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Wanna Be Happier? Do This

Zeke Camusio — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:00:37 +0000

Buddhists talk about the difference between wanting something and clinging to it. Wanting things is good; without desire we would be dead. Clinging to those things, however, can be very harmful. Let me explain this with an example so you can understand the difference between wanting something and being attached to its outcome.

A Good Example
Wanting to be promoted isn’t bad, as long as you’re not attached to it and do it for the right reasons. Let me explain.

You have no control over being promoted. You can only control your actions, but not the outcome. So ask yourself, “what can I do to improve my performance at work?” and do those things. You can also talk to your boss about promotion opportunities. If you see it’s not going to happen, find a different company to work for or start your own.

But don’t do what a lot of people do. Don’t think “if I get promoted, everything will be all right.” Things are what they are, not what they “should” be. The more you’re attached to what things should be like, the more suffering you’re bringing upon yourself.

Wanting things isn’t bad as long as you act with integrity. Spreading gossip about your co-workers so you look good is a terrible idea.

Step #1: Desire Fewer Things
I said that desiring things isn’t bad, so why am I suggesting that you desire fewer things? It makes you question what you want and whether you really want it. For example, you might want a new car because your neighbor got one. This will make you aware of your need for recognition, which, with practice, you can start to let go of.

This will take a lot of pressure off your shoulders. Believe me: I used to have a huge ego and I needed other people’s validation all the time. I was always worried about what others thought of me. I wanted to appear successful, smart and good at everything.

I still have a lot of those things, but I’ve started letting go of my ego a few years ago and it feels amazing. Now I spend most of my time doing what feels good and I no longer care if others don’t agree with me or even if they don’t like me. I’m not like that all the time. Sometimes my ego takes over. But I’ve learned to be mindful of it and once you bring awareness to something, you’re ready to let go.

By desiring fewer things you’ll let go everything that doesn’t really matter so you can focus on what’s really important to you.

Step #2: Desire Without Grasping to a Certain Outcome
Can you want a promotion, work hard to get that promotion, but be happy whether you want it or not? Can you be happy with what you have and who you are now? In other words, if things didn’t change, could you find a way to be happy anyway?

Your first reaction could be to say “no”. This is because we’re such a goal-oriented society. It looks like if we don’t want more, we’re losers. But, what’s wrong with being happy right now, with the way your life is, not what it should be?

A study shows that after six months, people who suffer accidents that leave them in wheelchairs return to the same happiness levels they were at pre-accident. This is because they finally accept their new reality instead of wishing it were different.

A disabled inspirational speaker once said to his audience, “before the accident I could do 10,000 things. Now I can do 9,000. Why focus on the 1,000 things I can no longer do?” Someone in the audience asked, “but aren’t you always wishing your legs worked?” The speaker replied, “I used to, until I realized that wishing wouldn’t make my legs work. I’m happy with who I am.” Kudos to him for having the guts to accept his reality.

Author: Zeke Camusio

Zeke Camusio is a serial entrepreneur, marketing speaker, author of The Internet Marketing Bible and CEO of The Outsourcing Company, an Internet marketing agency based out of Portland, Oregon.

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HOT: 7 Proven Ways to Grow Your Business in 2012

Zeke Camusio — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:00:13 +0000

Be Where Your Customers Are
Don’t do whatever is “hot” now. Different experts recommend different (sometimes opposed) tactics. Think about this: “gurus” don’t know more than you; they’re just better at marketing themselves and positioning themselves as experts. If you’re a mildly successful small business owner, you’re making more money than 85% of the “gurus” out there.

Instead of blindly doing what experts recommend, be where your customers are. Advertise in the magazines they read, the TV shows they watch and the radio shows they listen to. Join groups and Meetups where they get together. Participate in the blogs they read. If they’re using Google to find companies like yours, do search engine optimization to rank at the top of Google. Be where your customers are.

Be Where the Money Is
I think the main reason a lot of small business owners don’t make as much money as they want is that they never stopped to think about this universal truth:

Revenue = Number of sales X Average order amount.

In other words, if you sell t-shirts or any other low-ticket products, you’ll need volume in order to make a lot of money. On the other hand, if you sell very expensive products, you can get away with making fewer sales.

