Word for the week: Supportive! Welcome to my blog series, prompted by my unique 50th birthday gift: a box filled with 50 gold-painted rocks, each depicting a special nugget about me and just how much “50 ROCKS.” It’s my inspiration to share life lessons for personal and business success.
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Last week was the worst: we buried a dear friend who had just turned 50. Nancy was a loving mom, a sister, best friend, wife, community leader: she did all of those “right things” to help others. Yet she still died, way too young. Crap. Crap. Crap.
50 Rocks, when you are here to enjoy it.
Lisa (my dear friend of 18 years) said she was OK after her sister’s untimely passing; she did not “need” anything. However, REAL support stems from anticipating the needs of others and sharing proactively, as well as responding to their requests.
We’ll be there for Lisa when the crowds go away and folks return to their normal routine – minus her sister. We may kidnap her for a walk, drink some wine or to watch an obnoxious movie. Sometimes support involves long talks and other times, silence. Either way, we’re within reach 24/7/365.
It’s like you’re always stuck in second gear. When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month or even your year, I’ll be there for you…”Friends’ theme song by the Rembrandts
How can we help when those in need are too overwhelmed to know how to ask? Strong friends and supportive colleagues put others FIRST with a few simple steps:
- Listen more, talk less
- Anticipate wants and needs
- Don’t over-insert yourself into the situation
- Take a risk and don’t worry about rejection
- Just BE THERE!
Living the @Nordstrom customer support model
What makes business partners, like friends, stand out and earn loyalty in this cutthroat market? Results and GREAT SUPPORT!
Nordstrom‘s customer support legacy includes the legendary tale of refunding for a used tire. Just this month, they generously issued an exchange for (unused) sandals that I purchased a year ago. Nordstom earns loyalty by putting the customer first! Their smart business strategy helps drive repurchase rates and positive recommendations.
Professionally, my Business Boomers’s team strives to offer intuitive, proactive support for clients. Whether we are coaching, leading a workshop or serving as a freelance “rent a CMO,” it is gratifying to empower folks by ANTICIPATING their social media and marketing needs. My talent lies in steering folks down a path to prosperity by asking smart questions to identify the underlying causes of their marketing pain or opportunities.
Great support includes helping solutions unfold: folks don’t always know how to ask for what they really need, and don’t know what they are missing. @rockonsuccess
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I hope this week ROCKS for you!
Pat Roque
Top 5 Ways to “Fail Forward”
We plan, and God laughs.
In July 2013, life handed me yet another unwelcomed surprise: My employer lost our venture backing and my whole team was let go. Yes, fired. While it wasn’t personal, or a direct reflection on me, I was devastated nonetheless.
That setback caused my early retirement dreams to crash and burn. No severance pay. No golf course condo at the beach (at least not yet). With one kid in college and another almost there, tuition bills loomed overhead. Meanwhile, if I heard employers say “you’re overqualified” once more, I thought I would vomit. Literally.
But, no worries. My friend Rose said (according to my box of rocks) that I never give up,and she’s right.
Work the plan
I wake up every day and work my plan: to rebuild my consulting company using social media marketing to help grow businesses. Heck, I ran Business Boomers and served as a freelance director of marketing for 18 years. I decided it was time to ramp up again with even better digital tools and a focus on building an annuity model (creating online courses so I can “do once, and use many.”) I leverage the tools and my tribe of 400+ social media and marketing pros to really make businesses BOOM in this connected era. Buy us, rent us. Let us coach you or provide the hands-on help. We’ve perfected the virtual marketing support model so everyone can afford top-quality help. BOOM!
New York Times best-selling author John C. Maxwell @johnmaxwellco wrote in Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success:
The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of (and response to) setbacks. He says, “In life, the question is not IF you will have problems, but how you are going to deal with them.”
So I am applying both life AND business lessons to prove my RESILIENCE. Taking Maxwell’s advice, here are my 5 steps to STOP the pity-party and FAIL FORWARD for a better tomorrow:
- LEARN: Prove that old dogs can learn new tricks! Social media manager certification #smms has sharpened my skills and built a global team of friends and colleagues.
- BREATHE: Yes, literally. And stretch. I golf as much as possible and enjoy cardio kickboxing to burn calories and clear my head.
- GIVE BACK: volunteer for charities you really care about. I provide social media for the PGA Tour, the LPGA, my golf league and I mentor student athletes through uWantgame.org. What a great way to build skills while making the world a better place!
- MAKE TIME FOR FRIENDS: Grab coffee. Take a walk. Jump on a call or a zoom meeting with friends from around the globe.
- TACKLE YOUR BUCKET LIST: My husband and kids conspired to grant my top bucket list wish: a summer Mediterranean cruise to Spain, France and Italy. That sparked plenty to blog about – not to mention meeting up with some new LinkedIn social media colleagues from Italy!
How have you overcome setbacks to FAIL FORWARD?
I would love to hear from you!
Pat Roque
Life lesson #1: I turned the big 5-0, and the world hasn’t ended.
There, I said it. I admit it. My kids will tell you that I have been “24″ forever, hanging on to silly notions of how I was supposed to look and feel and succeed in “X, Y and Z” by now. Geez – nobody told me my last company would lose its funding in July and I would be reinventing myself once again. It is exhausting, but I am open to what God has planned. No doubt, He knows better!
I enjoyed an uber-successful 16 years consulting, earlier in my career. So let’s consider the relaunch of Business Boomers as an encore. My mission is to help brands ROCK through integrated marketing, PR and Social Media. Meanwhile, reaching this mid-life milestone (and surviving a total health and mindset meltdown) sparked a new mission: blogging about life lessons at 50 for business and personal growth.
In fact, 50 ROCKS!
Life lessons happen all the time, but you’ve got to open your eyes and be receptive to the messages. 50 was indeed a grueling year, yet I’ve been blown away by the kindness and thoughtfulness of others. LinkedIn has been a source of friendship, encouragement and given a voice to my growth plans. Folks here have networked with me like crazy (more on that in my next post).
As I turned 50, my friends and family spoiled me with dinners, treats and more. Meanwhile, my BFF Rose must have spent DAYS crafting a special box full of rocks. Yes, 50 gold-painted rocks! On each is a simple word or two on special things about me – and why I should appreciate just how much “50 rocks.”
Crazy? Perhaps. Touching? Absolutely. But it reminds me how blessed I truly am. And it has motivated me to commit to a weekly blog to share important life and business lessons (another item on my bucket list). My goal is to share wisdom (and some funny bloopers) from influencers, industry icons and everyday folks to inspire your personal and professional growth.
I hope you will join me along the journey…and please share YOUR thoughts on why 50 ROCKS in the comments section, or drop me a line. I would love to hear from you!
Pat
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