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Shane McCarthy - Marketing Psychology, SEO Strategies & Prioritising Self-Care! – EP148 Jan 17, 2020

Show notes

*Excuse Typos – I tend to write show notes during editing*
Shane McCarthy is chief marketing officer for military social media platform Sandboxx. He is originally from Kerry but is now based in the US.
I first met Shane in 2011/12 when he was running a student board for IT@Cork and knew he was destined for big things.
We connected in late 2019 and talked about Shane’s career and journey so far and to dive into some marketing advice, insights and tips that could be useful to you in your own business. I know I’ve taken away some good stuff from it. Hopefully you do to.
A summary of key points covered is below:
•Setting up a student board for IT@Cork
•The value of volunteering
•Studying BIS in UCC – a mix between Business & IT
•Finding a passion for social media and how to use it for business value from an early stage
•The Psychology of Marketing
•Setting up Twitter Hour back in 2012 for IT@Cork
•Experimenting with Blogging during College to build his own personal branding
•Trial and Error leading to better understanding of what works and what doesn’t
•How to make a blog post discoverable – back then & now!
•The importance of SEO in blogging – creating good content
•Creating a SEO strategy and having an SEO checklist before posting
•The value of Google Analytics to identify what to post about
•Looking to get ways on other blogs – this helps get clarity on the topic
•If you can write it or teach it, then you know it! This is key
•The power of feedback and taking onboard to help get better
•Moving from Engineering to Marketing shortly after leaving University
•Getting the opportunity to join a start-up with a focus on marketing
•Making the decision to leave a permanent role to join a start-up – how?
•Being able to juggle final year in college and working full-time for Sandboxx in 2014/15
•Working as Chief Marketing Officer for Sandboxx and what Sandoxx offers to members of the military
•Starting off initially with a letters service and then building on this
•Growing to 1.5 million customers and going from 0-50+ employees
•Reflecting back on the 5+ years with Sandboxx and major lessons learned
•Working 18-hour days and going from doing everything to being more strategic
•Building out relationships with government and brands
•Getting up to speed on military vocabulary and acronyms
•App Based Marketing requiring softer skills
•A standout mistake that provided a great learning
oGiving up on experiments too soon – not staying the course
•Learning from mistakes
•Using data and trusting your gut more when making decisions
•Being Irish brings an advantage when building relationships with customers
•The Psychology around marketing & how you can use this to your advantage with user personals
•Looking into User Personas and Empathy Maps to identify and understand customer preferences and choices
•The Elmer Framework & emotion logic
•The WIIFM concept – if you can explain the value and benefits to the customer, you’re onto a big benefit
•Paid advertising v Free Advertising – what to pick?
•Don’t be afraid to set aside a decent amount of money of your budget!
•Spend money and test out ideas yourself instead of paying it to an agency
•Be active and ask others for feedback and input to help with the early stages of what a customer wants
•Facebook and Google Online Tours and How To guides for analytics and using better tools
•Learn how to walk before you can run when marketing and test small first!
•Personal Development and Growth – how to find the balance
•Self-care as a priority
•Professional growth with key mentors and groups sharing in the space of marketing
•Personal growth – spending time meditating and taking time out daily basis
•Prioritizing sleep, eating, exercise and space time – all are tied in together
•Making the goals stick each day? Look at what is the one thing that might stop me from doing this!!
•Quote – “You don’t have to go for the run in the morning, you just have to put on your gear and stand on the porch”
•What have you changed your mind on or look at differently in the last six month?
•What is on the radar for Shane in the coming months?
Useful links
•A site - Moz – SEO --- https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo
•Sandboxx.com
Connect with Shane – Shane McCarthy on LinkedIn

Ray Ortega – Creativity v Execution, Battling Perfectionism, & Professional Podcasting! EP147 Jan 09, 2020

