Things I heard last week that piqued my interest and inspired me.

1. You Can’t Do Epic Shit with Basic People.?

One of my favorite people in the world is the amazing James Ashcroft . He has a FB group called Chat with James.

He's always sharing interesting perspectives and things to think about.

I highly recommend that you join his group.

This week a member posted a picture with the quote, “You can't do epic shit with basic people.”?

It got me thinking about the people I spend the most time with and why when I spend time with winners, and others up to greatness.?

It makes me think bigger and bolder.?

I love challenging myself and being challenged and one of the best ways to do this is to surround myself with the best of the best and settle for nothing less.?

I love doing epic shit and plan to keep doing more and more of it. I’m lucky to have a community of friends and family that believe in and hold me to my greatness.?

Let’s all go do some epic shit this week, this month, this year - THIS LIFE

2. Facing Fear Head On

Another thing that inspired me this week was a post written by my friend and fellow entrepreneur Anna (Anya) Crowe, MBA ?? of Crowe PR out of San Diego.

I was lucky to get to see Anna for a bit at GLC in Cape Town recently. She shared thoughts about fear which I loved. Here’s a bit of what she shared:?

“Fear can be paralyzing.?

Fear stops us in our tracks.?

Fear prevents us from maximizing our potential and experiencing all that is meant for us.?

And fear is primal and inevitable.?

I don’t believe we should strive to be ‘fearless’ - that’s an impossible and defeating goal. I think it’s about understanding fear and our relationship with it, facing it head on with all our mental strength (+ often trying new tools) and glancing at it in the rear view mirror, as if to say, “Nice try, old friend, I’ll catch you later??”

I love this Anna. Keep rocking it and facing your fears and inspiring us to do the same.?

3. Staying a Step Ahead by ALWAYS LEARNING

The last thing I’ll share here that got me excited was a post by Peter Caputa , CEO at Databox. He shared how he’s been hearing from other marketing agencies the following:?

• Search traffic is going down (too much competition)
• Website engagement metrics are awful (people aren't reading long-form content as much)
• Nurturing sequences aren't generating opportunities

The takeaway wasn’t doom and gloom but the challenge that we all need to elevate our marketing and content. Here are some ways he suggested to make your content marketing work more effectively:

• Agency team members building their own followings (Linkedin, Youtube, speaking)
• Featuring the insight of others in their marketing (podcast interviews, surveys)
• Newsletters are written by a person
• Webinars, meetups, conferences & workshops
• Assessments, benchmarks, evaluations.?

All these things are very near and dear to my heart at ContentBacon and things we are already doing for ourselves and our customers and going to be doing more of.?

I hope everyone has an epic week, you conquer a fear, and you stay a step ahead by always learning.?