be intrepid.

Spending time on the social web like I do, I observe a lot of people. I find this time fascinating. It is how I observe the market, attempt to discern trends, and of course, keep tabs on what my friends, clients, and prospects are thinking about. But one thing does frustrate me. And that is when I observe countless amounts of people attending event after event, meetup after meetup, conference after conference, and networking event after networking event. I am not judging these people. I wish I had more time to hang at these events. But I sure wish I understood how in the hell they have the time to do this? In fact, it gets me wondering: Am I so poor at time management that I am unable to make the time to attend these things? Or is it that I am busy with client project work - or in my studio - that I just don't have the time? Are these people just so much better at time management than me? Or are they not doing as much project work as me, and thus have more time? Or is it that some people are battling the resistance, and hiding from doing the work? Someone told me that I haven't been as active on Twitter as usual. I, of course, said that I had been busy. Don't you understand I've got work to do, I thought to myself?? There are two types of leaders: those that DO, and those that tell you how to DO. The first batch have ZERO time to futz online all day. They are out doing. The second batch seem to be able to spend countless hours on the social web each day, speaking at every conference, making guest appearances on podcasts, and authoring books on how to DO... I am not judging these folks. I admire their ability to pull it off. I just wonder who we really want to emulate? ### [join my merry band of intrepid doers, and hack life and business with us!] [h/t to julien for planting this idea in my mind. thanks for the lost sleep...] [photo from flickr]

I published a series of IntrepidTV episodes around the turn of the year that were originally - and obviously - published on video. I've gotten a bunch of requests for the audio-only versions of four episodes (Julien Smith, David Meerman Scott, Jonathan Fields, and Amber Rae). I also had a bunch of requests for Colin Wright and Jason Falls, which were recorded way back in the fall that I will republish as audio-only soon too... So, this is the third of those six, David Meerman Scott. You can view the original broadcast on IntrepidTV with David here. From now on, all episodes filmed for the TV show will also be available on mp3 for download at the time the original conversation is published. Enjoy my conversation with David Meerman Scott on his latest book, Newsjacking! ### [by the way, you are encouraged to subscribe to the Intrepid Radio podcast on iTunes here, and you won't miss a thing from here on out!]

I published a series of IntrepidTV episodes around the turn of the year that were originally - and obviously - published on video. I've gotten a bunch of requests for the audio-only versions of four episodes (Julien Smith, David Meerman Scott, Jonathan Fields, and Amber Rae). I also had a bunch of requests for Colin Wright and Jason Falls, which were recorded way back in the fall that I will republish as audio-only soon too... So, this is the second of those six, Amber Rae. You can view the original broadcast on IntrepidTV with Amber Rae here. From now on, all episodes filmed for the TV show will also be available on mp3 for download at the time the original conversation is published. Enjoy my inspiring and uplifting conversation with Amber! ### [by the way, you are encouraged to subscribe to the Intrepid Radio podcast on iTunes here, and you won't miss a thing from here on out!]

I published a series of IntrepidTV episodes around the turn of the year that were originally - and obviously - published on video. I've gotten a bunch of requests for the audio-only versions of four episodes (Julien Smith, David Meerman Scott, Jonathan Fields, and Amber Rae). I also had a bunch of requests for Colin Wright and Jason Falls, which were recorded way back in the fall that I will republish as audio-only soon too... So, this is the first of those six, Julien Smith. You can view the original broadcast on IntrepidTV with Julien Smith here. From now on, all episodes filmed for the TV show will also be available on mp3 for download at the time the original conversation is published. Enjoy our conversation around Julien's book, The Flinch... ### [by the way, you are encouraged to subscribe to the Intrepid Radio podcast on iTunes here, and you won't miss a thing from here on out!]

