5 Tips To Make 2012 Your Best Year Yet

Greetings Dear Readers

By now you are already into the New Year and some of you might still be thinking
what should I do this year?   What are my goals for this year?

Here are 5 Tips to Get You Started.

1.  Do What You Love Doing


Sounds simple does it not.  Most of us find ourselves in a job that pays the rent
and we move from day to day, week to week and before you know it life is over.
What if you decided to start doing the work you love doing.  What do yo love doing?
Think about what kind of work you would love to do and then go and pursue it.
Pretty soon you will become a huge success and the bonus is you will never work a
day in your life because you love what you are doing.

2.  Set 12 Goals


Keep it simple this year and just try to achieve 12 goals this year.  One goal
for each month.  If the goal is a huge one like buying a house or car then break
it down into mini-goals and keep going at it till you achieve it.  Keep your eyes on the prize
and avoid all the negativity.

3.  Surround yourself with positive people


If you want have a great year this year then surround yourself with positive happy people.
No need to be around people who bring you down everyday or people who complain
or people who are negative and give you huge stress.  So just surround yourself with
positive people.

4.  Keep a journal


Get yourself a nice journal and each day write something in it.  Write down your goals in it as well.
Write anything and you will be amazed what pops up like wonderful business ideas, venting, beautiful writing, idea's for a book and the list goes on and on but keep writing in that journal.

5.  Visualize those goals


Now it does not help to just have goals you have to visualize them as well and see it
in your mind, if it's a house, where is it?  What does it look like?  If you are serious
about it then you will know exactly what the inside looks like and keep moving
towards it and one day you will be sitting in that house going Yes!


Bonus Tip For Writers


If you want to write a book this year all you have to write down is this

My goal this year is to publish one book!


Trust me it works :)


Fly high, Fly free


Fred Felton
Social Media Strategist & Speaker & Author
FalconsCove
A Digital Media Agency
email: falconscove@gmail.com
twitter: @fredfelton

5 Blogs Worth Checking Out

A warm welcome to all my readers.

Hope you are having a wonderful day.

Below are 5 Blogs that are really worth checking out.   They cover a
variety of topics and should keep you interested all year round.

1.  Project Me


http://jodene.co.za/projectme/

The blog is run by @Jodenecoza a wonderful lady who is very active on Twitter.
She blogs everyday and is actively involved in the #FollowSA initiative.
A wonderful blog to read daily if you can packed full of wonderful info.

2.  Quicksprout run by Neil Patel


http://www.quicksprout.com/blog/

This is the blog of Neil Patel.  Packed full of useful info and updated regularly.
On this blog you will find useful info which ranges from Twitter, to design,
to social media tips, to business tips and I could go on and on.
Really worth a read.   Find him on Twitter - @neilpatel

3.  Ask Ashe


http://askashe.wordpress.com/

A blog run by Durban based blogger Ashe.  Full of useful info about Durban, South Africa.
events about town, entries about fashion and so much more.  Really
worth checking out.  Find her on Twitter @AskAshe

4.  Laura Roeder's Blog


http://www.lauraroeder.com/category/blog/


A young entrepreneur with a very smart head on her shoulders.  She has some wonderful
advice in her blog.   Everything from social media advice, how to write blogs and now and
again you even get a webinar.  You learn so much from this blog.  On Twitter - @lkr

5.  The Fantasy / Reality World of a Writer


http://the-red-stone.blogspot.com/


This is the blog of writer Craig Smith  find him on Twitter - @CraigWFSmith
If you are interested in writing or reading fantasy writing check out his blog
you might just pick up some tips.  Full of #FlashFriday writing, writing tips
and even some videos check it out.

That should keep you busy for awhile dear readers.

Fly high, Fly free


Fred Felton
Speaker & Social Media Consultant & Author
Falcon's Cove
A Digital Media Agency
email: falconscove@gmail.com

email to book Fred Felton for a talk or seminar.

What Are You Waiting For?

Good day Readers.

This week we have an interesting topic.

What Are You Waiting For?

Well, dear reader, what are you waiting for?

Are you sitting there in your boring job wondering what you are doing there?
Do you have some sort of talent, something that you are good at?
Well, what are you waiting for?  What's stopping you?
Make a plan and go to it.  Focus on your talent and start doing what you love doing.
Whether it is acting or starting up that advertising business or even writing that book.
Get cracking and work on making that dream a reality.

