Podcast appearances and mentions of allen weiss

Send us a Text Message.What an incredible collection! Gary and I visited their fantastic terrace house in Erskineville, where every wall is adorned with art. Tune in now to discover how they built their collection, the day jobs that support their passion, how they select each piece, and what they hope their legacy will be. It's a great conversation with two fascinating individuals—thank you, Gordon and Michael! 'The Elliott Eyes Collection (TEEC) of contemporary art is housed in a private Victorian terrace house in Erskineville, Sydney NSW.The collection of approximately 400 works (sculpture, painting and ceramics) focuses mainly on Australian and New Zealand art, but also includes work by German, Belgium, American, South African and English artists, all of which are on display. Four major outdoor sculptures extend the collection beyond the usual interior walls, tables, mantels and, in our case, even the floor of the house. The decision to open tEEC to public tours was prompted by a visit to Terry Stringer's sculpture park “Zealandia” north of Auckland and by our inclusion in Skadi Heckmueller's book, “Private: A Guide to Personal Art Collections in Australia and New Zealand” (Dott Publishing, 2015). It also follows the opening of the Lyon Housemusem and the Justin Art House Museum in Melbourne; both exceptional collections and buildings well worth a visit.It is also motivated by the realization that once works become part of a private collection they can easily be ‘lost' to public view. Sharing these works, and listening to other people's comments and responses adds immensely to the pleasure we are lucky to experience as we engage with and enjoy the collection on a daily basis.The wonderful experience provided by the recent trend of house museums, is that each venue is truly individual and unique; expressing the personal interests and character of the owners/collectors. Allen Weiss in "The Grain of the Clay" (Reaction Books,2016) has described collecting, or a collection, as an autobiographical statement. Unencumbered by the boundaries, rules and bureaucracy of public galleries, the house musem displays the passion of the collector – individualistic, subjective, imaginative and zany.It is important to say that we live permanently with our collection. We are not a museum or a gallery. Artworks are displayed and incorporated into the everyday spaces of our house, working around the normal aspects and tasks of a standard household. We find ourselves drying off in the shower, trying to avoid knocking over Jim Cooper's large ceramic flower and duck or, in quieter moments, spending endless hours trying to decipher just what is going on in Mark Whalon's mysterious and deliciously perverse paintings. Some works are functional – Michael Snape's security door - while others are more traditional, decorative pieces, acquired and admired simply because they are beautiful or significant works in contemporary (Australian) art history. While our collection is constantly growing, sometimes in divergent, unexpected directions, it's central focus is on the figure in the landscape. This theme is only loosely adhered to, so an outlier work of art can easily capture our attention and find it's way into the collection. Some works are ‘serious' (e.g. our obsession with the 1950s and 1960s paintings by James Gleeson) and others are just ‘fun' (e.g. Madeleine Child's ceramic popcorn).'

As we do every year, we welcome 32 Fans and Jordan Kalish to each make first round picks for the NFL draft. The fans pick not who they think their team will take, but who they themselves would want to take if they were in charge, while Jordan both makes predictions and also provides his own recommendations. You can see the whole draft here, but clicking that link will spoil the podcast. Thanks to our drafting fans Ari Gleicher, Steven Apter, Devin Maida, Tom Donlan, David Droegemeier, Yoni Wiesel, Justin Melo, Tim Westine, Evan Desroches, Adam Brooks, Paul Elliott, Jacob Lewin, Chad Shepherd, Alban Brooke, Zach Sosna, Josh Lehmer, Matt Faigen, Kyle King, Shamir Seidman, Ian Rosenblum, Zach Richler, Scottie, Matthew Bryan, Allen Weiss, Zach Brooks, Chappel and Jason Reed, Oscar Aparicio and Producer Kelly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Want your product or service to stand out in a crowded marketplace? Looking for a compelling way to position your brand? To explore how to use benefits and outcomes to differentiate your business, I interview Allen Weiss.Guest: Allen Weiss | Show Notes: socialmediaexaminer.com/608Review our show on Apple Podcasts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Brand Benefits Playbook: Why Customers Aren't Buying What You're Selling--And What to Do About It by Allen Weiss and Debbie MacInnis ABOUT THE BOOK: From two of the world's leading experts on branding, brand benefits, and positioning, this strategic guide reveals how focusing on brand benefits can transform organizations and help them win in the marketplace. Today's customers think less about products and more about brands, no matter whether those brands are organizational, nonprofit, individuals, or service-oriented.  Customers also care less about the features of your product—what it has—than about its benefits—what it does for them.  While this sounds like common sense, shockingly few organizations actually conduct business this way. Drs. Allen Weiss and Debbie J. MacInnis, professors and branding, brand benefits, and positioning experts, are about to change that.  In The Brand Benefits Playbook, Weiss and MacInnis help readers understand, and transition to, a benefits-based model.  This focus on customer benefits will teach organizations: What market they are in (or could be operating in) How customers perceive their brand (and that of their competitors) in terms of benefits The most effective way to segment a market and position a brand in terms of benefits How to deliver benefits throughout the customer journey How a focus on benefits facilitates growth Evidence-based, integrated, and simple, this innovative approach can be applied to all markets—and ensures that any brand can deliver the benefits its customers truly want. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Allen Weiss, PhD, is the founder and CEO of MarketingProfs, LLC, the largest B2B marketing training, consulting, and event company dedicated to helping large organizations, teams, and individuals execute marketing campaigns that drive actual results.  He is also a consultant, conference speaker, and Emeritus Professor at USC. Dr. Weiss has developed a rigorous process for benefit positioning in his consulting with global technology companies.  His work can be seen in tech brands including Intel and Texas Instruments, and categories like banks and insurance companies.  And, interesting facts - he has an engineering degree and was in a band that opened for major recording acts like Lynyrd Skynyrd Bonnie Raitt, and Kenny Loggins! Click here for this episode's website page with the links mentioned during the interview... https://www.salesartillery.com/marketing-book-podcast/brand-benefits-playbook-allen-weiss

