really just my body and mind’s way of telling me to slow down for a few hours? What if I told myself it’s ok to do this? Then I stopped worrying about what I wasn’t doing.

It’s funny – just because I decided to do what I did today (stop doing), the world did not end. People did not give up on me. I didn’t fail. I didn’t miss the boat.

It dawned on me that this time of doing “nothing” had not really been unproductive. In fact, it’s possible that I’ve been very productive. I rested (the nap), I did mindless things (video games and dumb TV), and I challenged myself creatively and technically (as evidenced by my extremely sore left hand due to learning some new guitar techniques).

My perceived lack of “doing” today actually did a lot. It forced me to use my mind in a different way. It forced me to unwind these thoughts that have been swirling around the past several days and figure out how they really fit. And now on the other end of it, I’m feeling really, really clear.

It’s the end of the year. Things are moving pretty slowly right now, and perhaps we should look at the pace of the next few days as an opportunity to truly reflect, refresh and recharge.

We are all moving so fast towards a finish line we can’t see yet. It’s all fine and well to plan and prepare and set goals and come up with words and define things for 2010. But we don’t have to always be moving. We’re allowed to stop once in a while. We’re allowed to slack off a bit. In fact, we should probably all do it a bit more often.

So, as you close out another year, maybe try to find some time (a few hours, or a few days) to just do nothing. You’ll probably find that it will do whole lot. It did for me.

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One of my goals this year was to share more. I’ve been working in media for more than 20 years now, and I figure by this time I must have learned something worth passing along!

I’ve had this e-Book swimming around in my head for a while. I wanted to provide a useful, no-nonsense guide to creating better videos. I’m not going to tell you about the latest flashy tools here. I am going to tell you about some simple tips and techniques that you can use for little or no cost that will help you become a better video storyteller.

I would love to hear what you think. Please leave a comment, or better yet, send me links to your finished videos! And, you are welcome to share this e-Book with whoever you think could benefit from it.

Enjoy!

Creating Video for the Web: Tips, tricks and tools for telling amazing stories

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Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

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I’ve got Danny, John and Matt too. Be warned….this will end well.

Love, Jack.
xoxoxo

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I’m a cat person. Oh, sure, I like dogs too. I have two of them. But cats and me – somehow we just understand each other. Well, as much as you can understand a cat.

What I love most about being a pet owner is what animals are able to teach me about things. Cats are brilliant this way – they are exceptional teachers.

I’ve been thinking a lot about success lately – what it means to be successful, how to become successful, why some people are successful and others aren’t. Then one day, I was watching my cats. And I realized – they are success machines. Here’s why.

Cats are extremely solution-oriented. A cat will only do what is most appropriate and comfortable for the cat in any situation. A cat will get to the highest point in the room to get away from the large, smelly dog. A cat will seek out the sunniest, warmest spot in the house to sleep the day away. A cat will only go to it’s owner if there’s something in it for the cat (e.g. scratches, snacks, crinkle toys, catnip).

I firmly believe that the number one way to set yourself up for success is to be a problem solver. Don’t have a job? Figure out what combination of skills, networking, positive attitude, and luck you need to land one. Work stressing you out? Figure out what you need to do to take the steps to remove that stressful situation. Money troubles? Come up with a plan and act on it. But do what a cat does – solve your problems as they come up, but make sure you are looking out for number one in the process. Cats are content, and it’s because they consider themselves and their happiness first, and figure out how to remove obstacles that are getting in the way of that happiness. Then the rest just falls into place.

Cats are intensely resilient. When one of our cats, Molly, was younger, she loved two things more than anything – to watch the birds out the window, and to chase the laser pointer. Then, about 4 years ago, she was diagnosed with Progressive Retinal Degeneration (PRD). In other words, she’s gone blind. She’s 8 now, and at this point we figure she sees shadows, that’s about it. She can’t see the birds anymore, or the laser pointer.

The first reaction many people have when I tell them Molly is blind is “Awww! The poor thing.” But they don’t know Molly. We live in a three bedroom bungalow, with plenty of obstacles like furniture, humans and other pets to navigate. Molly is un-phased by these obstacles. She uses her sense of smell, her freakishly long whiskers and her front paws to feel her way around, to the point where sometimes she gets into and onto places that would be difficult for a sighted cat to get to!

My point is, Molly doesn’t care that she can’t see. It’s only other people that care, that feel sorry for her. She can’t see the birds, but her ears definitely perk up when she hears them. She can’t play laser pointer anymore, but the scrunchy ball toy makes noise and that keeps her occupied for hours.

Being successful is all about resilience. If Molly falls down, and she does it quite often, she just gets back up and keeps moving. She has a pretty significant limitation, not being able to see. But she’s figured out how to adapt to her situation and it definitely doesn’t hold her back. And she certainly doesn’t give any energy to feeling sorry for herself and her plight.

Nothing that’s worthwhile in life comes without effort. The ability to think on your feet and solve problems, and to work around the obstacles that are thrown your way are the two most important skills you can hone in order to achieve success. Cats have been doing these two things for centuries. And you don’t have to spend very long with a cat to realize that they are on to something.

P.S.

As I was writing this post today, I came across my friend Jennifer Winter’s new blog. Jen and I have been friends since high school. We live on opposite sides of the country now but because of the Internet we’ve been able to maintain a good friendship. One of the things we’ve always had in common is our love of animals, particularly cats. She’s compiled here the “Rules of Cat Ownership” as defined by her cat, Geiger. It’s hilarious, true, and definitely worth the read.

Photo: That’s my Molly.

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