Just One Joey: February 2017

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Be A F***ing Weirdo

“Tetris taught me that trying to fit in will make you disappear.” — A Smart Person

I am weird.

That is not something I have ever admitted to anyone.

I don’t fit in.

I never have.

But I tried.

I’m glad I wasn’t able to.

Now I don’t have to worry about disappearing. I can embrace what makes me unique, be comfortable in my own skin, and just be a happy fucking weirdo.

Finally!

The Roller Coaster Ride

Man, I have been all over the place.

I’ve been loud, quiet, funny, a drunk, a rock star, an introvert, and extrovert, a loser, and a party animal.

I tried all the hats on, have done everything, and in the end, I just needed to be me.

Who Is Me?

A nerd. A boring, homebody. A dad that works every day of the week, who loves his job, and loves spending time with his family. Everything is scheduled. Everything has a place. Everything has a purpose. It is family TV night on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. I get up at 5am every day of the week. I have the same routine every single morning: water, meditate, journal, coffee, read, poop, run.

Then I work. I write, film, create, build, win, lose, learn, and repeat. All day. Every day.

I am boring.

In fact, I am the most boring person I know, and I am totally cool with it.

I don’t like going out. I am usually falling asleep on the couch at 830pm.

I have friends that I would do absolutely anything for, that I talk to once a month, if that, and see a couple times a year. Why? Because I don’t like hanging out. It feels unproductive to me. I get restless. I need action. I need productivity.

Instead of fighting it because it is something I am “supposed” to do, I just don’t.

Fuck it. I will just be me thank you very much.

I have two drinks a night, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and that’s it. Usually Guinness, or the discontinued Firestone Wookey Jack (R.I.P.) or a nice Cab (Ste. Michelle — WA).

That’s it.

See? I told you I was boring.

Be You. Be Happy.

Who are you?

Do you even know?

Not who you think you should be. Not who you think others think you should be.

You.

What do you hide?

What do you like that others don’t?

What makes you different?

Just for the record, I don’t really want to know if it’s some weird ass shit. This isn’t a sexual thing we are talking about. I mean, like, “A Bad Case of The Stripes” kind of weird. You know, lima beans.

Don’t go overboard my friend.

There are so many things that are not “The Norm.” Everyone should be x,y,z. The heroes have as much of a checklist as the antiheroes. If you a cool, there is a checklist. If you are a geek, there is a checklist. What if you are cool in some areas and a nerd in others? We’ve all seen Rudolf, right?

What if you are trapped in an elf’s outfit and you are really a dentist?

You have to be you.

Your happiness depends on it.

Brian Koppelman has a beautiful theory that when you suppress who you really are it turns in to a cancer. If you ignore who you are you (subconsciously or not) get mad at yourself and it starts manifesting itself in horrible ways. Anger, sadness, acting out, doing crazy things, all pulling yourself even further away from yourself.

What are you suppressing?

And why?

Are you giving people too much power? Or are you not giving yourself enough?

Find some heroes. Find people that are different and embraced it.

I wrote the blog for a Chase Jarvis series called 30 Days Of Genius. If you are looking to chart your own path, there are some amazing people he interviewed that would be a perfect starting point. Or just look people up. People like: Caterina Fake, Austin Kleon, Neil Strauss, James Altucher, Stephan Sagmeister, Ramit Sethi, and Brian Solis.

There are people out there that did it their own way, on their own path.

Connect with these people. If you take someone else’s path, you are only walking away from yourself.

There are weirdos out there, just like you, just like me. They embrace what makes them different.

They understand that fitting in is blending in is disappearing.

Do you want to disappear?

Be someone else?

Or would you rather be a beautiful, wonderful, happy, fucking weirdo?

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

30 Days Of Genius Blog: Caterina Fake

If you are looking for motivation for following your dreams, or finding your path, Caterina Fake may be the last place you will ever need to look. What did following her path accomplish? Oh, I don’t know, how does founding Flickr, running Etsy, and being named one of Time Magazines 100 most influential people on the planet sound? Exactly. Wow is right.

I have taken her interview on 30 Days of Genius with Chase Jarvis, extracted the information, and used it to answer common questions by readers just like you, who are looking to take their lives to the next level, or at least a different level than the one there are on.

