Posted by Ellie Mirman on Wed, Dec 31, 2008 @ 07:20 AM
When I find something cool, I tend to get very excited about it, obsess about it for a little while, and then move on to the next big thing. Hopefully I can use my blog to capture those moments of excitement for me, and you, and the whole wide Internet.
My latest source of excitement is "the nametag guy" - a guy named Scott who wears a nametag 24/7 in an effort "to make people friendlier." He's an author and speaker (quite a young one, I might add) on the topic of approachability - both for personal and business use. He's got a blog and podcast and all that good stuff... but enough of my free promotion. Now onto the good stuff - the content.
I admit I can be a bit of a cheesball and so of course I latched on to his free ebook "66 Priceless Pieces of Business Advice I Couldn't Live Without". There are maybe a few things I'd suggest to Scott to better present his content for better distribution and better user experience, but hey, that's not what this post is about (we can do that stuff later). For now, I thought I'd share a few of the cheesy inspirational quotes that I particularly liked.
Be confident enough to be humble.
I love this one becuase one of the qualities I admire most in people is humility. And some of the most humble people I know are those that I find the most amazing in terms of their knowledge or kindness or any other brag-able quality. Humble people always manage to blow me away.
Anonymity is the greatest barrier to business success.
I relate this one to my growth and success in my role in my job. If you want to make it anywhere, you need to do something. And that means you need to have the courage and confidence to get out there, slap your name on and take responsiblity for your actions, whether they have positive or negative results. It may be a risk, but the higher the risk, the greater the payoff right? Take that chance, learn from your mistakes, and make a name for yourself.
Be unique, not different.
Though I haven't read the follow-up article all on this topic, I already see the difference between the two. Not only is this a great sentiment, but the tone of the sound bite itself speaks to the overall tone of Scott's speeches and purpose - it's a positive, optimistic tone. "Be unique" is a positive sentiment, creating yourself as a unique person, whereas "be different" merely defines you in relation to everyone else. It's the negative space instead of the positive space.
Act like you already are the person you want to become.
The new (broader) version of "dress for the job you want, not the job you have"? I like this one also for the dependent step of figuring out who is the person you want to become. Related quote: "Figure out exactly who you are, and then go be that person every day."
Love your zone of discomfort.
Love it. The quote I mean. You don't get anywhere being "comfortable."
If you aren't being criticized, you aren't doing much.
HubSpot TV co-host Karen Rubin and I were chatting about how she's now getting a few critics as the show gets bigger and bigger... a sign that the show is really starting to get big. It's true. If you're going to do anything significant, you're going to get critics.
Learning is not waiting to talk.
True and self-explanatory.
The best swimmers are always in the pool.
Recently I was advising someone who wants to learn and write about social media. First step: get involved. Now. This quote speaks to two elements: the best swimmers are those that are really engaged in the activity and also are so engaged likely because they have a passion for swimming.
And a great personal branding quote to end on:
It's not who you know, it's who knows you.
You can check out all 66 cheesy inspirational quotes here (and feel free to share).
Posted by Ellie Mirman on Sun, Dec 28, 2008 @ 06:25 PM
My Mom: "Why aren't you reading my child's blog?"
My 'Aunt': "Why didn't you tell me she had a blog? What kind of friend are you?"
My 'Grandmother': "I want to be in your blog!"
Um, welcome new readers.
Posted by Ellie Mirman on Wed, Dec 24, 2008 @ 07:51 AM
Happy Holidays everyone! Enjoy!
Posted by Ellie Mirman on Mon, Dec 22, 2008 @ 06:49 PM
Posted by Ellie Mirman on Fri, Dec 12, 2008 @ 11:56 AM
My brother sent me this cartoon, thinking of me. Ha!
Hey, some of us have fun at work (filmed on a Saturday morning... ha!)
Posted by Ellie Mirman on Wed, Dec 10, 2008 @ 08:27 PM
After my last post about the Sixth Photo Meme, I was all excited about going through my old photos again. So I went back to my Facebook photos and this time looked at the sixth photo of my sixth album (rather than the sixth photo on the sixth page). Here's what I found:
This is a photo of me and my friend Hannah (who I also tag in my last post) in Quebec City a few years back during Winter Carnival. Winter Carnival is the funnest - and coldest - time to be in Quebec City. At the carnival, there are tons of amazing wintery things going on, including a snow sculpture show. There were some pretty incredible creations, but in addition, there was one group allowing Carnival-goers to contribute to the making of a snow sculpture. And that's what we're doing here - we've grabbed a few shovels and picks and started hacking away at the lump of snow.
Can you tell what it is?
Posted by Ellie Mirman on Wed, Dec 10, 2008 @ 01:45 PM
I've officially been tagged in my first (correction: sixth - see below) photo meme by Mike Volpe.
The meme concept is kind of an interesting one (though probably gets annoying to those who are tagged all the time) because, although I sit across from Mike all day every work day, I was pleasantly surprised to get an alert about being tagged in his recent blog post.
As Mike explains in his post, "bloggers and social media folks like to play funny Internet games" (so true) and these memes (this particular meme is one of many chains) are one incarnation. What happens is a blogger will "tag" a fellow blogger by naming and linking to them in a blog post, and, because most bloggers track mentions and inbound links, they'll notice the post and continue the meme.
