Peter G McDermott

Blog

  • Getting Back In Control

    If you’re like me, you’re burning the candle form 17 different ends. You have a professional career which eats up most of your time, family spread across the country, weekends filled with social engagements and a million things on your to-do list. Or maybe you just have too much going on and feel like you can’t get things under control.

    Image Courtesy of Jutta under Creative Commons 3.0
    Image Courtesy of Jutta under Creative Commons 3.0

    The biggest desire for me is to keep control of my destiny and ensure that I am doing what I want to be doing for the rest of my life. I don’t want to be filing reports that no one will read. I don’t want to be wrapped up in deadlines that don’t have any impact on my employer’s business. I want a purpose in every one of my actions.

    In order to pursue what we love doing outside of our regular jobs, we have to make a lot of sacrifices. Whether it is staying up a few hours later each night, not being so lazy on our weekends or forgoing social opportunities to engage in our other business interests.

    The bottom line: being a part-time entrepreneur isn’t easy.

    If you neglect your e-mail for a few days, don’t return a phone call or suddenly find yourself not engaging with the people that can help make you successful it can become overwhelming very quickly.

    I’ll be honest, I have been struggling with focusing on my entrepreneurial aspirations while balancing my day job, time with loved ones and just “zoning out.” The implications of changes at my day job have been draining and it has been so easy to just get home and veg out as much as possible. It almost seems like a defense mechanism of our bodies, to just let our minds release all of the tension that envelops us and to find relaxation in something that requires no thought or consideration (television is an excellent example).

    However, as rewarding as that temporary distraction might be; as good as you might feel sitting and doing nothing, it will only make matters worse when you try to get everything back under control.

    Last week I made a spur-of-the-moment decision which has impacted me over the last several days. Immediately after getting my mouth x-rayed to determine how invasive and costly a surgery would be to remove all four of my wisdom teeth, I decided to take the bull by the horns and have the procedure done right there.

    It was something that I had been putting off for years.

    I was afraid it would hurt. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to afford it and most importantly, I was afraid of the suffering I would endure afterwards.

    But, in retrospect, it wasn’t that bad. The procedure took all of about 35 minutes during which I was under heavy sedation. I followed the doctor’s orders and haven’t experienced any pain or swelling. To top it off, after my insurance coverage, it was a fraction of the cost that I thought it would be.

    So why did I spend so many months and years worrying about having this done?

    It never does us any good to put things off and worry. Sometimes things might feel like getting our teeth pulled, but sometimes getting our teeth pulled really isn’t that bad. In fact, it’s good for us.

    So this weekend, as I enjoy a somewhat limited diet, I’m grabbing the bull by the horns on all fronts. I’m attaching my 1,000+ message inbox, my 22+ Google Voice voicemails and numerous unanswered comments in social media. I’m replacing Google Reader, reinventing the way I post to social media and exploring the idea of a weekly Flipboard magazine.

    Keeping up with this world of constantly changing and improving technology can be a lot of fun, but it is also a lot of work. The longer you stay out of practice, the longer you will have to spend catching up.

    Just a few weeks ago I renewed my passion for what I do online by speaking at a local SEO Meetup. I was challenged by some of the questions in the audience, but refreshed by everyone’s curiosity. I knew after that class that what I am doing is what I love and there is no reason I should be doing something else.

    So now, with that renewed passion I am heading back into the sea of notifications, plowing my way through and plotting my continual course to success. No, it’s not a straight line, and it might not be the fastest way to get there, but if we stop dead in our tracks, we’ll never make it.

    In order to succeed in what you love doing, you need to be relentless. You need to beg your loved ones to encourage you. You need to immerse yourself in whatever it is that you love. You need to know it, love it and breathe it. You need to exercise your passion every chance you get.

    When you decide to get things back under control, start small. Evaluate what it is that you need to accomplish: write a list. Using tools like Evernote and Google Keep can help you sort out your priorities and keep focus of your goals. If you ever feel like you are drowning, get back to your list, remember why you are pursuing your passion and figure out what you need to do to start treading water again.

    Once you take a deep breath and dive in, you will immediately remember why you love chasing whatever dream you’re after.

  • Top 5 Videos Making Fun of Google Glass

    It’s no secret that the jokes are abound when it comes to Google Glass. From late night television to some YouTube sensations, lots of celebrities have taken their turn at taking a jab at Google’s newest product. (If you haven’t seen the original Google promotional video, check it out here.)

