Be aware of your online brand

Google yourself.  What pops up?  If you have a generic American name like me, probably nothing.  You're pretty anonymous.

Now Google your name plus your company.  More targeted results?  I was shocked to see that when you search "Chris Wheeler MarcomCentral," I owned nearly the entire first page of the Google search results.  I had a panic moment when I realized just how much of my life is truly visible to strangers.  You can see my Fiance, my dog, the fact that I ski, crossfit, and like bourbon.

Sitting and thinking about this, I realized that being in sales, that could actually be a good thing.  I want to present more online substance than simply my LinkedIn profile and email signature.  It allows my prospective clients to do business with a real human being, drawing some connection from what they see online.  However, the flip side of this is that it opens me up to judgement from these strangers before we've had the opportunity to interact and establish a relationship.  This is where cultivating an online brand comes into play.  

Review what is visible to the public, consider your industry, and decide what impression you'd like to give.  If you're in hospitality and nightlife, you'll have a drastically different baseline for what is appropriate than if you're in finance.  An appropriate brand for the former might be "well dressed, well connected, rages with the best," while the latter might want to be depicted as "successful, active, and family oriented."

In order to achieve the appropriate branding, you need to be aware of what and how things will show up, as well as the obvious impressions your posts will generate.  If you're at a conference and #hashtag a picture with your company name, your Instagram feed is going to show up in search results.  The same is true for your Twitter feed.  Facebook tends to be a bit more generic in what shows up, but think of what picture albums are public.  It might be a good idea to hide all those college party pictures.  Nothing sends an impression quicker than a picture of 20 yr old you doing a keg stand dressed like a "cat."

Every once in a while skim through your pictures, tweets, posts, and make sure you're sticking to that brand.  After all, in the age of uber connection, social media can either help or hurt you, so you might as well give it some thought and put it to good work.  


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Curate a Career

Lessons learned from my dog

A lot of people have written about things you can learn from pets.  If you've ever met my dog Lulu, you know she's got quite the personality and a bit of a checkered past.  As a rescue, she's experienced things I hope I never have to go through, including abandonment, homelessness, and abuse.  Some might call her "street."

The thing that makes her amazing is that everything you'd expect from a dog is there, but she has an underlying complexity that makes her almost human-like in her emotions, schemes, and behaviors.

After spending A LOT of time with her (I work from home).  I've noticed this complexity and intelligence escalate the typical lessons learned from pets-- eat, sleep, have a short memory.

Here's Lulu's version:

Separate the person (dog) from the actions.  Lulu was left on a balcony in Modesto in winter, when her previous owners foreclosed and moved out.  You can tell in many ways that she remembers all this and certain behaviors are linked to us leaving, packing, or wearing shoes.

Her anxiety comes out in different forms-- occasionally its destructive, though most of the time she simply moves items around so that you know she's annoyed.  When her feelings are manifested in destruction, its tough not to be mad, but you know it's not malicious and may not even be about you.

With those around you, these types of encounters could be coming from somewhere much deeper, much more complicated, that you may or may not understand.  Being able to separate the person and their true feelings from something on the surface will help you read people a lot better.  This could be true for any number of things, but will always have a place in relationships.          

Play the long game.  Lulu is remarkably intelligent and seems to understand cause and effect far beyond what I've seen in other dogs.  As an accomplished con artist, she's able to string together action, reaction, getaway, and hideout with fantastic cunning.

A great example of this was when we were dog sitting for a friend.  Lulu wanted the other dog's bone.  She kept creeping closer to snatch it and we kept scolding her to play with her own toys.  She wanted this bone though, and she wanted it bad.  After three unsuccessful attempts to walk up and take the bone (remember, she's kind of a gangster), she started to work out a more complex plan.  You could see the wheels turning.

Next thing you know, Lulu runs to the front door and starts barking maniacally.  The other dog hurries over to provide backup, leaving the bone behind, which marks Lulu's opportunity to pounce.  She runs for the bone, makes her getaway down the hall to the bedroom, and under the bed to the exact center, where we can't touch her-- her safe house.

