Archive for Twitter & Social Media

As you might know, I’ve been traveling these last two weeks. Most of the time, I had the privilege of touring Israel with a group from my church, Christ Fellowship.

From teaching about the Sermon on the Mount while actually ON the Mount to visiting the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, everything in our experience was wonderful and deeply meaningful.

Well, maybe not everything…

We also made sure to have fun. For example, as “captain” of my bus, on the first day I suggested that we come up with a better name than “The Blue Bus.” Creative, right?

Well, because my bus was full of smart-alecks, the name chosen was …

“Baalbusters.”

Yep.

Once we had a name, then of course we had to have a song. And then a handshake. And then matching ballcaps, and a banner…

Let’s just say that things might have gotten out of hand when we choreographed and performed the song.

And of course with the number of cameras and smartphones on the trip, we knew that everything would end up on YouTube or somewhere like it.

Little did we know that it would actually be posted on Vimeo, BY the Christ Fellowship team. In High-Definition.

I hope you enjoy:

PS I posted regular Twitter and Facebook updates while on the trip. If you want to keep up with my day-to-day experiences – and receive some of my favorite quotes and thoughts – be sure to follow me.

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Tram

On Twitter and Facebook on Sunday, I quoted my friend Paul Meyer, mentioning that he was the person who helped me create my first personal growth plan. In the hours afterward, I received dozens of requests, all asking the same thing: “How do you create a personal growth plan?”

The answer to that takes more than 140 characters, so I thought I’d post it here:

The key to a life of continual learning and improvement lies in developing a plan for growth and following through with it. Paul Meyer knew this. In fact, when I first met him and we had lunch, he asked me a question that changed my life: “Do you have a personal plan for growth?”

In answer, I told him about my work schedule and how much I did and how I was learning on the job.  I kept going on and on.  The more I talked, the more obvious it was that I had no plan.  Paul helped me find one.

Growth is does not happen by chance. If you want to be sure to grow, you need a plan—something strategic, specific, and scheduled.Motivational speaker Earl Nightingale said, “If a person will spend one hour a day on the same subject for five years, that person will be an expert on that subject.” Isn’t that incredible? It shows how far we are able to go when we have the discipline to make growth our daily practice.

So if you want to follow a plan, recommend that you start by identifying an area or two in which you desire to grow, such as leadership. Then start gathering useful resources – in print, online, on video, etc. Now your goal is to schedule learning time EVERY DAY. Here’s the rule of thumb I’ve used for years: read one book a month and digest one article/podcast per week.

As an example, this is the weekly schedule – 5 days a week, 1 hour a day – that I recommend for personal growth as a leader:

Monday: Spend one hour with a devotional to develop your spiritual life.

Tuesday: Spend one hour listening to a leadership recording.

Wednesday: Spend one hour filing* quotes and reflecting on the contents of Tuesday’s material.

Thursday: Spend one hour reading a book on leadership.

Friday: Spend half of the hour reading the book and the other half filing and reflecting.

The average American adult watches close to 30 hours of television per week, with little positive return. What do you think would happen if you devoted just five of those hours to personal growth?

Why not start acting on a plan today and find out? Then let me know if it was worth it.

*For my tips on how to collect and file material, read this post.

Aug
17

Value-added Links

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Getting ready to help me with my book? Only two weeks until the first chapter goes up right here on this blog.

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably saw my posts about opportunities to view my teaching on TV and online last week.

But trust me: I, of all people, understand anyone’s reluctance to adopt yet another piece of technology. So if you don’t get my Twitter updates, here’s where I was on TV last week (and can be seen online now):

The Hour of Power

God Will Give You Hope, 8/9

Joyce Meyer’s Enjoying Everyday Life

View recent episodes: Attitude Adjustment 1 and 2, 8/10 & 8/11

Praise the Lord with Matt and Laurie Crouch on TBN

View episode from 8/13

I hope these videos serve you well. I’m not used to being on television that much, but I certainly appreciate the opportunity. On TV, here on this blog, and on Twitter, my primary goal is to add value to your life.

And if you’re ready to take the plunge into social media, take a look at my tips on Twitter for Dummies (i.e. ME) at the bottom of this post.

***

One final announcement:

GIANT Impact is hosting an event just for CEO’s. Exchange will be in New York City November 4-6, 2009.

I always look forward to this chance to focus my leadership principles for a specific group. If you lead a large company and are looking for teaching tailored to your needs, please click the banner below for more information. (Early Registration Rate thru August 31)

GiANTBanner

Jul
31

Leadership answers; no waiting!

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Three weeks ago, here and on Twitter I sought your input on books that you’d like to see from me in the future.

