bloglovinBloglovin iconCombined ShapeCreated with Sketch. Fill 1Created with Sketch. Fill 1Created with Sketch. Fill 1Created with Sketch. Fill 1Created with Sketch. Fill 1Created with Sketch. rssRSS iconsoundcloudSoundCloud iconFill 1Created with Sketch. Fill 1Created with Sketch. Fill 1Created with Sketch. Fill 1Created with Sketch.

Tag: communication

Be kind, online and off

Pew Research Center found that 73% of adults have seen someone bullied online in some way; 40% reported such harassment themselves. In fact, 60% of those polled had watched someone use offensive, hurtful names to target another person. Over half of the participants in this study knew these online messages were sent and posted with the intent to embarrass or harm another. 

From celebrities to colleagues, even family members and friends, social media has made it possible for us to watch. Watch and not participate. Sit back without standing up for what is right. Conversations that should be taking place in person are now occurring strictly online. 

Messages sent from behind a screen can cause damage, emotional and otherwise. Talking about personal challenges can be difficult, but keeping problems to yourself can feel isolating and make issues even worse. A quick online search can bring up local and international resources if you are not sure where to turn. Cultivate a network of support. 

If you see a friend is a target of hateful or hurtful speech or is posting concerning messages online, reach out. During the holiday season, it is even more important to realize you and others may be under excessive stress. 

Remember, you are never alone. 

Want to leave a lasting impression? Do this.

People want to be snapped out of their reverie. They want something different, something new. They want the unexpected to happen.

And this is why most people’s faces are tucked into their devices, mindlessly scrolling. They are searching for meaning. They want to find something that makes them feel. Anything — A photo, a comment, a message, a piece of news that makes their pulse quicken and heart skip.

What if I told you that you could be that pulse-quickener? That this is where your strongest and biggest power lives: Your ability to be somebody’s unexpected.

You could be the moment that brightens someone’s day.

This doesn’t have to be a huge, grandiose gesture. You don’t need extra time or effort. A simple hello. A thoughtful email. A friendly phone call. A message of encouragement.

Here are five more tangible ideas:

  • Walk across the room and compliment a stranger.
  • Pick up your phone and call a distant friend.
  • Order and send lunch to a colleague.
  • Leave flowers in your office.
  • Hide a note for someone to find.

Though these small moments may feel risky, a place where you open yourself up to the world, a position of vulnerability, it is in those exact places where the unforgettable lies.

Sweet and spicy

The most talented chefs have memorized which flavors keep diners coming back for more. These particular dishes aren’t ones that fall into strict “Spicy,” “Sour,” or “Sweet” categories. Instead, they combine elements of several flavor profiles and artfully merge them into one.

The best freelancers — and lovers — understand this balance, too.

Give a creative too much freedom without structure, and ideas will bounce wildly about the room. Set some boundaries, however, and that creative energy can be harnessed into productive results.

Similarly, too many restrictions placed on any partnership will end up in resentment and distance. Fire needs air to breathe. Your most passionate relationships will continue to burn if you give them the space to do so.

The best work and the most satisfying relationships evolve out of unique blends of hard and soft, sweet and spicy, routine and surprise. Find the combinations that work for you.

SEO fundamentals

Most small business owners have heard of SEO and know this is the secret sauce that can push your content up the list of search engines. But many do not know exactly what it entails or how to put it into practice. Here are some SEO basics:

Research

You have to know not only what your competition is doing but what your customers are searching for. If you are promoting and producing content that is irrelevant to consumers’ needs, all of the coding and keywords in the world cannot help you. You need to know your own brand and the words that your audiences associate with your brand to be most effective. Google Ads Keyword Planner can help.

Organization

The way your structure your site and individual pages will help search engines place priority on your content. Deciding which keywords you want to emphasize can help you think through the pages you have  already created and the ones you need to build in order to meet your business goals. It is tricky to rank for words that are not included in your pages, so think about the keywords and phrases you want placed throughout your site.

Links

Links help show that your content is valuable. By sending audiences not only to relevant pages within your site but also to other sites that have equally valuable information, search crawlers can recognize you’re not producing spam or junk merely for the sake of SEO rankings.

Results

The whole point of SEO is to connect with a wider audience. Monitor your website’s traffic to make sure what you are doing is working. See where traffic is heading and how long they are staying. Hosts like Squarespace have analytics tools built in, or you can use Google Analytics for more in-depth data comparisons.

The risk of vulnerability

Vulnerability is associated with weakness and inferiority, yet exposing your true self requires strength and conviction.

The future is uncertain, and there’s no telling how events will pan out.

Find the courage to live your best life — truly, freely, authentically.

The stories you tell

Every day you tell yourself stories; stories about what you are capable of, about who loves you, about the work you do, about the family you belong to, about the money you make, about the way you look in the mirror.

These stories are fueling your tomorrow. They are the kindle for your actions. Your behavior is reinforced by the stories you tell yourself, and in turn, how others see you.

Are you choosing to focus on the negative? Or are you looking for possibility? Identify what stories currently exist in your mind, and compare them to the ones you’d like to be telling.

It’s never too late to start rewriting.