    Here’s a collection of five of my favorite videos which make fun of Google Glass:

    5. Google Glasses Warfare

    4. St Patrick’s Day [through Google Glass] (Warning: NSFW)

    3. ADmented Reality

    2. How Guys Will Use Google Glass

    1. Saturday Night Live Weekend Update

  • How to Find Direction

    Freedom of choice by Krzysztof Poltorak used under Creative Commons 2.0
    Freedom of choice by Krzysztof Poltorak used under Creative Commons 2.0

    At some point or another in our lives, we lose direction.

    Most of the time, though, we know where we want to go, but we don’t have any clue how to get there.

    This morning while I was getting ready for work I listened to an interesting presentation given by Professor Renata Salecl which “explores the paralysing anxiety and dissatisfaction surrounding limitless choice.”

    In the talk, Professor Salecl talks about how being faced with a choice can make us feel. A classic example that I related to was sitting at a restaurant and ordering a bottle of wine. Salcel tells the story of a colleague that becomes anxious each time he is faced with this task. If he chooses the most expensive bottle, his friends will think he is a show-off, if he chooses the cheapest, his friends may perceive him as a cheapskate. So, as a general rule, he always chooses something in the middle and insists on paying for it.

    That got me thinking. Do we always force ourselves into choosing something in the middle? Whether its our jobs, the clothes we wear, the food we eat or the level of difficulty we chose in sports and games, are we always limiting ourselves to the middle?

    Clearly, we cannot all be number one at the same thing. That’s just impossible. If everyone that worked for every company was the CEO, there wouldn’t be anyone in the company to manage. It sounds silly, doesn’t it?

    The way that we can override our natural tendency to be something in the middle is to dare to be something more. To make our own choices that might be off the beaten path.

    Right now, more than anything, I want to quit my job and start my own business. (I am completely flattered by those of you that continue to ask me why I have not already done that.) However, quitting my job and starting my own business exposes me to a lot of risk:

    • What if I don’t make enough money?
    • How will I get health insurance?
    • What if one of my clients sues me?
    • Where will I get the money to advertise?
    • What happens when I can’t handle all of the work on my own?

    If you are thinking of going off on your own, you are probably asking yourself all of these questions. They are great questions, too. The problem is, where you work, you probably have a department of people that worries about your company’s revenue, a department of people that deals with providing your insurance, a legal team that handles litigation, a marketing team that keeps consumers informed of your products and a management system to ensure the work is being accomplished.

    Going off on your own, you are going to handle all of those things on your own. So how do you get the big push you need to do it?

    You need to make the choice.

    Most people do not start their own business because of the risks involved. They already have a steady income, a decent HMO and a corporate 401(k) match (if they are lucky). To start on their own would mean abandoning all of these things already provided for them. Not only that, but it is a lot easier to maintain a middle management job while flying low on the radar.

    Why would you leave all of that? Who in their right mind would want to sacrifice healthcare, free retirement money and the ability to wear a sport coat instead of a suit on Friday?

    At some point we need to make the choice to step outside of our comfort zone. To try something new. To be adventurous.

    If you are like me, you have already made the choice to start something of your own. However, if you’re smart, you haven’t ditched your day job yet.

    This is where the direction comes in.

    If my working conditions were completely unbearable and I couldn’t stand another day in the office without harming my personal relationships, I would have left. However, things are tolerable and manageable. They are where I need them to be in order to succeed in my next venture.

    In order to find direction, you need to find the people that will help you get where you are going.

    Whether they are your family, your friends or your special someone, you need to find the people that will help point you in the right direction but not be afraid to tell you when you are about to do something completely stupid.

    Many times I have come home and told myself I was going to quit my job and start my own business. However, I am lucky to have the people in my life to show me that I can’t just give up without an exit plan. Some of these people are mentors whom I have met online, others are former co-workers and the most important one is my lovely girlfriend, Brittani.

    Each day they influence me and help me develop my strategy for success. They point out what I am passionate about and what I should work harder on. They challenge me to think about things differently and to renew my perspective. Because of them, I am constantly growing, changing and evolving my plan for success.

    It’s with these people that I find direction.

    Surround yourself with people that have been successful, people that care about you, and people that admire you.

    Know what you want to do. Make the decision to change. Do what it takes to get there and depend on the people that enrich your life to help you find the right path to get where you’re going.

    Once you get there, don’t forget to look back and offer your hand and share with those that could benefit from your wisdom.

     

  • What Happens When You Lose Focus

    Blurry Image by Steve Snodgrass shared under Creative Commons 3.0
    Image by Steve Snodgrass shared under Creative Commons 3.0

    It has happened to all of us.

    At one point or another, we made a promise to improve ourselves and we failed. Whether it was at work, with losing weight or spending more time on our hobbies, we can’t seem to do everything we want to accomplish all of the time.

