Blog Title: TroyRutter.com - Community and Social Network Marketing Professional

2 Steps To Save Hundreds of Dollars on Domain Names

Hello, my name is Troy and I am a domain name junkie.

Since 1995 I have registered several hundreds of domains, and let hundreds of domains expire.  From the days of Network Solutions charging $70 (2 year minimum) to today’s super cheap resellers - I have seen it all.   But there is one formula I keep coming back to regarding registering domain names and it has saved me hundreds if not thousands of dollars on both new registrations and renewals.

Use GoDaddy.com for everything

I used to use a site called “betterwhois” to look up domain names to see if they were available.   I have also used several web sites by searching for “cheap domain names” that allow you to search for availability.

DO NOT USE THESE SERVICES!

Here’s the deal, it is really easy for somebody to write a script on the Internet, claimit is a “domain name lookup” service, offer it for free, and promote it with ads.   Then, after an unsuspecting visitor types in a domain name, they go out without your knowledge and register the domain name, and offer it back to you at a significant price increase.

Shady.

What’s worse is the schemers don’t even have to pay for the domains in most cases - they actually get a refund if you don’t fall for their trap!

I use GoDaddy.com’s search on their home page for most of my domain name lookups.  It is fast, reliable, and definitely not a scam.

Use Coupon Codes

I listen to a lot of podcasts, including some of the top rollers like Adam Curry and CC Chapman.   For the past several years they have been offering coupon codes for godaddy.com that give you significant dollars off yoru purchase.  Here are the codes CC shares:

• Hash1
  Gets you 10% off of any order. No maximum!
• Hash2
  $5 off of any order $30 or more
• Hash3
  New domain names for only $7.69 a year

I use HASH3 for my single domain name buys and the HASH1 when I have a whole list of renewals.

Domain names are still big business.   Play it smart, and the savings will let you buy even more.

[TAGS]domain names, godaddy.com, cc chapman, troy rutter, Adam Curry[/TAG]

Why I will Always Remember November 4, 2008

The day started easy enough, with me getting to the polls at around 6:45AM, and getting in a line of about 20 already there before me.   The line moved quickly, and I filled out my ballot, got my “I Voted” sticker and left without incident.   For once, I beat the rush!  yeah!

I decided I needed a treat that morning, so even though I didn’t need gas I drove to Char’s gas station and got 2 slices of breakfast pizza.  I then got on highway 30 and finally Interstate 35 towards Des Moines - on my way to work listening to Mancow’s final pleas for people to vote Libertarian.

I-35 merged into 235 and I took a left turn on MLK to go towards Ingersoll.  Little did I know what was in store.

MLK is a major through route in Des Moines, and the posted signs say 35.  When I go 35, most cars are passing me.  What irritates me is that there are stoplights at very short intervals, making it almost impossible and dangerous to even get up to that speed.

I started down the hill past the Woodland Cemetary where I came to a stop behind another car. WE were stopped for a good 5-10 seconds when I glanced up in my rear view mirror and saw a Jeep Cherokee coming down the road at a good speed.  I remember seeing her glance elsewhere and I knew she wasn’t going to stop, but I was pinned in with no place to go.  So, I tensed up and braced for the impact.

And an impact it was.

The driver didn’t even hit the brakes until she hit me, causing me to hit the person in front.

I stayed in the car, dazed.  I couldn’t believe this was happening.  I felt a pain in my neck, but it seemed to go away.  I felt my heart pounding in my chest so I just stayed there in the seat for a few seconds.  (I had not taken my blood pressure meds since they had run out, I was actually on my way to get a refill before work).   Suddenly there was a pounding on my door as the driver of the Jeep was asking if I was ok.   I opened the door and sat there for a couple seconds, and the guy in front of me said he was calling an ambulance.

After I got out and took some photos with my phone, we decided to go into the adjacent parking lot to wait for the police and ambulance.   I drove around the corner and parked, and then tried to call my mom, but dialed a combination of her current number, and my childhood telephone number first, then used the directory to call her the second time.   She then called my brother who came out to the scene.