Please enjoy.

How Can I Step Out And Be Bold?

It takes conviction of what you are, who you are, what you care about, and what you are going to pursue.

It’s about being ignored for months or years and still pushing.

It’s about knowing who you are, what you want, and not caring about external rewards.

If you can handle all of those things, then you are ready to go for it. These are the markers of passion.

If you have passion, then you will be willing to work hard, teach yourself, learn on your own, and adjust. Why? Because passion is a powerful force to have behind what you do.

When I was first starting out, I offered to work for free just for information. 3 days a week for 2 months. What was my pay? I was able to attend all meetings and spend one hour a week asking questions of my boss. That’s it, and it was totally worth it. If I was not passionate about what I was doing, there is no way I would put in that kind of work.

Would you be willing to do that for your passion?

If yes, then go for it.

If no, then it is probably not your passion.

Is Your Passion Obvious?

If you are able to listen to your inner voice. If you can reflect over your life, remember your childhood and what you wanted to be when you were older, then yes it is. People are the same throughout their lives. Just because you stopped believing in your dreams doesn’t mean they disappeared, it just means you buried them under the responsibilities you took on as you got older.

Reconnect with your inner voice, your childhood.

Give it room.

It not only deserves it, it needs it.

What If I Don’t Have Time?

There are things you need to do, responsibilities you have to take care of, but then there are other things that you can eliminate in order to make time for your passion. Maybe it’s an hour a week at first, maybe its 30 minutes a day, but you have to start somewhere. Once it has space it will grow. How do I know? Because it’s your passion. It is a seed you have been carrying around that just needs a little water to start growing.

Create small, easily managed goals. Write one page a day. Paint 30 minutes a day. Squeeze it in. It doesn’t have to be a huge commitment, but it needs to be committed to. You need to put yourself and your day in a position to be creative. That could look like many different things depending on what your life is like. Some advice that I have received in the past was to move away from big cities. That may be counter-intuitive, but the less expensive it is to live, the more time you can afford to your creativity.

Clean up your time. Don’t check email all day. Productivity is easier without distractions, so you have to remove them. Have specific times during the day that you allocate to emails and phone surfing, and then have specific time for your creativity. Don’t mix the two. Give them their respective times.

Everyone has their own path. It is about finding what works well for you. There is no formula. People tend to focus on what they like, what they are drawn to, and their inner voice. Be sensitive to each of those things. Take advantage of what you are feeling, and always be moving forward.

Don’t Get Lost

The paths to success are clear. Starting as young as elementary school, the rewards are given to those that follow the rules. Conformity is the name of the game. The drive for success kills people. Just because there are paths laid out for you doesn’t mean that they can’t lead you astray.

Stop chasing prizes.

Chase what makes you happy.

And don’t worry, no matter where you are in life, you can always turn around.

Start where you are, with what you’ve got, and the time that you have.

Quotes

No matter how far you’ve gone down the wrong road turn back.

Stop chasing prizes

Start where you are, with what you’ve got, and the time that you have.

Caterina Fake Links

Website

The Creative Hours (blog)

Findery

Chase Jarvis Links

Joey Links

Friday, February 10, 2017

30 Days Of Genius Blog: Elle Luna

Living your own life, following a path you’re not sure where it leads, and making your dreams a reality (literally). This is Elle Luna. No matter where you are in life, she has exactly what you need to hear.

Please enjoy.

I Don’t Know What To Do

Then you are at a crossroads, and that is a beautiful place to be. You have the chance to possibly make the biggest decision of your life, so you must choose wisely. I know that sounds like a lot of pressure, and it is, but I have a way of navigating through all of the uncertainty. You need to take all of your options, all of your choices, and put them in to one of two categories, either should or must.

Should. These are all of the expectations that others put on us. Your friends, parents, community, and possibly even the culture as a whole. When you choose a “should” it feels awful. It’s heavy, it’s constricting, and it haunts us. Yet we choose it anyways. We are choosing our lives for someone or something else.

Must. These decisions are who we are, what we believe, and what we know is true. They are our convictions, knowings, longings, and dreams. By choosing a must, we are honoring who we are and why we are here.

