Seth Godin, BFF?

Seth Godin’s perspective on Leading.

It’s quite common for me to fantasize that Walt Disney and I are related because of the similarities in the way I believe our thinking aligns.

Come to find out there’s another “crazy man” out there that is growing on me.  Seth Godin.

It almost makes you want to snort milk out of your nose when you hear what some people think leadership is.

Carpe diem, jungle jeff noel 🙂

jungle jeff Social Media Expert?

jungle jeff Social Media Expert?  Maybe. Says who?

You know how you get to be an expert? I certainly didn’t.  Because I , and so few others, stick with anything long enough and passionately enough to master it, let alone become the teacher.

That’s when you start becoming the expert.  When people come to you to learn.

What does it take to be a social media expert?  Here are a few of my guesses:

  • Have at least 1,000 blogs posts to be taken seriously
  • Be on Google results front page for all your websites
  • Host multiple blogs
  • Post daily (say five per day)
  • Generate millions of hits annually
  • Use the big social media tools
  • Be on the curve for the newly emerging tools
  • Make money and change lives
  • Have fun
  • Have guts
  • Have decently thick skin
  • Be prepared to work hard and stretch yourself

I don’t make anything up.  That’s part of my personal brand commitment.

Audacious ain’t it?  Maybe even antagonistic?  Perfect.

That’s part of my brand promise too.

Carpe diem, jungle jeff 🙂

Disney Truly Makes Me A Better Person

Disney Truly Makes Me A Better Person.  Why?  How?

Because I understand completely how Disney operationalizes it’s culture.

“Culture is what people think and do, without thinking”.   — jeff noel

One of the easiest ways is to use traditions.  Our Country does.  All great Countries do.  So if it works for Countries and for Companies, why couldn’t it work for individuals?

Here’s a You Tube video describing the power of a simple “family tradition”:

Our son will always remember our Twistee Treat tradition. Always? Guarantee it. How?

Because of the repetition.  Why do we celebrate holidays year after year?  It gets ingrained into our being.  It’s who we are.

When that happens, people do things without even thinking. It was Monday, in Lahti, Finland.  I was there representing Team USA at the Masters Track & Field World Championships.

Even with all the distractions, I knew it was Monday and that meant Twistee Treat day.  Maybe this is so simple it’s flying right over your head.

Until I understood this phenomenon, I could not break through to greater success. Carpe diem, jungle jeff 🙂

Overcoming Addiction

Overcoming Addiction.

Disney has taught me to analyze my leadership values.  And more than that, to analyze my leadership behaviors.

Funny thing is, my values and my behaviors were contradictory.

The other funny thing, I was clueless.  Seriously clueless.  The origin of the phrase blind spot comes from the fact that everyone can see it but one person – they have a blind spot.

Plus, everyone else is chicken to say anything, because confrontation is uncomfortable, and many times, ugly.

Who wants that?  Who needs that?  Not me.  Not you.  No one is lining up for that kind of stress.

So I confronted myself.  It was not ugly, but is was uncomfortable.  And then it was impossible.  I had suspected it for years, but only casually, because the truth would mean I had dramatic life-altering changes to make.

I’ll tell you more tomorrow, or maybe later this week.  We’ll see.  For now though, carpe diem, jungle jeff 🙂

My Biggest Blind Spot

Biggest blind spot?  You really want to know?  It’s embarrassing actually.

What makes it embarrassing is the fact that I was so clueless about it. Seriously clueless.

To teach is to learn twice, and as I worked hard to apply what I was teaching (1999-ish), an epiphany appeared.

By the way, it’s likely that I hold some sort of State or National record for epiphanies.

It has been a life changing event for me.  Life changing!

Tomorrow, I’ll share it.  Sometime soon, why not give some consideration to a huge change you need to make, but are clueless you need to make it.

Oh, I get it, this is uncomfortable, and I’m full of garbage, right?

Anyone remember the Disney movie, Miracle?  The athletes literally hated their coach.  Yet their coach had them do something that no one had done in twenty years.

Click here to get a taste of how a jerk helped an team of non-superstars do the impossible.

PS.  If you didn’t click on the hyperlink Miracle, you owe it to yourself to do it now. Unless you’re a chicken$h!t.  Carpe diem, jungle jeff 🙂