We Don’t Always Have It Together
By Cheval John
Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles
We see a person who have achieved their goals and are showcasing their expertise to the world.
We might think that the person has everything together and might be thinking that nothing can go wrong in their life.
It is understandable to think like that because most of the time, we see in media outlets of how a person seems to have everything together with their life.
We might only see the successes, but never see the failures that they endured to achieve success.
One case in point, Michael Jordan, who celebrating his 52nd birthday today.
We all know him as arguably one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game.
Amid the 6 National Basketball Association (NBA) championships that Jordan won and being one of the major reasons why the NBA is globalized, many might not know about his “failures” while trying out for the varsity team in high school.
Jordan did not “make” the varsity team during his sophomore year even though he played for the junior varsity team.
Even though the junior varsity team was a consolation prize, it motivated Jordan to work even harder on his basketball skills.
Jordan made the team in his junior and senior year of high school, went on to the University of North Carolina, sanked the game-winning shot in the 1982 NCAA national championship game against Georgetown and a couple years later, got drafted by the Chicago Bulls and the rest was history.
You might be thinking after reading this that Jordan has been rising in success and does not have any struggles.
I can guarantee that Jordan and ultra-successful people still experience failures despite their success.
The biggest difference is that the successful are not afraid to fail.
They do not see their failures or struggles as the end of the world.
Instead, they see their failures or struggles as learning experiences so that they can achieve their success.
We might be afraid to show our failures because we think that people will judge us.
However, if you showcase your failures and your struggles, they will be drawn to you even more because they can relate to you.
Though I have achieved some successes like becoming an Amazon best-seller author for my second book, “8 Lessons Every Podcaster Needs To Learn,”covering sporting events as a freelance journalist, hosting a podcast and being a blogger, I still struggle with self-doubt and comparing myself to others everyday.
At times, I struggle with putting a great article together because I want the post to be stellar and I don’t want to fail.
But the truth of the matter is that I work hard everyday and keep a positive mindset because I know that I want to be successful.
If I would have allowed the fear of failure to stop me from becoming a blogger, I would not have had the opportunity to venture into podcasting and becoming an author.
In conclusion, it is o.k. to fail and share those failures because you will show everyone your journey to success.
Just don’t feel sorry for yourself when you experience failure.
Have you experienced failure in your life? If so, how did you overcome failure to be successful to make the world a better place?
Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Affiliate and I earn a commission whenever I recommend a book. In this case, I am recommending my book.
Your Employees Are Your Ambassadors
By Cheval John
You always hear the old saying that you want to leave a job on good terms and don’t burn any bridges.
It seems as if this message is only implied to employees because they are the ones who are working for a paycheck.
What if I told you that this message can be applied to employers as well?
I am here to tell you that it does implies to employers as well because that employee can either make or break your business.
You see if an employer does not allow their employees to shine and hinder their growth or mistreat them, they are doing them a disservice.
And when that happens, it leads to bad customer service and then the employer will put out more material of how to treat the customers or threaten them with discipline and send them towards retraining.
All of that will cost more money that will hurt the business.
The biggest thing that employers don’t realize is that “Their Employees Are Their Ambassadors.”
When the employers realize that, they will treat their employees right and in return, will generate great customer service that will create more money.
And when the employee do leave, they will talk about their experience at your company.
It only a matter if the reference to your company is good or bad.
For example, Kelly Hungerford, who I had the honor of interviewing on my show, “What’s The Word?, was with Paper.Li for over three years.
During her time there, she created the #bizheroes twitter chat that has grown to about 700,000,000 impressions on Twitter.
Though Kelly is a freelancer now, she is continuing her work with Paper.Li as an ambassador because she believes in the people and their product.
The other reason is because the executives from Paper.Li allowed Kelly to be herself and gave her the freedom to be innovative that has benefitted the company.
So if you want to make sure you business thrive in the 21st century, treat your employees right.
Because if you don’t, your company will end up failing because of the bad referrals and reviews.
Rebounding From Defeat
By Cheval John
Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles
A person will experience a defeat at one point in their lives.
When they do experience the defeat, they have two choices: stay down or get back up.
If you stay down, you will be sending a message that the adversity is too much for you to overcome.
It might be easy because you do not have to try again to fulfill your dreams of being successful to make a difference in the world.
However, you will end up feeling regret because you chose to wallow in your defeat.
On the other hand, when you get back up and try again, you will be a step closer to fulfilling your goals.
You will see your momentary defeats or setbacks as life lessons that will help you to avoid making the mistakes that led to your defeat.
For example, the Sam Houston State Bearkats team suffered their first ever defeat in Southland Conference (SLC) action against arch-rival Stephen F. Austin on their home court at Johnson Coliseum on January 24th.
The Bearkats could have decided to feel sorry for themselves because of their loss to the undefeated (SLC) conference leaders.
Instead, they regrouped and strung together three straight wins including the 79-50 win against Lamar to remain in second place in the SLC with a 9-1 record (17-5 overall).
So if you get knocked down by defeat, get back up.
Because you will inspire others to keep on chasing their dreams to make the world a better place.