We're thrilled to welcome Allen Weiss, CEO & Founder of MarketingProfs, on Social Pros this week for a masterclass in mental health and mindfulness.  Huge thanks to our amazing sponsors for helping us make this happen. Please support them; we couldn't do it without their help! This week:  Salesforce Marketing Cloud  ICUC  Full Episode Details   As social pros, we've all dealt with stress, burnout and anxiety…(gee, it's probably a daily occurrence!)  But it's so crucial we remember to take care of our minds and our souls and prioritize our mental health.  On this episode of Social Pros, we are joined by Allen Weiss, CEO & Founder of MarketingProfs.  Allen joins the show to discuss the benefits of mindfulness and meditation, why self-care is so important and how social pros can integrate mental health into their working routines.  Plus, Allen shares top tips on when and how to meditate, and plenty of other actionable advice.  We can think of so many times we'd have benefitted from taking a few moments to meditate at work – and we're sure you can to!  Save and come back to this one in times of stress!  In This Episode:  0:00 – Introduction  4:44 – Time to introduce Allen  9:04 – His involvement in marketing, mental health and teaching  12:20 – How meditation changed his life  13:19 – How trauma impacted his mental health  15:46 – What is mindfulness?  20:13 – How long is long enough?  23:06 – Do you need to use an app/prompt?  25:30 – Taking a breath!  29:45 – How social media employers can implement mindfulness  35:12 – Allen's class  37:30 – Advice for social pros  38:17 – Outro   Resources  Schedule a consultation with ICUC  Grab your free Social Media Audit Bundle  Be notified of Allen's class  Follow Allen on LinkedIn  Follow Allen on Twitter  Visit SocialPros.com for more insights from your favorite social media marketers. 

Keev and Alex welcome back Jordan Kalish to battle against 31 fans in picking the first round of the NFL draft. Thank you to JT Jaberuski, Yoni Pollak, Tom Donlan, Jacob Lewin, Chad Shepherd, Zach Brooks, Adam Brooks, Tim Westine, Ari Gleicher, Shamir Seidman, Justin Melo, Zach Richler, Devin Maida, Steven Apter, Matt Faigen, Scottie, David Droegemeier, Dave Chappell, Alban Brooke, Yoni Wiesel, Ian Rosenblum, Allen Weiss, Zach Sosna, Paul Elliott, Warren Bigelow and Producer Kelly for making picks for us. This episode's outro is Stomping Grounds (Live) by Bela Fleck and The Flecktones (h/t Zvi Rapps). This episode is sponsored by Caldera Lab, which creates high performance men's skincare products by combining pharmaceutical-grade science, along with nature's purest and most potent ingredients. Use code 32FANS at calderalab.com or just go directly to calderalab.com/32FANS for 20% off their best products! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Customer insights master Debbie MacInnis and positioning expert Allen Weiss join us to talk about two strategic areas in which organizations are struggling.

