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Do you have your own secrets for succcess? RT @FireflyKonsult 3 Secrets to Becoming an “Overnight Success” - http://t.co/VBTvwTk
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Three Secrets to Becoming an “Overnight Success”
By: Arment Dietrich | June 29, 2011 |
One of my best friends is the manager for the Obesity Prevention Program for the State of Alaska. She has uncovered the secret to losing weight and has a FABULOUS idea for a book on the subject. It’s called, Eat Less, Exercise More.
The end.
I know, it’s a radical idea, and we laugh so hard every time we talk about it. And how huge this book could be in sales, if there were anything more to add, other than the title, but there isn’t. That is how you lose weight. It takes a long time, and there is no SHORT CUT.
My father used to call it the Strawberry Short Cut – it works when you’re driving from Point A to Point B (sometimes), but it doesn’t work when you’re trying to get from Point A to Point B, like say, from obscurity to the cover of Entrepreneur.
I use that example because Gini Dietrich and I always talk about what we’ll wear for our cover photo shoot when we get there.
And the funny thing, my other BFF, Dana Hughens, texted me the other day joking about an incident that will be retold in her Entrepreneur interview some day.
So I bet there are a lot of you out there with similar dreams. And none of us will make it happen by taking the short cut.
We notice them when others take them, don’t we? We notice when the restaurant didn’t use the freshest ingredients, or when the trim in the house we are looking at doesn’t quite meet at the seam. It’s obvious when you didn’t do your research before you went into a new client meeting. When you sent out that mass email hoping to get ink and pixels for your client, it was obvious you took the short cut, because of the lackluster results.
I read Entrepreneur like some people read US Weekly; with star-struck eyes, thinking about how easy they made it look, and how they are on top of the world right now. Neither is true. I should know better than that.
Stumptown Coffee, which by the way, is the most awesomest coffee ever, is on the cover this month and I was overjoyed to see them there. They are so far from an overnight success.
Founder Duane Sorenson opened his doors in 1999, made the coffee himself, and put the money in a shoebox at the end of the day. When the shoebox was full enough, he’d count it up and deposit.
His secrets? They aren’t secrets at all. He paid attention to detail, to his employees, and to paying top dollar for the finest beans.
I think about that a lot as we put in long hours working on Spin Sucks Pro. We have our moments of extreme frustration to elated optimism.
I think about that interview in the not-too-distant future. When they ask me what our the three “secrets” are. I’d have to say:
- Passion about PR and marketing…and changing the perception of the industry.
- Focus on quality content that helps you do your jobs more quickly and more efficiently.
- Giving you a place to discuss and debate, and to learn from one another.
It’s a great exercise. It presents a road map if you will, to get you from Point A to Point B. What would be your Three Secrets in your big interview?
See you at Point B. And no cheating or budging!
Thanks to Babble for the image. I just needed an excuse to post a photo of a strawberry shortcake.
Join Nate Riggs and the Spin Sucks Pro team on Thursday, July 14, 11 am CDT for a webinar on Blog Style Guidelines: Mastering the Lists.
79 comments
Do you have your own secrets for success? RT @FireflyKonsult 3 Secrets to Becoming an “Overnight Success” - http://t.co/VBTvwTk
@rieva thank you for sharing that! @ginidietrich speaks very highly of you. Nice to meet you here.
2 Like
I love it when successful entrepreneurs give you the real world view of what they've gone through to get where they're at. Like you pointed out, you only end up seeing the shiny polished version of these people, especially in Entrepreneur mag.
I'm interested in knowing what these people did in the defining moments in their life to overcome the three big fears to get where they are now, that stop any and everyone at some point in life from pursuing their desires...
Fear of rejection...
Fear of failure...
Fear of being wrong...
And coincidentally, my three secrets in my interview would revolve around...
Crushing your fear of rejection, your fear of failure, and your fear of being wrong.
Thanks Lisa for encouraging me to think about this topic and for pointing out Stumptown. I'm always on the prowl for awesomeness in the coffee world.
@Lewis LaLanne aka Nerd #2 LOVE THAT. those fears are absolutely valid.
and try Stumptown. my fave, but not very available to me here in Chicago. I heard they are scouting for a location though! wheeeeeeeeeeee!!!
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@Lisa Gerber @Lewis LaLanne aka Nerd #2 See also, fear of success, of being a one-hit-wonder, of having to repeat that success over and over, of gaining more attention, etc. etc. Good points.
I think what gets so many people rallied around the idea that they can shortcut the system is that the system itself has changed. They view the advent of the internet (incl. social media, etc), a global economy, and the shift from manufacturing to service based sectors in the 1st world as an advantage only to THEM. They read of success stories and assume it's as simple as devising a clever handle name and URL to become instant millionaires. The trouble is that not only do we have such advantages, but so does everyone else. Just because I wield a complex Excel model and can run thousands of scenarios that would have taken a financial expert weeks to compute by hand in 1811, it doesn't mean that I possess the same advantage over my colleagues in 2011. The playing field is level. The tools are the same. It's How we use them that makes the difference.
Diligent, intelligent work is still as necessary today as it has ever have been.
@JamesDBurrell2 good points - there is a shortcut for everything! but it doesn't get you anywhere, and you're right about the level playing field. If anything, it's even MORE level now with technology.
Ok. so let's keep grinding away. :)
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I'm so falling in love with your blog. The number of times I've had to explain this in every aspect of business, from promotion to just becoming an entrepreneur is astounding. My friends especially, who I never see (hello! because of how hard I work! clue much?).
