“When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, Let It Be.” –Paul McCartney We are all leading busy lives, balancing work, travel, family, home life, and more. The economy is falling to pieces. Our politicians are in an uproar, throwing daggers at each other on a daily basis. Hurricanes, earthquakes, and other tragedies fill the headlines. It’s easy to become overwhelmed. As concerned as we are about things in our daily lives, there is a point where all the worry and stres of daily life can cease to exist. That point comes in the three simple words that Paul sang so well. Let it be. Hundreds of emails cram your inbox. The cell phone rings off the hook. Everyone wants a piece of you, and they all want their needs to be your number one priority at all times. Your mind is going 100 different directions at 100 miles an hour and there’s no sign it’s going to stop anytime soon. Is it possible to slow down? Yes. But how? Let it be. The kids are crying, your spouse is wondering why you are never home, the house is a disaster area. You haven’t talked to your parents or siblings or friends in weeks. Going home is supposed to be a respite from the craziness of work, but you feel a like a stranger in your own family right now. How do you reconnect with the people who are most important to you? Let it be. The economy is falling fast. Your retirement savings, your mortgage, even your bank account are all at risk of disappearing. There’s not much comfort in the news headlines either – they keep saying it’s going to get worse instead of better. How is it possible to feel secure in the face of so much insecurity? Let it be. Every day the headlines tell about some other bad thing that has happened in the world. Reports talk about the scandal on the political scene, the abundance of natural disasters, and how global warming threatens our very existence. How can you sleep at night, with all this adversity around you? Let it be. In 10 years, 5 years, or 1 year, will any of the chaos that you percieve in your life right now matter? No. It will be a blip on the screen. You can overcome the anxiety you are living by changing your perception. By letting things be as they are. By not worrying about what is going to happen next year, tomorrow, or even in 10 minutes from now. All of these things that make your life seem so out of control are that way because they are out of your control! Whether you worry about it or not, clients will continue to make demands of your time. The kids will still cry. Politicians will still argue. Hurricanes will still happen. And, your friends and family will still love you. So, at the end of the day, isn’t it just better to simply let things be? Let it be. UPDATE: Check out what Robert Hruzek is doing over at his blog this month, Middle Zone Musings. His theme this month is What I’ve Learned from Stress, and he’s asking people to send him links to their posts about managing stress. Check it out!!!
Why I Preferred Watching Canada's Debate over the U.S. Debate
In some sort of bizarre collision of fate in the universe, or some sort of sick joke on the part of television schedulers, the much anticipated U.S. Vice Presidential debate and the Canadian election Leaders’ Debate ended up on the air live at exactly the same time last night. I was following Twitter, of course, to see what people were saying leading up to the two events. There was lots of chatter was going on about the U.S. debates, of course, but then again, many of the people I follow are American, so it stands to reason. What I was really interested in was what was going on with my fellow Canadians. The camps seemed divided. Some people were going to flip back and forth between the two, and remarkably, some people were ONLY going to watch the U.S. debate! Now, I am absolutely not anti-American. But I have to say, I much preferred the Canadian debate over the U.S. one. To me, it was just better television, plain and simple. And here’s why: Format. The CBC shook things up a bit this time ’round (pun intended), and did away with stiff podiums, going with a round table format instead. The 5 leaders (for the benefit of the non-Canadians, they are Gilles Duceppe of the Bloc Quebecois, Jack Layton of the New Democrats, Stephane Dion of the Liberals, incumbent Stephen Harper of the Conservatives, and Elizabeth May of the Green Party) sat around an oval table emblazened with a red maple leaf. The moderator sat at the head of the table. This format, of facing each other, as difficult as it was for the TV crew to shoot, did one thing well – it enabled conversation. And conversational it was! With the leaders facing each other like this, I kind of half expected to see someone come out and serve up a round of beers. I liked the laid back feel, and I think the leaders seemed to enjoy it too. Lack of Glitz. Compared to the U.S., Canadians are decidedly un-glitzy. This isn’t a bad thing, in fact, quite the contrary. We don’t do the CNN-big-flashy-animations-with-Wolf-Blitzer-dancing-around-in-front-of-a-jumbotron thing very well, like our U.S. counterparts – so we just don’t do it. Instead, we opt for a simple, to