Jordan Kalish joins us for his annual visit as we preview the first round of the NFL draft. You can see our entire drafts here (but don't click before you listen, or you'll be spoiled!). Thanks as well to this year's team experts: Alban Brooke, Oscar Aparicio, Jeremy Barton, Zach Sosna, Kyle King, Zach Brooks, JT Jaberuski, Nelson from Denver, Jordan Parhar, Yoni Wiesel, Shamir Seidman, David Droegemeier, Michael Clark, Tom Donlan, Adam Brooks, Steven Apter, Ari Gleicher, Jacob Lewin, Justin Melo, Matt Faigen, Michael Beverage, Jeremy Wall, Paul Elliott, Zach Richler, Allen Weiss and Jon Jon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Allen Weiss graduated from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and is board certified in Rheumatology, Internal Medicine, and Geriatrics. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Rheumatology.In 2017, Dr. Weiss became an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine and was also elected to the American Hospital Association Board. He’s been named to Becker’s Top 100 Outstanding Physician leaders of healthcare systems several times now.John Marchica is a veteran health care strategist and COO of Darwin Research Group, a health care market intelligence firm specializing in health care delivery systems. He’s a two-time health care entrepreneur, and his first company, FaxWatch, was listed twice on the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing American companies. John is the author of The Accountable Organization and has advised senior management on strategy and organizational change for more than a decade.John did his undergraduate work in economics at Knox College, has an MBA and M.A. in public policy from the University of Chicago, and completed his Ph.D. coursework at The Dartmouth Institute. He is a faculty associate in the W.P. Carey School of Business and the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University and is an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.About Darwin Research Group   Darwin Research Group Inc. provides advanced market intelligence and in-depth customer insights to health care executives, with a strategic focus on health care delivery systems and the global shift toward value-based care. Darwin’s client list includes forward-thinking biopharmaceutical and medical device companies, as well as health care providers, private equity, and venture capital firms. The company was founded in 2010 as Darwin Advisory Partners, LLC and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz. with a satellite office in Princeton, N.J.

MarketingProfs founder and mindfulness teacher Allen Weiss explains how mindfulness and meditation can help marketers survive and thrive in stressful situations (like, say, a pandemic).

To discuss strategies for managing the difficult emotions of fear, anxiety and extreme stress that a pandemic can intensify, I invited mindfulness teacher Allen Weiss to join us.  Allen is the founding teacher and Director of Mindful USC and a senior teacher at InsightLA where he has taught mindfulness classes for the past 12 years. He also spent years of his life as a professional musician, touring the country opening for bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bonnie Raitt. In this episode we talk about mindfulness exercises for hard times, our relationship with fear, how to make meditation a habit, principles for increasing the odds of contentment, seeing results from your practice, and quantum leaps in learning.Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @WolfInTune https://www.richardwolf.net/Read "In Tune: Music As The Bridge To Mindfulness" https://tinyurl.com/tz67aqm 

Stefanie Krievins is a big hearted, tough love professional career coach with lots of wisdom to give. Fair warning, a few F-bombs are peppered in with that wisdom! She specializes in change making within organizations and that's why I wanted to have her on. For UX designers to do their job, they have to foster an environment that's open to change. Because that's what we do, we go in and make waves. In this episode Stefanie talks about how important it is to define success upfront, what type of questions to ask in a UX interview, and how to reframe the skills of a past career when you are transitioning into UX. Stefanie will also be giving a lecture and mini-workshop at the UX Hustle Summit on Saturday Sept 7th. Go to UXhustle.org to learn more about the conference and when you get your ticket, enter uxhustlepodcast all lowercase. HELPFUL LINKS: Sign up for Stefanie's course and join her community: https://stefaniekrievins.com/ Stefanie's Pro troublemaker worksheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I91X2DjveQVcqVnNoU-_tAVA6M8dTjTC/view?usp=sharing $50 off the UX Hustle Summit: https://uxhustlesummit2019.eventbrite.com?discount=uxhustlepodcast The Secrets of closing the sale by Zig Ziglar https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Closing-Sale-Included-Emotional/dp/B019NHUY8S/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=zig+ziglar&qid=1567191273&s=gateway&sr=8-6 Million Dollar Consulting by Allen Weiss https://www.amazon.com/Million-Dollar-Consulting-Professionals-Practice/dp/B01HBZCM66/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Allen+weiss&qid=1567191364&s=audible&sr=1-1 TED Talk recommendation: Self-Love, be Intentional by Caitlyn Roux https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCNOJmmHLkQ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/uxhustle/support

