Entrepreneurs Creative Edge

Is Silence Truly Golden?

For some people, this image inspires terror.

Fear of public speaking is one of the most common phobias. Amazingly, some people would rather die than be forced to speak in front of an audience.

For others, this image is a welcome invitation.

Public speaking is one of the best ways to promote an idea, gain a following, or make a sale.

When you open your mouth to speak, does it work for your or against you?

Is silence truly golden? Or is story king?

Obviously, that depends on the quality of the silence and the quality of the story. Still, if you have a story to tell, and who doesn't, it is best to tell it well.

There are two important lessons in Storytelling. Though they seem at odds, both are true.

There are many ways to be an effective speaker. One size does not fit all. It is best to be authentic, to be yourself and speak from your own experience. 

At the same time, the most effective speakers have some core qualities in common. These can be learned, they can be taught, and unless you learn them you will never be considered a great speaker.

The right path for you is somewhere in between. The art of putting your own experience into your own words, and the science of doing it in a way that persuades, educates, and entertains other people.

To explore this more, read my latest Creative Career Path article on World Class Speaking.

Find out how becoming a better speaker may be the single best thing you can do to leverage your strengths.

http://www.williamreed.jp/world-class-speaking/

Learn how to move from spectator to speaker, and see how it can change your life.

TypePad vs WordPress

TypePad vs WordPress?

This is getting to be a harder decision to make, as both platforms have quite recently undergone some big changes in design, look and feel, user-friendly options, and a whole new level of interconnectivity with Social Media sites that makes Blogging more fun than ever, and gives us unprecedented leverage in personal branding.

Entrepreneurs Creative Edge is built on the TypePad Platform, and it has enormous flexibility in design and display.

My new website www.williamreed.jp is built on the WordPress Platform, and it runs like a beautiful new car.

Currently I'm enjoying the best of both worlds. If you harness your blog and your website to Social Media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, and YouTube, you can go places that you could only dream about a few years ago.

Whichever platform you chose, you owe it to yourself to get an online platform and start using it to leverage your personal brand or business.

It is easier now than ever before.

New Website at WilliamReed.jp

Announcing a new website at williamreed.jp, where I will focus on World Class Speaking and Wealth Dynamics, including training opportunities and resources.

Entrepreneurs Creative Edge will continue of course as a blog!

“The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. If you think you know, chances are that you are missing your best resources and opportunities right in front of you. If you are trying too hard, you are already doing the wrong thing.”

Meanwhile, join me at williamreed.jp!

Get Your Own Channel

What's the first thing you do when you lose interest in the television program that's playing?

You change the channel. 

And thanks to remote control devices, you don't even have to get up out of your seat.

What's changed in the past 5 years is the explosion in the number of channels we have to choose from, as well as the number of devices from which we can access them.

What hasn't changed is that while you are on a particular channel, that content is given direct access to your attention control center. For those of us who grew up surrounded by technology, channels have almost magic control over the flow of attention.

When the number of channels was few, this meant that content providers and advertisers had massive influence on the thoughts and feelings of masses of people.

Now the flow of information is more dispersed, and in some ways even reversed, because the Internet makes it possible to have your own channel, and to be your own publisher. This is easier than you think, and it can make a big difference in your business or career.

To find out more, read the article in my Creative Career Path column called Get Your Own Channel.

3D Photo Bio

This 3D Photo Bio shows some of the highlights. Not your ordinary resume! Never did fit on one page anyway.

There is no soundtrack, though I may add one in the future.

If the text is hard to read, press on the button under the You in YouTube to watch in full screen mode.

I have also uploaded the same 3D Bio in Japanese on YouTube.

It's fun to raise a flag when you reach a milestone. When you look back, it all makes sense and helps you chart the course ahead.

Social Media No Fad: the Numbers

Social Media is no fad, and the numbers prove it! Check out this video on the growth, scale, and importance of this fascinating phenomena, and then ask yourself what it means to you.

How can you get involved?

I recommend blogging as a great place to start. See my article, Still on the Fence About Blogging?

A few places on this blog to find out more are the Personal Branding pages, the Guerrilla Marketing pages, and the Creative Career Path pages.

In any event, Social Media is here to stay.

It is changing the ways you promote your personal brand.

It is changing the ways companies promote their products.

It is fundamentally changing the ways we communicate.

You owe it to yourself to find your own Social Media strategy.

Earlybird Heads Up on Online Visibility Secrets

Visibility is being recognized, noticed, and standing out from the crowd. It has more staying power because it based on presence, not pretense. Visibility is like reputation. It comes from awareness, acceptance, and approval.

How do you achieve visibility online?

Here is an earlybird heads up on an free upcoming teleseminar on Online Visibility Secrets, in which I will be interviewing one of the top experts in blogging and online visibility, Denise Wakeman.

You can attend it live on the phone or on the web, and if you register, you will be sent a free replay of the teleseminar.

It's coming up soon so visit Online Visibility Secrets and register to secure your place.

