in Nashville, TN on New Years 2011!

Long time no see. I know, I know. Excuses, excuses. I have no real excuse other than life got in the way of blogging.

It happens. We (okay, maybe not “we” but I) got through phases. We all do. And don’t even tell me you don’t, because I know that’s a lie.

Both my personal and professional life have changed A LOT in the past, oh, 8 months. (Yikes! Has it really been that long since I blogged?)

Well, there’s a lot that I have to catch you up on, and it’s not all going to happen in one post – plus, there’s a lot of big stuff coming up, and I want you guys along with me for the ride.

If you’ve ever been a reader of my blog, you know I like to make lists. So, to catch you up in a nutshell, here are the things that have happened since I last blogged:

1. I went from working 3 jobs to working only one
2. I wrote and performed a one-woman show
3. I met a boy. Nay, a man. He treats me better than I ever deserve to be treated. He’s smart, incredibly funny, and makes me want to be a better person. And, of course, he is just an all around swell guy. (If he’s reading this he’s probably embarrassed… oh well, DEAL! )
4. 

   how cute is my nephew?

   My NEPHEW WAS BORN. Oh my gosh. My nephew! On July 19th, 2010 my nephew Kyle Robert Murphy stormed into this world and he is such an incredible baby. I love my sister and my brother-in-law and I’m so grateful to have such an amazing family. And seriously, I mean, look at that baby… how cute it he?!?!?!

5. I became obsessed with Carolina Football and Basketball. I’ve always been a  football / basketball  fan, and have always loved Carolina, but working at WCHL (the flagship station for the Tar Heels) and covering all the games this year got me close to the situation and I now know way more than I ever thought I would. GO HEELS!
6. I finally found a church I love. I definitely want to write an entire post on this later, but finding a church that I love is something that I wanted for a long time. I went to church growing up, and in middle and high school, did InterVarsity and a small group in college, but when I got out of college and I moved, I strayed and focused on other things. I had done a little bit of “church hopping” but didn’t find anything that struck me as relevant or something that connected with me. And I’ve found it. I go to New Hope Church in Durham, NC and I love it. The music, the word, the people are all exactly what I was looking for and I couldn’t be happier. (Again, more on this later.)
7. I joined the worship arts ministry team at New Hope – I’m singing again! I have SO missed doing this and it’s so rewarding.
8. I got promoted! That’s right, I went from 4 jobs, to 3 jobs, to 1 full-time job, to getting promoted to a management position. I am now the Duchess of Digital Media for WCHL in charge of the build out of our new website, all of our social media, online marketing, etc… basically anything that has to do with the web, I am in charge of it for the radio station.

Well, a good start to getting you caught up. I’ve really missed writing and sharing my thoughts, musings, experiences, stories, etc… if you will. Hold me accountable, people.

I love you guys. I’ll be back soon.

All for now.

Yes, it’s 2:30 in the morning and I’m still awake. I took a nap today for the first time in easily six months – and now I’m paying for it because I am WIDE awake. This afternoon I was leaving one job and heading to another and realized that if I didn’t take a nap, I would probably pass out en route.

If it’s 2:30AM and I’m still awake, I do a couple of things:

1. Watch SNL digital shorts
2. Watch old TED talks
3. Clean

I am doing the 2nd of the three. And although I have seen this particular TED talk a gazillion times, I learn to appreciate it more each time I rewatch it.

I love J.J Abrams for two reasons:

1. He gave me the show LOST
2. He’s brilliant

AND this particular quote from his talk is my biggest takeaway:

“No community is best served when only the elite have control.”

I think it’s such a simple yet profound statement, thought, idea. There’s all this talk of “community” going on – whether it be in technology, improv, the town you live in, your country, whatever. Yet, do all of us actively participate in our own communities? Whatever community that may be. Are you an active or passive member of your community(ies)? Do you complain when things don’t go your way or do you work to change them?

People are put in charge for a reason, yes. But for the most part, they are put in charge by the people who, well, put them there – i.e. the members of the community they serve. (Does that even make sense? It makes sense to me, but it is now 2:40AM, so it could be Esperanto for all I know).

There’s nothing that irks me more than people who sit back, are so cavalier and laissez faire about everything, and then when things aren’t exactly the way they want them to be, all they do is whine. You don’t like your situation? You don’t like things the way they are going? Change it. Work harder. Engage with passion in your own life.

QUESTION(S): Thoughts? What does Abrams’ statement say to you? What does it make you think of? I want to know.

