{"id":6484,"date":"2018-06-14T01:04:57","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T01:04:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/?p=6484"},"modified":"2018-06-14T01:04:57","modified_gmt":"2018-06-14T01:04:57","slug":"what-followthepath-means-to-me-and-can-mean-to-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/what-followthepath-means-to-me-and-can-mean-to-you\/","title":{"rendered":"What #FollowThePath Means to Me\u2026 and Can Mean to You"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sometimes, your favorite concepts take on a life of their own, and\u00a0#FollowThePath<\/strong>\u00a0definitely qualifies for me. It\u2019s an idea that encompasses much of what I believe is important in business and in life \u2013 so naturally it\u2019s based on the ideas that have stuck with me most over the years. I look at it as a way to improve building relationships with customers and building a sustainable, long-term audience for what you have to offer. But it\u2019s also an approach to self-improvement \u2013 a way to stay motivated, and a reminder to keep your head up when the going gets tough. Staying focused, no matter where, when, and for what reason.<\/p>\n

What does it mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The easiest way to look at\u00a0#FollowThePath<\/strong>\u00a0may be to view it as an extension, or a combination, of some of my favorite ideas. Your path is unique to you and your business, but there are also many commonalities in the path that we all share. I can tell you all day long what it means to me, but that\u2019s not as important as what you take away from it for yourself. Everyone follows a path, and only you know what yours looks like, or what you envision it to be. Perhaps\u00a0#FollowThePath<\/strong>\u00a0can be a mantra for you to keep your eye on the prize\u2026 Personal and Business.<\/p>\n

That brings up another recent hashtag,\u00a0#NoLetUp!<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s an important concept to me as well. I still remember\u00a0hearing it from my friend Tony Luisi for the first time<\/a>.\u00a0The term\u00a0#NoLetUp!<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is about life. It\u2019s about business. It\u2019s about health. It\u2019s everything, really. The concept became real to me\u00a0when I was battling in the courts to keep my daughters in my life<\/a>, and I realized that winning the court battle is just the beginning \u2013 it\u2019s an everyday effort to stay connected to your kids, especially for single parents. But for all parents, heck \u2013 they\u2019re your kids! So there\u2019s\u00a0#NoLetUp!<\/strong>\u00a0there. We\u2019ve got to always be going, communicating, staying connected and loving them. It never ends. That\u2019s true of all relationships you cherish with family, friends and business associates. If you want to keep those relationships, your efforts are never-ending.<\/p>\n

#NoLetUp!<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>is true of business as well. So many of us think that, \u201cWow, if I can just get this next gig, or the next client then I can relax.\u201d But no, there\u2019s\u00a0#NoLetUp!<\/strong>\u00a0there. If we want to be successful we have to embrace that. That doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t take a day or a weekend to recharge, but you can\u2019t sit on your laurels \u2013 you\u2019ve got to keep working it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201c\u201cWow, if I can just get this next gig, or the next client then I can relax.\u201d But no, there\u2019s\u00a0#NoLetUp!<\/strong>\u00a0there.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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To me it\u2019s also about concentrating on human connection, even in this digital age when we\u2019re connected 24\/7 on a variety of social platforms that keep evolving. There\u2019s\u00a0#NoLetUp!\u00a0<\/strong>when we wake up with our phones and are always checking in to see what communication is going on, what\u2019s happening in the world \u2013 what\u2019s happening in our day. You just can\u2019t say, \u201cStop the world, I wanna get off!\u201d It\u2019s happening around us whether we\u2019re involved or not, and if we slow down or stop, we lose something important.<\/p>\n

How relationships fit in<\/strong><\/p>\n

We all need a healthy serving of\u00a0Return on Relationship or #RonR<\/a>, because you can\u2019t\u00a0#FollowThePath<\/strong>\u00a0without being conscious of the people around you. That\u2019s true whether you\u2019re talking friends, family, employees, clients, consumers, or anyone else. Relationships are at the heart of the whole process. You can\u2019t get anywhere meaningful without building them, and you can\u2019t build meaningful relationships by sitting on the sidelines.<\/p>\n

Building relationships takes engagement, and a genuine desire to connect. It might mean breaking out of the easy and the ordinary, by becoming a social influencer, or simply making the time for people who reach out to you, no matter how they choose to do it. It definitely means\u00a0listening\u00a0<\/em>to the people who matter to you, then taking what you learn by listening and using it to strengthen the relationship(s).<\/p>\n

Being genuine is key<\/strong><\/p>\n

The common denominator in all of these concepts is being true to yourself, and authentic with other people. Social is one place where\u00a0#RonR<\/strong>\u00a0really shines, because it\u2019s so easy to fall into the trap of being just another business. Anyone can share information without ever making the effort to really connect. You won\u2019t get any Return on Relationship there, and that\u2019s not what\u00a0#FollowThePath<\/strong>\u00a0is about either. Being genuine and honest with yourself and others is a prerequisite \u2013 not an option.<\/p>\n

I guess the biggest takeaway is that all of these concepts relate to each other and build on one another. If you take\u00a0#RonR<\/strong>, then mix in a healthy helping of\u00a0#NoLetUp!<\/strong>, you can start to see what\u00a0#FollowThePath<\/strong>\u00a0really means for me. For example, let\u2019s apply it to retail. Think about how each of these concepts applies to the Path-to-Purchase. How can you build a better customer experience, and what can you do to create meaningful relationships with the people who matter most to your business? When things are going well, and you can see your hard work paying off, how do you stay motivated to tackle the next challenge?<\/p>\n

One more ingredient<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can\u2019t accomplish any of this without being willing to say \u201cyes\u201d and embrace the possibilities that come next.<\/p>\n

Be open to considering new ideas and take an honest look at whether the old ones are still working. Whether you\u2019re building your brand, improving yourself, being there for friends and family, or simply hoping to make the most of each day, being ready to take action is essential for\u00a0#RonR<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0#NoLetUp!<\/strong>\u00a0if you\u2019re truly going to\u00a0#FollowThePath<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Previously posted at\u00a0TedRubin.co<\/a>m<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, your favorite concepts take on a life of their own, and\u00a0#FollowThePath\u00a0definitely qualifies for me. It\u2019s an idea that encompasses much of what I believe is important in business and in life \u2013 so naturally it\u2019s based on the ideas that have stuck with me most over the years. I look at it as a … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1967,1965],"class_list":["post-6484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tedrubin","tag-followthepath-ppath","tag-ronr-noletup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6484"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6486,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6484\/revisions\/6486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}