"Success is never an accident"
by Dan Miller
This is a great article I found this week by Dan Miller, author of the excellent book
48 Days to the Work You Love. I thought it to be excellent timing in the current economy.
“Success is never an accident. It typically starts as imagination, becomes a dream, stimulates a goal, grows into a plan of action –
which then inevitably meets with opportunity. Don’t get stuck along the way.”
~ Dan Miller
When I was 13 years old I painted a horse head with a paint by numbers layout. I thought it was pretty good, but now that I’ve seen some real masterpieces I realize it was pretty amateurish. The paint was clumpy where I tried to stay inside the identified lines. It didn’t look real; it just looked like I did a good job of painting. My wife Joanne, on the other hand, has drawn some amazing pieces – always starting with a blank canvas and then allowing her imagination to direct her brush or pencil.
I realize now that life’s opportunities are presented to us in much the same way. If we paint by the numbers (take the first job, put money in CDs, buy a Ford car, purchase shirts at J.C. Penney, and have two weeks vacation every year) we will see predictable results. You know what it’s going to be – and it might be good, but it will never be amazing to you or anyone else. The only way to get a masterpiece is to start with a blank canvas. Of course, with a blank canvas you could also end up with a disaster that you decide to throw away. But the very next one may be the masterpiece that will make the world remember you.
While you may think this is about willingness to take “risk” or that it’s a reflection of “personality style” I think it’s more about dreaming, imagining and taking action. And this is not just a business or career decision – it’s more a question of the kind of life we want to live. Think of Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, Bono, Oprah, Rick Warren, Howard Schultz or Billy Graham. Their personality styles cover the entire range of possibilities and no one would consider Billy Graham a risk-taker. But all of them had big dreams, started with a blank canvas and then took action to create their own unique masterpieces.
Here's what experts are telling us we will have for the remainder of 2009: uncertainty, chaos, turbulence, turmoil, confusion and insecurity. Sounds like a paint by the number life is going to be hard to find anyway.
So you get to choose what you are creating today – a horse head or the Mona Lisa?
Radio & Internet are Complimentary Media
by Jennifer Lane, President, Audio4Cast.com
One third of Canadians have typed a website address into their browser after hearing it on the radio, according to a new study by Foundation Research on Radio and the Internet, published by the Radio Marketing Bureau. The study goes on to outline other stats that highlight ways that radio and the Internet are complementary:
• 36% of Canadians listen to the radio while surfing the Internet.
• 62% of adults 18+ said that an ad on the radio had prompted them to visit a website in the past six months.
• 62% of adults 18+ strongly agree that radio ads influence their Internet surfing.
The study goes on to provide several case studies on ways that advertisers used radio to drive traffic to their websites. Once there, 37% actually purchased the product, according to this study.
The study concludes: "Radio and internet are complementary media. The combination of radio and the internet satisfies the rational and emotional needs of consumers. The internet is a huge resource for information allowing people to find what they want, when they want it. Radio is a personal and emotional medium providing entertainment and companionship throughout the day. Both media connect the user with social communities."
As everyone's time spent online increases, understanding the ways that radio can become a compliment to online marketing goals becomes very important. In publishing this study, Canada's Radio Marketing Bureau understands that.
Perhaps now would be a good time to have a complimentary meeting with a Wizard of Ads Partner. Links to their websites and blogs are listed down the right side of The Wizard Times. Hundreds of their articles with free insightful advice can been seen at www.americansmallbusiness.com 2009 would be a great year to attend a class at the Wizard Academy 21st Century Business School in Austin Texas. What is the Wizard Academy?
See you next week.
Clay Campbell
Wizard of Ads
PS. Need help to attract more customers and grow your business?
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