    For me, I made a promise to write a blog post every day for 30 days. Sounds simple enough, right? I did too.

    It turns out, it wasn’t. In fact, it was really hard. So hard–in fact–that I actually failed.

    Failure is okay though. It’s not something to be afraid of. Each time we fail we teach ourselves what we need to improve and what we need to avoid in order to be successful.

    You’re never going to be able to lose 20-lbs, write Thank You notes to everyone that did something nice, make your bed every morning and start a new Yoga class every Tuesday for a month. Somewhere, something is going to have to give.

    As I tackle on new projects, new responsibilities and promises to myself, I am learning to realize that we as humans can’t do everything at once.

    In order to be successful, we need to try one thing at a time.

    You can watch all of the “motivational speeches” you want about how you should never sleep, you should never give up and you should spend every living and breathing second focusing on being successful. You can try to replicate what worked for someone else, but in the end, you will fail. We all need to learn to be okay with that.

    By failing, we learn. By learning, we become smarter.

    The smarter we are, the more realistic our goals become.

    Remember: every time you lose focus, pay attention to what caused you to become distracted. Steer away from the distractions and allow yourself to find the best way to accomplish your goals.

    Be realistic. You can’t eat the elephant all at once. Take small bites, and chew slowly.

    Life is meant to be enjoyed. Sure, it’s challenging, but take advantage of its learning moments and use them to set you up for success.

    Every time you lose focus, if you pay attention, you can put yourself a step closer to getting where you want to be.

    And once you get there? Well, you’ll be grateful for taking the time to pay attention along the way.

    Losing focus is okay. After all, you might learn something from it.

  • Taking a Swing At It

    When was the last time that you focused on getting really good at something?

    Today I found myself in the sporting goods store making a significant purchase on golf equipment. I’m not a professional golfer, I’m going to ever make it on the tour, in fact, I’m really not that great. However, becoming a better golfer is something that I have always wanted to do.
    Why is that?
    Image Courtesy Fevi under Creative Commons 2.0
    Being a better golfer won’t make me more money. It won’t save me any time. If anything it will take a lot of my time and cost me a lot of money. So why would I want to do that?
    The urge to master something is in our DNA. Whether it is playing the guitar, painting, writing or playing golf, we all enjoy doing things that have absolutely nothing to do with our livelihoods. So why do we do it?
    I’m not a scientist or a researcher, so I can’t give you any statistics or any cool graphics. However, what I can tell you, is that when you get good at something on your own accord, it makes you feel good. There is something about competing with yourself and raising your own standards that can give you a lot of satisfaction.
    However, if you never take a swing at it, you’ll never know how good you could get at something…

  • Would you press the e-mail panic button?

    Last night I was having a long conversation with +Laura Dochtermann, a good friend of mine who happens to work in the publishing industry. We were talking about the evolution of text media and the slow but unavoidable death of print as we currently know it.

    It is blatantly clear that the print medium is suffering. With the advent of the e-reader, iPad, Kindle and all of its various cousins, people are finding new ways to consume novels and periodicals. Along with that departure from paper is our departure from physical correspondence.

    The drop in mail volume has become such a problem that the United States Postal Service is considering the end of Saturday delivery. It comes as no surprise though as more and more of us gravitate towards e-mail as our preferred the method of communication.

    When e-mail was first conceived it was great. It allowed you to instantly connect with people thousands of miles away and transformed the way that we conduct research and business. Now you can share file attachments, appointments, copies of contracts and more.

    As e-mail continued to evolve and it became more commonplace in the office, people started to rely less and less on other communication methods such as the telephone, courier service and fax machine. Now it seems as though an increasing majority of our communications at work are done over e-mail.

    Of course we have message boards, instant messaging, social media and other ways of connecting online, but when it comes down to getting things done, e-mail is the communication vehicle of choice.

    If we have come so far to adopt e-mail as our primary form of communication, why is it such a disaster? Talking to my friend last night, I learned that she had some 1,300 odd unread messages in her inbox. Undoubtedly, most of them were Spam, unsolicited messages and unactionable communications. However, in between those superfluous messages may have been a handful that needed thoughtful consideration.

    How can we sort through all of the junk to find what is really important? How do we task ourselves with organizing an onslaught of communications when we aren’t sure what we should keep and what we should throw away?

    I remember seeing a table once that showed how long you should hold on to certain documents, some for seven years, some for three and some for just as little as twelve months. It’s easy to discard things like junk mail, but why do we have to do that ourselves? Shouldn’t time-sensitive correspondence disappear once it is no longer relevant?

