Make It Great! with Phil Gerbyshak

Happy Mother's Day

To all my friends who are mothers, and all my friends who have mothers, I wanted to wish you a very happy mother's day! I'm spending today with my mom, and I encourage you to get away from your computer and enjoy the day with yours.

If you'd like to connect to me any other day, please visit the new Make It Great!, now powered by WordPress and enjoy the wonderful design created by Jesse Petersen.

I'm also using Twitter more and more for a conversation stream and to share more and more great links and great ideas. At 140, commitment is only a sentence away :) You can find me @philgerb (http://twitter.com/philgerb if you're new to Twitter).

Last but not least, if you want a broadcast channel with my writings about Make It Great! and Slacker Manager, follow @philgerbyshak (http://twitter.com/philgerbyshak) I don't interact much, if at all, on that channel, so if I don't reply to you, don't be surprised. It's not personal at all, but it can be useful if you know what you're getting.

Again, happy mother's day! See you on the other side!

Moved to Make It Greater!

Friends,

After 4 wonderful years, I have decided to take the plunge and move to a full on domain on WordPress. As I moved the feed over to the new site, if you were reading via RSS, then you won’t miss a post.

The feed is still http://feeds2.feedburner.com/makeitgreat

Oh yeah, the website is http://philgerbyshak.com

I’ll leave this up for a little while longer, but soon, it will be no more.

Please bookmark the new page, and if you’re nice enough to link to me in your sidebar or on any post, if you’d be so kind as to link to me at my new home (that’s http://philgerbyshak.com if you’re scoring at home), I’d really appreciate it.

Why did I move, you might be wondering? In a word, control. Allow me to explain a little more what I mean.

1) More people customize WordPress templates than TypePad templates, so I could find a GREAT WordPress designer to help me (thanks Jesse).

2) Better design means I can add widgets, I can make each page look a little different if I want to, and I can do things I just can’t do on TypePad without a LOT of help and/or work.

3) Subscribe to comments – folks can get the conversation going if they choose to do so by subscribing to comments.

4) Tinkering – I can play around on the blog a bit more and not worry about breaking it.

5) I already use WordPress on Slacker Manager, and I know it pretty darn well, so I can do more, and I can teach people how to use it better.

I hope you’ll join me at my new home at http://philgerbyshak.com. It’s been a fun ride here, but I’m REALLY excited about what’s going to happen next.

Your friend,
Phil Gerbyshak

Moving day courtesy of rbphalen

4 years and still going

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

It’s hard for me to believe it, but I’ve been Making It Great! as a blogger since March 4, 2005. I started out with a blogger blog, then because of David St. Lawrence poking me and telling me I needed to be a “real blogger” and accept trackbacks, I moved to TypePad, and life hasn’t been the same since.

It’s truly amazing what has happened to me in the 4 years I’ve been blogging. Here are just a few of my highlights.

• I published my first book 10 Ways to Make It Great! with much of the content inspired by my articles and the comments on this very blog
• I spoke about being a Relationship Geek at the first SOBCon (and have given over 50 other speeches since then about a variety of topics)
• I had breakfast/lunch/dinner with over 100 other bloggers all across the country (but I haven’t made it to Des Moines yet, sorry gang!)
• I’ve gotten over 200 books sent to me to review (and reviewed 50 or so of them)
• I’ve exchanged emails with over 3000 people (and have received over 3000 comments on this blog)
• I’ve talked on the phone to over 500 people who read this blog or whose blog I read
• I attended 800-CEO-READ’s Author Pow-Wow (and I look forward to attending the next one)

But the most important thing I gained from this blog is even more simple than any of this:

I’ve gained a LOT of new friends!

I’ve enjoyed connecting with folks from around the world, that I can call, email, or write to, and that are there to listen to me and bounce ideas off of.

Thank you to each and every person who has read one of my blog posts, who cared enough to leave a comment, to send me an e-mail, to call me on the phone, and to connect with me in some small way.

Coming soon will be another big change. Please stay tuned!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Come Alive!

Two Quotes:

"Seek out that particular mental attribute which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive, along with which comes the inner voice which says, "This is the real me," and when you have found that attitude, follow it." - William James

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Howard Thurman

Two Questions:

Are you listening to your inner voice?

Do you know what makes you come alive?

Photo credit to mikebaird

Create a World Wide Rave

I love this video. It's so simple. People holding up a poster of a book cover.

And yet think about how powerful it is...

100 people, who aren't getting paid, talking about 1 product.

WOW!

How can you make your idea as spreadable as David Meerman Scott did with his new book World Wide Rave?

In a word: control.

You have to lose control of your idea, and let folks do what they want to do with it, to make it work.

I got one of these posters from David. And a galley copy of his book.

I read the book, but I chose to do nothing with his poster, for no good reason.

Good news is over 100 people chose to do something. Some did cool stuff, some did normal stuff, and it wasn’t hard for them to share David’s idea.

