WordPress.com and Rebrand Cities want to Support Local Small Businesses—

WordPress.com Teams Up with Rebrand Cities:

Inside Plan to Work with 10,000 Small Businesses—
WordPress.com / Rebrand Cities initiative to provide online tools and workshops/training to drive resources to businesses that lack access, while highlighting some amazing stories of people that may have otherwise been overlooked.

 Cities are collections of neighborhoods — and neighborhoods are powered by small business. From coffee shop owners to fitness instructors, therapists to thrift stores, it’s the people we see in the storefronts next door who build and reinforce the unique character of our cities.  WordPress.com and Rebrand Cities want to support local businesses as they grow their own communities (and their revenue!) on the open web.— Full Article by Mark Armstrong.

WordPress.com / Rebrand Cities collaboration kicked off in Detroit, see the results of that collaboration. Courtesy of Automattic:

There are 28 Million small businesses that drive the American economy, forty-six percent (46%) of these entities operate without a website. The absence of a web presence has led to trillions of dollars of unrealized business in neighborhoods all across America. — Learn More on How to Get Involved!

Poboycorp!
An Online Network Presentation / Publication

“Opportunities will come and go, but if you do nothing about them, so will you.” ―

START Something Stupid!:
What if the smartest people in the world understand something that the rest of us don’t? (They do.)
What if they know that in order to achieve success, they will sometimes have to do things that others may initially perceive as stupid? The fact of the matter is that the smartest people in the world don’t run from stupid, they lean into it (in a smart way).

In The Power of Starting Something Stupid, Richie Norton redefines stupid as we know it, demonstrating that life-changing ideas are often tragically mislabeled stupid. What if the key to success, creativity, and fulfillment in your life lies in the potential of those stupid ideas? This deeply inspiring book will teach you:

How to crush fear, make dreams happen, and live without regret.
How to overcome obstacles such as lack of time, lack of education, or lack of money.
The 5 actions of the New Smart to achieve authentic success.

Download Your Free 37-Page Action Guide to Make Your STUPID Idea Your SMART Reality: The 76 Day Challenge!

'I don’t do book reviews normally, but yesterday a trusted friend introduced me to Richie and I’m pretty sure it was providential. This book spoke to me at just the right time. You see, I’ve been working on a post about fear. Thought I had the perfect title, too – No Fear: What Are You Afraid Of? The irony is, of course, that I was afraid to post this post.'

Richie Norton spoke at the annual #L2E conference and 'absolutely blew our minds.'

Don't wait. Start stuff. @RichieNorton has “written a book about courage. The courage to do work that matters and to do it with your heart and your soul. Go make something happen.”
— Seth Godin, author of The Icarus Deception.



How To Travel For A Living?
“I always wondered what it must have been like to see these different places, I loved my childhood, but I always dreamt of the open road.”— Johnny Ward: Made $1 Million In 3 Years And Is Visiting Every Country On Earth.

This 31-year-old is now on a quest to become one of the youngest people to visit every country in the world. Having visited about 160 countries at the time of publication, he expects to reach the last of the 193 countries on his list by the end of next summer. Here’s how he has made a living traveling. Article by Laura Shin via Forbes

The rise of native advertising: So, Are Mommy Bloggers Doomed?

Heather Armstrong’s Dooce once drew millions of readers. Her blog’s semi-retirement speaks to the challenges of earning money as an individual blogger today.
Full Article by Olga Khazan via The Atlantic



We are all dazzled by the notion that there are some people who get ahead, who reach the corner office because they are simply gifted, or well-connected, or both.
But research shows that we far overvalue talent and intellectual ability in our culture.

The fact is, so many people get ahead--even the gifted ones--because they worked incredibly hard, put in the thousands of hours of practice and extra sweat equity, and made their own luck. And Linda and Robin should know--they are two girls from the Bronx who had no special advantages or privileges and rose up through their own hard work and relentless drive to succeed to the top of their highly competitive profession.— Grit to Great.

Poboycorp!
Don’t be afraid to be yourself— Go after what you truly want—

Living in a world that equates uber success with the “it” factor:http://t.co/QpCbp32gsU It's true—"Anyone can have a voice on the internet."

