Stephanie LH Calahan › Comments

"Thanks for sharing how to go back to the single column view. The other view is way to cluttered for me." - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Then it must be on this end. It seems fine for short comments but freezes up when I use the dictation feature. Interesting. I'll keep playing." - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Great reply. No worries about me feeling bad on this end! When I first started my blog WordPress wasn't really used all that much. It was fairly new. TypePad at the time was the platform that a number of people were using. Seth Godin still uses it today. The conversion is something I'm not looking forward to. As a former systems developer, I know what a pain that can be. So, we're building out a good strategy before we divan. That plus the fact that I want to do a total rebranding means that this project is not Going to be a short one. Are you finding it difficult to comment on your blog via my iPhone though. It's not letting me put in hard returns or go back and correct typos." - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Excellent points in this post Mike! I've been guilty of not following up with comments fast enough, because my entire commenting system is not that fantastic. My current blog is on TypePad and you can't control what type of commenting you have. I'm looking forward to moving over to WordPress where I have more ability to do that. I also need to build better habits. I'm curious why DISCUS and not CommentLuv. I've heard a number of really good things about it." - Stephanie LH Calahan

"I find that my walls are frequently caused by dehydration or big time lack of sleep. Lots of water and lots of sleep usually take care of the problem. Thanks for the great tips and other ideas." - Stephanie LH Calahan

"I agree with Joanne about being present. It is something that I practice every day! While I don't bake bread (gluten free bread just isn't that good) I do make my own chicken stock. When fall rolls around every year, you will often see my stove heating up with the wonderfully warming smell of stock cooking. Just yesterday, my son came into the house with one of his friends and they were discussing that I make my own from scratch. I then heard my son say, "it just feels and smells like love in here" and it did. Every day we can look around and be amazed by the glorious miracles that surround us. Some of them are in our kitchen. :-)" - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Kelly - Thanks for sharing these posts. I really like and appreciate it when people share their reasons behind their positions and decisions in a way that allows open and honest discussion. I have gotten rather frustrated with one-sided discussions that shut out opinions and belittle the person with the opposing view. "As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand." Romans 14:1-4" - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Hi Donna - It is often the simple solutions that people skip over, yet are the most effective. Thanks for sharing this post. Two months ago I had a similar conversation with a private client because they were frustrated that their page did not have as many likes as their competitors in the area. They were totally stuck on what to say. I reminded them that they had fantastic "people personalities" and they should just be their fabulous selves. They took their "gift for gab" to their keyboard and started doing exactly what you mention above. Their likes on the page have quadrupled and their engagement has gone up over 70%! This strategy was critical for them because they have a mobile food truck business. Social media is how their customers find them! Thanks again for the simple strategy that works." - Stephanie LH Calahan

"I'm sorry to hear that you have had a crappy day. I'm sorry to hear that your dog has been sick. (I've been there lately. Few different ER visits for mine. It is heart breaking.) I'm thrilled that you are strong enough to acknowledge that you are human to your clients. I'm thrilled that you are practicing the self-care and self-love that I'm sure you teach your clients. Your former coach is wrong. (I had one of those too from my corporate days that shared the same philosophy. Forgive her. She was just telling you what I'm sure someone told her.) Being authentically you -- warts and all -- is the best way to serve your clients. I know that I want to work with real people not super humans when I select a coach and I know that my private clients want the same. Open transparency only helps. Be well and many blessings." - Stephanie LH Calahan

"I'm sorry to hear that you have had a crappy day. I'm sorry to hear that your dog has been sick. (I've been there lately. Few different ER visits for mine. It is heart breaking.) I'm thrilled that you are strong enough to acknowledge that you are human to your clients. I'm thrilled that you are practicing the self-care and self-love that I'm sure you teach your clients. Your former coach is wrong. (I had one of those too from my corporate days that shared the same philosophy. Forgive her. She was just telling you what I'm sure someone told her.) Being authentically you -- warts and all -- is the best way to serve your clients. I know that I want to work with real people not super humans when I select a coach and I know that my private clients want the same. Open transparency only helps. Be well and many blessings." - Stephanie LH Calahan