Show notes

Welcome to 1% Better.
For those of you that have an interest in podcast production, creating video and audio content of high quality, you might have checked out one of Ray Ortega’s super helpful videos on his YouTube channel over the years. That’s how I found Ray and have been following and learning from him ever since. He is also the host of the Podcaster Studio & Podcasters Roundtable shows that go deeper in the world and industry of podcasting.
I was very happy to have him on the podcast to talk about his work, the creative flair, strengths and areas not so strong and share some great practice tips on how to be better at a number of areas.
It’s not only about podcasting, however. The message coming loud and clear from this is you can achieve great things if you’re willing to put the time and focus into it!
We covered the following:
•A passion for an Audio & Video Production
•Can a podcast be video?
•Setting up a Mix-Minus on a podcast!
•Starting out podcasting and having a desire of how to create a podcast
•Always share what you learn, as it helps with the learning!
•What makes a good podcast? Make sure it’s a real interest for you!!
•You will find an audience if you drill down into your area of deep interest
•If it’s not your hobby, then it’s not worth starting a podcast about
•If it comes from a true place of interest of passion
•The most important ingredient is you’re interested in
•Hearing about a ‘Podcast’ for the first time in 2005
•Listening to a show on apple’s platform which was the first podcast listened too
•The word ‘podcasting’ and where it came from?
•Big breakthrough moments in the podcast industry!
•Podcast growth – incremental v big moments
•Making a living from podcasting
•1 million download per podcast v niche shows
•Passions growing up – Video & Video Editing!!
•Creativity and Self-Expression through podcasting
•Balancing Creativity and Execution is a challenge
•Being a Professional Podcast Producer for a Corporation
•Work styles & being productive
•Balancing family life and passion projects
•The importance of taking time off
•Always having content to edit will keep things moving
•Consistency v High Quality Content
•Being aware of a streak….you can’t break the streak!
•Set yourself free!
•The key to staying podcasting is to keep podcasting and give yourself a break once a while
•Taking advice of not letting perfection overtake good enough
•Being a recovering perfectionist
•The host of a podcast is usually the worst person to be a producer of it
•Find the compromise between too much time editing v polishing
•Most important part of the production process
•Getting the recording right at the source – saving so much time on the other side
•Time is Money!
•Be willing to invest some $ at the start if possible
•Focus on baby steps when starting out!
•How to focus on discoverability and marketing!
•Tips for marketing!
oSocial Media is a fast-moving river – share the same content multiple times and give it a unique post or keyword every time
oResurface old content – just make it new context!!!
•Overcast Podcast – do some paid ads here and it would get more contents!
•What are biggest misuses of time and mistakes new podcaster make?
oCheck out Auphonic.com for some postproduction clean up
oThe Show Notes part of a podcast – make it work with SEO
•When releasing a podcast, be sure to prioritize links back to your site – this is key!
Want to know more about Ray Ortega - www.rayortega.com
Find him on @podcasthelper on Twitter & Instagram

Mindfulness - Practical Examples & The Emperor's Three Questions! EP146 Jan 03, 2020

Show notes

Folks,
Final bonus episode of the holidays. A focus on some practical examples of how you can be more mindful.
Readings taken from the book 'The Miracle of Mindfulness' by Thich Nhat Hanh.
One of the best short books I've read on Mindfulness. Makes is very simple and some great stories.
You can get the book here
I hope it helps you in your mindfulness journey.
Anything jump out? Get in touch rob@robofthegreen.ie

Aoife O’Brien – Empowering Others, Limiting Self-Beliefs, & Being Happier at Work – EP145 Jan 01, 2020

