So, MY question is… where is she REALLY from?

Ten years ago, Jay Shafer downsized to an 89-square-foot house and reinvented both his lifestyle and career in the process.

Nothing.

“Control, this is flight MTS27 ready for TAKE OFF. Over.”

Again, nothing.

“Control, this is flight MTS27 do you read me? Over.”

Still nothing.

—–

THE UPDATE

—–

It’s been one year. One year since my Jetta caught on fire and melted on the side of I-65 South. One year since I was forced to sell my beautiful home in the suburbs as part of a messy & expensive divorce settlement. One year (almost) since my trip to New Zealand that forever changed me.

In that year’s time I’ve sold all my possessions leaving me with just my clothes and a few bedroom items (I have more furniture in my office than at the house I’m staying in), I’ve given away my dogs to be able to move (the only thing that made that bearable was knowing they went together to a good home), I’ve lost a business partner and project manager. And I’ve been trying to figure out what to do next ever since.

My freelance business has dwindled down to a trickle with clients not having the money to spend on projects. Chalk it up to a bad economy I guess.

I made the decision, not to jump ship, but to pursue other options back in March and get a “big boy” job. Ever since then I’ve been applying to jobs on a weekly basis and probably have been on a few dozen interviews both on the phone and in person. I was able to get the attention of Southwest Airlines for their social media position and hold it for a little bit, but they chose someone else. The same goes with every, single, interview I’ve been on since. If I’m lucky I get a “Thanks, but no thanks.” Often it’s just… silence. Nothing. More waiting.

That I keep getting rejected is fine. I mean, it totally sucks, but at the same time I know that’s not what God has in store for me.

The question is, then, what have I been created for? Where’s my sweet spot in the puzzle where I fit perfectly and add to the beauty of the over all “bigger picture?” I want nothing more than to do that which God has created me for, but I’m having a hard time figuring out what that is. I know it’s in a place of influence, but the platform I’m currently on isn’t much higher than a soap box.

I’ve been created to fly. My engines are running. I’m just waiting for clearance.

—–

THE TAKE AWAY / IN THE MEAN TIME

—–

I love to garden so I can totally relate to this. In order to produce more fruit and a thicker, fuller foliage we often times have to prune back our plants. I feel as if I’ve been pruned down to the root ball… all my stalks and stems have been chopped off; cut down to nothing. I’m just a heap of nubs. (Heap of Nubs… that’s a good band name. I digress.)

However, while growth on the outside isn’t flourishing, growth on the inside is. The roots are growing deeper; stretching for life-sustaining water. They grow deep so that when the rain (the blessing) comes, they can hold on and not be overtaken. They can withstand the blessing of water and begin to grow again.

Plants that don’t have a firm root foundation can easily be overcome by the rain and be washed away. Can’t the same be said for our own lives?

So this is where I am. I’m growing deeper (while sitting on the tarmac – if you’ll allow me to mix metaphors here) and reaching for that life-sustaining water (for me that’s God Word) so that when the rain does come – and I believe it will – I’ll be able to grow and flourish and not be overtaken by it.

Where are you? Have you been cut back? Are you waiting for clearance to take off? What gets you through the hard times?

I welcome your feedback.

I first became aware of this program when I was working with Inside|Out New Zealand (a week-long workshop in Auckland that teaches under privileged students to tell their story through film). It was only until I downloaded the FREE SOFTWARE that I really realized all it was capable of doing.

Celtx helps you produce all types of media – film, video, documentary, theatre, machinima, comics, advertising, video games, music video, radio, podcasts, videocasts, and however else you choose to tell your story.

You can use Celtx for the entire production process – write scripts, storyboard scenes and sequences, sketch setups, develop characters, breakdown & tag elements, schedule productions, and prepare and circulate informative reports for cast and crew.

Celtx is designed to help your entire production team work together on a single, easy to share project file – eliminating the confusion of multiple project files, and the need for ‘paper and binder’.

Together, Celtx and Celtx Studios give you the most complete media pre-production system available. The free Celtx desktop software delivers the most fluid writing experience. You can always keep your fingers moving as fast as your thoughts and your creative flow is never interrupted. Low-cost Celtx Studios complete your system with an advanced toolset for collaboration, workflow management, and project storage.

