What a great devotional. I’m several weeks in (couldn’t wait until the new year to start!) and it really does get each day started right. Each day starts with a bible verse, followed with a story that relates to the Word. Following this is a prayer to wrap up the daily devotional.
Graham is a highly respected individual and I look forward to digging into his thoughts and a piece of the word each day. The only thing holding this from 5 stars is adding more scripture to each day, and the fact that they can be quite generic. If you’re looking for help in a certain area of your life, look for a more specific devotional. Otherwise, this is a great book!
I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program.
I just wrapped up my 2010 travel back in mid-October. Using the amazing FlightMemory.com, I was able to take a look at the past two years since BlueFuego started in January 2009. All I can say is… wow. And one number definitely caught my eye… total miles flown. 303,303. Neat.
(As a quick follow up to my Delta Rollover Miles post, it worked great. I was Platinum by March, Diamond by early summer, and this year I’m rolling over 123,000 miles to 2012 status. So after 1 flight I’ll be Diamond through February 2013. )
2009 Flight Segments: 125
Flight Miles: 129,453
Earth Circumnavigation: 5.20x
Distance to the Moon: .542x
Hours in flight: 337h, 29m
Days in flight: 14.1 (2 weeks of 2009 in air!)
Longest Flight: LAX-SYD, 7502 mi, 15h 02m (4 times)
Average Flight: 1,036mi, 2h 42m
Total Airports: 45
Total Airlines: 11
Total Routes: 88
Total Countries: 9
Total Continents: 4
2010 Flight Segments: 109
Flight Miles: 145,484
Earth Circumnavigation: 5.84x
Distance to the Moon: .609x
Hours in flight: 363h, 30m
Days in flight: 15.1 (2 weeks of 2009 in air!)
Longest Flight: LAX-SYD, 7502 mi, 15h 02m (6 times)
Average Flight: 1,335mi, 3h 20m
Total Airports: 45
Total Airlines: 13
Total Routes: 80
Total Countries: 12
Total Continents: 4
Lifetime Travel
Flight Segments: 270 [217 domestic (80%), 53 international (20%)]
Flight Miles: 303,303
Earth Circumnavigation: 12.18x
Distance to the Moon: 1.270x
Distance to the Sun: .0033x
Hours in flight: 780h, 49m
Days in flight: 32.5
Months in flight: 1.08
Total Airports: 75
Total Airlines: 20
Total Routes: 165
Total Countries: 15
Total Continents: 5
Most northern airport: AMS, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Most southern airport: MEL, Melbourne, Australia
Most eastern airport: OOL, Gold Coast, Australia
Most western Airport: SEA, Seattle, USA
The key themes of this story that can be used as teaching moments are that God has a plan for us, and that we are all equal to him Set in a time of history where Richard Kelly is used to segregation, he has two choices: go to jail or join an all-white seminary. Forgoing jail, his friends turn on him and his new classmates are hesitant to accept him as well. Race is a key theme throughout, but when an unexpected friend comes alongside to help him with his goals, Richard sees the way to success and works hard for his goals.
Overall, it was a pretty slow and boring movie and i’m not sure how clear the main themes came through. I don’t think I’d recommend it to others.
*Thanks to Booksneeze.com for providing a copy of this DVD for me to review.
While doing some research, I’ve noticed a similar trend. There are companies who have a strong social web presence, and people talk about them. But how did they build this presence? How did they get their fans/followers/friends?
Free stuff.
With the economics of free has come a sense of entitlement. Not only that every company should have a social web presence and be prepared to drop everything at the moment the customer needs assistance, but that the company should also be prepared to compensate this person with free stuff. Apologies don’t go as far as they used to; upgrades and free things do.
And 99% of the time, it works. The person’s mind is totally changed about the brand and experience, and they become a raving fan. ” I had the worst experience ever with this hotel room, but they gave me a free night so now they are AWESOME!” You see it all the time.
How does this affect the way we do business? Our bottom line? Our company culture? Our customers who aren’t using Twitter to complain?
I posted the thought on Twitter this morning that I was trying to think of a business that everyone raves about on the social web that didn’t get there by giving out free stuff or massive discounts. A few quickly rose to the top, Zappos and Southwest. They are known for their customer service more than giving things away for free (we all do the occasional promotions though). But after that…. pretty much silence. So I posted a follow up thought that essentially said:
Two ways to create Ravings Fans = 1) Provide excellent customer service OR 2) Give away free stuff?
