What is the secret to a successful life?

Now there is a loaded question that will solicit many responses… But I recently read a book called “The Slight Edge” by Jeff Olson that claims to share the secret to a successful life.

It was a good read. And honestly I need to read it again so I can focus and implement his ideas in my life and position here at Catalyst.

The point of the book is simple – Make continual small positive adjustment to the area of your life that you want to improve. Whether it’s your finances, health, relationships or family life, you can achieve success.

How?

1. Have daily discipline. Maybe you need to wake up a little earlier to do some exercise. Maybe you need to put down the romance fiction and pick up a book on leadership, parenting, or attitude.
2. Identify habits that serve you and replace habits that don’t. What are you doing everyday that may be destructive to your goals, or at least, is not helping to reach them. Are you playing games on Facebook for hours of the day?
3. Form relationships with positive people. There is a saying that “you become who you associate with.” Are you associating with people that have what you want or are where you want to go. Find a mentor and model their behavior. Do you want to own a business someday – then go find a successful business owner and learn from them. Do you want to be an investor – find one that is successful and with the right approach and attitude, they will happily share their knowledge.
4. Recognize that the choices you make everyday will be the difference between failure and success. Small daily decisions have gotten us to where we are and they will take us to our future.

Recognize and make changes to your daily behaviors and choices so you can achieve the level of success that you want in your life. Your philosophy creates your attitude that creates your actions that creates YOUR LIFE.

Don’t say 5, 10, or 20 years from now – “I wish I would have…”

- Sherri Barnes, Office Manager

On Thursday I attended another great event put on by Social:IRL, Social Media for Non-Profits and Social Good. This day-long event, held at the Kansas Humane Society in Wichita, covered topics from very basic expectations of social media communications to more advanced issues such as crisis management. From my more than 10 pages of notes I have selected a few simple lessons to pass along that can help in your social media endeavors no matter what your current level of engagement.

1. Social media is not a goal. The first and most important thing to remember when dealing with social media is that it is not a goal in and of itself, it is a tool used to reach already existing goals. If your goal is to be the best at what you do as an organization and you begin a social media campaign, that goal does not change. You are not suddenly out to be the best at social media; you just have more tools to work in your pursuit of being the best at your business.
2. Personality matters. While many say that content is king, how you communicate is equally important if not more so. Your content may be what draws new people to you, but your personality is how you keep them interested. Social media gives brands a unique opportunity to connect with people. Take advantage of that. Be a person, not a press release. Don’t be afraid to let your business develop a personality on social media – if done right it is more of an asset than a liability.
3. Be appropriate. While developing this personality it is important to remember to be appropriate for the medium. Now, I am not talking about swearing and foul language – in most cases I think that goes without saying. Don’t write a post for Facebook then just send a link to it on Twitter and LinkedIn. Each social media platform has a different culture, etiquette and set of expectations. Be aware of them and use them to your advantage. You may want to share the same information across multiple platforms but at times it is important to frame it differently.
4. K.I.S.S. Keep it SHARABLE… Have you ever seen an article and wanted to share it only to discover some part of it was protected from sharing? I guess those people don’t want to build an audience. Or you get on a website and see a great product that you want to put on your Pinterest board only to discover that the website is built in Flash and you have to pass it by? When creating content or sharing content, keep it shareable. People listen to what their friends are saying and you want them to be talking about your organization, so help them out. Make sure there are always handy share buttons. If you really want to get crazy, maybe suggest they share it. It is amazing what a simple ask will do.
5. If you aren’t investing in social media, you should be. Online fundraising continues to grow with 73% of organizations raising more online in 2011 than 2010. 50% of people on the internet use social media websites like LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, or Facebook. (If they aren’t in a band, probably not MySpace.) 19% of those adults make donations online. If you are not trying to reach these people, you are missing a huge opportunity.

Social media marketing can be intimidating – but can also be well worth the investment. If your organization needs some guidance, feel free to call Catalyst Creative Services to have a conversation about your marketing strategy.

- Rebekah Starkey, Writer|Designer

The 3^rd Annual Young Professionals Summit was held in Topeka, Kansas on Thursday April 5^th.  Originated by the Young Professionals of Reno County, the YP Summit had taken place here in Hutchinson previous years. Bringing together Young Professionals from across the state, the Summit gave them the opportunity to connect, be inspired and be educated through breakout sessions throughout the day.

