Rob Wormley: Content Creator.
If you know me well, you know that I’ve experienced a lot over the last few years. Every so often (usually at night) I find myself sitting and thinking about where I’ve been and where I am now. The friendships I’ve lost, and the friendships I’ve gained. The hard conversations, the fun conversations, the thought-provoking conversations, and the ones that make me laugh. The experiences that have helped shape me into a better person.
I’ve learned a lot.
If there are two phrases I think people should try to say as often as possible to other people in their lives at necessary times, they are “I’m sorry,” and “Thank you”.
I’m not perfect, but I do make an effort to try to remember to say (and mean) these two phrases as often as possible to the people I surround myself with.
Because it’s impossible to catch everyone at the same time in person, I want to take an opportunity to say one of them to you all now:
Thank you.
Thank you for getting to know the real me. Thank you for holding me up when I needed your strength. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for making me laugh. Thank you for reminding me to enjoy life. Thank you for being you.
You deserve to know how much I appreciate you.
By the way, many of you aren’t pictured above. I do apologize! You still mean the world to me. Remind me to take a picture with you the next time we see each other! You’ll make version two haha.
There’s nothing wrong with dreaming. If you’re not dreaming, it means you’ve stopped wanting more out of life. People who don’t dream care not for new experiences or challenges. They simply live comfortably in a life that they already know. Which is fine. But you should know that I know you deserve more out of life. I believe that things happen to you and new people come into your life at certain times for a reason. There’s a plan. But I also believe that your desires, your goals— your dreams—influence that plan.
If you have a dream that keeps popping into your head from time to time—a nagging dream you can’t seem to ignore—you should take it as a sign to act. Because ultimately, you decide the kind of life you have. You decide whether or not you have new exciting experiences, whether you embrace new passions, whether you meet and learn from new people, and whether you grow into a better, happier person.
So here are 10 ways to start living your dreams.
1. Don’t ignore your dreams or be ashamed of dreaming. Embrace them. And stay away from dream killers. They’re just afraid to embrace their own. Or they’ve failed without learning and have given up.
2. Write about your dreams. Get them on paper. Organize your thoughts. Come back to your writing once in a while and expand upon what you wrote. Keep your dreams fresh in your mind, and fresh on paper.
3. Surround yourself with dream supporters and dream encouragers. Spend time with people who support you. The people who love you unconditionally are the ones who can give you the most strength and encouragement when it comes to pursuing your dreams.
4. Don’t be afraid of what people think and don’t be afraid of failure. You might fail. But at least you tried. And it’s something to learn from.
5. Plan. Do everything you can to make your dreams a reality. Plan for changes that need to be made in your life. Make lists and be specific.
6. Read about other people’s dreams and how they embraced them. Learn from others. There are a lot of inspiring stories out there of people who took a leap of faith and went for it. Read as many as you can.
7. Take more risks. Take risks that help you start living your dreams. Leave your job if you’re unhappy. Move away if you can’t succeed where you are right now.
8. Give up something that wastes time and invest that time in pursuing your dreams. If you “don’t have any time,” make time. Give up an hour of TV and spend that hour doing something else that helps you embrace your dreams.
9. Set deadlines. Hard deadlines. They will help with accountability. Remind yourself of your deadlines as often as possible. If you can’t make your deadline, extend it—but don’t ever give up.
10. Be patient and persistent. Things might not happen for you right away. It’s OK. Try to be as patient as possible, but don’t get lazy. Be persistent. It’ll be worth it in the end.
You deserve to get what you want out of life. All you need to do is DREAM~BELIEVE~ACT.
I’ve read a few blog posts from crabby writers who complain about people who post photos of food on Instagram. Don’t ever let someone else prevent you from sharing what you’re passionate about. I post food pics all the time and don’t care what anyone thinks haha. Do what makes you happy. (Taken with Instagram)
If you’ve made it to this post, it means you watched my video long enough to hear me tell you to visit this link for some great examples of brand storytelling. If you’re here for any other reason, keep reading!
In the video, I talk about how important storytelling is when it comes to connecting with followers or customers online. I offered three specific tips that you can use to start telling your brand’s (or your own personal) story. I promised to give you a few examples of brands that I think do a pretty good job telling their stories. So here are three of my favorite brands that get it:
1. Starbucks Coffee
Starbucks understands the importance of people connecting with people—in the real world, and online. They do a great job of telling their story on social media. I wanted to share two examples that stood out to me.