Show notes

Welcome to 1% Better and this episode’s conversation with Aoife O’Brien.
Before launching her own business, Empowerment Coaching, Aoife had a successful 17 years in the corporate world, working with global companies to solve marketing problems. She is passionate about empowering people to be happier at work, whether it’s a transition to self-employment, helping start-ups get clear and confident on where they are going, or working with organisations to ensure they hire and retain the right staff. She has lived and worked in Dublin, London, Perth and Sydney and is currently studying for a MSc in Work and Organisational Behaviour.
In her spare time she loves to travel – she has been to all 7 continents, and has travelled solo through most of the world, with camera in hand. She enjoys connecting with new people and trying new things, and keeps fit by doing yoga, and running.
In today’s episode, Aoife talks about making a career change, working on her core values, setting up a business, and her motivation to help others be happier at work and more empowered. We had a really good chat on a number of topics that you will be able to relate to I’m sure.
We discuss:
•Where the idea of being happier at work came from
•Giving up the day job to focus fully on coaching and empowering others
•Honest Conversations with Your Boss!
•When do you know it’s time to leave a job?
•Leaving a job and not having another job to go to!
•The time it takes to start building a business
•The truth in the Know, Like, Trust concept
•Seeing clients results as the huge driver instead of money
•Having a big blocker when deciding on a business name
•Working through the process of identifying her unique offering
•Empowerment is all about giving people the power to make the right decisions
•A loss of meaning and purpose in everyday life
•Going to mass and religion providing people with a sense of purpose and meaning in the past – now people are looking for this in other places
•Different types of commitment that people face
•Personal Core Values work – approaches used
oThink of what really bothers you and then flip it!
oStart just brainstorming words and then group them together
•The power of connecting with others and having fun!
•The Coaching Process and useful tools and approaches taken
•The whole life balance – taking a holistic view instead of just one area of life
•Working on self-limiting beliefs and how to overcome them
•Imposter Syndrome – gaining publicity and making this more visible to others and providing tips to overcome it
•The good side of having Imposter syndrome
•The importance of Ethics in Coaching
•Anyone saying they’re a Coach – which can be a problem for potential clients
•How to be more Resilient when the tough days come – remembering the positives and keep in mind it’s about serving others as motivating factors
•The learnings from podcasting so far with her own podcast ‘happier at work’ – just ask the question!
Book Recommended on the Show - Nancy Kline & Time To Think
Website: www.empowermentcoaching.ie
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien

Emotional Intelligence & the 1% Better Mindset - Bonus Episode! EP144 Dec 27, 2019

Show notes

This is a bonus episode of 1% Better, kinda!
A few weeks back, I was a guest on the Follow My Lead Podcast with host John Eades. I thought it would be worth sharing out on 1% Better as a bonus episode. I talk about Emotional Intelligence and how important it is in leadership.
John’s been on my show twice and when he invited me on to his, to talk about some of the work that’s in my focus currently, was one I took with both hands.
Check out the episode and if you’re interested in what John does, you might like his first book – Building the Best – worth checking out on this site - https://learnloft.com/organizations/
Let me know if you enjoyed it? Especially around the Emotional Intelligence content.
Thanks,
Rob

