It’s 6:26am, Saturday morning I’m sitting in the lobby of the beautiful Gaylord Hotel Resort and Convention Centre, and I’m still on a high after opening up the Blogalicious 2011 Conference with my Keynote address yesterday morning.  The energy at this conference is next level, and I was truly honoured to be blessed with this opportunity.  Got a chance to speak to so many incredible people, build with them, and share with them.  It’s been a great time here in DC.

Wanted to take the opportunity to post the key take aways from my talk as future reference tools and discussion points in order to keep this stimulating conversation about passion finding going.  Don’t hesitate to reach out to me, I’m always down to engage.

Thanks to everyone in attendance, and please know that I appreciate every single one of your incredibly supportive and wonderful comments.  You all helped contribute to one of the most magical experiences in my life thus far.

Cheers.

#keepgoing

Jesse

“Connecting with U” – Key take aways from #Blogalicious11 opening Keynote address w/ @iamjessejones

Main Thought: Before connecting with the outside world, it’s important that we take the time to figure out who we are, and what truly drives us as those findings can directly dictate our paths. “the most important and most masterful connection we will ever make, is the one with ourselves.”

UNCOVER IT
-          SACRIFICE: Take the time to focus on uncovering the true reasons for why you do what you do. It may take some sacrifice and a trip back to the drawing board, but “It’s never too late to take the bus.”

TALK ABOUT IT
-          COMMUNICATE YOUR INTERESTS: Share, share, share, share, share! When you meet people, make sure they know what you’re about. You never know who will share your interests and who could potentially be your next partner.  If you don’t let people know what you’re up to, who will?

THE POWER OF RELATIONSHIPS
-          RELATIONSHIPS ARE LIKE PLANTS. THEY NEED TO BE WATERED: Develop earnest and honest relationships, not for what they can do for you in the instant, but harness them and develop with people you genuinely believe in, subscribe to, and like. That’s where the best scenarios stem from.
-          It’s important to always ask ourselves: Who and/or what are we surrounding ourselves with day in and day out?  And are these people and/or things contributing to the uplift and betterment of us as individuals?  Or are they doing the opposite?  Will Smith said that the 5 people we spend the most time around can directly affect where we’re heading.
-          Don’t get caught up on # of followers.  Build with those that have made the decision to build with you.  Create an army with them.  Work with and harness the relationship with the 50 followers that you have, rather than being concerned with how to get the 5000. Cultivate and develop your relationships and allow your brand the opportunity to grow.
-          No need to focus on trying to convert those who haven’t made an effort to build with you. Focus energy on the ones that do.

WE ARE THE BRAND
-           “WE ARE WHAT WE TWEET” – How are we handling ourselves on social media? Is our timeline truly representative of who we are, and what we want to convey? We are what we tweet.
-          Your next tweet could directly reflect your next opportunity. Positively, or negatively.
-          EMBRACE YOUR DEFINING DIFFERENCE – This is what makes you, you.  One should never shy away from this.  It’ s not about what your competitors are doing.  It’s about understanding what your true brand dna is, and working that to the fullest.

IT’S OKAY TO BE HUMAN
-          Mistakes are part of the game. Keep playing.
-          Character is shown, not through the mistake but from how we come back from the mistake, and how we learn from the mistake.
-          You’ll never hit the pitches that you don’t swing for.  Don’t stand in the batter’s box waiting for the “perfect pitch”. Keep swinging. #keepgoing.
-          “DONT LET THE PERFECT BE THE ENEMY OF THE POSSIBLE”

BE UNCOMFORTABLE
-          UNCOVERING WHAT ONE IS TRULY CONNECTED TO AND MAKING A LIFE OUT OF IT IS TRULY A JOURNEY
-          EVERY EXPERIENCE IS A PART OF WHAT EVENTUALLY SHAPES US
-          THE PAINFUL MOMENTS ARE WHERE GROWTH LIVES. Embrace the tough times. Lean forward if only a little bit, and #keepgoing
-          LOOK WITHIN YOUR DAY TO DAY LIVES AND CONSIDER THE PASSION AND LOVE YOU HAVE FOR WHAT YOU DO
-          AND IF THERE’S DOUBT, MAKE A STEP TO FIND OUT WHAT YOUR TRUE PASSION IS
-          Don’t fear stepping into YOUR “yoga class” of new opportunity.  You may not know everything from the get go, but learning is growing.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 22nd, 2011 at 11:45 am and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.