A lot of businesses sell $10-$100 products but don’t sell millions of them, so the math just doesn’t work out. So here are three ideas for you:

Start selling more expensive items
Sell a product that creates recurring revenue for your company (monthly retainer, subscription, etc.)
If you sell low-priced products, go for high volumes. How likely is it that your tiny website will sell a million granola bars a month? Wouldn’t it be a better idea to get your product into Whole Foods, Vitamin Cottage and other organic food stores across the country? They already have access to millions of consumers every month. This is not to say that you can’t reach end consumers as well, but keep in mind that you need a strategy to reach to millions every month, which requires very out-of-the-ordinary ideas (meaning that you have to stop being so conservative and take a chance on something crazy) or a big advertising budget (it’s really easy to reach a few million people if you’re willing to pay for it. If you don’t have the funds, look for an investor or work on creative financing solutions with your advertising partners.)

Focus on Your Core Business
Every time I say this, 99.9% of people don’t believe me, until they try it for themselves. So, I don’t expect you to believe me. I invite you to give it a shot.

Make a list of all your customers and customer segments, and then figure out which are the most profitable ones. Make a list of all the products and services you offer and find the ones that make your company the most money. Do this analysis with everything you do: marketing tactics, products/services, customers, etc. You’ll find that some things you’re doing are extremely profitable and some aren’t. Get rid of the latter immediately.

You might be wondering, “Won’t I not make any money if I turn down business?” Yes, initially, but I’m willing to bet you can double your profits by focusing your efforts. Here’s why:

You’ll be saving a lot of time that you can spend doing the things that work best for you.
You’ll become a specialist in a product/service and a industry/customer type, which will help you increase your perceived value (which means more customers and higher revenue per customer.)
You’ll become a market leader in one area instead of being “just another company” in ten different areas.

Think Big
I’ve never seen a company planning to make $250,000 and actually making $10M+. This is because the plan that will get you to $10M+ is very different from the one that will get you to $250,000. You won’t believe this either, but aiming for a goal 10 times bigger takes 25% more work, not 10 times more.

Again, don’t just believe me. Try this for yourself. Go big. You’ll find that because so few people aim high, the competition at the top of the food chain is much less than at the bottom of it.

Step Away from Your Computer
I love technology, but real business deals happen when you actually meet with people (and sometimes over the phone). There’s nothing wrong with using email or social media to complement the communication with business partners, but don’t make it the sole communication channel.

The reason is that social media and email are very crowded spaces. Think about this:

How many tweets/Facebook posts/emails have you seen last week? How many people have you met in person?
When you meet with people, you have their full attention, whereas when you send people tweets or emails, they’re competing against all the other tweets/emails for your recipient’s attention.

Once again: I’m pro-technology. I have every gadget you can imagine. But, you need to know when and how to use it.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
Growing is not comfortable because you’re doing something you’ve never done before, and that’s scary. In my opinion, however, it’s good to be scared. You’re either scared or stuck.

I remember the first time I spoke at a marketing seminar. It was horrible. I was nervous the whole time and I thought my presentation was awful. That was, until everyone told me how helpful it was for them. The second time I was a little less nervous, and the third time was better than the second time. Now I have no problem speaking in front of thousands of people. As with everything else, you have to acknowledge the fear, accept that new things are scary and do it anyway.

The fear will eventually fade away and you’ll get much better at whatever you decide to do.

Be Persistent
Entrepreneurs these days have ADD. They start doing something, two weeks later they find something more interesting, and two weeks after that they switch to something else.

Most businesses take two or three years to become profitable and pay their founders well. This is because at first you’re learning about your industry, your customers, the effectiveness of different marketing strategies, etc. Don’t give up too soon. Learn from your mistakes and improve your business constantly. And don’t forget to work your ass off; it’s the only way to success.

Author: Zeke Camusio

Zeke Camusio is a serial entrepreneur, marketing speaker, author of The Internet Marketing Bible and CEO of The Outsourcing Company, an Internet marketing agency based out of Portland, Oregon.

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3 Simple Ways to Be Even More Successful

Zeke Camusio — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:00:44 +0000

Idea #1: Don’t Avoid Conflict
Trying to avoid conflict is part of being human. However, conflict is a good thing. Conflict is standing up for yourself and saying, “I won’t put up with this anymore.” Tell your boss, partner and spouse how you really feel about them. Conflict will arise. When a conflict is resolved, then your relationship with that person will be much stronger and healthier for you.

Just to be clear, speaking up doesn’t mean yelling or calling people names. Just say how you feel and what you want in a gentle tone.

Idea #2: Learn to Receive
I bet you’re very generous: you truly enjoy helping people. And, I bet you have a hard time accepting what other people give you. You probably say things like, “I don’t want to impose” or “Thank you, but I can’t accept it.” Why not? When someone wants to give you something, say “thank you” and accept the gift. When someone wants to buy you lunch, let them and make sure you pay next time.

