I Passed my coaching exam!

Posted by scott on Dec 22, 2010 in Coaching, Fun, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Just wanting to share the good news that I finished the course with the School of Coaching Mastery, and passed the exam! Many thanks to Julia Stewart for offering the course!

Because we all need a Sunday in the Park

Posted by scott on Dec 16, 2010 in Fun | 0 comments

Just for fun, I wanted to post a choir performing one of my favorite choral pieces. This is the song, “Sunday” – from the musical, Sunday in the Park with George, by Stephen Sondheim.

May all of our Sundays be this beautiful!

I’m a Guest Blogger at The School of Coaching Mastery!

Posted by scott on Dec 10, 2010 in Coaching, Fun, Networking | 0 comments

Most of you know that I’ve been taking the Free Coach Training Program from Julia Stewart and the School of Coaching Mastery. It’s been a wonderfully great learning journey for me! The test opens this weekend (in the midst of the busiest time I’ve ever seen in my business! When to study..? hmmm..), and hopefully soon I’ll have a nice certificate for this 28-hour coach training program!

A few weeks ago I gave Julia some free tips and tricks on how to maximize her links for search engine optimization, and in turn, she offered me a spot as a guest blogger on the SCM site!

Take a look at my guest blog post at The School of Coaching Mastery. I talk about the quality of this training program, what I learned, and also what I found out about myself in the process.

Many thanks to Julia Stewart for this great opportunity to guest blog!

Use Kickstarter to start your next fundraising project

Posted by scott on Nov 28, 2010 in Fun, Marketing, Networking, Productivity | 0 comments

A few weeks ago, I happened upon Kickstarter.com, when my friend, Ellen Evret Hopman, sent a message that she was wanting to raise money to visit Ireland for inspiration for her next book. Ellen Evret Hopman is an award winning author who has written both fiction and non-fiction books on the topics of Druidry, Celtic Lore and Spirituality, and Herbalism. So naturally I was interested in helping to support her next book project!

Kickstarter is an online site for collecting supporters or pledges to fund any creative project or endeavor. Unlike other fundraising sites, Kickstarter is an “all or nothing” pledging system. For example, if you set a goal of $4000 to fund your project fully, then ask others to support your idea and go to Kickstarter to pledge, only when your total goal of $4000 is reached by pledges will they charge the credit cards of those who pledge. If you don’t reach your goal by 90 days, all pledges are cancelled.

Some of the other great features of Kickstarter are the ability to designate “rewards” for certain levels of pledges, should your project be funded. In Ellen’s case, if you pledge over $3, she will send a postcard to you from Ireland while on her journey. Pledge $50, and if the project is funded, she will send you an autographed copy of the book she’s completing! These are great incentives for inspiring giving, as they keep those who pledge “in the process” and further inspired!

I’m also astounded by the very thorough social media integration they have put in place. You can share a Kickstarter project on Facebook, via Email, via Twitter, and even place a widget on your website to attract more supporters (like what I’ve done in this post for Ellen!).

So, if you have a great idea for your next creative project, but need some funding to get you going, check out Kickstarter and give it a try. In 90 days, you could be well on your way!

What I learned about Social Media from Armin Van Buuren

Posted by scott on Nov 26, 2010 in Fun, Marketing, Networking | 0 comments

This post may seem like complete “fan service” to Armin Van Buuren, the Number ONE Trance DJ in the world for the FOURTH year in a row – but I wanted to share with you all just how wonderfully he uses social media. As well as feeling very uplifted by his music, I’ve learned a lot from him!

First, here’s his latest video that he announced via Twitter (@arminvanbuuren) to his over 275,000 followers on Thanksgiving Day:

Free Rides on MetroTransit’s Northstar Commuter Rail Line

Posted by scott on Nov 15, 2010 in Fun | 0 comments

I thought I’d post a video of my adventure to and from Big Lake, MN on the Northstar Commuter Rail Line. MetroTransit will be offering FREE rides on Northstar, November 16 and 17, 2010. Don’t make my mistake and go a day early!

Special shout outs to Premium Draft for the song, They Don’t Understand (my cousin plays bass guitar in the band!). Also, watch KSTP channel 5 on Nov. 16 at 10pm! I may be in a segment then about ridership on the Northstar Line (I’ll post links if so!).

How social media increased my web traffic

Posted by scott on Nov 11, 2010 in Fun, Marketing, Networking, WordPress | 0 comments

I have to share a little milestone for me and the HolisticGeek.com Website. In the month of October, I saw the hits to my site MORE THAN DOUBLE, and my unique visitors increase by nearly 30%. And since then, my daily unique visitors are surpassing my October average!

I have to credit Angie Glotzback, Social Media Virtual Assistant first for giving me a huge spark in her training and encouragement surrounding Twitter. Her style of teaching and consulting was so light and fun, that it motivated me to get over my resistance and fear of using Twitter within my blog.

Of course, I’ve hence learned that fear and resistance don’t bring a website more hits and visitors. Courage and ACTION bring in more visitors!

So what did I do in addition to Angie’s “nudge” into social media?