In the spirit of the launch of the free  Success E-book by 30 of the worlds most awesome bloggers!  Here is my take on the all encompassing yet hard to define term “success”.

The Marriam Webster Dictionary defines success as the following:

favorable or desired outcome; also : the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence

Well Marriam and Webster whoever you are…I beg to differ…

Success is commonly defined as a destination, an outcome, basically a single point.  That destination is typically determined by the money, status and/or power that the successful person has obtained.  There are some obvious problems with this positioning of the concept of success:

1st: If success is a single point in the road, what was before it and what follows after it?  Every successful person (by societal standards) knows that success was not achieved at one single point in their journey.  It was achieved by failing, stumbling and learning a 1,000 times before you “succeed”. Telling successful people they have “made it” and now “succeeded” is a completely backhand bitch slap to the face of any person who has spent hours grinding, months flat broke and have had their decisions questioned by many of their loved ones.  Those truly successful people have always known they were successful regardless of their external life situation.  They also know that passion does not relinquish once you “make it”.

2nd: Who chose these metrics?  Money, status and power not only focus on the outward and some what superficial nature of success but it excludes millions of successful people that work under a different set of metrics.  Simply reflect on the accomplishments of Mahatma Gandhi.  An individual with little money, status or power led one of the largest political and spiritual movements the world has ever witnessed.  Marriam Webster would fail to declare Gandhi as a “successful” individual.  Live by your own metrics of success not anyone elses!

Without future addo here is how I define success:

-Success is loving who you are and being proud of what you contribute to the world. Achieve it by doing what you love, surrounding yourself with people you love and not settling for ordinary.

Download the free Ebook and checkout what to success is to 29 other successful bloggers.  Don’t forget to checkout the brain child of this collaborative project, Jonny at The Life Thing.

Most likely this post will come off as a shameless plug for my good friends’ websites, startups and projects…so be it…they deserve it!

After spending a little time with one of my best friends and checking out his ridiculously hilarious, well written and random website Finding Wood (launches today might I add) something struck me as it sometimes does.  I thought to myself: my friends group of friends are like no other group!  I am proud to say that many of us bypassed the young professional martini sipping lifestyle for the young entrepreneur 12am tea drinking  culture.  I am excited to say that amongst my friends, unordinary has become ordinary.

I have grown through my 20’s along side the best friends a person my age could wish for.  Yes we show each other nothing but support and love  but far beyond that we never allow each other to settle.  Each of us has sacrificed comfort and conventional success for our dreams (or at the very least what makes us happy).  I am proud to have the friends I do and owe much of my current and future achievements to them.

Daniel: My best friend and constant supporter.  This guy has backed me since the  2nd grade.  I’ve never met a person more capable when he puts his finger on what he wants.  I’ll always look up to Gip.

Kyle Rutty: His creativity scares me…literally.  Someday you will see him on SNL, but for now you can find him at FindingWood.com.  He has lived the classic story of  becoming a special government agent only become a coffee shop literary samurai (but I’m sure you have heard that before).

Wafi: Waf is a friend that will never leave your side, even if you want him to.  His knack for business and his ability to get things done impresses the hell out of me.  He always seems to be doing something big…next month is is launching MyCollegeSpot.com.

D Man: Derek taught all my friends that education must be pursued far beyond school.  Even better, real life education comes from investing in yourself and your business.  He is responsible for teaching me about system based businesses.

Killa Cam: Cameron never settles.  He lives life the way it is ought to be lived…whatever way he wants to.  He has built CampusBooze.com up to be the main resource for thousands of college students trying to get drunk for cheap.

Austin- Every group of friends needs their Tim Ferriss.  You know the guy that travels the world while building his startups?  Ya that guy.  He teaches the world how to do it at FullFoundation.com.

Sam- Sam will change the face of preventative health care.  He better, I’ve listened to him talk about it for too long for him not to.

Cath- I have never met a college student with so much drive and vision.  When I was her age I couldn’t see past Thursday nights in Downtown Santa Barbara.  I am so proud to be her boyfriend!

Plus all my other great friends who are foolish like me….JC$, Javi @ StuVu.com, Max….the list goes on.

If I could recommend on thing for young folks right out off college, entrepreneurs or anyone trying to get the most out of life, it would be to surround yourself with abnormal people…they will help you live an abnormal life!