— Po'boycorp (@poboycorp) September 6, 2015

An Online Network Presentation/Publications:
Don’t let a rotten economy spoil your goals. Use the career and money advice in The Millennial Game Plan to get and stay ahead for good. Blueprint and tips on navigating new opportunities. The best way to succeed is by starting within.

A timeless message for people of all ages:

Connor Franta, 'A Work In Progress'

Don’t be afraid to be yourself— go after what you truly want!

In this intimate memoir of life beyond the camera, Connor Franta shares the lessons he has learned on his journey from small-town boy to Internet sensation—so far. Here, Connor offers a look at his Midwestern upbringing as one of four children in the home and one of five in the classroom; his struggles with identity, body image, and sexuality in his teen years; and his decision to finally pursue his creative and artistic passions in his early twenties, setting up his thrilling career as a YouTube personality, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and tastemaker.

Exploring his past with insight and humor, his present with humility, and his future with hope, Connor reveals his private struggles while providing heartfelt words of wisdom for young adults.

His words will resonate with anyone coming of age in the digital era, but at the core is a timeless message for people of all ages: don’t be afraid to be yourself and to go after what you truly want.


This full-color collection includes photography and childhood clippings provided by Connor and is a must-have for anyone inspired by his journey.

CF, an American YouTube vlogger, writer and entrepreneur.

Inspired by other YouTube vloggers such as Shane Dawson and Mitchell Davis, Franta uploaded his first video to YouTube in August 2010.

He has more than 250 million views on his channel and over 4.7 million subscribers, making it the 145th most subscribed channel in the world. In 2014, Franta was nominated for a Teen Choice Award in the "Web Star: Male" category. Now, Let' have an open conversation w/ CF . . .
Warning!, This Video May Offend You. It's as simple as that.
Other Projects: Franta has recently become involved in various entrepreneurial enterprises, including a clothing line, music curation, as well as a coffee and lifestyle brand named Common Culture. It's true —"Anyone can have a voice on the internet."


GRIT; Humanity’s Great Equalizer

Sadly, we live in a world that equates uber success with the “it” factor – having Mensa sized intelligence, virtuoso talent, or incredible wealth. But, in fact, research has shown that only 2% of born prodigies ever amount to anything in life. Yet 98% of the world’s most successful people possess, not the “it” factor, but the “grit” factor – guts, resilience, initiative and tenacity. Case in point, Colin Powell was a C- student all through college, Michael Jordan couldn’t make his high school varsity basketball team, and Steven Spielberg was rejected from film school – twice! What propelled them to extraordinary success was a winning combo of determination and perseverance to achieve their goals, no matter how lofty, no matter how far reaching. And the best thing about possessing the “grit” factor, we have found, is that anyone can develop it, whether you’re eight or eighty eight.– 98% of the world’s most successful people possess, not the “it” factor, but the “grit” factor. GRIT: 'The Four Letter Word'

In Grit to Great, Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval tackle a topic that is close to their hearts, one that they feel is the real secret to their own success in their careers--and in the careers of so many people they know and have met. And that is the incredible power of grit, perseverance, perspiration, determination, and sheer stick-to-it-tiveness.

We are all dazzled by the notion that there are some people who get ahead, who reach the corner office because they are simply gifted, or well-connected, or both. But research shows that we far overvalue talent and intellectual ability in our culture.

The fact is, so many people get ahead--even the gifted ones--because they worked incredibly hard, put in the thousands of hours of practice and extra sweat equity, and made their own luck. And Linda and Robin should know--they are two girls from the Bronx who had no special advantages or privileges and rose up through their own hard work and relentless drive to succeed to the top of their highly competitive profession.


In a book illustrated with a cornucopia of stories and the latest research on success, the authors reveal the strategies that helped them, and countless others, succeed at the highest levels in their careers and professions, and in their personal lives. They talk about the guts--the courage--necessary to take on tough challenges and not give up at the first sign of difficulty. They discuss the essential quality of resiliency. Everyone suffers setbacks in their careers and in life. The key, however, is to pick yourself up and bounce back. Drawing on the latest research in positive psychology, they discuss why optimists do better in school, work, and on the playing field--and how to reset that optimistic set point. They talk about industriousness, the notion that Malcolm Gladwell popularized with the 10,000-hour rule in his book Outliers. Creativity theorist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi believes it takes a minimum of 10 years for one's true creative potential to be realized. And the authors explore the concept of tenacity--the quality that allows us to remain focused and avoid distraction in order to get the job done--an increasingly difficult task in today's fragmented, cluttered, high-tech, connected world.

