Seth Godin is a powerful voice in the field of marketing.  The contribution Godin has made to the field over the past decade is substantial.  In particularly Godin has been a leader in thinking about the implications of the web and social media on marketing.  His previous books include Permission Marketing, Purple Cow,  The Dip and Meatball Sundae.  Each of these books brought to light an important concept for marketing or entrepreneurship.

In his most recent book “Tribes”, Godin adds to our understanding of the world today by explaining that the world needs tribes. He says,

“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea….  A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate.”

Naturally today’s increasingly flat world and the technology that makes it run allow tribes to form and function more easily than ever before.  What is missing, Godin argues, is leadership.

That is the crux of this book.  Unlike his previous books, the focus of Tribes is not marketing or entrepreneurship.  The focus is on leadership. The book would fit much better into the “leadership” category of the bookstore than the “marketing” category.  Of course both marketing and entrepreneurship involve leadership, and as such people with both types of interest would benefit.  However, because leadership is a broader target, the number of people who should read this book increases.

Within the umbrella of leadership Godin touches on topics such as:

• why the fear of failure is overrated
• a brief history of the factory
• the connection and difference between faith, fear and religion
• watching the music industry die
• what is sheepwalking

Who should read this book?  Everyone who wants to make a difference in the world! People who want to make a difference in the world need to lead, and leading today is different than leading yesterday.  Yesterday was made up of local tribes, today while tribes may start local, but they all have the potential for global reach.

“Before the Internet, coordinating and leading a tribe was difficult.  It was difficult to get the word out, difficult to coordinate action, difficult to grow quickly.  Today, of course, instant communication makes things taut, not squishy.”

If you want to make a difference in the world, you need to become a leader – even if you don’t think you want to.  “Tribes” will encourage you, challenge you, and teach you how to make a difference and to lead a tribe.

“Tribes” is also about breaking out of the mold that we are put into, whether it is by our boss or our habits. It is about working against the grain:

“Heretics are the new leaders. The ones who challenge the status quo, who get out in front of their tribes, who create movements. The marketplace now rewards (and embraces) the heretics.  It’s clearly more fun to make the rules than to follow them, and for the first time, it’s also profitable, powerful and productive to do just that.”

As all of Godin’s books, “Tribes” is easy to read.  It is short and filled with section after section of advice.  The book is filled with examples of how tribes are formed and how they are making a difference around the world.  The book is encouraging because it is through and through a call to action: a call to lead a tribe.

I’ll leave you with some other quotes from “Tribes”:

“The market wants you to be remarkable. The most important tribes are bored with yesterday and demand tomorrow.”

“Life’s too short to fight the forces of change.  Life’s too short to hate what you do all day.  Life’s way to short to make mediocre stuff.  And almost everything that’s standard is now viewed as mediocre.”

“If the only side effect of the criticism is that you will feel bad about the criticism, then you have to compare that bad feeling with the benefits you’ll get from actually doing something worth doing.  Being remarkable is exciting, fun, profitable and great for your career.  Feeling bad wears off.”

“Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead.”

“Change isn’t made by asking permission.  Change is made by asking forgiveness, later.”

“Leadership almost always involves thinking and acting like the underdog.  That’s because leaders work to change things, and the people who are winning rarely do.”

Review Written by:  Danny Gamache – The Success Professor

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Hi everyone,

Here’s some of the best posts I’ve come across in the last couple of weeks.

1. Social Media expert Chris Brogan shares “How to Get More Retweet Action”.

2. Leadership teacher John Maxwell writes about “Leading Through Diversity”.

3. Jonathan Mead writes a great guest post on Zen Habits helping you move to being your own boss.

4. Read about why the focus on simplicity helps the environment at GreenBiz.com.

5. Finally, Seth Godin has a great reminder on why you need to Ignore Sunk Costs.

The Success Professor – Danny Gamache

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Written by: The Success Professor – NEW: Follow me on TWITTER.

This article is a follow up on my popular articles Six Ways to Grow Daily and The Success Professor’s Top 10 Book Choices.

Podcasts are a fantastic way of learning, being inspired, and for personal growth.  They are audio presentations that you download and are able to listen to at your convenience, whether on iTunes or on an iPod (or other Mp3 player).  If you don’t currently listen to any podcasts the first step is to download iTunes. After subscribing to podcasts, such as the ones listed below, iTunes will automatically download any recent episodes every time you open the program.  I listen to some podcasts directly on my computer and download others to my iPod.

Each of these podcasts can be found by searching for the title in the iTunes store, or by subscribing at the webpage linked to in the title of each podcast.

1. Inspiring Words of Encouragement – Zig Ziglar

Motivational expert Zig Ziglar offers this excellent podcast.  The subject list is diverse within the framework of living a positive life.  Past episodes include tips on success, lessons for salespeople, and even parenting advice.

