In 2015, I felt the need to write about knockoffs. My point of view was simple – stay true to your brand, uphold your mission, innovate often and know your customers’ needs at every turn. These were my hacks to stay one (or maybe three) steps ahead of the people and companies who believe they have the right to ride the coattails of another brand’s success. Times have changed over the last four years though and so have my views. Now I know this approach is only one piece of the puzzle. As this piece from Medium’s Stephanie Clifford highlights, S’well has had to partner with legal teams, Custom Border Patrol, vendors and retailers to fight the fakes. And even when we win, we lose...because the system is broken. There are too many people stealing from original brands’ playbooks with the world of copycats having grown too big and consumers at large too dependent on quick delivery at the cheapest price – losing sight or simply not knowing what is real and what is fake anymore. Forever the optimist, I believe that along with legal and government support, we need to create a cultural shift in behavior. And we need to do this in solidarity with eachother – big retailers coming together with entrepreneurs and consumers to find a way to collaborate and educate for change. Who’s with me? …see more

TIP 20 of 20 in the 20 tips in 2020 series! 👆WHAT A MOUTHFUL - Try saying that 10x FAST 😂 *CREATOR HACK: I recorded all 20 of these in ONE session on this day last year... this series successfully took me through the entire year! Okay, now that that's covered, my final tip in LEVELING UP your personal brand by breathing life into all the tips I've already taught you? NETWORK and LEARN in local workshops! The silver lining in this global pandemic is that it is bringing us all closer with virtual events. So you can join a group of like-minded professionals 6,000 miles away to learn and grow! My suggestions for marketing workshops are in the comments. What workshops or associations are you apart of that you find value in? Now that this is over, what has been your favorite tip!? #personalbranding #personalgrowth …see more

Ready to stop chickening out? What you call imposter syndrome is another thing call bok bok noises. It's our internal voices that chips away your confidence to try new things. Bok, don't do video. Bok, do video and people will judge you. Bok, you sound dumb. Yeah, bok bok. But chicken are delicious, they are cute. But more delicious as fried drumstick. They are easy to slay and eat. So is gaining confidence on video. It's actually easy to hit the record button on your smartphone and share knowledge. But there's always something bok bok that stops. Which is why we run The 5-Day video challenges. It'll start next week. Let's slay our chicken and be you on video. Read and Join Read and share this. Read and tag your mates. #stringtheory on #personalbranding #b2b #socialmedia #linkedintips #motivation #leadership #video …see more

What’s the best way to strengthen your #communication , #thoughtleadership , and #personalbranding ? 🤔 Focus on #clarity , #consistency , and #discipline . Here’s how: CLARITY🎯 When you’re clear, everything becomes easier. People understand you, what you offer, your value, what differentiates you, how you can help them, and how they can assist you. Clarity helps others know, like, and trust you. It also enables you to align your goals with a plan to achieve them—and stay away from the things that can derail you. CONSISTENCY✅ Consistency is about aligning and maintaining your “voice” and look and feel in the ways that you present yourself, sound, and write so that people come to expect—and anticipate—your specific point of view and unique perspective. Rather than make others guess, make sure to communicate your intended message with consistency. DISCIPLINE💪 Without discipline, you run the risk of trying to be all things to all people. And doing so lowers your competitive advantage and waters down your offering. Worse, people won’t know what to think of you (if they think of you at all). Instead, focus on those one or two areas in your wheelhouse and your expertise in helping others so that your name becomes synonymous with those skills. #career #leadership …see more

It’s counterintuitive but true: Niching down and being specific about who you are and who you serve will help attract the people who want and need your services. 🎯 I recently sat down with Francisco Mahfuz on "The Storypowers" podcast to talk about the importance of #clarity , #consistency , and #discipline in #storytelling , #personalbranding , and #thoughtleadership . ✅ Be sure to listen to the full episode (🔗 in comments), make you subscribe to his amazing #storytelling #podcast , 🎧 and if you're not already following or connected yet to Francisco, head over to his profile now! #communication #socialmedia #ghostwriting #content …see more

Though you can’t manage external circumstances, you can control your behavior, #mindset , and #perspective . Here are three choices can you make that will dramatically improve (or hinder) your ability to navigate difficult situations: 1. React or Respond It’s natural to fear things we question or don’t understand and immediately react, but that’s not always best, especially in an emotionally-charged situation. Instead, press the pause button and take a beat to digest and consider information before responding to it. 2. “I’m going through this” or “I’m growing through this” “I’m going through this” can be demoralizing, deflating, and passive. You remain pessimistic and primarily driven by fear, resigned to the status quo. However, “I’m growing through this” is action-oriented, positive, and empowering. It means you’ll come out of your current circumstances with newly acquired wisdom, changed for the better. 3. Negative or Positive When bad or unexpected things happen, it can throw us into a tailspin. It’s easy to fall into a negative headspace. But when practicing positivity, we tend to be more curious and tolerant of new ideas and people and are less likely to be thrown off course because of unexpected setbacks. #leadership #EQ #positivity …see more