So this meme is the "Sixth Photo Meme" in which you look at the sixth photo on the sixth page of your Flickr stream and share it with the crowd, then tag six more bloggers to do the same. The only issue for me, of course, is that I'm a new user of Flickr and don't have more than one page of photos! So instead I'll share what is essentially the sixth photo on the sixth page of photos on my Facebook profile.
This is a photo from my trip to Europe last summer - I went to Prague, Vienna, and Berlin. Absolutely amazing trip. In any case, this is a photo of the Maisel Synagogue in Prague. There are six synagogues in Prague and each of them are completely different and absolutely historically and architecturally amazing. I should revisit my notes from my trip and blog about it at some point. In the meantime, there's more info about the synagogues and other places of interest in Prague here. Or, if you want to see more photos from my trip, you can check them out in my Europe Trip Highlights photo album.
Now, to keep the meme going, here are six of my blogger friends:
- Chelpixie - Because she's an awesome social mediaphile who, unfortunately, I haven't gotten to see in a while!
- Karen Rubin - Because she's a fellow HubSpotter who wishes she was on the Marketing Team. She's also one of the brilliant co-stars of our weekly HubSpot TV show and has her own delicious-looking food blog.
- Kyle James - One of our most recent (official) additions to the HubSpot team, and will soon be moving to the cold north to help us have even more fun.
- Rachel Levy - Another local marketer who is embracing social media and is really excited about learning about new marketing techniques and applying it to business.
- Tamara Garvey - As of today, I am a big Tamara Garvey fan - check out her etsy page for some cool ink drawings.
- Hannah White - A non-twitterer (yet) but happy blogger and close, close friend. She also takes some pretty awesome photos, regardless of the camera :)
Posted by Ellie Mirman on Mon, Dec 08, 2008 @ 08:38 AM
It's about time that Inbound Marketing makes it to the big YouTube screen. Check out this hilarious music video, featuring, among others, yours truly...
On Twitter? You can connect with all the actors and crew: @repcor, @mvolpe, @rickburnes, @pamelump, @J_Vaughan, @aaronwhite, @prashantkaw, @tibbon, and yours truly, @ellieeille
Posted by Ellie Mirman on Tue, Dec 02, 2008 @ 09:16 AM
Spend a few moments to enjoy:
Posted by Ellie Mirman on Mon, Dec 01, 2008 @ 08:15 AM
I used to like shopping. Each trip would be a big event, getting together with friends to walk around the mall and look at sweaters and electronics. Now I'll avoid the mall at all costs. I just have no tolerance for annoying salespeople anymore.
But last night I mustered up all strength I could and headed out to the Cambridgeside Galleria. I had to go to the Apple Store (yay!) to get a small piece of my 3-year-old iBook replaced just before my Apple Care warranty ran out (in 9 days). They fortunately did replace the piece, covered by my warranty, and they even offered to do it on the spot. The only issue was that I had an hour and a half to kill before I could come pick it up. OK, well, instead of trudging through the rain back to my apartment and then back again, I decided to stay and shop. If only I had had my book with me, I could have sat in Starbucks or the Food Court and read. Yes, I would have preferred to read my book in the Galleria Food Court than go shopping. But alas, I did not have my book.
So the shopping began.
The Angry
There's nothing like a Boston teenager who hates his cashier job at the mall to lighten up your holiday shopping trip. If nothing more, The Angry certainly serve as a delightful contrast to the overly happy salespeople all across the mall. I'll take their grumbles and tired looks anyday over
The Pushy
Oh boy, here's where it really gets going. The mall is filled with little booths strategically placed all along the corridors, so that salespeople can grab you before you duck into your next store. Well, one such salesperson managed to pull me into her booth with a simple, "Can I ask you a question?" and I am just too friendly and unassuming to say no to that. Well after that she quickly managed to get my coat and bags on the floor, me sitting on a chair, and my hands in hers getting moisturized with some body butter and cutticle cream. At the end I did indeed buy something (it turned out it would make a good gift) - their smallest item, given to me at "half price". What amazed me was that, even after I finally agreed to buy something, she kept trying to get me to buy more. I guess once you've got one item, it's a lot easier to sneak in a second, third, fifteenth. But no, no, I really was not going to be swayed by any more of her really obvious sales tricks.
The Zealous
When I finally got away, I thought I was done. As long as I stayed away from the stores and sales booths, stayed away from people in general, I could pick up my computer in just 10 more minutes and be out of the mall without being accosted by any more salespeople. I camped out on a bench to rest for a moment and check my email on my BlackBerry. I must have a very inviting look. Because who but a couple very unassuming looking missionaries come up to me to tell me all about their church that preaches a female Creator of the Universe according to the Bible. The Religious Studies student in me wanted to hear more about this random sect, but the exhausted shopper in me politely said, no thanks, I'm happy with my religion, and I have to go pick up my computer in any case.
I couldn't believe my evening. In just an hour and a half I managed to encounter all the aspects of shopping that I dread. Actually, I should correct myself: I did not actually dread being approached by young missionaries in the mall. I never expected for such a thing to happen.
To all you mall shoppers out there: Good luck. I'll be sticking to online shopping.
Photo by JoelZimmer