Month: November 2012

Here is some interesting research into how “faking it” actually works… in some ways. Fundamentally, it seems that how we use our bodies affects us more than we might think–as in literally affects how our bodies function (hormones like cortisol and testosterone) and that affects how we think.

It also affects how others perceive us. You might not feel powerful, but striking an “expansive” pose can subtly signal others that you are, and that means you’ll get greater attention.

The combination can be a powerful tool to getting what you want in business.

Pay attention to the other side of that, though, as the article mentions. It’s not about being a bully. It’s not about being a dictator. It’s about using your body to attract a certain level and kind of attention that encourages others to follow you, to buy into your story.

Of course, that means you have to have a good story as well. By story, I mean either your marketing message or your plan for a particular project… whatever you are trying to, for lack of a better term, sell in that context.

The best stories, by the way, are true ones. You had better believe in your story first or no amount of posing will make others buy into it.

So the cloud is still hosed. Oh well.

I can’t blame everything on the cloud, unfortunately. A lot of the delay was by my own choice. See, I’ve had a month, well, more like a month and a half, from hell. Now, my hell isn’t as bad as others’ hells, but for me, it was enough that I had to make some choices about what I could and could not accomplish. I put off doing a podcast and have completely bailed on the Manual for this month (monthly subscribers got their money refunded–if any of you annual subscribers want a refund, please contact me!).

What actually happened to me isn’t really important, but I will tell you that a big part of it involved finding out that my email had been, for lack of a better term, hacked. Someone I know had been accessing it for a long time–years, in fact. The feeling of being invaded… I can’t express it fully. It’s enough to make one hurl.

Luckily, the invasion was not into my legal work’s email (that would have been all sort of worse!) nor (apparently) my actual computer, but still… imagine having your email read without your knowledge… for years. Yeah, creepy as all get out.

So, part of my delay has been that I didn’t want to do anything until I figured out the extent of the invasion (hence no blog posts, etc.). Then I was delayed while I changed over my hosting, etc.

It’s been a big pain. And a costly one (not just financially).

So, having been through this, here is my advice to you: never ever ever share your login information with anyone, no matter how close to you. Sadly, we never really know some people and what can happen should the relationship sour (or even if it doesn’t!) can lead to your privacy being utterly violated.

If you want your digital self deleted or otherwise managed at your demise, put your login info in a document in a safety deposit box or something. Or check out some of these services or read how the issue is being approached by estate planners and lawyers here.

Prevention, as they say, is much cheaper in the long run.

Anyway, for me, my life is getting back to some semblance of normal on the technical side. I’m now being hosted by the fabulous people at dogbark.com (where if you contact support you will still interact with a real, live human and one here in the USA) who made a complicated transition as painless as possible. Seriously, they did all the lifting. Good people.

And getting that done will give me more time to write here, and a new Manual next month, and podcasts.

… that is, if my app company can get the cloud worked out. 😉

I have a podcast I’ve been trying to upload for those of you who have the BAP2Go app, but the cloud server is hosed and the techies haven’t figured it out yet. The irony? The title and topic of the podcast is Life Happens–how things sometimes just make you (sort of) fail and how to accept that and get through it.

This month has very much been that for me. It’s been a tough one personally and I’ve failed in keeping some promises to you–like getting the podcast up in time. It’s hilariously ironic that I can’t share that with you until they get the cloud fixed.