This post was inspired by my Deadhead mother who has helped shaped my life in the most interesting of ways. I love you so much mom

For those readers that don’t know the Grateful Dead, you will sure know some cultural staples they have helped cultivate, like the Tie-dyed shirts, music file sharing, hippies, and the classic jam session. Simply stated, they are easily one of the most influential bands of all time while taking a different approach from the rest. This post represents a revelation I had which revealed that the Grateful Dead go far beyond their iconic rock and roll status. They created music that not only represented their time but created a movement that was far ahead of its time:

Growing up in a house littered with stickers of dancing bears and skulls, it’s an understatement to say that I was a bit embarrassed of my Deadhead roots. Having a Dead Head mom, I was immersed in a world of music, singing, stack and stacks of cassette tape and peculiar tape traders (don’t ask). The longer I live more I realize that the Dead are embedded within by DNA…and no I am not saying this because I just acquired a bongo drum.

After a weekend coffee shop stop with my mom, I noticed the uncanny parallels between her lifelong journey of Dead Headness and my Social Media passions and work. She constantly shares music with other Deadheads while I constantly share interesting content through the web. She meets interesting people from groups across the country to talk about the Grateful Dead while I meet interesting people on Twitter in hopes of sparking up meaningful relationships. She gets into the zone by turning their music up full blast and humming along while I get in the zone by turning on some Calm Meditation on Pandora and blogging up a storm. I guess we’re not so different after all.

The more I spoke with my mom the more I understood the fundamental implications the Dead have on our Social Media Culture. I am a believer…they are the pioneers of Social Media…

2010 is here and with a new year comes new expectations, especially when it comes to social media.  Anyone who has been immersed in social media for the past few years have witnessed social media’s transformation from a richer form of harmless online chatter to one of the most powerful marketing channels today!  Marketers are seeing the masses spend less time on traditional media and more time playing Farmville on Facebook (I’m referring to the black sheep on your Newsfeed  phenomenon).  So if 2009 was there year where social media social media got some double takes from the the usual critics than 2010 is the year social media reels in that critic and seals the deal (whatever that means to you).

Here are some of the emerging trends in 2010 (according to the top influencers in the space…and myself )

Top Trends For Individuals

• Mobile is everything and everything will be mobile.
• Social media will be integrated more and more within more traditional media outlets –> video game systems, TV??, etc.
• There will be more exclusive communities popping up separating the authentic from the fakers.
• High adoption of Augmented Reality services.
• You will be more exposed than ever before.

Top Trends for Businesses

• The most apprehensive and most traditional companies will start dipping their toes in the water (cause everyone else will have already dove in).
• Each business will begin to set metrics for measuring ROI instead of measuring obscure levels of engagement.
• Companies will begin enforce social  media policies (like the NBA).
• Small business will begin to emerge in the space (via apps like FourSquare).
• Media agencies will begin to expand their offering or partner-up with others who got the skill set they need.

New Technology to Expect

• More location based services.
• More exclusive social networks.
• More focus on branded mobile apps.
• Facebook currency?
• New micro-blogging interfaces. 
  

Don’t just take my word for it…check out what the experts have to say!

What Will You Do Before John Cusack Gets Another Leading Role?

The Mayans have done one of two things with their calendar.  Either, they have predicted the end of the world, in which we have only few years to live in a state of constant anxiety or with absolutely no reservation…ORRRrrrr they were too lazy to count beyond 2012, which means we will live beyond 2012 and wished we lived the past two year with no reservation instead of being anxiety ridden.

Just for the sake of positive pressure, why don’t we all assume that the world is going to end in 2012.  What would you do in 2010 that would make you’re entire life meaningful?  The world is changing rapidly, the people that are going to facilitate that change are the people that are going to be able to picture what they want, plan out how to get it and make meaning  behind their entire course of action.

You may get the sense that I intend on making the most of my upcoming years!  And it all begins with 2010.  We need to make this the year that we go beyond New Years Resolutions and achieve what we are meant to achieve.

With all that being said it takes a little more than putting your mind to it.  It takes understanding, planning and action to accomplish great things in 2010.

Understanding- Start With Resolutions

We have all fell victim to poor New Years Resolution planning before…there is no need to be ashamed.  Typically what happens is you jot down a few things you would like to do in the new year.  The resolutions are normally 180 behavioral shifts from stuff you did the year before.  That paper you jotted down your resolutions on is supposed to keep you accountable throughout the new year…full proof right?