Celtx puts a choice of fully integrated development tools right at your fingertips, giving you total flexibility to determine how your story takes shape.

More than 500,000 media creators in 160 countries create with Celtx in 28 different languages. Celtx is used by independent filmmakers and studio professionals, and by students in over 1,800 universities and film schools – many that have adopted Celtx for teaching and class work submission.

This is a screenshot of the back cover from the latest Crate and Barrel catalog. Note the two signs of social media in the bottom right-hand corner.

It’s amazing how social media is now a part of normal, everyday life. Marketing folks call this “online/offline integration.”

It looks a bit flashy, but it’s TGIFridays in Time Square so they’re on brand.

Greeting folks as they enter Dillard’s in Cincinnati (Glenway/Western Hills)

at Coffee Emporium in downtown Cincinnati

Interesting to see how Oreo pushes people to their Facebook page to engage with the brand. Note it says TELL US vs. FOLLOW US. Subtle but important.

HT: PR Daily

This is MIKA’s sophomore album following his debut album “Life in Cartoon Motion” that released in January of 2009. You can purchase “The Boy Who Knew Too Much” on iTunes here.

(From Wikipedia:) Mika has described the album’s themes as dealing with his teenage years, and “in a sense is kind of part two” of his first album. In contrast to his first album which “contained innocent fairytales” Mika pitches the new album’s songs as “gothic Tim Burton-esque fantasies.”

Fans of Queen, Elton John and Marc Martel will love this one!

Oh, and be sure to check out MIKA’s new single, “Kick Ass (We Are Young)“

ScanLife produces a 2D boxcode that can be programed to do a multitude of tasks. One code may take your smart phone to the ad’s website, or if the article or ad is about an artists’ debut album, the code might take you to iTunes to download an exclusive single. Or maybe the code is on your business card. Once someone takes a picture of it with their camera phone through the ScanLife app, all of your contact information can be automatically inserted into their contact/address book. That, is cool.

The way it works is simple. Download the ScanLife app from the App Store, “scan” (take a picture) of the boxcode/barcode within the app and let it take you to where you need to be. That’s it!

Now print ads can offer you more information about the product they’re talking about. Stores can now offer exclusive incentives to those with the app. Artists and musicians  can now sell tracks right from a print ad. Who knew?

Below are examples of how business are using ScanLife:

Esquire Magazine is using ScanLife as part of their  “Esquire Collection” which details the essential wardrobe that every guy should have.  25 codes are connected to each individual item throughout the layout which gives readers a menu of options in one-click.

Morgans Hotel Group celebrates their 25th anniversary with a code that links to video and offers.

Scan this code to see blooper videos of a Fanta commercial in Scandinavia.

This code links to the book’s Amazon.com page for easy on-the-go online purchase.

Scan this code to get animated desktop wallpaper from NIKE.

How can you and/or your business use ScanLife?

The problem with SEO is that the public has caught on.  People know you can pay to have your results at the top. They also know how to “bend” the rules to manipulate the system. People know that SEO is a game, and consumers HATE games.

SMO is a term I prefer.  ”Social Media Optimization” is the marketing tool that businesses need to pay more attention to.  This isn’t about getting a Twitter account and forcing your coupon links down people’s throats. Nor is it about getting the most fans on your Facebook page.  SMO is much more.  It’s about establishing trust in the community, relationships in the community, and a reputation in the community…the online social media community.

SMO takes time.  There’s no microwave solution to leveraging Social Media for your business.  It takes commitment and work.  The way I see it, business leaders have two options for SMO.  First, they can hire an employee or employees to run their social media strategy.  Second, they can hire a firm to do it for them.  Some of the biggest companies in the world outsource all of their television advertising, and I think they will soon be outsourcing their social media marketing.

What’s your SMO strategy?

HT: 3Threat.net

Watch this video and learn about the Diesel Stupid Philosophy. Also, check out the website… they’ve got some killer stuff that’s uber interactive. Way to go!