How to Set Yourself Apart in the Social Media World - 5 Quick Tips

In the digital world we are in, the daily drill is always the same.

You head into the homestretch of your long day, and you have some time, so you pull out your smartphone to check your Facebook News Feed, Messenger, Twitter and Instagram.

As you scroll through your newsfeeds and messages, you notice a lot of boring monotonous posts about the same damn thing.

Political Post
Political Post
Post About How Great Life Is
Post About How Miserable Life Is
Political Post
Post About Great Ground Floor Opportunity That Will Make You Rich
Political Post

Makes you want to flush your smartphone down the toilet.

Bu then, you get all anxious that you might be missing the meaningless text or Facebook Post.  Maybe, just maybe, someone would post something that set themselves apart from all the rest.

So How Do You Set Yourself Apart in the Social Media World and not cause a spike of smartphones in our sewer system?   Here are 5 Quick Tips.

1) Identify and Post About Your Passion -  Everyone has a passion whether it is the weather, music, sports, helping others or simply a great hobby.   Post articles about your passion or a challenge you are having learning a new song on your guitar.  Chances are you will get some engagement and people wanting to know more about your passion and why it interests you.

2) Friends First, Business Second - A lot of people use their Social Media Feed to promote their business not thinking there is a human side of social media.    Join my team, buy my product or service, quit your job.  You heard them all.   Use Social Media to make friends and build rapport.  Talk about hobbies (See #1) and then if your friend identifies a need, talk to them about it.

3) Be Yourself - Your Best Self on Social Media -  Keep it positive on social media and don't gloat how great you are.  If you are having a bad day, stay off your newsfeed.   People can care less if your hair looks bad.   People care even more less about the fifteenth selfie of yourself you posted today.   Communicate with your connections and ask questions about their thoughts on a topic you were researching.   It will bring you down to earth and you will be your best self.

4) Manage Your Time on Social Media - Social Media is meant to be social, not spend countless hours looking at posts about politics or some other controversial topic.  Think about leveraging your time on the social platforms that will help you, not waste you.  Subscribe to learning groups and nurture your brain versus stressing it out.  

5) Don't Spam! But Do Create Curiosity -  Network Marketers are notorious for this.   They post about how they are this amazing entrepreneur and if you don't join their cult, I mean team, you are a corporate job loser.   And they continue to post about their opportunity and/or product daily.  This my friends is spam.  The better way is to post something that build curiosity so they your connections ask for more.   An example, is to post a picture of a clean car, or a vacation spot or of yourself with new makeup.   Leave the post open ended, so it leads to engagement.

Why August is the Most Important Month of the Year to Business Network.

It is 85 degrees and sunny, you are at the beach in Rhode Island or climbing a beautiful mountain in Vermont.

You are enjoying quality time with friends and family.  The ol' family get-away house is busting at the seams with people and activity.   Then suddenly, the cell phone rings, and it is a potential client.   Your response?   Can we talk after Labor Day?

In reality, waiting till after Labor Day is a great idea for many reasons including spending time with your family, doing some soul searching and getting your priorities in line.   It is like the summer version of celebrating the new year.

However, for many, their business and/or their job is their lifeblood, and it is important to have a step ahead of the competition going into the busy September month.

One of the best ways to get ahead in August is to go to a business networking event and build a new names list for your business and career.   People generally have more time for events in August and usually the go-getters are at the same event and you may make some amazing connections that could bring you more business and career success.

By September, school has started, people are in work mode and may not attend as many events since life is getting in the way.

So, why is August a key time to do some business networking and conduct 1-on-1 meetings?

1. Most business professionals are in vacation mode in August and it also means that people in the office may be in fewer meetings.  Fewer meetings means that individuals may have more time to attend networking events or have a face-to-face meeting with you.   You might meet some great connections that have the same drive to succeed as you do.

2.  If you ever had the feeling that everyone else is on vacation but you?   The old saying of if you can't beat them, join them.   Look for events or hold 1-on-1 meetings in resort areas or destination places along the water and/or with a great view, so the meeting would be memorable in many ways.

3.  The early part of September is generally one of the worst times of the year to attend events.  Why?  Kids are back to school, schedules are moving and shifting and work schedules kick into high gear.   Generally, events don't really get going till late September so that is all the more reason to take advantage of the beautiful month of August and look for some great events to attend.

Top Ten Reasons Social Media Is Driving Us Crazy and Making Us Want The Old Days Back

You have all experienced it.   You are plowing through your Facebook News Feed and after about 35 negative posts about Trump and how much people hate him, you get to that post that hits you like a brick.  You know, the one with the tagged picture of you looking cross-eyed after a few too many cocktails.   You want to kill your dear Facebook friend, but heck, things can be worse right?

Social Media and smart phones are an epidemic.  I was walking through the streets of Boston today,  you can feel the magnet of wireless connectivity from all of the people glued to their phones posting an Instagram Story, commenting about their hair or even better tweeting about Donnie boy.   It honestly drives me crazy and makes me yearn for the good ol' days of wall phones, cassette tapes and people that talk to you and say hi walking down the street.

So I came up with the Top Ten Reasons Why Social Media is Driving Us All Crazy with some throwbacks to the old days.  Enjoy :)

10.   Everyone thinks they need to practice the First Amendment and then troll anyone that has a different opinion.    You know this never happened in 1995 right?