Rencontre animée par Sophie Joubert ayant eu lieu le lundi 6 mai - 19h Chantal Thomas - East Village Blues « Marcheuse vers rien : ça ne retire pas leur nécessité aux tracés de mes errances. » Si Chantal Thomas parle de « nécessité », c'est parce que le séjour à New York qu'elle nous raconte dans ce nouveau livre la ramène vers son passé. Au milieu des années 1970, elle a décidé de partir, loin de la France ; elle s'est installée chez une amie dans l'East Village, lieu de l'immigration et de la bohème d'Allen Ginsberg, ou encore de William Burroughs… Un quartier où, sur fond de Velvet Underground, on inventait et expérimentait des formes de liberté grisantes. Quarante ans après cette parenthèse à l'intensité particulière, Chantal Thomas nous emmène sur les lieux qui l'ont fait vibrer. Que reste-t-il de la marginalité d'autrefois ? Des graffitis sur les quelques immeubles qui n'ont pas été restaurés et dont son complice Allen Weiss nous livre des images au cours du récit. Délicieuse évasion. À lire - Chantal Thomas, East Village Blues, photos d'Allen S. Weiss, Seuil, 2019.

A conversation with Allen Weiss. Producer of what may be the majority of scholarship on chou farci in existence on this planet, Allen Weiss is the author of multiple works (theoretical, gastronomic, and creative), creator of the ""Ingestion"" column in Cabinet, and had served on the scientific committee that proposed to UNESCO ""the French gastronomic meal"" be named part of the world's immaterial heritage. He currently teaches at NYU. Meant To Be Eaten is powered by Simplecast.

In this two-part podcast, John Marchica speaks with NCH Healthcare System’s president and CEO, Dr. Allen Weiss. Dr. Weiss breaks down how they have changed the mindset of community health at the health system level with astounding statistics and fruitful outcomes. Here are some of the highlights we cover: Part 1 - 17 min. Present day history of NCH Healthcare System Focus on community health with Blue Zones project Behavioral economics for reducing health care costs Part 2 - 13 min. Health System trends Other health care systems going the same path as NCH Healthcare Advice to new physician residents Speaker Bios Dr. Allen Weiss graduated from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and is board certified in Rheumatology, Internal Medicine, and Geriatrics. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Rheumatology. In 2017, Dr. Weiss became an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine and was also elected to the American Hospital Association Board. He’s been named to Becker’s Top 100 Outstanding Physician leaders of healthcare systems several times now. John Marchica is a veteran health care strategist and CEO of Darwin Research Group. He was the founder and CEO of FaxWatch, a leading business intelligence and medical education company and two-time member of the Inc. 500 list of America's fastest growing companies. John is the author of The Accountable Organization and has advised senior management on strategy and organizational change for more than a decade. John earned his B.A. in economics from Knox College, an MBA and M.A. in public policy from The University of Chicago, and completed his Ph.D. coursework and doctoral exams in clinical epidemiology and health economics at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. He is a faculty associate in the W.P. Carey School of Business and the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University. About Darwin Research Group Darwin Research Group Inc. provides advanced market intelligence and in-depth customer insights to health care executives, with a strategic focus on health care delivery systems and the global shift toward value-based care. Darwin’s client list includes forward-thinking biopharmaceutical and medical device companies, as well as health care providers, private equity, and venture capital firms. The company was founded in 2010 as Darwin Advisory Partners, LLC and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz. with a satellite office in Princeton, N.J.

In this two-part podcast, John Marchica speaks with NCH Healthcare System’s president and CEO, Dr. Allen Weiss. Dr. Weiss breaks down how they have changed the mindset of community health at the health system level with astounding statistics and fruitful outcomes. Here are some of the highlights we cover: Part 1 - 17 min. Present day history of NCH Healthcare System Focus on community health with Blue Zones project Behavioral economics for reducing health care costs Part 2 - 13 min. Health System trends Other health care systems going the same path as NCH Healthcare Advice to new medical residents Speaker Bios Dr. Allen Weiss graduated from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and is board certified in Rheumatology, Internal Medicine, and Geriatrics. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Rheumatology. In 2017, Dr. Weiss became an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine and was also elected to the American Hospital Association Board. He’s been named to Becker’s Top 100 Outstanding Physician leaders of healthcare systems several times now. John Marchica is a veteran health care strategist and CEO of Darwin Research Group. He was the founder and CEO of FaxWatch, a leading business intelligence and medical education company and two-time member of the Inc. 500 list of America's fastest growing companies. John is the author of The Accountable Organization and has advised senior management on strategy and organizational change for more than a decade. John earned his B.A. in economics from Knox College, an MBA and M.A. in public policy from The University of Chicago, and completed his Ph.D. coursework and doctoral exams in clinical epidemiology and health economics at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. He is a faculty associate in the W.P. Carey School of Business and the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University. About Darwin Research Group Darwin Research Group Inc. provides advanced market intelligence and in-depth customer insights to health care executives, with a strategic focus on health care delivery systems and the global shift toward value-based care. Darwin’s client list includes forward-thinking biopharmaceutical and medical device companies, as well as health care providers, private equity, and venture capital firms. The company was founded in 2010 as Darwin Advisory Partners, LLC and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz. with a satellite office in Princeton, N.J.

