20 Powerful Quotes on Failure

20 Powerful Quotes on Failure worth remembering after I posted this blog on LinkedIn. Should we celebrate failure... Aka "What we learnt in 100 days". Which is ironic, as this blog posted, did extremely well. 

Which is worth investigating later on. 

But for now - I quote the author - Brigette Hyacinth 

"Few things in life are certain but failure is. Failure seems as something to be avoided at all cost. Although it leaves a sour taste, we should embrace failure for the learning opportunity it is. Failure is the oldest teacher, and perhaps the wisest of them all. Some things are impossible to completely grasp without first falling down. We live in a culture that values perfectionism and failure is often viewed as a sign of weakness. People become so fixated on not failing that they never move forward."

20 Powerful Quotes on Failure

1. "You always pass failure on your way to success." Mickey Rooney

2. "A failure is a man who has blundered, but is not able to cash in the experience." Elbert Hubbard

3. "Failure is the tuition you pay for success." Walter Brunell

4. "Feeling sorry for yourself, and your present condition is not only a waste of energy but the worst habit you could possibly have. Dale Carnegie

5. "Success represents the 1% of your work which results from the 99% that is called failure." Soichiro Honda

6. "The season of failure is the best time for sowing the seeds of success.” Paramahansa Yogananda

7. "Success is not built on success. It’s built on failure. It’s built on frustration. Sometimes it’s built on catastrophe." Sumner Redstone

8. "Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor." Truman Capote

9. "There is no failure. Only feedback." Robert Allen

10. "Remember that failure is an event, not a person." Zig ziglar

11. "Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough." Og Mandino

12. "Its fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure." Bill Gates

13. "Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again." Richard Branson

14. "I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying." Michael Jordan

15." Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit." Napoleon Hill

16. "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently."~Henry Ford

17." My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure." Abraham Lincoln

18. "I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward." Thomas Edison

19. "Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. " F. Scott Fitzgerald

20. Our best success often come after our greatest disappointments. Henry Ward Beecher

Finally, don’t let the fear of failure hold you back.

Remember to take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise. 

Best Advice, Biggest Failures, and Defining Success From 13 Inspiring Entrepreneurs

I have always loved the process of being an entrepreneur - the fun parts, the freedom, the financials, the marketing, the newness of it all.... but one part I have always shielded myself from is the failure. 

In fact, you could argue that none of my businesses have failed, THTC is still going and growing after 15 years, Spearfish may have changed but it exists, whilst Great Marketing Works has kept me employed either full time or part time for 8 years straight.

So what's this about the F word.... Failure?

Well in all honesty, THTC kept going due to the hard work, finance and brilliance of others, Spearfish started losing money and clients straight after I left and is now more like a charity, whilst my last business, my digital marketing training agency Great Marketing Works, after Mia was born has not grown lots (unlike my lovely daughter who is quite wonderful and very tall for her age)...

Which is why I have launched several side projects over the years. And all of them have failed to make me a millionaire.

My latest, after just 3 months, is going to have to put to bed as well - which is a shame as I loved it so - RIP NowTryThat version 1.

So I loved this article all about Failure. About successes too and key lessons learnt by some amazing entreprenuers and people who I admire.

The lessons are for us all. The article is taken from Entrepreneurs.com

 "Biggest Failures, Best Advice and Defining Success From 14 Inspiring Entrepreneurs"

1. Barbara Corcoran

The Shark Tank investor went from achieving straight D's in high school to creating a multi-million dollar real estate firm in her early twenties.
Biggest failure: My fabulous new idea to put all our apartments for sale on videotape so customers wouldn’t have to go out to see them. I pissed away my first profit of $77,000 and it was dead on arrival.
Biggest lesson: In an effort to save face, I put them on this new government thing called the Internet. It was 1989. We had two sales out of London in the first week. I registered all of my competitors URLs under my name. One by one, they called.
Best advice: “You will never succeed without me!” The prediction of my boyfriend and business partner when I ended our business partnership -- after announcing he'd marry my secretary.
Definition of success: Feeling proud of yourself got trying.

