Learning and Listening

This week I made a more concerted effort to try and check out my Google reader at least 5-6 times a day. I felt like my head was probably going to explode. I also didn't sleep a whole lot but I came to one conclusion: I need to do more of it. The amount of knowledge that resides in the que of that rss reader is mind boggling. I could spend days in there, it's almost like the Louvre...you can't see it in a day.

So I've decided to redouble my learning efforts and pore over the work that other people in the space put out and really digest it. I can essentially take business classes simply by reading the blogs of marketing/pr notaries like Aaron Strout, Danny Brown, Chris Penn, Amber Naslund, and David Mullen. Not to mention I enjoy reading their work anyway. Oh, and a huge thank you to Sharon Feder who took one look at a random ridiculous tweet and decided to give me a shot at guest writing for Mashable.

What this doesn't mean is that I am going to pull back on getting to know more people and giving face time. Some of the best conversations I've had have been with people I've met in person: Pete Burgeson, Len Kendall, Daniel Honigman, Justin Whitaker, Chrystie Corns, Jake Cacci, Maria Thurrell and Sandy Kalik to name just a few. Also the support of awesome people like Michele Moore and Anna Young on Twitter has been fantastic. The information I've gleaned from these conversations has spurred new thinking, new ideas and a desire to work harder and smarter.

I love conversations, although sometimes I'm guilty of not listening enough and talking to much. This is mainly due to excitement. I'm an intense personality but only because I'm so passionate about the topics discussed and talked about within marketing and the social media space.

So what does all this soul searching mean?

• I want to learn more and have a crazy desire to do so.
• I want to meet a new person for lunch everyday in May. (Going to be living in Boston then...I don't think I could facilitate this in April when I'm commuting still.)
• I want to be able to help others with what I am doing and learn from them as much as they do from me.
• Focus on saving my clients money, teach them something new and interesting and scale it to their needs.

That's what I plan on doing over the next few months (along with finding new clients, mentors, and partnerships). The recession is a great opportunity to step back and learn a lot about who you are and what you want to accomplish. What do you plan on doing?

tagged as Aaron Strout, Amber Naslund, Chris Penn, Chrystie Corns, Daniel Honigman, danny brown, David Mullen, Jake Cacci, Justin Whitaker, learning, Len Kendall, listening, Maria Thurrell, Marketing, mentor, Pete Burgeson, Sandy Kalik, Social Media, teaching