It sounds easy, but it isn’t. Even if you choose must, you have to deal with should. You have to understand the difference between the two, where they come from, and why they are pulling you in. If you don’t deal with should, it will stick around. By bringing awareness to it you are catapulting in to must. If you know where all of the conscious and subconscious “shoulds” come from, you can gain an understanding of them and avoid them. Just like any problem, if it is not dealt with it will linger.

If you have not heard of it, The Alexander Technique is basically: when we stop doing the wrong thing, the right thing does itself. The more you stop doing “should,” “must” has no other option but to happen.

Don’t be afraid of where you are right now. Discontent is a wonderful catalyst for change. You are most guaranteed to get light when you are most in the darkness. I learned to lean in to my problems. If you are falling, dive. Find out how to take your situation and flip it on its head. You have to step in to your shame, anger and fear, because the other side is freedom. There is no way around it, only through it. The sooner you accept that the sooner you will get past it and on to something bigger and better.

Can You Really Make Your Dreams A Reality?

Absolutely.

I did. Literally.

I had a recurring dream of a space, and I found it, ironically on Craigslist. How crazy is that?

That never would have happened if I didn’t listen, and pay attention to myself.

We are living in a time where we are addicted to being busy. With all of the running around, when do we listen? When do we hear what our mind and body are saying to us?

I was listening, but it actually took a friend asking me, “Have you ever thought about looking for this dream in real life?” for me to act on it. That one question changed everything.

From that point I went out and literally made my dream a reality. I found the space I was looking for, then I freaked out. Now that I had everything I was dreaming of, I had to create. It wasn’t the end of my dream, it was just the beginning. It sounds a little strange, but it is difficult when you are in the midst of everything you have asked for, and you are just sitting there.

It was time to work.

In the same way you need to know yourself, to distinguish between should and must, to know your dreams, you have to know how you work. What is going to allow you to continue living your dreams?

I focus on structure, accountability, and intuition.

I love the saying, when we have more fun we get more done. Part of having fun for me is feeling good. That means eating well, meditating, moving my body, going to sleep early, and having accountability. It feels good to HAVE to do something because someone I care about is depending on me to get it done. That is the beautiful part about doing what you love, you will be busier than you have ever been in your life and you won’t feel it. It isn’t really work. You want to do it better and better so you fine tune how you work constantly. I have myself on timers, I study signs of boredom, and I know how to center myself to stay in this positive and creative space. When I feel far away, when I am not having vivid dreams, I know I need solitude, to be able to come back to myself. The empty space invites everything in. That time and space allows me to come back to love, joy and happiness.

“The more we treat ourselves like a precious object, the stronger we become.” — Julia Cameron

“Follow your bliss, and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t even know they were going to be.” — Joseph Campbell

Quotes

Discontent is the most amazing catalyst for something new.

When you are falling, dive.

You are most guaranteed to get light when you are most in the darkness.

“The more we treat ourselves like a precious object, the stronger we become.” — Julia Cameron

“The cracks let the light in.” — Leonard Cohen

“You can have jobs, you can have careers, and you can have callings.” — Stefan Sagmeister

Elle Luna Links

Website

The Crossroads Of Should And Must

Chase Jarvis Links

Joey Links

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Customer Service First

No shit, Sherlock.

But so many businesses out there don’t realize that you are a customer service company that also provides goods/services.

If you don’t view yourself like that, you will not be in business very long.

The customer is the most important aspect to your business. With no customers, you don’t have a business.

Make sense?

First Hand

At MediaMedia (www.mediamedia.biz) we handle everything: web site building, content, blogs, vlogs, photos, videos, etc. We do it all, except speak to our clients customers. Don’t get me wrong, we interact with them in the voice of the business on The Socials. “Cute pic!” “Love that!” “Can’t wait to see you!” Stuff like that? Of course, that drives customers to the business. But when YOUR customer is seeking out direct feedback, or has a personal question, we feel that is up to the business owner to handle. What we do drives the person to interact with the business, but the actual interaction needs to be done by the expert involved (the business owner).

I can’t tell you how many businesses we work with neglect the customer. It is disturbing.

Here are people reaching out to YOU, to YOUR business, YOUR livelihood, and YOU don’t respond? It amazes me.