By the way, I’m hungry.

Word.

I haven’t blogged in a week. Blah blah blah, yada yada yada. I went from blogging every day to I haven’t blogged in a week. [Note: I really hate posts when people say, "Ahh I'm so sorry I've been slacking!" or "My apologies for not blogging much" or "I suck and I am lazy and I haven't posted in forever." This is not one of those posts. This is a post of facts. Or truths. Or factruths.

I want to join the RE-UP crew.

But guess what?

Unless you’re a blogger with a gazillion readers, or Oprah, I bet you that people don’t give a rats rear if you haven’t blogged in a week.

But I haven’t blogged in a week and I feel guilty.

I’m not making excuses, but honestly the reason I have slacked off is because I have bigger fish to fry. I love writing, I love blogging, and I have so many thoughts running through my head that if I DON’T write them down, I tend to go a little stir crazy. Fact.

Those of you who have either read my blog, know me personally, or whatever, you know that I’ve been unemployed for nearing six full months. I left an awesome full-time teaching job in Richmond, Virginia and I moved to North Carolina to pursue my love of comedy, writing, and life “en general.”

I’m broke. Fact.

My rent is high, I have a “second rent” paying off a gazillion dollars in debt (only two more years to go!), and I have a Chipotle addiction to feed. Triple facts.

I work 17 hours a week at an art gallery/retail store and maybe 10 hours a week (if I can get the hours) at the mall. I just got a third job waiting tables, something I swore I would never ever ever ever ever do again. Last week I worked every day from at least 9 in the morning until midnight at more than one job. (So? I need the money). Needless to say, when I got home, blogging was not on my mind.

In the past six months, I have applied for over 93 jobs, had a total of 7 interviews, and have yet to find “a JOB… job.” Although working three full-time, part-time jobs isn’t always awesome, it isn’t life-ending. The people are great, my bosses are awesome, and the money is feeding me. Facts.

Again, I am not complaining, these are simply FACTS. I also want to be clear, I am not telling you this to feel sorry for me. I am telling you this to share my experience and I want you to share yours. Hopefully, maybe ONE of you can learn something from me, because Lord knows I’ve learned an immense amount from you.

People keep asking me, “Molly what do you want to do? What is your IDEAL job?” And to be honest, sometimes I feel like that is a bullsh*t question. No offense to anyone that has asked me that, because this is not a personal statement, it’s simply an observation.

Everyone WANTS to do what makes them happy. An ideal job for ANYONE is a job where they can do what they want and make the big bucks.

Right?

My ideal job? What do I WANT to do? Well, I WANT to be a professional comedian. I want people to pay to see me perform and I want people to pay me to make them laugh. But that’s hard to do. I also want friends, and a family, and a life. I don’t really want “things.” Who doesn’t?

What is my ideal JOB job? What do I REALISTICALLY want to do? I want a job that pays me money where I can write, and be visionary, and be a thought leader, and be challenged, and learn, and be creative, all the while, making people laugh. I want room for growth. Personal growth. Professional growth. THAT is my ideal job. Facts.

So, do you want to hire me?

But here’s my deal and here’s why I’ve been rambling on for the past 550+ words…

I am going to be awesome in 2010. It’s not that I’m making New Years Resolutions. I’m not setting goals. I’m changing my life. I’m not complaining. I’m taking the cards that I’m dealt and I’m playing the better hand. Or some cliche phrase like that.

Facts for 2010:

• I do and will continue to work my ass off.
• If I have to wait tables forever to pay my rent, I will. And I will wait tables with a SMILE and PASSION and, damnit, I will make my customers laugh.
• I will love my friends and I will love my family.
• I will eat Chipotle when my stomach wants it.
• I will write because I love to write, not because I feel like I “have to.” As soon as writing becomes work, it is no longer fun.
• I will perform.
• I will change my plans if they need to be changed.
• I will adjust my thinking if it needs adjusting.
• I will work harder if I need to work harder.
• I will make connections.
• I will make a difference.
• I will make an impression.
• I will make an impact.
• I will be awesome.

So, what are YOU doing in 2010?

Word.

GET WORDY, y’all. This is a new segment of my blog (hooray for new segments!). Since I was an English major in college and I taught high school English for two years, I love vocabulary. In school, I looked forward to making a gazillion vocab flashcards. Honestly, I LOVE words. So, I’ve decided to call this segment GET WORDY where I feature a word of the day/week/month/year that I am currently using, want to start using, or have made up. Yes, I like to make up words, too. I’m an improviser, making stuff up is what I do.

