My Vibram Friends Forever

If you could be best friends with shoes... alright, that was shamefully corny.

Unpacked my Vibram Five Finger Shoes on Sunday. I've been waiting for these for a while. REI has an annual 20% off coupon that comes out every October, and I felt it was only responsible for me to wait til I received it to splurge on these rad shoes.

I wasted barely a day after getting the coupon to go online and buy them.

I wore them a bit here and there on Sunday, but today was my first full day in them, including a 1.8 mile run about 45 minutes ago.

Thing started out a bit rough- for the better part of the day, I couldn't help but notice my big toe crammed in the shoe. The rest of my toes felt fine. I expected this, given the large number of reviews online with the same gist. Supposedly this lessens over time. Overall, not uncomfortable today, but they didn't exactly disappear on my feet.

Now for the exciting news. My run in them tonight was nothing short of fantastic. First, I had the best run I've had since I started running again. I ran 75% farther and still wasn't out of gas. Purely anecdotal of course and obviously placebo, but nonetheless worked in the VFF's favor.

The first thing I noticed was that the VFF's made my calves extremely fatigued- almost to the point of cramping when I slowed to a cool-down walk at the end of the run. I'm going to have some serious beach calves before long.

Secondly, running in VFF's is very different from regular shoes. It feels more raw, a little jolting at first as you figure out your stride and foot strike. It feels like I'm having to relearn how to run- but in a good way. It's not jarring, but you definitely have to be conscious not to heal-strike and land more intentionally on your mid and fore-foot. (hence the extreme calf workout)

The last thing I noticed-my big toes didn't hurt at all during or since the run. These things stretch out and break in pretty quickly. They just feel dang good now (still have them on as I type) There's no driving need to get them off after your done running.

My experience my change, but first impressions are quite good. Infatuated you might say.

Do you have VFF's? Tell me about your experience...

How to Wow!?

When was the last time a business or friend, or your spouse absolutely BLEW YOU AWAY with WOW?

I think about "wow" a lot and how I can infuse it in the way I do business, love my wife and kids, and be a good friend. Sometimes it feels like a daunting endeavor. You don't want to just mimic a wow experience someone else delivered, but at times, depending on your business or relationships, it's hard to mastermind something on your own.

It's easy to engineer good experiences. Wow ones, take thought and preparation.

Michael Hyatt, the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing provides a great list of "wow" components. Check it out, then act.

http://bit.ly/13rdRR


*Photo Courtesy Drew McLellan www.drewsmarketingminute.com

The florists are catching on...

Twila Weder, a friend and client of mine owns a successful florist here in town call Expressions in Bloom. (www.inbloom.com) She got the following best practices from a florist forum she follows. Despite the fact there's a glut of tutorials, lists and instruction manuals for social media, it's good stuff to read and review periodically. We're all still learning this new paradigm. A good primer to maybe pass along to a newbie- Chris

1. Avoid automation. People instantly unfollow people who write like bots. Demonstrate that you’re human by writing each of your tweets. It’s one thing if you write them and schedule them to go out later, but don’t publish automatic prescripted tweets.

2. Be personal. Personal tweets let people see who you are. If your tweets are just about your niche, then followers may think you’re just a robot. Lesson: Post occasional tweets that aren’t strictly about your niche.

3. Be a copywriter. To write effective tweets, learn about and use fundamental copywriting techniques. Write tweets so effective that even you would want to click on them.

4. Adopt it. Tweeting is a new form of writing, so make your own conclusions as to the fastest way to improve. But one great way to develop your own writing style is by adopting great techniques you see in others’ posts.

5. Be familiar. After you’ve mastered how to get people to click on your links, standardize your writing style so that your followers become familiar with your voice. When followers know what to expect, reading your tweets can become part of their daily routine.

6. Big message in small ways. If there’s a big event going on – a big launch maybe – the best way to promote it is to direct your followers to your blog. On your blog, you can update as much as you like. Twitter is not the place to publish updates every half hour.

7. Branch out. Use Twitter as a tool in your marketing toolbox, not as a complete business model.

8. Slide in. Twitter is great for opening up dialogue with big names in your niche, even JV (Joint Venture) partners. JV partners are effective marketers who can help launch your products. Ease your way into relationships with them by answering questions they ask in Twitter. In responding to them by tweet, you are helping them gain popularity.

9. Build better business partners. When you follow people you become familiar with their views and interests. Reading people’s tweets will help prepare you for meeting people face-to-face. You will discover common ground for discussion and relationship building.

10. Appreciate Twitter culture. Follow Friday is an example of how to use Twitter quirks to strengthen your relationship with your followers. Follow Friday is when members recommend other Twitterers to follow. Try recommending four or five people who you feel others will get value from following. Participating in Follow Friday is a great way to fit into the Twitter community.

11. Email it, blog it. Include your Twitter URL in the signature of your emails and blog posts.