This podcast is updated every two weeks, and I never fail to be encouraged, inspired, and to learn from every episode.  The full archives are available for download also, giving you lots of powerful motivational material.

2. Mosaic – A Community of Faith, Love & Hope

One of two churches that make the list.  I hesitate to call it a church.   Partly because it meets in a night club, and partly because it is nothing like most churches you may have experiences with.

Pastor Erwin McManus is an amazing communicator of God’s word.  He does it in a way that communicates the true message of Jesus.  He speaks of important personal development topics such as work, relationships and money.  Be sure to make your way into the archives of past messages.  My favorite messages that I recommend you check out are entitled, “Fear”, “Work”, and “Everyone Gave”.

3. Dave Ramsey Show Podcast

Financial guru Dave Ramsey and author of the Total Money Makeover (one of my top 10 books!) hosts a national daily radio show that talks about your life and your money.  The podcast is a one hour segment (forty minutes because no commercials!) each day from his radio show.

In this segment Ramsey helps people with life and financial issues, guiding listeners to make a change in how they think about money.  His goal is that “you will live like no one else so later you can live like no one else.”

4. The Daily Boost

This is a powerful motivation podcast from motivationtomove.com   The free podcast is generally a once a week motivating message, that comes out of their daily podcast service for “premium” members. Currently they are sharing the top 10 messages of the year with all free subscribers.

The messages are short, about 10 minutes a day, and provide a powerful personal development tip that motivates you to move forward.  I am considering upgrading to the paid premium membership, the podcasts are that good!  At least check out the free version.

5. Duct Tape Marketing Podcast

John Jantsch, author of the book Duct Tape Marketing, hosts this excellent podcast filled with interviews of marketing experts and entrepreneurs.  It is always informative and helps to keep up to date with trends in the world of marketing, particularly social media and new marketing. These podcasts come approximately once a week and there is a fantastic archive of previous episodes.

6. Alex Shalman Podcast

Alex Shalman’s personal development podcast is an outgrowth of his excellent blog.  This podcast is a weekly podcast that interviews people on the topic of personal development.  Alex asks excellent questions that give you an insight into how successful people think about their lives.  This podcast is brand new and that is the only reason it isn’t ranked higher on my list.  If the quality continues as it has in its first few weeks it will quickly move up my ranks.  The podcast is weekly and comes every Monday.

7. Meeting House Podcast

The second church service on our list is led by pastor Bruxy Cavey.  Bruxy is the author of the book “The End of Religion” which might give you a pretty good picture as to why this church is so unique.  They consider The Meeting House as the irreligious church.  Bruxy is an excellent communicator and speaks on many relevant issues of today including topics such male/female differences, the God debate, and even a series called The Secret Revealed.

8. CBC Radio Vinyl Café

Stuart McLean is a master storyteller.  This podcast of his weekly radio show is a fantastic break from the ordinary as it allows you to listen to a master story teller at work. This podcast is a wonderful break for relaxation and stress reduction.  If you are looking for a personal development angle beyond the rest it is this: listening to Stuart will help you become a better storyteller for all of your presentations.

9. Harvard Business Review Ideacast

This weekly podcast from the editors of Harvard Business Review shares interviews with the author of an article in the current issues of the Harvard Business Review.  Listening to this podcast allows you to hear about import research in the world of business and get application ideas directly from the author.

10. Maximum Impact Podcast

This podcast from the leadership experts at Maximum Impact (John Maxwell’s company) provides excellent lessons on leadership.  It is filled with interviews and insights with each episode feeling like a diverse radio show.  Unfortunately they have not released a new issue in several months.  That is the only reason this podcast slipped so low in my rankings.  It is well worth going through the archives and catching up on previous episodes.

I hope you get as much out of these podcasts as I do.  Now it’s your turn.  Did I miss any?  What are your favorite podcasts, and why?  Share in the comments below!

The Success Professor – Danny Gamache
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Last week, I wrote about momentum, and how it can be a leader’s best friend.  The focus in that article was creating momentum.  In that article you learned about creating forward progress, having a vision, applying the principle of massive action, and about following up one success immediately with another.  You can read the full article here.

In this article, you will learn how to maintain momentum.  While creating momentum takes the largest amount of effort, its benefits will be short lived if you don’t take some deliberate steps to maintain it.  All your hard work will be in vain and your momentum will disappear – much more quickly than it came about.

The good news is that maintaining momentum is much easier than creating it in the first place.

STEPS TO MAINTAIN MOMENTUM

1. Keep the vision and goals out front.

You need to have a burning vision, a reason why you are going to work your business, a reason why you are going to make the next approach and a reason why you will place that next ad for your web site or product.  Take this vision and keep it out front.  Keep it where you will see it every day, where it will always beyond your mind.  Write it down, visualize it and gather photos that remind you of your vision.

