Being Mentally Strong in 2014 - Amy Morin and Forbes Magazine

Wouldn’t we ALL like to be mentally stronger in 2014?!

Cheryl Conner of Forbes spoke with Amy Morin about her tips from LifeHack.org – the article on tips for “Mental Strength” went crazy viral.

Read the Forbes article here.

As we start the New Year, maybe take a moment to consider these 5 simple tips Amy shared with Forbes in a follow up discussion.

I loved them because there were some tips in there I think will really help me in 2014 so I asked my spouse ( a newly minted photoshop wizard ) to make a poster to say thanks to Amy! Here it is below, if you want a larger version, tweet me at @UinvitedU and I’ll email it to you.

The article sparked more great discussion, like here in Fast Company. Thanks for some helpful wisdom Amy and Forbes, as always, you rule.

Lastly, Forbes sat down with Amy for a quick 5 minute chat about what IS ‘mental strength’ in our busy digital age (below).

Best of luck in 2014 my friends – thanks for reading!

Paul

Is your career worth the investment? Make 2014 a gamechanger

There’s someone I want you to meet.

Her name is Lisa Taylor and her team at Challenge Factory is changing the way Canada works.

Two years ago she helped change the direction of my career. Lisa also helped me create positive impact in my sector (philanthropy) by teaching people about a career in fundraising outside the traditional channels who often don’t create ways strangers can learn about what we do. In gratitude and admiration, I named her one my networking MVP’s of 2011.

I have sent dozens of people in my network, some in my family to Lisa and her team. Her work has been featured in every major national newspaper, a CBC documentary and more – check out this resource page I’ve made on the impact of her work!

2014 is on your doorstep, if you want it to be a blowout year – it’s time to contact Challenge Factory. Not sure it’s for you? Read this.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: Lisa was kind enough to reach out to me and offer my network a personal discount if you are referred by me.

She’s already offering one right now, this referral is ON TOP of that. Just mention my name when you call or email her team lead Cayla Allain at cayla (at) challengefactory (dot) ca or call them at 416. 721 –8494 or tweet Challenge Factory .

Look, things have changed in the working world. You know this. We can’t treat our careers like ‘something that just happens’ any more because there aren’t any jobs for life. It’s time to invest in YOU and it doesn’t have to cost a lot, it costs nothing to have the discussion about where you want your career to go and is CF the right team for you. Email or call Lisa and her team TODAY. Don’t wait.

Especially if you think it’s time to change sectors, her “test drive a career” programs are ground breaking.

I want to thank Lisa for being an unwavering support in my work and career. For being a northstar for Canadians who want to find more than just a job. 

Don’t forget to sign up for Challenge Factory’s enews, or follow Challenge Factory on Twitter and LinkedIn . I leave you with some words from Lisa on finding meaning in your career.

Can I be of help in 2014? Has it been a while since we talked? Let me know, January is a great time to take a walk and talk about you and where you are going.

Thanks as always for reading, keep in touch,

Paul

"The Naked Man" is a terrible way to find a job. Think ahead.

Looking for a job when you need one is like looking for a parachute after you've jumped out of the airplane, it's like looking for a date the morning of Valentines day, like looking for someone to kiss at 11:55pm on New Year's Eve....you get the point.

Anyone who has ever seen the very popular show “How I Met Your Mother” has heard of the move "the naked man" ( surprising someone on a date naked ) which apparently is successful two of every three tries. I know it sounds lazy and uncouth, but this is what our current interview system is. We skip the getting to know each other part and try to ‘seal the deal’ too quickly. How does this work out? Most people leave jobs because of work environments and supervisors that “don’t fit”. Well wouldn’t we know more if we took the time to get to know our potential boss and workplace?

A resume read and couple of interviews is not enough time spent to get to know each other and decide to spend 8+ hours a day for the next few years.

These days when I speak with hiring directors, they constantly express that they don't want to post a mid level or senior job but they just can't think of one or two ideal candidates let alone five to interview. And so they turn to the decades-old horrible HR dance made MORE unbearable by the Internet which encourages people to spam-cv the world.