9.  You know that old crush from high school is trolling through all of your pictures now and using your picture as their screensaver.   Now that is a creepy thought.   Back in 1995, you just had a pin board in your room.  Now it is all online.  Creepy.

8. People need to post their "check-in" to the gym, the hairdresser, the bar, their work, their house, their garage, even their bathroom.   Honestly, who cares where you are right now.   You are asking to get stalked.

7. Trump.   That frigging orange face is all over the place.     He finally is in first place and on the first page of Google because he is trending on social media every flipping day.

6. Traffic in major cities is worst than ever.  Why? Because everyone is multi-tasking texting and posting on social media when they should be looking ahead and driving.   Wanna solve the traffic issue?   Everyone, put their phones down.   Back in 1995, the issue was reading the newspaper and shaving while driving.

5. Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin, SMS... UGH!!!!  Where else can I post about something useless today?   I can't keep up with all of these social media apps on my phone.  Remember in 1995, when we just had a beeper and it beeped when someone was trying to contact us?

4.  Social Media is now a Sales Funnel for that great new business you started.  Honestly, people could care less you found this great little organic grain drink that gives you energy and makes your skin glow like a full moon.   This  drives a lot of people crazy and has caused a lot of blocking of friends.    Back in 1995, you simply sold lemonade on the side of the street.

3.  People get so emotional on Social Media.    See #10.   Honestly, people need to chill out and not take things so seriously.   Who cares if someone posted that you have a wart on the side of your ear or they hate the city you live in?    Relax and remember, "Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, But Words Will Never Hurt Me".   Move on.

2. Oh, great now they have live video on most Social Media platforms.  Nice, now some chick is going to post of video of her brushing her hair for twenty minutes.   That is sure to drive some people crazy.

1.  Always remember, everything you post cannot be deleted so if you screw up, it will be with you forever.   That is sure to drive you crazy.   Nothing like the old days when you can simply burn or shred that bad note.

How Do You Motivate Yourself To Exercise Consistently?

I am going to start off my blog with a little personal gloating to get you motivated.   I was a skinny little kid growing up in Rhode Island and had a hard time keeping up with the jocks at my school, when it came to sports and girls.  I was known as "Little Jeffy" and yes, the girls though I was cute and all, but face it I didn't win any athletic awards.  When it came time to graduate and everyone was getting their yearbooks signed, one message from one of my best friends in high school wrote me was a message that stuck to me throughout my life.   The one line that stuck out to me was "Jeff, you'll never be a bodybuilder.."  Hmm... was this a motivational message or the hard truth?

So I went to the local sporting goods store, and got myself a weightlifting belt and The Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding from Arnold Schwarzenegger, read the book cover to cover and got to work.  That was 1988.

I started going to my university's gym and it was a rough start, but I got motivated really quickly when I was around athletes and I continued going to the gym on a regular basis in between classes.  The next thing I knew, I was benching beyond my weight, and running a 5k around the streets of Boston.   Girls started recognizing me, I was getting the respect my peers and I was getting more and more confident in myself.   Because of  my new found confidence, my girlfriend at the time and I decided it would be best to "see other people".  The things you do when you are young.

But this is not the point of my message to you all.  My message is that you need to start somewhere to work toward reaching your goals and believe me, I started at ground zero..

Fast forward to today, 29 years later, I can say for all of this time, I have consistently gone to the gym 3 or 4 times a week every week, while mixing in cardio exercises, without taking a break.     The only "breaks" were to address some surgeries I needed.   What motivated me most was the feeling I had after working out.   It is a high like no other.  If I went more that two days without a workout, I felt like crap and started to twitch.   What also motivated me was the positive energy you experienced at the gym.  I always befriended determined and focused people at the gym and we motivated each other to reach our goals.    Finally, this was one of my motivating factors for starting AIMC Health Solutions in 2015.

So I would like to provide you some motivating tips to help you get started and be consistent in reaching your goals.

1.  Try Group Fitness

Group fitness classes keep you motivated. The energy of a group would keep you going in the moments that you want to quit.

2. Get addicted to the post-exercise endorphin rush

My motivation is the knowledge that I will have an awesome endorphin rush afterward and run around, smiling like an idiot for a few hours. I am seriously addicted.

3. Surround yourself with personal motivation

Write your goals on sticky notes and post them everywhere.  The bathroom, your car and even on your smartphone.

4. Work out with people who will cheer you on

Having people standing behind me, yelling and jumping up and down when I’m stuck at the bottom of a heavy squat is the best motivator.   It is amazing what you can do with a little encouragement.

5. Think about how you're sticking it to your doubters

See my message from my high school friend and how it motivated me to prove him wrong.

6. Track your successes

I actually track my workouts in the Calendar function on my phone so I can see what I did recently and know to mix my workouts up to shock the body.

7. Write down how you feel after every workout every time

So, when you are low on motivation to wake up and go for a run or a workout and reap the benefits later.

8. Listen to the voice inside that says, "I can do this!"

I did it and so can you.   Working out and getting healthy is all about your mental state and determining yourself to get healthy and stronger.   There is no reason for you to not reach your goals.

My bonus tip is to workout in the morning.   It helps you get through the day and have a great sleep pattern and diet.   The positive energy from your workout will transition to your daily activities and you will be more successful in what you do.