Here are 5 tips to get you started.

1.  What are you good at?
The first thing to work on is to discover what you are good at?
What one thing could you do for no money?  What is easy for you to do?
What comes naturally to you? What do you love doing?  Answer that and
you are on the way.

2.  Formulate a plan.
Now that you have discovered what you love doing form a plan to succeed.
Work on achieving certain goals in 5, 10 and 20 years from now.

3.  Surround yourself with positive people.
When you start out you will always find people who will say you will not succeed.
So instead only surround yourself with positive people who will help you on your way.

4.  Find a mentor.
Find a mentor who is a success in your chosen career path.  Meet with them weekly or monthly
if you can and pick their brains ask all the advice you need and bounce idea's off them and listen to
what they have to say.

5.  Focus.
Focus on your chosen path and let nothing stop you from achieving what you want to do.

Well, what are you waiting for?


Fly High, Fly Free


Fred Felton
Speaker - Social Media Consultant
Falcon's Cove
A Digital Media Agency
cell: 076-977-5788
email: falconscove@gmail.com

email or call to book Fred for a talk or seminar.

Join our Facebook Fan Page -  Mr Motivator

What is a Tweetup?

Hello there readers, today I shall be concentrating on Tweetups and giving you some tips on them.
Last week I was involved in organising a Tweetup and while I was doing it I got a lot of enquiries about
Tweetups, what are they?  What's a Tweetup?  etc etc.

So here is some help for you who do not know what a Tweetup is.

What is a Tweetup?
A Tweetup is a meeting of people from Twitter who meet in a social gathering to meet the people
they Tweet to.  Sometimes it is just a social gathering and sometimes speakers are organised,
prizes are given and creative games are played.

How do you organize a Tweetup?
The easiest way is to use something like twtvite.com - www.twtvite.com
The interface is pretty easy and you can share it on many social networking sites.
Then get the word out early and share it with all your friends and the people you would like to see at the event.

Keep promoting the Tweetup?
Keep telling people in the area about it so if you are having it in Durban, use the hashtag
#DBNTweetup or #DurbanTweetup or #Durban so people can see it when they search for tweetups.
Have it at a central venue and choose a good time to meet.

Start early
Start promoting the Tweetup early so that you can get awareness of the event and tell people on Facebook and  other sites about it also.

At the Tweetup
Have a host or MC and their job is to make sure the Tweetup is setup, food and drinks are ready if necessary and the venue is ready.  The host should also greet the people as they enter and ensure that everyone has a good time.

There you go, that should help you on your way to starting your own Tweetup.
No matter where you are on this planet you can start a Tweetup.

So what are you waiting for?


Fly high, Fly free

Fred Felton
Speaker - Social Media Consultant
Falcon's Cove Consulting
email: falconscove@gmail.com
cell: 076-977-5788

call or email to book Fred for a talk or workshop on social media countrywide.

Midlands Literary Festival

Welcome To Another Entry Dear Reader.

This week I am looking at the Midlands Literary Festival.

From Friday 26th August 3pm - Sunday 27th August the Midlands will be alive with the sound
of ..... typewriters.  That's right readers, writers and book lovers will be descending on the
Midlands Meander to visit the Writing Festival with a wonderul line up of speakers.
There will also be a fantastic art exhibit.

The event will be hosted at Yellowwood 1 Shafton Road off Karkloof Rd, Howick.
For details contact Sandra Murphy on sandra@yelowwood.co.za

For those of you with Twitter you can also keep in touch with Nikki Tilley
on @MidlandsMeander for details.

The Midlands Meander also has a Facebook page and you can keep updated there.

The line up of speakers looks mouth watering.
Here are some worth going to.
Bruce Fordyce
Dr Ian Player
Sifiso Mzobe
Dan Retief
Judge Chris Nicholson
Mandy Wiener of Killing Kebble fame (Twitter @MandyWiener)
Scott Couper
Shaida Kazie-Ali
and many more I am sure.

I will be at the Festival and will be keeping you all updated via Twitter and look out for a future blog
on my experiences.

It all promises to be a wonderful Literary Event For The Midlands and for KZN.

If you love books, writers and art then this is the event for the weekend.


