Time turns for us all
I turned 50 back in November. Overall, I can say that my short foray into the 50s hasn’t felt much different than my 40s.
In some ways, I am in a little better shape now than I was just a couple of years ago. I’ll credit DDP Yoga with a lot of that as, until recently, I had been sleeping better, feeling better, and had gotten down in a weight range (near-below 200) that I have not been at since my early 30s.
No, Softball, which I enjoyed into my early 40s, is probably out of the future plans (barring some surgeries that I have been putting off), but I have been doing better going into my 50s than I probably did entering my 40s.
That said...
I have a cardiologist appointment this week as a follow-up from an episode and emergency room visit recently. While my doctor and I don’t think there’s a great cause of concern, it’s better to get things checked out (especially when your family histories suggest there is risk).
It’s around these times that you reassess what you are doing, for whom you are doing it, and why you are doing it.
If you haven’t taken the opportunity recently to remind yourself of your unique “Whats and Whys”, I’d definitely suggest that you do it. In much the same way that saving is more effective the earlier you start, making sure that what you do (and why) is congruent with the things for which you want to be remembered is something that we should all be periodically doing.
This was one of the quotes that caught my attention when I was reading The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes. (You can check out my review of the book at this link.)
I have never been a student of Zen philosophy, but in our current environment, patience, introspection, and looking at things from a different vantage point are skills that need to strengthen.
Many of our political, cultural, and fiscal battles suggest an abundance of chaos. However, as Hyams notes, much of that chaos can be attributed to our own inner turmoil.
When you find yourself uncomfortably trying to support ideas or opinions, be sure that they are principles in which you truly believe. When lending your support, make sure that you are doing it in your own voice in a manner about which you feel good.
One of the biggest challenges that I think many have recently felt is a conflation of message and messenger. When we allow messengers to overtake the message, it too often negatively impacts both (and our voice as well).
Stick to sharing your ideas in your own voice! That’s your most authentic self and when you are doing this, what many perceive as external chaos has much less impact on your inner joy and peace.
For those checking out the book reviews, I finished The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes. My post of notes from the book is complete. You can check it out on my blog at this link.
If you would like to read along, I will be starting Content Inc. by Joe Pulizzi soon.
Note: Book links are Amazon affiliate links.
Other Links
Facebook Ads for Local Businesses
Our friends at Social Media Examiner published a blog post highlighting a strong technique for using Facebook Ads from a local business perspective. While ad costs for both search and social continue to rise, using location-based targeting focusing your message for viewing in targeted service areas is a good way to both reduce cost and increase the effectiveness of your messaging.
How to Use Facebook’s Ad Library
Another valuable tool is to review other ads (especially in your niche) in Facebook’s Ad Library. Few things are as informative as seeing where others are having success and identifying a way that you can adapt it for your unique situation.
If you’ve got a bigger mess to fix or just need some help with a site maintenance program, let us know.
How to Find the Backlinks used by your Competitors
Getting linked from domains with high user trust is an effective way to attract traffic to your site. If you have a competitor who ranks well and gets solid traffic, it would pay you to look at why she or he is so successfully generating it. This article specifically highlights identifying and reaching out to other sites for links to increase your authority, but analyzing why they are successful often provides insights into how you might improve your site and content.
Note: I use Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest tool for this type of analysis. (not-an-affiliate or sponsored link)
