Tag: power

Lessons Learned From Accepting A Challenge

Winnie Kao dropped the gauntlet. She asked anyone and everyone to join her in blogging every day for a week. Many, including me, accepted her challenge.

Making the commitment to blogging every day for seven days forced me to adjust my work schedule to write every ink-158459_1280day – weekends included. Yesterday I posted my blog less than 20 minutes before midnight. I could have written two posts today, but that wasn’t the agreement I made with Winnie. So . . . after getting home from my husband’s company party, I wrote a blog post. Not my best work, but a post nonetheless.

Taking the challenge to participate in the Your Turn Challenge helped me see a few things more clearly. Here are some of the lessons I learned from this challenge:

  • Shipping is better than perfect.
  • Your word matters.
  • Habits can be set or broken in a week.
  • Powerful communities can be formed in a week.
  • Taking a risk can produce some wild results.

I’ve met some wonderful people this week, and I’ve read some powerful blog posts. Participating in this challenge has been the best decision I’ve made in 2015. Thanks, Winnie, and all of my colleagues who jumped on this challenge.

Lessons Learned From Accepting A Challenge was last modified: January 25th, 2015 by Deb Nelson

Check Out the Power of Handwritten Notes

Try an experiment this year. Make a commitment to sending handwritten notes every week (yes. with a stamp. via the U.S. Postal Service). Start small, with just three a week, and see what kind of results you get. Document your expectations and compare them to what actually happens.notecards

What’s the big deal with handwritten notes? Aren’t they old school? Yes, they are old school in the best possible way. Old school meets new school in the midst of high tech communication – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and more – a personalized note to a client, donor, colleague, or friend provides the opportunity for you to send a unique message centered on the recipient.

Take a break from the practice of group message delivery; total focus is on one person. The main point here, though is that the note is NOT all about you and your achievements; it’s about the person who’s receiving the note. You’ll join the ranks of the very Likeable Dave Kerpen who is a note writer. Can he track the success of his career directly back to those notes? No, and yet, he continues to write them AND he encourages others to write them as well.

Staying connected with people who are important to you takes time, energy, and creativity. When you do it right, you stand to see some amazing results – for you, your business, and your clients. So get that pen out and get to work!

Drop me an email or a handwritten note to let me know how this works for you.

Check Out the Power of Handwritten Notes was last modified: January 15th, 2014 by Deb Nelson