How do you answer the question, “What do you do?” 🤔 If it doesn’t include specifics on whom and how you help, and the unique value you bring, you’re missing a huge opportunity.🤦🏼‍♀️ I know that it seems easy to default to your job title—“I’m a CPA” or “VP of marketing”—but that doesn’t tell the complete story.❌ If you’re looking to attract clients, partners, or a new employer, you need to be able to clearly articulate your authentic career story in a compelling and concise way that resonates with your intended audiences.✅ You already know the power of a great story. Now think about how wonderful it would be to talk about your career via such an engaging tale. You have such a story inside you, 🐛but it generally takes someone like me to bring it to life.🦋 That’s part of what I do: I help leaders craft their stories to communicate and connect better.🎯 Because once you have your story, it changes everything—including how others perceive, pay, and promote you.💥 #leadership #career #storytelling …see more

One of the most rare moments in the tech history that the three giants (Amazon, Apple, & Google) are coming together for the "benefits of consumers" to establish standards for "security" of Smart Home Devices, a much needed protocol with all the recent Rings' hacks. #IoT #smarthometechnology #smarthome #ProjectConnectedHomeOverIP #ConnectedHomeOverIP #amazonalexa #amazonecho #googlehome #homepod …see more

Algorithms, datasets, machine learning, deep learning, cognitive computing, big data, and artificial intelligence: IT expressions that took over the language of 21st-century healthcare with surprising force. If medical professionals want to get ahead of the curve, they should get familiarized with the basics of A.I. and have an idea of what medical problems they aim to solve. So, let’s take a closer look at machine learning and deep learning in medicine. …see more

The selection of hedge fund manager selection really mattered last year: Bloomberg Opinion's Mark Gilbert looks at the dispersion in the performance of hedge funds which, in 2020, "expanded to its widest in more than a decade." https://lnkd.in/gs_d7T8 #markets #economy #investing #investors #investment #financeandeconomy #hedgefund #hedgefunds #bloomberg #bloombergopinion #bopinion …see more

Portrait of Alexander Crummell (1819-98) in the President’s Lodge of Queens’ College Cambridge. “A leading figure in the movement for black rights, [he] was active in that cause at different times in the United States, Britain and Africa.” Mr Crummell sailed to England in 1847, attended Queens’ before moving to Liberia, “a nation newly-created specially for former slaves [where] he worked as schoolmaster, lecturer, priest and missionary.” "He returned to the United States in 1873 and was a minister in Washington DC...; in the year before his death he helped to found the American Negro Academy." "His considerable influence as a writer, teacher of moral ideals, and opponent of racial persecution is well recognised today in the United States." https://lnkd.in/gEt3Yzv …see more

Looking forward to the conversation with Sarah Eisen and Wilfred Frost on Closing Bell in just over an hour. CNBC #markets #economy …see more

CNBC on "nearly 25% of all [US] loans, credit cards and mortgages are in financial hardship programs." While some of this may include people able to pay, it's nevertheless a good indicator of a high degree of household financial stress and insecurity. https://lnkd.in/gBSabhP #economy #markets …see more

While there'll be lots of debate on the content and clarity of the UK's phased re-opening plan just announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, I suspect that many will agree with the constructive tone he struck and the impassioned delivery. #covid19 #coronavirus #uk #borisjohnson …see more

Good news from Africa so far re Covid19, especially for those of us very worried about the human toll of an outbreak there. The news comes via the Financial Times on the limited virus spread so far: https://lnkd.in/eBdCp_y My reasons for worry were detailed here: https://lnkd.in/esm7Ff2 #Africa #covid19 #coronavirus #ft #em #emergingmarkets #developingcountries …see more

I do wonder why many people lied about me without reading a single thing I was saying. I do wonder why the ad with Bitcoins in my eyes and fire behind me and the ugliest picture of me ever was the most successful. Why did people click on that one? #why #crypto #bitcoin #writing #entr …see more

Every day I see more #propaganda about the #American #Dream of owning a house. (But I will tell you the reasons I will never own a home again). Maybe some of you have read this before from me. I will try to add. Or, even better, be more concise. …see more

Trump will be acquitted. The consequences for sedition, for actively calling for an insurrection, for attempting to overturn the legitimate results of a free and fair election, do not include impeachment. Impeachment is broken. #Trump #impeachment #uspolitics #democracy GZERO Media #QuickTake https://lnkd.in/eBpWS5R …see more

As more people get vaccinated, mortality rates are going to go down significantly. As it does, there needs to be more focus on the economic side of the equation. World #In60Seconds #gzero #world #globalpolitics #navalny #russia #usa #britain #covid19 https://lnkd.in/eAFnRGK …see more

Different #COVID19 pandemics in the US and EU, Twitter and Facebook's New York Post controversy, and federal aid drying up in the US. My thoughts on this week's biggest news. #StayInformed …see more