Mark Murnahan's SEO and Social Media Marketing Blog

Living in The Storm – My latest book!

I am very excited to announce the upcoming release of my new book titled “Living in the Storm”. It is off to the proofreaders now, and I expect to have it in production within the next couple weeks. In the meantime, I would like to share the book’s introduction. I will provide much more information soon, including the launch of livinginthestorm.com within the next week. I hope that you will enjoy it. To those wondering why I have not published as many blog posts during the past couple weeks, here is my answer.

Introduction:

Many moments of joy and inspiration go unnoticed and are overshadowed by the storm that makes up our lives. Recognizing those joys and creating moments of joy and inspiration for others can create a perfect break in the clouds. It may even create the extended break that you have been seeking all along.

Each day of our lives, we receive influences from those around us. We often make our decisions based on their caution, their defeats, and their status quo. Breaking away and creating your own new beam of sunshine between the clouds is not as hard or as frightening once you can feel confident making your own decisions, and creating your own view of what is realistic. Then it is possible to turn the influence around in a positive way.

It may seem easy to trudge through a whole lifetime saying “I could have”, “I should have”, or “Maybe when the time is right”. Unless you already live your wildest dreams, you give yourself reasons that it just did not work out for you. Maybe family got in the way, you did not have enough money, or other short-term issues just stretched out longer than you hoped.

It is time to stop that right now! Let’s make a pact. If you will agree to be honest, I will agree to be honest. I am not asking for your honesty to me, but rather to yourself. Level with yourself, and if you can agree that you have let yourself and others down, make this pact with me, and take the care to try a different approach. Deal?

Alright then, today, while the storm is still in full force, you have made a step toward living in the storm, and not just surviving the storm to enjoy life between moments of doubt and confusion.

In the course of this book, I ask that you will draw parallels to your life and use things you know but may be afraid to admit, or may have long forgotten. I will also ask you to perform some tasks that I believe will help you with clearing some of the clouds. In the end, I intend for you to be more influential than influenced, and to share your success with others rather than accept others’ defeats as your own.

Social Media Altruism: It is better than you think!

If you ever thought there was somebody truly, and I mean 100 percent, genuine altruistic, you were wrong. There, I said it … I called you wrong, and I will not say that I am sorry, but I will explain.

Let’s take a close look at this: Even the greatest of givers have something to gain. You can call it altruism, but there will always be something received in return. You may cite Mother Theresa, Gandhi, or your dear grandmother. Yes, they are kind and they often do things that seem very self-sacrificing. Whether they know it on a conscious level or not, people do nice things for others because it feels good. For some people it is simply a reflex, and for others it may take a little more work. You may call it unselfish, but if it did not feel good to them, if it did not feel right, they would not do the things they do.

The Cynical Approach

I encounter cynics every day … we all do. We let them in, and we let them steal our energy. You cannot help it, regardless how hard you try. When you receive negativity, it becomes a part of you.

In contrast to the kindness described above, many people take an opposite approach … in fact, most people take an opposite approach. Again, often subconscious, but very real all the same. How many times have you heard a parent, a friend, or even a spouse say, “I am just telling you this for your own good” or “I just don’t want to see you let down.” I have heard that from people who indeed care about me, but I always realized that there is also a darker side. It may seem like a huge kindness to protect you from your own bad judgment, but how many times have people failed as a result of that one tipping point of doubt. This is even more true if you hear it from somebody you trust … somebody that you know cares about you.

Is it selfish? Too often the answer is “Yes”, very selfish and bred from jealousy. After all, if you do something that they can not even imagine doing, how might it feel to them? Similar to the often unconsciously selfish acts of kindness, there are many unconscious acts of unkindness. You can like it or not, but that is the way it is. Most of us have probably heard this, but have you really thought about it? Have you thought about whether you do this? Have you thought about others’ hopes, dreams, goals? Have you tried to help?

Try Some Altruism

I hope that you will think about this, and try to encourage a friend, or even a complete stranger. I am going to do that now. If you do not know somebody whom you wish to encourage, send a message to one of these people to encourage them.

Amy Walker: This is a friend who recently lost her job. At first, it was a real shock. It is still hard for her to believe. However, she found a renewed interest in painting. She is a great painter, and a very kind person. If she has the right encouragement, I believe that she can create a new income selling her artwork. Click here to send Amy some encouragement. You may also want to ask her to see some of her paintings!