The first is a video from their YouTube channel. Watch it now:
The second is a photo from their Instagram feed:
2. Tom’s Shoes
This one is a pretty popular example to use, but it’s because they get it. Tom’s Shoes is another brand that understands the importance of connecting people with people. I’ll share two video examples with you from Tom’s:
The first:
The second:
3. John Deere
I picked John Deere as my final example because I think too many people think their business is too boring for people to care about. It’s not true, and it’s just a lazy excuse. Every person and every brand has an interesting, unique story. For this brand, I wanted to share a customer testimonial video that John Deere put together:
I hope these examples get you thinking! If you have any other questions or comments, leave them here—or reach out to me on Twitter. I’m @RobWormley.
Want to connect on LinkedIn? Click here.
Doing some experimenting with the Gifture iPhone app. Thinking about how brands can use gifs to connect with people.
Everyone deserves to be happy. Especially you. But not everyone is, and sometimes it’s hard for a person to pinpoint the reasons behind their unhappiness. Are you happy with who you are? Are you happy with the life you’re living? With the people you surround yourself with? With how you spend your time? If you’re not as happy as you’d like to be, or if you don’t know why you’re so unhappy, this resource is for you. It’s a list of 22 reasons why you might be unhappy. More importantly, it provides suggestions that you can start using today in order to become a happier, healthier, better person. It’s a fairly extensive list of reasons, but it doesn’t include everything. It’s simply a starting point—a way to get you to think more about your own happiness.
Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. —Dalai Lama
22. You pretend to be happy when you’re not
You’ve gotten to the point where you’re just going through the motions of life, and when someone asks you if you’re happy, you tell them yes without even thinking. You’ve decided it’s easier than showing people that you’re vulnerable. You think it makes you strong, but in reality, it makes it extremely hard for people to connect with you on a deeper or higher level. And shallow connections fuel your unhappiness.
- ACTION TAKEAWAY: Be honest with someone about your unhappiness. Invite them out to coffee and allow yourself to be vulnerable. Don’t be afraid to let it all out.
21. You’re too busy to be passionate about anything
You’ve sacrificed your passions for your career, your relationship, your friends, your family. You can’t find happiness because you’ve let go of what makes you happy. You use your busy schedule as an excuse for not embracing and nurturing your passions. Your career defines you. Your relationship defines you. Other people and other things define you.
- ACTION TAKEAWAY: Ask yourself what you’re passionate about, and make a list of your top five. Pick one to embrace and nurture for the next 60 days.
20. You’re jealous of people instead of being happy for them
Seeing other people happy annoys you at times. When you’re unhappy, all you can see around you is other peoples’ happiness. It makes you jealous. It even makes you unkind. You become frustrated at the thought of other people finding happiness or joy in life, and you never think to just be happy for them.
- ACTION TAKEAWAY: Try to be happy for someone specific sometime over the next seven days, and make sure to express to them how happy you are for them. They’ll appreciate it, and you’ll feel happier for telling them.
19. You don’t take time to dream or set goals
You’ve become so comfortable with the routine of your life, that you no longer think it useful to spend time thinking about dreams or setting goals. You’re afraid that along with setting goals or following your dreams comes the possibility of failure. So you’ve settled. Given up. Made excuses. And it’s making you more and more unhappy each day.
- ACTION TAKEAWAY: Draw a line down a blank sheet of paper. On the left, make a list of your short-term goals (personal and professional). On the right, make a list of your long-term goals. Short-term=1 year or less. Long-term=1 year or more.
18. You dream but never act
You dream often, and your goals are attainable—but
Shine.
Some people call it cheating when they find out someone has used apps to enhance photos they’ve take on their iPhone. I call them jealous, since usually the person complaining is someone who doesn’t have one :)
I also call it the difference between using an iPhone and knowing how to use an iPhone.
I’m never shy about showing people the difference with my own photos, so here are a few of my favorite before and afters.
Takeaway: Don’t just get an iPhone. Learn how to use your iPhone to create content worth sharing.
By the way, if you’re wondering—I used PicFrame to build these comparison images. I usually use Snapseed to edit the photos. Both apps cost money. Get over it.