Books that made me Better 2019 - Part 2! EP143 Dec 23, 2019

Show notes

What a great response to part 1 of this last Friday. Books really do have such an impact on people. So, I’m delighted to share this part 2 in both blog & podcast form today.
This blog just touches briefly on 5 books I read this year that had (and continue to have) a positive impact on me. And I’ll briefly outline why. The podcast episode goes a little deeper as I read an extract from each of the books. I hope you’ll enjoy both/either. All of the books will be linked to here or on my site.
So, taking up where we left off, here are the final 5 that make up the list. Let’s dive straight into them.
Shoe Dog – Phil Knight (link to book on Amazon here)
This is actually the only biography in the top 10 this year. Well the next one is a practical biography I guess but this fact tells you something about my reading preferences perhaps.
Phil Knight is the founder of Nike. And this book tracks his journey from the very start in 1962 right up to the early 1990s.
In truth this book is more than a autobiography. It’s content can help you learn so much about running a business, the challenges faced every day, hiring the best people, trust, relationships, and so much more. He combined his passion for running with business and tells this story year by year in the book
Bounce – Matthew Syed (link to book on Amazon here)
When it comes to talent and mastery, the then thousand-hour rule is something that has been talked about for a while and covered in a few many books and articles.
In this book, released a few years ago, Syed provides a mountain a lot of evidence to back up the hypothesis. He himself made it to the Olympics representing Great Britain at Table Tennis and is living proof that hard work can get you to the top.
It’s more than just hard work. There are a number of factors that need to be considered when putting in the 3 hours per day for 10 years, but it’s very possible.
As I have very high hopes for my 1 year old son, this book has given me a lot to think about. Jake - no pressure at all!
I’m looking forward to reading more of Matthew’s work in 2020.
The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg (link here)
I mentioned in part 1 that the top 10 list is not really ordered in best to least good! However, I did indicate the paradox of choice would in the top 3. Another one that makes the top 3 is this masterpiece on habits from Charles Duhigg.
This book kept popping up over last couple of years and having a fascination around habits, I was keen to dive into it. It didn’t disappoint.
The story telling combined with science and experimental truths make this one a compelling read and one I took a crazy amount of notes and learnings from that I have been using in my own coaching work and daily habit analysis and formation.
It, like many of the ones on this list, help me understand the why and how of every day life that bit better.
The little book of Ikigai – Ken Mogi (link here)
This is one of the most recent books I read so might be a benefactor of a recency bias.
Through my own coaching journey, finding my purpose, values and knowing myself better has made life and how I live it so much more fulfilling. In many ways the message of ikigai and the pillars covered in detail in the book through stories made me realise I was finding my own ikigai through a different approach but very similar outcomes.
It’s a nice read and worth checking out. One that might hold some real value for you if you’re struggling with the existential question of ‘Who am I?’. A guest on the podcast recently, James Mofatt (link to episode here) found ikigai at a time when he needed it most. Worth a listen for sure.
Smarter Faster Better – Charles Duhigg (link here)
The only author with 2 in the top 10 so you could say it’s been a big year for Duhigg’s work (I don’t know the guy btw but would very much like to have him on the podcast).
To end with a book with the word ‘better’ in the title was not planned but now seems apt as the theme running through all of these is to improve.
Smarter Faster Better, while maybe not as impactful as ‘habits’, is still full of insights around how to be more productive, smarter with your time, maintain motivation and be efficient and effective.
Duhigg got the idea for this book as he was finishing up the power of habits. He was inspired by a colleague at The New York Times who was also a surgeon and seemed to have endless time to get stuff done. Duhigg was motivated to understand and share the secret sauce of being productive as a result.
Some great ideas in this and puts labels on many things you might already do – one personal favourite is disfluency which I talk about in the podcast version.
So that’s it. 10 great reads from reading in 2019.
I hope this is useful. It’s meant to be. To provide you with some potential reading for 2020 if not already covered.
Thanks for read & listening.
Do get in touch if you have one book you feel I MUST read in 2020. I plan to buy a few over the holidays and dive in!
Till tomorrow,
Rob
Sign up for the January Challenge on the 1% Better Slack Group - it's free - click here
Rob is a qualified Executive Coach (ICF) and has been Mentoring and Coaching over the last decade in various roles held during his career. In 2017, Rob launched the Rob of the Green Platform which hosts the 1% Better Podcast. Rob currently is a director of Project Management and Leadership Coaching at Dell in Cork, Ireland. Rob also publishes articles on productivity, leadership, goal setting, meditation, and other topics, like this one!
Connect in with Rob on the socials or via email on the links below:
Email Twitter Facebook Website
Subscribe to the Rob of the Green Newsletter Here