Topeka continued Reno County’s tradition and put on a great event.  The theme, Achieving New Heights, was bolstered by the keynote speaker, Eric Alexander, who did not disappoint. Eric told stories from his many adventures helping people with disabilities overcome great challenges and achieve monumental feats — including the time he acted as guide to his friend as he became the first blind person to scale Mt. Everest. His speech had us on the edge of our seats as we watched documentary footage from the ascent. Eric was very inspiring, as expected, but also quite funny.

Keynote speaker, Eric Alexander, speaking while we all enjoy lunch.

Ed participating in a team building exercise.

Catalyst, a perennial supporter of the YP Summit from the outset, was represented by both of our YP Reno County members, Ed Maschler and Rebekah Starkey.  As we were told at the summit, you can’t be a part of the business that is being done if you don’t have a seat at the table.

Ed attended sessions on leadership, team building, branding your business and social media pitfalls for business people. Rebekah went to breakouts about getting involved in government, branding, leadership in Kansas, entrepreneurship, and a special speed networking event where she met young professionals making a difference in their communities across the state. The wrap up speaker was Governor Sam Brownback who gave a short speech and then opened up the floor to questions. 

Rebekah participating in a speed networking session.

All in all, it was a great weekend of both personal and professional growth, and let’s be honest — fun.

Memorable “one liner” lessons from the 2012 YP Summit:

• On true success: It is important to not only build success for yourself but also to build success for the people around you.
• On good business: The only things you can always control are your effort and your attitude.
• On Innovation: Innovation is not just about breaking the mold – it’s about creating a new mold.
• On branding: If your brand is a promise of value then the value has to be there.
• On Leadership: If you think of leadership as an activity and not a position, then it creates new opportunities for change.

For the past few months we have had the pleasure of working with Brenda Bandy, Program Director of The Kansas Business Case for Breastfeeding in cooperation with the Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition. The Business Case for Breastfeeding is a national initiative designed to educate employers on the benefits of creating and maintaining a working environment that is friendly to nursing employees.

With a proven 3 to 1 ROI on nursing employee support programs, the Business Case for Breastfeeding is persuasive and gives simple steps to becoming a nursing employee friendly environment. They also offer support and hands-on guidance from trained volunteers across the state.

We are pleased to announce that the website KansasBusinessCase.com has gone live. This website will act as the centerpiece for the dynamic marketing plan we have created for The Kansas Business Case for Breastfeeding which includes advertising, promotional materials, communications pieces, a customized email distribution system and more.

- Rebekah Starkey, Writer / Designer

Jason Falls, myself and some new friends hanging out at the Candle Club.

Tuesday night I had the amazing opportunity to attend a Social:IRL event in Wichita featuring social media guru Jason Falls. Falls is the co author of a new book called “No Bullshit Social Media — The All-Business, No Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing.” A nationally recognized leader in the world of public relations, communication and social media — Forbes recently named Falls one of the “Top Ten Influencers in Social Media.” As I learned in the seminar and reception following, he is also a really fun guy to hang out with.

The evening began with some light hors d’oeuvres and mingling among the participants who represented more than 30 companies from the region. It was held at the Junior League of Wichita who not only provided the venue but also some delicious goodies from their new cook book “Pinches and Dashes”  — the proceeds from which will be used to increase awareness and prevention of child abuse in the Wichita area.

In the first hour, Falls highlighted some main points from his book. Social media marketing needs to be seen from a strategic perspective to be effective. He briefly walked through how to harness the power of social media in a way that is tangible and can be measured — using specific case studies to show how a savvy marketer can use social media to hit what he calls the “relevancy bull’s-eye” in a way unique to social media. It can send a relevant message to a relevant audience at a relevant time.

“Strategic use separates people who count Facebook fans from people who count money made through Facebook,” Falls stated. While the benefits of social media marketing are great, Falls made a point to reiterate a belief that we hold in common here at Catalyst, “Social media is a channel, not necessarily a better channel.” While social media can be a great marketing tool for a business — it is important to not give up traditional advertising media. The strongest marketers combine these mediums strategically.

As the night came to a close participants gathered at the Candle Club for more connections and conversations over some food and drink. For a social media superstar, Jason is amazingly down to earth and had me laughing out loud more than once. The more connections I make in this social media universe, the more pleased I am to be a part of it.

Rebekah Starkey, Writer / Designer