Happy Birthday Dr Seuss!
In honor of the original poet, rapper & brilliant writer's recent birthday, I thought it was a perfect day to repost one of my favorite blog posts. This was originally published December, 2010 on my personal business blog soon after leaving a 15+ career in corporate business and technology to venture into the world of entrepreneurship. I often went to Dr Seuss for inspiration.
The words on this post literally flew out of my brain onto the keyboard the day I wrote them. We were in the middle of a move downsizing into a smaller home to follow the entrepreneur dream. Little did I know at the time this was an article that would put us on the map, help us get syndicated on sites across the globe and the list goes on.
So my key message to you today… when the going gets tough, the tough pull out a dash of faith, prayer and a Dr Seuss quote! ;)
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The older I get the more I realize how smart my mother & Dr. Suess are!
Yes, Dr. Suess may have some crazy rhymes and guys drawn in his books. However, if you look at the core of his thoughts and words, the man was brilliant. I think he can teach us some nice lessons in regard to social media.
1. “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
-Authenticity and transparency in social media is the green in the green eggs and ham. I like realness Sam I am! Don't be somebody different offline than you are on Twitter and Facebook. There is one you.
2. “Be who you are and say what you feel because those that matter don’t mind and those that mind don’t matter!” ~ Dr. Suess
Quit worrying 24/7 about what everyone thinks of you. Build your plan, work your plan and get out there! Yes you will need to manage your brand, reputation and image online. However, make it real!
3. “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” — Dr. Seuss
-Are you laid off, fired from corporate or plain just quit? Out of a job, quit cryin'. It's a blessing. Get on with your life and build your life in your own way!
4. “You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” — Dr. Seuss
-You're in love with the Twitter bird and you know it! If you're dreamin' of him, it's a fact.
5. “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go…” — Dr. Seuss
-If this isn't the truth! Take charge of your life. Go, people go! Think of the communities you can build, the business you can win and the people you can connect with if you only try! Quit following in your competitors footsteps. Make your own path and make it happen!
6. “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” -Dr Suess
-This one makes me think of how complicated we make social media. The newbie questions of what's a retweet, what's a tweet vs a twit and the list goes on. The best advice I give people is “just do it!” The answers are simple if you only engage. — Dr. Seuss
7. “A person's a person, no matter how small.” -Dr Suess
-Just because you have tens of thousands of followers on Twitter, it doesn't make you any better than the guy who is new to Twitter and has 8. You were there once too. That person is a person and in reality probably smarter than you!
8. “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”-Dr Suess
-Listen and learn. Read, engage, watch your mentors, learn from them. You'll soon learn and build your own track.
9. “We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.” -Dr Sues
-I love this one! Reminds me of all the awesome people I have met on Twitter. Late nights, early morning, I love my Tweet buddies. I have met people from around the world. We all have a bit of quirky weirdness in our walk. Let it quirk and you'll find other quirkers!
10. “Being crazy isn't enough.” -Dr Suess
-Being a crazy bird isn't enough. Yes, have humor. However, you need to add value. Inspire, educate and engage with your audience. Don't just blast craziness! Don't approach social media like a crazy bird out of the crazy cage. Yes, you may be excited you learned how to tweet, but put some sense into those 140 characters!
11. “From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!” -Dr Suess
-Social media is filled with humor. Just look around. Do a search on Twitter for the term “get more followers” and you'll see just how many funny crazies there are who think they are making progress spamming. Embrace the humor of social media folks.
12. “I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful one-hundred percent!”-Dr Suess
-Stick to your words and make your words stick!
13. “Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!” -Dr Suess
–Think bigger than the tweet, faster than a zoom and what you can do if you reached for the moon! Be different. Be bold. Stand out from the crowd.
14. “In my world, everyone's a pony and they all eat rainbows and poop butterflies!” -Dr Suess
-This one reminds me of the people who think social media is free, that social media alone is going to save their business. Get over it folks! Social media is far from free. It doesn't enable you to eat rainbows and it sure as heck does not poop butterflies. It poops bad ROI and negative brand equity if you don't manage it and plan. Build your plan and work your plan!
15. “How did it get so late so soon?” -Dr Suess
-Happens to me every night on Twitter. I am just getting into it and I pass out on the laptop. If only there were more hours in the day. My how time flies when you're having fun!
And I will close with my all time favorite Dr. Suess quote:
“You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So… get on your way!”
Go get-r-done peeps!
*Important Note: The above quotes are either from Dr. Seuss or inspired by Dr Seuss.