Today’s Word: Brobdingnagian

THIS is a brobdingnagian cow. For reals.

Main Entry: Brob·ding·nag·ian
Pronunciation: \ˌbräb-diŋ-ˈna-gē-ən, -dig-ˈna-\ [brah-b-din-nag-ian]
Function: adjective
Etymology: Brobdingnag, imaginary land of giants in Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift
Date: 1728
1 : marked by tremendous size
— Brobdingnagian noun

This is such a fun word. I wish it were easier to say or else I would use it all the time. As you can see in the etymology of the word, it actually came from the mythical land of Brobdingnag – or the land of giants in Gulliver’s Travels. Wikipedia actually sums it up better than I can:

Brobdingnag is a fictional land in Jonathan Swift‘s satirical novel Gulliver’s Travels occupied by giants. Lemuel Gulliver visits the land after the ship on which he is travelling is blown off course and he is separated from a party exploring the unknown land. More plot details can be found under A Voyage to Brobdingnag. The adjective Brobdingnagian has come to describe anything of colossal size.

Say it with me: BRAH-B-DIG-NAG-IAN. Brobdingnagian. Say THAT three times fast. Although it may be a tough word to say, it’s definition is fairly simple. It can be used to describe ANYTHING that is large, enormous, humungous, or of colossal size.

I remember reading Gulliver’s Travels in high school and the word brobdingnag being probably the only thing I enjoyed and/or learned from that book. (I went back and read Swift’s tale when I was older and appreciated the story a lot more, but for some reason was NOT a fan when I was in high school). And there was a span of time in which I tried to use the word brobdingnagian in a sentence a lot and people judged me. Well, that time is no more. I want to bring it back and bring it in to every day vocabulary and writing. WHO’S WITH ME?

I mean, for example, let’s use it in a sentence:

• One day, I hope to have a brobdingnagian bank account. [AM I RIGHT?!]
• That brobdingnagian building sure looks poorly constructed.
• I remember before I lost all that weight, I was brobdingnagian.
• The size of this Chipotle burrito is brobdingnagian. YUM!

See how versatile of a word it is?

Can YOU come up with a creative sentence to use the word brobdingnagian in? Try me!

Word. Literally.

photo credit: the current affairs

I have been asked this question a lot recently.

I've got an idea!

“What do you do when you run out of ideas? How do you keep generating new ideas or new content when you feel like you’ve exhausted everything?”

Maybe it’s because the holiday’s are afoot and people’s minds are stretched thin? I don’t know. Maybe we are, after a gazillion years, just starting to run out of ideas. Well, don’t fret, we are never going to run out of ideas. Now, let me say this, at this point, it is very hard to reinvent the wheel – no one is going to come up with a new invention of the wheel. BUT, we can come up with new ways to make the “wheel” better or whathaveyou. The “wheel” in this case, is a metaphor.

Okay, so you are a creative, or a writer, or a business owner, or a student, or a person and you have to generate “ideas” for things – but after awhile, you have trouble coming up with new ideas. Suddenly, idea generation is not your best friend. Being an improviser, I am trained to think on my feet and take one suggestion to inspire an entire show and an entire set of ideas. I then use ideas to inspire new ideas. So, here are a few things that I, personally, do to help when I am starting to run out of ideas.

1. Lists of TEN (or more)

If you’re writing something (i.e. a blog post, new marketing material, story, etc.) start with a category – then write down IN RAPID FIRE the first TEN (or more) things that come to mind that fall under that category – the first five will be easy, the last five will be harder.
If you find yourself at ten and you can keep going, then by all means, KEEP GOING. Stop when you stop.
For example – if I were writing a blog post about MUSIC I would come up with the first ten things that came to mind:

1. Michael Jackson
2. Songwriters –> singers
3. My favorite band
4. My favorite song
5. Why I wish I knew how to play guitar
6. My favorite song to sing
7. My karaoke song of choice
8. Why I hate karaoke
9. Why I love karaoke
1o. Why are people obsessed with karaoke?

…and so on.

WHY DO THIS? I’m no brain scientist, but our brain associates different ideas with different categories. By spitting out whatever comes to mind, you will be able to cross off ideas that are no good and focus on the ones that are awesome. Most likely, at least eight of the ten ideas you come up with are going to be bogus or bad ideas. You then have two AWESOME ideas to choose from. Makes sense, right? I sometimes makes rapid fire lists a couple times a day. It never hurts to generate information right away in order to be able to weed it out later.