The ambulance came and I managed to get inside, my legs shaking, and they took my blood pressure.  180 over 120.  They asked if I wanted to go to the hospital, but I declined, saying I think I was ok.   They told me that sometimes adrenaline makes you feel like you are ok temporarily, but the pain could come back.  I said I would go to the doctor if things got worse and they went on their way.

The police show up and takes the report, and the woman clearly identifies herself as the one at fault.  She claims she only looked up at the sky for a second and then we were stopped.   I can’t remember if she looked up or down, but I had time to see her barreling down the hill.

I take some more pictures with my phone, and drive the few blocks to work and check things over again.   I catch my boss int he hallway and promptly tell him Im going home.

Unfortunately, as a result of the force of being thrown frontwords and then back into the seat, the seat broke to an entirely reclining position, so it was very awkward to drive it like that the rest of the way home.  Plus I was in constant fear that something would explode or fall off the car on the way back home.

I got inside my apartment just as the phone was ringing.  It was the driver’s security company.  Remember, this is literally about an hour or less after the event happened.  He tells me they will take care of everything and tells me of 3 body shops they can notify immediately.  Don & Sons, Schaefers and Wayne Larson.  I choose Schaefers.   He then tells me that if I feel hurt or anything, to try hot compresses and ibuprofen.  Im thinking, if I feel anything, Im going to the doctor.  He also says they will pay for a rental car from Enterprise when I need one.

I manage to get my personal belongings out of the trunk by folding the seats down, and I drive to Schaefers, where they tell me the car is undrivable and may be unrepairable since they hit me in just the right spot.  I call Enterprise and they want me to put a credit card on the car since they don’t have a claim number.  I give them the number of the insurance guy, and he calls me back at Schaefers asking why I want a car already.  I tell him to talk to the auto body guy, who tells him my car is not driveable, plus they can start on it relatively soon.  Reluctantly, the insurance guy agrees to pay for the rental car starting that day.

I get to Enterprise, and they tell me the insurance wouldnt pay $2 extra a day for a normal size car, only a compact.  I really don’t care at this point, so I get the rental car, get some ibuprofen, some ginger ale since Im feeling kind of dizzy, and then I go home.

All night, I just kept visioning the green jeep coming down the hill and knowing it won’t stop.

The next day (wednesday) I wake up with a stiff neck where it even hurts to eat.   I go to the doctor and he says its normal, but if it gets worse to let him know right away.  He tells me to take 3 Ibuprofen instead of just one … 3 times a day.  I took the rest of the day off, still exhausted from everything that has happened.

So while the car can be repaired, currently I am out 2 days of work, a doctors visit, and 2 bottles of ibuprofen.

They say the car will be ready by the 14th.

And that’s how I spent election day.

Find Me in the Age of Conversation 2

I’ve been busy this past week, but I am finally able to fully post about a project I have been involved with called “The Age of Conversation 2.”  It is a book comprised of 237 authors who each contributed a chapter on various topics surrounding the theme of “Why Don’t People Get It?”

The book, a second edition is called

• Age of Conversation 2
• Several of the authors are local to Des Moines
• You can buy (hardcover or paperback) or download a copy
• All profits (after expenses) go to Variety, the international children’s charity, and the 1st edition raised $15,000

Pricing for The Age of Conversation 2 is:

• e-book: US$12.50 ($10.00 going to charity)
• paperback book: US$19.95 ($8.02 to charity)
• hardback book: US$29.95 ($4.60 to charity)

The venture was overseen by Des Moines marketer Drew McLellan and Australian Gavin Heaton.

Other authors include:

Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Reginald Adkins, Vandana Ahuja, Ozgur Alaz, Armando Alves, Francis Anderson, Todd Andrlik, G. Kofi Annan, Mike Arauz, David Armano, William Azaroff, Steve Bannister, Ryan Barrett, Cam Beck, Jordan Behan, Connie Bensen, Rohit Bhargava, Susan Bird, Toby Bloomberg, Jon Burg, David Berkowitz, Mark Blair, Ed Brenegar, Chris Brown, Deborah Brown, Duane Brown, Tim Brunelle, Wayne Buckhanan,