Panel: Phillip Morgan Reuven Lerner In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Reuven and Phillip discuss designing a product ladder. The panel discusses the importance of offering a suite of products with a defined path from low tier to a high tier value.  Furthermore,  services and or a blend of products and services is also apart of the tier offerings. Phillip and Reuven talk about specific strategies for how product ladders are implemented. Perhaps a freemium product that entices one into the bigger valued product. This is a great episode for freelancers to understand how to formulate a product line for your freelancing business. In particular, we dive pretty deep on:  Offering lower and higher tier products A blend of service and products The Brain Audit Comparison of Apple products and purchases to top tier products Buying into Apple products with  iTunes on Windows Functions of a product ladder What is your product ladder? Advance, Intermediate, and Basic Users Increasing expertise Basic level product to companion level products How do you learn best? Question to ask your audience. What would a 5 grader understand? Ask which level of expertise your audience needs to help them up the ladder Allen Weiss books and webinars   And much more! Links The Brain Audit  Picks: Reuven Survey Monkey Phillip Book - Get Naked    

Panel: Phillip Morgan Reuven Lerner In this episode of the Freelancer’s Show, Reuven and Phillip discuss designing a product ladder. The panel discusses the importance of offering a suite of products with a defined path from low tier to a high tier value.  Furthermore,  services and or a blend of products and services is also apart of the tier offerings. Phillip and Reuven talk about specific strategies for how product ladders are implemented. Perhaps a freemium product that entices one into the bigger valued product. This is a great episode for freelancers to understand how to formulate a product line for your freelancing business. In particular, we dive pretty deep on:  Offering lower and higher tier products A blend of service and products The Brain Audit Comparison of Apple products and purchases to top tier products Buying into Apple products with  iTunes on Windows Functions of a product ladder What is your product ladder? Advance, Intermediate, and Basic Users Increasing expertise Basic level product to companion level products How do you learn best? Question to ask your audience. What would a 5 grader understand? Ask which level of expertise your audience needs to help them up the ladder Allen Weiss books and webinars   And much more! Links The Brain Audit  Picks: Reuven Survey Monkey Phillip Book - Get Naked    

On September 10th 2017, the most powerful storm ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean made landfall on the paradise coast, but the President and CEO of the NCH healthcare system, Dr. Allen Weiss and his staff, refused to close their doors.

