Joel-Mark-Witt.com

Two stories.

First, I passed a middle aged woman sitting on the step outside the 7/11 today with a huge wad of scratch off lottery tickets. She was feverishly scratching off the numbers in quiet desperation. You could tell that she was poor. I’m not talking about poor in money – but poor in mindset.

And this isn’t the first time I’ve seen her doing this.

She would rather spend time on a Saturday afternoon scratching off lottery tickets hoping to WIN money – than an hour online or in the library studying how to MAKE money. She’s probably back home right now watching another mindless night of TV.

I don’t say this to judge her. I honestly felt sad for her. I’m sure she feels that her condition is hopeless and she’ll be working hard for money well into her twilight years. But it’s not a matter of her living conditions, job, talents, or skills.

This woman is poor in mind and she will continue to be stuck in the same situation unless she changes the way she thinks.

But that’s actually very hard to do. It means that she can’t be mentally lazy, will have to spend a lot less time watching TV and focus on changing her social circle.

Which brings me to story two.

I was on Twitter tonight and noticed a friend of mine being very negative. I started to realize that this friend and I are on VERY different paths in life. He’s smart, has his own business and probably knows more about social media than I do. But his business doesn’t grow and he feels stagnate in his life.

I’ll jump out on a limb and say he’s got the same problem as the lottery woman. Poor in mind and dwelling on the negative. Not good.

So these two stories have led me to a decision point. Because I’m changing my life in some big ways and am focused on success and helping people realize their full potential – I’m going to stop “hanging out” online with some of my social media friends who aren’t on the same path.

I’m not looking down on anyone – it’s just a change of perspective. I want to associate with others who want to help make a difference – add value – create positive energy – and make a fortune in the process.

So if you are like that – let’s hang out. If not – that’s cool. To each his own. But just don’t expect to become wealthy or enjoy the finer things of life. These go to the people who take control of their thoughts, behaviors and who they hang with.

Meaningful lives don’t happen by accident.

Leave your thoughts below.

*Photo by marfis75

Up until a few months ago all four of my grandparents were alive.

My grandfather on my dad’s side passed away at 90 after about six months of health decline. (My paternal grandmother passed away a few months later).

Up until a year ago my grandfather was physically nimble and strong. I attribute this to a positive outlook on life and a disciplined work ethic. He never “worked out” a day in his life. But he was from the generation where you worked hard with your hands and did things yourself.

He owned a 12 acre property in Pennsylvania that he and my grandmother maintained themselves and with the help of their adult children and us grandkids in later years.

There was snow to plow, grass to cut, fences to repair and other maintenance tasks to complete. I am convinced that all this work kept my grandparents in shape and healthy into his 80s.

My grandfather was awesome and able to give of himself to all of us grandkids. I believe he was able to do this because he kept his mind and body sharp through hard work.

My goal is to physically spend my life in a way now that will set me up to be a strong and disciplined dad and granddad for my family.

*Photo by coldpants

I am reading Robert Greene and 50 Cent’s The 50th Law.

Good read. A little cynical and crass in it’s outlook on life – but has some great lessons.

The book is about power and how power is only attained by true fearlessness.

I like this idea.

I was thinking about presidential nomanies a few minutes ago and was pondering what they really want out of the presidency…

Power.

I can see that power is what we are all really after in life. WE want to be in control of our own lives. Fear keeps us powerless.

Powerless people then go and dominate over others making their lives living hell. This is the pain-in-the-butt boss – coworker – spouse – sibling – parent or child that pushes and forces their way on you. They are desperately trying to get power over their own lives… externally.

Doesn’t work.

Here’s a secret I’m learning.

True power comes from being in charge of oneself. And this takes nothing more than a decision.

I can decide right now to take power over my own life. I don’t need anyone’s permission to make this choice. Only then – once I’ve mastered myself – will I be able to have true power in other areas.

Actually the desire for power in other areas may simply slip away. Once I have power over my life – choices – actions and most importantly – thoughts – I am POWERFUL. The need to exert control over others diminishes.

Power over our own lives is what we’re really after. And yet few strive to get that power. We instead give it away to our workplace or relationships.

Stop doing this.

Become the person who can lead yourself and see what life is really like when you take the power back.

Thoughts?

The biggest problem with time management is we feel we have more of it than we really do.