People feel good helping you and giving you things; accept what others give you.

Idea #3: Finish What You Start
In business, sports and any other space, you can find two groups of people: those who try a bunch of different things and those who really commit to one thing.

Some people do yoga for a month, Pilates for three weeks, they take six months off and then start something new. This is even worse in the world of business: ADD is everywhere! People start a business and two months later they leave that to start a new company (which they’ll abandon for the next “hot thing”).

When it comes to business, use common sense. Think “where are my customers? What magazines do they read? What websites do they visit? What networking events do they attend?” Be where they are; don’t let trends decide what you should focus your time on. Stop listening to the so-called gurus. Stop buying those programs that promise you’ll make easy money. Stop copying what’s working for others (or what they’re claiming is working for them, even if it’s not.)

Start going to where your customers are.

Author: Zeke Camusio

Zeke Camusio is a serial entrepreneur, marketing speaker, author of The Internet Marketing Bible and CEO of The Outsourcing Company, an Internet marketing agency based out of Portland, Oregon.

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The Benefits of Being Reactive Instead of Proactive

Zeke Camusio — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:53:08 +0000

Mark Twain famously said, “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.” Psychologists call worry the “What If Disease” because people who suffer it are always wondering “What If…?”

“What if my flight gets cancelled?” “What if I get laid off?” “What if this sale doesn’t close?”

One day, in my meditations, I realized that there’s a lot of benefit in being reactive instead of proactive. What I mean is that you should do whatever you can to get the best possible outcome and then stop worrying about the problem. If it happens, you’ll do something about it. If it doesn’t, you saved a lot of precious time. Some examples:

Your flight might get cancelled. Accept this fact. All you can do is to show up on time for the flight. Thinking about all the things you’ll need to do if it gets cancelled is a waste of time. You could be using that time and energy doing something productive instead of worrying. IF the flight gets cancelled, THEN you’ll deal with the problem.
You might get laid off. Accept it. Work your butt off and show your company you’re a key resource. That’s all you can do. If they lay you off, find a new job. What good does it do you to worry for months?
The sale might not close. Accept it. Make other sales.

Why Being Reactive Is a Good Idea
Let’s say you worry about 100 things a week that could go wrong. Only 5 of them actually happen, which means that you wasted time worrying about 95 things that never happened. They’re not real. If you had been reactive you would’ve dealt only with the 5 things that went wrong, which would’ve saved you a lot of time and peace of mind.

Another important point: most people have a really hard time trusting others to do things right. If you’re a parent, let your kids make mistakes; that’s how they learn. If you have people in charge at work, let them figure things out on their own. Letting bad things happen at home and work is a good idea. Both your kids and employees will surprise you by solving difficult problems if you let them. And if they screw up, you can offer to help. But, if you never let them screw up, all your time will be spent babysitting them instead of empowering them and letting them grow.

When It’s a Good Idea to Be Proactive
Letting bad things happen and dealing with them after they happen is normally a good idea because of all the time, energy and peace of mind you save. However, there are cases where you need to be proactive. I’m talking about things that can’t be fixed. Examples:

You need to baby-proof your home because you can’t just replace your baby if something goes wrong.
You can’t go sky diving without an emergency parachute.

The Takeaway
Most things you worry about won’t ever happen. Do your best at everything you do. Some bad things will happen and most of them will have very easy fixes. Fixing 5 things takes a lot less time than worry about 95.

Author: Zeke Camusio

Zeke Camusio is a serial entrepreneur, marketing speaker, author of The Internet Marketing Bible and CEO of The Outsourcing Company, an Internet marketing agency based out of Portland, Oregon.

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How to Approach Successful People

Zeke Camusio — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:52:30 +0000

In my experience, the best way to grow a business is through strategic alliances. Let me give you a few examples:

If you make toys for kids you should get Toys R Us to carry your products.
If you’re a wedding photographer, every wedding planner in your town should know who you are and be familiar with your work.

The thing is, successful people are really busy. So, how can you get their attention?

Step 1: Aim High
Don’t be intimidated by high-profile people. They ARE people, just like you. And the truth is that most folks assume that CEOs and Presidents of companies are so out of reach that nobody even tries. And because nobody tries, your chances of getting the attention you want are pretty good.

