Rich Habits Book Review & Yahoo! Financially Fit Commentary

“Rich Habits” by Thomas C. Corley is by far one of the most influential books of this decade and yet there are still countless people who are not familiar with the concepts therein. As I write this, Tom Corley’s book has hit #14 overall on Amazon Books and #1 in Personal Finance. Finance and Business are good categories, but this book goes well beyond finances and material things, though that may be the initial hook for most. Rich Habits is a book about transforming your lifestyle and being more effective in all our pursuits. As such, this book is very similar to what “The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey shares though I would say Corley’s guide is much more actionable, practical, and concise. This is a lifestyle book that transforms our perspectives and strengthens relationships.

What’s interesting to me as an online entrepreneur, writer/blogger, social media specialist, and content marketer, everyone points to books like “Content Rules” (which I felt was highly over-rated and mostly regurgitated rhetoric), but such books mainly circulate the same tactics and strategies everyone else is sharing. What’s worse is that these books do not address the root causes behind common issues. As a whole, personal development books skip the initial struggle and everyday person perspectives, jumping straight to the assumption of “you’ve made it already but now you can make it further”.

Dino Dogan of Triberr said on the #NJAB – Not Just Another Business – Podcast (I believe episode 3.75 or 3.99), and I paraphrase, “The successful [bloggers] share outdated advice that does not apply to those joining the game now.. They had timing on their side and, for the rest of us, success is a grind.”

Rich Habits shares similar insight by eliminating the excuses and obstacles we often make for ourselves. It’s no longer merely about having good timing or [random] good luck. Tom Corley stresses the importance of developing daily habits that will help us create our own opportunities and increase the chances of having really good luck.

Likely the biggest reason Rich Habits holds such a high rank in my rather massive book collection is not because Tom is my client (which he is) but simply because this book cuts all the junk out and focuses on what really matters. Tom sees the urgency in making changes immediately so he gets straight to the point. More importantly, the stories and lessons are relevant to anyone from any background, so long as you are serious about really making a change in your life. This book empowers the lower and middle class in ways few other books have ever even attempted.

A Look At The Gaming Industry, Player Motivation, And Social Media Dynamics (Opportunity!)

This blog post is so interesting to me that I posted it on my other blog (yup, breaking some SEO rules)!

I’ve been working on some projects lately with heavy social media and game mechanics involved.  Thing is, the majority of online marketers, brands, and businessses still do not see the massive opportunity here.  I think these numbers speak for themselves:

(I realize this image is HUGE and doesn’t jive with my theme so click it for the full-sized image, if you like statistics, market research, and/or gaming..  but hate long load times…  You’re welcome.)

I know you analytics and market research buffs will love this, even if you don't "game"!

What’s interesting to me here is that the data hints that socializers are the biggest group of gamers.  I look at everyone as a player, though not all players are necessarily gamers (being a gamer, in the more traditional sense, is more of a lifestyle choice, a conscious commitment)..  Yet we all play games in our lives: reward programs, social influence scoring platforms, sweepstakes, blogging, etc.

Socializers are driven by the interaction and engagement between others.  There is endless opportunity here for thought leaders, inbound marketers, brands, and, well, everyone.  I think the major paradigm shift here is in value propositions.  We’ve always thought of value and ROI in terms of dollars and cents (or traffic and visibility, the mass marketing, noise-making ways of old), yet Nexon, Zynga, FourSquare, and countless others have shown us that a virtual economy can ultimately be profitable, while keeping your overhead costs down.

These market leaders have also shown us that players may not be driven by achievement, high-level competition, or even curiousity.  As human beings, we are driven to feel connected, if not validated and accepted, even if we may be tagged as socially-recluse.  There is power in feeling like you’re a part of something bigger than you, a community, and networking with like-minded individuals..  even more so when we can meet our goals together!  Social is beating the pants off traditional marketing, especially for small businesses and start-ups trying to stay lean.

Zynga was valued at over 7 BILLION, last I checked..  their games are free and very similar to the myriad of mobile and Facebook games out there.  I’d say that should create urgency for us all.

Have you considered implementing game mechanics and design into your online projects?  How about now?

Are You In The Service Industry? (HINT: We’re ALL in the service industry.)

Every now and then, I’ll see someone throw out the term service industry. Now there’s another one of those mis-used phrases and words. From my perspective, we’re all in the service industry.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that small businesses and start-ups are all about service. Yes, I said before that it’s all about storytelling but that’s what carries your service standards (or lack of them) further.

Think about this carefully: customer service is a huge part of what we do.. Without proper execution and end-to-end support, even the best design and systemization will fail. Knowing this stark reality, we see large corporations still getting it wrong and somehow coasting along. They’re always a quarter away from closing doors or being bought out for that very reason, I’d say.

So, yes, this is another one of my rants but I think this is a discussion we need to have, yes?

Learning From Apple’s Style: Let’s Play Dress Up! (Delivering Packages That Excite)

A few weeks ago I got my iPad2 thanks to UPS and the awesome Unbounce.com #ConversionFest blogging contest. It made me think about packaging and how we play dress up in the business world.

When you look at the iPad2 box, a few things stand out. There’s no product specifications or feature listings. iPad2 appears a few times but not in an over-powering font size or style. The one thing that stands out is the trademark pure white packaging and Apple logo. When you get this box, you know what it is without a doubt.

Hi, I’m an iPad.

Apple is so confident in their brand power and the popularity of their products that they don’t bother with the extra stuff. The iPad2 box says, “Buy me and open me to see what’s inside!”.

So, what does that tell us about packaging and dressing up our products?

Quite a bit. Let’s explore and go beyond just the box…

Lessons From The Social Network: Facebook’s Entrepreneurial Magic & Game Mechanics

I finally saw The Social Network (great movie) with my family and a lot of things hit home for me. While I’m not a “fan” of Facebook, I am a fan of the story and what we can learn from it on so many levels.

You see, I was once the anti-social introvert coding on my computer for hours at a time. I’m not a genius like Mark Zuckerberg but I could relate to his story. Thing is, I can also relate to Eduardo as I’ve been burned by partnering up with the wrong people too yet I still believe we can have friends in the business world and play fair.

Have you ever been burned by a bad business deal? Have you ever blindly signed on the dotted line?

Those questions are mostly rhetorical because let’s face it: no matter where you are in life, chances are you’ve blindly accepted EULA terms, signed a service agreement, or even agreed to NDA or non-compete contracts without really scrutinizing them.

Now, we can get into a deep conversation about intellectual property and the volatile nature of start-ups but what I found more interesting in the story of Facebook is the following:

• Timing
• Exclusivity
• Urgency
• Vision

I’d like to talk about those items first and maybe revisit the topics of partnership, venture capital, intellectual property, and protecting your creative or business assets.. That will be in the weeks to come and likely as part of many #NJAB podcast conversations I’m sure.

BTW, if you haven’t given our podcast a listen yet, come visit us over at http://marketinganswerman.com/podcast-2

Now let’s discuss what really stood out for me with the Facebook story and how it can relate to the rest of us.

Facebook Zucks – BeTheSignal.org

(BTW, I think Facebook is a bit over-rated and sucks in some aspects.. But it has been valuable for my clients and I support their efforts thereof.)