Pet Campbell, Becky Carroll, Paul Chaney, C.C. Chapman, Katie Chatfield, Thomas Clifford, Gary Cohen, Stephen Collins, Tim Connor, Peter Corbett, Hillel Cooperman, Ed Cotton, Chris Cree, Dave Davison, Luc Debaisieux, Jeff De Cagna, Dino Demopoulos, Geert Desager, Rishi Desai, Pete Deutschman, Matt Dickman, Vanessa DiMauro, Jeanne Dininni, Brent Dixon, Mark Earls, Sue Edworthy, Jay Ehret, Gianandrea Facchini, Anna Farmery, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Jeremy Fuksa, Seth Gaffney, Bill Gammell, Deanna Gernert, Cedric Giorgi, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Phil Gerbyshak, Scott Goodson, Mark Goren, James Gordon-Macintosh, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Susan Gunelius, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral,

Jessica Hagy, Mark Hancock, Ann Handley, Douglas Hanna, Steve Hardy, Nettie Hartsock, Doug Haslam, Gavin Heaton, Paul Hebert, Jeremy Heilpern, Alex Henault, Darren Herman, John Herrington, Susan Heywood, Adrian Ho, G.L. Hoffman, Daniel Honigman, Uwe Hook, Sean Howard, Cathryn Hrudicka, Robert Hruzek, Sam Huleatt, Richard Huntington, Shama Hyder, Paul Isakson, Tim Jackson, Dustin Jacobsen, George Jenkins, Kevin Jessop, Mitch Joel, Stanley Johnson, Timothy Johnson, Spike Jones, Amy Jussel, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Ryan Karpeles, Douglas Karr, Gareth Kay, Lois Kelly, Christina Kerley (CK), Chris Kieff, Thomas Knoll, Katie Konrath, David Koopmans, Derrick Kwa, Michelle Lamar, Stephen Landau, Kenny Lauer, Bob LeDrew, Tammy Lenski, Mark Lewis, Phil Lewis, James G. Lindberg,

Brett Macfarlane, Lori Magno, Angela Maiers, Valeria Maltoni, Louise Manning, Tim Mannveille, Mike McAllen, Becky McCray, Matt J. McDonald, Paul McEnany, Mark McGuinness, Drew McLellan, Robyn McMaster, Doug Meacham, Jenny Meade, Terrell Meek, Efrain Mendicuti, Sreeraj Menon, Gaurav Mishra, Doug Mitchell, Corentin Monot, Scott Monty, John Moore, Matt Moore, Ernie Mosteller, Brandon Murphy, Eric Nehrlich, Jeff Noble, Andy Nulman, Andrew Odom, Jason Oke, Simon Payn, Branislav Peric, Neil Perkin, Eric Peterson, David Petherick, Steve Portigal, J. Erik Potter, Dennis Price, Joe Pulizzi,

Veronique Rabuteau, Arun Rajagopal, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Ryan Rasmussen, Connie Reece, Brian Reich, Cathleen Rittereiser, David Reich, Sandy Renshaw, Nick Rice, Steve Roesler, Fernanda Romano, John Rosen, Roberta Rosenberg, Troy Rutter, Mike Sansone, Sheila Scarborough, Dan Schawbel, David Meerman Scott, Sean Scott, Andy Sernovitz, Bernie Scheffler, Asi Sharabi, Ron Shevlin, Jamey Shiels, Brad Shorr, Sonia Simone, Charles Sipe, Dan Sitter, Jon Swanson, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Stephen Smith, Phil Soden, Aki Spicer, Sheryl Steadman, Rachel Steiner,

Paul Tedesco, Seni Thomas, John Todor, Scott Townsend, PJasmin Tragas, Jonathan Trenn, Kate Trgovac, Karl Turley, Tim Tyler, Yves Van Landeghem, Mario Vellandi, Steven Verbruggen, Greg Verdino, Jeroen Verkroost, Dylan Viner, Roger von Oech, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Ellen Weber, Hugh Weber, David Weinfeld, Scott White, Gordon Whitehead, Andy Whitlock, Keri Willenborg, Casper Willer, Paul Williams, Chris Wilson, Craig Wilson, C.B. Whittemore, Steve Woodruff, Troy Worman, Piet Wulleman, Faris Yakob, Joanna Young, David Zinger,

Technorati Tags: Age of Conversation

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome Despite Success

First, I would like to thank Chris Brogan for directing people towards one of my recent posts regarding a label printer, and all that it represented.   I have received  emails, comments and tweets about how my story of the label printer resounded in their own lives - that many of us have rationalized that a single, truly insignificant “thing” could somehow be the difference between success and failure.