Step 2: Learn About Them
When people talk about social media, they usually talk about how to use it to market something. But, my favorite use for social media is research. You can learn a lot about people if you follow them on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp, Google Plus, Quora, YouTube, Flickr and FourSquare. You can learn what books and newspapers they’re reading, where they’re going next weekend, where they just had lunch and with whom, etc.

Step 3: Help Them
These are some of the ways you can help people:

Retweet their blog posts or share them on Facebook.
Link to one of their articles from a blog post or your newsletter.
If they post they’re going to Aruba next month, send them a list of the top restaurants in Aruba.
Find things in common. Let’s say she likes coffee and so do you. When they post “the Sumatra Blend they’re serving at Starbucks is a little too strong”, comment back recommending a blend that they might like.
Answer the questions they post on their blogs, Quora and Facebook if you know the answers.
If you have an idea to improve their website or product, share it with them.
Use the skills that make you unique. If you’re a photographer, offer to make them a portrait for free. If you’re a lawyer and you know they want to sell their business, help them with the paperwork at no cost.

I don’t always feel I need to help someone before approaching them with a business opportunity. If you decide to provide help first, make sure it’s genuine and you don’t expect anything in exchange. Doing things so others owe you doesn’t work. They might feel obligated to help you, but they’ll find a way to get away as soon as they can.

Step 4: Email Them
Write a short email and get to the point. Rookies write four-paragraph emails because they want to be more persuasive. Busy people don’t have the time for this. This is an example of an email I sent last week:

Subject: I have an idea

Hi Mike,

Great blog post today. It was time for someone to speak up about the privacy issues with Facebook.

I have a business idea I think you’re going to like. Are you available for a phone call on Thursday at 4pm PST?

Zeke

Notice how I go straight to the point and how specific my request is.

Step 5: Call Them or Meet with Them
I love the Internet, but business happens offline. Meet with people if you can or talk to them on the phone if you can’t meet them. Use email only to set up the appointment.

This is the approach that works for me. What works for you?

Author: Zeke Camusio

Zeke Camusio is a serial entrepreneur, marketing speaker, author of The Internet Marketing Bible and CEO of The Outsourcing Company, an Internet marketing agency based out of Portland, Oregon.

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The Only Effective Way to Persuade People

Zeke Camusio — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:47:13 +0000

I’ve read a few persuasion books and, in my opinion, they all have the wrong idea about what persuasion is. Persuading doesn’t mean manipulating someone into doing what you want. If you do this, you might get what you want once but you’ll be burning bridges left and right until nobody trusts you again. Persuading means showing people the benefit of choosing what you want them to choose and letting them make the choice. Nobody likes to be “sold” on an idea; people like being in control of their actions.

The Problem
Although it’s pretty obvious that in order to persuade someone you need to present a solid case and let them decide, most people fail at this. This is because they build their cases assuming that others have the same criteria for making decisions. Let me give you a few examples:

One of your employees is unhappy and she wants to leave your company. To get her to stay you offer her more money. She leaves anyway because she was happy with the salary she was getting; she just couldn’t bear working Saturdays and on holidays. You never took the time to ask her what was important to her in order to build a compelling case to get her to stay.
A potential customer walks into your store and he seems interested in your car tires. You spend 10 minutes explaining that your tires are the cheapest in the market and come in different colors. However, your potential customer is rich and doesn’t care about low prices or color selection; he wants the safest tires in the market and you didn’t even talk about safety because you didn’t know that was important to him.
My wife was once mad at me because I used to leave my clothes on the floor. I was mad at her because her workstation was a mess. She thought that clean floors was important but a clean desk wasn’t. I thought the complete opposite. Once we could understand how important those things were for each other, we decided to keep the floors and desk clean.

The Takeaways

Different people care about different things.
Find out what the person you want to persuade wants.
Give it to them.
Every time there’s a conflict, it’s likely that you’re not understanding what’s important to the other person. Don’t just assume; ask.

Author: Zeke Camusio

Zeke Camusio is a serial entrepreneur, marketing speaker, author of The Internet Marketing Bible and CEO of The Outsourcing Company, an Internet marketing agency based out of Portland, Oregon.

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Are Short and Long-Term Goals Opposed to Each Other?

Zeke Camusio — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:04:56 +0000

When you come to think about it, it looks like a lot of short-term goals are opposed to some long-term ones. For example:

This morning I felt like sleeping in, but if I had, I wouldn’t have made a few important calls that will help one of my businesses grow.
I love cookies, but I also like having a six-pack.
I don’t feel like doing yoga today, but if I don’t my back will start hurting soon.
One of my friends was complaining the other day that she didn’t have a job, but she decided to spend all her day reading a book than looking for a job.