"I can appreciate your story Haim.  I too was once a multi-pot-a-day coffee drinker.  I dropped coffee about 3 years ago for my health reasons and I'm glad that I did.  Your point about organization and getting the right sleep is really key.  The one other point I'll bring to the discussion is your water consumption.  Many people don't realize that when you drink caffeine you can get dehydrated.  Since our brain is largely comprised of water, dehydration causes foggy thinking and difficulty making decisions.  Then, we jump for another jolt of coffee, thus making the circle go round and round.  I have found rather than jumping for coffee, I go for a great big glass of spring water.  Works every time!" - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Denise - Pretty cool tool.  I'm shocked at how fast it processes.  I agree with Cheryl and Sandi -- The one it created for me was most definitely based on my most recent post.   I decided to try it out on my twitter stream and then I did the same for my Facebook page and realized I'm missing out big time on SEO b/c when I post linking to my content I'm not using keywords much at all!  (Bad Stephanie) Thanks for the eye opener. To your success! Stephanie" - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Denise - Pretty cool tool.  I'm shocked at how fast it processes.  I agree with Cheryl and Sandi -- The one it created for me was most definitely based on my most recent post.   I decided to try it out on my twitter stream this Then I did the same for my Facebook page and realized I'm missing out big time on SEO b/c when I post linking to my content I'm not using keywords much at all!  (Bad Stephanie) Thanks for the eye opener. To your success! Stephanie" - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Nancy - Great post.  I especially love the idea of a JV page.  Fabulous transparency.  I'm putting that into action right away.  Thanks." - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Great realization!  Life changes and our systems need to change with it.  Perfection causes paralysis." - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Great realization!  Life changes and our systems need to change with it.  Perfection causes paralysis." - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Amos - I could not agree more with the suggestions you have made today. Getting your business processes in place sets you up for success. Yes, it does take time, but the process of figuring it all out helps you mentally as well as physically. No matter if you are a one-person show or you have a business that has many employees, unless you have business processes in place, you may find the business growing "out of control." The activity of organizing and writing down key activities and when they need to get done is critical to your ability to grow your business and thrill your customers. I have found that many business owners do one of two things where business processes are concerned: -Don't have them -- They think, I'll have time later to get all of this down.-Make them too complex -- They over-engineer the processes and ultimately do not do them because it is too complex. As you are thinking about the list of processes you need to get active in your business, implement one..." - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Amos - I could not agree more with the suggestions you have made today. Getting your business processes in place sets you up for success. Yes, it does take time, but the process of figuring it all out helps you mentally as well as physically. No matter if you are a one-person show or you have a business that has many employees, unless you have business processes in place, you may find the business growing "out of control." The activity of organizing and writing down key activities and when they need to get done is critical to your ability to grow your business and thrill your customers. I have found that many business owners do one of two things where business processes are concerned: -Don't have them -- They think, I'll have time later to get all of this down.-Make them too complex -- They over-engineer the processes and ultimately do not do them because it is too complex. As you are thinking about the list of processes you need to get active in your business, implement one..." - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Well stated Jessica.  I think you could replace "social media" with a number of other activities too.  I often tell my audiences that we are all born with our own unique set of fingerprints and everything that follows should equal that uniqueness. There is something to be said for following "best practices," however it is advisable to make sure that those that deliver the "best practice" have the same goals as you. For example, I have read over and over that you should not share quotes -- only your own words.  I share them anyway.  I have been collecting quotes that inspire me since I was in 4th grade.  It is a part of who I am.  To your success!" - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Well stated Jessica.  I think you could replace "social media" with a number of other activities too.  I often tell my audiences that we are all born with our own unique set of fingerprints and everything that follows should equal that uniqueness. There is something to be said for following "best practices," however it is advisable to make sure that those that deliver the "best practice" have the same goals as you. For example, I have read over and over that you should not share quotes -- only your own words.  I share them anyway.  I have been collecting quotes that inspire me since I was in 4th grade.  It is a part of who I am.  To your success!" - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Michele, I can't wait to interrogate.... um... I mean interview you!  ;-)  You have done a fantastic job bringing in experts to share their knowledge on #speakchat, but it is about time that you share what you know. Can't wait to hear your secrets so that I can get better at my media interviews.  The professional interview you are giving away is fantastic too!  I look forward to seeing who the lucky "speakchatter" will be. To your success Stephanie" - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Michele, I can't wait to interrogate.... um... I mean interview you!  ;-)  You have done a fantastic job bringing in experts to share their knowledge on #speakchat, but it is about time that you share what you know. Can't wait to hear your secrets so that I can get better at my media interviews.  The professional interview you are giving away is fantastic too!  I look forward to seeing who the lucky "speakchatter" will be. To your success Stephanie" - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Glory2727 - I appreciate where you are coming from because when I first started online, I did a LOT of reading and very little participating.  I think it takes practice and encouragement to grow that comfort.  I think that the culture that we have been raised in can make a huge difference in the way we interact online too.  For example, I was raised that it was not polite to publicly disagree with anyone.  Online = public, very public.  That one rule made it very difficult for me to share an opposing view to anything I disagreed with when I first came online.  (I have gotten over that since then.) Thanks for sharing!" - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Glory2727 - I appreciate where you are coming from because when I first started online, I did a LOT of reading and very little participating.  I think it takes practice and encouragement to grow that comfort.  I think that the culture that we have been raised in can make a huge difference in the way we interact online too.  For example, I was raised that it was not polite to publicly disagree with anyone.  Online = public, very public.  That one rule made it very difficult for me to share an opposing view to anything I disagreed with when I first came online.  (I have gotten over that since then.) Thanks for sharing!" - Stephanie LH Calahan