We were thoroughly impressed.

Practice unconditional love.   You see this one in all dogs.  Coming home to them can be better than coming home to humans.  Their excitement is unmatched and they make you feel like the most important person in the world.  Lulu dances around the living room, grabs toys for you, and is also a cuddler, so even if she's mad at you for leaving or giving her a bath, she simply wants to be close to you.  Every day she shows me the affect that affection can have on others, so I try to make sure that those who are important to me know it.             

What it's like to row

I'm currently reading the book "The Boys in the Boat."  It chronicles the journey of the University of Washington Crew that went on to win Gold at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.  Whether you've spent time in a crew shell or not, the book pulls off a fascinating balance between sport and history, getting into the global politics of the time with Nazi Germany rebuilding after the first World War.

Among this, is the most complete narrative of what it's like to row that I've ever read.  To say the least, the author nailed it.

"Competitive rowing is an undertaking of extraordinary beauty preceded by brutal punishment.  Unlike most sports, which draw primarily on particular muscle groups, rowing makes heavy and repeated use of virtually every muscle in the body...

On one occasion, after watching the Washington freshmen practice, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Royal Brougham marveled at the relentlessness of the sport:  'Nobody ever took time out in a boat race,' he noted.  'There's no place to stop and get a satisfying drink of water or a lungful of cool, invigorating air.  You just keep your eyes glued on the red, perspiring neck of the fellow ahead of you and row until they tell you it's all over... Neighbor, it's no game for a softy.'

When you row, the major muscles in your arms, legs, and back-- particularly the quadriceps, triceps, biceps, deltoids, latissimus dorsi, abdominals, hamstrings, and gluteal muscles-- do most of the grunt work, propelling the boat forward against the unrelenting resistance of water and wind.  At the same time, scores of smaller muscles in the neck, wrists, hands, and even feet continually fine-tune your efforts, holding the body in constant equipoise in order to maintain the exquisite balance necessary to keep a twenty-four-inch-wide vessel... on an even keel.  The result of all this muscular effort, on both the larger scale and the smaller, is that your body burns calories and consumes oxygen at a rate that is unmatched in almost any other human endeavor.  Physiologists, in fact, have calculated that rowing a 2000m race-- the Olympic standard-- takes the same physiological toll as playing two basketball games back-to-back.  And it exacts that toll in about six minutes.

...While 75-80 percent of the energy a rower produces in a 2000m race is aerobic energy fueled by oxygen, races always begin, and usually end, with hard sprints.  These springs require levels of energy production that far exceed the body's capacity to produce aerobic energy, regardless of oxygen intake.  Instead the body must immediately produce anaerobic energy.  This, in turn, produces large quantities of lactic acid, and that acid rapidly builds up in the tissue of the muscles.  The consequence is that the muscles often begin to scream in agony almost from the outset of a race and continue screaming until the very end.

...The common denominator in all these conditions-- whether in the lungs, the muscles, or the bones-- is overwhelming pain.  And that is perhaps the first and most fundamental thing that all novice oarsmen must learn about competitive rowing in the upper echelons of the sport:  that pain is part and parcel of the deal.  It's not a question of whether you will hurt, or of how much you will hurt; it's a question of what you will do, and how well you will do it, while pain has her wanton way with you."

--Daniel James Brown, The Boys in the Boat        

That last line there is something that I loved about the sport of rowing.  Someday when I have kids going off to college, I hope they choose rowing, because it imparts a level of toughness and teaches lessons, particularly selflessness, that I never found in traditional team sports.   

Things I learned in sales that totally apply to dating

A sales career requires a person to stay positive while enduring loads of rejection, then be able to nurture a relationship appropriately when you find a "qualified prospect" that could lead to a potential sale, all the while adjusting your messaging and tactics to suit the personality characteristics of the individual decision maker.  Sound familiar?  Yes, sales is pretty much dating, only you get paid after "closing" and it's not shady.