But, let me make a very important point: I’m not saying that you should always do what’s good for the long-term. I love eating cookies and sleeping in eventually. I think that if you always do what you should instead of what you want, you’ll be very unhappy because you’ll never allow yourself to enjoy anything. At the same time, if you always do what you want instead of what you should, you’ll eventually be unhappy when you realize that you’re not accomplishing anything, you’re out of shape and out of health.

So, what’s the right thing to do? There’s no right answer. But here’s my takeaway: Be aware that every action you take has a consequence. When I’m about to eat a cookie I make a conscious decision: I can either eat the cookie and accept I’m putting crap (and deliciousness) into my body, or I can have neither the calories nor the deliciousness. Indulging yourself moderately is very important; the problem is when you neglect the consequences of your actions. Or even worse, when you eat cookies and then complain about how fat you are.

If you think about it, every problem in the world has a very simple solution:

Are you overweight? Eat less, better and exercise more.
Do you want to improve the relationship with your wife? Spend more time with her, listen to her more, get her presents, take her on more dates and have more/better sex with her instead of working so much.
Do you not have a job? Put together a killer resume, look for wanted ads, learn about the companies you’re applying to work for, send them a customized cover letter, be charming and win people over with solutions to the company’s problems.

I’m not claiming that these are EASY solutions; I’m saying they’re SIMPLE. What I mean is that it’s pretty obvious what to do to fix a problem, but sometimes we lack the discipline to do what we know we need to do. In any situation keep in mind that you have two options: you can do what it takes to fix a problem or you can not do it. Either option is OK, as long as you’re aware of the consequences of your actions.

You’re probably about to write your resolutions for 2012. You’ll have two options: you can work every day to make your resolutions happen, or you can give up around February when you realize how difficult they are. Let me close by repeating a very important point: I don’t think that long-term goals are more important than short-term ones. We all need cookies, sleeping in and being a little lazy once in a while (or whatever your indulgences are). The key, as always, is balance.

Author: Zeke Camusio

Zeke Camusio is a serial entrepreneur, marketing speaker, author of The Internet Marketing Bible and CEO of The Outsourcing Company, an Internet marketing agency based out of Portland, Oregon.

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The One Skill You Need to Change Your Life

Zeke Camusio — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:20:18 +0000

The most important skill you need to be happy and successful is acceptance. It’s great to want to make things better and improve ourselves. The problem arises when we think that we need to wait for something to happen in order to be happy. How many times have we said “once I get that promotion life will be great” or “Life is almost perfect; now I need to find a boyfriend.”?

Let me say this again: I think it’s great to want things. But what if we accepted things and people as they are now?

Some Examples

What if you accepted that your kid wants to be a musician and not a lawyer? What if you accepted that different people find happiness through different routes?
What if you accepted that the little things that annoy you about your spouse are what make them who they are? What if you accepted they’re “part of the package”?
What if you accepted the effects of time on your body and your significant other’s? What if you stopped trying to stop time?
What if you accepted that this morning traffic is bad instead of wishing that it weren’t?

Acceptance Equals Peace
When people fight, they do it because they want to convince each other that their way is the best way. What if you could accept that you have a position on an issue and other people have different positions? What if these positions were neither better or worse, but just different?

The Ultimate Question
Forget for a second everything you want. Think about what you have, what you do and who you are. Can you be happy with that? Learn to accept things for what they are and a whole world of happiness will be waiting for you.

Author: Zeke Camusio

Zeke Camusio is a serial entrepreneur, marketing speaker, author of The Internet Marketing Bible and CEO of The Outsourcing Company, an Internet marketing agency based out of Portland, Oregon.

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3 Thoughts About Money and Happiness

Zeke Camusio — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:29:52 +0000

I’ve had three ideas I’ve been meaning to blog about, but these three ideas are too simple and short to be individual blog posts, so I’m going to condense all three into one post.

You Don’t Need a Complete Business to Start
A lot of people tend to put off starting a business until they have all the elements they think are necessary to start the perfect business. They think that one day everything will be perfect and the business will be ready to get launched. But, this is never the case. A business is always a work in progress. There’s always more stuff to do.

Launch your business this week. If you don’t have a merchant account yet, take payments by PayPal or check for now. If you don’t have all your products, sell the ones you have. If your website isn’t finished, create relationships with partners and distributors. Don’t wait until you have a business to launch.