If you are attempting to simplify your business, and make running your business less complicated, it would be an important first step to focus on a niche. You can't be everything to everybody. You can succeed in business by serving a very tight and specific segment of the market place. That doesn't mean you cannot service and help other customers (outside the niche), but it does mean you MUST focus on your niche with your marketing message and program. A tighter niche also makes it easier for word of mouth...too broad a market makes it more difficult to make referrals. ### [join our intrepid community to rock business strategy!] [photo from flickr]

Finally. The book on minimalism that I've been looking for... one to help people finally understand what this movement is really about. Written by my friends Joshua Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, known as The Minimalists. On this show, Joshua and Ryan join me to talk about their latest book, Minimalism: Live A Meaningful Life. This isn't, however, a book about minimalism from the standpoint of owning less than 100 things, without a car or living a life in solitary. This is a very personal and transparent account about stripping away life's excess to focus on the five things that matter most towards living a happy, meaningful life: health, relationships, passions, personal growth and contribution. I've created a list of people I am sending this book to. You will too... You can purchase the book here (affiliate link): [to simplify your business, join my intrepid list]

Just making a simple point... ...about how simple it is to generate a podcast to educate your marketplace. I will publish this post at 115pm on Monday, January 16, 2012. I started this post at 12:50pm. Using your smartphone, of which most have a voice recorder or voice memo tool, I recorded a short three-minute piece of audio content. I then did the following: 1. Emailed the file to myself. 2. Uploaded the m4a file to iTunes. 3. With a mouse click, converted the file to an mp3 file. 4. Uploaded the file to my hosting service, although for small media files like this, you don't really need a hosting service. 5. Synched the file to my wordpress blog using a free plug-in called Powerpress. 6. Wrote 130ish words of supporting copy. 7. Hit publish. 8. Boom. Instant podcast. No more excuses guys, in sharing meaningful ideas with your audience...

A pleasure to be joined by Greg Giesen on Intrepid Radio. Greg is the author of Mondays At 3: A Story For Managers Learning To Lead, a novel about management and leadership. Key takeaways and highlights from the show: 1. Explains why he wrote a "management" novel - and why that approach is important to your learning. 2. Most new managers (and old ones too) struggle because they do not have the best people skills. 3. And...most organizations aren't set up appropriately to account for and mentor new and inexperienced managers. 4. We discuss the soft side of managing and the evil of organizational gaps. 5. The importance of, and how, and organization can encourage self-learning and professional development. 6. And how to stay motivated long-term. Greg mentions group dynamics, life coaching and appropriately-sized mastermind groups. You can learn more about Greg Giesen here, and purchase the book here (affiliate link):

A pleasure to welcome Steve Jones to Intrepid Radio, author of Brand Like A Rock Star: Lessons From Rock and Roll To Make Your Business Rich and Famous. Let me just say this. This is one of the most entertaining books I've read in a long while. It is takes the experiences and stories of rock and roll artists, and applies those lessons to branding your business. Trust me when I say, you will learn something from this read. And have a damn good time doing it. [see special video bonus below - an intrepid companion piece to the book!] Highlights from the show: 1. We talked about the Grateful Dead, and how they built an international brand by sharing, and giving things away. 2. Jimmy Buffet built an international following selling an experience. It isn't about your product...it is about the experience surrounding your product. 3. How the Sex Pistols challenged the status quo, and why your business should too... 4. How KISS excels at being different, and why that matters to your branding. You get attention when you do something no one has ever seen before... 5. Is there a business lesson from the Jamaican bobsled team? Find out by listening... 6. What can you learn from Harley-Davidson? 7. Is all hype good for you and your business? Or are you better off with honesty, transparency and a wee bit of humanity instead? [hint: get a taste of the other artists talked about in this book by scrolling down...] You can learn more about the book and blog here. And you can purchase the book here: So, what I thought I'd do is make a companion supplement to the book. Featured below are videos from most of the rock stars featured in Steve's book. Enjoy, and play along whilst reading the book!

I had the pleasure to participate in a podcast discussion with my friend Michelle Davidson, of RainToday.com recently. You may be aware of this service, Trade Show Radio, provided by my other business, Dreamland Interactive. And we do discuss some of the merits of this service offering on this interview... But, I share it here because Michelle and I dive deeply into how to best maximize your trade show spend, create your show strategy, how to engage with real business opportunities on the trade show floor, and how to integrate social media into your strategy. If you do trade shows, I hope you'll find some benefit listening to this broadcast. Thanks Michelle, for the opportunity to be interviewed...

