Two months ago I headed out the front door with my lanky, moody, shaggy-haired teenage son, unlocked the van and, with not a little discomfort, slid into the passenger side. Placing his shiny new driver’s permit in the console, he turned to me with just the hint of a smile. “Mom, the key?” With just the hint of a smile, I handed it over. He took a deep breath as he backed slowly down the driveway. I felt my shoulders tighten and my brake foot tense (what if he hits the mailbox? what if he forgets to look both ways? what if he takes a curve...

I had some great professors in college, although even the best of them made me want to fashion voodoo dolls from old leg warmers (hey, it was the 80s) and spend afternoons slashing their little voodoo term papers with a thick red pen. One I remember quite vividly is my freshman English Lit. professor. I had spent tons of time on a paper that was returned to me with a pulsating “C” on it. “What gives?!” I thought and marched up to her desk, requesting an explanation for why she panned my 18-year-old brilliance. “This is nothing...

Not sure if you’re cut out for blogging? Try this: Start blogging. Build an audience. Get some response. Interact. Get excited. Then stop. If you’re a blogger, you won’t be able to get blogging off your mind. Blog post ideas will pop into your mind as you choose the best peaches, walk the dog and get your car inspected. You’ll obsess over missed opportunities to share ideas and insights, and conversations you wished you’d started but didn’t. How do I know? Check the dates on my last few posts. Yeah, I’m a blogger. If...

A good lunch for me consists of online reputation management talk over a nice Greek salad. I actively seek out people who won’t tire too quickly of my enthusiasm for online networking. My kids call me a “twitterholic.” So when I meet people who think my rants against making people register to comment on blogs mean I’ve just had too much caffeine, what do I talk about? You guessed it. Just as twitter is the Chuck Norris of Ice Breakers, social media is a great conversation starter. Because almost everyone wants to know more about it....

People who withhold information from you never have your best interest in mind. Oh, they’ll tell you that they’re trying to protect you – from anxiety, hurt feelings, worry or loss. But what they’re really saying is “You can’t handle the truth. I’m saving you from yourself. And, by the way, I’m afraid of how you’ll react to this information.” This is controlling, relationship-killing behavior. The same secrets that destroy marriages (I didn’t want to tell you that we have $10,000 in credit...

OK, everybody. Steve Woodruff put me at the helm of Five in the Morning today (I know, what was he thinking?!) and I’m going to rouse you from your mental slumber with a few inspiring posts from some of my favorite bloggers. It’s time to stop talking about how awful everything is and open ourselves up to opportunities. What’s that? You have to get a few more things off your chest? Go right ahead. I’ll wait. Ready? I think I’ve got something for everyone here. Have at it! Get the job I never miss Penelope Trunk’s (Brazen...

Every time I get involved in a discussion about social media and how they fit in the marketing/PR puzzle, talk turns to rules. “How many people should I follow on twitter?” “How much is too much self-promotion?” “How many times a week should I blog?” “What percent of my tweets can be personal/off topic?” My answer is always the same: I don’t know. Sure, I can make suggestions, but only after asking a lot more questions. If anyone tells you she has definitive answers, especially without spending some time...

The secret to being extraordinary is simple – go against human nature. “Real leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary determination.” ~ Anonymous 1. Ordinary: Rush to get in every game, pitch a tent on every platform and call yourself an “expert” after six weeks of non-stop twittering with the rockstars. Extraordinary – Be patient. Listen and read a lot more than you tweet and write. Concentrate on one social media network at a time. Experiment, observe and learn what works and what doesn’t. 2. Ordinary: Go...

When I heard Taylor Davidson was coming to Charlotte (thanks, Lyell) and checked out his website, Unstructured Ventures and blog I knew I had to meet him. I mean, here was a strategy and finance consultant for start-ups who had recently quit a miserable job in corporate direct marketing to hit the highways and travel across the country. I met him through twitter. Surely he had an amazing social media plan for attracting budding entrepreneurs along the way. Um, no. “I’m just heading in the direction of friends and seeing what happens,” he...

I used to think optimists were out of touch with reality. Wide-eyed Pollyannas who refused to see that tough challenges lie in wait for all of us, ready to pounce like meaty-pawed tigers. But then I started writing for business journals. After a few months of interviewing successful entrepreneurs and CEOs I detected a pattern. They were all optimists. This punched a big hole in my Pollyanna theory. Slowly I discovered that true optimism – the powerful stuff that fuels leaders and visionaries - isn’t rooted in blithely ignoring reality....