Try this…

• Jot down everything you want to accomplish in the new year.
• Explain to yourself why you want to accomplish each item.
• Move you resolutions onto a goal list and see if each resolution fits within your master plan.

Planning- Set Goals

Goal setting is where your real planning takes form.  These are the items that you are a 100% accountable for.  These goals should be near and dear to you and act as a constant reminder of what needs to be accomplished.

Here are the steps you can take to make sure you don’t only set goals, but you accomplish your goals:

• Take your resolutions and begin to separate them based on category.  Example) write for Mashable goes in the Personal Branding/ Social Media category –> Finish my first course of French goes in the Personal category.
• Start building goals around resolutions you have set in each category.
• Make sure each goal is measurable.
• Give a timeline for the accomplishment of that goal.
• Access all your goals and begin to reduce your list.  Begin to take away the extraneous and time consuming goals that won’t fulfill your overall mission.  Note that reducing your scope of goals can be even more important that building you goal list out.  If your list is too big, you may be overwhelmed and discouraged by your lack of progress because you spread yourself too thin.

Last but not least…

Action-Track Your Milestones

I learned that goal lists often get lost in the shuffle (just like resolutions).  Therefore, I made an effort to break down my yearly goals into monthly action plans.  Monthly action plans is much easier to manage than a list full of goals.  I have seen the best results when I:

• Take goals from each category which need to be addressed right away.
• Break them down into quantifiable goals that can be met over the course of a month.  Example) If your goal is to have 20 guest posts published in 2010, your action plan for January should be to write 2 guest posts for x and y blogs.
• Create milestones for each week.  Over the course of 7 days, what will need to be finished in order to finish up your monthly goals?
• Take a Post It and write out what you need to accomplish for that day.  Make sure to keep it short and sweet (maximum 3 medium sized tasks).  This will make sure you never loose site of the task at hand.

What I will be doing…

In case you were curious…here are a few things I am focusing on in the upcoming year.

• Less time in front of the computer and more time reading and being physically active.
• Exploring the outdoors.
• Building up myself as a go to resource in the social media and young entrepreneur niches.
• Become even more active in meeting new and interesting people.
• Start a highly successful business (more on this to come).
• Create multiple streams of income.
• Begin to put money away in reserve.
• Begin to learn French.
• Hang out more with family.
• Hang out more with friends.
• Love my girlfriend more and more each day.
• Live everyday with gratitude.

For me, 2009 was the fastest year of my life.  I hope I was able to absorb everything I took in.

For everyone, I hope 2009 has been amazing and even more importantly, I hope you accomplish all that you truly want to accomplish before the world ends

Hands In! Maybe?

If you are an entrepreneurs, it’s very likely some of your friends are entrepreneurs.  Which is fantastic right?  That means you can come together for ideas, advice and other forms of insightful collaboration.  Of course, there will be many opportunities for you to pursue ventures with your friends.  Pretty exciting stuff, I know.

However, one must consider the possible pitfalls of partnering with friends on ventures (impressive alliteration eh).  Many times friendships get tested and business decisions get clouded.

With a talented group of friends and more and more partnership opportunities coming my way, I have to consider the good, the bad and the ugly before I jump into a new venture.  And you should consider it as well.

The Good

The single most important thing is that expectations are set.  There must be one vision and one team moving in unison.  If they fall off track a bit, they have the wherewithal to hop back on and get moving in the right direction.  Since birds of a feather flock together, your friends most likely have some of the same skills, talents and interested.  That shouldn’t mean that roles and positions aren’t set.  Egos may be tampered with when one friend is named the CEO over another but a group must define roles in order to have expectations met and the organization operate effectively.  Setting expectations and defining roles based on each individual’s strengths and desires is the only way a business friendship combo can work.

When all is accounted for and everyone is on the same page, you can only imagine the benefits.  You are working side by side with people you care about on a project you care about.  There is nothing better in this world then spending quality time with good friends.  If you are able to start up a successful business with your friends, you live the virtues of spending quality time with them while changing the world and making money.  Doesn’t get much better then that.

The Bad

Business decisions sometimes takes emotionless fortitude to move the right direction.  On the other hand, for friendship’s to flourish, one must have the capacity to empathize with their friends on a deep emotional level.  If you cannot find a balance between the two temperaments, be prepared for a short and bumpy ride.  To find this balance the team must be committed to being as open as possible.  Disclose all, from you finances to your feelings.  If you stumble across a partner that is not willing to be open, pick up your bags and roll out.

