Blue Helm

I’ve been thinking a lot this morning about persistence–pushing through the hard times with determination and optimism and faith. Persistence is not just a wonderful business or professional quality, but an essential life attribute. I decided to share today my favorite ten quotes about persistence (in no particular order), but please leave any other good quotes or ideas you have about the subject. This is a topic that never gets old.

“Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn’t know that so it goes on flying anyway.” — Mary Kay Ash

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” — Winston Churchill

“When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” — Calvin Coolidge

“Some give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; while others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than ever before.” — Herodotus

“Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal: my strength lies solely in my tenacity.” — Louis Pasteur

“If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.” — Mary Pickford

“It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.” — Confucius

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people.” — Randy Paush

“Some guys they just give up living, others start dying little by little piece by piece, some guys come home from work and wash up, and go racing in the streets.” — Bruce Springsteen

Here are a few of my favorite social media blogs and why:

ProBlogger and Copyblogger – These two blogs are probably my favorite. They are both chalk full of useful information. They don’t focus so much on the latest news as much as they do on general principle that will last for a very long time. If you want to get a solid understanding of social media and the principles that will fuel your business to success, then you need to read these blogs.

Mashable – If you want up-to-date info on what’s happening in the social media world, this is the blog for you. They cover everything from Facebook and Twitter news to the latest iPhone apps and social networks. In addition to news, they also produce some very helpful how-to posts. Be careful though: if you subscribe to their general RSS feed, your reader will explode daily with new posts. Mashable has a bunch of authors that post often. If you don’t like your reader to feel cluttered then find the authors you like and follow them on Twitter.

Chris Brogan – Every industry has a handful of celebrity-type super stars. You know, those people who speak at every big industry event and who everyone clamors to connect with. In the social media world, Chris Brogan is definitely a celebrity. When I first started following Chris he actually kind of annoyed me. I thought he was a self-promoter and was disingenuous. I was wrong. The more I read his stuff, the more I realize how much he cares and how smart he is. His blog is a great resource for general information on how to become a more powerful user of social media.

The Brand Builder – I really like this blog. Olivier is a strait talker who doesn’t beat around the bush. He will call you out if you’re wrong, but he’ll build you up if you’re right. He brings a great business perspective to social media. He spends a lot of time writing about ROI and measurement.

Inside Facebook – I like reading Inside Facebook because it’s the fastest source for news on Facebook. Facebook is the biggest social network out there and I like to stay up-to-date on what’s happening. I’ll usually just scan through their most recent posts for juicy info.

What are your favorite social media blogs?

Photo By:Ian Britton

Writing the very first post of a brand new blog can be rather intimidating. I have a lot on my mind as I type: social media’s controversial evolution, blogging ethics, Twitter tech glitches, Phil Collins, etc. So instead of trying to make this first post about something complex and multifaceted (like Phil Collins), I will leave you with a straightforward description of what our blog will contain and why I believe it will be valuable to you.

Peter M. Leschak, an accomplished Minnesota author, said: “All of us are watchers—of television, of time clocks, of traffic on the freeway—but few are observers. Everyone is looking, not many are seeing.”

Here at Blue Helm we observe. We strive to see the whole social media picture. We tirelessly monitor what’s going on in the world of Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, FriendFeed, StumbleUpon, Digg….you get the idea.

After we observe, we investigate and evaluate. We’ll recommend what social media trends or crazes are worth your attention. And we’ll offer helpful analysis and how-to advice for individual professionals and companies who want to use social media as a valuable marketing tool. Let me stress the word valuable. Social media offers so much marketing potential and we’ll do our best to make this blog a genuine, interesting and worthwhile blog that addresses all your social media questions and needs. We also want our blog to be a forum where you can engage and give us your thoughts, questions and opinions. Talk to us and we’ll talk back.

For example, let’s pretend your name happens to be, oh I don’t know, Phil Collins. And your job is, let’s imagine, an internationally-renowned jumbo-rock star. Blue Helm’s blog would be a great place for you to visit and discover valuable social media marketing tips for your Facebook page, your Twitter account, your blog or any other social media network that would be beneficial to your business. You may even wake up one morning to find a ‘Social Media Tips for Jumbo-Rock Stars’ blog post in your Google Reader. You could submit feedback or questions and even write a #1 hit single about how awesome Blue Helm is. That’s the kind of value you can expect from us.

Jumping into the world of social media is quite an adventure—with priceless treasures found along the journey. We hope you’ll consider this blog the map to get you where you need to go.

Stay posted. More to come…