Through the recent month, I’ve heard of many people talk about companies and vendors who are horrible at customer service, but people rave about them because they’re getting free stuff. Free things might come in the form of actual free items, fancy dinners, spotlight in a blog post, actual free items, and more. There are many ways to use free items to make someone feel better about themselves and about your company.
Is that enough to win people over? And more importantly, is it sustainable? Why do you want people to talk about you and your company? Because you gave them freebies, or because you provided excellent customer service, an amazing product, and untouchable results ?
One thing holds true: Zappos and Southwest rise to the top of many minds. But who remembers #SquareSpace? Who’s gone back to their site since the free iPhone promotion on Twitter?
Don’t get me wrong. Raving fans are important to a business, even if they are not paying customers. But as Chris Brogan recently mentioned, “I’m in the business of cashing checks.” Build your business on customer service and trust, not on 50% off coupons and free tacos on Tuesday. Have you ever heard of anyone who has waited to buy a new Macbook because there wasn’t a 25% off coupon? We can’t all be Apple, but it sure is aspirational.
Use occasional promotions to engage people and thank them for being your fan, but once they’re in the door or on the phone with you, let the relationship and service lead the way. That way, when they’re hungry, they’re coming back to your restaurant without the coupon. Continue to build your personal army of brand soldiers, but don’t forget about the classic 80/20 rule and those 20% of customers who are putting 80% of the food on your table. Give them the customer service they deserve.
It’s been one year since Gary Vaynerchuk posted ‘You can have both…Jobs.” at garyvaynerchuk.com. It’s also been exactly one year today since I chose January 31st, 2009 as my last day at my previous employer.
The post is widely known as the ‘Hustle 2.0′ post in the web world, and is often referred to around in BlueFuego meetings. If you haven’t seen the video before, or can’t get enough of it (I’ve seen it at least 20 times), take 2 minutes and watch. Otherwise, skip forward for some of my thoughts, 1 year later.
Hustle 2.0. When I heard this for the first time, it made perfect sense. A week prior, I had lunch with Kyle Lacy, who encouraged me to “just pick a date and go for it.” What was it? I had no clue at that moment. With several offers from other universities and marketing agencies on the table, I had no clue where I wanted to go next. I knew what my ‘hedgehog’ was, and one thing wouldn’t go away: the entrepreneurial fire inside of me. As much as I tried to shake the thought of working for myself, I couldn’t back out of it.
That afternoon, I got an email from Joe, who is now my business partner. He said “you’ve gotta see this video.” But I had. And I knew. The business we’d been loosely talking about for the past 4 months was about to get a lot more attention. So we started, Hustle 2.0. Work a full day, spend time with the family from 6-10pm, and then get to work again. And just like Gary said in the video, we lived on a few hours of sleep for 5 months. In that 5 months we solidified what we wanted to do and went for it. And when I walked away from that job on January 30th (a day early.. ) to do what I wanted and loved, and then when we started cashing checks, I knew that all of the hard work was worth it.
BIG THANKS to Gary V and for his hustle and inspiring others to hustle as well. It’s hard to believe that within the past year Joe and I took an idea and turned it into BlueFuego, and are now truly utilizing our skills and passion for clients around the globe. This video dropped at the exact moment I needed it. I hope that wherever you are in your entrepreneurial hustle this video can inspire you to take the next step.
And by all means, don’t forget to get out there and buy CRUSH IT!! The book is going to be like this video x’s 50 for you. Go over to http://www.crushitbook.com, check out the sample chapter, and buy multiple copies today!!
What a great devotional. I’m several weeks in (couldn’t wait until the new year to start!) and it really does get each day started right. Each day starts with a bible verse, followed with a story that relates to the Word. Following this is a prayer to wrap up the daily devotional.
The key themes of this story that can be used as teaching moments are that God has a plan for us, and that we are all equal to him Set in a time of history where Richard Kelly is used to segregation, he has two choices: go to jail or join an all-white seminary. Forgoing jail, his friends turn on him and his new classmates are hesitant to accept him as well. Race is a key theme throughout, but when an unexpected friend comes alongside to help him with his goals, Richard sees the way to success and works hard for his goals.
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