But there is another feeling that can be equally as troubling - imposter syndrome.

I may be naive, but I first learned of imposter syndrome about a month ago when a co-worker brought it to my attention after one of my tweets.   I googled the phrase and came u p with a definition that really made sense:

From wikipedia:

The Impostor Syndrome, sometimes called Impostor Phenomenon or Fraud Syndrome, is a syndrome where sufferers are unable to internalize their accomplishments. It is not an officially recognized psychological disorder but has been the subject of numerous books and articles by psychologists and educators.

Regardless of what level of success they may have achieved in their chosen field of work or study or what external proof they may have of their competence, those with the syndrome remain convinced internally they do not deserve the success they have achieved and are actually frauds. Proof of success is dismissed as luck, timing, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they were more intelligent and competent than they believe themselves to be.

For the past couple of years, despite my success as a programmer at the web site company I work for, I have been plagued by a feeling of being a fake.  That sure, I do the high-profile projects and complicated things, but I’m just faking it.  After all, PHP and mySQL programming is always “a lot of the same” and code is reused here and there.  Anybody can do it.   If I’m ever found out, I’ll be fired.

This fear caused ups and downs in my mood, resulting in a lack of self-confidence, even in the midst of extreme accomplishments.

It is also a part of baggage I have been carrying since being laid off as a result of the AOL Time-Warner merger in 2001.  Up until the layoff, I had left jobs on my own terms, now suddenly I was told to go.  The dot com bubble had burst, and I limped back to Iowa where I got a job doing tech support at an ISP, answering phone calls.

I’ve also come to realize, thanks to reading an article on The New York Times Web Site that people exhibiting imposter syndrome:

adopt self-deprecation as a social strategy, consciously or not, and are secretly more confident than they let on.

“Particularly when people think that they might not be able to live up to others’ views of them, they may maintain that they are not as good as other people think,” Dr. Mark Leary, the lead author, wrote in an e-mail message. “In this way, they lower others’ expectations — and get credit for being humble.”

Not taking credit for my accomplishments now makes sense.  I can now fully realize that yes, this is exactly what I have been battling the last few years.   Overcoming this is will be difficult and it won’t happen overnight, I just need to realize what I have accomplished in my short career:

• Got a job at Warner Bros. studios while still a senior in college at Iowa State
• Worked on some of my favorite TV shows like Babylon 5, Friends, Third Watch, Drew Carey, 7th Heaven, and others
• Worked my way up the ladder at Warner Bros. and eventually started and managed the community division of the company.
• Worked on the original Harry Potter web site
• Was a senior programmer for the Warner portal Entertaindom
• Attended several movie premieres, walking the red carpet
• Worked with several young actors, actresses and musicians who are now adults and in their prime
• Earned my Screen Actor’s Guild card
• Went back to college while working full time and finished my degree
• Wrote and published a book on helping kids get started in the TV/Film industry
• Became 1st Vice President of a community theater and directed 2 productions
• Worked my way up the ladder again at a web development company, going from tech support to lead programmer
• Became known in podcasting circles due to a “Troy Needs an iPod” publicity stunt
• Helped build the Des Moines Renaissance Faire into a great festival
• Programmed the back end of two high-profile web sites for the company

Overcoming imposter syndrome will take some time, and although I recognize it, it is still affecting me, even making me question myself more about my label printer.   But knowing this about myself can only help me to realize that I really CAN be a leader in my industry again.   I get hard on myself because of all the “notoriety” I lost.

Being a leader in your field has to start with yourself, you a) have to WANT to be a leader and b) have to think that you ARE a leader.  If you think for one moment you can’t do something, you’ve already lost.

So to you, my new friends with shiny label printers…  I say let’s do this.   Take something that you have been terrified to start and do it.   Buy your label printer, unpack it, set it on your desk and get to work printing out the best damn labels you can.  It can get sticky, but let’s do it together.