Don’t Cry When Things Don’t Go Your Way
By Cheval John
If you feel that things are not going your way, celebrate because the adversity can be a way for you to discover your strengths.
You might have aspired to play professional baseball, but had a injury that derailed your dreams.
Or wanted to work at a prestigious company, but they did not take any interest in you.
Though they are “devastating” events, it was a blessing in disguise because you were meant to do more with your life.
When I started college late in 2003 at 22 years old, I felt that I was behind everyone who were about to graduated with their college degrees.
I was thinking that if I had started college immediately after moving to Huntsville, Texas, then I would have been able to graduate at the same time as the others.
I had made up my mind that I was going to try and graduate with my Bachelor’s Degree as fast as I could.
Though I enjoyed college, making friends and learning my second language as Spanish major, I was constantly comparing myself to others who were making money in their jobs because of their degrees while I was working in the fast food industry during my time as an undergraduate.
When I finally graduated in 2009 from Sam Houston State via Lone Star College (gained Associate Degree in 2007), I thought I was going to join the work force because of the degrees.
However, I was wrong as I had graduated in the middle of the “Great Recession” and I was looking for work because I had quit the last fast food job.
I was angry, feeling sorry for myself and blaming people because I thought if I had only started college before 2003, I would not have been in this position in looking for a job.
At that moment thanks to my parents, I understood that I had a lot to be thankful for because I had achieved my college degrees despite graduating high school with a 1.9 G.P.A. that prevent most people from attending college.
If I had graduated in 2003, I would have missed out on the opportunity to gain valuable work experience in public relations, journalism, television, and radio.
Also, I would have missed out on covering Sam Houston State football consecutive national championship appearance in Frisco, Texas, the baseball team winning three consecutive Southland Conference Championships and three at-large berths in the NCAA tournament and of course, the Bearkat bowling team winning the school’s first ever, NCAA Division 1 National Championship.
So celebrate your failures because they are the lessons that will guide you to your eventual goals that will allow you to make the world a better place.
Six Twitter Chats That Will Improve Your Social Media Knowledge
By Cheval John
Photo courtesy of stock images
When I first started using Twitter in 2011, I had went in with the wrong mindset of only sharing my work on the social media platform.
I knew that the platform was a great way for anyone to grow their blogs, businesses and personal brands.
I thought that if I followed people, I would get back a follow.
However, I did not get back a follow from the masses.
The only ones who had followed me were the people I had knew personally during my time as an undergraduate student.
I had continued to operate with the mentality of a taker for over a year on Twitter until October of 2012.
At that time, I had moved my website from the WordPress.com to a self-hosted site using the WordPress.org software.
In that moment, it hit me that if I wanted to gain new followers, I had to engage with the people.
So I started engaging with people on Twitter and sharing quality content that I believed would make people’s lives better.
Then last year, I heard about Twitter chats and decided to check them out.
Since then, I have been participating in so many Twitter chats and learning new concepts regarding social media, job hunting, the best blogs, etc.
Also, you will see the same people in so many of the chats that you will establish strong friendships that can allow you to be more successful at the next level.
This is something that many businesses are missing out on because “it is a focus group” that will cost them nothing.
Now that you know about Twitter chats, the question is, “Which of the chats are the right fit for me?
Though there are many Twitter chats out there, here are six chats that will be worth your time:
1. #BlogChat
Hosted by Mack Collier, this chat showcases the different trends that is going on in the blogosphere. Occassionally, they will be guest who share their blogging expertise.
The chat happens every Sunday night at 9 p.m. eastern, 8 p.m. central.
2. #BizHeroes
Hosted by Kelly Hungerford (ambassador) and Magda A. Torres of Paper.Li, the chat discusses topics about connecting with your audience and the different trends in social media. It is on Tuesday afternoons at 2 p.m. eastern, 1 p.m. central.
3. #MillennialTalk
Hosted by Chelsea Krost, Millennial Talk highlights topics that has an impact on the Millennial generation. Chelsea has guests on the chat and it happens every Tuesday night at 8 p.m. eastern, 7 p.m. central.
4. #sbizhour
Hosted by Brian Fanzo and Rachel Miller, #sbizhour chats about how brands can build a loyal following through authenticity and trust. They have guests ranging from CEOs to community managers who have succeeded in building their audience. The unique thing is people can watch the chat live on Google Hangout. The chat is every Monday at 4 p.m. eastern, 3 p.m. central.
5. #cmgr
The #cmgr chat is in the same category as #sbizhour because it is a Google Hangout in addition to be a Twitter chat. It is hosted by “MY Community Manager Team.” and every week, they have a different panel of guests who are community managers themselves. The chat is on Fridays at 2 p.m. eastern, 1 p.m. central.
6. #jobhuntchat
If you are looking for a job because you were laid off or a recent college graduate, you should participate in #jobhuntchat. The chat talks about different ways to stand out from your “competition.” The best part is that you can build friendships with people who are human resource professionals because they are in the chat. The chat is every Monday night at 10 p.m. eastern, 9 p.m. central.
What are your favorite Twitter chats and did I leave out any chats from this list? You can leave your comment below.
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