    Each episode of Mission Impossible began with a self-destructing message, so why don’t advertisements and newsletters do the same once their newest version arrives?

    Leaving your inbox untouched for a weekend or even just one day can present a huge problem when you return to sort out the mess.

    Sure, you can try different apps and “features” which promise to unclutter your barrage of messages and bring the cream to the top, but how can you be sure you’re not missing something? What do you do with all of the junk on the bottom? Do you let it grow like a digital version of Hoarders: Buried Alive?

    Clearly a problem of this magnitude requires immediate and drastic action. What can be done about these hundreds and thousands of messages that haunt you each time your visit your inbox? What can you do?

    CAUTION: I assume absolutely NO liability for what happens if you consider the following approach. Please do not exercise this approach with your work e-mail unless you have backed up all necessary communications and are comfortable doing so.

    Image Courtesy star5112 under Creative Commons 2.0

    Okay, if you’re still with me, here’s what I suggest: put an end to it. No, don’t throw your computer out the window. Don’t quit your job and don’t unplug yourself from the digital world. Get rid of the mess in your inbox for good. Here’s how:

    Let your family, friends, business associates and anyone else important know that you are getting ready to waive the white flag and declare enough is enough with the mountains of digital messages. After that, delete your messages. All of them. Each and every one. Get rid of the folders, get rid of the archives, get rid of it all. If it was important, you would have saved it or backed it up already. If you hadn’t, then you probably need to address a bigger issue.

    Now that you have an empty inbox, as you start to get junk you don’t need, unsubscribe before you delete. Don’t say, “oh I ‘ll do it next time” or “that’s too hard.” Just unsubscribe. Recent laws have made it incredibly easy to unsubscribe to newsletters and other advertisements through e-mail.

    As you unsubscribe and notice your incoming mail volume decline, continue to manage the messages as they come in. If it’s a note about a fun event you’d like to attend, quickly discuss with your family whether or not you would like to go, then take action on the message.

    As you start to work through your messages on a daily basis and continue to eradicate all of the things you didn’t need, you will start to notice yourself living a more peaceful existence.

    Now of course, you’re thinking, “delete ALL of my e-mail? You must be crazy?” Well, drastic times call for drastic measures my friend.

    I promise you that by getting rid of all of these forgotten commitments, irrelevant conversations and companies pleas to get you to buy things you don’t need, you will find yourself in a much happier place.

    The real question though is would you do it?

  • How to Get Things Done

    Everyone likes getting things done. There is a simple but rewarding sense of gratification once you can mark something off of your list.

    Take for example making your bed. You might say in your head, “oh I don’t see any sense in making my bed, I’m going to move all of the pillows and get under the covers anyhow.” In the morning when you have a million things to do, you might not realize the benefit of making your bed and consider it something that doesn’t really need to be taken care of.

    My brother taught me something a while ago, if you make your bed every morning, not matter how bad your day was, no matter how little you are able to accomplish, or whatever setbacks you face, when you return home to your bed to retire, you will be rewarded with one thing where everything is in its place, pleasing and relaxing. You will be rewarded for your smallest investment and it may be your day’s greatest achievement.

    Making your bed serves as a good example of what you can accomplish when you commit yourself to your goals. Keeping track of them, though is another story. If all you had to do every day was make your bed, brush your teeth, shower and go to work, you wouldn’t have much trouble keeping track of it. Unless you’re playing Will Farrell’s role in Stranger Than Fiction, that’s probably not the case, though.

    In order to accomplish of the millions of things that we task ourselves with, we need to keep track of them.

    We know that the human brain is powerful, in fact it is the most efficient computing device in the world, capable of of processing 2.2 billion megaflops on only 20 watts of energy. However, despite its efficiency, it isn’t always the most organized means of storage.

    Sometimes we need to rely on ancient technology to tackle of some the hardest tasks.

    What am I proposing? Taking a drastic measure. Uninstall your apps, ditch the Task manager in Outlook, stop fretting over your Gmail tasks not syncing with your phone and leave Evernote to tracking minutes from meetings.

    What I am proposing is that you get a sheet of paper and a writing utensil and write down the things that you need to get done.

    Image Courtesy of Betsy Weber by Creative Commons 2.0

    Nothing will give you the satisfaction of getting things done better than taking a pen and striking a line through them as you accomplish them. As more of your tasks become completed, you will see your progress by the growing number of strike-throughs on your page. Unlike software, those completed tasks that you spent your time and effort on won’t simply disappear or transfer to your recycle bin, they will remain on the page as a visual reminder of your accomplishments.

    As the page grows and more and more is crossed out, give yourself a pat on the back, you’re getting things done.