2. Guy Kawasaki 

Guy dropped out of law school to complete an MBA at UCLA. His years working alongside Steve Jobs shaped his work as chief evangelist at Canva and co-founder of Alltop.
Biggest failure: That Macintosh did not achieve 100 percent market share of the PC market.
Biggest lesson: I learned that the best gizmo doesn't necessarily win. It's taken 30 years, but I've gotten over this.
Best advice: Never ask people to do something you wouldn't do. This is a very good test for how you treat your employees and customers, assuming you're not a sociopath.
Definition of success: First, that you made the world a better place. Second, you don't "have to" do anything.

3. Gary Vaynerchuk 

From managing seven lemonade stands as an 8-year old, Gary hasn't skipped a beat with numerous startups, bestselling books and, most recently, creating VaynerMedia.
Biggest failure: In 2009 I had founded VaynerMedia, purchased Cork'd and was involved in about half a dozen other business ventures. I tried to do everything, and ended up not doing anything.
Biggest lesson: Since then, I've learned how to focus much better, and I've built up a team around me that allows me to do just that, so let's see if I've learned anything.
Best advice: Word is bond.
Definition of success: I'll define success by how many people show up to my funeral.

4. Christiane Lemieux

The Ottawa native started DwellStudio from her apartment in 1999 after grinding it out for years as a fashion intern in New York.
Biggest failure: The biggest mistake I made was not seriously vetting an investor I had in the business.
Biggest lesson: Not all money is helpful or strategic, and all money has strings attached. Sometimes theses strings become a noose. Be very careful. Ask all the right questions, vet your investors very seriously.
Best advice: "Stay focused.” As a serial entrepreneur with “shiny object syndrome,” my path to success has been a jagged line. A straight line meets milestones much more quickly.
Definition of success: Success for me is defined by how my business touches the people I work with.

5. Grant Cardone

After starting off in automotive sales, Grant has gone on to become a New York Times bestselling author, successful entrepreneur and founder of Whatever It Takes Digital Network.
Biggest failure: I should have gone 10X bigger from the get go.
Biggest lesson: It's the same amount of work to stay small as it is to go big. Building a $100 million dollar company is no more work than building a $1 million company.
Best advice: The best investment you will ever make is in yourself. (Grant's mom told him this).
Definition of success: The attainment of the gap between my current reality and my potential.

6. Jack Canfield 

Graduating from Harvard, Jack turned the Chicken Soup for the Soul series into an international billion-dollar enterprise.
Biggest failure: We spent a year attempting to create a new human potential oriented internet portal, and we never got it off the ground.
Biggest lesson: To stick to our core business -- writing and training. And having adequate funding for the marketing needed to pull off such a huge venture. We were ignorantly going up against AOL, which was spending millions.
Best advice: Dream big, ask boldly and take action on an idea immediately.
Definition of success: Fulfilling your soul's purpose. I believe everything works better when it is done in the spirit of love and joy rather than fear and greed.

7. Mark Cuban 

After a billion-dollar deal with Yahoo, Cuban purchased the Mavericks. The Shark Tank investor's court side dancing as entertaining as his appearance on Dancing with the Stars.
Biggest failure: Lots of failures, but I haven't had my biggest one yet.
Best advice: Today is the youngest you will ever be, live like it.
Definition of success: Waking up every morning with a smile on my face knowing its going to be a great day.

8. Alexa von Tobel 

Launching her personal finance company, LearnVest in 2006, Alexa was inaugurated by President Obama as a member of the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship early this year.
Biggest failure: As an entrepreneur, you have to be OK with failure. If you’re not failing, you’re likely not pushing yourself hard enough.
Biggest lesson: “Fail fast” is a concept we tend to encourage at LearnVest. Don’t be afraid to try something, but be ready to learn from it and move forward.
Best advice: Get up, dress up, show up.
Definition of success: Success is working towards a goal I can believe in. My life’s mission is to make financial education and advice accessible to people nationwide.

9. Noah Kagan 

Beginning his career at Intel, Kagan joined, and left, Facebook as employee #30. The marketing expert has numerous startup successes in the tech world, currently working behind AppSumo.
Biggest failure: Ha. This has been documented more than I care. Getting fired from Facebook. Losing out on $200 million at today's market value.
Biggest lesson: The best way to get known is to create things that help others.
Best advice: I ran away from home and then my mom went across the street and made me come home. My step-dad then said instead of running away, I need to face issues head on. I think about that moment and the message a lot. Face your fears and go towards them -- never as scary as they seem.
Definition of success: Doing work that I'm proud of and having fun. Be careful to avoid having others put their success pressures on yourself.