I was helping a peer who was thinking a year out for a new position. This person is kind of a celebrity in my profession. I have heard dozens of people say "oh I'd LOVE to work for" this person or this organization. And yet very few of them has ever said hi at a conference, asked to meet for coffee, made an impression and none of them kept in touch with this person. I'm not talking about sucking up here. I’m talking about thinking ahead…

My magic three steps:
1. Say hello at a conference or networking event
2. Follow up with a note, then connect on LinkedIn
3. Have coffee twice a year and use email/social media to keep in touch

That's it!!!

In the end this person is going to have to do way too much work to meet the right people....and so they’ve turned to the HR dance when this job could have gone to someone with true passion for the leader and the role.

So dear network, lets get to work. In 2014 I know you're thinking about a change. Think about that top five list of leaders, employers, companies, charities and lets get networking! It's holiday networking season, get thee to events! Step one is NOW.

A great job move takes six months to a year to cultivate,  it's your whole life! Start today..

In the mean time, here are some great networking tips for the holidays from the Wall St. Journal. Enjoy! 

  Paul Nazareth

Paul’s 2013 Top Ten LinkedIn Tips

I got a chance to take my Dad for a drive in a new mustang once – his comment on owning an original 1960’s Mustang and being in the current version was… “sure the original was great, but it was bare-bones. With today’s improvements this is an outright better car” I was expecting nostalgia.

LinkedIn is ten years old, check out this awesome look back at the company that started with 4,500 profiles in year one and today is fast approaching 250,000,000.

Like the updated Mustang, it’s an outright better platform today. My personal tips last year are totally out of date. As we end 2013, here are my personal tips to help you get in shape for the new year ahead!

1. Titles are so last century. Who are you really? Are you going to work one job for your whole career? Then why are you using goofy HR language to define yourself? Sure there’s the whole SEO argument but I truly feel you need a more realistic, holistic description. Same thing goes for a photo if you use one. Do NOT crop a wedding, graduation or group shot. Lastly, customizing your URL. It’s the secret handshake between fellow users, take 30 seconds to customize yours.

2. Your summary is NOT a cold blob one big bio. It needs to reflect the story of your past, present and future career told yes, in your own voice. Make it engaging, it’s not a novel it’s a 20 second ‘digital greeting’ especially in a world where your next client or employer WILL read it before meeting you.

3. Consider using the amazing new rich media portfolio and slideshare options to give your profile personality and colour. A picture tells 1000 words, your summary should be short, here’s how to say more with less.

4. Introductions. Never, and I mean NEVER use the standard “I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn” – customize EVERY single invitation. Start with people you worked with, mentors and expand outward. Slowly! If you wouldn’t invite them to your office, don’t let them in your network. Lastly, most LinkedIn users have some sort of post-secondary education. Never have I seen so many people invest so much money in a network they don’t use. LinkedIn has a powerful new alumni search function to help you reconnect with that nerd roomate turned tech-billionaire buddy from back in the day.

5. Managing your contacts. This is NOT a numbers game. You are CEO of You Inc. and this is your org-chart. Who is on your personal board, who are your generals, lieutenants and new recruits. Don’t forget to keep that tree trimmed, dump deadwood at least once a year. Most of all, use LinkedIn’s new contact features - they are outrageously awesome. It now reminds you about your last conversation and when to contact them again! You have a CRM at work, this is your career-relationship-management system!

6. Endorsements Vs. Recommendations. As I write this, I have 1,619 endorsements. They make me feel nice but they don’t really indicate expertise, rather how my network regards me ( thanks network!). More important are recommendations, they have become as important as that list you give HR when you’re applying for a job. You really need to focus on getting a few from previous employers and mentors in your sector. 3 to 5 are the minimum, over 20 is too much if you’re on the job hunt.