Technorati Tags: importer syndrome, AOL, Time Warner, Warner Bros. label printers, self-confidence

What I Learned at Highlight Midwest #hm1

Here is my “decompression” post from Highlight Midwest, held this week in Kansas City.

First and foremost, there are a lot of very neat things being done in Iowa and the surrounding states.  There is absolutely no reason why the company I work for can’t compete with the major web production studios in California, New York, Philadelphia or anywhere.   That being said…

One of the main things I got out of the conference was that everybody there was there because of one reason:  they want to be the best <something>.   It may sound egotistical at first, but once you peel it away, it makes sense.

The only reason to be doing what we are doing is to be the best.   If you don’t want to be the best, then find something else you want to be the best at, and do that.   This is true both on the personal side and the corporate side.   If I could, I would walk into our programmer area and say “Anybody who doesn’t want to be the best web design and hosting company in Iowa, leave now.”

These people don’t describe themselves as “one of” anything.  For instance, there is a social marketing company in Des Moines called Lava Row, started by a classmate of mine at Ames High.  When they go speak, they don’t get up and say “Hello, I’m Nathan Wright, and I am with Lava Row, one of many social marketing companies in Iowa.”   He says “Hi, I’m  Nathan Write and I work at Lava Row, *THE* social marketing company in the state.”

Believing you are the best at what you do is half the battle to becoming the best.   But it can’t just be programmers, it has to follow through with all departments in your company.   If sales doesn’t think you are the best, how can they represent you fully to clients?   If they don’t think you are the best, they may feel like your prices are too high, other people unmotivated, and their sales numbers will suffer to.  Think of a cold call that goes “Hi, this is Troy and I’m from Captain Jack Communications, the best web developer in Central Iowa, is XXXX available?”   vs “Hi, this is Troy and I work at a web design company in Des Moines, can I talk to XXXXX?”

Everybody has to be on board with making the company #1 in its field.

Next, I learned that it doesn’t take a lot of money or resources to do neat things.   There are a lot of free tools on the Internet that people are using to further their businesses.  Whether they are harnessing the power of hundreds of servers hosted at amazon.com or using Basecamp as their project management software, utilizing the tools that have come out of this “web 2.0″ era of web design and development is key to a successful company.

Along with that comes the next thing I learned.   If you are going to try and make a product based on what someone else has already done, you better make it better.  If you can’t make it better, just use the product that already exists.   Facebook saw MySpace and knew they could make it better.   Twitter has spawned a bunch of third party web sites that use its technology to make different services.   If you are going to try and make a Slinky ripoff, you had better make sure it goes “up the stairs” as well as down.

And the last “overall” theme from Highlight Midwest is that companies are not alone anymore.  Where once we stood within our walls and refused to communicate with other companies because they are the “enemy” and our secrets were to be held close to the vest, the new era of doing business is about openness and transparency.   Networking has always been a key strategy of the business owner, but usually it was a network of unrelated fields at a “BNI” group or “business after hours” round table.  Today, it is a group of like-minded, similar fields that come together to share ideas and insights not necessarily about projects each is doing, but where they would like to see the industry as a whole, in the area and the world, go.

Very. Powerful. Stuff.

Here are the specific panels I attended:

Iowa Web Awards / Iowa Flood with Andy Brudtkuhl (Des Moines)
It was hard not to keep socializing with people from the #dmtweetup group, but I really was interested in what Andy had to say.   He has done a lot of work with Wordpress CMS systems, as well as Yahoo Pipes - pulling in content from a lot of sources to make one “point of contact” super-site using RSS feeds.   Good stuff.

Building a Better City Web Site with Dusty Davidson (Omaha)
This one interested me because the city web site for Ames is really bad, as is one of the “city portal” type sites in town, as well as the local newspaper.   Dusty has built a platform of content aggregation, sorting and display that will blow the other city web sites, newspapers, and media outlets out of the water.

SmartyPig with Michael Ferrari
The SmartyPig panel was less about the technology and more about the service, so a little disappointing… only since I already knew a lot about it.   Still, it was interesting to hear Michael talk about the origins of the company, and where it was going.  I only wish he would have come to Captain Jack’s instead of Happy Cog for his site design, if for nothing else but to stay local.