10. Erika Trautman 

Having owned an Emmy award-winning video production company, Erika's current venture, RaptMedia, is about enhancing interactivity for online video.
Biggest failure: Rapt Media went through some scary moments getting off the ground. I thought if my team knew how tough things were, they'd panic and quit their jobs. So I kept them out of the loop. When we finally closed our seed round, I turned to the team to celebrate only to discover I’d lost their trust.
Biggest lesson: Without openness and transparency, you can lose the trust of your team. Since then, I share the good news and the bad. We tackle the issues together because the vision is worth it.
Best advice: "Fearlessness is a muscle. The more I exercise it, the less my fears run me." This is a quote I once read by Ariana Huffington.
Definition of success: Success is building and leading an amazing team capable of creating something indelible and transformational.

11 & 12. Steven Pressfield & Shawn Coyne 

A prolific writer, Pressfield is known for many works including The Legend of Baggar Vance, and The War of Art. He has partnered with fellow writer, Shawn Coyne, and created Black Irish Entertainment.
Biggest failure: Failing to start doing what matters sooner.
Biggest lesson: The lesson learned is to start before you're ready.
Best advice: Never pass up an opportunity to use a rest room.
Definition of success: Discovering what you're supposed to be doing and then doing that.

13. Jessica Butcher 

Based out of London, Jessica is the co-founder and CMO of Blippar, the augmented reality platform that turns printed images into digital experiences.
Biggest failure: Allowing a negative situation to spiral downward, and then choosing to quit rather than salvage the situation through small, positive steps
Biggest lesson: Sometimes it’s the right decision to end a particular course of action or working relationship, but I now make a more concerted effort to salvage or reverse a situation.
Best advice: Invest in memories. It’s ultimately what life is about—people, places, moments and experiences.
Definition of success: Achieving a true work-life balance. Doing something you love work-wise, whilst also coming home to a happy, healthy home.

So why 13 rather than 14 as in the original?

Because this last person is a ex client of Great Marketing Works with Blippar - which is a great company growing at a HUGE rate - kind of a pin up poster child for UK business.

I am humbled to have worked for them in the past and end with it here to remind me of what can be done for my future tech company....or client to come.

Oh and Jess you were right - Blipp builder did take a year longer and Malaysia was not the right call for the company - New York was. But you know that.

Which is why you also said the wisest thing on there about your definition of success  -

Doing something you love work-wise, whilst also coming home to a happy, healthy home.

Truly a winner. 

The top 10 lessons learned from a journey from fax machine saleswoman to entrepreneurial superstar worth $1 billion

I have just been researching entrepreneurs and personality types for a new app idea I want to create with Dr David Bozward. Matching your personality type to entrepreneurial archetypes and examples in real life.

However, half way through, we realised that we didn't have enough entrepreneurs examples that were women! 

We have now corrected that with great people like Oprah Winfrey and Adrianna Huffington. 

But whilst researching it was  this article by Kathy Caprino about Sara Blakely, creator of Spanx, and who's Myers Briggs personality type I still can't find, that caught my eye.

 Here are the top 10 lessons learned from Sara’s journey from fax machine saleswoman to entrepreneurial superstar:

1)      Fail Big  

Sara’s beloved father followed Wayne Dyer’s guidance in teaching his children the power of failing big.  Each day, her father would ask – “So, what did you fail at today.” And if there were no failures, Dad would be disappointed.  Focusing on failing big allowed Sara to understand that failure is not an outcome, but involves a lack of trying — not stretching yourself far enough out of your comfort zone and attempting to be more than you were the day before.   Failing big was a good thing.

2)      Visualize it  

Sara is a big fan of “visualizing” your big goal, in specific, concrete ways.  She saw herself clearly on the Oprah TV show 15 years before it happened.  She simply knew it would happen.  She’d see in her mind’s eye sitting on the couch with Oprah having an exciting conversation, and wondered, “What are we talking about?”  The rest was just “filling in the blanks” to get there.

3)       Don’t share your fragile idea with the world too soon.  

 Sara kept her idea of making a fabulous new undergarment for women under wraps for an entire year while working on developing the prototype.  Only after she was 100% committed to it and ready to launch, did she sit her friends down and explain her new direction.  Sara explains that ideas are vulnerable, fragile things.  Wait until you’re completely read to move forward before you share it with people. Meaning well, they’ll shoot it down, offering all the reasons why it won’t work.  But when they do,  you’ll be ready to deal with it.

