It All Adds Up, and We Are Not Just Talking About Google Plus!

Here is Guy Kawasaki’s latest book, which is his first e-book that was inspired from his use of Google+. The book is called What the Plus! Google+ for the Rest of Us, and it explains how to master Google+.  Written only as an e-book, it will only cost $2.99, and will be available on Kindle and iBooks.

Guy wrote me to say, ‘I didn't plan to write this one – except that I fell in love with Google+, so I decided to write a book about it.’

As Guy extended the reach of marketing communication with his new book with existing social media devices, and so can you. Using the four principles of marketing, you can expand and extend your Presence. Every person that connects with you on Facebook or Twitter can enhance the reach of your cause. Like all things useful, it requires that you invest in some energy before you see movement and momentum. The journey of an ultra-marathon begins with the first step; it then adds up as you decide to keep going.

Leadership Lessons: How do you measure up to expectations? How patient are you in building up your wealth and worth? What is your accounting system for measuring value?

Great To Be Home!

I got back a few hours ago from a business trip, and then rushed through dinner to attend my magic club’s meeting. Since the theme tonight was on sleight of hand magic – the purest form of illusion – I enjoyed the performances.

Having suffered a mild case of the runny nose (probably earned from last Sunday's 12K race & subsequent 3-hour riding brick), I still managed to train twice: a 30-minute circuit training session with free weights and medicine ball/wobble board, and a 90-minute stationary bike ride session. The ride was restricted to a maximum of 60 minutes, however I sat on it for a further 30 minutes since I was the only one earlier in the evening. A lady exerciser irritated me when she flung the doors open to allow the outside air to waft in. I felt hot since the cool, air-conditioned room became mixed with the warmth of the city’s evening. I concluded that this lady believed that a warm ambience would stoke her metabolism. She would have been better off increasing the intensity of her activity.

A few of my friends have hopped on the Kindle reader bandwagon. The digital paper is easier on the eye and the battery-life is long-lasting: akin to a highly trained, and clever endurance athlete. Durability, resilience and persistence are enduring qualities of leaders who lead their teams.

Pardon my lack of time-based postings, I could not access my blog and other social media tools because I had no access. It is quite annoying to be subject to another form of ‘compression’ technology. However, such is life as we can only manage what is within our control. I re-watched Invictus on cable TV, and was reminded of President Nelson Mandela’s words to Francois Pienaar (captain of the South African rugby team, the Springboks): ‘I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.’ It was based on a poem 'Invictus' written by English poet, William Ernest Henley, which Mandela read constantly when he was prisoner 46664. Invictus means 'unconquered'.

'Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.'

But the fourth and last verse is the one that people tend to remember:

'It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.'