I feel like someone who buys one of those Acai, or is it Acia, cleanses must feel like after the last 10 days!
In my opinion, we tend to think others see the world in terms of how we perceive it to be. When, in fact, there is a HUGE population out there totally computer illiterate and most don’t even know how to set up an email account!
That is good for the future of the Internet generally, and creative Internet marketers specifically, but it is a reality many seem to miss when shaping their world view, our world view!
The key to success online, to Internet marketing success, is not trying to sell each other, the trick is to tap into the virgin market still available and waiting for a creative approach and the right message!
Instead of preaching to the choir, we should be focusing on the masses…because that is where the real opportunity resides!
The choir knows the song by heart, it is in reaching those just beginning the search, just beginning the process of online education, whether in online, stay-at-home businesses or in some other form of Internet commerce, the real opportunity for service and for success rests with the novice, the “newbie,” and not in restating the same message to the same followers in the same way, day in and day out, online, whether through social media or whatever!
It is nice to be back with a fresh set of eyes and a new perspective. Often, the best way to understand something is to step away long enough, and in this case, far enough to be able to see the forest for the trees.
John
Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526
216-539-7412
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@johnzajaros.com
Happy Holidays from My Family to Yours: Treasure the Moments – They are Gone in a Instant!
There are moments in everyone’s life, particularly when raising children, moments that last a lifetime. Whether it is a moment like this or the moment Marc Warnke refers to with his son, Jaken, climbing a rock in his wonderful book ONO: Options not Obligations or myriad others parents carry with them through life, the moments remain treasures, the gems that keep us going…all of us!
This was one of those moments, a blink and it was gone, and yet here it is, my daughter’s Facebook profile picture. The magic I felt so long ago and feel to this day is magic shared. The profound affect and impact the moment had on me was shared by 4 that day…a jewel throughout our collective lives!
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanzaa!
Celebrate life in each and every moment, because it is the moments taken collectively that define us and remain our legacy, as evidenced by a profile picture taken 17 years ago, a moment that remained in a 6 year old’s heart all these years!
I was watching and listening to the HBO Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Rock Concert from Madison Square Garden this morning.
Watching the 25th Rock Hall Concert, I still can’t get over the aging rockers refusing to give in to age and, perhaps more inspiring, conventionality. I think the thing that struck me most as I watched was the diversity of talent, every man and woman, each solo artist and group all have their individual style and grace…their own voice.
Bruce and Bono!
As I was watched The Boss and Bono, along with the rest of U2, I was struck by their very different styles. These rock and roll legends, these men whom have done as much for others behind the scenes, in terms of philanthropy, as any two men alive; and there, side by side singing about life, love, and hope.
Interestingly, while engaged in the same profession, and with many of the same qualities, humanity, compassion, and empathy, they are still as far apart stylistically as two entertainers can be.
As I watched, and it was in watching, much more than listening, that their real differences became apparent, I was struck by the fact that these two men, so very successful in the same endeavor, were so different from one another in the same moment.
Bono and The Boss, as different as night and day, yet both creating beautiful music in their own distinct fashion, their own style. These two mythic performers, deities of the rock and roll era, standing side by side and singing in complete harmony were as different in how they deliver their message, their performance, as any two performers can be; and yet, their harmony was incredible.
Both performers clearly belong on the same stage, however different their stylistic expression may be. All you have to do is watch, and then listen, but mainly watch these two performers, so different and yet so much the same to get a real sense of the contrast between them.
So, what is it all about?
It’s about finding your own voice! Both men have found their calling, their love for their work, their love of life, their voice…literally and figuratively.
While watching night and day on the same stage, both creating something beautiful, individually and collectively, something different and yet uniquely the same, I was moved. The collective voice they created was something uniquely theirs in that moment.
Success in Life
Because each of these rockers had given himself permission to express his voice in his own way, they both seem at one with themselves, with their true nature.
One only has to watch The Boss and Bono standing side by side, so very different, and each succeeding in ways unimaginable only a few years ago, to know that all things are possible if you give rise to your own voice, your passion, that one thing we are all put this planet to do.
The one thing!
It is in finding that one thing, and giving yourself permission to explore and express your voice, that true success is achieved.
Success in business and in life is certainly a progression, a journey, but more than that, it is a consequence of finding your voice and allowing it to do what only you can do with it, in very much the same way The Boss and Bono have….
Sing!
John
Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526 (home)
216-539-7412 (office)
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@johnzajaros.com
Freak Storm! Blizzard Strands 3 in Lakewood, Ohio: Puggle, Sheltie & John Zajaros
Just thought I’d share a nice moment with my buddies! Cheesy headline… But hey, I need the traffic…NOT! I just thought I’d give you yet another window into my life after neck pain, back pain, sciatic nerve pain, osteomyeltiis, and some really fun disease and illnesses.
There is life after profound and catastrophic illness. It is all about having a wonderful support network and making a decision that you aren’t going to miss any more moments like this one!
I am so blessed and I appreciate each and every one of you for stopping by and sharing in my new life!
What Would You Do if Your Mom or Dad Could See You Now?