4)      Don’t take no for an answer. 

 Sara reached out to slews of manufacturers and lawyers to help her patent her idea and create a successful prototype.  In every conversation she had with potential manufacturers, she was asked three questions: 1) Who are you? 2) Who are you with? 3) and Who is backing you?  When the answers to these three questions remained, “Sara Blakely,” no one wanted to take a chance on her, until one manufacturer called her back and said “OK.”  Why? Because he had gone home and told his daughters about the idea, and they said, “It’s brilliant!”

5)      Hire people you like and trust (even if they don’t know a great deal about what you need them to do). 

 Sara hired a head of Product Development and a PR director who had been friends and supporters from the beginning.  Neither knew anything about the functional areas they were hired to oversee, but Sara trusted they’d be fabulous at their new roles, and they were.

6)      You don’t have to go in order.  

Sara’s passionate commitment to her new Spanx product was so fierce, she just tackled each task in the development and marketing journey as they came up, not necessarily in the best order for a smooth launch.  She landed a Neiman Marcus deal involving placement of the product in seven stores, before figuring out how to mass produce “crotches” for the product. The Oprah show called to do a feature on her in a staff meeting in her “offices” before she had an office or a staff.  She winged it, and it all went well.

7)      You CAN figure it out – you have the ability. 

Sara knew absolutely nothing about women’s undergarments, patenting a new product, manufacturing, marketing, product development, website development, online commerce, and more.  But that didn’t stop her. She researched what she needed to, hired out what she couldn’t do, and marched forward with undying commitment and energy. Don’t stop yourself from pursuing an idea because you don’t think you have what it takes.

8)      You can build a billion dollar business starting with $5,000.  

Sara had only $5,000 in savings on that fateful day when she cut the feet off of her stockings in order to wear them under her white pants for a more flattering look (and thus, realized the world needed a new undergarment product that would be comfortable yet flattering to the female form).  From that $5,000 she embarked on designing a prototype, securing a manufacturer, naming the product, legally protecting her product, and getting the word out to potential buyers.  You don’t have to be rich to move forward with your fabulous new idea.

9)      Don’t worry about the outer “stuff” until the time is right.  

Sara worked tirelessly from her apartment creating her product, avoiding investing in outside office space or other marketing and business tools until the product had taken off.  She didn’t have a formal website until she made it on the Oprah show and needed one.  Anything that wasn’t essential to building the product and getting the name out there simply wasn’t a priority.
 

10)   Breaking the mold is a good thing.  

When Sara began to research undergarments for women and how they’d been made for the last 50 years, she was astonished.  From the absurd sizing protocols (only one average waist measure was used on all the products, regardless of the size of the garment), to how products were tested (on manikins not real people), Sara saw that the undergarment industry needed a female perspective – insights from a real woman wearing these items to shape the product development direction so the products were useful, effective, and as comfortable as possible.  She broke the mold, and developed a completely new approach to developing women’s undergarments.

Sara’s most important tip:

“Believe in your idea, trust your instincts, and don’t be afraid to fail. It took me two years from the time I had the idea for Spanx until the time I had a product in hand ready to sell into stores. I must have heard the word “no” a thousand times. If you believe in your idea 100%, don’t let anyone stop you! Not being afraid to fail is a key part of the success of Spanx.”

In the end, Sara Blakely’s story shows us what’s possible when we believe, when we’re resourceful beyond measure, and when our passion and commitment to something outside ourselves brings us to a calling.

My question to you... What are you most afraid of failing at?

The Creator gathered all of Creation and said... What Jim Carrey said.

The Creator gathered all of Creation and said;

“I want to hide something from the humans until they are ready for it. It is the realisation that they create their own reality.”

The eagle said, “Give it to me. I will take it to the moon.”

The Creator said, “No. One day they will go there and find it.”

The salmon said, “I will bury it on the bottom of the ocean.”

The Creator said, “No. They will go there, too.”

The buffalo said, “I will bury it on the Great Plains.”

The Creator said, “They will cut into the skin of the earth and find it even there.”

Grandmother Mole, who lives in the breast of Mother Earth, and who has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes, said “Put it inside of them.”

And the Creator said, “It is done.” 

This creation story is from the Hopi Nation, Arizona, North America

Which nicely ties into this from Jim Carey

Click here for the video. 

