PFW003

Transcript:

How to Easily Publish Great, Simple Problem-Solving Tips

Publishing Farm Weeklies Episode 3

It’s easier to tell the world where to go when you now how.
Of course, it took two weeks to figure out all the details. Simple enough to tell you all about it in that last couple of podcasts.
What took time was grooving in the lines and sequences.
But last night, I finally got it all published down every line I could, and that was after a couple of weeks of writing, and graphics, and videos, and so on.
And now, we have:

• A new Amazon book, also published through Lulu to everywhere else.
• A new podcast with a long blog post, based on the content of that ebook.
• A shorter Linked In article, with 8 images. (Posts on Tuesday.)
• An even shorter audio file with those 8 images making a video.
• And those 8 images then becoming an infographic.
• And those 8 images also becoming a slide-deck.

The trick was to get all these created – which had been strictly an early-adopter scene.
Even though I’ve been talking about this literally for years – it’s only been recently where I’ve found content marketers like Brian Clark and Joe Pulizzi starting to mention “mining” their old content to create new materials.
Of course, I could just keep going on this, but most of you aren’t here to learn how to publish books – so I’ll save that for a different podcast.
The bottom line of Marketing is in how to help people improve their lives. To do this, you need to reach them where they are – with your solutions.
And that is the whole reason for taking one piece of data, one idea, and producing all these different formats – and on all these different platforms.
No two people use exactly the same social networks or visit the same book stores, or just like to listen as opposed to watching or reading – or some combination of these.
So marketing has become a bit of a shot-gun approach in this area. But the whole reason for inventing shotguns was to spread out a lot of little pellets toward a target – instead of sending one single bullet.
I wish I had a better analogy, since the end result of Marketing is improved lives and improved living.
It’s been used for a lot of different things, but that’s the core of it. When you get away from that, people distrust you – but when you use it for the reason it was invented, then you’ll succeed beyond your wildest dreams.
And so will the people you market to.
– – – –
What I’m here for is to help you improve your life.
Simple: I’m only here to help you.
The approach we are currently on is to bring these 6 books back to life as tools you can use. They’re all there in your free membership, so get them today if you don’t have them. And sign up if you’ve just got this podcast from somewhere.
These 6 books all interconnect with each other, and give you a collection of tools which help you Be and Have anything and everything you ever dreamed of.
I say that a lot, but it’s true. So I’ll repeat it as much as needed.
Right now, I’m working out how to get a bunch of small books up online that simply promote these larger works.
Along with that, we’re reproducing all these books as their own podcasts – so people can listen in and get the messages they want. These podcasts will repeat once they complete – so new listeners will be able to get the data they need.
Of course, we’ll go back through each of their episodes to add in the new material and even re-mix the audio to keep improving the quality.
You’ll also start seeing all the other materials in that list above start to show up. Imagine if you were studying a book and someone created an infographic for every single chapter, just so you could get the key points quickly. Or a video which you could either watch or simply listen to.
Our point in creating all these materials is to help you anyway we can, with materials we feel you can use as a starting point, or a basic tool. You’ll acquire other tools as you go, but these are a core set.
And as you and I go along, there are some other books I could recommend. Where an author mentions a certain book, I’ll be working to dig these up and make them available for you. If those other books are really popular, then I can run them through as above so you can listen or read or watch – however you want to get this data.
The object is – help you to help yourself better.
Just let me know what you’d like to see or hear or read – and about what problem or pain areas you would like more help with.
OK – that’s enough for this week.
I’ll leave you with the usual advice to opt-in, sign up, and study hard at whatever you’re interested in.
See you next week.

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Two Amazing Ways to Solve Your Problems

Eight Ways to Solve Any Problem

For any problem, no matter how big or complex it may be, there is a solution. Use these eight steps to find it!

What are the similarities in problem solving, decision making, and goal achievement?

Actually, they're alike in many ways. A decision that must be made is little more than a problem awaiting a solution. We might even call it a simple problem.