Fly high, Fly Free

Fred Felton
Falcon's Cove Consulting
The Digital Media Agency
'Social Media Is Our Biz'
Speaker - Social Media Consultant
email: falconscove@gmail.com
twitter: @fredfelton

Email or Tweet Me to book me for a talk, workshop or seminar on Social Media

10 Tips On Social Media Marketing For An Event

Hi Readers

This week was an interesting one in my life and I shall remember it for a very long time to come.
My Company was asked to help the Durban Chamber Of Commerce with Social Media Marketing
For Their Event At The Elangeni Hotel.  It felt a bit like it must have felt for the people who invented the wheel.     There I was sitting with @NazareenE and @immedia tweeting away and sending off status updates for the event featuring Alec Hogg.  Questions were even asked from Cape Town and the event created much interest in the Durban Chamber.  I think the CEO has to be thanked for embracing social media into the Chamber.  A truly wonderful initiative for them.  While I was there I came up with some tips that anybody
or any company can use to market a event using Social Media.  So here are 10 tips
courtesy of Falcon's Cove:

1.  Setup a invite or event on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitvite


A good way to start is to make an event on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitvite and many other social media sites.  The aim is to create awareness for your event or brand launch.

2. Check in using FourSquare


A great tool to use is FourSquare and you can check in at the event to create awareness of where you are, if you are a whole bunch of people encourage all of them to check in at the event.

3.  Use a # hashtag


A good tip is to also use a hashtag to create awareness of the event the one we used was #alechoggDC
you can use one for your brand or event as well so whenever you tweet include that hashtag.

4.  Twitpic or Locerz 


Use some sort of photo uploading site like twitpic or Lockerz to upload pics from the event to make
it a interactive, visual event.  People love seeing what is happening at a event.

5. Tweet valuable insights 


If you are at a talk Tweet some valuable tips that the speaker says and don't forget to credit them or
use the hashtag.   Add your own comment as well.

6.  Meet people at the event


Go around the room and interact with people and introduce yourself and Tweet about who you meet and where they are from.

7.  Connect Linkedin


Connect your Linkedin account to your Twtter account so your tweets can be seen on Linkedin also.

8.  Connect Facebook


Connect your Tweets to Facebook using a mobile tool like UberSocial.   Therefore your Facebook
Fans can also see what is happening.

9.  Use Twitvid and YouTube


You can also use your mobiles camera to take videos and upload to Twitvid and YouTube to create
further awareness.

10.  Write a blog about it 


To create event further awareness you can even write a blog entry about it using Blogger or Posterous or Wordpress and just email your blog entry as you write at the event.

Fly high, Fly free


Fred Felton
Speaker - Social Media Consultant
Falcon's Cove Consulting - The Digital Media Agency
'Social Media Is Our Biz'
email: falconscove@gmail.com
cell: 076-977-5788

call or email to book Fred for a talk, workshop or seminar on Social Media

10 Questions with Jodene from Project Me

Welcome Bloggers and Fans.

Today we are going to do something a bit different.

For the first time ever we are having a guest blog.

Jodene of Project Me has asked me 10 questions and I have asked her 10 questions.
To see what I asked her click on the link below in her short bio. If you would like to
do something similar to network give me a shout.

Here are the questions Jodene asked me.

1. When did you realise your ability to inspire others through your words?

Inspiration or motivation is a wonderful thing.  I remember I was a shy guy when I was a young student and it took my mentor to motivate me to read motivational books by people like Norman Vincent Peale and Napoleon Hill.   After  I read these I started to come up with motivational idea’s in my head.
It took time for me to process it all and when blogs came out I started to write and I started to write motivational books and people commented how inspired the words made them.  I thought to myself then hey you are onto something here and I never stopped.   It’s wonderful to bring somebody up to their potential, to build them up to what they could be.

2. What is the one thing you would dream of achieving along your career path?

I have always loved to act so in an ideal world, someday I will be acting in Los Angeles making movies with some of the best actors in the world.

3. If someone dares you to do something, what is your response and why?

If the dare is possible and I want to do it then I would probably do it.  If it leads to  something better I’m all for it.  However if it is something stupid I have no interest.  Time is very valuable to me.

4. Where do you go when it's time for you and only you?

I go to a lovely coffee shop on the North Coast right on the beach.  It’s a lovely drive and the view from the coffee shop is breathtaking.  Watching the deep blue sea and those waves crash is awesome. I take along a notebook and a pen and write some idea’s down.  When I come back I am inspired with idea’s.

