Last weekend, I made the trek west to Portland to attend the World Domination Summit. I left with many amazing new friendships and some good takeaways from the daily talks.
Each year, WDS has a secret theme that all of their speakers try to touch on in some capacity. This year’s theme was “Live your life as a story.” I wasn’t sure what to expect. There were several speakers and I took copious notes. Here are the highlights from a few of the speakers.
Nancy Duarte is a master story teller and presenter. Seriously. That’s what she does for a living. Her talk was fascinating on so many levels!
The first point is that we should take our audience from and to with story which she discusses in her book, Resonate. Tell them what your story is, what it could be, fill in the gaps in between and give them a call to action. Always finish your story or presentation with something amazing since that is the last thing people will remember.
Many people are doing more public speaking this year. Take these tips to help you in that area, or to tell a better story on your site.
Darren Rowse’s talk was another presenter that had me takes notes in Evernote like a mad woman. While we all know him as ProBlogger, and author of several books including 31 Days to a Better Blog and Guide to Blogging for Your Business to name a few, I left knowing a lot more about Darren than I ever read on his site.
Darren’s talk focused on inspiration and energy. What gives you energy? What gives other people energy? Become aware (and nearly obsessed) of the problems people are facing and aim to solve them. This is when you will become useful and can take action, but you first have to identify your first step.
I also appreciated his advice about creativity. He suggests to give yourself 15 minutes a day to create. If you have a big project looming over your head, wake up just 15 minutes early and work on it. It may take longer to get done if you are only working 15 minutes a day, but you are making progress.
Finally, Darren shared how his series, 31 Days to a Better Blog, was not planned out. Sometimes implementing those spur of the moment ideas are the ones that can be fruitful. Obviously it was great content for his site, as well as the information for an eBook (that his readers requested).
Jia Jiang who publishes the site Entresting and is known for the “100 Days of Rejection Theraphy” walked us through why rejection was a good thing and helped him become a better entrepreneur and person.
How many times have you been too afraid to send a pitch to a PR company because you were “just a [fill in the blank] blogger”? Xiao suggests we seek out rejection so it becomes easier in time.
Just ask for what you want or need. The worst thing you will get is rejected, and that’s not really all that bad. When you’re not out getting rejected, you’re getting rejected by yourself.
J.D. Roth was a co-producer of WDS and his recap post hit the nail on the head for me where he writes:
“After all, you have to dominate your own life before you can dominate the world.”
What are you doing in your own life or business to dominate? Make a list today and take action to achieve your personal and professional goals.
Did you complete our short survey on virtual assistance and support staff?
If not, please do us a solid and answer the quick question. Thanks!
Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links. And, well, duh.
One of the best lessons taught to me in school was “The worst they could say is no…”
I’ve been trying to reclaim that statement lately. Being bold and asking for what I want/need for my readers, myself and my family. It’s true, you have to keep doing it to get past the point where you can finally shrug your shoulders and say “I tried.”.