When we're faced with a decision, we rarely have to choose between more than two or three alternatives, whereas, in solving a problem, we sometimes face what seems to be an endless list of possibilities.

And, what about goal achievement? Isn't a goal a point we wish to reach? The problem is to move from where we are now, to where we want to be.

So, problem solving, decision making, and goal achievement are all closely related functions of creative thinking.

It's important that we keep this in mind.

The first step in solving any problem is to define it.

You should always be sure you understand a problem before you go to work on its solution.

Next, you should write down everything you know about the problem.

This information might come from your own experience, from books that contain background and statistical data, the Internet, or from friends and business associates who know something about the area in which the problem lies.

Third, decide whom to see.

List the names of people and organizations that are recognized authorities on the problem. This is your opportunity to go "all out" for the facts.

After determining who can help you, contact them, talk with them, and pick their brains for all the information they possess that can help you solve the problem.

After doing this...

Be sure to make a note...

...of each thing that's germane to the problem. Don't risk forgetting anything that could help you find the solution.

The fifth step in solving a problem creatively is called...

"Individual Ideation."

This is personal "brainstorming," or thinking with the brakes of judgment off! Don't try to decide whether an idea is good or bad -just write it down the moment it comes to you. You can pick and choose - what you're after is a lot of ideas.

Remember the four rules for brainstorming: (a) No negative thinking; (b) The wilder the ideas, the better; (c) A large number of ideas is essential; and (d) Combination and improvement of ideas is what you're after.

One idea often leads to another, better idea. Don't worry if some of your ideas seem far-fetched or impractical. You're looking for all the ideas you can possibly find.

Don't reject any – write them all down!

Then Group Brainstorm.

This is your opportunity to put the minds of others to work on the problem. Handle this session the same way you did your "Individual Ideation." No negative thinking, no criticism at this stage; the wilder the ideas the better; get as many ideas as possible; and, try for idea combination and improvement. Write down all the ideas the group comes up with.

When you have all your ideas written down...

Rate them for effectiveness and facility.

The effectiveness scale ranges from "very effective" to "probably effective" to "doubtful." And the facility scale ranges from "easy" to "not so easy" to "difficult."

The rating of ideas will clearly indicate the likely success of any possible solution. Of course, it's best to consider first the idea or ideas that are rated both "very effective" and "easy."

There are many other evaluation yardsticks you might use. Two more are time and money. Try rating your ideas against these measurements.

For example, in the case of a manufacturer who wants to increase its sales, certainly to change the product would take a great deal of time and money. And to advertise it on a popular network television program would cost a great deal.

On the other hand, to introduce a new sales incentive program might be neither too costly nor too time consuming.

Remember, when you evaluate your ideas, measure them against these four yardsticks: effectiveness, facility, time, and cost.

Every idea you have may not be worth creative action, and that's why you must skillfully evaluate each of them. But once you've carefully judged your ideas, take action.

Enter your ideas into an "Action Plan"

Decide who should do it, when it should be done, when to start, and how to do it. These are all important considerations because the execution of the solution is just as important as the solution itself.

Be certain to give yourself a deadline for putting your plan into action. We work hardest and most efficiently when we know there is a definite time element involved.

So, make a note of the date when you must put your solution to work.

You might write down a second date -the one by which you intend to have the action completed and the problem solved.

In Closing...

Remember what was said earlier about problem solving, decision making, and goal achievement? They have a great deal in common. They can all be attacked in much the same way.

For any problem ... no matter how big or complex it may be ... there is a solution. All you have to do is find it!

History is filled with people who believed a problem did not have a solution and they did not find it, and people who believed there was a solution and they did find it.

Same problem, different perspective, one successful and one not.

Which type of person will you be? 

Want to know more? Click to read (and listen, watch) the longer original version of this article at LiveSensical.com

This is an excerpt from a new release on Amazon, "2 Amazing Ways to Solve Your Problems." Soon available on iTunes, Nook, GooglePlay, and Kobo.

Get your complimentary PDF and audio files for this release - currently available only at LiveSensical.com.