We have high standards when it comes to our clients. If we see gross negligence in any aspect of their business, we address it with them. I mean, in the end, their success is our success, right? So what does that mean? We don’t exactly stay in our lane.

Does it have consequences? Absolutely.

Have we had to go through some “conscious uncoupling”? Absolutely.

But all of those “break-ups” were with the companies that treated their customers like shit, and couldn’t handle any constructive feedback. Surprise, surprise.

No hard feelings, at least on our part.

Mindset

Like anything in life, your mindset determines your outcome.

Things don’t happen to you, they happen because of you.

Good and bad, you got yourself there.

Good and bad, you can get yourself out.

Hip hip hooray!

That wasn’t supposed to be so rah rah, but it ended up there.

Moving on.

The owner that stresses out because they did not make as much money as last year on Valentine’s Day, is usually the one that didn’t listen to certain advertising strategies, that repeatedly gets messages on their Facebook page because a customer was irritated that an email wasn’t responded to.

It is always the same type complaints and type of stresses from the same type of business owners: the neglectful ones.

When you neglect your business, it will neglect you right back.

It starts at the top.

The owner/leader sets the tone, determines the expectations, and holds themselves and their employees accountable.

It seems so straightforward, but so many owners do it poorly.

Go Go Go

Get your business out there. Create something every day. Let the public see you. Let your customers see you. Create something that people will share. Hire people like us (www.mediamedia.biz) to do it for you, so you can focus on what you do best. And when you get responses, when you get “likes,” when you get interactions, you HAVE TO INTERACT.

That’s what it’s all about: you and your customers.

The customers are your business. They are your employees. They are your kids’ college fund. They are your house, your car, and your clothes. They are everything. You MUST treat them that way. Give them your best, show that you care, and it will come back to you.

Joey

MediaMedia

Saturday, February 4, 2017

The Most Efficient Marketing For A Bar Or Pub (or any other place that sells alcohol)

When I mean efficient, I mean, you need to make one purchase a year for incredible results.

To be more exact, it’s a few purchases, but only once.

I am making the assumption that if you run a pub, bar, or restaurant, you already have mirrors in your bathroom.

This article may have you purchasing more.

The Big Questions

How many people look at themselves more when they are slightly buzzed?

How many people take more selfies when they are out having a good time?

Do the levels of selfies increase or decrease with the amount of alcohol being consumed?

Exactly.

Why not take advantage of that?

Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. They are all being used constantly on Friday and Saturday nights.

Why not take it to another level?

How?

With mirrors and Fatheads. (this is not an ad for Fatheads by the way).

A quick explanation: Buy a bunch of Fatheads, cut off the heads and arms (so your patrons have their arms and faces in the picture), and stick them on the bathroom mirrors. Make sure you have the name of your place on the opposite wall so it shows up in the photos, and just watch it explode.

The advertising will take care of itself.

Why? How?

Because you will be creating your own stand in!

What the hell is a stand in?

I actually had to look up what the name was. Seen them my whole life, no idea what they were called.

You know those things at carnivals where they give you the body, and you stand behind it and it’s your face? Then you take an adorable picture?

That’s a stand in!

What if you had those at a bar? With drunk people? Already taking selfies?

Holy crap is right!

Options

Women: Disney characters, famous singers, characters from movies, etc. You could have: The Little Mermaid, Beyonce, and Kim Kardashian. You could have a good looking dude (me, just kidding), with a slot cut out on his arm where the girl could be in her selfie.

Can you see it?

The possibilities are endless!

Men: John Cena, The Rock, Terminator, Trump (with the hair), etc. Maybe get a fat guy for something funny.

Can you see it now?

Obviously you would have to pick a person that represents your bar, but other than that, the sky is the limit.

Still need to be sold on this idea?

Ok, just imagine, you are in a bar, a couple drinks deep, and you go to the bathroom. You see an opportunity to take a funny picture and share it with everyone right then. Are you going to take the opportunity? Of course!

Because it is awesome you are going to show everyone.

Because you are showing everyone the place where you took the picture will be getting free advertising.

Because you can take unique pictures (with you in them) at your bar that everyone thinks is cool, when people are deciding where to go out tonight, it will inevitably be your place.

Why?

Because you have something awesome that no one else has.

Yet.

Be the first to market on this one.

Be a game changer.