Comics on Rails with Scott Kahler and Doug Sparling
This panel was about uclick, the online comic site that combines the properties of a major publishing house that syndicates Garfield (among others).  Of particular interest was a discussion about how everything was dynamic on one of their redesigns, and it brought their servers to their knees.  Then, they redid everything as static pages and things were happy again.  Definitely a lesson in using database content efficiently in there someplace.

Messages, Membership, and Money with Christina MakiChristina
I attended this panel since I had been having some issues getting our local community theater to embrace technologies such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.  She provided some good starting points for non-profits to get into the space, most of which I had already tried … but good info.

Bringing a Japanese Phenomenon West with Derek Maune
Derek spoke about a new web site / service he created to help with a specific kind of microblogging - writing a book.  Apparently in Japan, many people are using short updates via SMS on their cell phones to write books.  His company, Quill Pill provides an online reader that is easy to use for your book, and plans to offer the ability to order a real book with the service in the future.

Microblogging, Macro Impact with Mike Templeton
Mike, another Des Moines tech evangelist, spoke about the different microblogging platforms, and how his new web site is providing a way to keep track of all the micro-blogging solutions out there.

Cleared For Landing: Building a Social Media Business in Flyover Country with Nathan T. Wright and Hillary Brown
Nathan and Hillary or Lava Row gave a good representation of how to build a social marketing business no matter where you are located.   Between the two of them, they are very engaging.   The panel focused mainly on Lava Row itself, and not necessarily on tools, tricks or techniques per se.

Bottom Line - if you don’t want to be “the best” - then get out.  If you want to be the best then there is a huge, welcoming community waiting to help you get there.  And yes, there are some really cool things happening in the midwest.

EMT Costume from Firefly Episode Ariel

I’m usually not big on costumes for Halloween, however at the office we have a costume contest and the last few years I have made my own.

The first year I made a homemade “Cobra Kai” Gi - which spawned a completely separate web site cobrakaidojo.com.

The next year I went as Adam Curry, from MTV and podcasting fame.

Earlier this year I decided to dress up for the Can’t Stop the Serenity event.  I had seen a post at Costume Girl about how easy it was to make, so I decided to give it a try.

Initially I spent a lot of time and effort making the medical symbols by scratch in Photoshop, but then I wimped out and bought a patch set on eBay.  Still,  in the spirit of sharing, I thought I would put up my source files here for you to enjoy/download/print in case you want to make your own Firefly Ariel EMT costume.

I don’t have a picture of me IN my costume, yet, but I’m told one exists someplace.  In the meantime, here are the different files I used to create the medical badge seen on the show, and even the big back patch.

click on any of the Ariel EMT costume graphics above to view/download the larger version.

What’s Holding You Back?

I’ve had the idea for a new business / hobby for a while now.   It was something I was somewhat involved in when I lived in Los Angeles, and I even wrote a book about it.  Sounds like the perfect niche, right?

Almost.

See, like in so many businesses and niches, there are people always out to destroy you.   Just as we are seeing in the presidential race, people judge you by the associations you have had in the past - no matter how minor.   The fact of the matter is, that if you put yourself out there enough, eventually you are going to have dealings with, or encounters with, people whom you later find out are “bad.”

But back to the niche…

Besides the fear that people will judge me by my past associations (the bad ones, not the good ones) there has been one thing holding me back.   One thing that I can point to and say “If I only had … that!    If I only had one, it would make a difference.  Man, if I only had one I would get this business started and it would take off.   Man, if I only had one of those, I’d be happy.”

What is it?

A label printer.

Now before you laugh and call me names, hear me out.  Think about this great business tool.  No more would I need to waste a whole sheet of labels to mail out just one letter or package.   A label printer- a personal label printer (preferable a Twin Turbo) is all I need to be successful.

If only I had…. a label printer.

I had been blaming my inability or laziness starting the business on this inanimate object.  This thing that had a simple function - to print out an address on a sticky piece of paper.  But yet it was the most powerful thing in the universe.   It was stopping me from realizing what could be my dream.

Thursday I bought my label printer.

Show-time.

What obstacles have you created in your mind that are stopping you from reaching your goals?   Are they real or just mental blocks you have installed so you don’t hold yourself responsible for your actions or inactions.  Pick an obstacle today and decide to remove it… see what happens.

