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“There is no such thing as a wrong note as long as you’re singing.” - Pete Seeger
How could I write about what POP’d out this month without discussing the phenomenon that is Susan Boyle?
Perhaps you’re one of the 100 million (!) people and counting who have viewed her video clip of I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables that received a standing ovation from the just-moments-before jaded judges and audience on Britain’s Got Talent TV show.
Susan is a 47 year old “unglamorous” woman who lives with her cat in a tiny town in Scotland, doesn’t own a computer, has never been kissed, and had never heard of YouTube. One week after her audition went viral, she had 1 million “friends” on Facebook and is the Web’s hottest entertainer.
What contributed to her instant global fame?
Lynn Johnson, a Salt Lake City psychologist says, “We want to believe in something higher. When we discover it, we achieve an emotional state called ‘elevation,’ that warm, glowing feeling that comes over us when something transcends our expectations.”
A Washington Post article by Jose Antonio Vargas pointed out that many people “were drawn to the Hero Journey, one-act-play quality of the video. It had a beginning, middle and end, complete with a heroine (Boyle) and villain (snarky Simon Cowel).”
Anne Jolley, a self-confessed frumpy 47 year old interviewed by USA Today, confessed to being “disheartened, disillusioned and dis-just-about-everything-else in these bleak times. Boyle’s performance lifted my spirits and gave me reason for hope and proof that dreams can come true.”
Did you see the video? How did it impact you? Did you share it with others? If so, why were you compelled to do that?
Denise Brosseau (co-founder of Springboard Enterprises) sent the clip to me, and I immediately forwarded it to my sons, my sister and 10 other friends. Why did I do that? It brightened my day and I thought it might brighten theirs.
Henry Jenkins of MIT attributes that to something he calls “spreadability” in which people discover something they like that has a “gee whiz” factor which motivates them to voluntarily forward it to their social network.
What are you trying to break out? Does it elevate people’s spirits and give reason for hope? Does it motivate them to voluntarily become your word-of-mouth advertisers?
If you want your business, products and services to have “spreadability," Sam’s got two options coming up – one on the East Coast and one on the West Coast -- in which you’ll have a chance to POP! your idea or venture so people become your fans and are motivated to become your word-of-mouth advertisers.
East Coast – One day POP! Your Business Workshop at the National Press Club in Washington DC. Join other entrepreneurs from around the country and immerse yourself in your priority project to crystallize and craft attention-grabbing marketing messages that help it break out vs. blend in.
West Coast – Two day Speaker Camp in San Francisco. Do you want to POP! your presentation so everyone in the audience walks out singing your praises and taking tangible actions that reap them real-world results? Invest two days in designing and delivering a one-of-a-kind, Hero Journey presentation that brightens people’s day and inspires everyone in the room to become your word-of-mouth advertisers so they take you and your message viral.
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"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one." - Jane Howard
I've had the privilege of meeting several high-powered MovHERS and ShakHERS recently and wanted to share some of their fascinating stories with you.
I was speaking at the annual Invent Your Future conference in CA along with keynoters Rachel Maddow of MSNBC, NPR's Cokie Roberts and the inimitable Bertice Berry, Ph.D. who did her usual outstanding job of dissolving the audience into laughter and tears - while causing us to reflect and reach personal and professional epiphanies.
For me, the session that truly POP'd out in terms of eye-opening value was the one featuring Nell Merlino - the seriously impressive Fullbright Scholar who created and produced the Take Our Daughters To Work Day for the Ms. Foundation for Women.
Here's how it happened, as described in Nell's presentation. She hatched the idea and explained it in a comprehensive report but realized it was too long. She whittled it down to 5 pages and then down to 1.
Just think.
An original idea that catapulted a movement which has positively impacted millions was condensed into a pithy one page (a prerequisite of POP!).
Nell was in Ms. Headquarters in New York pitching the idea when Gloria Steinem - in all her glory - walked into the room and asked "What's new?"
Nell gave her the one-pager outlining the concept for Take Our Daughters To Work Day.
Gloria, ever the editor, changed the "Your" to "Our" to make it more of a group effort and announced, "I'm having lunch with Walter Anderson (of Parade Magazine - the Sunday newspaper supplement that's distributed to 33 million homes in the U.S.). If he asks me, 'What's new?' I'm going to show him this."
Well, Walter Anderson did ask "What's new?" and Gloria pitched the idea to him. He was so impressed, he ran a story about it three weeks later. It was an idea whose movement had come. Ms. Foundation received 10,000 letters in the next couple weeks, all from people asking, "How can I get involved?"