And now I am sharing his idea. Sorry I’m late David.

Can you create a world wide rave?

Maybe.

How?

Pick up a copy of David's book. It's outstanding.

It's easy to read, it's easy to understand, and it contains stories and insights about creating a world wide rave.

Then start YOUR revolution! Start your World Wide Rave today.

Make a PLAN and Make It Great: 2009 Keynote Speech

Recession Proof Your Life: Make a PLAN and Make It Great

View more presentations from Phil Gerbyshak. (tags: new media)

This is the keynote presentation I've been giving this year. It's called Recession Proof Your Life: Make a PLAN and Make It Great!

It’s got 4 key points in the PLAN:

P is for Purpose

L is for Learning

A is for Attitude

N is for Network (and using New Media to grow and cultivate it)

I’d love your help to make it great! If you have any feedback on how to make this great^er, please let me know!

Thanks in advance.

Smile & Move: a reminder to happily serve (an excerpt)

Guest post by Sam Parker

I want to be needed. You want to be needed.

We all want to matter to the world.

And the way we matter is through our service to others… by giving more.

If we want to matter and to be happy, if we want more freedom, more flexibility, more responsibility or more money, we need to give more to those we’re supposed to be serving.

We need to get over ourselves.

We need to smile & move.

To smile is to…

Be awake, attentive, and engaged with others.
It’s being thankful for our opportunities, for our people, and for the occasional chance we have to be in the path to serve.
It’s being approachable and accessible to our customers, our subordinates, and our leaders.
It’s complaining less because we all have work to accomplish.
It’s smiling, really.

To move is to…

Start our days early and go long more than once in a blue moon.
It’s exceeding expectations for others and dismissing mediocrity in our work.
It’s having a sense of urgency with our efforts, predicting and pre-sweating the details for others.
It’s being resourceful and resilient when we fall short, making it all about results – exceptional results.
The truth is… You’re at my service and I’m at yours.

To enjoy more, we need to give more.

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When asked to do something for someone else (customer, friend, family member, colleague) does your YES say “yes, if I have to” or “yes, it would be my pleasure”?

How patient are you with the first from someone else?

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"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."  -- George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Irish playwright and critic

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“Generosity is more fun. That’s the key.” -- Robert Thurman (1941 -    ), American scholar and Buddhist monk

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A little more about the topic and the author: Smile & Move™ can be read at www.SmileAndMove.com. It was written by Sam Parker as a follow-up manifesto to his bestselling book, 212° the extra degree® (www.Just212.com/video). Sam is a cofounder of Give More Media in Richmond, VA. He blogs at www.justparker.typepad.com and tweets @justparker.

Sarcastic Wednesday

Just something to make you smile on a Wednesday.

Hoops and Yo Yo are FUN!

Even I get to feeling a little salty some Wednesdays :) For those who can't see the video embedded, please click here.

Free e-course: 10 Kick Ass Ways to Supercharge Your Life

All I’m going to say is, you need to sign up for this free e-course! No catch, no strings attached, just put in your name and e-mail, and get 10 ways to supercharge your life. it’s not from me, but from someone who ALWAYS inspires me to kick ass in my life, Pam Thomas. You can read about why she is giving this away here.

Enjoy the Sandwich!

Lately I’ve been out of focus. I haven’t focused on the RIGHT NOW as much as I normally do, and the tidal wave of life has overcome me. I talked to a dear friend today who reminded me about this. Her grandmother is in her 80s, and she reminded me that SHE needs to make the effort to visit Grandma, to call Grandma, to love Grandma. Grandma had her time to invest in her, now is her time to invest in Grandma.

Every single moment of life is precious and should be savored, because you never know how many more moments you’ll have.

Enjoy the sandwich! – Warren Zevon

I lost both my grandmas a few years ago. I love my parents, and I am VERY thankful they’re both still alive but I was raised by my grandmas, and I miss them both a lot.

Each of the last few years of their life, I maximized the time I spent with them, to make sure I let them know how much they meant to me. Sure, I did that throughout my life, but I treasured those last moments even more. 

When I was 12 years old, Grandma Gerbyshak made me some very tasty sandwiches for my 4 AM trip into the woods for deer hunting with my dad and uncles. They were so tasty a deer came up to nuzzle them, and my ear too because I fell asleep in my deer stand.

You read that right: a deer nuzzled my ear.

But I didn’t wake up from the nuzzling. I woke up because my cousin Don took 3 shots at the deer less than 50 yards away and killed it.

I enjoyed that sandwich, and I was VERY thankful to be alive. I still think about that experience and those wonderful sandwiches Grandma used to make.

Take some time today to enjoy YOUR sandwich!

Hat tip to Joe Heuer for the quote, and photo credit for Sister Eating Big Sandwich to Randy Son of Robert

Happiness: Twofer Tuesday

Two Quotes:

"Happiness, I do not know where to turn to discover you on earth, in the air or the sky; yet I know you exist and are no futile dream." - Rosalia de Castro

"The U.S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself." - Benjamin Franklin

Two Questions:

Do you believe happiness exists?