When I was growing up I would have long talks with my grandfather, almost one a week. I idolized my grandfather and would spend every moment I could at my grandparents’ house, or at my grandfather’s business. I loved to be at either place because it was his in every way, a reflection of the man, and because I could be near him. To this day I have a picture of my grandfather, along with his friend Father Martin the founder of Boy’s town, on my wall in my office.
What used to be so cool was every once in a while Gramps would be in a really good mood, having had a particularly great day I suppose, so he would take me to Carl’s Chop House in Detroit, Michigan. Carl’s was an awesome place for a little kid because it had the most amazing lobster tank. I would stand there until instructed to take my seat and ponder the fate of the lobsters…some bigger than I was! Or so it seemed. Memories of Carl’s are good ones, family dinners and Christmas parties!
Occasionally, after work and being in a talkative mood, which something quite unusual for him, my grandfather would teach me something about life.
Of course I was in total hero worship mode, I still am. You see, I loved and respected that giant of a man. I always looked forward to the talks and treasured each and every thought he’d share. Listening intently to this man, a god of sorts, a person everyone in the place seemed to know, I remember every word of every talk over so many years; and, so many years ago.
Interestingly, I still remember one talk in particular almost like it was yesterday. I had just earned my first pay check for a full week of back breaking work.
It was the summer of 1965 and even for an 11 year old kid who just wanted to play with his buddies, it was an amazing time. The amount of the check didn’t matter, it was the experience. I still have the picture of my grandfather handing me that check, $50…all the money in the world in 1965.
After the lobster tank, the check, and an amazing dinner, my grandfather lit up a big cigar. Carl’s was that kind of place. He leaned back in his leather-tufted chair, shifted a bit, and I knew we were in for a long one!
My grandfather looked at me and said,
“I am going to ask you just one question; and, I don’t want an answer until tomorrow. I want you to think about your response and I want you to tell me why the question I’m going to ask you is so important, perhaps the most important question I will ever ask you, OK?”
Not answer him? What did he mean, why was this question going to be so important?
I shook my head, of course. You always shook your head and agreed with Gramps…that’s just the way it was.
He smiled, nodded, and took in a deep breath. Then, he asked me the following question:
“Over the past week, while working for me, and over the past month, while you have been staying with your grandmother and I; again, there is just one question I want you to answer, but not until you have had plenty of time to consider the question and your answer fully:
“What would your mother and father think of you and your behavior, your actions and the thoughts behind those actions, if they could see everything?
“In other words, would your mother and father be proud of you, of your thoughts and deeds over the past week, over the last month, if they were watching you the whole time and you didn’t know they were there?”
Wow, I was dumbfounded! What a question!
I started to open my mouth and he held up his hand in order to shush me, he simply shook his head and I understood.
“Tomorrow,” I said.
He nodded.
Well, I thought about that question all night. I thought about all the times I didn’t think anyone was watching and I thought about my thoughts at cetain points over the last 30 days.
Then I had a horrible thought:
Did he know something he wasn’t telling me? Did he have someone watching me? Did he overhear me when I thought I was alone? Was I talking in my sleep? Did he hear me back in the parts department when I thought no one was listening? Did he….
No, of course not!
Then it hit me, the answer to his question.
Yes! I would be ashamed of myself! I certainly would not want my parents to have been a “fly on the wall” or a “little bird,” as my grandmother used to say, over the last 30 days.
No way, now how!
I got it!
Well, later that day my grandfather called me into his office and I went, tail between my legs and head bowed.
Things got real quiet, he didn’t say a word.
Finally, I looked up and he was smiling and nodding.
I smiled back…he knew, I thought!
Then, he spoke. “Do you understand what I asked?”
I nodded.
He then asked me the ultimate question. “Do you understand?”
I nodded and said, “Yes, I do…and I’m sorry!”
He smiled, nodded, and said,
“Never forget how it felt at the precise moment when you realized what I was asking and how you were going to have to answer it!”
Then it was my turn to smile and nod.
I never wanted to feel like that again, like there would be a time when my parents would be ashamed of me and my thoughts, words and/or deeds. From that moment until today, I always ask myself this question:
If the people I love the most knew what I was thinking, if they had a window into my soul, would they be proud or sickened? If I can’t answer yes to the former and no to the latter it is time for a change or, at the very least, and agonizing reappraisal.
Interestingly, we all have our moments and we all have our regrets. However, if we wish to be proud of ourselves, and have those important to us be proud of us too, it pays to remember the question and apply it in our daily lives.
Do I still have my moments?
We all do!
But they are fewer and farther in between, in part because I have grown up but also because of that larger than life character and a talk near the lobster tank in the summer of 1965.
Here’s that question in today’s terms, in terms an adult can understand:
If someone followed you around all day with a video camera, what would they see? And, more importantly, what would you see about your Self, your real and true Self?
How about commenting on this? Let me know about your little bird moments and/or talks with your grandparents!
Thanks!
John
Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526 (home)
216-539-7412 (office)
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@johnzajaros.com
PS, Comment on this, subscribe to the newsletter, and get a link in your confirmation email to an awesome and inspiring ebook by Seth Godin.
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