NDSU’s Win Against Iowa Is No Upset
By Cheval John
Teams from the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) who scheduled teams from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) 95% of the time would get an easy win.
It would give them an opportunity to “practice” their football schemes in order to prepare for tougher matchups against competion in their respective conference.
Iowa thought they were going to get an easy win when they scheduled North Dakota State.
Even the analyst of ESPN gave NDSU a 9% chance of winning against Iowa.
Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, they lost to the Bison 23-21 in a walk-off field goal by Cam Pederson.
Maybe Iowa should have listened to Allie Davison.
Don't. Schedule. NDSU. Seriously.
— Allie Davison (@Allie_Davison) September 17, 2016
I am not surprised that many are declaring this win by the Bison (3-0) an upset.
North Dakota State with the YOOGE upset of Iowa. What a game.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 17, 2016
Internet goes bonkers after No. 13 Iowa gets upset by North Dakota State. https://t.co/sxzO7gFF8X
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 17, 2016
To be fair, it could be called an upset because football teams in the FBS has 85 athletic scholarships while teams in the FCS only has 63 athletic scholarships.
The win by North Dakota State should not be viewed as an upset because they are 9-3 against FBS teams.
They have the belief that they can beat anybody whether it is an FCS or an FBS team because they know their strength of running the football will wear them out.-
That is why it is no accident that they have won five consecutive FCS National Championships and could possibly win their 6th championship next year.
Small businesses must have the mentality that they can beat the larger corporations in the same manner that North Dakota State defeats FBS colleges.
Unfortunately, most small businesses do not have the winning attitude because they believe that they don’t have the marketing budget, the staff or the infrastructure to cdmpete against larger businesses.
If North Dakota State had went into the matchups with the mindset that they can’t win against the FBS college teams, then they would have wind up losing those football matchups.
Instead, the Bison believed in their strong work ethic and their strength of running the football and knew that they could defeat anyone.
Small businesses must understand that their strengths in building a loyal following on social media, putting out uplifting and quality content through their blogs, podcasts, live video streams and free reports can help them to stand out from their competition.
Most large businesses would not even consider putting out content about their industry because they believe they might be put out of business if their competitors find out their secrets that have made them successful.
When you have the mentality that you can succeed in your business with less resources, you will see the positive outcomes of your business.
And the masses will wonder how did you outlast the larger businesses who had the larger marketing budget to succeed.
Choose Your Social Media Platforms Wisely
By Cheval John
It seems like every few months we see the next big social media platform that would benefit us.
It’s a mad rush to jump onto that social media platform because of the fear of missing out.
In the last year and a half, live streaming platforms like Periscope, Snapchat, Blab have changed the game of how many businesses market themselves.
Then Facebook’s subsidiary, Instagram “created” Instagram Stories” about three weeks ago to rival Snapchat.
And recently, Google announced that they are shutting down Google + Hangouts On Air and moving their users to YouTube Live starting on September 12th.
It is understandable of why so many people are jumping onto live streaming platforms.
The advertising dollars are now in live streaming according to this New York Times article.
You might hear from many telling you that you need to be on this live streaming platform or that live streaming platform because many of your fellow entrepreneurs or professionals are there.
So a person can wonder which live streaming/social media platform should they or their business be on.
The answer is “it depends on where your audience is and which live streaming/social media platform you feel comfortable using.”
For example, the Sam Houston State University athletic department are only on Youtube, Instagram (Facebook) and Twitter because their audience want to see highlights from the sporting matchups that their teams participate in.
Ashley Johnson, owner of Mouth Marketing, LLC, told me on my show, What’s The Word, that she is not using Instagram Stories because they integrated Snapchat like features in their platform.
Ashley also said that she does not use Snapchat and was getting used to Instagram.
And for myself, I only use Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and LinkedIn because I feel comfortable using these platforms above.
Plus, I am trying out the live streaming platforms like Firetalk and Huzza.io to see which one works well for my podcast recordings (I was using Blab before they shut down their live streaming platform last weekend).
You do not want to jump onto the next big live streaming platform because other tells you to.
What you should do is focus on the social media/live streaming platform that works well for your business and your personal brand.
If you try to be great at all of the social media platforms, you will wind up burning yourself out and create a bad digital trail of your social media presence.
It Not’s Me, It’s You
By Cheval John
Everyone was enamored with the live streaming platform called Blab when the app came out in July of 2015.
We saw influencers like Kim Garst, Michael Stelzer, Sue B. Zimmerman using the platform to record their shows and provide valuable information to us about social media.
We also saw celebrities and brands like ESPN using the platform to record their shows.
Then we got the message from the CEO of blab that they were not investing more resources into the platform because they saw that the audience was only there for the hangout after the shows were over with, paraphrased.
Everyone of us knew that it was a matter of time before blab was going away for good.
So we look at alternatives to record our shows.
Then we got the message last night from the CEO that they were shutting down blab.
My reaction was mixed because blab was the reason why I became a better podcaster.
Plus, I met amazing people like Jackie Bernardi, Gerald DuBose, Victoria Taylor, and Vicki Fitch who I would not have met before.
And I had the opportunity to talk with Kelly Hungerford, Brian Fanzo, Rachel Miller, Christin Kardos, Adel de Meyer, Samantha Kelly and many more which I don’t have the space to mention.
Blab revolutionized live streaming because they had saved the audio in addition to video of the live streaming show.
