Karen Post

Have you ever felt like you have reached your limits? Whether it shows in your writing, business creation or time management – you are not alone! Below, learn how to develop strategies that will make you feel more productive, take your adventure to the next level and keep you in line – we’ll even tackle the stuff that keeps you up at night. Let Karen Post and the Oddpodz team lead the way.

1 – Does branding countries, government programs and leaders really matter? 3 part series that includes insight, strategy and recommendations.
2 – How to quickly sway opinion, sell product & make a point – with wordplay Metaphors can make a difference.
3 – Energize your entrepreneurial engine. Attend 3-day conference in Tampa. Engage in networking opportunities with students from all over the country as well as business professionals.
4 – Entrepreneur essentials – Bandwidth limits, saying no and time off. There are only so many hours in a day, what will you do with them?

For last weeks wrap up, click here.

Also, don’t forget to check out:
Slimy scam, smart business model or insightful day?
3 smart chicks, 10 ideas to breed more loyal blog readers
Greenwashing and other recycled business sins

This week, Oddpodz took advantage of the simpler things in life and learned how fulfilling they really are. Here are some ways you can look at your business half full too:

1 – Fox TV calls for a 30-minute live interview. Will you be ready? Learn how to interview like a pro, here.
2 – How reincarnating an old idea can be a BORN AGAIN HIT. Check out word-smithing at its best.
3 – Birthdays, gifts and marketing – an interesting trio. Do you have a way to remember your customers’ special days?
4 – Can being happier change your entrepreneurial success? It’s true! Identify the small things in life and make them happen.
5 – Don’t forget to Celebrate loving being an entrepreneur everyday. And start making your own life choices.

If you missed last weeks wrap up, click here.

For more ways to fulfill your life, check out these posts:
Why creatures of habit are champions in sports, business and life.
Work less, accomplish more!
Money, money, money!

It almost killed mine on Saturday. I play in a tennis league. I love tennis like a good drug. Saturday morning I’ve got a big match. My opponent has beat me before, she’s a former NFL cheerleader, 20 years my junior  and has made snarky remarks about a friend of mine, referring to her as that old lady and that older lady is younger than me–so needless to say my mission is to kick serious butt.

The first match she’s up by 5,0, OMG I’m getting pounded. Why? Because I’m looking at where I want the ball to go, I’m being a visionary. And I’m loosing the point, because I’m taking my eye off the ball and not focusing. I some how find some points. My serve is smoking hot and pull the devil drop shot out too. I’m back in the game 4, 5. I do it again look forward and take my eye off the ball and she takes the first set.

Set two. I know I can do this. I’m just as good as she is and I’ve got maturity on my side. I’m up 4,0, feeling good and then there I go again. Looking forward, being visionary and loosing the point, OMG she’s on my trail, 4,4, I’ve got to shift gears and get my head in the win zone or I’m the big looser here. I get back into ZEN tennis, it’s about the moment and focus, nothing else. I hit some freaking amazing shots, my body is screaming in pain, I’m determined to get this set.

The sun is in my eyes, there are two big ass bees swarming around my head and my asthma has now joined the game, I’m huffing and wheezing and this young thing is on my tail and close to taking the second set.

NO! I’m not going to go down.

My eyes are glued to that ball. I can see every fiber, and cannot think about any forward visions like next move, strategies or winning the title in my league. I must be absolutely concentrating on the moment at hand and being an extraordinary player on the next few points, and nothing else.

I take the 2nd set. 6,4 and now we go into a  7 point tie breaker. The first 6 points I’m in the sun, can’t see anything, but have to keep my head in the state of  a champion. I can do this. Even the games she won, it was close and I played well. This is about pure mental state of MUST WIN, because I believe. Any visionary thoughts will sink me. This is totally about FOCUS and being the victor.

I’m ahead 4,0 in the tie breaker, feeling confident and then she freaking creeps back. We’ve tied again 5,5, It’s time to amp up the cylinders and take no prisoners or I’m toast.

I get so intense. Totally focused on that small green ball, nothing else, No strategy. No game plan. Just crystal clear zoomed in on concentration.  I shake off everything else, my mistakes and  the bees. I don’t let the elements distract me and I feel like the Roger Federer in a skirt.

I get the  next point it’s 6,5 and I serve. Right down the line. She hits it back. I hit it solid and hard, back to baseline and she dinks it straight into the net. It’s over. I WON!!!!!!

My adrenaline is pumping.

This experience is poignant to business also. There are times when vision is critical, but there are also equally as many times in the battle field that no vision and complete focus is the very best move.

As an entrepreneur and tennis player, I’m guilty of often being too out there, too forward thinking, always looking ahead and loosing points and progress because I sometimes can’t shift gears quickly and totally focus on the precise point, the project or the kill.

The key is to know the right time for each, when vision should drive planning and when the laser focus should conquer the day, the competitor or the challenge at hand.

Also, check out: Tiger Woods and other Monday morning losers.

This week, our team has produced 7 articles for your success. For those of you who might have missed them – some of us are busy as hell during the week! – here is your weekly OWW-UP:

1 – In Liar Liar is your brand on fire, Joe Melle digs into the evolution of advertising over the past 50 years, focusing on infomercials. Joe wonders how marketing professionals look at their peers’ work. He also questions the extent to which Ethic impacts infomercials messages and he challenges every one of us to think twice about the way we communicate about our products? See Joe’s post here.