On the actual day of the inaugural event, Nell didn't know if it was going to be a success. She turned on her television and knew her dreams had been realized when she saw the weatherman delivering his report - with his daughter at his side. The phone started ringing and friends from around the country shared what they were witnessing. One said jubilantly, "I'm here in Grand Central Station and it is FILLED with thousands of girls going to work with their parents!"
Want to learn more about Nell's inspirational ventures including Count Me In which sponsors the Make Mine A Million program for women entrepreneurs?
You'll have a chance to meet Nell in person, along with Edie Fraser, founder of Business Womens Network and Diversity Best Practices, who is being honored at the Women and Giving event at the historical Sewall-Belmont House and Museum on May 19th from 6 to 8 pm.
If you saw the movie Iron-Jawed Angels with Hilary Swank, you already know the Sewall-Belmont House is the home of pioneer Alice Paul, author of the Equal Rights Amendment and founder of The Woman's Party which fought for womens' right to vote.
After watching the Iron-Jawed Angels video with my neighbor Bert, I realized very few of us understand the hardships that Alice Paul and her fellow revolutionaries endured in fighting to earn us the right to vote and to be regarded with the respect we deserve vs. being treated as second class citizens. The Sewall-Belmont is the U.S. home of our "tribe", if you will, and I hope you carve out time to join us at this extraordinary event.
A table-mate at the PINK luncheon confessed how easy it is to become isolated running your own business and shared how much she enjoyed being surrounded by smart, talented women.
I agree. The good news is, you don't have to go it alone. You can meet and be inspired by a variety of MoveHERS and ShakeHERS at this event including Pat Schroeder (former Congresswoman and now President of the American Booksellers Association), Niki Zoli of Marriott, Robin Thurman of BAE, Barbara Krumsiek of Calvert Group, Julie Kantor of NFTE, Kathy Calvin of the United Nations Foundation, Anne Bryant of National School Boards Assn, Rohini Anand of Sodexo, and Svetlana Kim, author of White Pearl and I.
The event is free and every attendee receives a copy of Edie Fraser and Robyn Spizman's book Do Your Giving While you are Living, thanks to the generous sponsorship of more than 100 MoveHER and ShakeHER sponsors, many of whom will be at the event that night.
Edie is a MoveHER and ShakeHER par extraordinaire. Learn what makes her tick in this fascinating interview with PINK magazine. The insight from Walter Cronkite alone makes this interview worth printing out and keeping handy.
When PINK reporter Taylor Mallory asked Edie, "What's the best business advice you ever received?" Edie said, "I asked Walter Cronkite to head up a nonprofit I founded. At first he said yes, but then he asked me to fly up to New York to meet with him.
We sat down in his office and he said, 'Edie, I'm going to disappoint you. I can't do it now in a presidential election year. I want you to learn to never take on something where you can't get truly engaged. Don't get on a nonprofit board unless you can really contribute and make a difference.' That was a major lesson for me. If you're going to get involved, be able to focus."
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"If you're in a spot, change it." - Jack Welch
That was just one of the many great one-liners that Jack, Suzy Welch and Edie Fraser shared at the PINK luncheon on May 4th in Atlanta.
If you're like me, you love quotes. Each of my books features more than 300 of the best quotes on that subject.
In fact, Dan Millman (Way of the Peaceful Warrior) said, "What's Holding You Back? is filled with witty quotations, which are themselves worth the price of the book. But there's more: step-by-step practical advice like that of a wise and supportive friend, reminding us all of who we are and what we're capable of. Sam Horn's is an uplifting voice in the world."
If you're a quote fan too, check out our remodeled website www.SamHorn.com on May 18th, and check out the new QUOTES section. You can watch the new 90 second video clips on How to POP! Your Presentation and POP Your Elevator Speech. While there, you can request a special report of The Top 30 Current Quotes, a compilation of the Top Quotes on Top 10 Topics.
One thing that is different about this list; you have to be alive to be included. I appreciate Shakespeare, JFK, Aristotle, and Henry David Thoreau as much as the next gal. In fact, Thoreau's "To affect the quality of the day; that is the art of life" is one of my favorites.
It's just that many people have heard classic quotes before. And, a premise of POP! is that familiar quotes are eye-rollers, not eye-openers.
To really POP! your message, you need to introduce fresh quotes that make people's eyebrows go up. That means they are intrigued. It means you got your message's foot in their mental door.
Here's a preview.
"I have the world's best job. I get paid to hang out in my imagination all day." - Stephen King
"Enough about me. What do you think about me?" - Bette Midler in the movie Beaches
"What if my ship comes in and I'm at the airport?" - Kathi Kamen Goldmark
Reporter: "Would you say this rookie has exceeded your expectations?"