Books that made me Better in 2019 - Part1! EP142 Dec 20, 2019

Show notes

Last year, one of the most checked out shows….and good feedback on some of the recommendations. And it wasn’t planned.
This year, I thought it would be good to do it again. So….with some planning and tracking over the year, I kept the list.
Now here they are. In 2 parts.
Many of these influenced podcasts and in some cases, the authors became guests of the show. How cool is that.
So, I’ll read a little piece from each, like last year, a piece that I heavily underlined at the time so it must have been good!
Go out and buy these. Most of them are linked on the website – the books page – if these are you things…
Here are the first five. Enjoy!
1.Mindful Walking – Hugh O’Donovan (link to it HERE)
•One of the first I read in 2019 and interviewed Hugh shortly after reading it
•Liked the writing style
•A Great introduction to mindfulness and how you can practice it
•For me, it’s always useful to keep reading deeper into this subject and reinforce it’s value
•Example of a mindfulness practice you can do from the book
2.Recreate Your Career Story – Mary Butler
•An ex-work colleague and friend shared her work with me
•Was delighted to read this and found it full of useful tips and a solid approach to take when thinking about changing career
•Well written – a great sense of Mary’s personality coming through too
•Here’s a piece from it
3.21 Lessons for the 21st Century – Yuval Noah Harrari
•Discovered Yuval last year and was hugely impressed with Sapiens where he talks about the history of humankind – well worth a read
•This one as the title suggests dives into 21 different areas that are important for us to understand
•Liberalism, Globalization, Nationalism….
•But the piece I’m going to read is, to further espouse the value of mindfulness, from his experiences with the practice and how it’s impacted him!
4.Awareness – Anthony De Mello
•This is one I actually re-read and dip into on occasion in 2019
•It’s a guide to spiritual life
•It’s very different view on many of the every day subjects we look at or in many cases don’t examine
•There is one piece from it on ‘negative feelings towards others’
5.The Paradox of Choice – Barry Schwartz
•Had this on my shelf for a while and only got around to reading it in Sep this year
•I was instantly hooked on it – one of those reads that gives you so much to think about and makes so much sense – I love the idea of Maximizers v Satisficers
•Highly recommend this one –
•I was honoured to talk with Barry for the podcast a month or so back too and get a deeper dive into his mind and work
•You can listen to that here – https://robofthegreen.ie/episodes/barryschwartz-ep138/
•You can buy the book - https://amzn.to/2qeNS5p
•Here’s a piece from it

Maysoon Zayid – Destigmatizing Disability, Comedy at the Core, & Finding Another Dream! – EP141 Dec 13, 2019

Show notes

Maysoon is a comedian, author, disability advocate, and self-confessed hustler. Maysoon has been facing into challenges in her life from the very beginning after being born with cerebral palsy. She was treated the same as her sisters growing up and never saw the disability as something to hold her back from following her dreams. We talk about her career, tap dancing, acting, comedy, work as an advocate for Muslims and Arabs in the US as well as her work helping people overcome the stigma with disabilities.
She has a new audio book called Find Another Dream coming out through Reese Witherspoon's company, Hello Sunshine. The book has been on the best seller list for weeks and is beating Donald Trump Jr’s book.
We cover a lot during this interview and here is a summary of it:
•Facing challenges from the very start
•Dealing with Cerebral Palsy & how to approach life with the disability
•Growing up without any discrimination or bullying
•Feeling discrimination for being disabled when going to college
•Becoming an advocate for disability
•Her first advocacy work focusing on creating positive images for Arabs in America post 9/11
•Using the word disabled destigmatizes its it – there is no shame!
•Tap dancing on Broadway changing her entire life!
•How comedy emerged through her study of acting in college
•Starting to audition after college
•Signing up for a comedy class and finding a natural talent for it
•Now teaching comedy as it’s something that can be taught
•Being cast on General Hospital
•Writing Comedy every single day – no matter what – write jokes
•Don’t memorize jokes, more freestyle
•Using stable jokes that Maysoon knows works
•Making comedy as a conversation
•Get half of the room to laugh, the other half will be drowned out
•The evolution of her comedy and now knowing words matter
•In 2003, starting an Arab comedy festival, now 16 years on!
•Combatting the negative image of Arabs and muslins in media
•Inspiring others through the festival
•A Big break – Countdown with Keith Olbermann
•The inspiration behind the book Find Another Dream – not making the acting dream come through and switching to comedy!
•Know when it’s time to quit….when you don’t love whatever it is anymore!
•Dealing with fear?
•Planning ahead and what the future looks like?
•Being a hustler and always juggling many roles
•Who inspires Maysoon?
•Getting to know and learning form Adam Sander while working with him in the movie ‘don’t mess with the Zohan’ and seeing
•Maysoon’s book – Find Another Dream can be found on any online book store. You can get it through the site from this link -
You can find her book here - https://amzn.to/2ruhhJk
Maysoon’s website is https://maysoon.com/

