Yearly Archives: 2011

The Conversation

The other day I was having lunch with a friend. My friend has a business. He is a realtor. This business, like most, would benefit greatly from the use of a blog and social tools to both communicate to current clients and capture new ones. The problem: He thinks he doesn’t have anything to write about. He says he gets there, logs in, but does not know what to say. He sweats over the details. The words. The subject. Everything. He tells me this, seeking my help. So, here is what I told him and the secret I’m going to give you: Every conversation you have contains something to write about. If it’s interesting enough to have a conversation about, it’s interesting enough to write about and, if it’s not, you should not waste your time talking or writing. I’m not talking about idle chit-chat here (though that could be great too). I’m talking about conversations where real value and information is exchanged. Casual or not. The post is right there, waiting for you to capture it, share it. For instance, here are the things I learned in the five minute conversation we had when I asked him, “How’s business going?”:

  1. In this market, you can get a 2,500-3,000 square foot house with three bedrooms and two baths for under $200,000. Compared to even a couple of years ago, it’s a bargain.
  2. There are plenty of great house deals like this and plenty of people to buy. The problem is the bank’s willingness to loan. The problem in getting a loan is easily solved with the right Mortgage Broker. He has a guy that has relationships with 30+ banks and can get a loan for just about anyone.
  3. Part of his job is, up front, assessing if he and the client are the right fit. He wants to be your guy. Therefore, he asks a few up front questions of perspective clients. Like, what’s their name. Many people don’t even want to give that. They are afraid that will somehow make a commitment. That he will be looking them up and cold calling them every five minutes. In fact, that is the last thing he will do. Why would any reputable business person want to start a relationship with someone who does not want to. How can he even know if he can get you the right house if you won’t even give him your name?

Guess what I told him? In five minutes he came up with his first three blog posts. Information that would be valuable to any current or perspective client. Ideas that can then be promoted with a single tweet or status update. Also, if we could come up with that in five minutes just think of what we could come up in an hour long lunch. A meeting. A phone call. Especially with a colleague or client. Do you also see something else? It’s hiding right in front of your eyes… This post. This post is from that same conversation. I start with “nothing to write about” and in five minutes of casual conversation I have something to share. It’s like magic. But it’s not. It’s called writing.

Listen to What You Love

I’ve been meaning to speak about this for a while. Namely, this: If you have music you don’t enjoy in your iTunes library, why?

Is it that you bought it before you realized it was not your thing and now feel like deleting it would be throwing money away?

Is it because it was a gift and you feel like deleting it would somehow dishonor the thought?

Do you have your music on a shared system with your spouse/significant other/family/roommate and you have different or only slightly overlapping musical tastes?

I don’t claim to have the answers to any of these. In fact, I’m likely just a guilty as anyone else. Especially if you have a large music library, it can take a while to go through it all and decide what to keep and what to delete.

That said, this is even more of a reason to turn on shuffle from time to time and let the random happen. And, while the random is happening, take the time to rate each song as you hear it. It only takes a few seconds and can prove invaluable for separating the wheat from the chaff. That way, even if you don’t or can’t delete the music you don’t like, you can at least focus in on the stuff you do. How? Well, with Smart Playlists of course. Here are a few that I use:

Here is the stuff that has never been played in your library. Start here. I limit mine to a manageable and not overwhelming amount. I play these and rate them as I go along.

Here is new stuff I have added and not yet played. Once again, I take pains to rate this stuff as I listen to it so that I can do the work up front.

Once again, a manageable chunk. No need to give yourself more pressure. Rate a few and a few more will be there when you are ready to get back to it. Do it enough and you will know where everything in your library stands.

Because then… Then… You can do stuff like this:

Boom! 

You now have the greatest playlist in the world filled with stuff you at least like more than average. Every single song will be great.

You can also do this:

These are the things you should ask questions about. 

Keeping It Straight – You, Me, & Everything Else

Sometimes, you don’t even know you are writing a book until you have done so. A writer who writes primarily for online publishing, who is used to publishing in essay form, does not always see the individual items emerging into a meaningful whole. Then, one day, you look up and realize that you have something. That this thing belongs with another thing. That, perhaps, all of these things want to be together and live on as a collected body of work. This is a core of a book.

It is with great pride (and a certain sense of relief) that I release my very first book. It’s titled Keeping It Straight – You, Me, & Everything Else. It’s available today in both paperback and eBook form. I would be humbled and honored if you would consider buying a copy.

Keeping It Straight is a collection of short essays that explore topics such as mindfulness, compassion, truth, and living a purposeful and productive life. There’s plenty of practical advice to take away as well. For instance, how to deal with email overload and sensible task management.

Here is what some others have already had to say about it:

“Patrick’s writing is like warm butter on dry toast. Each page is full of musings and personal discoveries from Patrick’s life that will make you think about how you’re spending your time and energy, and, more importantly, it will make you think about what priorities are most important in your own life.” – Shawn Blanc

“Fans of David Allen’s ‘Getting Things Done’ will instantly embrace Patrick Rhone’s work. Patrick offers the “Why” to GTD’s “How.” – Randy Murray

“Patrick is a wonderful writer and many of the thoughts he conveys in this book compel you to put the book down right where you are in order to make some real changes in your life.” – Ben Brooks

Keeping It Straight is a delightful mixture of advice, reflection and exploration that reads like a poem. Patrick’s honest, genuine approach to a iety of topics from happiness to efficiency make this book a joy to read. Highly recommended. – Brett Kelly

Most of this book has been written over the past few years, originally published online in ious forms, for ious projects and in many locations. While most of these ideas are out there, somewhere amongst my uncollected works on the internet, and available for free, everything in this book is different from the original. These are now collected, professionally edited, and presented in the way these ideas seem destined to live on – together. Also, I believe you will find that many take on a new life in this form.

Finally, I’d like to thank all who have helped make this possible especially Randy (and Penny) at First Today Press, Aaron at Wet Frog Studios, and Pat Dryburgh for designing the book website.

Buy it today: