From Overwhelmed to Online Business Developer

15th December, 2009 at 15:07 | In Location Independent, Travel | 6 Comments
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OMG am I overwhelmed! I mean OVERWHELMED!!! There is simply sooooo much to learn and now that I’m in Thailand travelling around I can tell you there are certainly other things I’d rather be doing!

I’ve been reading for months all the things necessary for a successful blog and have just realised they have little to do with me actually becoming location independent! I know for a fact that I cannot rely on blogging as a means to an end. I can however use it as I originally intended, and along the way forgot, that is to build my business and write about what I do in a way that will teach those who also want to learn.

So it is people that we’re going back to basics. I’ve found two resources for building solid blogs and just like the Exile Lifestyle Personal Branding Series I’m going to use these resources as a means to set up this blog, get the ball rolling and at the same time focus on the content writing about building my business. The most important thing to remember here is that the blog comes second to what I’m trying to achieve but if I’m a smart cookie and get it set up properly from the outset I won’t have to do much maintenance on the site later. I first have to contact the two resource owners to seek permission and then I’ll know how to move forward.

Now what is this business I’m alluding to?

Well, just like blogging overwhelmed me so did the idea that I had. Not enough to make me pack it in but it came pretty bloody close. Again, I got bogged down with too big a picture.

Ok, so a quick side note, I’m Australian. If you’ve had even the slightest run-in with one of us, and let’s face it we are everywhere, then that fact alone should be enough for you to understand why my language is the way it is. I promised in an early post to be more real and with that comes a much more relaxed style of writing.

We Aussie’s have a way of using a lot of lazy language, abbreviations, colloquialisms, crass terminology and the occasional (read: every second word) f*bomb and while I promise you won’t need a Aussie English translation dictionary to follow along I can’t always maintain that I’m going to write proper English. There’s more personality this way. Also, while I’m on the whole Aussie rant, I can spell, just not with American English. So all the double L’s or S’s rather than Z’s are not really incorrect.

Anyways, as I was saying… It wasn’t until I was talking to Mum about her website a few nights ago and discussing how non-tech-savvy she is that I told her I would remember the KISS method and apply it at every turn. Well! Hello! Didn’t I just hit myself with the Idiot Stick!

I recalled then the Edition 10 of Dan Andrew’s Business Lifestyle Design podcast, An Insider’s Look at Outsourcing in the Philippine’s, I’d listened to. I listened to him talk about utilising outsourcing from the Philippine’s and when remembering his recommendations and understanding the value in outsourcing it occurred to me in the conversation with my mother that I don’t actually have to do much of the actual work at all. The nuts & bolts work that is. You see, two of my greatest skills that has reoccurred through nearly every job I’ve had has been my disgusting organisational skills and my ability to see an individuals talents and utilise them through delegation.

Why can I not be the hub that brings all the pieces together? Why do I have to do it when there’s perfectly capable, qualified people I can pay to do it for me? Can I be the person who lays the jigsaw puzzle pieces in their right order.

I effectively have two clients right now, my mother, the artist, and my Haerbinger editor, whose background is in securities and wants me to develop a site for a database he has; two people who are stupidly busy. They both have a vision and no time to bring it together. Actually Mum doesn’t really have the desire to get into it either, she just wants the final product to use, with me (read: my people) to maintain. Now I’m sure this is rhetorical but lets think about this for a second, they don’t have time and I have plenty, they have money and I don’t (really, you’d be a bit grossed by how stodgy I’m being here!), they don’t have resources and I do/ will. How many other people are there in this exact same position? Rightly so, these people have dreams and desires but cannot seem to get their foot beyond the line- they too feel overwhelmed by it all. They’d like someone else to do the nitty gritty crap for them.

Now I realise this is not an original idea, there are loads of website developers, business management agents, consultants and the sort out there and I am not really aiming at being competitive, however, I’m also not willing to pigeonhole myself to one category. I have expertise in a wide range of industries. What I’m visualising being is the person that an individual can approach to get them off the ground, that person who can take their idea, research all the aspects required to make it practical and make it happen for them. An Online Business Developer if you will. Right now there is simply no way to fully conceptualise the possibilities and in doing so I would simply be bottle- necking myself again.

Remember: KISS!

Furthermore, one of the fundamental elements to me being location independent is to not actually sell anything physical because I don’t want to live in any one place. I don’t want products (except maybe an ebook if I ever write one) and I do not want to have to be somewhere in order to build and maintain relationships. I also do not want to rely on the success of this blog in order to feel I am achieving something. The success should be secondary to what I am writing about and working on.

What I am presently visualising is three parts to my optimal lifestyle:

  1. Business: building clients online businesses/ profiles (my income)
  2. Blogging: kudos to the LIP industry (my communication)
  3. Volunteering: physical action with my day (my joojoo)

Don’t get me wrong, I have enormous fears rocking my confidence boat right now. For example, well, there’s so many more qualified people doing this already. I don’t know squat about web development. I don’t know how to charge clients. I am naive to web working.

And then I think bugger it… what really, do I have to lose by trying? Have I got something better to do? Nadda!

I can spend forever and a day learning and still travel by teaching. I am not without the smarts to take care of myself financially and I’ve not placed a time-constraint on myself so are these fears founded or are they merely questions I need to seek answers for?

No such thing as can’t. Only won’t try.

The Haerbinger Magazine: November 2009

6th December, 2009 at 21:17 | In Haerbinger, Publishing | 4 Comments
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Fundamental with all new magazines are two things: Finance and Consistency. Without one there cannot be the other so don’t worry, you didn’t miss out, there was no October issue. What’s more I’ve been super busy in preparing for my vacation to Thailand so this, the November issue, is already old news as the  December issue is already out and I’ll be posting that up as soon as it’s on the website.

I am proud of Dave’s amazing achievement where he has almost single- handedly brought together a phenomenal magazine that has the entire foreign community begging for more. A magazine of this magnitude can only go one way; up!

With the help of my dear friend Horace as the newly appointed Advertising Manager the collateral will increase and we can look forward to monthly publications from now on. As word spreads among Chinese-owned businesses we are noticing an increase in interest in the foreign community, something that everyone is benefiting from.

Herein you’ll see my first of three articles on culture shock where I interview a number of people both in person and through email to get their views and experiences.

Culture shock is something that cuts close to home for me as I personally suffered gross trauma in my first few months of living here. In exploring this topic further I want to bring it to the discussion table, it is something that happens to each of us in our travels and few know how best to identify the emotions or feel able to talk freely about it.

For this issue Dave reluctantly pulled my second article on recruitment agents who scam foreigners as the company who I was recommending as an alternative dropped their services, a re-write and more interviews later and we should see it in a future issue- this time, much to my pleasure, with a greater exposé angle!

Download the full issue by clicking on the image.

The Product: Harmony Matters Enterprises

20th November, 2009 at 09:00 | In Harmony Matters, Location Independent | 3 Comments
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Part of the problem I’ve had with all this research is that I was reading about people with products and things to sell online. Things I don’t have nor want. I don’t want to have things to sell except my words but I realise that From Whoa to Go is unique in that my goal is to learn everything there is to know about running a business online.

Pretty difficult to do if you don’t actually want to have anything to sell, unless that thing isn’t a physical thing but a talent.

Not mine but my mothers. Allow me to introduce Harmony. She runs a small almost non-existent business called Harmony Matters Enterprises. Don’t look for a link or google her because you won’t find anything but a few comments linking back to this site, twitter or facebook but this is going to change.

From Whoa to Go is now embarking on a more specific direction.

One of my skills is the ability to learn with broad-spanning depth and then teach others. With the goal to being location independent I’ve realised there’s only a few avenues where I can niche myself: teaching English, which is swamped already and requires you to work for others; journalism, which I love but recognise that it requires a heck of a lot of passion and patience and I prefer to do as a hobby; and, consultancy; which could be absolutely every aspect of who I am all rolled into one.

As a consultant I intend to take Harmony Matters Enterprises online starting with her artistic talent for sketching people from photographs.

Putting the fact that this is my mother aside for a moment, Harmony is one of those people you meet who you know makes a difference to the world simply because she’s in it. For everyone that she meets she leaves an imprint in their lives and helps them simply by being her warm, caring, generous and supportive self.

It is because she’s my mother that I feel I can make this product work well. Because I believe in who she is and what she’s capable of achieving. In about ten years my mother will need to retire from her beloved nursing job and it has concerned me because I know that she thoroughly enjoys working and puts her heart into her patients care.

The other thing I know is that she has her own big plans for the direction of her future post-nursing and it’s something I truly believe in, that she needs help getting started now. Getting commissioned for sketches may be the first step for Harmony Matter Enterprises but it is one that I know that will teach me everything from whoa to go.

I guess there’ll be an ebook or three after all.

The Personal Branding Series! Part 9: When It’s All Said & Done!

18th November, 2009 at 09:00 | In Personal Branding | 4 Comments
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The experience of analysing my personal brand using the Exile Lifestyle Personal Branding eBook has been unquantifiable in its success. I have a far greater appreciation for the person I am, the work I am doing and above all I now have more passion and direction for my career and goals than ever before.

While goals are personal and progress is directly proportional to passion I don’t think everyone gets a fair crack at achieving what they want. The fundamental reason for this is because we create our own blockages, limitations, and fears. But, we also forget that we cannot do it alone. Everyone needs support and what developing my personal brand had taught me is that I can seek the attention I need without being concerned about it seeming egotistical.

There is a difference between being egotistical and being self aware; it’s about attention and the reasons for seeking it. With this site we know that my goal is to be location independent but also it is to build a platform of information for others who need to crack through their limitations and see someone doing it before they can take the leap. I seek attention not for the person I am but for the work I am doing.

I seek support so that I can support.

Now you know the very basics of personal branding, and are ready to launch your brand. This is most certainly a continuing process so be sure to keep taking stock of who you are and where you want to be, changing your image when you feel the need or want to try something new.

Remember that change is empowering, and that confidence allows you to more easily accept change. Aim for both.

We of the technological age are lucky. Change is now easier than ever before. I used to wonder why my father is the way he is, why he can’t change, develop, or become more mindful but I’ve learned that he is not of an era that advocated personal development. We are now so rich with information and techniques that we need to take control of our lives that one of the most fundamental lessons in personal branding is remembering that it is personal!

Be Proactive!

  • Do you need a new image? Get a haircut, a make over, ask friends to choose a new style for you that suits your personality.
  • Do you need a new project/ hobby/ interest? Write a list of things you’ve always wanted to do and keep adding to it, but also look for ways to cross them off.
  • Do you wonder if you need a different mindset? Ask your friends to tell you what they don’t like about you and then be honest about why you do these things, research ways to change these negativity’s into positive traits and keep working at it.
  • Do you maintain stale relationships with people who do not reciprocate? Say goodbye. I have a theory that suggests that since there are close to 6.8 billion people on Earth I can afford to get rid of people who do not enrich my life because they are replaceable. I also figure that if a person isn’t willing to waste their time on me, why should I waste my time on them? There is absolutely nothing wrong with expecting a return when you give to another person, it’s called balance.
  • Do you think about the consequences of your actions? Both positively and negatively we impact people every single day with our personal energy. Do the math, does the positive far outweigh the negative? Did you smile at a stranger? Plus one. Did you become openly frustrated in a long queue mentally/ verbally blaming the cashier? Minus one. Become accountable to yourself.

This personal branding experience is an enriching exercise I would recommend to everyone regardless of your business or social status; it’s an excellent tool for self awareness.

A Shout Out to Colin from Exile Lifestyle

Without you, without your passion, your drive, your visions or your hard work this project would never have come to fruition. I cannot thank you enough for allowing me this opportunity to use your book in a publicly revealing and personal style. I hope that from this work you have gained a greater audience who is as equally grateful as I am.

Bless.

Missed the Beginning?

Stuff: A Question of Need

17th November, 2009 at 16:32 | In Personal Development, Travel | Leave a Comment
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It took me a day to sort my apartment into 3 boxes: keep/ loan, give away, and chuck out, everything else fits into a backpack. Stuff. So much stuff. We fear getting rid of it, detaching ourselves from these possessions and yet some feel they need it, it may be that these things represent who they are.

I interviewed someone last week for the Haerbinger and found that although he had a healthy interest in location independence he was honest about how much he loves stuff and really expensive stuff at that. I asked why he felt he needed these things and all he could say was that he’s always been attracted to the expensive lifestyle and it is his goal to retire within it.

This concept returned while I was packing  and listening to the Lifestyle Business podcast. Dan was talking about something and it wasn’t so much what he was saying as it was his tone of voice; it was slightly, albeit unintentionally, patronising with reference to people and their things.

It was as though to have possessions was the wrong way to live your life. We’ve all heard about the materialism of our fickle lifestyles and how it deepens our debts, we’ve heard that to have less is to have more and yet very few are actually paying attention. All too often there’s an advert about the latest pretty gadget that people buy into time and time again.

There is a definite divide between the have and the have-not but rather than it being an expression of wealth versus poverty now it is more like want and want not. There’s really nothing other than safety & security that we actually need, these two massive umbrella terms cover things like money, health, clothing, food and shelter but everything else we have  (or want more of) is a desire,  a boost for our ego.

If we break it down to the core of being human we all want things. Gone is the caveman era of not needing things like a cell phone. Sure, you can argue that it is possible to live without these things but really why would you want to make your life (& those around you) unnecessarily difficult? There is no need to live in a by-gone era so why isn’t it ok to accept the need for stuff too?

Let’s use my sister as a prime example. She is a person of STUFF. Lots of it.

Ten years ago she and her partner embarked on a journey, they left everything behind and went travelling with a car, pets and caravan. It really was a thing of inspiration for my 17yr old mind. They lived a free lifestyle, they worked where they stopped and lived with very few needs and yet my sister didn’t feel content. Low & behold when they set up base again the stuff began to grow. Stuff makes my sister feel comfortable. Things she owns gives her a feeling of accomplishment where she can see the fruits of her efforts.

She lives under the premise that if you earn the money you may as well spend it while you’re alive to enjoy it and I totally agree, from an altogether different perspective. Where I see money as freedom she sees it as possession.

Just because I’m a traveller and can separate the materialistic aspect of my foundation living from my travelling doesn’t mean I have to. I’m keeping a box of things because I need to save money and because I am making a conscious decision to conserve the Earth’s resources, do I need to keep these things? No. And that’s the difference; I know it.

Live Poor Help More

I live as though I have no money and in doing so can help myself travel more. It doesn’t mean I go without but it does mean that I do not have to rely on willpower or question my ego.

I think that the choice to accumulate possessions really comes from the difference in deciding what is a need and what is a desire. I own a pair of jeans and see another great pair in the store, well, because I live in China and know how rare it is to find clothes that fit a western body then I’m going to feel that this purchase is a need but if the product were a scarf then I know that my decision becomes one of desire. In making that differentiation I am able to understand that it would not be money well-spent.

Not only that but once you begin travelling you fast become aware that everything you buy you must carry on your back. Trust me, decisions like buying a new scarf or paying for excess weight on flights becomes a lot easier!

When I think about my interviewee and my sister I can see that both feel that stuff is a part of who they are and that what seems like a desire to me, something disposable or frivolous, is actually a need to them. It can be difficult to find balance between the want’s and want not’s but I can appreciate now that for some it’s not just to stroke the ego’s will.

What is your greater need, possessions or few?

I’m Unemployed in 3 Days!

12th November, 2009 at 22:30 | In Location Independent, Personal Development | 4 Comments
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I can’t wait to be unemployed.

On Tuesday I began the beginnings of the goodbyes to my students and I’m not in the slightest bit sad. Last week I was sad at the thought I’d never get to see my beautiful kids again but this week I’m feeling pretty numb, not quite uncaring and not quite comprehending the nothingness before me.Freedom

I’ll tell you what it means right now though … FREEDOM

I have absolutely no idea where I’m going to be by the beginning of December. I have no idea if I’ll return to Harbin next year or if something better will come along before then. I have no direction other than a beach, beer and a beautiful man (all of which I’ll source when I get to wherever I’m going)!

Should I be worried? Should I be like the masses who think I should have a plan, at the very least an idea of what will happen with my life? Just the idea of it is giving me the heebie jeebies!

This moment is exactly why location independence suits me.

For the next few months I am going to be working on this site from the road but to be honest I don’t really know what shape it will take in that time. I am always conscientious of the niche market that this site pertains to belong to- that is, going from not being location independent to achieving it- but to be honest I’m a major fail-boat in that category.

I’d love to be able to write these awesome posts about how to do it but the truth is I’m not doing it yet so I have nothing of value to add. That doesn’t mean I won’t in the future it just means that right now my focus is on getting the hell out of Harbin and feeling the wash of travel freedom come over me.

The previous post calling out my favourite sites is what I have been doing to keep myself learning all the time but I haven’t been doing anything towards attaining location independence because of teaching, because of writing for the magazine, because I still feel I have a lot of research to do and because I also understand that time & patience play a big factor. When I want something the Universe will provide it to me as long as I maintain the belief that it is mine to be received, and when will that be… well, when I’m ready.

I haven’t been altogether honest with you. I know you were expecting more from me but the truth is I am a slow achiever, that is because when I do something it must be right the first time. I will research until my eyes bleed before I make any moves because I see no point in wasting time, resources or money. I believe in quality above quantity and I am not about to start worrying about how many subscribers I have or whether my stats are low.

To be honest, I really don’t care. This site isn’t really for you, sorry. It’s actually for me. It’s my accountability for my goal. In saying that, I sure am chuffed you’re along for the ride. I’m guessing that if you’ve subscribed you won’t have recognised how frequently I post because you’re too busy with your own life. You’re happy for me but you don’t really pay attention to how well I’m doing. Awesome. Stoked. Keep it up. Keep riding this bus with me and you’ll begin to see me grow when it occurs, naturally.

I was looking at building a second site to track my travel journey but I figured bugger it. This site is about me, and location independence is about travelling too. In fact, if I’m working on the site while I’m one the road then that’s exactly what this is about.

I’m all about the KISS method and having two sites makes absolutely no sense to me. I want to change a lot of things about the style of this site and what I write about and so you’re going to get a greater access into the person I am from now on. Less of the false mirror and make-up that comes with looking professional and building a brand and more nuts & bolts of who I am and what I’m doing.

I could be worried about the selfishness of how this seems but you’re not really there are you? ;)

Call Out Loud Valued Sites

12th November, 2009 at 17:46 | In Publishing | 8 Comments
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These sites have been in my RSS feed for a while but until now I’ve not had time to update my blog roll. I have a number of different reasons for enjoying each one, some are helpful, some are like-minded and supportive, others are about travelling, others are in the business of making my business better so I’d like to take the time to give thanks to these sites and let them know I appreciate them. They’re not listed in any particular order.

Personal Branding Blog

I like this site because Dan’s reputation is strong, he is continually interviewing other market leaders about their personal branding style and his staff of bloggers provide informed, intelligent, well written posts that are relevant to my research.

Mens with Pens

On-target web design and copywriting to help you hit the bulls eye of success!

It’s a great tell-it-as-it-is tagline and in a nutshell expresses why I love this site, that, and they’re bloody funny guys who have an interesting story format for teaching!

Blogging Tips

I highly recommend this site, it’s fantastic for all the tidbit information about blogging you never stop to think are actually really important.

Lion Slinger

This site is simply for the joy of reading. Walter writes incredibly well and talks about a whole range of topics, insights, beliefs and he never ceases to make me think.

Upgrade Reality

Diggy is a little nugget of goodness for us all. This is a self-improvement blog without actually having the pretentious know-it-all slant that so many others do.  Help him win the 1000-reader-race by subscribing before December 31st!

Lifestyle Business Design

This site is great because it’s just an audio podcast, no video, no blog, no fancy etcetera’s, just excellent relevant information about lifestyle design and business development online!

ViperChill and PluginID

I confess to having a massive cyber-crush on Glen. This guy simply has his fingers on the pulse and that’s hot. What’s more he’s viperchillreally down-to-earth in his approach and doesn’t mind showing us he’s still young with plenty to learn.

ViperChill is back after a four-year hiatus and the new take is “for anyone who wants to build a successful business online. Whether that is an affiliate marketing empire, a blog, or a niche site.” I really like the longer posts that it offers because each one is fact-filled and applicable to what I’m learning.

PluginID is another great personal development site that runs along the same lines as Upgrade Reality (helps that Diggy & Glen are mates I guess). I really value Glen’s approach that comes from the ground up, I never feel as though his age is a factor in his ability to convey a concept.

Lifestyle Design 4U

Gordie Rogers is a fellow China-expat that I enjoy following for his, and his guest bloggers, posts on lifestyle design. It’s interesting for me to learn about others who are venturing to achieve similar goals outside the normal 9-5 culture while also living in another country. We hear a lot about people who are keen to leave their cubicle lifestyle’s for something like this. Great thing about Gordie (and I) is we’ve got half the job done!

Creative Nerds

I cannot possibly harp on enough about this site! Every single post is useful for web and graphic design. They offer links to other sites that teach, often for free, how to produce market-leading quality design.

Thrilling Heroics

Cody McKibben offers up some great lifestyle design tips but it is his own ethos that says it best, he “is passionate to help people break free from conventional, comfortable living—liberating themselves from traditional work, creating their own entrepreneurial ventures, living remarkable lives, and doing good for others.” Phewww… Quite the mouth full!

Also, I admire his drive to help his local community, his efforts for charity within Thailand through In Search of Sanuk are reminiscent of goals I also share.

Location 180location180

Sean Ogle is an inspiration in the location independence circles because he is documenting how he’s making it happen as it happens. His site is primarily for his own accountability but he offers up some great ideas that motivate me to keep going on what is a similar path we walk. I love his list of things to do before he dies and feel compelled to create my own, if for no other reason than to collect all my ideas in one place.

Dumb Little Man

I like this site specifically because it’s structured in lists. I am honestly not a great fan of list posts but the difference with this site is that they have offered up some great new ideas for all kinds of lifestyle tips. Short, sharp, to the point and on par with the little reminders in life that we tend to forget. I don’t always agree and I’ve even used one of their posts in an experiment of my own but that’s what I like, being pushed to consider different aspects of our lives.

Almost Fearless

Christine is awesome, she and her hubby (and gorgeous dogs) are doing it! They’re out there living their goal- why I follow Christine has to be because she’s a travel writer. And, I love the big-name publishers that have printed her work, I’m a little bit on the healthy-side of jealous- just enough to be inspired!

Better Business Blogging

Chock-full of practical information that gives me oodles of help with my site.  I like the personal approach and the analogies the most, Mark comes across as a real person with tried and true results.

Business Backpacker

Two things are cool about Brooke: a) she’s a female solo location independent traveller and b) she’s in Australia! The first post I read of her’s was when she was in Melbourne, I honestly got a bit teary in seeing and hearing about my home country, my favourite city and what’s she’s doing there.

Social Media Explorer

Jason first came on my radar when I was researching social media for my Personal Branding posts and he remains high on the list of favourite sites because he’s practical in his approach and down-to-earth in his style. I like, too, that in his bio he lists that he’s a husband and father before he talks about his profession, it openly acknowledges where his priorities lie and in business that’s often a forgotten aspect that illustrates a persons quality in real life.

Monetize Your Life

Michael Fletcher is new to my list and I’m realising that while his blog title is a little misgiving I don’t mind, it is primarily a personal development blog but he does discuss aspects of monetizing our lives too. Bonus.

Four Hour Work Week

Everyone knows Tim Ferriss by now, surely? He’s the guy who got lifestyle design on the map, he’s one of the key players who practices what he preaches in his book the 4-Hour Work Week and yet it’s his approach to goal-setting that I admire the most. He knows his strengths and weaknesses and does all he can to overcome them, and share those experiences.

Fluentbenny gender bending in 3 Months

Not only is Benny another not-so-secret-anymore cyber-crush that I have but he’s also living as a location independent professional and not writing about it. In fact Benny is a polyglot, that is he has the ability to speak many many languages. He sets himself challenges to learn new languages fluently in under three months and is humble and honest in his endeavors and (if not obvious from the picture) he’s got quite a sense of humour too.

Dirt Salad

I came across Glen’s site through Tim’s and subscribed but came to find that Glenn has a great natural approach to his writing but also he has loads of awesome video’s, which is a medium I’m interested in learning. He’s got some great video’s he shares of the travelling trio, himself, Tim Ferris and Kevin Rose, in a trip to China but he also writes about normal things too.

Uncornered Market

Dan & Audrey have been travelling for over three years and have walked close to 30million footsteps. I read their site for the pure pleasure of reading about their journey, which at present is in South America. It’s a fascinating take on the realities of travel that I can relate to, I like too their constant twitter updates that places the follower in their present moment and gives a little piece of escapism to those who can’t be doing the same.

Ode Magazine

Oh so often we get swamped in the media by the negative, energy-sucking horrors of every day events, forgetting that there is beauty, warmth, love and positivity all around us.  Ode is one such medium that, in an online and print magazine format, provides the reader with light and optimism and the faith that there is loads of good joo-joo in this world too. Bless!

Wanderlust & Lipstick

I know that being a solo female traveller is very different than for men and for that reason alone I subscribe to this travel-for-women website. Thankfully, it’s not written with an us-and-them stance, it’s merely there to highlight what women need to be aware of that men don’t.

ChinaGeekschinageeks

Charlie used to work for the same school that I still (for all of 3 more days!) teach for and I came to learn that this highly intelligent man has some very interesting and often times controversial opinions about this country. He’s been here several times, speaks fluent Chinese, and is currently teaching the language back in the states so it’s no surprise that his site is wildly scathed by the government and loved by the people!

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For those websites not featured, I appreciate you no less, it may be that I’ve utilised your work in a previous post. Thanks go to you too!!!

Have you got a favourite site I’ve missed that you would recommend I tap into?

The Personal Branding Series! Part 8: Gotta Rep?

4th November, 2009 at 09:00 | In Personal Branding | 2 Comments
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The Exile Lifestyle Personal Branding eBook has been a source of excellent advice for personally adapting the style and approach to my brand, in the this chapter of the book we review the impact of my reputation, and yours, on the community.

Reputation in Real Life

Building a solid reputation is simple in theory: all you have to do is meet lots of people, do great things, and make more friends than enemies. The truth of the matter is that you will not like everyone you meet, and everyone you meet will not like you.

When I first started writing for the magazine I learned first hand what it meant to lose friends because they assumed I had become arrogant rather than proud of myself. It is one thing to become egotistical and holier-than-thou when you are suddenly in the limelight of phenomenal fame but this magazine’s readership is still small; I knew that it wasn’t in anyone’s best interest to make it out to be more than it really is.

Success causes a natural change in our approach to our lives and with the harnessing of a personal brand I knew I would be sacrificing some things to the greater good of being a marketing voice but I wasn’t prepared to be told I had become something I hadn’t.

I am still a quirky, spontaneous, fun-loving and slightly embarrassing woman who loves a good laugh and to meet new people. I am still kind-hearted and generous, I am still open to everyone’s ideas and empathetic to peoples needs, but, I am also still the straight-up, tell-it-like-it-is, brutally honest person I’ve always been. If you piss me off I am going to be diplomatic but I am going to tell you.

There is a big difference between pride and arrogance and it comes from the tone of voice you use to express the work you do and the achievements you’ve made. Do you sound humble and moderately surprised or cocky and aware of your brilliance?

I had never been published before so I was naturally really proud of my achievements but I never (& I checked by asking for constructive criticism from friends) spoke so highly of my work that I became unbearable. In fact, I made a conscious effort not to initiate the topic because I consider pride to be a privilege not to be wasted on anyone in earshot.

When one woman decided she didn’t like me I had to be very careful what to do about it.

In this case, be sure to maintain the moral high ground by continuing to treat them with respect everyone else will see that you are doing all you can, and if the other person continues to be antagonistic, theirs will be the reputation that suffers.

I did as Colin advised and the results were as he said. I didn’t have to do anything but be myself. People she had sprouted rubbish to were coming back to me  with comments like, “she said this, she said that.” I didn’t comment back or give my opinion, instead I shrugged and asked them to make their own minds up.

Reputation is not be about proving who you are but proving you are the solid foundation for what you provide.

Reputation Online

Online reputation management is quite similar to real life reputation management with a few caveats:

  • Remember that everything you do online will be there forever, so make sure you don’t do anything you wouldn’t want a future employer or client to see.
  • Meeting lots of people is incredibly easy online, but building up a strong reputation can be very difficult. Anything you do will have to be that much more intense to get noticed and you’ll have to be noticed by a lot more people before the reputation sticks.

When I first read this ebook and decided to embark on changing my personal brand I googled myself. I found lots of different singular hits on ’Caron’ and ‘Margarete’ but nothing indicating me. If you google me now though I have over two hundred hits. I’ve been busy by visiting, commenting, and supporting other people in the industry.

Online reputation is more active than real life. I continually see the names of the top players on the same sites I’m on so I know that they can see me too. It’s incredibly attention-seeking for all the right reasons. I want to be noticed and I want to build my own niche in this market. The only way I’m going to get recognised, and later supported, is to support others when I’m still laying the foundation to my brand. I’m being authentic and I genuinely do care about their work so I know that in the long run it will pay off.

When I began RSS feeding through Google I created a Google Alert to my own name and From Whoa to Go to see what happens when I’m not looking, mostly I get alerted to the posts or comments I’ve left but occasionally I’ll get a surprise mention, like when Corbett Barr quoted something I had said. It’s actually a really humbling experience and a moment of pride that you can’t quite express.

By nature the location independent industry is Internet based but that doesn’t mean it’s faceless, in fact, the opposite applies, you’re more accountable to your online reputation because it’s impossible to erase.

Your overall reputation can be easy to maintain if you remember how to be real and leave the ego fame game to those experiencing their fifteen minutes.

What techniques do you use to maintain your reputation, both online and off?

Coming Next in the Personal Branding Series- Part 9: When It’s All Said & Done!

Missed the Beginning?

The Queen of Multitasking: Evaluating the Routine

23rd October, 2009 at 14:31 | In Personal Development | Leave a Comment
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In the original post: The Queen of Multitasking I listed five steps that I were my new daily routine. Each day this week I’ve updated this post with the real and honest truth about my progress. I never said that this would be easy nor that I would create my own limitations, boundaries or excuses but I should of because I’m clearly very good at it!

Day 1: Friday, October 16th

The beginning was last night but it didn’t fully begin but I did what I could. My afternoon & evening was jam-packed. I had to head out of town to interview a corporate western company with a factory here for the Haerbinger, followed by a brief Haerbinger business meeting and dinner at a girlfriends. I was home by 11pm with a roaring headache and chronic brain overload.

I still set the yoga mat and computer up but I really didn’t want to turn it on so I didn’t do the yoga. I should of. Hindsight, a magical thing, tells me it would’ve helped with my headache. I snoozed my 8am alarm twice before turning it off completely, waking at 930 with the headache still pounding, which highlights that I’ve a greater issue here that a traditional Chinese massage may have to fix.

Today it took three hours to ‘catch up’, which included coming across and delving into three new blogs and making comments on interesting RSS posts I read, twittering, IM’ing and email. How am I feeling about that now that I’m about to start my day properly? Mmm… honestly, not great. I have to transcribe yesterdays interview before going to my teaching job and I know that’s not going to happen. I’ll get a lot done but not enough. After the 2hr class I’ll go for the massage and day two will begin so… best I get into it, hey!

Day 2: Saturday, October 17th

Interesting thing happened after I had completed the yoga and gone to bed last night, my body was tired but my mind wasn’t. It kept on whirring for a long time until finally I had to make a concerted effort to breathe slowly and file my thoughts away. Sleep came and it was restful and deep; I even woke just before my alarm, which hasn’t happened in so long I can’t remember when. Not being woken by an alarm is a good thing. I still stayed in bed for an extra 15minutes though, but hey, it’s warm in there!Pain in the back

Completing the yoga routine this morning was easier but it seemed to have also woken something in my lower back muscles that the masseuse was trying to grind out last night. I know the pain comes from these muscles screaming at me, “Excuse me! You out there, quit with this movement business would you, I’m sleeping!?!” Good thing I have a knack for selective hearing.

I have classes all day today and dinner with friends straight after work so it’ll be another late night. I have already set the yoga mat and my laptop up so it should be easy to complete the first step for tomorrow. Mmm… providing I don’t have a lot to drink tonight.

Day 3: Sunday, October 18th

I drank a lot. And, I also danced a lot! I got home at 2am and needed to be up at 7am to teach all day. Sleep was certainly the priority and I figure that since shaking ones booty is a form of exercise then I’ve done well, at least it released my screaming muscles. Because I teach two two-hour classes in the morning I only have intermittent time to keep on top of other work but this is always the case on weekends so I make sure my writing schedule allows for it. I use the spare time between lessons to complete menial tasks that do not need brain power, which clearly I didn’t have a lot of today anyway.

Day 4: Monday, October 19th

Despite being tired I still didn’t get to sleep until around 1am this morning. No yoga but this time there were no excuses. I was already in bed and working on a photo collage project for a friends birthday gift so it was very easy to fall asleep once completed.

The best thing about Monday’s is that I no longer suffer Mondayitis. I purposefully give myself one day with no alarm to sleep as long as I need. Luckily, I’m not the kind of person who can sleep all day so once I’m awake I’m up and at it. I have caught up on everything and again it’s taken longer than I anticipated but today I realised why; I’m incorporating my work into my catch up and I can see how beneficial this is in keeping me on top of all tasks.

Day 5: Tuesday, October 20th

I’m not sure why I’m not doing the yoga before I go to sleep, I set the mat up and get ready for bed but I think it has more to do with the fact that my apartment is cold as the central heating hasn’t been started yet (government controlled coal burning stacks that heat old- fashioned water radiators throughout apartment buildings); I’m wearing so much clothing that it makes movement difficult! I’ll try a simple meditation and in-bed stretching and see if that works.

The yoga in the morning is great for waking up though, it’s still hard to get out of bed but I look forward to the stretches now, although I’m recognising my muscles are still tight and need a good dose of blood circulation; I will go swimming on Thursday. I’m also finding that I’m getting through my morning ritual and into work faster, this is most likely because I’m going to bed at 1am most nights and getting up at 8 or 9. I’m needing less sleep now too and noticing that I’m not as tired or lethargic as I used to be. I’m taking spirulina vitamin supplements, drinking less coffee and more water and eating breakfast, which is all unusual. I was the type of person who could easily only drink coffee and not eat (or get hungry) until late in the afternoon. It’s so cheap to eat out here that I don’t actually buy food or cook at home, what’s more the freshness of food only lasts for maximum a day so for someone who lives alone it’s easier to just eat out.

The other thing I’ve noticed is that this accountability helps motivate me, knowing that I have to acknowledge my shortcomings online is a sure fire way to stay on top of things but what will happen come Thursday when I publish this?

And then life happens…

I was meant to have finished this trial on Thursday but on Tuesday evening and all day Wednesday I experienced an emotionally traumatic event in which everything had to take a back step and I was forced to concentrate purely on the circumstances before me.

What this has taught me of this routine and of my style is that being a multitasker means knowing how to prioritise and understanding truly what is important in each day. Fundamentally I think this is why I can manage so many tasks simultaneously. I have also realised that I am always conscious of what needs to be done, my mind is constantly organising and arranging everything so that I can achieve finished products of my highest quality.

Just because I’ve started a routine to follow doesn’t mean I actually followed my own guidelines precisely. I automatically diverted from it when circumstances required, that said, I think in essence this routine works. I have become more aware of what I need to do each day, especially regarding my physical health. I will keep doing the yoga because I feel better for it and it’s a great way to wake up, it has reconnected me spiritually and it has given me a more satisfying dream-filled sleep. Had I not been physically as strong as I am now I would never have coped over the past few days.

For you…

Once you’ve created your routine I recommend that you also track your progress daily. Take note of the diversions, excuses, advantages/ disadvantages and any changes you’ve made automatically. It’s one thing to create a new system but if you don’t track your results you won’t make any.

Let me know how you’re doing…

The Personal Branding Series! Part 7: Where Do You Live?