5. What pushes you forward when fear takes over?

Fear can always pop up it’s head.   One of my best friends took his own life because he chose to take another road.  We all have that choice.  If you focus on your goals and your ideal life and keep going you can live a wonderful life.  Wonderful things can happen to you.  You can discover new friends, superb idea’s, different countries if you travel.  You just have to keep pushing yourself day by day and suddenly there is no fear only wonder.

6. If you had one coloured crayon, what would it be and what would you draw?

Obviously the colour blue and I would draw the winning numbers for the lotto :)

7. Would you rather go to a rock concert or the theatre?

Well I have just seen pics of the U2 rock concert and it looked awesome however I am trained as an actor and have performed in theatre shows.  So for me there is nothing like a evening of live theatre.  Anything can happen, it is truly one of the most brilliant pieces of art out there.  

8. What is the most difficult challenge you face as a writer?

Getting words down.  As Stephen King says you have to read a lot and write a lot.  A friend of mine writes every morning for a number of hours.  I find it hard.   So I keep a pen and notebook near even when I go to sleep because just as I am going to sleep a great idea hits me.  So I find it hard to put words down but I keep pushing myself and eventually out they come.

9. Hot apple pie with ice cream or cream?

Definitely Ice Cream.  Simply delicious.

10.        What blogs do you tend to follow and why?

I follow a wide variety of blogs.  From award winning blogs to friends blogs to blogs that make you think.  I follow these blogs because they give me idea’s and open my mind up to new viewpoints.  It’s amazing what is out there.   Idea’s lead to bigger Idea’s.  
Here are 7 that I am currently following.

1.  jodene.co.za
2. twinkletalks.co.za
3. The Big Breakfast Blog - via ecr.co.za
4.  http://letterdash.com/CraigSmith
5. http://www.zefrank.com/
6. http://spykerkoekemoer.blogspot.com/
7. http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/blog/

Here is Jodene's Bio:

Jodene is a born and bred Jo’burg, 30 something girl with the passion for watching people flourish and for eating ice cream. She is a passionate advocate for taking responsibility for your own life, your happiness and most importantly your choices. Her daily blog, “Project Me” began in 2010, but by demand from her readers Jodene has already committed to keeping the blog going indefinitely. This fun, truthful and conscious blog deals with her daily issues as common as weight loss, being single, dating, making a career out of being passionate, and  living in a beautiful country that is, amongst many things, is technically challenged.

Jodene is also the co owner of a company called Lifeology that encourages courage, consciousness and a sense of humour as the ingredients for life. She is a motivational speaker and writer who deals with all aspects of people development. 

Find Jodene on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jodenecoza
Blog address: http://jodene.co.za/projectme  

Well hope you enjoyed that bit of networking readers.


Fly high, Fly Free

Fred Felton
Motivational Speaker & IT Consultant & Biz Analyst
email: falconscove@gmail.com

email to book Fred Felton for a motivational talk or seminar on Twitter, Facebook, Email or Blogging.

How do you network?

Good day bloggers.  Welcome readers.  Today I went to a networking breakfast and was watching all the people network.  It got me thinking.  Do you know how to network?   I took some notes today.

Here are some tips on how to network effectively.

1. Before you set out consider what to wear.  Wear something that you look comfortable in and try to look neat and smart.  After all you represent your company image.  Think about that carefully.
2. If you attend the same network event greet the host and try and make friends with a group of people so that when you go you have someone to talk to before you break the ice with strangers.
3. Don't forget your business cards, they should state, your company name, address, email, telephone, twitter address, website, blog.
4. You can even bring with pamphlets and handouts, even a lucky prize for the event.
5. When you start to network try and find a group of people that are open to conversing with others.
6. Smile and say Hi, What do you do?
7. Get to know people's names and what they do and see if you can help them out in their field.
8. Hand out your business cards to people who might benefit from your services.   Don't forget to get business cards back.
9. Thank the hosts before you leave.
10. When you get back to your office shoot off a thank you email to the host and select some prospects to email and see if you can meet for a coffee and take it from there.

The more you network the more chance you have of a huge success.

If you approach it with a positive mindset you will have a wonderful time.  Always remember to look people in the eye avoid looking at the floor or elsewhere.   Select some meetings that will interest you and off you go.  

Happy networking !

Thanks for stopping by bloggers and readers.

Fly high, Fly free

Fred Felton

Writer & Motivational Speaker

email: falconscove@gmail.com

email to book Fred Felton for a talk or seminar anywhere on the planet.