Written in the same short, concise format as The Power of Nice and leavened with the natural humor that characterizes Linda's and Robin's lives--and books--Grit to Great is destined to be the book everyone in business needs.

“You don’t need to be brilliant or incredibly talented to become hugely successful. But what you do need is to read this book. Grit to Great teaches us all how to develop our grit quotient so almost any goal is possible.” –James Patterson, bestselling author, former CEO of J. Walter Thompson

“An insightful guide to achieving success in work and life, filled with real-life stories, tools and techniques that can help us all live with more passion, perseverance and resilience.” – Arianna Huffington


Grit to Great: How Perseverance, Passion, and Pluck Take You from Ordinary to Extraordinary by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval .

About the Authors

Linda Kaplan Thaler is responsible for some of America’s most famous, relevant and touching advertising campaigns in the industry, including the Aflac duck quack heard round the world and the daring “Yes, Yes, Yes” for Clairol Herbal Essences. Much of her work has become part of the American pop-culture landscape. She has authored and composed jingles that are among the industry’s gold standard, including “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up, I’m a Toys ‘R’ Us Kid,” and “Kodak Moments.” Of her 13 Clio Awards, two were for Best Original Music and Lyrics.

Koval, Robin - American Legacy Foundation
Robin Koval leads Legacy®, the nation’s largest public health foundation devoted to the issue of tobacco use prevention and cessation. As a leader in the world of advertising and marketing for more than 25 years, her impressive background pairs up perfectly with the foundation’s public education mandate, particularly in relation to its innovative youth tobacco prevention counter-marketing campaign truth®and the evolution of the program for a new generation of youth and the complexities of today’s communication landscape. Committed to public service.


On August 4, 2015, the White House hosted a Demo Day: showcased a wide-ranging talents of innovators from across the country. Unlike a private-sector Demo Day, where entrepreneurs “pitch” their ideas to funders, innovators from around the country joined the POTUS to “demo” their individual success stories, a display of need to give every American the opportunity to pursue their bold, game-changing ideas. Demo Day’s activity was not to be limited to events in Washington, DC.
The POTUS encourages entrepreneurs, innovation spaces, universities, and more to host their own Demo Day events and follow along live and engage in conversations about how we can ensure that everyone has access to the tools and resources they need to make their ideas a reality.

Meet the first ever White House exhibiting entrepreneurs and learn more about their innovations. 


Poboycorp!
Social entrepreneurship begins with a noble cause, which turns into a passion, and soon becomes a mission worth dedicating your life to.—

The #business of society:http://t.co/PqKmeod94n One of the many beauties of social #entrepreneurship is that it’s never too late to start.

— Po'boycorp (@poboycorp) August 11, 2015

An Online Network Presentation/Publications:
“When you look at people who are dreamers, they rarely put in the effort to wake up, stop dreaming and put in the work every day.”— LKT: The worst risk you can take is no risk at all. Be Disruptive!
 

Start, Build, and Run a Business That Improves the World

The Social Entrepreneur's Handbook:

One of the many beauties of social entrepreneurship is that it’s never too late to start. You can be right out of school or working in the highest ranks of corporate America. It doesn’t matter. Social entrepreneurship begins with a noble cause, which turns into a passion, and soon becomes a mission worth dedicating your life to.

 Make the business of society your business

No one knows the business of social entrepreneurship better than Rupert Scofield. Cofounder and president of FINCA International—a nonprofit microfinancing institution with 7,000 employees serving 750,000 customers in 21 countries—Scofield has been a social entrepreneur for 40 years.

In The Social Entrepreneur’s Handbook, Scofield leads you through the entire process of starting up and running a nonprofit, sharing personal success stories and advice on what not to do—valuable lessons he learned the hard way. The process, while risky, isn’t as difficult as you might think. Practically speaking, you need only two things: an idea and a plan. The former comes from you and you alone. This book supplies the latter.