Here are a few things I learned from sales that totally apply to dating:  

Set the follow up appointment.  Interest fades with time, so if you had a great first date, set the second within three days, if possible.  The more time passes, the greater the possibility competing priorities will take precedence.

Appeal to her peers as well.  Does she have a dog?  Do you know some of her friends?  Having the social network on your side will strengthen the deal.  A great move is buying her beloved pet a toy instead of getting her flowers early on in the relationship.  This shows originality and that you're on board with her having a pet.  Because, lets be real-- if it comes down to you or the dog, she's choosing the dog.

Make her miss you.  Don't go too big on texting.  You want the other person to reach out because they want to, not because they feel compelled to politely respond to your many messages.

Understand where she is in the "sales (relationship) cycle."  If she just got out of a relationship, you're probably going to need to keep things slow, unless you're into being the rebound.  Every deal is different, so you can't treat them all the same.  Learn when to push the gas pedal and when to let her do the driving.

After you "close the deal" and you're in a publicly recognized relationship, now is the time to nurture the "account" so you can be sure they renew year after year.  A great way to do this is to learn a bit about your counterpart's love language.  This will allow you to tailor your messaging and actions in a way that speaks to them, bringing about higher quality communication, which some would say is the key to a lasting relationship.

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Life is what you perceive

Curate a career

A few months ago, I was talking to my soon to be Father in-law about business.  He's highly successful, highly German, and as a result, highly calculated in everything he does.  Something that he mentioned that I found incredibly simple, yet oftentimes neglected is the concept of "curating a career."  As an artist layering paint on a canvas or an athlete readying for competition, each step leads to another in a calculated, purposeful progression.  This type of methodology can all too easily become lost on people as they slog through their careers and bounce around the job market.

To curate a career, ask a few questions and adhere to a few principles:

Think two steps ahead.
Someone that plays chess will think this is common sense.  Hold a small spot in the back of your mind for how your current performance is setting you up for your next move.  Do you need to take on different projects to build your resume or develop connections at a certain company?  Set those moves up now and you'll be in a position of strength when it comes time to evaluate an opportunity.

Create a road map.
Every once in a while think of where you'd like to be in five years.  Do you want to switch fields, companies, cities?  If so, what does the map look like en route?  Develop a short hit list of companies just like you would in sales and be sure you have the connections and resume needed to get there.

Consider a change every three to five years.
The experience you gain with new environments, new peers, and new challenges, will far outweigh the experience any "lifer" could gain by sitting still.  Different companies simply do things differently, so gaining this extra perspective will allow you to make more calculated decisions with greater confidence.

Always look from a position of strength.
Sharks can sense blood in the water and hiring managers know when they have the upper hand.  Never quite before you have the next thing lined up, no matter how thirsty you are for new opportunity.

This all may sound very simple and even commonsense, but keeping some of these things in mind will keep you focused and less likely to make decisions based on pay, free food, and all the other shiny things, unless of course that's a part of your road map.


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Be Aware of Your Online Brand

Sunscreen

The first time I heard this song, I was driving with the windows down in sunny San Diego.  A few of these lines really made me think and I love to come back and listen from time to time, as I hope it reminds me of some truths that are worth keeping in focus.

My favorite:  "Worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum."

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh never-mind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you. 

Sing.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss. 

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself. 
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. 

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on.

Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. 

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel. 

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out. 

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…

Lyrics by: Baz Luhrmann

Take more pictures

Having a Facebook profile and friends with iPhones, shouldn't get you off the hook for taking pictures.  Life is crazy, with so many amazing memories, that you should really work on keeping a record of all this.  I bought a camera and started getting into photography because I was doing a lot of really cool outdoors activities.  The views were amazing, the stories were funny, but all I was leaving with were a few smart phone pictures, at best.  Buying a camera and making the effort to lug it everywhere made me focus on actually recording these moments.  As I started taking more photos, I started to realize just how many stories I had forgotten over the years.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the last couple years:

San Francisco, CA

Swiss Alps Signage

Big Sur, CA 

Northstar, Lake Tahoe

San Diego Beer Mile 

Getting Engaged

                           

Ironman Finish