  • Getting all of the words in before…

    Today I had some free time while we were out and about running errands. I spent the time listening to a few TED Talks hoping to gain some inspiration or learn something that I could apply towards something I am already doing. Although I didn’t come across anything earth shattering or mind bending, I did find a key takeaway from one of the talks about trying something different for 30 days.

    In the talk, +Matt Cutts (a Google engineer) explains how easy and liberating it is to try something new for 30 days, but one of the ideas that he brought up was truly a novel concept: writing a book. According to Cutts, one of the hardest parts about this particular challenge was getting all of the words in every night (1,667, to be exact) before going to sleep.

    Photo Courtesy Jeroen Bennink by Creative Commons 2.0

    Now I won’t be hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro or biking 20 miles to work every day, but I think I want to take what I learned from this short talk and apply it towards my love for writing and sharing what I learn. Hopefully, if all goes well, every day for the next 30 days you should see a few paragraphs of ideas, suggestions and stories in my blog.

    Keeping up with something (or anything) can be tedious. Our lives are already jam-packed with tasks, to dos and ever-increasing expectations from our employers and family. We need to be in 100 places at the same time getting 1000 things done before our heads hit the pillow. The problem with this lifestyle is that we don’t always get a chance to do what we love to do.

    The 30 day challenge for me will be expanding by passion for writing by writing something new and engaging every day. It might not be the best collection of thoughts and ideas, but it will certainly be a consistent and thorough group of silly ideas, fun concepts and hard-learned lessons.

    I hope you are looking forward to whats to come and help give me the encouragement I need to keep it going. Who knows? Maybe after 30 days I will find this is something I really love doing.

  • Less is More

    Image Courtesy Kevin Dooley under Creative Commons 2.0

    I’m not a professional blogger.

    I’m not a professional web designer.

    I’m not even in the Information Technology or digital industry.

    I’m a story teller and a teacher.

    I like to learn things and share them with my audience.

    The last several websites I have created were all done through a WordPress theme. I loved the simplicity but unlimited configurations that the platform offered. However, as an occasional blogger and not a professional web developer, I’m starting to think that it might be easier just to leave the back end, delivery and syndication to the folks at Google.

    I have trusted them to help me grow my social media audience, so maybe it is time to give them a chance with my blog.

    They seem to be doing things well and impressing me with their technology. To date I own two Android devices, a Chromebook and a Google TV set top box. I handle all of my personal e-mail through Gmail and exercise my social media efforts almost exclusively through Google+.

    With the ability to directly tag my friends and colleagues (like +Tim McDonald who inspired this post), I find that Blogger is a truly simple and efficient tool for my needs.

    Because of the simplicity and the emphasis on what is really important (what I have to write) I think I am going to give Blogger a try and see if I can’t get my readership higher here than on my WordPress blog.

    What do you think? Have you switching blogging platforms before?

  • Google+ is Easy for Newcomers

    Recently Mike Elgan wrote a post equating Google+ to New York City. Although I appreciate his point, I think a lot of people are traumatized by getting started in a new social network and might find Google+ to be overwhelming.

    The truth is Google+ is geared around convenience which is why I think it is more like the suburbs.

    Google+ SuburbsGoogle+: More Like Suburbs, Less Like New York City
    (Originally posted on Google+)

    Let’s face it, the big city is really scary for a lot of people. There are a million things going on at once and it can all be totally foreign and totally overwhelming for some. There is no instruction manual on how to find a subway, pay for a fare and get where you are going. There isn’t a slow lane on the sidewalk for people that are new to the city. It is huge, full of hustle and bustle and can be a lot of fun.

    The truth is, New York City isn’t for everyone. Most people like convenience and easy access to the things they love and use on a regular basis. For a lot of families and simpler people, living in the city just doesn’t make sense.

    That’s why I equate Google+ to the suburbs. You can get a lot more bang for your buck, you can make friends with new and interesting people. You are just down the street from the places you love to visit and an adventure is always in your backyard.

    Google+ offers users the ability to do so many different things. But, it doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Because Google+ is integrated into so many of Google’s products (GMail, Calendar, YouTube, Docs), integrating different aspects of your Internet use into one social system is seamless.

    Because Google+ manages your circles based on interests or relationships, you no longer need one account for personal life and another for business. With Google+ you can share your family photos and the latest slides for that new sales presentation, with only the right people.

    The convenience of Google+ is the same that you would get in the suburbs. Everything is within reach, and it doesn’t take rocket science to get yourself settled and learn your way around. If you ever get lost or need help, there is always a neighbor that can help show you the way.

    Don’t let Google+ scare you, it’s not a big city, just a really cool neighborhood.