They were the reason that many people who were not podcasters became podcasters.
Now I will get to the disappointment of blab.
The CEO of blab had a lack of communication with their users.
They did not give any warning of a change in direction of the platform.
I understand 100% that blab was their business and that the main goal is to be profitable.
However, they should have at least have the decency to let the users who was heavily invested in blab, know that they were moving in a different direction.
If they would have been more transparent about the change in direction of their business, I honestly believe that many people would have been cool with them.
And the fact that they decided to shut down everything without letting the people know about it was utterly classless.
They should have allowed the users of blab to have ample time to save their recordings so that they can have a track record of the interviews that they did on the social media platform.
It is so sad that the CEO had the audacity to blame most of the users for blab’s failure.
Other than the lack of transperency, blab opened up the possibilities to see that podcasters can also be live streamers.
Blab also allowed me to be featured on Ebony Magazine’s website.
What I can say is that I am thankful for the opportunity to record my show, What’s The Word on blab and later repurpose the show on BlogTalkRadio.
At the same time, I am grateful that I did not leave BlogTalkRadio entirely because if I had moved my show fully to blab, I would have regretted the decision above.
Now, I am using different live streaming platforms like Firetalk.com to record my show and putting that same show onto BlogTalkRadio.
The lesson that blab teaches us is to never put all of your resources in one social media platform because in the end, you will get burned.
Becoming The Small Percentage Who Succeeds For Better
By Cheval John
We all have the same lottery ticket to a successful life.
Yet, about 2% of the world are successful for the better while the majority are struggling to succeed for a better life.
And let me clarify what I mean by the majority are struggling for a better life.
Half of those who are “struggling” are actually working at a company on salary and are in the middle class.
And the middle class is shrinking every year due to layoffs and companies moving positions overseas to cut costs.
So why is it that a small percentage of people are wealthy while the rest are “poor”
Here are three reasons why
1. The Wealthy Value Their Time
The wealthy view their time as a valuable resource.
They use their time wisely to develop their skills that will allow them to accumulate wealth for the better.
In the same way as the wealthy value their time, the elite athletes like Serena Williams, Lebron James, Maya Moore and former Olympian, Laura Wilkinson put in the quality hours to perfect their craft so that when it is time to perform in their respective sports, they will excel and outlast their competition.
2. The Wealthy Value Their Friendships
The wealthy understand that if they spend quality time with people who will uplift them, they will be able to succeed in their respective business.
They don’t spent their time with negative people who always complain because they understand that they can be dragged down to that same negative attitude.
3. The Wealthy Are Always Learning
The wealthy are reading books from influential people who have succeeded in their lives.
In today’s age, the wealthy are also listening to uplifting podcasts like the Eventual Millionaire, hosted by Jaime Masters.
And most are hosting their own podcast to learn from their fellow peers about how to accumulate wealth or in the case, how to run a business.
And since I want to be as successful for the better like Tamara McCleary, Christin Kardos, Brian Fanzo, Kelly Hungerford, and Mrs. Wilkinson, I decided to host my own podcast, What’s The Word to learn from the above people and also Kristyna Torres, who is successful in her own right with her business.
So if you want to be like the 2% of the world who are enjoying their lives for the better, then you must start using your time wisely to where you can accumulate wealth.
When you spend your time with the correct people, you will not be like those who will use any excuse for the reason why they are not succeeding in life.
The Trend Heard Around Twitter #BOTPW
By Cheval John
The 91st edition of the Battle of The Piney Woods took place at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Saturday afternoon.
The rivalry between Sam Houston State University and Stephen F. Austin State University has become a part of the sports culture in the city of Houston.
Every year, the Battle of the Piney Woods has seen record crowds at NRG Stadium.
It really wasn’t a surprise that the Bearkats defeated the Lumberjacks 63-28 with twenty-eight of those points happening in the first quarter.
Maybe it was a surprise that SHSU’s quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe threw a Bearkat record of 7 touchdown passes in a single matchup against their rivals.
Or that the Bearkats (4-0 overall, 3-0 Southland Conference), also ranked No.2 in the country, had 653 total yards of offense, which was also the #botpw record.
If you were a Sam Houston State fan, you are happy to see this.
Even the people behind the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Twitter account have to agree.
If you are a Stephen F. Austin State University fan, you had to feel sick to your stomach as this lady pointed out in this tweet.
The biggest surprise is that the Battle of the Piney Woods hashtag #botpw was trending on Twitter.
I did not expect to see #botpw trending because normally college football matchups in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) would usually trend if these teams are colleges like the University of Texas, which of course trended after their epic lost to Oklahoma State.
The fact that a college football matchup between two FCS universities trended on Twitter shows how far this rivalry has come in the city of Houston.
Also, it shows how far the FCS has gained respect to a degree in the college football world.
You would only know about college football universities in the FCS level when national media outlets mainly ESPN would televised the NCAA FCS Championships.
Or if the FCS colleges are facing teams in the FBS.
The athletic administrators from the two universities along with the staff of Lone Star Sports and Entertainment were able to put together an awesome football matchup at NRG Stadium year after year.
And their hard work and dedication led to the Battle of the Piney Woods to stand out from the other college football matchups on Twitter.
This shows that if you want to stand out from the crowd, you need to put in the work and dedication to be successful in your business and career.
And also solve a problem for your audience because people will instantly trust you because you solved their problem.
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