21st October, 2009 at 09:00 | In Personal Branding | Leave a Comment
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When you consider a big name brand, do you wonder what the people within the company are truly like? Do you care about personalities or their lives? Chances are probably not and for good reason, it’s a company but with a personal brand we do wonder about the individual in the picture because it is just them, they are the product.

Colin Wright in his Exile Lifestyle Personal Branding eBook shows us the importance of understanding the impact of our personal brand and explains what it is about our online personality we need to pay attention to.

Social Networks

The importance of social networking in building a personal brand today cannot be overstated. Being an active part of a social network gets your name (and your brand) out in the open, exposing your resume, work, reputation and ideas to a far larger audience than ever before.

Social Media IconsI totally agree with Colin on this one, without such networks as Twitter: @CaronMargarete or Location Rebel: CaronMargarete I’d still be a nobody lost in the plethora of other somebody’s in my field.

There are however so many social networking sites that I have been a tad overwhelmed and unsure where to concert my attention and time. I am a member of StumbleUpon and LinkedIn but I haven’t really invested a lot of time into either network. I can see their benefits and with time I know I will glean a lot of exposure from them.

As for sites like Digg or Delicious I cannot see what they’re offering that is so different from the others. I am a no-mess-no-fuss keep-it-simple person so it makes sense to limit where I can be found to the top sites, otherwise my time won’t be spent working but up-keeping these sites.

There are a lot of services available that allow you to divide up your online life into segments. For instance, you may be able to include your professional profile in one section of a social network, while your personal profile resides at a completely different address.

Only for one site would I agree with Colin here: Facebook. It’s the only place I have that I can share on a large scale with my best friends and family around the world. I actually do want to share the adventures of my fun-loving, high-spirited, spontaneous self and so I have made sure it is kept at the highest security. Should you happen to find me, please do not take it personally when I ignore you. I have the intention of creating a fan page once I have more subscribers but for now that world remains my own.

Regarding other sites, I am choosing to have a public life so I feel that everything I do online should be publicly available but I have taken some security measures, not just for myself but for my family too.

You will never see my real last name online. I see absolutely no reason why you would need to know it or what difference it makes not knowing it but also for my families sake they’re not choosing a public life, why would I put them in a position of having to live by my choices? My father is a man of pride and privacy and so I offer him this deal: should I ever get a book deal, it’s his choice what name I publish.

Blogs

When you write a blog on your own, you decide the content, you decide how much to show, you decide if you should have an image or a movie accompanying an article (if you decide to have an article at all), and you decide how the blog looks.

When creating a blog for yourself, take into account the fact that the people reading it will generally have no idea who you are and what you do. What you post will be their first impression (and maybe last impression), and if your point for existing is not clear, your potential audience will likely bounce away to another page without taking in anything memorable about you.

Colin offers a few pointers:

  • First, be sure to have a nicely designed page for your blog to live on.
  • Second, make sure your content clearly represents your personal brand.
  • Third, becoming part of a blogging community can be a huge boon for both the number of hits to your site and the implied quality of your content.

I am really enjoying the work-in-progress that this site is. It is one of my goals to learn HTML and CSS among other web development things and plan to use this site as the medium to learn through and post about. It’s always been my intention to teach as I go. What I’d like to also learn how to do is bring more of my personality into my writing without seeming unprofessional and continue to build the personal brand that this ebook is teaching me.

Being a part of the lifestyle design forum, Location Rebel, is really helpful to keeping me in the loop and keeping me connected with like-minded people. What’s more it’s important that I remain on top of my RSS feed so that I know what my industry colleagues are doing. Supporting them through commenting isn’t just about attaining more attention for this blog, it can’t be.

like-mindedWithout the support of like-minded people it’s really easy to become discouraged and to not develop. By commenting I want to show that I give a damn about these people and the work they’re achieving for their lives, I may not know them in person but should that matter? They’re doing what I’m doing and if I can help keep their motivation mojo rolling then it can only be a good thing.

Comments really do help. Please keep them coming!

Websites

A website is by far the most important piece of marketing collateral (along with business cards) for any brand in almost any industry today. As an individual with a website, information about you, your work and your contact information (and a link to your blog) is available to anyone anywhere on the planet at any time, so long as they have Internet access.

For me a website really isn’t essential to my personal brand right now, later when I have something to offer then I can see me investing time and money into creating a site, but again, I want to do this myself, teach myself and write about it. I’m not alone feeling overwhelmed by the mystery of web development but I refuse to think it’s too hard to learn!

Real Life

What it means to have a home base in the real world is to have a place that you can go – it can be a coffeehouse, club, art gallery, restaurant, any place really- where people know your name and will back you up in asserting your personal brand.

I like to get out of my office every now and again so I have a favourite cafe, Hamama’s, and a favourite bar, Fox Pub, where everyone knows me and where I will often hold my interviews but few people here actually know about my location independence goals, they know me as the journalist for the Haerbinger and that’s the way it should be. It’s common in an expat community to never really know the people around you, superficially we get caught up in the teaching/ drinking/ travelling circles but rarely do you make friendships that reach deep into the person that you are.

Who I am and where I exist in the real world and online is largely dependent on how willing I am to lose my privacy. Right now there is a comfortable separation between these two worlds but I am often surprised and humbled by those who do make the effort to bring them together, that said though, I do not yet want things intertwined until I have developed something more substantial to show.

Coming Next in the Personal Branding Series- Part 8: Gotta Rep?

Missed the Beginning?

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