7. Time management. The number one thing people ask me about social media for business is “Paul how do you make the time?!”. My answer? As in all things, be strategic. Schedule a few minutes, I mean like 15 minutes a month to start. 15 a week to scale up and 5 mins a day if you plan on being a power-user. But first, go to settings and turn off ALL notifications, you drive the car, the car doesn’t drive you..it will bother you less, believe me. What do you do when you’re on? Just 1 ‘status update’ with an industry article per month, or week but max, one a day. Be active in groups, start and comment on discussions of just one or two, even if you’re a member of many.Consider using schedulers like Hootsuite to save you the time with updates ( it’s my Twitter secret ).

8. LinkedIn’s Company pages are no longer a ‘nice to have’. If you are a business owner, or PR/HR for a company or social-profit charity you NEED to have and maintain a company page. You can upload free marketing and product information and even have company updates. There is even new free analytics to help you keep track of activity. The ability to target your updates is just one of the many awesome business benefits of this feature. Working in philanthropy this is one of my reminders to charities, you are incorporated so make sure you have a page!! If only that when you create one, LinkedIn automatically links ALL current and former employee pages to your site. Here is a quick awesome video link.

9. Use Content! When I speak about social media for business audiences always ask “how do you get such amazing Twitter content from our sector?” Again, strategy says, if your own network and LinkedIn’s own amazing ‘Influencer’ network is producing SO much great content why not use it? Cross-functional use of schedulers like HootSuite allow you to take great content (from your ‘home’ page) and re-use it ( and engaging your LinkedIn network on Twitter with promotion of their services thrown in ) on other platforms like Twitter, or Pinterest etc…

10. Master mobile… these days I spend less time networking in coffee shops and more time on the go ( after all, sitting is the new smoking right Nilofer? ). I’m not saying I don’t use LinkedIn on a desktop but learning how to use your tablet to read content and your mobile phone to ‘look up’ someone before a meeting means you’ll be a better networking ninja on the go. As Mitch Joel says, we’re approaching the ‘one screen’ integrated world, be ready. Great news for tablet users, LinkedIn JUST launched a whole new iPad app and a new mobile introduction tool!

If you haven’t seen LinkedIn’s videos they are fantastic. And I often introduce myself at events by saying “hi, my name is Paul, networking is my oxygen and LinkedIn is my lungs” because the platform has done so much for me personally and the world of business networking these past ten years.

It’s not perfect, but it’s getting there. It’s a key tool in the future of social business. If you haven’t read co-founder Reid’s book, do it, it was written for you.

LinkedIn, it’s your personal career engine. I’ve given over 100 talks on using LinkedIn for business. If I can help your charity, your company or with your own profile, please reach out. Hope this post was of value, share your tips in the comments below!  Thanks for reading,

Paul Nazareth

Ps. A shout-out to Clare, one of my LinkedIn mentors who now has a business helping executives and managers get their personal profiles in shape! Want to get on the LinkedIn fast track? Call Clare.




 

A personal welcome to new Twitter followers

Hello!

I wanted to say a special welcome that was longer than 140 characters, and let you know what to expect for your follow...

I am on Twitter with a purpose. You won’t see pictures of my lunch, or me with celebrities or my kids making cute faces (much). You WILL find content on:

• Fundraising, philanthropy and charitable giving
• Business, management, strategy and leadership
• Networking, career and personal development
• Learning to use Social Media for Social Business
• Local content on Toronto , Canada

You’ll find other social feeds and my mission statement HERE

This is not a social profile. It’s 95% business ( 5% Other )

I am obsessed with the future of “Social Business” and “Social Profit” and I’m excited to find more business and fundraising professionals who are too. 

I help tweeps with career development, job searches in the end - I exist to help passionate professionals succeed.

So please, engage and share your wisdom and stay in touch. Thank you for investing your time on twitter with me!

Enjoy this quick video on ‘social business’ 

Paul Nazareth

Networking while walking! Netwalking Tips

Click here or picture for today’s Paulcast. 6min

Thanks for investing your time with me today!

Stuff I mentioned:

• What is netwalking?
• Nilofer Merchant: Sitting is the new smoking
• My first group netwalk
• Why Starbucks rules for networking
• Why Moleskine note books rule for networking
• Following up after networking
• Mitch Joel’s book : Ctrl + Alt + Del
• Two great netwalking articles: 1 & 2

Let’s make our meetings move!