Yogi Berra: "I'd say he's done more than that."
"Keep in mind that you're more interested in what you have to say than anyone else is." - Andy Rooney
"What's another word for thesaurus?" - Stephen Wright
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"Time is the coin of your life. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you." - Carl Sandburg
Have you ever felt pulled in a dozen different directions? Have you ever had a dilemma and couldn't figure out what to do, no matter how long or hard you thought about it? Does it sometimes seem your life is out of control?
Wouldn't it be nice to have a system to help you figure out which course of action to take?
There is such a system - and it's in Suzy Welch's new book 10-10-10. There's a reason Suzy (former Editor of Harvard Business Review) has been on all the talk shows and why her 3-step process has resonated with people around the world.
10-10-10 puts metrics to dilemmas. When we're confused and stressed by conflicting priorities, answering these 3 questions can provide much-needed clarity.
For example, a client wants you to work late to finish a project for him, but you promised your kids you'd be at their soccer game. Or, you're trying to decide whether to stay in a relationship with a person you like but don't love. Or, your professional association is pressuring you to chair a committee but you're already going 24/7. What to do?
Suzy suggests you pose your dilemma as a question. For example, "Should I stay late and finish this project?", "Should I end this relationship?", "Should I take this position?"
Think of all possible courses of action. Then ask yourself what the consequences of each option will be in:
10 days?
10 months?
10 years?
Now, compare the info you've gathered to your values, goals and needs. Ask, "With what I know now about the consequences of these possible courses of action, which decision will best help me create a life of my own making."
It is amazing how that simple process can help carve out a path through something that seems overwhelming at the moment.
By the way - the photo at the top of this article is of (left to right) Suzy Welch, Betty Siegel (25-year President of Kennesaw State University), Paige Hall, (CEO of About Face) Jack Welch, Marilynn Mobley (Strategic Counsel for Edelman), Sam Horn, and Kimberly Douglas (on the day of her book launch for The Firefly Effect).
This was taken at the May 4th PINK luncheon honoring Jack and Suzy Welch, and Edie Fraser with her book Do Your Giving While You are Living.
For some more personal impressions and take-aways from that inspiring event and for news about the "TRIPLE T" I'll be doing as EMCEE for the May 19th event at the Sewall-Belmont House honoring Edie Fraser and other MoveHERS and ShakeERS, visit my blog. It features what's POPï'ing out each week and how you can use that to get what you care about noticed, remembered and monetized.
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Sam Horn, America's Intrigue Expert, helps people POP!. What does that mean? She helps entrepreneurs and organizations develop one-of-a-kind ideas and identities that help their business or brand break out. She does this through her:
BOOKS and CD's
- MAY SPECIAL - Sam Horn's POP! Stand Out in Any Crowd hardback book, POP! Your Business CD, and POP! Your Elevator Speech CD all for only $37 (normally $60)
- Email info@SamHorn.com with Special POP! Package in the subject heading to receive this deal
- Or call 1 800 SAM-3455 to order by phone
ONE-ON-ONE CONSULTING
- Kay Cannon, 2007 ICF President, says, "I'm tough to please. Sam has the rare ability to help you find your hidden genius, shape this into a compelling message and deliver it in an eye-catching package."
POP! YOUR BUSINESS Workshop
- One-day POP! Your Business Workshop at the historic National Press Club in Washington, DC
- Friday, May 15, 2009 - REGISTER HERE
POP! CERTIFICATION
MEDIA INTERVIEWS
- Look for Sam being featured in the Making It section of the Sunday magazine of the Washington Post on May 17, 2009
- Questions used in Sam’s tele-seminar with University of Chicago Booth (the top-ranked business school in the country). Sam is happy to create targeted questions for YOUR TV, radio or print interview
- Discover for yourself why Sam Horn’s been featured on NPR, in Investors Business Daily
, Chicago Tribune, Smart Money, BusinessWeek.com, and why Dawn Stackhouse of MSNBC said, “You were the perfect person to have on our elevator pitch segment.”
SPEAKING
- POP! Your Presentation Weekend Workshop in San Francisco. Become a one-of-a-kind speaker with a unique and needed topic that gets you booked and asked back
- Top-rated speaker at two International Platform Association conventions
- Clients including Intel, Capital One, Boeing, and NASA
Sam lives and works on a lake near Washington, DC's Dulles Airport.
Sam's West Coast Business Manager, Cheri Grimm, operates out of California.
Contact us at:
1-800-SAM-3455
Info@SamHorn.com
Sam's Blog
SamHorn.com
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