New Hustle

It’s about time Twitter came out with their own “101″ guide.  I’m still getting the hang of it – and what I’ve seen so far completely blows me away (and contributes a substantial amount of traffic to newhustle.net).

| Download Twitter 101 pdf
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| Visit the Twitter 101 website

There’s still a lot of people out there that have no clue (or care to find out) what Twitter is.  The thing they’re missing is that Twitter is completely changing the social media platform – allowing individuals (such as myself) and  corporations limitless versatility to get their message out there.  Part of the new hustle is keeping up with the rapidly changing technology – and using it to your advantage.

All the tech guru’s are raving about Twitter nowadays. How it’s changing everything from advertising semantics to increasing visibility.

For me, Twitter has become an portal that has opened up so many new dimensions of creativity.  I get to meet success driven, like minded individuals that I never would have crossed paths with before – and help to make a difference by advertising good causes.  The potential (for now) seems limitless of where this will go.

So what is Twitter?  Here’s an excerpt from their new Twitter 101 guide:

“Every day, millions of people use Twitter to create, discover and share ideas with others. Now, people are turning to Twitter as an effective way to reach out to businesses, too. From local stores to big brands, and from brick-and-mortar to internet-based or service sector, people are finding great value in the connections they make with businesses on Twitter.”

Millions upon millions of people – I visualize a sea of “tweets” ebbing and flowing with the activity of the users behind them, and it blows my mind.

I’ll continue to stray from writing a post on how to successfully leverage Twitter to benefit your cause until I’ve versed myself in that field – but for now it’s great to finally get to dive into a 101 guide from the people who created the concept (instead of the thousands of other blogs about it).

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Job security is a rarity these days – especially for the younger generation just arriving in their entry level positions.  These days, sometimes there’s nothing you can do to prevent yourself from losing your job. That disclosed – there are ways to make yourself nearly indispensable to your workplace, so that if the time does come for ‘cut-backs’, your head won’t be on the chopping block.

Co-worker of mine was fired yesterday at my office – for just cause. He, like many who have made the same mistakes, missed too much work – came up with one too many excuses – and consequently (after many warnings) was fired.

Regardless of what your job is, there are time proven methods that can enable you to become an asset that your boss would rather not do without.

“The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.” -Carlos Castaneda

1. Become a master at what you do
Whatever your job requires of you – become a master at it. Even the most mundane tasks can be accomplished more efficiently and with better quality to exemplify your commitment to excellence. To do this when everyone else settles for the mediocre route (because it’s easier) is the hard part. To do this consistently is even harder – especially for repetitive tasks. But as Martin Luther King, Jr. stated so eloquently – sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’ You may get a lot of haters for setting the bar high for whatever it is that you do – but that’s how you know you’re on the right track, so don’t sweat them.

2.  Only deliver the best production
Poor performers are the first to go.  Never allow yourself to deliver anything less than your best (plus 10%) on any assignment you may be tasked with.  Some people are ingrained with this – others aren’t.  I wasn’t.  But it became a habit I developed through the understanding that the greatest gift I could give myself (i.e. what made me feel best at the end of the day) was giving all I could give to everything I was tasked with.  Whether we like to admit it or not, the work that we do influences our feelings of self-worth.  By producing great things, we promote personal respect – which also makes you a valuable asset to any company.

3.  Keep your cool
Don’t be one to freak out over the smallest of issues – not only does this annoy people but it also drives a wedge in the productive intention of the workday.  Be the one that is recognized as always having a cool head, and soon people will be coming to you for advice on how to deal with difficult circumstances.  Companies need problem solvers, not problem multipliers.

4.  Kindness is a virtue
Be gracious.  Appreciate your co-workers and your boss, even if they don’t deserve it all the time.  I’m not saying suck up – but by being one who always shows their gratitude – you’ll be remembered.  One of my favorite things to do, after being chastised for making a mistake I shouldn’t have (I’m a work in progress too), is to thank my superior for helping me to improve.  This is not to impress – but rather to show that you are grateful you are in an environment where excellence is expected.

5.  Be grateful that you have a job
This is awareness.  There are thousands that have lost their jobs and are having a heck of a time trying to find another.  From entry level positions to lawyers – we read story after story about the rising unemployment rates and the bleak future ahead.  By being grateful, on a daily basis, for simply having a job, we will value its worth in our lives that much more.  By valuing our jobs more we come in to work appreciating it more (aka having a positive attitude about it) instead of dreading another day on the grind.

6.  Always improve – use the tools you have already
Improve, improve and improve yourself.  Never be satisfied with the status-quo.  As an individual, if you are determined to improve all aspects of your life – everything else around you will improve as well.  Your quality of life, your job security and the admiration of others for your positive influence.  Much of the younger generation also has technical savvy that many businesses covet – at my job I’m often the one fixing any network problems we may have, updating our website and being there for technical issues.  I’m definitely not a certified computer tech, but what I have learned and grown up on provides me with tools that a lot of other people don’t have – don’t be scared to offer assistance in other areas that can help save your company money.