Which one did you find the more surprising or revealing...? 

We Need More Mid Sized Businesses (MSB’s) – 10 Ways To Build One

A while back a much wiser man than I, someone I can on some levels call a mentor, told me that the real opportunity for business advisers now, will be someone who can help SME's become MSB's. 

For those of you not in the business support industry that means small and medium businesses to and mid sized businesses.

I think Phil Jones, is right, maybe start up and small businesses are not where we should be looking anymore for our country's growth

Maybe they have had plenty of help and the spotlight already.

Maybe the real growth needs to come from, as John Leech, writer of this article and CEO of Winning Pitch, says from the MSB's. 

"From a UK business base of 4.8M companies, 99% employ less than 49 staff. So the current stock of mid sized businesses is less than 50,000. We must not only look at helping existing mid sized companies we also need to address how we fill the pipeline - the next generation."

As he puts it: 

"The need to help and support medium sized businesses (MSB) is very much at the heart of economic policy making at the moment. The missing component of the great work research institutes, accountants and think tanks have come up with is, just how difficult it is to set up and build one?

Having done it with Winning Pitch (and working with a handful of others to do the same) there are so many lessons I would like to share. 

Here are 10 platforms critical to anyone on a MSB journey:

1. Think big – genuine ambition is vital – be clear on your higher purpose.

2.  Be clear on the business model - a detailed plan to execute and operationalize the strategy to scale is crucial.

3. Understand the different funding routes and instruments to fuel growth.

4. A high quality senior team is vital, combine this with a great culture and you have the magic dust - values become more important the more staff you recruit.

5. Consider the role of NEDs – having someone who has already done it sat round the boardroom table offers many advantages. Something that Phil Jones echoed in his talk at VentureFest about including wise owls in your team.

6. Don't be too precious about hanging on to your equity – smart people want a share of the value they bring.

7. Embed tight operational control and strong performance management – remember it comes down to always having enough cash.

8. Establish a clear brand and communicate this with passion – celebrate with fervor what makes you different and why you are the “go to organisation” for what you do.

9. Strong internal (in the office) and external (in the market place) leadership is vital. 

10. Stay one step ahead of your competitors by living in the customer’s world – deliver innovative propositions with an edge. 

Sustaining growth beyond 50 staff is a massive task - this is why so many entrepreneurs sell out before they burn out. 

Beyond 50 staff, business help and guidance becomes more sophisticated - PE/VC, NEDs, headhunters, governance, IPO's, expensive lawyers and financial engineers, corporate finance... trusted support is pivotal to sustained growth. A community of trusted help is vital to the entrepreneurs who are aiming to do something special with their business."

Wise words Mr Leach wise words. Follow on John Leach on Twitter here.

The last point being the best - as many micro businesses - including my own stayed small due to the lack of training and courage of their boards. Perhaps NowTryThat will be different but I doubt it.

However, by using data to help companies with their digital marketing - Now Try That might just be able to help larger businesses take part in the digital revolution that start ups are already part of.

And just as an aside - congrats John for winning the best Chief Executive at the DIBManc #Mancoolian14 awards! Richly deserved - your high growth business is a lesson to us all.

Should being connected to the internet make us happier?

An exclusive Newsbeat poll of 1,015 British teenagers, put together by Comres, indicates that a quarter feel happier online than they do in real life. Is this worrying or just a sign of the times?

This, and a series of other questions, was the posed to me by Darren Adam from Radio Scotland a couple of minutes ago on a live phone in show.

What amazed me from the phone in show was that people were wondering whether the internet was really worth having!

Now remember this is Scotland, just a little north of us all in England, this is not India, a million miles away. The reason I give this comparison is not to shock, or be naughty, but as it is topical, as Internet.org is right now launching a contest to convince Indian farmers, migrant workers, women, and students why the Internet is valuable. The same could be done, it would seem for parts of Scotland.

Money To Get People Online:

This  Innovation Challenge rather famously back by Facebook will award $250,000 prizes to the best app, website, or service that makes the Internet relevant to each of the four different demographic populations of India stated above.

As Techcrunch reports:

“The contest from Facebook-backed Internet accessibility partnership Internet.org could help millions of people recognize the value of the Internet, pursue access, and gain knowledge and opportunities that can help them get better jobs and improve their lives. That could in turn help Internet.org’s flagship sponsor Facebook gain new users that it can connect to the world.”