the point, get on with the show attitude. In fact, last night, the pre-game show featured CBC anchor Suhanna Merharchand talking to voters via phone, email and even Skype video. It was a great way to kick things off, talking to real Canadians instead of political pundits to get their views on what they expected to hear in the debate. The after-show had the regular slew of analysts, but they were brief, not overly analytical, and in fact made some good points. Real People. Real Issues. Some will argue about the “human qualities” and “personalities” of some of our party leaders, to be sure. But I’m not one to get into my personal political leanings in a public forum such as this, so if you want to have that discussion in the comments, fill yer boots. My point is, I found the Canadian debate to be lively and at times heated, but the leaders all did a good job of addressing the issues and presenting their parties’ respective platforms. What I enjoyed about the 5 leaders is that like them or not, they all come across as having real personalities. These are just regular people, standing up for what they believe, and I think all of them did a pretty good job of representing the views of their supporters. There was some humour at times, which I think adds a real human element. And at the end of the day, I, as a voter, came away with clarity on where each leader stands and with a much better sense of which box I’m going to tick on October 14th. I’m Canadian. Perhaps this is the most important reason to prefer the Canadian debates. Yes, I know that what is happens in the U.S. affects us greatly, particularly the current economic crisis. Yes, I know it’s important to keep up with American issues. But, we are not the United States. We are an independent nation, with our own economic uncertainties, and our own serious issues like homelessness and climate change. Home turf comes first. The decisions that are made in Parliament affect us more directly than the laws that are passed through Congress. So while it’s all fine and well to get caught up in the glitz and glamour of the U.S. electoral process, we don’t vote for their President. We vote for our Members of Parliament. And on October 14th, that box you check is much more important to our country than whether Sarah Palin is going to make a good Vice President. I believe firmly in Canada’s democratic process. But it only works if you get your butt out to vote. So pay attention to the issues, make your decision, and I’ll see you at the polling station.
What's Your Story?
I’m a mixed bag. On the one side, I have been producing television in various forms more than 18 years. On the other side, I’ve been producing web sites for almost 11 years. I’ve also worked in communications off and on over that time, everything from writing government proposals to developing strategies for V.P’s at large high tech companies. I’m fortunate that I’m able to combine media production of all kinds into one, fulfilling career. But strip away the technology – be it the video editing suite, the inner workings of a web portal, or the text on the screen for the next revision of a management plan – and what is left? Stories. It’s really that simple. When people ask what I do, I could go into a big long list of all the areas in which I work, and everything I do in my non-work life. But break it down, and it’s all just storytelling. In my free time, I like to write songs and blog posts. Stories. In my work time, I make TV shows and commercials – more stories. I also design web sites – still more stories. So perhaps, my business card should say nothing more than, Susan Murphy – Storyteller. And when you really think about it – what we are all doing in this social media space is storytelling too. The obvious stories are in people’s blog posts. But what about the comments? Aren’t those stories too? Actually, you could liken it to one of those “choose your own adventure” books that I loved when I was a kid. You post something on your blog, and see what ensues. You can’t predict what others are going to contribute, so it’s always a new adventure. Twitter is a marathon of a story, written by thousands of people each contributing in snippets of 140 characters or less. It has a bit of a “choose your own adventure” feel too, since everyone’s Twitter timeline is unique, based on the people they follow. Video is my first love, and it is the epitome of storytelling, in my opinion. It could be as simple as a video blog post, or as complex as a feature length documentary. Video is the only medium in which storytellers can combine moving pictures, sound, graphics, animation and text to tell their tales. It’s all encompassing. And now, this powerful medium is readily accessible to anyone with a web cam and a story to tell. To me, that’s thrilling. So here we are. Out on the Interwebs, telling stories. But here’s the critical difference with the Web. Not only are we sharing our own stories with others, we are creating new stories with each other. Now that we can reach across the world in a heartbeat, in any medium, just imagine the kind of stories we can create. What’s your story?
The Awesome Power of Silence
Noise is all around us…from the moment we get up in the morning till the moment we go to bed at night. Traffic noise, phones ringing, constant chatter, the kids yelling. We have become so used to a constant stream of noise in our everyday lives that when silence comes, we’re often shocked by it. Some people are so addicted to noise that they must have it around them all the time. They can’t fall asleep without the TV on. They must have music going constantly. To some, silence is the enemy. I am sitting in an empty classroom that just 5 minutes ago was loud and boisterous, with the voices of 42 young, enthusiastic students getting ready to head out on their first video shoot. As soon as the door slammed with the last student leaving, I was plunged into an almost disturbing silence. Now, I only hear the sound of the building’s ventilation system and my fingers typing on the keyboard. It’s profound. Earlier in today’s class, our fantastic guest speaker, copyright lawyer Andy Kaplan-Myrth, was speaking of a work of music called 4’33, by 20th century composer John Cage. For anyone who has not heard the piece, it is a three-movement composition performed by any number of musicians and instruments. The catch is, the musical score instructs the musicians not to play a single note for the entire duration of the piece. I remember my Grade 12 music teacher, Mr. Garrett, performed the piece for us one day in class. He sat down at the piano, placed his hands ever so gently on the piano keys, and proceeded, for the next four minutes and thirty three seconds, to play…absolutely nothing. It was amazing to see our reaction. About 30 seconds in, people started to shift in their seats. At 1 minute, the odd whisper could be heard. Mr. Garrett remained motionless. By 3 minutes, the whispers had turned to murmurs. But we started to notice other things too. A siren could be heard on the street. Someone was walking down the hall outside the classroom. A door closed. Someone sneezed. At the end of the piece, Mr. Garrett gently placed his hands in his lap, stood up, and bowed. In his piece, Cage was trying to make the point that any sound, or lack of sound, can be considered art. But to me, it’s much more than that. The observation of silence in your day provides a space, where you can just breathe, and be. At those moments when you notice the silence, is when you start to notice the noises that make up that silence. What you notice is not really silence at all…what you notice is the cat purring, the crickets chirping, or the kids laughing. Cage’s composition is forced silence. It forces people to observe what they feel when they are plunged into a situation where that constant noise is cut out. It makes the listeners stop and wait, and listen, and really pay attention. There’s a lot to be said for silence. How do you find the silence in your busy life?
Busy is as Busy Does
We are all busy. Really busy. Just watch your Twitter feed on any given day and you will see just how busy everyone is. Coming, going, this way and that, at 100 miles an hour in 50 different directions at once. The past two weeks has been exceptionally busy for me. My video class is in full swing now, and I just found out I’m going to be teaching a Social Media course in the new year. So that’s going to be a steady stream of work to be sure. Our business is terrifically busy, with a couple of new projects that we have been thrown headlong into with very tight deadlines. I’m pulling 11, 12, 15 hour days and so is my biz partner. It used to be, when I was working for other people, that the really busy times would be a source of stress, frustration and exhaustion for me. I’d hit a wall eventually, and so would my projects. I’d end up having to take a few days off, just to recover. But this time it’s different, and here’s how I’m doing it: 1) One thing at a time. It’s a recurring theme for me, this “live in the moment” stuff. But I’ve recently read Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now” and I’m telling you, it’s done wonders for me. Instead of focusing on all that I have to do, I focus on what is happening in this moment. All of the other stuff…the stuff that hasn’t happened yet, and the stuff that has already happened…is irrelevant. Totally irrelevant! When I am focused on the present moment, it’s impossible to be “swamped”, “overloaded” or “too busy”. Because the task at hand is the task at hand. When it’s done, it’s done. This takes practice. And sometimes I fall off the wagon. But when I get it, it is truly a magical thing. And the best part is, when I’m living in the moment, life unfolds exactly as it should…no matter what. 2) Sleep well. We all have nights when we just can’t shut off our brains. It happened to me just last week, after an exceptionally long day – and I ended up getting about 3 hours sleep that night. It’s impossible to get a good night’s sleep when this happens, but in the really busy times, sleep is the most important thing! Can’t shut your brain off before bedtime? Do something to give yourself a separation from the day. Take a walk. Read a book (non-business!). Watch a silly TV show (last night I watched “My Name Is Earl” and “The Office” before turning in – the perfect antidote to a busy day!). Sit on the porch and enjoy a glass of wine (or tea) with your spouse. Having some wind-down time is essential to a good night’s sleep. 