Michael Colemire: I have known Michael as a t-shirt screen printing provider, but he recently shocked me. This guy has an amazing talent at carving. During my regular Friday Webcast, we started talking about hidden talents around us, and he showed us his hobby. He was met with a unanimous belief from the audience that he should take his hobby to market. His woodcarvings are really spectacular. Click here to send a nice message to Michael. You may also want to ask him to see some of his carvings!

Eugene Aronsky: If you know a student returning to college soon, you should meet this guy! I met Eugene on Twitter and I have found him to be a great inspiration and a wealth of knowledge about books. He founded a company called We Compare Books, and his goal is to help college students to afford textbooks. He built the company out of a passion he gained as he was a student seeking affordable buys on textbooks. His Website compares prices for textbooks and offers a great comparison shopping resource. Click here to meet Eugene.

Richard Reed: I know this man as “Ritchie” from back in elementary school. He moved away when we were kids, but social media brought us back together and we recently spent nine hours at my home talking about then, now, and the future. I really respect and like my old friend “Richie”. Aside from his day job, he has created a captivating collection of high-definition videos from places he has visited. I want to encourage him to continue his passion and promote them for sale to film makers. See what I am talking about and if you agree, send my old friend Richie a compliment.

What Will You do?

So there you have it. This is what I believe. I hope you will take some time, right now, to think about how even a small act of kindness can change people’s lives. Especially yours! When you are kind to others, it can build a reflex. It can become natural to spread a kind word. When that happens, the good feelings you have about yourself can be shocking!

Please Share Your Comments!

I want to hear your thoughts. Please take a moment to comment here on the blog!

So You Know Everything About Twitter, Right?

I have been honored to be in the presence of many amazing Twitter users who know how to keep up with the massive data flow. They know how to keep up with advanced Twitter searches so they always know what is happening in the world, or even just in their neighborhood. They know how to create groups that allow them to keep a close watch on everything their friends have to say on Twitter. They even know how to reach out and meet people like them, and to gain introductions to other people they will enjoy knowing. They know the principles I explained in the video below, talking about how and why relationship building is important. I have been honored to meet many of these people, and I enjoy their friendship.

Wouldn’t It Be Great if Everybody Knew What You Know?

I love communicating with my friends all around the world. We have shared amazing times together. We often share a lot of interesting information, personal stories, happy times, and we are the people who count on each other when we need a pick-me-up or some help to reach the right people. Some of us help with each others’ business pursuits, and some of us open our hearts to share our life’s story. All together, it makes an amazing mix of people … each learning from the mixing pot of Twitter and social media. My amazement of social media still leaves me with the question: “Wouldn’t it be great if everybody knew what you know?”

It is often really challenging to try and help people … especially with trying to help them learn something new. After all, if you try to teach them something, it is sometimes the case that they will take you as the “know it all” or they may just have a really hard time accepting the idea that “You will never know how much you don’t know.”

Do You Know Somebody Who Does Not Know Everything?

I will raise my hand first. I certainly do not know everything. I do, however, know a lot about social media, and I know a lot about Twitter. I spent hundreds of hours and months of my life to author a book about it!

I am seeking your help to find other people, like me, who do not know everything. I am particularly looking for people who do not know everything about Twitter, and people who may benefit from a guide book with a lot of lessons on how Twitter and social media can be more beneficial through understanding it better.

If you are willing to help me find these people, please click here to read a few ways to help. This will not cost you any money, and it could help you in return. I sincerely appreciate you!

In case you have not read my blogs or my new book, click here to see what others have said.

Enjoy my comedy video and I hope you will get a great smile from it!

Internet Marketing Parody: “Johnny Come Lately”

I decided to have some fun and produce this video parody of “Johnny Come Lately” style Internet marketing in conjunction with my new book launch on Monday. It shows various wrong ways to do things, and then makes a statement about building relationships and the importance of growing a social network based on friendships and trust. If you will take the time to watch this video and get to the core of the message, I hope that you will appreciate it enough to help me spread the word.

If you know somebody who can benefit from a greater understanding of Twitter and social networking, please help me to spread the word on Monday!

Please give me your comments here on the blog!