Be a pioneer.

Joey

MediaMedia

Friday, February 3, 2017

30 Days Of Genius Blog: Gretchen Rubin

Our greatness is predicated on many things, but getting out of your own way may be the biggest. Gretchen Rubin offers insights and exercises to help you do just that, and create a life for yourself that is meaningful, exciting, and made just for you. An expert in happiness and habits, she will give everyone who reads this something to take with them to improve themselves. She is incredible.

Please enjoy.

How Can I Be The Best Version Of Me?

I know what you want to hear, “just do what feels natural,” or “go with the flow,” and “let loose.”

Those sound great, but those will most likely cause you to drift. That may be good or bad, but I would bet that it ends up bad more than good.

So, what the heck is drifting?

Exactly what it sounds like, you drift. The path of least resistance. Swept away with the tide. You don’t want to ask yourself hard questions, or you don’t want to risk conflict with someone you care about. Drifting means you are not making choices. You really are just going with the flow. When you do that, you are taking the chance that you end up somewhere you do not want to be.

This can come in the form of school, majors, minors, dating, marriage, minor purchases, major purchases, etc.

You need to ask yourself, why are you doing it?

You HAVE to know yourself. You HAVE to constantly ask questions, figure out how you are different from other people. What do YOU want? What makes YOU happy? Not what someone else wants, not what you THINK someone else wants. You, you, you.

Where Do I Start?

I think these three questions will get you on the right track.

1. Whom do you envy? When you make your list, realize that envy is wanting something someone else has. What do they have that you want?

2. What do you try to hide? If you are hiding something, then your life is not reflecting your values, or the values of those around you. It could be a good or bad, but things are not lining up. You need to figure out why.

3. Are you a marathoner or a sprinter? This is exactly what it sounds like. Do you function better with slow and steady, or are you better with adrenaline and deadlines? This question will allow you to set up your work/creative life to fit YOU, not those around you, not what you think you should be. It’s all about you.

After that, you can start digging deeper in to yourself. Asking yourself questions like: when have I succeeded in the past? When do I feel my best? Then you can distinguish your strengths and weaknesses and harness both. Build up your strengths and mitigate your weaknesses. This will allow you to make better choices, and put yourself in a position to win.

People are in denial. They don’t look at who they are. They don’t look at why they are doing things.

They just drift.

How Do I Keep From Drifting?

Habits.

Not someone else’s habits, your own habits. As in, you have goals, what things can you do every day that will help you reach those goals? Actually, let’s use milestones instead. Goals are great for reaching goals, but not so good for creating habits. Want to lose 20 lbs? Great. What happens once you have lost the 20 lbs? Exactly.

How do you get habits? Well, work. There is no magic list. Everyone is different. Can you try someone else’s to get started? Of course, but remember to ask yourself the tough questions. Is this me? Does this work for me? When you create your habits you need to know what is true about you and what kind of a person you are. You can’t prescribe a solution until you know who you are. When do you do your best work? What attracts you? When have you been successful in the past? It is about setting yourself up for action, not reaction. Success and productivity shouldn’t be hit and miss. It should at least be a lot more hit than miss.

No matter what your goals are, you need to remember that there is nothing keeping you from doing what you want. There are eyes and ears everywhere. You can build an audience anywhere. You can figure out what you want to do and how you want to do it with very low stakes investments.

Find your perfect day, then figure out how to have that day every day, and you will have habits that allow you to live the life you say you want. Habits are freeing and energizing because they make the decisions for you. You are free. Your days are frictionless.

As you get going, start looking for your loopholes. What keeps you from accomplishing your habits?

Once you figure those out, you avoid them so they don’t sabotage your habits. Before you know it you will be a machine!

Knowing yourself is the key to everything: your interests, values, tastes, temperament. You can expand but you can’t move the center of yourself. “People do best what comes naturally” — JFK.

Your best work should come form that central place.

What is your center?

What do you do in your spare time?

When are you at your best?

When are you at your worst?

When are you happiest?

When are you sad?

What are your goals? Your milestones?

Answer those, then focus on the next step, not the last. Take it a day at a time, piece by piece.

Quotes

Goals are a good way to reach a goal, not a way to create a habit.

“People do best what comes naturally” — JFK