Thanks for listening,

    Paul Nazareth

Last night an author saved my life….

I used to be a long weekender. But time has marched on, being a Dad x 2 now and having a job that engages every part of my brain, pushed me to take a break this past summer. But I realized…

I kind of forgot how!

Now it’s no secret I’m a business book addict ( if you haven’t seen my blog on the topic here it is ) and many of my peers know me as the “social business” guy. But with endless events/evenings like this even I know, it was time to disconnect.

So I took the digital vacation but it was really hard to have this time and not use it to read. Now, I was a staple at the nightclubs in University, but libation + gyration no longer provides me with euphoria or peace.

It was then a mentor gave me permission to read fiction again. A random tweet had reminded me that my favourite artist Douglas Coupland had put out a book ( about the disappearance of bees and our over-connected culture ) and had published an awesome lecture-story he told about the end of the world on radio across the country.  

Recently great article hit the pages of Canada’s national magazine Maclean’s asking “Do Books Have the Power to Heal?”

Darn right they do.

My brain had been circling the drain for weeks, frustrations, negative thoughts, challenges were gumming it up. I gleefully read several thousand pages in 4 days ( if you haven’t read Steve Jobs’ biography, it’s worth it! ). One night, I sat outside, under a veranda in a thunderstorm engrossed in a book…I looked up and realized. Wow. I’m clear. I came out the other end of my vacation mentally refreshed, happy, rejuvenated and excited at the brain-reset and the creativity it jumpstarted!

This is your brain on fiction indeed.

As Lisa below tells the TED folks, books have power in life. It’s a nice reminder that the office and cubicle crowd have much to gain from it too.

So – tell me dear reader. Who is your favourite fiction author? CanLit celebrity Margaret Atwood just put out the final book in her latest trilogy – Thanksgiving approaches…

Thanks for reading, please, share in the comments below!

Paul

 

Handwritten cards in a digital world

A boss of mine once publicly referred to me as “the king of schmooze”. Yuck

If I had to wish for an epitaph on my business headstone it would be “the King of cards” – they have been a business and networking secret of mine for my whole career.

A secret I hope you find value in as I share today.

Many peers pat me on the head saying “oh that’s cute, you are a nice guy Paul and it’s sweet you like to send out cards to our donors ( as a fundraiser ), clients ( as a service professional ) and peers ( as a human professional ). Let me be clear, these people always need a selfish reason to do the right thing. So let’s talk selfish, ROI, WIIFM, whatever:

Cards = Cash. And if Cash is King then Cards are the King of Cash.

In a digital world, sending cards is SO rare, even the Harvard Business Review agrees! Besides showing that you took more time than an email, a Tweet, or even the post conference/ networking event dreaded cold-call style LinkedIn invitation.

Most of all it’s a way to actually increase the return on investment for the time you spend networking. If you entertain ( or if you eat ), you’ll know that making good food isn’t enough, it’s how you present and plate it that matters too! Well if you spent an evening at a networking event, or a whole week at a conference sending a card to show someone they stood out, that you value them, what you talked about, what you do and where to find you is HOW you ensure your time there was well spent.

So here are my four tips to conquor card writing:

1. Stay stocked . I have 50+ cards in my office at all times. A few for sympathy ( I work in legacy philanthropy which intersects with the estate planning world ), many ‘thank you’ cars but the vast bulk are blank cards. Buy in bulk at art or discount stores ( if you’re in Toronto like me, here is a list of some great places to buy cards ).

2. Be ready and make the time. Before a conference I prepare, self-address and hand-stamp over 100 cards. I complete them and mail them before I leave the hotel ( or if I include a picture from the conference, the day I return to the office ). Read this great article on how to write a great note ( I love that it includes making a habit out of writing them and quotes my favourite author on sales skills Michael Port ). If you use a CRM or keep donor/client files remember to photocopy/scan it, code, and keep it on file. This IS a move in your moves-management strategy!