Writing isn't easy-but it isn't hard either The key to writing is to know what strategy to follow, so the road isn't bumpy all year long. This episode isn't about going down memory lane. Instead, it's practical advice I wish I'd had—Like how to choose the right coach or the right editor. Writing isn't all about you. Writing depends on the coach, the editor and the client. This podcast is about a strategy that's not commonly expressed and approaches writing in a more philosophical, yet practical way. In this episode Sean talks about Element 1: Why a Coach And Editor Are Incredibly Crucial Element 2: Why Writing For Yourself is A Tedious Process—And To Be Avoided Element 3: Why the ONE word concept is your compass in the darkness Right click here and ‘save as’ to download this episode to your computer.   Useful Resources 5000bc: There is a lot of information on the internet. You can read and learn from it. But in 5000bc the discussion is about you. About your specific problem. And how to go about your specific situation. And Sean is around answering all your questions. Find out more here—5000bc. www.5000bc.com -------------------------- Hi, this is Sean D’Souza and you are listening to the Three Month Vacation Podcast. Who is considered the second greatest British person of all time? When the BBC did a poll in 2002, they expected somehow that Winston Churchill would be in that top ten list. But there in the second position was someone whose name was reasonably unfamiliar. A name that didn’t belong in this century, nor from the previous century. A man who was born in 1806, somewhat mysteriously found his way to the second spot. His name? Isambard Kingdom Brunel—one of the most famous engineering minds of all time. And Brunel built a magnificent ship—and it was called the Great Western At the time of its construction, the Great Western was the longest ship in the world. There she sat at 236 feet, with one stunning goal in mind—to cross the Atlantic. The trip was to start from Bristol, in the UK, and terminate in New York city in the United States. The goal was audacious because no one believed in the commercial viability of such a long journey. In 1838, despite many technological developments, shipbuilders presumed that a ship had limited capability. They believed that no ship could carry both—commercial cargo as well as enough fuel—and make the long journey across the Atlantic. Brunel was a person who thought differently about long journeys For one, his heart was set on engineering. He developed a theory—a sort of formula that involved the amount a ship could carry and how a ship could be built so that it faced a lot less resistance from the ocean. Armed with his formula he set about building the Great Western, but then added more technological improvements.Instead of a ship, made mostly of wood. Brunel added bolts; he added diagonal iron reinforcements. He increased the strength of the keel and carried four masts for sails. And so the ship—the Great Western—embarked on her maiden voyage from Bristol with 610,000 kilos of coal, cargo and seven passengers. The Great Western on her maiden voyage to New York—powered by steam. A feat never achieved before! Despite all the plans and engineering, Brunel’s ship hadn’t got off to a great start In the 1830’s there was a competition to be the first to cross the Atlantic powered by steam alone. The Great Westernshould have been well on its way, but ran into difficulties before leaving Bristol. There was a fire on the ship, a minor fire, but Brunel was hurt in the fire and wasn’t able to make the journey. As a result of the fire, 50 paying passengers cancelled their trip. Finally, the ship made it out of Bristol’s harbour with just seven people on board. What was worse is that it was four whole days behind it’s competitor—another steam ship called the Sirius. The Sirius left as scheduled, leaving the fire-stricken Great Western still in dock. Now, the Great Western and her crew were well and truly behind—and Sirius would get all the glory. But Sirius’ trip was anything but glorious Along the way to New York, Sirius ran into serious trouble. They started to run out of fuel. Her crew was forced to burn cabin furniture, spare yards—even an entire mast because they ran out of fuel. And they took 19 days to get across the Atlantic. The Great Western, in comparison, arrived like the queen of the seas. She took just 15 days and five hours and with a third—that’s almost 200,000 tons of coal to spare. This is a story about journeys—a writing journey, in particular. I didn’t want to write. My story is one of being nudged and pushed into writing. When we started out Millionbucks.co.nz (yes, that was our pathetic first shot at a brand name), I was writing for a fledging portal called MarketingProfs.com. Back in 2000, everyone was a fledging—and there wasn’t as much content online, as there is at this moment in time. Which is why the founder of MarketingProfs, Allen Weiss, would e-mail me and ask me for an article. This meant I had to write. I didn’t want to write, but I didn’t have much of an option. We were new in the business—and had just moved to New Zealand. The only way I could get any credibility in the marketplace was to get better known. And how you can have two sets of people—one battling almost vainly against the headwinds, while the other reaches its destination with amazing grace. When you embark on the task of writing, the headwinds start almost immediately. I know because I ran smack into trouble when I started writing articles. Every article was a chore; something I detested and yet I persisted. Over the years, I’ve learned that sheer determination and persistence is not enough. That engineering and planning make a big difference to the journey. And on that journey, there are three elements that stand out… Element 1: Why a Coach And Editor Are Incredibly Crucial Element 2: Why Writing For Yourself is A Tedious Process—And To Be Avoided Element 3: Why the ONE word concept is your compass in the darkness Element 1: Why a Coach And Editor Are Incredibly Crucial Whenever the topic of a child-genius is brought up, one name rises above them all: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This kid, we are told, was a prodigy. Before the age of six, he was already composing