They'll come up to me all excited with some ad they saw online and whisk me away to their computer, where they pull up the page, and ask me, with a straight face and a lowered tone:. "Did you know that Google will send you checks for $20,000 just for writing a blog at home in your underwear? The secret is only $997. Can you loan it to me?" And I feel like screaming "SERIOUSLY, JERK?" But usually, I count to ten and say "The secret to overnight success is that success only LOOKS like it comes overnight." Lord help us all, LOL!
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@Tinu oh wow! I better start writing in my pajamas!! Lol!!!
So glad to see you here. Thanks! :)
@ginidietrich @lisagerber let me put it another way: it's not about you, rather the people you serve. Amen to that.
4 Like
WORD. That's all I have for this one is WORD. Plus a smart alec RT for you that'll go something like this Despair poster cleverly entitled Get to Work. http://www.despair.com/gettowork.html
Eat less and exercise more... so simple, yet everyone wants to know 'how' - in 3 short, easy steps. We really do want to know how in terms of business: spend less, earn more, find better jobs, sign better clients, ditch the crappy ones. I want to know that. It's easier said than done, the hard part being the HOW. Hint: rhymes with Working Your Ass Off. My 3 secrets? Gonna share a favorite quote (again.. just did the other day too): "There are two secrets to success. #1 Never tell everything you know." FWIW.
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@3HatsComm OMG, i missed your comment some how until now. I love that poster. it's so. sad, but funny.
Eat Less, Exercise More... I love it! And here I was thinking "Hey, it's National Ice Cream Month. I have yet to celebrate!!!"... chances of that happening today is close to zero.
Looking forward to celebrating with you at Point B!!!
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@CristerDelaCruz well I just got suited up to go work out and realized I don't have my running shoes. So no run today. maybe we should go get ice cream instead. LOL.
@Lisa Gerber So I didn't read this until now. We'll celebrate National Ice Cream month on Friday... though technically, it will no longer be the designated month. Oh well, I'll get over that upon the first bite of vanilla :)
@CristerDelaCruz I am so bummed that I had to find out it was Ice Cream of the MONTH on the 29th of the month. I would have been super celebratory had I known.
4 Like
They actually came out w/ the sequel to the diet book since the first one was so popular; it's titled "No really, Eat Less, Exercise More".
There aren't many shortcuts to be had and maybe when you get to the end of the journey it seemed easier than it really was because of your passion and love for what you were doing (maybe it didn't seem so much like work).
You did touch on one thing at it was: He paid attention to detail. Sometimes taking care of the smallest things make the biggest impression. I see too much 'ok'; don't settle for ok, wow me with something that you took pride in and it shows.
3 Like
I say Exercise a bit and Eat more! Drink wine also it will make you loose weight.
Magazines like Entrepreneur have some responsibility in glamorizing the journey one has to take to reach success. I guess they have to, nobody wants to read about the puke bags, sleepless nights thinking about a million things and wondering if its going to work.
Off to point B and going to grab some food for the trip
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@John Falchetto that the only reason why I exercise!!! so I can eat and drink!!!
And you make a good point. it furthers my comparison of Entrepreneur to US Weekly. It glamorizes it.
@Lisa Gerber @John Falchetto Lots of Media plays the US Weekly game. Mashable. Fast Company. Forbes. USA Today. Image sells. Simplicity Sells. Triumph sells even if the Triumph is contrived.
Well I am back to eating my 3 grains of rice and running 5 miles after.
4 Like
Eat Less. Exercise More. The end. LOL!! I know your post isn't about this, but I was watching a special on The Today Show last week about the foods you can and cannot eat. Turns out potato chips, if eaten every day, even in moderation, make you gain a pound a year...giving you 20 extra pounds in 20 years.
No shit. We needed an entire special on that?
@ginidietrich That's not true at all. I eat Lay's All-Natural Potato Chips all the time and I weigh... oh wait...
@ginidietrich do you think that applies to Pop Chips too? oy!
and it's my favorite joke with my friend Karol. She's always saying, "I have a diet tip for you. eat less and exercise more!" (not to me - to anyone talking about the Atkins diet especially. we always made fun of the people and their fear of bread. AHHHHHH scary!!! bread!!!!
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@sydcon_mktg @ginidietrich @Lisa Gerber That's good b/c I have a post drafted that has a little to do with potato chips. Really, I do. It's a stretch... that rubber band is sure to snap back, get me right in the forehead someday. ;-)
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@ginidietrich @Lisa Gerber Gini has to be right! Otherwise I am in BIG TROUBLE! Might have to start sharing my stash Pop Chips with the kids otherwise!
@John Falchetto That was their point. It doesn't matter how much you exercise. There are certain foods that just aren't good for you, even in moderation and with exercise.
@ginidietrich @John Falchetto The key isn't what you take in but rather how quickly you burn it off. For a sedentary person, potato chips = horrible, but for someone who is consistently active (1hr+ exercise daily), there's no real danger... unless they are a staple source of Carbs though. Might want to cycle with some whole grains with higher Fiber content.
I just got way too defensive of potato chips.... maybe as a justification of the copious amounts I'll eat this weekend along with many hot dogs, burgers, cole slaw, and baked beans. Hmmm, can't wait.
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@bdorman264 @ginidietrich @John Falchetto That's the truth...it sucks, but its true! ;p
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@ginidietrich @John Falchetto You have to go by taste; if it tastes good then it can't possibly be bad for you..........just sayin'..............
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