2 – In Leadership: the quality of your presence, Thomson Dawson highlights how leadership is an effect of a quality presence. He tells us why determined people are time-oriented and how they get to the next step. See Thomson’s post here.

3 – In Business Requirements Doc & Website Dev RFP Example, Karen Post follows up her last week article How Two Websites Almost Killed a Baby. Our CEO tells us what Oddpodz has learnt in IT adding some insights from Allen Clary and Brian Burridge

See Karen’s post here and download Business Requirements and Oddpodz Request for Proposal as examples.

4 – In Why you should master the art of “downloading people”?, Kenji Crosland develops the concept of “downloading people” – or how to get as many pieces of information from anyone as you can. Among the tips Kenji gives us: don’t focus on narrow objectives and remember that everyone has valuable information. See Kenji’s post here.

5 – In If it ain’t broke, break it…, Jocelyn Rings gives us 7 lessons she implements while brainstorming. Through the story of the successful startup SeamlessWeb, Jocelyn’s advices make a lot of sense for those of us who live through a continuous brainstorming mode! See Jocelyn’s post here.

6 – In How QR barcodes make it easy to attract & keep new online friends, Lauren Angrick shows us a Japanese way to communicate through mobile devices which is going worldwide at the speed of light! See Lauren’s post here

7 – Lauren brings it back in A little known way to spruce up your Facebook page for free. In this post, she adds up a great tool to the Oddpodz FREE biz findz blog with Facebook TabSite. A website that allows you to create for free a tab within your Facebook pages. See Lauren’s second post of the week here

Seven days, seven posts! The O-team has given its best for your success. Which insight has been the most helpful for you this week?

Too busy to answer that phone? The modern world of virtual assistants, technology can now take that call.

The world of receptionists, communications and staying connected has changed a lot since the early days of switchboard operators.  In fact, the whole process of connecting people via telephones has improved drastically.  Once only able to connect two phones by underground wire, today’s telephone advancements make possible services which would seem unimaginable to those living in the early 20th century.  The idea of a “virtual receptionist, a cell phone or text messaging” would probably have seemed like something from a Ray Bradbury novel.

So, in honor of Ray Bradbury’s upcoming birthday (August 22nd), below are some fun telephone, receptionist and communication facts to add to your overall knowledge and (most importantly) to impress your friends at the next boring get together.

1. The earliest switchboard systems required a generator which needed to be cranked by hand.
2. Because the first switchboards went from floor to ceiling, the first operators were boys, chosen for their ability to continuously move up and down a ladder connecting necessary phone jacks.
3. Some famous people who have purportedly done stints as receptionists are civil rights activist Rosa Parks and singer/songwriter Naomi Judd.
4. The term telephony refers to the ability to reproduce sounds at a distance from their origins.  The simplest telephony experiment can be accomplished using two paper cups attached in each center by a long string.
5. Currently, remote answering services (virtual receptionists) are able to route calls to home and/or cell phones using a web interface, and provide caller information via email.
6. The City of Portland, in Portland, Oregon, has implemented the use of Portland Online (a program utilizing a playlist of talented local musicians) to hipafy the on-hold experience.
7. There once was a band called the Receptionists which featured a xylophone, along with a large dose of penny whistling.

Although the days of three digit phone numbers are gone, the need for people to be connected to one another over long distances continues.  Today, people are lucky to have technologically advanced phones and answering services (some that even have handy iPhone apps for updating “whereabouts” from remote locations) available to them.  And, let’s be honest, I think we’re all pretty glad that the days of rotary phones and long twisted phone cords are a thing of the past.

Have you had an interesting phone experience recently? Ever hired a virtual assistant, would you recommend the  service to others? Please share.

OK, now that I have your attention, let me clarify my message. I’m not suggesting anyone break the law, take what is not yours or do drugs. I am though highly recommending that you start embracing these 3 moves to accelerate your business achievement.

1) Cheat time.

We all have 86,400 seconds or 24 hours in day, so how come some people get so much more done?

People that work from a plan, instead of on the fly, overwhelmingly accomplish more. If you are not a big planner, just start by setting small goals for the week a head of you. Write down your three top goals by Sunday, before your week starts. Or at least start using lists to become more productive. I’m a list junkie and share some of my best lists in our learning estore.

Don’t check your email every 2 minutes. This is a monumental, modern-day time sucker. Turn off the auto send and receive too. You will be amazed by how this one simple action can add 2 more hours to your day, every day.

Eliminate time-wasting people from your life. Don’t kill them off, just learn to say no and don’t hang out with them. If they are not adding value to your world, adios amigos! If these folks are clients, work on better qualifying them before start sharing your time and energy.

2) Steal from history.

Pay attention to patterns of other highly successful people and companies. What do they do? How do they think? What do they not do? This is one of the cheapest, most honest ways anyone can speed up their success. Read biographies about other super star entrepreneurs, listen to them being interviewed and observe their actions. Write the evidence down and apply what works to your situation. Don’t forget annual reports too. Publicly traded companies spill a lot of their beans of success, go pick them up!

3) Be an obsessive crack head.

Push one additional ounce, go the extra degree or ramp it up one tiny crack more. A hair, a second and crack is the difference between a Olympic gold metal winner and 2^nd place. Become an obsessed, addict to raising the bar by a sliver more. This small distinction between mediocre and masterful is huge. Practice this discipline on everything you do, from customer service, your product quality, to a kind gesture you deliver to an employee or business relationship and also amp up own personal standards too. Be a proud crack head.

Is there anything surprising or unexpected that you’ve done to score more success recently. If so, please share.