A pleasure to welcome back Joshua Millburn to Intrepid. Joshua, and his The Minimalists co-contributor Ryan Nicodemus, joined me a while back on IntrepidTV. But today, we got together to discuss Joshua's new collection of short stories, Falling While Sitting Down, released this week. On the show, we discussed the following topics: 1. The differences in the creative process between non-fiction ad fiction. 2. Dealing with imperfections and how most, if not all, creatives deal with that reality. Joshua shares his lessons learned. 3. We discussed the motif and the theme of the collection, particularly in Joshua's four pieces. 4. And we talked about the three individuals who also contributed a short story, one of which is a previous guest on this show. We also talked about what it was like to work with them. 5. Joshua shares some of the experiences learned from the book launch process: how social media, building community and demonstrating passion play an integral role. 6. Finally, we talk about his upcoming projects: a novel due out next year and a new ebook from The Minimalists. You can learn more about Joshua Millburn here. You can purchase his new collection here: ### [join my free newsletter, or subscribe to the blog feed]

A real pleasure to welcome Patti DeNucci to Intrepid Radio. Patti has been a good friend for quite a while now, and an amazing supporter of this blog. She will soon publish her latest work, The Intentional Networker. You can learn more about the book, and Patti, right here. Patti is an author, speaker, business consultant and master connector. Networking remains as important as ever, in fact, even more so. But Patti makes the key point that you must know who you are, what you are about, and what your mission and purpose is before you can ever become a master connector and networker. Patti and I talk about how networking has changed over the last 5 to 10 years, the importance of making quality referrals, the importance of building relationships, quality verses quantity in your networking, to name a few discussion topics. But being intentional about your goals, and networking with a true purpose and strategy, are the true keys to success, and the ones most often ignored... You can purchase the book here (affiliate link): ### [join my free newsletter, or subscribe to the blog feed] [subscribe to my podcast via iTunes]

Gosh, I cannot remember exactly when I first stumbled onto Scott Ginsberg's blog, Hello My Name is Scott, but I've been a fan of his writing and style ever since... You might know him as the Name Tag guy, the fellow who, as of this writing, has worn a name tag for 3,949 straight days... We talk about why he does that on the show... Scott is an entertaining fellow, and smart as heck. We talk about the power of personal branding and how to create unique personal brand, and Scott shares his best advice for entrepreneurs. Sanity is highly overrated. | Scott Ginsberg We also talk about creativity, and how "volume" and "being pervasive" are what matters in publishing and generating content. Scott shares his strategy behind how he comes up with the ideas for all his content. You should check out his brandtag identity collages, which he talks about on the show... Check out Scott's latest book (affiliate link): ### [join my free newsletter, or subscribe to the blog feed] [subscribe to my podcast via iTunes]

A pleasure to be joined by Taja Dockendorf, principal of Pulp + Wire, a strategic, creative, web and branding firm based in Portland Maine. The main theme of the show was branding strategy for entrepreneurs, starting off by clarifying what the definition of branding actually is (too many get it wrong). Taja shared what she believes is the critical first step in establishing your brand, as well as what she considers the most important branding mistake entrepreneurs make. Taja and I talked about how entrepreneurs can maximize their marketing spend, and once they engage a professional agency and consultancy, how to be a better client to achieve the best results. Lastly, we discussed two critical reasons why entrepreneurs and small businesses should engage on the social web, as well as important decisions when considering your online presence. You can learn more about Taja and her company by clicking here, and find them on Twitter here. ### [join my free newsletter, or subscribe to the blog feed] [subscribe to my podcast via iTunes]

An honor to be joined by author, blogger, and marketing strategist Christopher Penn on Intrepid Radio. Chris blogs from Awaken Your Superhero, and just recently published a new book called Marketing White Belt: Basics for the Digital Marketer. On the show, Chris and I talked about the new book, what he means by "Awaken Your Superhero" and we discussed the differences between grand strategy, campaign strategy, and tactics. Chris also shared some invaluable advice around email marketing, the most common mistakes people make with email marketing, and finally, we talked about the importance of web analytics. A quick word about Chris' book, Marketing White Belt. I downloaded the book to my kindle, and quite honestly, really enjoyed the refresher course in SWOT analysis, marketing strategy, and applying the 4 "P's" to modern marketing. If you are in marketing (read: all of us), this book is worth your time! You can purchase the book here (affiliate link): [join my free newsletter and receive intrepid marketing insights] [subscribe to the blog feed] [subscribe to my podcast via iTunes]