Within minutes, the comments here and the replies on Twitter came pouring in. And when we finally compiled all of your responses, we had close to 30 pages of ideas.

So many of you took the time to really consider the needs you see today, and then communicate them to me. Thank you! I’m excited by all the themes that really stirred my ideas for future books.

Now, what probably shouldn’t have surprised me was how many requests came in for topics that I’d addressed in previous books. Here’s the good news: You don’t have to wait a year or more for the book you requested! Since the books already exist, they can give immediate answers to your questions.

Here is just a sampling of your actual replies/comments (without names, to protect the innocent), along with the existing Maxwell book(s) that answer those questions.

I hope this is a helpful resource to you.

On Direction and Purpose:

  • I train elite athletes. Our dreams go to the wayside during the daily grind. We need a process to keep the achievable dream in focus.
  • Finding your true calling in business and in life. How to do what you want.
  • Interested in how to find purpose within internal processes that require collaboration when adversarial environment is prominent.
  • A book about discovering your passion in life, what it is you are “meant” to be, how to identify talents.
  • How do you know what you’re supposed to do in life? How do you plan for it after you know?

I’m happy to say that the answers to the above questions can be found in my new book, Put Your Dream to the Test.

On Working for a Difficult Boss or Leading from the Middle:

  • The problem I face is having to read my boss’s mind and dealing with his micromanagement. He gives me feedback (99% bad, things that irritate him) days or weeks after an event has happened, and when he does he lashes out from the build up of irritation. He questions the work my coworkers and I do, and assumes no work is getting done if he’s not updated on every detail. He’s a real demotivator, and I’m trying to shield my team and keep them going. Any advice?
  • How to deal with different types of leaders – a follower’s perspective.
  • A book about “followership” – How to be a good follower, (especially) under bad leadership.
  • How to lead a company from the middle. How middle management can change the direction of a company and how to get your ideas heard.
  • One for followers on how to help the leader.
  • A book for middle managers trying to break through to the next level.

The 360 Leader addresses all of these questions – and more – on leading up, down, and alongside.

On Various Leadership Issues:

I received many specific leadership questions. This is just a sampling:

  • Hiring eagles versus ducks.
  • Leading yourself (toughest leadership challenge there is)
  • On self-discipline and tools to train my staff in same area.
  • How to recover when you’ve violated laws of leadership.
  • Qualities of a leader of significance. The seasons of leadership, enduring legacy.
  • On working with boards, or a section on group politics.
  • Courage to make tough decisions in shaky economic times.

These questions and many more are answered in Leadership Gold, which contains the hardest-won leadership lessons of my life in one book. In 26 chapters, I share the nuggets of wisdom that I gained through my successes AND my failures.

I’ll stop here. I received so much feedback that I can’t address it all in one post. So stay tuned for another installment in this series very soon.

But in the meantime, don’t miss my next post!

I’ve got an exciting announcement regarding my 2010 book – and how YOU can have a part in creating it! 

Jul
08

Writing for a live audience

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singapore tunnel

You know you’ve been on the road too long…

When you announce to nearly 30,000 people that the tunnel you’re traveling through, the longest underground fully-automated tunnel in Asia, is in Hong Kong…

And it turns out that you – and the tunnel – are actually in Singapore.

Fortunately, when I posted that on Twitter, my whirlwind tour of Asia was almost over. After wrapping up with a great teaching time in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, I’ve made it home.

I love traveling, and I love teaching in Asia. Most of all, I love speaking to a live audience. My personality just seems to be better suited to the instant feedback I get from people physically in the room with me. It allows me to adapt and modify my message to the response of my audience and to meet needs as I see them.

Other methods of teaching, like talking to a camera lens or writing a book, have always been less fluid and immediate.

Until now. The age of Web 2.0 is changing all that. And I’m excited about the possibilities.

This year, as we finalize my book scheduled for Spring, 2010, we plan to harness the power of social media and get input from the readers (i.e. YOU) before the book goes to print.

So in September, watch this space for details on how you can have an impact on the 2010 book on the power of connecting.

Also, though it may seem strange to some, we’re already planning my book for 2011. But this time, before we write even one page, I thought it would be fun to find out what you think.

I already made this request on Twitter, and have received over 400 responses in two days. But if Tweeting isn’t your thing, here’s your opportunity to respond. Leave a comment on this post, answering this question:

What problems do you face that you’d like to see addressed in a book from me?

I admit, I do have several good ideas for books.  But I want to know what questions you’re asking and what issues you’re dealing with.  And this is my way to get your immediate feedback, much the way I do when I speak.

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