music. Most kids barely are barely finding their way around school at this age. And yet, we are told, Mozart was already competent at playing the piano and the violin. He’s also rumoured to have transcribed entire scores of music on a single hearing. How much of this is true, and how much was stage-craft, we’ll never know. But one thing we know for certain—Mozart had a coach. You don’t think of a coach when you hear the name of Mozart, do you? Yet, Mozart’s coach was his dad—Johann Georg Leopold Mozart. And Leopold Mozart wasn’t your average-let’s-play-music-dad. He was already a famous author on violin playing and celebrated enough to be the deputy director of music to the Archbishop of Salzburg. Plus there was Nannerl, Mozart’s sister. When Nannerl was just seven, her father decided to give her piano lessons because he believed she was gifted. So there was Mozart—baby Mozart—surrounded by all these incredible musicians—but primarily—coaches. Without coaching, you can go far—but it takes a lot of time When you read studies that quote the concept of 10,000 hours to mastery, what fails to emerge is the factor of mistakes. As a beginner, you’re expected to make mistakes. You aren’t aware when or where you’re making the mistakes. All you feel is this frustration—this resistance that ships often felt back in the day of Isambard Brunel. Something is wrong with the engineering, but you’re not sure what to fix. And if you can’t figure out where the mistake lies, the journey ends up with furniture and masts being burnt up—so that you can complete some sort of journey Coaching is valuable—that we already know—what’s hard is knowing how to find a great coach For me, this process of finding a coach has been streamlined to a single factor: skill vs. information. I call it “preacher vs. teacher”. Is the coach going to give you more information, or is he/she going to give you a skill? Alex Blumberg, ex-Planet Money, now co-founder of Gimlet Media is a coach. How do I know? Because in the world of telling radio stories, Alex doesn’t pound you with needless information. Instead, he has a method, even a formula of sorts. For example, when telling a story, he shows you how to evaluate the story. Let’s say you’re writing a story about homeless people—how would you use the formula? The formula runs like this: The story is about X, and it’s interesting because of Y. So the story is about “homeless people” and it’s interesting because “20% of them are college graduates”. Immediately that stands out from a line that goes like this: The story is about homeless people, and it’s interesting because “many have mental problems”. What Blumberg teaches us is how to eliminate the vagueness and lack of interest in the story. In his courses, he goes about things systematically, taking about editing, music, etc., in the world of podcasting. And you end up not full of information, but with specific skills. When you look at Mozarts, the Phelps, the Brunels of the world—they all had coaches. Coaches that enabled them to find their mistakes and move forward. And in article writing, going it your own way is the slowest boat to anywhere. I know because I took that boat. I took that boat in the field of cartooning; in the field of article writing too. And it took me ages to figure out the connectors, the “First 50 Words,” the endings, the beginnings, the structure—all of that misery could have been reduced if I had a coach. A coach that had a system; who would point out the errors—and get me quickly down the road. To me, of all the skills you have to learn as an entrepreneur, article writing stands out because you have to have a precise structure when writing. You have to be interesting; you have to tell stories; you have to stand out in a sea of content. Which is why, even today, I will go to workshops, buy a course, read books—because that’s how you get better at what you do. If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that without a coach, you’re floundering even when you’re pretty good. To get outstanding at what you do, you have to find Johann Georg Leopold Mozart to help you along. And you’re going to need not just a coach, but an editor as well You can be the best writer in the world, and you’re going to need an editor. I have five or six, at the very least; sometimes more. There’s David, Pamela, Teresa, Renuka, Alia, Philip—and Zack (I can hear Zack’s voice here). And every one of these editors come from a different angle; they have a different perspective. They force me to relook at what I’ve written so that I fit their needs. I remember the time I was writing a book, and I’d written more than ¾ of the book when I showed it to Philip. But Philip wasn’t impressed “All your books, they show me how to do things,” he said. This one is all information. Nice information, but not a lot I can implement.” There’s no use fighting these editors. And I’ve tried. There was a time when I went “hand-to-hand” in a battle with Pamela. She wanted me to chop out two whole pages from my pre-sell book. Those two pages were about how crummy marketers use pre-sell. Pamela wasn’t interested in reading about the other marketers—even though no names were mentioned. I fought back. I kept it down to a page. She came back and told me to get rid of it. I kept half a page. No dice. I tried a paragraph—and then finally buckled in. Pamela was right all the time, but I couldn’t see it at the start. I was too busy and too in love with what I’d written. But we’re talking about articles, not books. So would I do this for every article? Going back in time, yes, it’s what I did for every article. One of our earliest clients, Chris Ellington, would pore through all my work and shred it a bit more than I liked. It made me a better writer. But even now, I’ll post a series in 5000bc.com, and there are questions; lots of questions. The questions are a form of edit. They show what’s missing from the series and what needs a repair job. Plus, alongside every article we have a “what bugs me” on the website. So years after an article is written, you can have retrospective feedback. This is my first learning in article writing That at all times you need a coach, finding structural mistakes, helping you to get better at the core skill of writing. And then once you’ve written, you need someone to