3) Take a Selfish Break. Turn off the phone, shut down the email and do something just for you. Maybe its writing a blog post, or catching up on some of your news feeds. Maybe it’s playing a few notes on your guitar, or going out to the garden to snap a few pictures. Maybe it’s just sitting for a few minutes, breathing. Whatever it is, you need to cherish your “Me” time in the most busy periods. It’s your sanity break from the rest of the day and will give you the clarity of mind to continue. 4) Pat Yourself on the Back. Take a look around at all that you have accomplished in your busiest time. In the past two weeks, I’ve met a ton of new people and learned a bunch of new stuff at a Podcamp, co-produced several radio and TV commercials, launched two web sites, and made a ton of new business connections. I’m pretty proud of myself for that. Every now and again you have to take stock of everything you are achieving in your busy life. Be proud, and happy, and grateful for the opportunities. It will give you the motivation you need to keep on going. 5) Celebrate. Take yourself out to lunch, or dinner. Have a Happy Hour cocktail. Dance around in circles. Do cartwheels. Go for a massage. Celebrate your success at every step, not just when the busyness is complete. Made it to Friday? Yipeee! Inbox = 0? Woo hoo! No phone calls for 2 whole hours? Yahoooeee! Celebrate the small victories. You deserve it! I know this busy time will end eventually. But right now, I’ve no reason to dwell on that. In fact, I’m actually enjoying the way things are right now. I’m grateful to be on this journey. And I’m open to whatever comes my way. This is what life’s all about, people. Revel in each small bit of it.
Podcamp Montreal – A Wrap Up
Podcamp Montreal is behind us and after having a day or so to reflect on my experience I have a few observations. Day 2 of Podcamp was just as captivating as Day 1. I did only manage to attend a couple of sessions, but what I experienced was well worth it. C.C. Chapman and Mitch Joel did a compelling open-concept session about creating quality content. They covered everything from how to record good audio to the best way to interview people. Since I’m a video person, a lot of the tips were things I already knew. However, something really interesting struck me about their conversation, which, by the way, you can hear a portion of on the most recent episode of Mitch’s podcast Six Pixels of Separation. Podcasting is truly evolving (sorry Rob Blatt – I don’t think it’s dead either!). Back in 2006 when I attended Podcamp Toronto, almost every session had to do with monetization of podcasts and blogs. Everyone was touting the next great business model for making dough in social media. Well, in 2 years, we’ve learned a lot. These days, people are definitely still interested in making money – but the emphasis has changed entirely. Now, conversations are centred around creating technically sound, content rich podcasts that build loyal followings of fans. The means of making cash is changing – podcasters and bloggers alike are realizing that by producing compelling content they can not only achieve a loyal fan base that is attractive to advertisers, they can attract potential clients who may enlist them to produce a similar type of quality product. The other session I attended on Day 2 was with the always entertaining Julien Smith. At first, I felt a bit like I was at a rock concert rather than a presentation, as the crowd whooped and cheered as Julien was introduced. Julien’s gaming analogy drew people in right away, as he discussed how people need to up their game to become agents of trust in the social media space. Social capital is the “currency of the web” as he says, and being a trust agent means you are out there building that capital; by banding together, sharing, lifting each other up, and making the community work better for everyone. In the end, it’s all about people. Julien is writing a book on the subject of trust agents with Chris Brogan, and based on how engaged the audience at this session was, I am willing to bet that the book is going to be a resounding success (You heard it here first, folks – ha ha ha ha :-)) Aside from the terrific sessions I attended during this un-conference, the best part for me was being able to see old friends, like Jay Moonah and Bob Goyetche, and finally meeting some pals I’ve known only online until now, like the aforementioned C.C. Chapman and Rob Blatt. I also had a chance to meet some new people, like Dana (aka Wankergirl), Scarborough Dude and Sean from Akoha, and I look forward to getting to know them better as time goes on. Overall, Podcamp Montreal, in my opinion, was a wildly successful event, due in no small part to the hard work of the organizing committee, the many volunteers, and the generous support of lots of terrific sponsors. I am officially hooked on Podcamps, and you will definitely see me lurking about at many more in the months to come. Hope to see you there!