3. Include a business card, every time. Yes, even if someone knows you what if they just moved jobs ( or if you moved jobs ). Yes even if you came back from a conference, they have 100 other cards in their luggage! My secret is these double sided photo stickers. But if you reminded them about business you should be doing in the card, shouldn’t they know how to find you? Right now!

4. Be a Real Human Being ( like Dave says ) – those 1000 cards your department sends out at the holiday season with illegible first names of people your donor/client don’t event know is so 1980’s and impersonal. Business IS personal, so make it specific and yes, authentic. Because as much as I love Jimmy Fallon you don’t want to use his card philosophy!

I hope this has been of value, please, share your suggestions in the comments below or with me on Twitter!

    Paul Nazareth

 

Ps. When watching the video. Replace “job” with anything else you want in life.

I don’t have a new job! Sort of…

Everyone has that buddy who is a super-fan and sometimes goes overboard. That’s LinkedIn for me. 1,300 “Endorsements” – Thanks buddy, I don’t know what that means but I’m grateful for the support.

A couple days back LinkedIn told my entire 1,900+ person network “Congratulate Paul on his new job!”

But, I don’t have a new job. Kind of….

A few months back, with the support of my current team, already one of the coolest jobs in philanthropy in Canada… I achieved step one of a career dream, a life dream of mine.

I became an instructor for with my professional association, the Canadian Association of Gift Planners.

Most people who know me, know that I love my profession, I love what I do so much when anyone else wants to do it too I’m there to help, always. I’ve given over 500 presentations through jobs and on my own time about legacy philanthropy, planned giving, bequestification whatever you want to call it.

This is me in 2001, a year after I started in the sector. Standing on a mountain in Banff. I was actually thinking “man I am so out of shape, I may die here” I was also thinking “after a lot of floating, this is what I’m meant to do, I feel it in my gut, in my soul” and just then our leader Brian Shea snapped this shot.

This is me, almost exactly 10 years later in 2011. At the summit of that same mountain taking the Advanced Course in Gift Planning. I have worked on over 100 million dollars in philanthropic plans, have helped launch dozens of powerful careers in my community and am still madly in love with what I do.

And although I started teaching the Planned Giving Course at the Georgian College Online Fundraising Program in 2010, teaching with the Gift Planning Association is a dream I dreamed all those years ago on that mountain.

One more thing we both know I couldn’t have achieved without YOU dear network. Every mentor, every coworker, every boss, peer, fellow volunteer has got me to this place.

I’m humbled and grateful but also this is why I fight so hard for the happiness and professional success of others.

Because you’ve helped make my dreams come true.

Like Jiro dreams of sushi ( below ) I dream of Gift Planning.

Thank you for dreaming with me!

Paul

Netwalking Simcoe ! 11 Aug 2013

While I was putting together my first netwalking event ( networking while walking ) a few peers in the Barrie, Orillia and Collingwood area reached out to me suggesting we run one in Simcoe.

Yeah, I’m a Toronto guy, but I’ve always had a strong connection with the Simcoe area, covered it for years as a fundraiser and the Planned Giving Counsel of Simcoe County ( a philanthropic bizdev org ) has always been supportive in my work and career as have the great folks at the Barrie Public Library.

So! Thanks to fellow business networking enthusiast Rebecca Palmer who reached out and is co-hosting #NetwalkingBarrie on August 11!

Why netwalking?! Check out my original premise for the idea, or how it turned out – it was a great way to talk business in the fresh air!

Target attendee is the same, fundraisers, entrepreneurs and people who care about career development. Cost is the same – nothing!

We’ll start off at the always awesome Casa Cappuccino, my business go-to in Barrrie and we’ll walk the waterline and end up back in town for an optional lunch. Meet around 8:30am, we’ll leave by 9am and be eating lunch around noon!

Business-Tweeters we’ll use the hashtag #NetwalkingBarrie

Everyone not using it, consider joining Twitter! Here’s a couple tips

Are you ready to take a walk to build your career, your business?

RSVP HERE < I’ll introduce us all before the day of.

Hope so, Rebecca and I will see you there!

Paul Nazareth