There Is No “I” In Team
By Cheval John
Thank goodness you are not Kaelin Clay.
The senior wide receiver made what is possibly the bone headed play of the year that caused his team, the Utah Utes to lose against the Oregon Ducks 51-27.
The Utes had a 7-0 lead and had all the momentum going for them when quarterback Travis Wilson found Clay wide open down the field for what would have been a 78 yard touchdown pass.
However, Mr. Clay was so focused on celebrating the score that he dropped the football a yard shy before crossing into the endzone.
With a heads up play by Oregon’s defense, they pick up the football and returned it 99 yards for the touchdown and tied the score up at 7 after the extra point.
From that moment on, the Ducks steam rolled Utah en route to an important win that kept them alive for one of the four spots in the College Football Playoff.
The lesson from this: Always be a team player because it is not all about you.
Your actions can either elevate a business, organization, etc. or bring down them down very quickly like Mr. Clay’s foolish action brought down his Utah team against Oregon.
What are your thoughts on that wild play between Utah and Oregon?
Video courtesy of ESPN via BBA News
Introduction To Podcasting
By Cheval John
As promised in my last post, “The Process of Writing A Book,” I will be sharing each chapter of the book “8 Lessons Every Podcaster Needs To Learn.”
This will be my way of letting the readers of this site get to see my writing process in creating a book and also I want to be as real and transparent as possible.
I want the readers to be a part of the book writing process and share their feedback with me on whether this book will be beneficial for those who are looking to create their own podcast.
So without further ado, here is the “Introduction” to the book.
Podcasting has made a resurgence in the last 10 years.
It was a once forgotten medium because the technology was only available on computers.
After Apple created the iPod in 2005, many flocked back to podcasting because they believed that they could reach a wider audience.
They are signs that podcasting will continue to grow in the near future.
The reason is because Apple has led the way in innovation again with their new product, the Apple Carplay.
Carplay allows anyone to connect their iPhone to their cars.
It was released this year on selected car models like Ferrari, Honda, and Hyundia and will be available on all newer models with the rest of the big name brands in 2015.
One might think this is all great, but what all this have to do with podcasting?
The answer is everything because the iPhone has given people the capability to download their favorite podcasts and listen to it anywhere.
That means that if you are small business owner, freelance writer, a college student who are trying to showcase their expertise in order to land their dream job, etc, starting a podcast will allow you to reach your target audience and establish your credibility.
And it gets even better with Carplay because podcasters are able to reach people who have to commute to work on a weekly basis.
So you might still wonder why I should journey into podcasting when the medium is the 11th social media platform used by 6% of marketers according to the 2014 industry report by Social Media Examiner?
The reason is because that same report has indicated that 21% of marketers are going to create their own podcasts this year and 24% are thinking of the possibility of having a podcast.
So if you are convinced and are ready to have your very own podcast, I salute you.
As you are thinking about what platform will best fit your podcasting needs, the third chapter, “Start A Podcast” in my first book, “8 Things You Need To Do Before Quitting Your Job” explains what platform will work for the newbie podcaster.
When you come to the decision on which platform you feel comfortable with in creating your podcast,
more questions will enter your mind like how do I secure my first guest?
Should I reach out to that A-Lister or should I start local with the people I know?
This book, “8 Lessons Every Podcaster Needs To Learn” will be the step-by-step guide to grow your podcast the right way.
It is based on the lessons I learned the hard way while hosting my very own online radio show/podcast, “What’s The Word?” on BlogTalkRadio.
My hope is that you will avoid the same mistakes as a podcaster and that you will grow your personal brand and establish yourself as a thought leader whether you are a business owner, freelance writer, college student or even an employee.
Let the lessons begin.
Video courtesy of Cliff Ravenscraft
The Process of Writing A Book
By Cheval John
I had made a commitment that 2014 was going to be a break out year.
Along the way, I had a strong desire to write a book because it was a worthy challenge.
I can see why that is.
According to a New York Times article by Joseph Epstein, 81% of Americans dream of writing a book.
Only a few fulfill their book writing goals and I wanted to be among them.
