Blogs

30 Day Challenge. If Matt Cutts can do it, so can I…

Matt Cutts is the head of Google’s Webspam team and has to be one of the busiest people in the world… With all the Black Hat SEO, shady Internet Marketers and of course the dreaded BING (cue the Bing/Airplane audio clip) how could he possibly find time to do anything more than work?

I have a hard time and all I do is work, workout and chase two girls around their travel sports teams practices and games… ok, maybe I’m close or ahead in that aspect.

Even still, he can’t possibly get much more than work done, can he? Rhetorical question of course – take a look at Matt’s blog category 30 days where he has ran a marathon, written a novel, learned new words, went without power (jk), went sky-diving and more!

This is one of those posts that cross over from my techie life to personal to business because it is all about goals. 30 days is long enough to form a habit so it is perfect for a time bound goal. In addition to time bound you need to have a specific goal and a plan to get there… Choose something you want to do and then do it every day. Pretty clean.

My first 30 day goal is to post at least one blog entry every day! Seems simple enough, but it is difficult to find the time so it will be challenging for me.

My second 30 day goal is to read at least 5 books over the next 30 days. Wait, wasn’t this supposed to be A 30 day challenge and not SOME 30 day challenges? Yes it was, but I am close to that goal anyway as you can see from an earlier post so this just formalizes it and makes me focus in on it a little more.

This is my first day and first post of 30 Day Challenge Goal #1. See you tomorrow!

School starts back tomorrow and lessons are everywhere

Keep learning for a lifelong adventure

With school starting back in the morning the kids will be in full on lesson mode. Learning new things every day. It keeps them excited and their brains are making incredible connections that will serve them the rest of their lives.

Does learning end when we leave school?

Of course not. As we get older and leave school we have a tendency to stop thinking about learning in the same way. It is no longer formalized, dedicated times with specific goals of what to learn.

Some people never read another book, set another learning goal, learn a new language, write another story or do much of anything more than learning how to use FaceBook and Fantasy Football sites.

What can I learn today?

Audio Books

Since I am in technology I have to pretty much learn new stuff all the time or get left in the bit dust. But I really like to learn new things so this year I’ve been using my wonderful commute time to listen to audio books.

Here are a few of the books I’ve “read” recently:

First, break all the rules : what the world’s greatest managers do differently
Flip : how to turn everything you know on its head–and succeed beyond your wildest imaginings.
Tribes : we need you to lead us.
How to win friends and influence people
It’s not just who you know : transform your life (and your organization) by turning colleagues and contacts into lasting, genuine relationships.
I can read you like a book : how to spot the messages and emotions people are really sending with their body language.

I’ll do a post soon on some of these books I really liked.

I read several blogs in Google Reader and visit the stuff that really interests me.

It is so easy to find good content this way that I’m surprised when people don’t know what I’m talking about. RSS readers are available in Outlook, Google, many mail programs and of course stand alone sites like Google Reader.

Podcasts

I listen to podcasts in the car, sitting at my kids practices, late at night and basically everywhere.

You get some decent information even if most podcasters are trying to sell you something or convince you to use their services. Some are better than others and some give more free info than most.

I plan on giving out my list of subscriptions soon, but go to iTunes and look for anything that interests you – there is probably a podcast to match your interest.

Magazines

Magazines have made a minor comeback for me recently as they seem to be either focusing on shorter, fast hitting topics or really good in depth reporting. I like both styles and read many different niche magazines. Finance, Tech, Fitness, etc. Love em all!

Take some time today to learn a lesson. The internet and related technologies have made it easier than ever. Take advantage of the opportunities!