The Positive Pledge
I pledge to be a positive person and positive influence on my family, friends, co-workers and community.
I promise to be positively contagious and share more smiles, laughter, encouragement and joy with those around me.
I vow to stay positive in the face of negativity.
When I am surrounded by pessimism I will choose optimism.
When I feel fear I will choose faith.
When I want to hate I will choose love.
When I want to be bitter I will choose to get better.
When I experience a challenge I will look for opportunity to learn and grow.
When faced with adversity I will find strength.
When I experience a set-back I will be resilient.
When I meet failure I will fail forward towards future success.
With vision, hope, and faith, I will never give up and will always move forward towards my destiny.
I believe my best days are ahead of me, not behind me.
I believe I’m here for a reason and my purpose is greater than my challenges.
I believe that being positive not only makes me better, it makes everyone around me better.
So today and every day I will be positive and strive to make a positive impact on the world.
♥
You Don't Know Jack About Public Relations
It seems whenever I explain to someone I’ve just met socially that I’m a public relations executive, I’m typically asked one of two questions:
“So, what did you think of the Super Bowl commercials?”
…or…
“So, how many politicians do you have in your pocket?”
When I respond by saying I have no more knowledge of advertising than the average Joe or that I detest politics and politicians, the interrogator always responds with a blank stare and asks, “Well, then, what’s public relations?”
-via Inc magazine, 2012
One of the best PR-related articles I’ve read in a long time. Well said, Steve Cody!
Have you, too, been misunderstood? What are some of the most far-fetched assumptions about public relations you have encountered?
There’s nothing more classically “Oscar” than the beautiful Audrey Hepburn, seen in this video, accepting her Oscar for “Roman Holiday”.
My fascination with the Oscars that were is reborn every February during the Oscars red carpet, and yet, my expectations always seem to fall just a little bit short of Audrey (unsurprisingly). That being said, I’ll take the seemingly unreal glamour at least once a year. Cheers to the night’s big winners — in film and on the red carpet!
Be sure to check out LIFE’s compilation of best Oscar photos. The archive gets better and better each year.
Who do you most look forward to seeing tonight?
The Voice: Geoff McBride
When it comes to the voice, he’s got it, and when it comes to NBC’s “The Voice,” he’s well on his way to showcasing it to the entire world, as part of Team Christina (Aguilera, for all of you hiding under a rock). But long before his powerful blind audition got him a coveted two I Want You’s from the show’s judges (X-Tina and Cee-lo, respectively), Geoff McBride was the voice.
Last year, at First Note Music Hall in beautiful Santa Rosa Beach, Geoff’s voice covered me in goosebumps during his rendition of “Georgia on My Mind.” [Fittingly, Christina’s post-audition feedback to Geoff was, “The very first note you hit blew me away…”] Since, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know Geoff better through his lovely wife Lisa, whose pride and joy for Geoff’s dream-come-true is both touching and inspiring. No doubt Geoff has a powerful can-cover-it-all voice (from country to jazz to the blues, he can belt it out), but it’s the soul that makes him the whole package. At 51, Geoff isn’t some young guy idly chasing fame or fortune; music is part of his family and his family, his life. To Geoff, singing isn’t just about hitting all the notes or releasing great singles; it’s truly about love: for his wife, for his kids, for his art and for his late father, to whom he dedicated his audition on The Voice. Somewhere in Heaven, the senior McBride is smiling and dancing.
Tune in to The Voice tomorrow night on NBC to see what’s next for Geoff. I’m personally so excited to have the opportunity to root him on through a national competition and hope we all have the opportunity to cast our votes for him soon. In the meantime, you can “like” Geoff on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter. And don’t forget to download his first The Voice single, “Higher Ground,” on iTunes.
Will you be watching Geoff on The Voice this season? What other songs would you like to hear him sing?
Yes, yes and yes. I’m so happy to see Taylor Swift step outside of her country comfort and use her soft vocal prowess in this kind of song. It’s definitely more musically grown-up and organic — and I like it. Combine it with The Civil Wars Grammy-winning folksy twist, and the song is haunting.
Hold onto this lullaby
Even when the music’s gone…
Not to mention, it’s the first single off of The Hunger Games soundtrack! What a great way to kick off what’s sure to be an award-winning movie franchise. Let the games begin…
This melted my non-Valentine’s Day-celebrating heart. Fellow info-junkies everywhere, rejoice! With this infographic, a new engagement proposal trend is born.
*Photo courtesy of Mashable
Facebook is Using You
As someone straddling both sides of the fence (as a Facebook user of 7+ years and as a communications professional), I have a difficult time taking a “side” on this issue. It’s one not going away anytime soon and one which will be looked into in depth time and time again. In this age of an overload of online content, Google, Facebook, Twitter and countless players and aggregators in between, who uses who? And should they?
Article: Lori Andrews, The New York Times, Feb. 4, 2012
VIDEO: Some joyful, some tragic and others inspiring, heartbreaking or uplifting, these were some of the pivotal moments that marked 2011, as aggregated by Google Zeitgeist.
Despite pivotal moments in politics, the economy and global relations at large, the list of the 10 fastest-rising global queries on Google provides insight into our generation’s focus on technology, social media, entertainment and “celebrity.” Are your searches reflected on this list?
From a personal perspective, as I look back on 2011, it has been a year marked with invaluable learning experiences and opportunities, change, emotional growth, friendship, love and progress. It was also a year of loss, remembrance and gratitude.
We made it.
What did 2011 mean to you?
Who would’ve thought little Saint Nick would have plenty of sound public relations advice stashed in that big ol’ red bag of his? Turns out, public relations practitioners have quite a few lessons to learn from Santa Claus - six, in fact! - according to this entertaining and poignant piece by Joe Vasquez, posted on Ragan’s PR Daily.
While I have always been a fan of Santa, his penchant for closely following the “ROPE” model of public relations and for even including the stewardship “S” to it (for good measure) makes me giddy. Fellow enthusiastic PR pros (read: nerds), rejoice; ’tis the season of good PR! With these Santa-proof lessons, you’ll be feeling jolly well into the New Year:
1. Make a list, and check it twice.
2. Plan, prepare and deliver.
3. Share everything.
4. Ho! Ho! Ho!
5. Big rep(utation)
6. Show you care.
*Photo: © Doug Savage 2010, courtesy of Ragan’s PR Daily
Chloë Cahill: Christmas in the City
Just in time for Christmas, my dear childhood friend, Chloë Cahill, has released a delightful five-track album of some of her favorite holiday tunes — all recorded in the style of the one and only Chloë. From “Silent Night,” to “Mary Did You Know,” her voice is flawlessly merry and bright. Without a doubt, “Christmas Song” will have you feeling jolly well into the New Year.
You can download your own digital copy of Christmas in the City, for free, here. Be sure to follow Chloë on Twitter and like her on Facebook for the latest Chloë music news and updates. Learn more about Chloë’s Christmas in the City project here.
Happy listenin’!
If you’ve already downloaded the album, let me know what you think. Which is your favorite song?
