Become a travel ‘Ironman’–9 tips | Travel Research Online

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Become a travel ‘Ironman’–9 tips

Do you know Peter Shankman? I don’t personally, but I do follow him on Twitter and I am also a fan of his on Facebook. But, before you read any further, please take a minute and do these three things and you will be better off for it—like him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter, and subscribe to his blog’s feed.

Now for the backstory, Peter took a risk and founded a company called HARO which is an acronym for Help A Reporter Out. The concept is simple. Reporters need sources and everyone is a source on something. HARO puts them together. Here is another tip. Sign up as a source for HARO and help your business grow. HARO was a huge success and was recently acquired giving Peter the ability to share his expertise on social marketing to the masses.

From what I know, Peter was like a lot of us—overweight with a penchant for crappy food. He decided to do something about it. He embarked on a fitness regimen with the ultimate goal of becoming an Ironman. For those who don’t know, an Ironman is a singular race where the athletes swim for 2.4 miles, get out of the water and bike for 112 more miles and finish up with a full marathon of running 26.2 miles.  How is that for a goal?

He completed the race a few weeks ago and posted a blog entry with some of his thoughts. He brings out several salient points which can never be reinforced enough for you to be successful in business. Sure, they are simplistic, but if you keep these tips in mind, you will be well on your way to being your own “ironman”. Here are 9 tips from Peter Shankman.

  1. Keep a journal. If you’re forced to write down what you’re doing/eating/spending/whatever each day, you have accountability to it. And accountability is one of the biggest aids to turning abstract into concrete.
  2. Nothing ever works 100% the way you plan it. Adaptability will always be key.
  3. Find your own motivation from outside your circle – Whatever it may be – Political, faith, movies, TV, whatever – Keep an Evernote file so that every time you find a new one, you can add the link right to the file. When you need a pep talk, there you go!
  4. No matter how “on pace” things seem, know that there are never any guarantees. I thought I had an extra 105 seconds – I was wrong! Be ready!
  5. Do nice things for others, as much as you can.
  6. You never know where help is going to come from. When you think you’re as alone as you could ever, ever possibly be, know that you’re not, and someone is always there, even if you don’t know it. I’m not overly religious or anything, but there was a person in the right place at the right time, someone I didn’t know, who I needed, right when I needed him most? Makes you think. Always smile, even if you’re hurting.
  7. Support teams are so important, both in racing and in life. Have people you can count on, and use them when you can, but know that at the end of the day, while a support team can support, you actually have to do the work.
  8. Fear tastes good. Try new things. Fear keeps you nimble. It keeps you hungry. It makes you do amazing things.
  9. Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right. Totally cheesy, but totally true. When I was on the bike, I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish, and I believed it. By the time I got to the run, I realized I could, so I did.

But please take the time to read the post, it is truly an inspiring story and these 9 tips have now earned a place above my desk for 2011!

As the year comes to a close, Travel Research Online also takes a partial break. We will finish out the Travel Agent Diary series for 2010 on December 21st and 28th and will have an intro to the 2011 series sometime between the 28th and the 31st. We will hit the ground running on January 1, 2011 with fresh ideas and fresh thoughts to share with you.

I have said it before, but it is a true pleasure to work with everyone here at Travel Research Online; and by everyone, I include each and every reader, and each and every member of the TRO Community. This site was never designed to be anyone’s site. It was designed to be everyone’s!

Happy New Year!

JWF Sig No Background try two

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