There Are Always Good Excuses Not to Do Something
Are you one of those people who are always complaining? Stop it now! It’s annoying.

Instead of whining about not having money to start a business, find investors or start thinking of ways to come up with money.

Stop complaining about your boss and find a job working for someone you admire. Or, start a business.

Instead of saying “I can’t”, start asking yourself, “If I could, how would I do it?” Instead of thinking “I don’t have”, think “What do I need to do to get this?”

If you’re thinking, “yeah, sure. But that’s easier said than done”, let me clarify something here: I’m not saying it’s easy; I’m saying it’s worth it.

Do More Stuff You Like; Don’t Worry If You’re Not Good At It
I once asked a guy who sucked at soccer why he didn’t choose another sport. His answer was simple: “Because I like soccer.” That was a major lesson for me. I realized that we live in a world where we’re encouraged to only do those things we do well.

Well, screw that. I suck at playing guitar, but I love playing it, so I play often. I’m the worst dancer the world has ever seen, but I have fun dancing, so I’m not planning to stop. Let go of the need to be great at everything. You only have one life; spend it doing what makes you happy.

Merry Christmas, guys! Thank you for following me. I feel blessed for having over 25,000 subscribers like you.

Author: Zeke Camusio

Zeke Camusio is a serial entrepreneur, marketing speaker, author of The Internet Marketing Bible and CEO of The Outsourcing Company, an Internet marketing agency based out of Portland, Oregon.

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How to Be More Likable

Zeke Camusio — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:00:39 +0000

The number one reason people fail at networking and social media is because they’re not interesting enough. Are you one of those people that everybody dies to meet? If you’re not, this is how you can become that person.

Be Curious
There’s nothing more annoying than meeting someone who talks about themself for half an hour. Be genuinely interested in other people. Ask them about their work, their families and their lives. Don’t be afraid of asking personal questions. When I ask people about their feelings, first they are surprised but then they’re glad someone asked. This is because most of the time people love to share this kind of thing but they feel that nobody really seems to care enough.

Be a Connector
Showing up to events is OK, but if you want to take networking to the next level, put together your own events. Gather like-minded people together. This is such a rewarding thing to do! It could be lunch, a workshop or happy hour. And, always look for opportunities to connect people. If you know someone who needs a website and someone who builds websites, connect them. Be the person who knows everyone and can connect people who should be talking to each other.

Be Generous
When you meet someone new, don’t think about what you can sell them. Talk to them. Get to know them. Ask questions. Have a good time. Help them a lot, for free. You need to establish value first. You need to be someone other people want to spend time with.

Be Yourself
Probably the number one mistake people make when networking is being phony. Don’t do this. Be yourself. Sometimes I feel like talking to a bunch of people and sometimes I feel like sitting quietly and listening to others. I’m not afraid of sharing my failures or laughing at my mistakes. I love showing my human side. I think I’m pretty funny so I joke a lot, but if I weren’t, I wouldn’t try to force it. I don’t drink so I don’t go to happy hours; I prefer to meet for a cup of tea or lunch. A good way to tell whether you’re being fake is to imagine what your best buddy would say if they saw you. If they’d say “I didn’t know that side of you. Who are you trying to be?”, you know you need to just relax and be who you are.

Be Knowledgeable
Read books, travel and be passionate about learning new things. I pride myself in being able to have a very smart conversation on anything from business and politics to extreme sports and music. I speak five languages and have been to every continent on Earth. I’m not trying to brag. I just have a lot of interests and hobbies and love doing new things. And, as a result, chances are I can talk to pretty much anyone and we’ll probably have something in common.

Be Pleasant
People with calm personalities are better perceived than people who are stressed. People who talk slower are better perceived than people who talk fast, eat fast and run from one place to the other. Relax. Meditate. Slow down.

Ask for Feedback
I ask some people what first impression they got from me. I ask them to be honest. It’s really interesting how the way we see ourselves is so different from the way others see us.

Have Fun
If you see meeting people as a means to an end, you’re doomed to fail. Meet people because it’s fun to do so. People can smell hidden interests from miles away.

And one last piece of advice: meet diverse people. Don’t judge anyone. Differences are fascinating. You can learn a lot more from someone who’s very different from you than from someone who’s exactly like you.

Author: Zeke Camusio

Zeke Camusio is a serial entrepreneur, marketing speaker, author of The Internet Marketing Bible and CEO of The Outsourcing Company, an Internet marketing agency based out of Portland, Oregon.

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