Podcamp Montreal Day 1: Considering Ourselves
Day 1 of Podcamp Montreal was a resounding success. The energy of this event is phenomenal…people are really enthusiastic and the whole place just seems to be a buzz of activity and creatitivity. The presentations yesterday were really terrific. Sylvain Grand’Maison told us how to not suck. He gave some awesome tips to content creators, pointing out some obvious and not so obvious ways to help ensure the quality of the content you are putting out, whether it be a podcast, a blog, or a tweet, is up to snuff. What I want to know is, where did he get that fabulous green font??? Unfortunately due to some work stuff that came up, I had to forego the session with Mitch Joel and David Usher. But the room was absolutely bulging to the seams, so I get the distinct impression it was a valuable session. Connie Crosby and Eden Spodek of the Community Divas podcast put on a great little talk about how they have developed their podcast. These lovely ladies are new to podcasting. They spoke highly of their podcasting mentor, Jay Moonah, and in addition to passing on some great advice they’ve gotten from people, they also weren’t afraid to put questions to the audience, to find out how other people do things. This just proves the community theory of social media. Podcamps provide a safe, open forum where people don’t have to be afraid to ask questions if they don’t know something – even the presenters. The community is there to help. They do not judge. Use their wisdom, people!! The day was capped off with a terrific chit chat facilitated by Jay Moonah on Old Media vs. New Media. As someone coming from an “Old Media” background, this is a topic I am quite passionate about. Like Jay, I believe that in order to know where we are going we need to know where we come from. It’s something I’m trying to pass onto my college class. The conversation (which included Mitch Joel, Bob Goyetche, and several others whose names escape me) revolved around how new media creators really “fit” into the media world. Is old media dead? Or is it just evolving, to encompass the changing landscape, where everyman can be the journalist. That’s a blog post for another time, but suffice it to say that there are vast and varied opinions on how we as the new media creators fit in. It was a great conversation and I wish it could have gone on for another hour or two! Last night I was privileged to spend the evening at dinner with Cheryl (aka Fendergurl on Twitter), Allan Isfan, Dana (aka. WankerGirl on Twitter), Gavin (aka Gavin1980 on Twitter), Sean Power from Akoha, and Christine from Miami. We ate at The Three Amigos on St. Denis and it was delicious! Afterwards we walked around a bit and ended up at the Podcamp party at Benelux, where the DJ’s were spinning Duran Duran and the beer was micro-brewed and yummy. The common theme of this Podcamp is really about us, as content creators, finding our voice. We have built communities, produced podcasts, personally branded ourselves, and now we are ready for the rest of the world to find out about us. I think the questions that will be answered over the next while are, “Where do we really fit in?” and “How do we expand the community beyond the tech-geek, early adopter communities?”. Looking forward to Day 2, and exploring more ideas with all of you.
Podcamp Montreal is here!
So after a hectic day of work, my friend Cheryl (@fendergurl on Twitter) and I arrived in Montreal about 9pm last night, and, after getting quite lost and literally intuiting our way to the hotel, we headed for La Quincaillerie, where the opening night party was going down. We were starving, and not in the mood for poutine (hey, we’re from Ottawa – we get to eat that stuff all the time!). However, we decided to make a brief appearance at the bar to see who was lurking about. We were greeted warmly by Mark Blevis, who proceeded to tour us around a large table to meet some of our fellow podcampers (how DOES he remember everyone’s name!!!). I’m sorry if I don’t remember all your names yet, but hopefully by the end of the weekend I will! After ducking out for a bit to eat at Caféo down the street, we came back to a packed bar with all sorts of people milling about. It was terrific to meet up with Jay Moonah and Bob Goyetche again, since last time I saw those two was at Podcamp Toronto over 2 years ago! What was also exciting about last night was I finally got to meet some long-time Internet friends in person, like C.C. Chapman and Rob Blatt. What fun! Anyway, we headed home to our cosy little hotel room and are rested up for day 1. I look forward to meeting and talking with my fellow campers in what promises to be a fun filled 2 days!