2. The Free-Association Game

Start with ONE word – any word that may fall into a category that you are interested in writing or talking about etc… (whatever project you are working on, large or small). Then free-associate from that word. Go out as far as you can away from that word, but then try to make the conscious effort to COME BACK to the word, having gone full circle. (This is a big-time improv exercise and warm-up. In fact, some improv groups open their entire improv SHOW with this exercise. It’s a huge idea generator.)

For example, I will do a free-association with the word(s) ICE CREAM -

Ice Cream –> Cold –> Snow –> Nicknames for Dandruff –> Head & Shoulders –> Body Parts –> Big Toe –> Tow Truck –> Large Fines –> Hefty Fee –> Hefty Trash bags –> Odorless –> What’s that smell? –> Mmm chocolate –> ICE CREAM!

See what I did there? I started at ice cream and then just wrote down the next thing that came to mind, and free associated off the previous word, and eventually, I made my way back to ice cream. Damn. Now I want ice cream.

WHY DO THIS? Sure, free-associating off the word ice cream may seem silly, but we were able to see what one word can lead to. No idea in this exercise is stupid. Start with one thing and you are able to give yourself A LOT of ideas. Ideas = gifts to yourself. Awesome.

3. Get Random

Sometimes you don’t want to write or work in your niche area. You want to STEP OUT and try something different. Try something new. Get to know a different side, a different angle, a different approach. Well, then get random. What do I mean? Well, the interwebs are FULL of  AWESOME random “thing” generators that can become your best friend.

1. Wikipedia RANDOM ARTICLE generator. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/special:Random / if the link doesn’t work). This will take you, quite literally, to a RANDOM article on Wikipedia. Find a random article, read about it, see what ideas come to you when you learn something you perhaps didn’t know before. Education can be the best idea generator.
2. Flickr INTERESTINGNESS. Flickr is an AMAZING network of photographs. Flickr created INTERESTINGNESS, which compiles new photos that have interesting tags, great comments, or a ton of views. But guaranteed, these photos are interesting. This links to the INTERESTING photos from the last 7 days. Check out the new photos – are there any that catch your eye? Any that seem to inspire you? Use the photos for inspiration and ingenious idea generation.
3. Google Wonder Wheel. I discovered the Google Wonder Wheel a while ago and I immediately fell in LOVE. When you do a Google search, click on the little “show options” button. Look about 3/4 of the way down on the left, and you will see the WONDER WHEEL link. The wonder wheel does a cloud of information and links that connect to whatever you are looking for. It is amazing. (I could talk about the Wonder Wheel all day… but I won’t do that here. Maybe I’ll write a whole blog post about the Wonder Wheel… ahh! Look! An IDEA!)
4. Love the words of Famous people. Find a random famous quote. Read it. What does it make you think of? Use it as a jumping off point to a new thought or new idea. Write YOUR OWN quote. Words are extremely powerful and have a huge effect on our imaginations.

WHY DO THIS? Stepping outside of our comfort zone and exploring something that is different, and literally, RANDOM, is fuel for idea generation. We tend to get stuck in a rut when we write or work on the same thing every day. Try something different. I guarantee you will surprise even yourself.

—————

I hope that my crazy brain and my crazy ideas have helped you a little bit.

Tell me: Have you ever tried any of the things that I do? Do you have any techniques of your own? Leave a comment with some of the things YOU like to when writer’s blog hits and when you have simply run out of ideas.

Word.

photo courtesy of sam.i.am.

This past weekend, I was reminded why philanthropic work is so important and why I am so passionate about volunteering as much as you can. (I swear, everything you are about to read has a point… I promise ).

When I was in college, I had the honor of being a part of Phi Mu Fraternity, a women’s social sorority. I didn’t fit in to the typical “sorority girl” stereotype. I played golf, was really into sports, most of my friends were guys, and I didn’t really even know how to put on makeup. Now, a lot of that has changed over the years, but I’m still very much the Molly that I was when I pledged in college. Was really drew me to joining Phi Mu was all the work that Phi Mu did for the community — especially the Children’s Miracle Network (which is also why I have a CMN fundraiser here on my blog –> to the right!). Having been out of college for a few years, I have had the opportunity to stay connected with Phi Mu and am now volunteering my time with the UNC Chapel Hill chapter here in Chapel Hill, NC. The collegiate chapter was in the midst of recruitment this weekend and listening to the girls talk about all they have done in the last few years — it really reemphasized the importance of the work that so many organizations do. It really made me miss my college days, too. So, after thinking more and more about this idea of giving back, which is of course, not a new idea, I thought about how I can incorporate all of that even more into my professional life.