Exit Stage Left

For the past several months I have been directing a play at the community theater called  Big based on the Tom Hanks film of the same name.   Almost a year ago when I first read the play, I thought it would be fun to do, so I challenged our play selection committee over it, and eventually won my case.  Secretly (or not so secretly - I wanted to play the lead)

Things change, and somehow I agreed to direct rather to audition.   Last year I directed “High School Musical” for the theater and it was one of the most profitable shows we had ever done.   So of course I was ready for the challenge of Big.

Or so I thought.

The production was filled with its own little controversies here and there, eventually leading up to postponing the opening weekend another week until the cast and musicians were comfortable with each other.   More drama than I can even think of, but eventually it pulled together.   And I thought, just a minute, that everything would be ok.

The two weekends came and went, with minor tempers flaring between some of the adults and kids - which is to be expected.   Then a “cast party” incident through another wet blanket on the event, causing even more hurt feelings and my own sort of depression.

But perhaps the single-most thing that really gets to me about the whole experience was the turn-out for the play.  I know canceling the first weekend hurt admissions, and I can write an entire blog on publicity and marketing for community theaters.   The part that gets me is this:

I have been involved in a lot of things in Des Moines and Ames.   I grew up here, I know a lot of people in the town, a lot of people with $$$ and without $$$, I volunteer a lot in Ames and Des Moines… I would think that getting people to come to the show would be easy.

None of my friends and family (save 1) came to the show.

Ok, so that may be an understatement.  See, I have a lot of “friends” from the theater and of course they came to the show.  What I mean is co-workers, family, close-friends, even the twitter community.

Nobody came.

As depressing as it sounds I used to think that if I got hurt and ended up in the hospital (or worse) I couldn’t keep track of all the flowers, cards and well wishers in the room.   Now I’m not so sure.

We are a society of acquaintances.

It makes me wonder why I keep doing this.   Why I keep going through the turmoil to help put on these shows when nobody that I know even comes to see them.  All it does is make me upset, except for the one or two days when I can see the whole thing, and how far we have come, and smile.

Its not that my actions are dictated by whether or not friends and family approve of them.   But I am quickly losing the energy to keep doing things that cause me excessive stress, and then nobody cares to even come see.  I’ve been talking about it for 8-10 weeks, I’ve been saying I can’t do other things for 8-10 weeks, aren’t you just the least curious how it turned out?

Even on the inside of the theater, I gave my time last year to every production we had, thinking that when it came time that I would need them, I would have people to back me up.  That didn’t happen.  People today ask too often “what can you do FOR me” rather than realize what people have already DONE for them.

I’ve been reflecting on Seth Godin’s book, “The Dip” and how he urges people to quit the things that are holding you back so you can focus on the things you enjoy doing and can excel at.

It has me thinking whether I need to do what I directed my actors to do …

Exit, stage left.

A State of Mind

I first was introduced to the poem “State of Mind” when I attended “Leadership 2000″ at the YMCA Camp in Boone, Iowa run by Dr. Ray Pugh.    As part of the session, we were given a spiral-bound book written by Dr. Pugh (that I have sadly lost over the years) that contained the poem.   I typed it out on the computer, printed it out, and kept a copy on my wall throughout High School.

I had a lot of things to overcome.

Over the years, whenever times got tough, I would read that poem again, and it would renew my energies, making me strive for something better.   I am going to repost it now, along with some commentary by Robert Collier.  I could use some of the lessons spoken of right now, maybe you can too.

It may be that you have been deluded by the thought of incompetence. It may be that you have been told so often that you cannot do certain things that you’ve come to believe you can’t. Remember that success or failure is merely a state of mind. Believe you cannot do a thing—and you can’t. Know that you can do it—and you will. You must see yourself doing it.

“If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don’t;
If you’d like to win, but you think you can’t,
It’s almost a cinch you won’t;
If you think you’ll lose, you’ve lost,
For out in the world you’ll find
Success begins with a fellow’s will—
It’s all in the state of mind.

