As you may have noticed, my blogging has been absent over the course of the past month or so. After enduring a move, a quick vacation, and a few additional client projects, I am glad to say that I am now back to writing to my audience and sharing my perspective on a variety of topics within business, technology, and much more. Check back soon and see some of the pieces that I am currently working on. I appreciate the time that you take to read my thoughts and perspectives; I look forward to sharing many new great ideas in the near future!

In an ever-growing world of technology, we find ourselves at new crossroads never seen before. In recent years, for example, we all have seen exponential growth in the popularity of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and LinkedIn! As this popularity continued to rise, more and more people entered the world of social media, and, like in other cases, some people simply found themselves hooked. We only have some many minutes in a day, each minute is a commodity that we cannot get back once we use it up! Hence, there are great opportunity cost associated with each decision that we make.

Recently, I read a blog post by Alycia Birch that reminded us all about the debate about social media’s effects on students. As many experts are pointing out, more students are being consumed by social media networks like Facebook, and this is having a negative effect on their standardized test scores and other aspects of their academic pursuits. How will this affect today’s students as they move forward into the workplace? Are we losing more competitive edge to students abroad? This is merely one example of how social media is being frowned upon.

As for me, I find it critical that we all do our best to manage our time in more efficient ways. It might be best if we plan ahead and set aside time for our priorities first. When I was younger, my family told me that I needed to do my homework before I went out to play, and I feel that we need to instill more of this discipline in the younger generations of today and tomorrow. But, it does not stop there; this social media addiction concern is not just limited to students in middle school, high school, or even college, for it extends into the workplace. There are many worries that our workplace productivity is being harmed by this addiction. Hence, we all need to manage our time a little bit better, including me! We must find better ways to accomplish the priorities while still setting aside personal time to enjoy the various fruits of life, including technology! So, let’s all strive to find better balance in our lives!

Whether in the world of business or in the world of personal challenges, we cannot allow fear to own and control our every move. According to Sven Goran Eriksson, “the greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” To succeed, we must take risks, but we also cannot simply take risks so foolishly. Instead, we should plan and prepare accordingly, and then we can take those appropriate risks! As I mentioned in my last blog, I like to challenge myself and take a chance! I do not mind trying new things. In doing so, I am becoming a better person, discovering great new things along my journey. Also, we cannot simply give up. There are occasions where you may endure a setback or possibly fail, but you must not quite. Sometimes, we just have to get back up and try again. Other times, it might be best to reevaluate and just try another route.

In 2008, I was looking to try a new adventure, and, as a thrill seeker, I found skydiving to be my next challenge. Sure, jumping out of a perfectly good airplane at approximately 10,000 feet can be a bit scary, but I did not jump unprepared. Instead, I researched about the sport of skydiving, and then I acquainted myself with the equipment that was going to allow me to safely perform this thrill! In addition, I followed the safety guidelines of the USPA and absorbed the necessary knowledge from the skydiving instructors. In the summer of 2008, I completed my first jump in Saginaw, Michigan. I then went on to jump three more times that summer, each time learning from the previous experiences. Below is a video of my third jump. While I had jumped twice before this video, this was the first time jumping out of the Cessna 206. As you may be able to see, I tumbled a little bit while exiting the plane, a mistake that I corrected on my fourth jump. Also, I miscalculated my landing, slowing my parachute down a little early -- hence the harder than normal landing. Each time, I learned and then improved from mistakes’ lessons.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciYyCJJhs3s

We cannot allow fear to get in the way. With proper training, guidance, and knowledge, anything is possible, and we must always remember that! Set S.M.A.R.T. goals! Make them specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Do not be afraid to fail; instead, we must maintain motivation, continuously learn on the fly and as the environment changes, and enjoy the journey!

Like the Old Proverb says… Where there’s a will, there’s a way! So, maintain your will, find a way, and do not be afraid to fail!

Too often, we are content with what we currently have, and we tend not to welcome change. This occurs both within our personal lives and certainly within the business world. Too often, we are left behind when we do not look to new adventures and social trends. Of course, there are numerous examples of this within our very lives. Personally, I have never tried tofu. As a proud meat and potatoes kind of guy, I have never taken the liberty of ordering some, but that all changed last evening. I tried blackened and barbequed tofu with rice; even though I favored the barbeque-seasoned tofu, I liked both! Was it a risk? Sure! But, it is a good risk, and I am willing to try almost anything new for the sake of knowing what I truly enjoy and refining who I am as a person! As a result of me embracing this opportunity, I have gained a taste for a new food, something that I know for future reference (one more great option to pick from)! Take another example like social media! It has helped us connect in ways that many of us have never imagined. For some, it helped reconnect with lost friends. For others, it helped reach a new niche market and gain increased revenues and new loyal customers. Many people have shied away from this newer technology and social phenomenon. For those who decided to embrace it, great things have occurred. Certainly, it is not the universal answer, but it opens up great and new doors – new opportunities!

No matter what part of life you focus on, there are changes just waiting to be made. These are not just the ridiculous or irrational changes, for there are numerous others as well. Do you need to take every turn in the roadway? No, but we also should not be unwilling to make promising changes in any part of our lives! Letting such opportunities, both business and personal, pass us by simply pushes us further away from achieving our optimal greatness! While some changes may be mistakes, avoiding all types of change (and hence opportunity) would unfortunately be the greatest mistake. Hence, we should embrace change and get a head start on our competition. Make the best of life and write your own future instead of simply following someone else’s plan.

Okay folks! It is official, for we survived 2009, and a fresh new year has begun. After jumping over hurdles, enduring a few struggles, and sharing a good number of great smiles, it is time to push into this new decade. Like most, I have learned a great deal throughout 2009, and I am extremely excited to step into this new decade with new knowledge, renewed motivation, and the necessary determination to achieve all of the goals that I have made thus far and for those that I do not know that I will make yet in 2010.

So, here it is time to pull out those resolutions and get to it. Here are my top 10 resolutions for 2010:

1. Spend more enjoyable time with my closest friends and family! Reconnecting with some from years past would be great too!
2. Further engage the conversation within the social media and other communication channels – with customers, friends, colleagues, and everyone in between.
3. Set aside even more time within my week to exercise and play guitar.
4. Finish my second poetry book for publication and venture into new writing projects, both online and off.
5. Read more… knowledge is power, and you can never have enough of it!
6. Pay It Forward even more!
7. Write two KAMs for my Ph. D. in Applied Management and Decision Sciences program.
8. Earn my A License from the USPA (for skydiving).
9. Take a vacation – Vegas anyone?
10. Become a better dancer!

No matter what your goals are, I wish each of you the very best in 2010. Before we know it, we will be ringing in 2011, so let’s get to it and be grateful for each day!