How to Think Like a Rich Person
I have to admit, I like Donald Trump. Sure, he’s arrogant. But his understanding of business and how to make money is phenomenal. He’s truly one of the best. Here’s the thing; the secret to Trump’s millions is not some magic secret that the rest of us aren’t privy to. He thinks like a rich person. It’s that simple. Thinking like a rich person isn’t really that difficult. Here’s how I see it: See Opportunity in Everything The Donald was just on CNN talking about the financial crisis that is occurring around the world right now. Larry King asked for Trump’s advice to the “average American family” in weathering the storm. Without pausing, Trump said “Now is the absolute BEST time to buy a house.” Now, this may seem counterintuitive, in a country that is reposessing more houses than it is selling. But, he is absolutely right. As Trump says, the banks now own all of these houses they don’t want. Now is the time, if you have the means, to get a REALLY good deal on a house. The banks want to offload these places to people who can afford them, and they will do it for cheap, and they will definitely finance you to do it, because they already have the money! The point is, when everyone else is talking about what they can’t do financially, rich people are talking about what they CAN do. See beyond the crisis, and find your own opportunities to succeed. Focus on the Solutions, Not the Problem The reason Trump is so rich is because he is a really exceptional problem solver. He spends his days meeting with people, talking on the phone, and flying around the world making deals. His job, every day, is to identify problems and then come up with solutions. He thinks, “How am I going to buy this company?” then he reasons, “By selling this this and this”. He thinks, “How am I going to survive this financial crisis?” then he reasons, “By keeping my money in gold and oil.” Problem solving. It’s how real businesses survive long term. It’s how rich people do business. And, it’s how you can really start to succeed. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff Rich people are rich because they see the whole picture, all the time. They don’t get caught up in details, petty arguments, and they definitely don’t have time for people who waste their time. Sure, they can still be friendly and polite (well, maybe not in Trump’s case :-), but they always have a mission – to do what they need to do to grow their business and turn a profit. And that means staying out of the weeds. How to do that? Delegate. Eliminate unnecessary communications. Delegate. And then delegate some more. I’m not professing to be the resident expert on becoming rich. But I do believe that with the right attitude, anyone is capable of achieving whatever success they set out to achieve. That could be wealth, it could be fame and popularity, or it could be to carve out a nice, comfortable existence for you and your family. Whatever your motivation, it’s what you make of the situations that occur in your life (even those that are out of your control) which will ultimately determine the outcome.
Podcamp Then and Now
I am heading to Podcamp Montreal this weekend. It’s only my 2nd Podcamp, and I’m really excited to be going. My first Podcamp was in Toronto in 2006, and I attended pretty much on a whim. I was going down to Toronto to visit a friend anyway, and thought it might be an interesting way to spend some time in the Big Smoke. We figured we had nothing to lose, since it was free, and besides, if it was boring, we could always go shopping. Little did I know the life altering impact that one little un-conference would have on my life. I’ve made a pile of amazing new friends, made long-term business connections and, I learned the power that we as a community have to really shape the way people are communicating now and in the future. THAT really blew me away. I’ve noticed something interesting about how Podcamps have evolved over the past 2 years. 2 years ago, nearly every session on the schedule had SOMETHING to do about how to make money in podcasting and social media. The business models were numerous and diverse – everyone seemed to have the next best way to make a buck with this new medium. Podcamp Montreal has a very different flavour. As I review the impressive schedule, I see a very distinct shift in focus. Here’s a sampling: Why the Future is Always Too Far (Technologically Speaking) : 10 Tech Trends You Need To Understand As Social Media Masters with Sylvain Carle Please Don’t Suck! with Sylvain Grand’Maison Using Twitter to Monitor and Build Your Personal Brand – with Adele McAlear Podcasting From The Heart – The Value Of Recording A Show With No Editing And No Second Takes with C.C. Chapman and Mitch Joel The Self, the Identity and the Internet with Isabelle Lopez …you get the idea. The themes this time are focused on things branding, communication, and content. Now, I don’t believe for a minute that people aren’t still out there trying to figure out how to make a buck with social media. In fact, I think that trend is more prevalent than ever. But it seems that we’ve wisened up a bit. We have learned, as a community, that the money doesn’t come first anymore. What comes first is building a solid reputation online, creating stellar content, then marketing yourself around that reputation and content. Could it be that we are finally on the right track? I hope to continue this conversation with YOU at Podcamp!