Say you do get to the point where each team member can strike a balance between business and friendship and prove to be open with each other.  You’ve made it passed step one.  However, in step two, money is something that will need to be accounted for.  Many entrepreneurs have the idealist notion is that you create something great and the money will fall into place (I still work under the notion…yes I am a romantic).  But at some point some type of reality sets in, either your costs are piling up or money is flowing in (hopefully the later).  If your friends and business partners does not have a clear picture of their capital contribution things are liable to get bad.  Never, never let friendships break up over money.  Be smart and bring in a trusted third party part time CFO if you need to, the money is worth the money.  If you are in this position, go talk to my friend and financial expert Trishan. He is a honest and knowledgeable guy that will set up your company’s finances for you.

The Ugly

My first venture Blacktop Hoops is the quintessential example of friendships and ventures turned ugly.  I ended up collaborating with a friend I only knew for a short period of time.  We had our differences but since we believed we needed each other we stuck through it.  He later brought his friend on to be our developer.  Communication was terrible and there was far too much tippy toeing around people’s feelings.  End result, is that the partnership is now dissolved.  Learn the whole ugly story here.

Conclusion

Make sure you know what you are getting your self into before you jump into it.  Set expectations, roles and most importantly make sure your group compliments each other.  No good friendship is worth ruining over business and no good business worth ruining because of a friend. 

Have you worked with friends before?  What have you learned from the experience?

This post was written as a feature article for the Brazen Careerist community.

In today’s professional world, our influence extends only as far as our relationships. This is fantastic news for the Hollywood lookalikes and handshaking enthusiasts. Unfortunately, the majority of us lack the jawline and the forearm fortitude to become a master networker and develop a strong personal brand.

Right?

Not even close.

Thanks to social media flattening the world, transparency reigns supreme. This means that the individuals who are authentic, knowledgeable and that can add value to an area of interest can make a name for themselves. This culture of openness has brought incredible opportunities my way, as well as to thousands of other proactive individuals looking to express themselves and make a difference. Here are some keys to success when it comes to opening up and creating opportunity:

Express Yourself

If you keep a keen eye to many of the popular social media channels you will notice that there are more and more interesting people these days. Actually, it’s not that the world is hosting more interesting people; it’s that we now have the platforms that allow anyone to position themselves as interesting. Millions of people watch Mr. Average Joe perform mediocre slapstick comedy on YouTube, while thousands of people on Twitter follow every link, word and character from the new Ruby on Rails Guru. Today anyone can be a celebrity, why not you? Go on Twitter,  YouTube,  Facebook,  create a blog and show the world what you love and start adding value through expression.

Find Your Niche

If you are planning to start a Twitter account to constantly tweet about what you had for breakfast, lunch and dinner and expect to amass a huge following that will be interested in what you have to say, you are delusional. Find a niche that excites you and makes you want to share your expertise. If you share great content to the right people you will begin to gain credibility within your niche. Reach out to others in your niche and have real life conversations. You may be able to help each other out and build a strong relationship.

Have a Conversation

Don’t complicate this social media thing. The best personal branders are people leverage social media in order to have conversations with the intent to share and add value to the other person or community. Start reaching out to people you look up to and let them know you admire them, tell them a bit about yourself and express your unique opinion about their work. Becoming their friends is not so farfetched anymore. Also reach out to people in the same niche as you, they can provide you with a wealth of knowledge, partnership opportunities and/or cross promotional channels. Create enough conversations and you may be the next authority that everyone wants to have a conversation with.

The playing field is leveled for those willing to open up and get out there and play. Just remember be authentic, be knowledgeable, add value and opportunities will begin to come your way.