Now whether Facebook’s motives are pure (i.e. not just for profit) in wanting to connect such people i.e. the developing nations being Facebook’s main growth area, coupled with mobile growth, you cannot argue that they see the point in being connecting to the internet.

But Should We Be Happier Online?

Personally, I feel online is a double edged sword – which through things like Meetup and social media can bring people together. In fact, from the study - a third of 15 to 18-year-olds in the UK have met someone in person they originally met through social media.

Which has to be a win for social media and mental health but the other side of this is the potential to be addicted to social media and to miss out on the real world outside.  As the survey also indicated:

• 25% of teenagers admitted they were addicted to social media but 62% thought their friends were instead
• 25% wished they could give up social media
• 13% said their online friends knew them better than their real-life friends
• 51% of the respondents said they felt it important to check a notification as soon as it came through.

A lot of these stats are worrying and probably affect a person’s happiness, again something that I know personally.

However all the doom and gloom of the phone in show and the questions surrounding it really missed the point. The internet is a tool, nothing more; it is an amazing tool which gives us so much potentially. However, it is how we use it. More and more reports are coming out how Facebook really can make us happier.

But… Facebook is not the only internet. Do we really need to watch more cat videos? Or do workers in India for that matter.

Have you say…

And in case, all these newsbeat facts has got you down, here are 5 Ways To Add Some Happy To Your Online Social Life

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About Internet.org

This is a Facebook partnership with Samsung, Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera and Qualcomm named Internet.org, aimed at bringing affordable Internet access to the 5 billion people without it.

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About the Author:

Dan is a Digital Marketing Trainer, Speaker and Consultant specializing in Digital, Social and Mobile technologies to help businesses, especially digitally focused businesses, make more money.Dan aligns his passions for marketing and teaching, by being a keynote speaker / business trainer in events around the country for household names like O2 / Telefonica.Dan has over 17 years in all round marketing, specialising in Guerrilla Marketing Tactics,12 in B2C marketing, 10 in B2B marketing, 7 years in Digital and 5 years in Social and Mobile Marketing.

Hear him tweet about marketing @ukmarketinghelp 

For elite performance, you have to think like an elite performer

In his post, Manj W, does a great job at looking at modelling the mindset that fuels outstanding success.

Key 1: The Thinker

Life follows thought; so be careful what you think. Where your thinking goes, your energy flows. There’s no point in setting goals and outcomes and then having uncontrolled thoughts about not achieving them. Make sure your thinking supports the outcomes you desire. Make this a daily practice and activate the positive thinker behind the thoughts.

Key 2: How’s Your Mini-Me?

Watch out for your self-talk. You know, that little voice in your head. I affectionately call it your Mini-Me. Some people hear it consciously more than others; however, we all have one. Get it on your side! Inner monologue/dialogue is a manifestation of the mindsets you have in your unconscious mind.

The unconscious mind, also known as the subconscious mind, is the greater part of your mind and contains your auto-pilot. Neuroscience research states that your unconscious mind controls what you think at a very deep level 95% of the time. Elite performers control how they speak to themselves. If need be, re-train your own Mini-Me, and make sure it only says things that support what you want to achieve.

Key 3: Build Your Ignoring Muscle

When going for your goals, ignore the negative circumstances around you. This is a trait of super-achievers and the high-net worth entrepreneurs that I coach. They do not allow any negativity around them to knock them off course — including negative people. So make sure you put your negativity deflection armour on and keep going. If you find this difficult to do, you really need to implement Key 5 below.

Key 4: What’s Playing At Your Cinema?

Stop referring to failures from your past. If you’re the type of person that does this, you need to stop it immediately. It’s the perfect way to condition yourself for failure and one sure-fire way of sabotaging your goals. Besides, would you go to see a bad movie at the cinema over and over again? Just do the opposite and refer to past successes, no matter how small they may be. Go on, be the star and load a great movie instead!

Key 5: Are You Boring Your Own Mind Cells?

Over the years I have noticed that people can often fail because their goals are too small. Why is this? One reason is that people set small goals to avoid disappointment. It’s a fear of failure and a lack mentality, and will often create the opposite conditions needed for success. A series of smaller goals linked to a big goal is fine; however, small discrete goals run the risk of not getting you excited enough and not giving you enough purpose to reach success.