James Moffat – Finding your Ikigai, & the Art of Interactive Storytelling, for Business & Kids! EP140 Dec 06, 2019

Show notes

James Moffat is an Entrepreneur and lives in Berne, Switzerland.
After a number of years working in technical sales and travelling across Europe, he had a turning in his life. Shortly after getting married and starting a family, this turning point came when he was blessed with twins. So now with 3 kids under 3, his job that required a lot of travel wasn’t viable. Adding to this, having little or no support in Switzerland, he need to have a career rethink and figure out what to do next. It was from here, James figured out his purpose, or his Ikigai.
James shares his story, lessons learned and hopes for the future with his business which helps Business Owners and aspiring Entrepreneurs take that leap of faith on their path to greatness, and how creating interactive stories with his kids has opened up a host of new opportunities for him.
The key topics covered are summarized below:
•Finding purpose
•The power of having a coach
•Learning about Ikigai & the 5 pillars
•The blue zones in the world matching to the Ikigai
•The area of Ikigai
•Pillar 1: Starting small → Focusing on the details.
Pillar 2: Releasing yourself → Accepting who you are.
Pillar 3: Harmony and sustainability → Relying on others.
Pillar 4: The joy of little things → Appreciating sensory pleasure.
Pillar 5: Being in the here and now → Finding your flow.
•The difference between living and existence
•Dealing with stress and depression
•6 weeks of coaching and tools used
•Figuring out WHO you are?
•The power of reflecting back to childhood to figure out who you are and what you’re good at?
•4 key areas – love, good at, need for, and earn money from!
•Remembering Storytelling as a passion when young and working to rediscover this
•The coaching experience being a very positive experience
•Making stories memorable
•Creating Interactive Stories to Business and Personal Use
•Coaching and personal change – takes time & hard work
•Finding a mentor in Kevin Harrington, an original Shark Tank member
•This lead to the idea of setting up his company, Visibility Impact.
•Creating a radio show for new businesses on radio in Switzerland
•Bringing storytelling and making it interactive with his son Tom
•Using creativity and ideas from talking with his son and developing new stories
•Creating the ‘Marvellous adventures of Tom and Dodo’
•Releasing audio books and now teaching parents the art of interactive story telling
•Developing a framework for the interactive stories and sticking to a specific theme
•Moving from Tease, Please, Seize to Connect, Communicate & Convert
•Using the same framework to assist businesses and entrepreneurs with their own Storytelling
•Focusing on the 3 C’s again and ensuring you’re reaching the desired outcome (convert) by connecting (creating the initial meeting) and then communicating the story to those that are your target audience.
•Telling stories that are engaging and leaving people want to know more!
•How do you get audience to buy from you? You need
oTo be visible
oTo be credible
oTo be authentic
oTo be trustworthy
•Combine these with your story and you’re onboard
•The power of the gut – the second brain – something we should leverage more!
More on James:
Founder / Visibility Awareness Stimulator
james.moffat@visibilityimpact.com
+41 79 454 56 62
www.visibilityimpact.com

10 Great Leadership Traits - Patterns Emerging from 1% Better Interviews (so far)! EP139 Nov 29, 2019

Show notes

This week's episode is a solo show looking back at some of the key leadership takeaways from across all the interviews I've done over the last 3 years.
Full show notes and links to the episodes mentioned in the episode page on the site www.robofthegreen.ie

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