pick out the holes and make the work get to the level it deserves. Yet, to get to complete the article, you have to write it. And there’s a big barrier in the way. It’s you. You are the barrier. Why are you the barrier? This takes us to Element 2. Element 2: Why Writing For Yourself is A Tedious Process—And To Be Avoided Simone Young is a world-renowned conductor from Australia. Alondra de la Parra is also a world-class conductor—from the other part of the planet—Mexico. In a BBC podcast interview featuring the two conductors, there is a moment when they describe fear—Fear and anxiety. Young pipes in first. “I’m always anxious before I get on stage,” she says. “And that’s because I’m thinking about myself. The moment I get on stage, I start thinking about the audience, and my fear goes away.” At which point, de la Parra chimes in. She talks about the “cocktail party” in your brain. About how everyone is seemingly talking about you, and they’re not saying good things. The “cocktail party” chatter never seems to end, or so it seems. This is what you’d call “writing for yourself”—or at least what I call “writing for myself.” When I write an article, my first act is to ask a client for a question. If they ask more than one question, I’m a lot happier. If they have a list, I’m the happiest. Why? Because now I can stop the silly “cocktail party” in my brain. This cocktail party pops up every single time, no matter how good you get at the craft of article writing. Most times, I’m just writing an article, but sometimes that article becomes a book. Like the time I wrote the book on “Dartboard Pricing”, for instance I couldn’t figure out whether it was good enough. I couldn’t understand why anyone would buy the book when I’d written so many articles and done so many podcasts on the topic. Of course, I knew—I knew it’s an entirely different experience reading a structured book vs. random articles. But even so, you think about the “cocktail party” a lot. I had no such trouble when coming up with answers for a future book on “The Three Prong System.” A client and friend, Paul Wolfe, decided to do a series of three interviews with me on the topic of how I take breaks; how I manage to take a three-month vacation; how we handle vocation and vacation. And Wolfe had a series of questions—some prepared in advance, and some that organically sprouted from the discussion in progress. It’s not like I haven’t tried to write the book before. I’ve created an outline, started on the project and then abandoned it repeatedly. And it’s not because of a lack of skill, either. I can easily write the book—possibly in under a week. The problem is that I’d have to clamber into my brain to write that book. When Wolfe asks me the questions, I’m not trying to think about me. I’m thinking about the person asking the question—and occasionally other clients too. And the interview brings up a wealth of information—practical information too! When a client (or interviewer in this case) asks the questions, the cocktail party syndrome disappears, and it’s replaced with a focus on the audience. To write quickly and write a lot, I need questions—a lot of questions. But where do we get the questions? I get most of my questions in 5000bc. Clients ask a ton of questions and get articles in response (yes, I know, it’s a mad system). However, I also get a lot of questions through the podcast, e-mail, through consulting (I rarely consult, but every time I do, it’s amazing). Questions com from chats, after I make a presentation, and through just listening and reading. What I’ve learned is that I can’t just look for a random person asking a question online. That doesn’t fire me up at all. Instead, I have to have a specific person asking me a specific question. And when I’m writing the answer, I’m thinking of that person. Which is what gets me to talk a walk in those shoes and write with far more fluidity than if I sat down with a blank screen staring back at me. But where do we get the questions? We all wonder: Hasn’t this question been answered before? Aren’t there fifty thousand and three variations of this question already on the Internet? And the answer is NO. No one is going to answer the question like you do. For instance, there are whole books on the topic of focus. But my angle on focus—and focus in a distracted world—is different. I take three months off every year, still meet our “fixed revenue” goals and still manage to write books, conduct courses, do workshops, paint, cook—in short, do whatever I want, despite the distractions. So my angle is always going to be unique; my voice is going to be unique. And yours will be too. Your voice, your tone, your language—even the structure of your answer will be different. The question may have been asked a million times before, but the answer—your answer—is different. And you get questions from many sources, but you have to listen—that’s what I’ve learned. When others speak, they’re asking you the questions and doing so in many forms. You’ve got to listen, answer those questions and then keep a writing pad right next to you. Why a writing pad and not a recording? Well, have a recording, but the writing pad is vital because it captures the gist of the conversation. Then, while the ideas are still fresh in your head, you sit down and write. And the orchestra in your brain begins to play. You may not be a great writer yet. You may struggle as I did. But even in the middle of that struggle, you’ll notice the emotion. You’ll realise that everyone has gone home from the cocktail party, but you’re not quite alone. You’ve got words on paper. Writing for yourself is disgustingly difficult. It’s hard to reach into your brain and work out how to write an article, a report or a book. But write for others and you get the feeling that Young and de la Parra talk about. Suddenly, you feel free. ====== A coach, an editor. They help you along. The client and her questions—they bring out the orchestra in your writing. And there’s the article itself. It is also a guide—a big guide. So how do you use the article to stay on course? It’s a concept called the “One Idea.” This takes us to the last element. Click here to continue reading about—Three Interesting Things I Know About Writing-Part 2  http://www.psychotactics.com/writing-for-yourself/