If so, have you caught up to your happiness?

Faces in places photo credit to marco annunziata

Big Picture Patch: Why You Should be Happy Right Now

In just 120 seconds, Gary Vaynerchuck shares with us the true secret to happiness in this video. He calls it his Big Picture Patch or BPP for short.

The concept is quite simple: Whenever life gets you down, or life is on a big high note, keep the BPP in mind. The BPP is the health and happiness of the 5-10 people closest to you.

Simple exercise to think about your BPP

Grab a sheet of paper and write down the 5 people that mean the most to you in your world.

Are they happy?

Are they healthy?

That’s it, and I like it. It's simple, and it helps keep things in perspective.

How's your BPP?

Tim Sanders: Saving the World at Work

Love is the Killer App is one of my favorite books of all time, as it changed my thinking about the way I treat people and how much being a lovecat can make a difference in folks lives. It’s no stretch to say if I hadn’t found this book, you wouldn’t be reading this blog.

Tim’s new book is called Saving the World at Work. It’s all about what each one of us can do to make our work world a better place. Simple premise, but a hugely powerful message!

I came across Tim’s video via his blog, and I knew I needed to share it with you. The video is called  The Timberland Story, and it’s 8 minutes and 7 seconds long.

Tim speaks of the ripples we can each make by doing something small for someone else. I’ve lived this ripple. I’ve reached out to folks with huge success, and had many folks reach out to me. It’s amazing what we can do if we just give a crap enough to reach out and help.

Please watch the video, and think about how YOU can be the change you wish to see in the world.

More information: You can read a little more about what Tim’s philosophy is in this article on Fast Company called Love is the Killer App.

5 tips for connecting with people online and offline

Connecting to people, online and offline, is one of the best ways I know to improve your business, and to improve your life. Frequently when I talk to groups about the power of connections, I’m asked HOW to network.

To me, it’s a natural thing. I love people.

To some, it’s difficult, and a learned trait.

But I’ve thought about what I do, and how I do it, and I thought it might be helpful, for all those who need a little help. None of these are rocket science, they’re just simple, honest tips that work for me.

Know WHY you want to connect to this person - Is it because they are a favorite author of yours, a thought leader in your field, just a cool person, or what is it about them? Let me know that when you reach out, and be honest. If it's just a fan boy/fan girl letter of "Hey, I love your writing" that's great. Be specific about why you want to connect, even if it's just to say thanks for writing a great book or article, or thanks for giving a powerful presentation.

Help FIRST - See what the other person needs and add value to the relationship before you ever ask for help. One of the things I like to do after I attend a seminar is offer an unsolicited testimonial for any speakers that changed my thinking. I’ll email it to them, post it on their LinkedIn profile, or post it up along with a link to their site on my site. And anytime I do that, I make sure and be specific about why I’m doing it, as a thank you for the value they added to my life.

Be authentic – It’s important to be who you really are and most folks will naturally be attracted to that. You won’t attract EVERYONE this way, but those who aren’t attracted to you aren’t folks you want in your network anyway.

Start small, think GREAT - Never underestimate the power of connecting to just 1 person. 1 person can make a HUGE difference in your life. Make it a point to focus on that 1 other person by asking questions about their needs and their wants, and make that 1 relationship GREAT.

Connect others together when appropriate – Now that you know the other person, how about connecting them to someone else they might value knowing? The power of three is more than the power of me! Connect 2 people who don't know each other, share why you think they should connect, and then make the introduction. KEY POINT: Be sure to explain WHY you are making the introduction or folks may feel like you’re stalking them or worse, trying to sell them something.

What are your best tips for connecting with people?

I want a free book (and so can you)!

Hi Andy,

My name is Phil Gerbyshak. I saw your fun video at 800-CEO-READ, and though this is a pretty silly way to get 200 bloggers to write about your book POW! Right Between the Eyes and link back to your website. I still would LOVE a copy of your book because it looks fun!

Can you mail my copy to:

Phil Gerbyshak
PO Box 510854
Milwaukee WI 53202

Thanks so much,
Phil

Do you want a copy of Andy’s book? Watch the video below and follow the directions. It isn’t that hard :)

Roll Your Own Magazine with Tabbloid

A few months ago I found this cool tool called Tabbloid, but I never shared it with you on the blog. I did share it in my Google Reader page, but not here.

It recently popped back onto my radar because my nightly magazine came in moments ago.

It’s super simple:

1) You enter the RSS feed(s) you want to follow (I recommend you add http://feeds.feedburner.com/makeitgreat and http://slackermanager.com/feed if you want to follow all of my stuff) :)

2) Select your delivery options (time, when to send it, what email address to send it to)

3) Wait for it to come to your mailbox.

4) That’s it.

It’s great because it requires no registration, and it just works!

Make your own magazine cover