I find myself cramming appointments back to back during the day, taking loads of books to read on a three day trip and leaving my weekends unplanned guessing that everything will work itself out in real time.

BIG MISTAKE.

I’m not suggesting that every minute of the day needs to be scheduled, but it is important to stay focused with time.

Time is the ultimate communism. We all get the same amount and we have to spend it all together.

There are two big factors that I’m learning about time and time management. First of all – before I even go down this road – time really can’t be managed. It can only be spent. But I digress.

Let’s look at what I’m calling F(2).

Focus

Deadlines help me focus. Focus is key, because it allows us to actually get things accomplised. I am learning to despise multi-tasking. I get pissed when people interupt my workflow.

Flow

Focus comes from an emotional state called “Flow.” I have this book on my shelf by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi called Finding Flow. It’s one of the many books I’ve dabbled through a bit here and there.

The basic premise is this. Each of us have certain activities that we do in life that we lose complete track of time and are absorbed with. Usually this comes from a high emotional state that these activities make us feel.

[Every time I hear of friends who spend days playing video games I think of this principle.]

Here are my thoughts on the subject (and it might be in the book too and haven’t gotten that far yet). Spend time programming your mind to EMOTIONALLY enjoy activities that you know will bring the desired outcome in your life.

How do we program our minds?

By manipulation. We need to talk ourselves into emotional states that can render results.

“It can’t be done!” you might say.

Hogwash. Every successful actor in Hollywood knows how to do this. They have made a career out of tricking their minds into adopting an emotional state that they have willed themselves to have.

It’s not a matter of possibility – but rather a matter of willingness.

The problem is – most of us are too afraid of letting ourselves go to an emotional state that will create flow. And this is the reason we labor through our day and get nothing done that takes us toward our goals.

In my mind it all comes down to the emotions. They dictate what we will do, have and be in life.

Thoughts?

*Photo by Yogendra174

I read a book a while ago called Rich Dad Poor Dad. In the book author, Robert Kiyosaki talks about how rich people acquire their wealth.

In his view it is a simple process…

They create, build or buy assets. These are businesses, real estate properties or products that are entities in themselves.

From a business perspective you have the same potential. But there are a lot of bloggers and online creators investing their time and energy into building their personal blog or website.

I think this is a big mistake.

Of course I’m not suggesting that you have no personal presence online (your reading this at my personal blog after all) but it won’t be an asset that you can sell. It’s tied to you as a person.

I made a decision two years ago to build Folk Media as a separate entity and brand rather than Joel Mark Witt. (BTW … I’m not in love with the word *brand*)

Walt Disney did a good job of selling himself as the brand – but it’s probably not the best idea for you. Disney lived in another time and was a very unique guy.

I would suggest that you have a home base online with your name on it. But I’d also suggest that you begin to build an asset separate from yourself. Something that can be sold or licensed to a third party.

Spend today either investing or reinvesting in an asset for your future.

What do you think? Comment below.

*Photo by thinkpanama

I rag on Baltimore pretty hard because I’m from Pittsburgh and a Steelers fan and that’s what I’m supposed to do. But the truth is – this city has some amazing creative people. And if you live or work here or care at all about Charm City … then we need your help to bring Google Fiber to the region.

Go here right now and ask Google to invest billions in Baltimore’s future.

Here’s the official write up from the BmoreFiber site:

You may have noticed I haven’t been around these parts for a while…

I kind of went AWOL…

I swear there’s good reason for that.

In addition to raising two little boys, working regular desk hours, taking on several new social media and online marketing clients, writing two books and working toward a second Masters degree (long story that I’ll tell you sometime), I’m also building an online social media resource and training company over at Folk Media.

Needless to say, you can feel the time being sucked from your lifeless exhausted body just by reading the above paragraph (actually it’s one very long sentence).

Long story (or sentence/paragraph) short -

I’m busy.

So what? Everyone’s busy.

I know. That’s why I’m here now to let you know I’m back. This site is my professional presence online and I need to continue caring for it. Busy is no excuse for blog death. Busy is no excuse period.

But I need your help. I’m always interested to hear practical actionable ideas for managing time, attention and resources. Leave your best advice in the comments. No BS though – I don’t have time to sing Kumbaya.

And be sure to connect via Twitter and Google Buzz.
PS – I also tweaked the design of the site a little bit. Like it – yes or no?