I still have a turkey hangover…You know that feeling of being in a constantly satisfying daze?  And no, I am not alluding to any extracurricular activities.  Anyways that is besides the point.  After having a wonderful Thanksgiving full of family and friends and away from my computer; it was much easier to take a step back and reflect on what I am grateful for.  I look at all the wonderful people around me, the incredible area I live in, my health, my mind and everything else that makes up my life to this point and am amazed at how lucky of a person I am.  Giving gratitude on Thanksgiving is assumed, however I sometimes get caught up focusing on the  things I don’t have instead of giving gratitude for the things I do have.  I don’t have enough money, I have not had a successful startup yet, I am still not in Paris…this misappropriated thought structure can lead to negativity in all aspects of life.  Instead giving gratitude allows one to feel the roll over effect of positivity.  And a positively charged mind can do amazing things.  It may seem hokey to pass out thank yous like handshakes, to thank your parents for what they have done for you throughout the years or to count your blessings each and every night; however small acts such as those can help shed an egocentric mindset that stunts personal growth.  The next questions is: what can I do to give gratitude that will allow me to evolve as a more fulfilled human being?  So in the spirit of Thanksgiving I have put together a short list of ways I will give gratitude from here on out.

1. Smile, greet and/or thank anyone who you pass by on the street, chat up at a register or see at the gym.  Basically, treat each daily occurrence with gratitude no matter how small.
2. Actually tell people close to you that you appreciate them and why you appreciate them.
3. Whenever your mind creates a barrier…count 3 things you are grateful for…then proactively overcome the barrier.
4. When you are not happy about where you are in life.  Take five minuets to writer out some of your past and current accomplishments.
5. Smile more.
6. Tell more people that you love…that you love them.
7. Greet every new day with excitement.

The life I live is an amazing one; it’s extremely powerful that I recognize that.  What are some ways you give gratitude?

1. It doesn’t take a Harvard MBA to figure it out.
2. New era of authentic celebrities (Biz Stone, Kina Granis, Gary Vaynerchuk)
3. With enough creativity and ingenuity a startup with no resources can out play a large company.
4. Consumers have the power!
5. The world is flat.
6. Social media gurus…watch this video
7. Finding you boyfriend/ girlfriend on Facebook.
8. Collaboration fuels success.
9. The phrase “what have you been up to?” is now irrelevant when you run into someone you know…thanks to Facebook.
10. Formerly unimaginable revenue streams.
11. The mobile lifestyle revolution!
12. Transparency-Fakers are exposed and the authentic rise to the top.
13. Your heroes are more accessible to you.
14. Openness…
15. @Tweet one minute, coffee shop the next.
16. Live Feeds.
17. Chris Brogan.
18. Being a broke entrepreneur is cool.
19. Neo-journalism….the rise of the novice yet profound blogger.
20. The right brain has been reactivated!
21. Screens are getting smaller…sorry TV.
22. Digital stalking (you know who you are).
23. ROI is more theoretical and less tangible.
24. Human powered search.
25. Community is back!

What are some reasons you love social media?  Comment and crowd source this list!

Two memorable things happened last week:  I read a post from one of my favorite bloggers, Carlos Miceli, called “Ignore Reality” and I had a long and deep conversation with my younger brother Matt.  Carlos explored the realm of the completely irrelevant.  He took a look at the statistics, assumptions and boundaries that our society manipulates in order to keep the status quo the status quo.  In school we were told the A student becomes rich and successful, the jock gets the girls and the dumb kid is doomed.  Our entire life we are conditioned to accept this, wave the white flag and be content with whatever comes our way.  At 22 I almost fell into this trap…luckily I recognized something was terribly wrong and now strive to be someone terribly different.  So when my brother called me and needed help to get out of his rut, I was strangely excited.  He wanted to start moving forward but couldn’t figure out how.  While speaking with him, one thing I immediately noticed was when I suggested some possible options there was usually some initial excitement that was almost always followed by a “but”.  My brother is bright, athletic, good looking, charismatic and a leader yet he has trouble getting past the limitations he  imposes on himself.  So with the little wisdom I have, I suggested him to think beyond those limiting thoughts and think “what if”.

“What if you can do whatever you want…what would you do?”

I came to a realization that many people are governed by limiting factors (not the bio term).  Limiting factors which develop in each of us overtime due to over exposure to mediocrity.  These are some of the most dangerous agents in our lives.  They are agents of  restriction, fear and complacency.  They are the thoughts in your head that tell you, “you will never get that job, they only hire Ivy League grads” or “she will never go out with you, she’s way out of your range.” They hold you back from where your heart wants you to be.

So start to challenge assumptions that you have never thought of challenging before.  If something is one way, ask yourself why and find out why.  If you think you can’t do something just go do it.  Take actions which will help you break away from what limits you.  Simply put…unlimit yourself!

Strive to be an outlier…remove yourself from the statistical data.

PS) This is NOT an endorsement for Metro PCS (your welcome FCC)