Have you noticed that super-achievers — from money-makers to inventors to humanitarians — all set big goals that really excite and juice them? So please don’t bore your own mind cells! Set big goals and get something exciting in motion.

Key 6: Mission Impossible?

Successful people understand that the environment they are in will affect and condition their thinking. This includes who they hang around with — their peer group.

It is said that you become the sum of the five people you are in contact with the most. So maybe this is a good time to take stock and have a good look around you? Remember, you may not spend most of your time with your best friends. It may be with work colleagues or others. Whoever it is, do they think and speak in the way that inspires success? Do they support your goals? Are they on the same mission as you?

Key 7: A Little Help…

Richard Branson asked the question: what do he, Larry Page and Steve Jobs have in common? They all, at some time or another, had support from a mentor. Larry Page, executive chairman of Google, said that the best advice he ever received was to hire a mentor. Elite performers, whether in sport or business, often have someone they can turn to. They understand that they do not have all the answers themselves, and they embrace the need for continuous improvement.

There are generally two types of support available in this area. The first is a technical mentor; someone experienced in your field that can give you advice on doing your job or business better. The second is a coach who can help you with your mindset and other areas such as communication, leadership, creativity, etc. If you work for an organisation, there may be an internal mentoring scheme in place. If not, you may wish to make a proposal to have one set up. I also recommend you invest in yourself and look to hire a coach that will support you on the road to future success.

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Great thinking  - which remind me I must get a coach and soon. 

A survey for a start up in Manchester aiming at Digital Marketeers. Which I am part of.

Are you into digital marketing? Do you use PPC?

Do me a massive favour and answer these questions all about the industry.

I'd really appreciate it - and you get £60 worth of services if / when the idea launches.

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The #IceBucketChallenge, the hype cycle and an experiment we didn’t know we were going through.

As written earlier this week by the Chief Creative Officer at Wunderman UK, in his great piece – on How an Ice Bucket Broke the Laws of Marketing... 

“The latest figures show there have been over 2.4 million #icebucketchallenge videos on Facebook, 3.7 million videos on Instagram, and 4.5 million mentions on Twitter. More than 28 million people have engaged with the campaign on social media (comments, likes and uploads).…In just August, the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association has collected US$98.2 million in donations (over 36 times the amount donated in the same month in the previous year).”

But apart from the money raised (which is surely the main point) the phenomena is of interest to me from a theoretical POV because it obeys The Hype Cycle (something I love)

Personally don’t believe it breaks marketing rules at all, as Matt B from Wundermann believes, in fact argue there are 12 good reasons why it works so well – many from a marketing POV. But…  

Have we been through the cycle?

However, I have noticed that we have been through the hype cycle. Which has taken a LOT longer than many people think i.e. the ice bucket challenge as a concept started in 2013, which was then adopted by ALS in July 2014 only to really take off with the trigger of tech CEO’s doing it and then celebrity CEO’s and then celebrities. In some respect the whole thing has acted like a perfect storm with lightning striking for the charity.

The concept also managed organically to use such celebrities and techies to “cross the chasm” to go from visionaries (the people who thought this up were sports people mainly – as they have a culture of pranks) to early adopters and techies crossing the chasm with the power of celebrities.  

It is on interest to me as a reporter asked me the other day….

“Did I think the ice bucket challenge, as an idea, was over?”

My reply which wasn’t aired was I thought the concept was over when my mother in law did a challenge last week. (August 26^th). But I may have been wrong – as in silver surfer terms they are very much early adopters (my father in law has his own 3D printer already) so perhaps we are not done yet with the #icebucketchallenge

Key take aways:

• Everything goes through a hype cycle.
• It depends which group you are part of to how you see it.
• Marketing can be the technological trigger which causes the hype – but it is much more likely to be celebrity endorsement – on top of technology and social media.
• The trough of disillusionment creates new opportunities for 2^nd generation idea creators 

i.e. As Matt from Winderman reports:

“In the UK, the Motor Neurone Disease Association was given £2.7 million in just one week (22-29 August) from ice bucket devotees, compared to the average £200,000 donated in a normal week.

Macmillian Cancer Support in the UK responded to social pressure and jumped on this icy bandwagon, raising £3 million.”

What I would like to know is. 

Where do you think we are now with it?

Position 1, 2,3, or 4 and why?

Has your company done it yet? 

Has your grandma done it yet?

Are you bored of it already? 

Is money still being made for ALS?