This is an annual tradition I have of thanking those awesome folks in my life who have helped me excel professionally. They’ve inspired me, helped me stay on track and have held me accountable.

A big thank you to all of you.

John Lucchetti
Jordan Brauner
Dan Keebler
Chris Brogan
Justin Kownacki
Adele Berenstein
Paul Travis
Greg Rittler
Brody Bond
Eric Alpin
Erica Hebrank
Jim Gomes
Wahid Tanner
Anne Cauley
Julie Warren
My parents
Aaron Marcus
Justin Rasmussen
Jack Hollingsworth
Taylor Davidson
Joel Andrew Glovier
Nicole Fincham
Eben Pagan
David W Morley

Steeler Football

It is no secret that I am a huge Pittsburgh Steeler’s fan. I was born in Pittsburgh and spent the first 26 year of my life in and around Western Pennsylvania. I think I was holding a terrible towel when I was one.

But this season, 2009, the Steelers haven’t been doing so well. We are the defending Superbowl champions and with our current record (6-7) it looks like we won’t even make the playoffs this year.

The team is hounded by injuries and seems to be missing something more than players. Football is a very complicated sport. There are many blitzes, zone coverages, strategies and systems that I do not understand. But there is something I do understand…

Tackling.

I’ve watched several games this year where defensive players missed tackles. I think that this is why the Steelers are losing. If they tackle well they won’t give up big plays that lead to other teams scoring points. Of course, the offense still has to play well too.

But tackling is a fundamental aspect of football. It is the basic action that a defender does to stop the advancement of the ball by the opposing team. And recently, many teams have figured out how to tackle quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger.

How Good Is Your Tackling?

I think that success in life or business also comes from good tackling. Knowing how to bring down the projects or challenges that are keeping you from success.

How good are you at tackling the big issues in your life? Do you spend the time taking care of the things you need to take care of to make success probable. For example I’m in the midst of a 2009 year end review and planning for 2010. I read a quote recently by author Donald Miller “meaningful lives don’t just happen by accident.”

In other words, you have to tackle the big stuff and create the life you want.

So what areas are you going to tackle this year? Where are you going to focus your life or business? How are you going to master the fundamentals and practice tackling?

This site, Joel-Mark-Witt.com, is where I ask questions while standing at the intersection of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, social media, podcasting, marketing, PR, storytelling, life and leadership…. and what the heck this all means for my business and yours. If you like what you see – please subscribe for free. To join the discussion or to comment in real time follow me on Twitter.

Joel Mark Witt

*Photo By Pixteca MX

I often wonder about our current “enlightened state.”

In the modern world we assume that we have the best viewpoint. We feel that new is better and everything that came before is inferior.

What if we are wrong? What if we are gaining in data but are losing our intelligence?

You may argue that we have advances in medicine, science, technology and transportation. We have gained in these areas. But have we improved the moral and social aspects of our lives?

In the United States we ended slavery -helped the world beat back dictators during two world wars – and have aided in spreading freedom to people everywhere.

But there is something about our human condition that leads us back to evil. No matter how many good causes are started each year. No matter how much we are enlightened – it seems that humans as a race are bent on evil. It is in our blood. It seems to be our birthright.

So this brings me back to my original question in this post. How do we know that we are more enlightened now?

What gives us permission to say “we now know what is best for the world.” After all, people in the nineteenth century would have felt they had the answers. In hindsight we view these people as uneducated and ignorant.

Will history see us the same way 100 years from now? Will we look unenlightened then?

We are so sure that we now have the best viewpoint of the world and we use our modernity as our apology. But what if we are the ignorant ones and those who came before actually know a more about life than we are willing to admit?

As we continue to live in the “state of now” with instant Twitter messages and multimedia texts, we have less use for information of the past. It seems stale and old to us.

And when I say the past I mean yesterday. It’s as if we are viewing all information as valuable as a daily newspaper. It’s value wanes as time moves on.

Just some thoughts for today. What do you think?

This site, Joel-Mark-Witt.com, is where I ask questions while standing at the intersection of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, social media, podcasting, marketing, PR, storytelling, life and leadership…. and what the heck this all means for my business and yours. If you like what you see – please subscribe for free. To join the discussion or to comment in real time follow me on Twitter.

Joel Mark Witt

*Photo by oddsock