Since I started my business in the realm of blogging, writing, and social media marketing, I have really come to know the importance of acting and exhibiting integrity, honesty, and credibility at all times. Many of the nonprofit organizations I have done work for in the past, taught me a lot of that. I have set myself a goal that I want to volunteer my services to philanthropic causes and work to help organizations that help others.

I challenge you: how do YOU give back? How do YOU work to make things better for others? It just takes a little bit.

Today’s post was short, and may be a little haphazard, but hopefully you get my point. What do YOU think?

So, as most of you know by now, I have expanded my freelancing into the world of social media. I am currently blogging for an awesome company called Just List ‘Em that helps homeowners sell their own home in a non-traditional “For Sale By Owner” way. They are really great and working with them has been a pleasure. Here is an entry I did for them recently on the importance of social media in a business and real estate world. (Oh, and you should follow them on TWITTER. @justlistem.)

Enjoy!

+++++++++++++++++++

After reading a great article by real estate guru, Mike Andrews on Real Estate Marketing in an Online World, I felt compelled to write and share some of my thoughts on a related topic. Whether or not a real estate company, or any company for that matter, is working on marketing, buying, selling, or just listing (pretty close to JUSTLISTEM, am I right?), social media has become a viable venue for building and expanding a business. However, when a business is just starting, or if a business is new to the interactive world, it can be overwhelming to decide how to successfully hit and tackle the right social media outlets–there are SO many.

So, here are a few questions and concerns I want to briefly consider and address:

1. What exactly is social media and why is it so important for business, more specifically real estate?

• Social media, in essence, is the new, hip, and ONLINE version of what face-to-face mixers and organized networking events used to be. (Not to say that those things aren’t valid anymore, because frankly, nothing beats meeting, connecting, and relating to someone face-to-face).
• For real estate etc., social media creates an interactive, responsive, and engaged audience 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Can you honestly say you get that with a print, radio, or television ad presence?
• Real estate can be a tough venue, for anyone, particularly in this economy. When someone is buying or selling a house, stress levels are UP, way up. Social media creates transparency, which ultimately, fosters a more inviting and relatable atmosphere giving potential clients the feeling of working and doing business with a trustworthy resource.

2. Which venues should I tackle first in my social media quest? (Yes, there are a lot of places to start. I say start with the big THREE and work your way from there).

• TWITTER: The micro-blogging, status updating, networking tool-of-champions. Twitter helps connect you to people all over the world. Any business can benefit from the networking power of Twitter.
• FACEBOOK: Quite possibly the largest social networking tool out there. With almost 200 million users, creating a prominent Facebook presence through a group, profile, or fan page sets your real estate business up for far-reaching success.
• BLOGGING. It doesn’t matter where [we like wordpress ], but blogging allows your audience to “hear” your opinion and learn what you know. You are the expert in some area and there are people who want to learn more about that particular topic… therefore, share your expertise, and you are ultimately bound to create a sense of legitimacy among your audience.
• **BiggerPockets.com: This is a great social networking tool for real estate companies. Use it. Share tips. Be awesome.

3. What should I or my business keep in mind when creating an online/social media presence?

• Be honest. Now that your real estate business has an online presence, which is somewhat detached from the general public, the general public is and will be savvy to everything you say.
• Be present. Don’t set these outlets up, post once or twice, and then ditch out on them. You will only be successful if your community is always active.
• Be engaged. Don’t talk AT people all the time. These are called communities for a reason, pose questions, answer questions, share links, respond to hot topics, etc. By becoming active among the communities you participate in, you allow your audience to grow and continue to be responsive. Be a participant, not a lecturer.

So what is the overall lesson here? Don’t just use these tools to use them. Becoming a part of the social media spectrum takes time and commitment. Commit to these things like you would any other part of your business. You wouldn’t set up a time to meet with a potential client and not show up… you would follow through. Treat all of these avenues as a client meeting and FOLLOW THROUGH with each one. You wouldn’t buy a bunch of tools and not build the house. (I like metaphors). We are in the process of practicing exactly what we preach. We recently joined the social media spectrum and we are finding it to be extremely beneficial. In a tough economy, fostering a positive community is key to running a successful business.

Share your thoughts with us!