Checklist for Online Branding

Checklist for Online Branding This checklist will help you identify your level of engagement in online branding. It is also a preview of what to expect on a teleseminar I will host with top blogging expert Denise Wakeman on how to enhance your personal branding online. Be sure to enter your e-mail address to receive your checklist, and to get announcements about the upcoming teleseminar! I am a member of one or more Social Media sites. I have a blog or personal website. My online profile reflects who I am and want to be. My online photos are professional and attractive. My online presence shows signs of life. I've invested recently in technology and coaching. I have a system for easily updating my online presence. I feel professional and presentable online. I have a distinct brand and a highly specific niche. I monitor my online brand and reputation. I regularly work on my business to extend my online visibility. I monitor the needs and wants of my ideal clients. I extend my brand beyond my site to expand my business. I know how to capture and present my value online. I'd like to know more about expert resources for personal branding online. Your Name: Your Email:

Powered by ACCPOW Coaching Assessment Generator
www.assessmentgenerator.com

Register for our free online teleclass where I will interview blogging expert and online visibility advisor Denise Wakeman about how to increase your online visibility. For more information visit:

http://onlinevisibilitysecrets.com

Are You Digitally Distinct?

Personal Branding has been defined by William Arruda in Career Distinction as your GQ (Google Quotient), the degree to which your name exists and is recognized in a positive way on Google.

Fortunately, there is an easy way to find out. It is called the Online ID Calculator. It only takes a few minutes, but follow the instructions carefully, so that the software can calculate how distinct your identity is online. For example, enter the numbers requested as a pure number, without any commas.

After answering the questions, you click on the button and get the results in the form of a graph which plots your position in terms of both volume and relevance. This can be an important thing to monitor, even if it is only a snapshot of where you are now.

Have some fun with this, and remember that regardless of where you appear on the graph, it is ultimately where you appear in the minds of your target audience that determines your real personal brand.

Heart of Gold

They say that it's not what you know, so much as who you know that makes for your success.

What is really important is the heart connection, that is who you know and who knows you.

Knowing you is not enough. It comes down to knowing your character, how you react under pressure, the way your mind works, whether you are a giver or a taker, can you be trusted, whether or not you have a heart of gold.

Good news for people who do! There are very few of you, and therefore you are worth more than your weight in gold.

Well put in Neil Young's song Heart of Gold, which says a lot in a few words.

I want to live,
I want to give
I've been a miner
for a heart of gold.

It's these expressions
I never give
That keep me searching
for a heart of gold

And I'm getting old.

People who have money know this very well. How often they are approached by people in searching for only for the gold. Smart wealthy people develop an instinct for detecting what is genuine, not only in gold but in human character.

Warren Buffet says that it is a bad idea to marry for money, especially if you've got money!

I was talking with a friend the other day, a young English teacher living in Japan, whose story impressed me with how much of a difference a heart of gold can make in your career and your opportunities.

Still in his twenties, he was making a modest living teaching English at a Japanese middle school, like so many foreigners living in Japan. However, he has two things going for him that set him apart from the rest. He has a knack for getting along with people, and he has a heart of gold.

To a wealthy friend of his whom we'll call Mr. X, this meant more than him being just another nice guy. Mr. X happens to be a well-known millionaire entrepreneur in Japan, who was starting a new company and needed a reliable person to help him head up customer relations.

My young friend has no particular business experience, and doesn't even speak much Japanese. Yet Mr. X hired him to effectively run an important part of his new company, at double his original salary plus an expense account, move to an attractive new location and manage 20 people in a business that could easily corner the market in its field. Mr. X said that he would teach him the business, provide a private tutor in Japanese, cover his expenses, and leave the local operations up to him.

I asked him why such a golden opportunity had fallen into his lap in times like these!

He told me that he had known Mr. X for several years on a social basis, and had met many of his friends. He had asked Mr. X the same question! He told him that he could teach him the business. What he could not teach him was what he already had, an honest character and an ability to get along with people. While many people often asked Mr. X if they could borrow money, they often seemed to forget to return it. My friend however was different. If he had to borrow 10,000 yen for whatever reason, he had always scrupulously returned it the next time they met.

That behavior and that character had won his trust. And it won my friend a golden opportunity and a promising future on a fast track that bypassed business school, business experience, and everything else on the crowded way to career advancement.

My friends story demonstrates that it is not only who you know, but who knows you that counts.

And it shows that important people are always watching and judging character based on behavior, and that your character can open the door to new opportunities in your career.

Who do you know that may be watching you with an opportunity in mind?

What can you do to demonstrate to the world that you have a heart of gold?

Are you spending too much time putting on appearances, and not enough being your true self?

Are you limiting or prejudging your opportunities based on negative news about the economy, and missing the real opportunities that might be closer than you think?

There was one more piece of advice from Mr. X which is certainly worth its weight in gold.

He said that the secret of success was quite simple, and that everyone missed it by placing too much faith in hard work alone.

All you needed to succeed was to help others to succeed.

If you help your client, your customer, or your collaboration partner make more money, then their success will be your success. Stop focusing exclusively on how you can help yourself, and look for more ways on how you can help others.