“Full many a race is lost
Ere even a race is run,
And many a coward fails
Ere even his work’s begun.
Think big, and your deeds will grow,
Think small and you fall behind,
Think that you can, and you will;
It’s all in the state of mind.”If you think you are outclassed, you are;
You’ve got to think high to rise;
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battle doesn’t always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the fellow who thinks he can.”

There’s a vast difference between a proper understanding of one’s own ability and a determination to make the best of it—and offensive egotism. It is absolutely necessary for every man to believe in himself, before he can make the most of himself. All of us have something to sell. It may be our goods, it may be our abilities, it may be our services. You’ve got to believe in yourself to make your buyer take stock in you at par and accrued interest. You’ve got to feel the same personal solicitude over a customer lost, as a revivalist over a backslider, and hold special services to bring him back into the fold. You’ve got to get up every morning with determination, if you’re going to go to bed that night with satisfaction.

There’s mighty sound sense in the saying that all the world loves a booster. The one and only thing you have to win success with is MIND. For your mind to function at its highest capacity, you’ve got to be charged with good cheer and optimism. No one ever did a good piece of work while in a negative frame of mind. Your best work is always done when you are feeling happy and optimistic.

And a happy disposition is the result—not the cause—of happy, cheery thinking. Health and prosperity are the results primarily of optimistic thoughts. You make the pattern. If the impress you have left on the world about you seems faint and weak, don’t blame fate—blame your pattern! You will never cultivate a brave, courageous demeanor by thinking cowardly thoughts. You cannot gather figs from thistles. You will never make your dreams come true by choking them with doubts and fears. You’ve got to put foundations under your air castles, foundations of UNDERSTANDING and BELIEF. Your chances of success in any undertaking can always be measured by your BELIEF in yourself.

Are your surroundings discouraging? Do you feel that if you were in another’s place success would be easier? Just bear in mind that your real environment is within you. All the factors of success or failure are in your inner world. You make that own inner world—and through it your outer world. You can choose the material from which to build it. If you’ve not Chosen wisely in the past, you can choose again now the material you want to rebuild it. The richness of life is within you. No one has failed so long as he can begin again.

Start right in and do all those things you feel you have it in you to do. Ask permission of no man. Concentrating your thought upon any proper undertaking will make its achievement possible. Your belief that you can do the thing gives your thought forces their power. Fortune waits upon you. Seize her boldly, hold her—and she is yours. She belongs rightfully to you. But if you cringe to her, if you go up to her doubtfully, timidly, she will pass you by in scorn. For she is a fickle jade who must be mastered, who loves boldness, who admires confidence.

Online Entrepreneurs Will Profit Through Recession

It’s hard to keep optimistic these days with talk of recession, tumbling stock markets, and overall uncertainty as we inch closer and closer to the election in November.  The uneasiness has left many companies fearing a repeat of the dot-com bust of 2000-2001.  But is there really need to worry?

As consumer spending slows down, people have a tendancy to cut out things they don’t need.   It sounds almost too simple.   The first to go are usually magazine subscriptions, whatever-of-the-month clubs, and giant purchases such as houses, cars and high-ticket items.

Next  comes the whole array of consumer goods.  TVs, computers, PDA’s,  until we finally get to extra-curricular activities.  Sporting games, tae kwon do, swimming lessons, movies (in theater), concerts, live theater - basically outside entertainment.

So where does that leave online entertainment?

Web Sites Using Google Adsense Will Thrive

The push is going to be to “save money and stay home” which means more than ever people will be looking online for their entertainment, information and socialization.  Facebook, MySpace and Youtube had better be prepared in terms of bandwidth and power that will hit exponentially.

Those who have been building content on the web for others to view free, while adding ad units such as Google Adsense will continue to prosper, even earning more money than before because of the new eyeballs hungry for content.   Remember the good old days where everybody had a fan site for their favorite actor, actress or show?   Those who kept up those sites will once again see their traffic levels increase.

If you have not monetized your hobby site, or even your business site, with Google Ads, do it now.

Your ability to fill the need for entertainment on the Internet is a precious and valuable resource that will enable you to ride out the slow economic times we are faced with.   There is a great opportunity awaiting those who are active in the space, some will take advantage of it.

Will you?

Technorati Tags: recession, online, entreprenuers, google adsense