"It is all about the conversation and the connections!  In working with my clients, I find that information overload and the fear of missing out on important information keeps people from the deeper connections.   It keeps them from any kind of sustained focus.  You need to be able to focus to comment, thus skipping happens." - Stephanie LH Calahan

"It is all about the conversation and the connections!  In working with my clients, I find that information overload and the fear of missing out on important information keeps people from the deeper connections.   It keeps them from any kind of sustained focus.  You need to be able to focus to comment, thus skipping happens." - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Michele - I see productive conversation as the exchange of ideas both in alignment with and contrary to the original poster's article. I agree that chronically opposing someone does not make you look better: I appreciate your examples of when something is not a conversation. I have had experiences in my blogging career where someone in my industry would comment on my blog stating that they absolutely disagreed with my post and then boldly shared a link to their blog for "better" information. Then, this same person would write me an email stating that they really liked my stuff and have been studying my content for years, but isn't controversy fun and he thought he would get others' "juices flowing." WHAT? After a few different instances of this, I picked up the phone and had a conversation with this person asking them how they really wanted me to respond to the public attacks and private kudos. I shared that I don't necessarily want everyone to agree with what I write, but that he..." - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Michele - I see productive conversation as the exchange of ideas both in alignment with and contrary to the original poster's article. I agree that chronically opposing someone does not make you look better: I appreciate your examples of when something is not a conversation. I have had experiences in my blogging career where someone in my industry would comment on my blog stating that they absolutely disagreed with my post and then boldly shared a link to their blog for "better" information. Then, this same person would write me an email stating that they really liked my stuff and have been studying my content for years, but isn't controversy fun and he thought he would get others' "juices flowing." WHAT? After a few different instances of this, I picked up the phone and had a conversation with this person asking them how they really wanted me to respond to the public attacks and private kudos. I shared that I don't necessarily want everyone to agree with what I write, but that he..." - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Could not agree more!  I started scheduling all phone calls a number of years ago and it has been critical to my success.  As I talk with my clients the top 2 time saver suggestions I give them are:  1) let it go to voicemail/receptionist (you can outsource that work too) 2) turn off your email/smartphone notification sound.  Simple interruptions cost you a lot more than you think.  Studies show that for every interruption, it will take you 20-45 minutes to get back to the same state of concentration you had before the interruption.  It is really hard for most to let those things go because "what if I miss something important?"  I can honestly say that I have never missed something important.  I do make exceptions to the phone answering rule -- I am first emergency contact for my son, so those numbers are not blocked.  My husband only calls for critical items so I also answer his calls.  All others are scheduled on my online scheduling tool. To your success! Stephanie" - Stephanie LH Calahan

"Could not agree more!  I started scheduling all phone calls a number of years ago and it has been critical to my success.  As I talk with my clients the top 2 time saver suggestions I give them are:  1) let it go to voicemail/receptionist (you can outsource that work too) 2) turn off your email/smartphone notification sound.  Simple interruptions cost you a lot more than you think.  Studies show that for every interruption, it will take you 20-45 minutes to get back to the same state of concentration you had before the interruption.  It is really hard for most to let those things go because "what if I miss something important?"  I can honestly say that I have never missed something important.  I do make exceptions to the phone answering rule -- I am first emergency contact for my son, so those numbers are not blocked.  My husband only calls for critical items so I also answer his calls.  All others are scheduled on my online scheduling tool. To your success! Stephanie" - Stephanie LH Calahan