2. Remind team members about the vision.

Don’t just keep the vision in front of yourself, keep the vision out front of your whole team, so that everyone knows where they are going, and every knows WHY they are going in that direction.  Continually recasting the vision for your team will be an important part of your maintaining momentum.

3. Develop consistency in your efforts.

You need to be continuously moving.  Don’t get some momentum going and then think you can stop and your business will grow on its own.  You’ve clearly been doing something right to create momentum – so don’t stop doing those things.  Set your self a pace that you can keep consistently.  Determine what activities you need to do to reach your goals and commit to daily action on those activities.

If you are calling potential customers, determine a number of approach calls that you can make each day and determine a number of follow up calls you can make each day.  Then follow through on that commitment.  How often will you post to your blog?  How often will you work out?  Whatever area you have momentum in, determine the activities you need to do on a daily basis; Then don’t stop.  You won’t need to work as hard as you did when you were creating the momentum, but you will have to work much more consistently.

4. Beware of the sprint/stop syndrome.

One problem people often face when they create momentum is that they fall into the sprint/stop syndrome. This is when people go break neck speed towards their goals for short time and then stop.  This is acting like the hare from the “Tortoise and the Hare fable”.  In that fable the Tortoise wins the race by continually moving forward, beating out the Hare who does a sprint/stop style of race.

There are many motivations for this sort of attitude.  People may stop because they want to reward themselves, so they take a week off or go on a vacation; they may stop because they get stressed out and need a break; they may collapse from exhaustion; or they may get so many sales they have to spend a week catching up on paperwork that got behind.  All of these are equally dangerous.  In each case you have broken the consistency of action and put your momentum in jeopardy.  Sure it may seem like you are still acting, that paperwork needed to be done after all, right?  Even in this case you are moving away from action that moves your business forward and are focusing on action that only maintains the current position.

5. Creating balance in your life.

Working hard and consistent at your business, but don’t burn yourself out.  Creating balance will allow you to maintain your energy. Allow time for personal development; allow time for spiritual growth, and make sure you stay physically active.   Develop a pace to life, one that is aggressive and forward moving, but one that you can maintain for long periods of time without needing to collapse or take a significant rest.  It is good to rest, but take short rests,  take a little time here and there, at most a day here and a day there, but you shouldn’t need to be taking days off to recover from you pace – if you do, you’ve been working too hard.

Momentum can be your best friend as you work towards personal or business goals.  There are deliberate steps you can take towards building momentum and maintaining it.   Now get started!

Written by:
The Success Professor – Danny Gamache

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First, watch this 30 second video.

In order to succeed you must fail. Failure is an essential step towards success.  The more successful the individual the more failures they will have faced along the way.  These might be small failures such as being rejected by a prospect, or they may be larger failures such as a business failing.  These failures can propel you towards success.

Michael Jordan is a great example about success through failure.  There are many lessons that can be learned through his experiences.  Use these tips as an opportunity for self examination.  How do you respond to failure?

1. Take the Shots

In the commercial above, Michael Jordan talks about how many shots he missed.  He missed shots because he was willing to take them.  Are you willing to take the shots that will help you succeed in your goals?

2. Don’t Let Failure Stop You from Trying Again

A missed shot didn’t stop Michael Jordan.  If he had stopped shooting because of one miss, or not been willing to take the next game winning shot simply because he missed the last one, he would not have become the championship player he was. Is a past failure stopping you from moving towards your goals?

3. Don’t Let Failure Get You Down

Michael Jordan didn’t let a missed shot create discouragement.  You cannot dwell on your failures – you must move on.  It is hard to overestimate the importance of a positive attitude on life especially when you fail.  If you are able to keep a positive attitude when you fail, you’ll be able to be ready to try again more quickly.  Have you let failure get you down?

4. Learn Every Time You Fail

There is no doubt that Michael Jordan learned from his failures.  By learning from your failures you will gain more success.  Every lesson you take from failure can be used to help you succeed the next time.  Failure simply shows you what doesn’t work, allowing you to go do what does work the next time.    What can you learn from your most recent failure?

5. Know your Game Winning Shots

Your game winning shots are the activities which push you over the edge as you work towards your goals.  They are the things you can do that allow you to win.  Your game winning shot might be making sales calls to your top prospect list, or submitting another book proposal to a publisher.  You need to know these most important activities and look for opportunities to take shots. What are the game winning shots for your business?

6. Your Response to Failure Impacts Your Team

Not only was Michael Jordan a basketball superstar he was part of great teams. With Michael Jordon the Chicago Bulls won six NBA championships.  Similarly, you need a team to succeed.  Your team will follow you lead.  If you respond negatively to failure, your team will follow.  If you dismiss failure, learn from it, and quickly move on with a positive attitude your team will do likewise.  How is your response to failure impacting your team?

Written by:
The Success Professor – Danny Gamache
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