So I made a commitment to Suitcase Entrepreneur, Natalie Sisson in her workshop that I was going to have a book written by the summer of 2014.
I was able to fulfill my promise and released the book, “8 Things You Need To Do Before Quitting Your Job” in April of this year.
Though it was a huge accomplishment to become an author, the book did not do well because I failed to do a book launch and market the book.
I even got a brutal feedback by a publicist who said that the book was not ready for prime time.
To make sure that I do not experience that failure again, I decided to take part in Nina Amir’s “Write NonFiction In November Challenge.”
A person who takes part in the challenge will have to blog their manuscript of their book and get it finished by November 30th.
Though I am a couple of days late to the challenge, I can get the book done because I have already written the manuscript on paper called, “8 Lessons Every Podcaster Needs To Learn.”
I will be starting the challenge tomorrow with the introduction of the book and you will be seeing “chapters” every Thursday, Friday and Saturday in addition to the posts relating to sports and travel.
I feel that it will be fun to let the readers see the process of writing a book and also leave their feedback on the book.
Have you ever thought about writing a book?
Texans Are On The “Right” Track
By Cheval John
The old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Well, the Houston Texans offense was very broken and it needed fixing.
And Texans head coach Bill O’Brien has “fixed” the problem as today he named Ryan Mallet as the starting quarterback in place of Ryan Fitzpatrick.
The Texans currently have a 4-5 record.
With a bye week, Houston have ample time to address the inconsistencies that the offense have produced under Fitzpatrick.
Naming Mallet as the starter was the correct step that they needed to take if they are going to make the playoffs.
However, Fitzpatrick seems to “dislike” the move.
“I don’t really agree with it, but I respect the hell out of Coach O’Brien.” Fitzpatrick said to Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com. “It’s a hard thing, especially with me at this point in my career, to have to sit and take a back seat.”
Fitzpatrick have no choice but to take a seat as a backup quarterback because he had failed to lead the Texans to a winning record.
Though Fitzpatrick has 11 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, his inconsistencies with the offense has been a detriment to the team.
And since O’Brien believes that his team can make the playoffs despite the odds against them, he had to make the move of naming Mallet as the starting quarterback.
The lesson that people can learn from the Texans organization is this: If you are not making a contribution to your organization or in the case of the entrepreneur, not serving your clients/customers, you will be replaced by someone else who can do the job much better than you.”
That is the hard lesson that Mr. Fitzpatrick will have to deal with for possibly the rest of the season.
Do you think that coach O’Brien made the right move in naming Ryan Mallet as the starting quarterback?
Leave your comment below.
Video courtesy of NBC Sports
College Football Playoff: The New BCS
By Cheval John
We are half way through the college football season and things are getting more interesting.
The committee for the newly implemented College Football Playoff (CFP) released their projected four teams that would make it in.
The teams that were projected this week were Mississippi State, Oregon, Florida State and TCU.
Though this is a small step in the right direction for a long overdue playoff system in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), it still has a long way to go.
What this playoff system does is benefit only the teams that are in the big 5 conferences (SEC, ACC, Big 12, Big 10, and the PAC 12) because the committee only focus on those teams that have a tough schedule and have a quality win against an opponent.
It also shows that even a convincing win against a quality opponent in their respective conference does not mean much.
For example, Baylor was ranked No. 7 in the committee’s poll.
Didn’t Baylor come back from 21 points to defeat TCU 61-58 on a last-minute field goal a couple of weeks ago?
Shouldn’t that comeback win have any validation on what type of team Baylor is?
Not in this type of playoff system.
What this shows is that you must win every game in your schedule and have a convincing win against a school that is in the big five conferences.
Also, you must make sure that if you do lose, that it should happen early in the season and not late in the season because that could come back to hurt your playoff chances.
Maybe, the top professional sports leagues in North America should model the CFP.
That way, it could give teams with pedigree like the New York Yankees or the Los Angeles Lakers a chance every year to win a championship.
What are your thoughts on the College Football Playoff system?
Video Courtesy Of Baylor Athletics
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