The Social Entrepreneur’s Handbook illuminates the path to building a successful nonprofit from the ground up. SEH: The one resource you will need to attain your dream of working full-time in service to others—and making a real, measurable difference in the world.


"Good is the Enemy of Great"
This Challenge is Built to Last in 2016 and Beyond—
Leap from 'Good to Great'

Charlie Rose: An hour with Jim Collins on his book Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck--Why Some Thrive Despite Them All"

"The vast majority of companies never become great, precisely because the vast majority become quite good -- and that is their main problem."— Jim Collins

Why Some Companies Make the Leap. . . and Others Don't?  If you're looking to inspire your employees or take a leap forward in your career, this read is indeed a Leaping start from Good to Great.— 'How change doesn't happen'.

Jim Collins book begins with a startling and counterintuitive claim: "Good is the enemy of great." We've become so conditioned to think of performance as something that develops along evolutionary lines -- from poor to good to outstanding -- that it takes a minute to grasp the notion that competence can actually inhibit achievement.

 Based on an extensive five-year study conducted by Collins and a research team he affectionately refers to as "the Chimps," Good to Great defines and analyzes the practices that allowed 11 companies to make the rare transition from solid to outstanding performance.

An interesting thought: “how much would someone have to pay me not to publish Good to Great...”— Jim Collins— The Study; it's impossible for me to imagine not sharing what we've learned.

 Collins's philosophy is summed up in one noteworthy phrase from the book -- "Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice."

We keep looking for change in the wrong places, asking the wrong questions, and making the wrong assumptions. There’s even a tendency to blame Wall Street for the “instant results” approach to change. But the companies that made the jump from good to great did so using Wall Street's own tough metric of success: a sustained leap in their stock-market performance. Wall Street turns out to be just another myth—an excuse for not doing what really works. The data doesn’t lie. 

Management guru Jim Collins asks entrepreneurs to do 10 things that will dramatically improve their companies. What are you waiting for?



 Your life was meant to be poetry!

The way you feel when you just fall in love with someone is the way you’re meant to feel about yourself when you wake up each morning.”— RYWs!

'We are capable of #happiness':http://t.co/MFhKzV5pmh Liberate yourself from the distorted expectations and projections that keep you stuck.

— Po'boycorp (@poboycorp) June 25, 2015

 Business Management and Leadership: publications. 

Poboycorp! An Online Network Presentation/Publications

Ignite the Spark and Transform Your Relationship —

Your life is meant to be poetry. The way you feel when you just fall in love with someone is the way you’re meant to feel about yourself when you wake up each morning.”— RYWs! 

Get to it now— Thrive in the places so many of us get stuck. With a significant focus on enriching our personal journey to understand both our conscious and unconscious motivations in partnership, this is less a relationship “diet” book of “do this” and “don’t do that” and more about a deep awakening.

A Creative Lifestyle Change;
A change that comes with helpful ways to shift one's perception of the "facts" and concrete tools with which to make life work better day by day. However, it is left to the reader to decide where they are and what they want to do in order to create the life and the relationship they long for...

Regardless of whether you've been together a month or an eternity, we all need a sense of renewal in our meaningful partnerships. But here's the good news- you don't have to suffer in the Soup any longer than it takes to read this book. Renew Your Wows takes us on a journey of self-discovery that invites a shift in the way we relate to the people in our lives. Renew Your Wows takes months of intensive individual and couples counseling and offers the highlights!

Renew Your Wows teaches us:

To identify and reclaim the Self.

To determine the relational landscape we have created and see whether our paradigm indeed meshes well with that of our partner.

To learn how to Respond instead of React to a vast array of circumstances.

To learn how to differentiate needs from expectations and establish an effective way to communicate that doesn't invite a defensive reaction from our partners.

To create a structure for general communication with friends, family, co-workers and yes, our partners, that is conducive to joyful living and mutual respect.

To establish a set of protocols that help us plan our responses and keep exchanges clean and kind.

To separate Facts from Feelings in our daily discourse in order to understand how we need to be heard as well as truly hearing others.

To know when a relationship no longer serves us and to make a change happen with respect, kindness and peace.

"Psychotherapist Jeffrey Sumber has written a wonderful, well-informed, and immensely helpful guide on how to realize the full potentials of intimate love. I highly recommend this book for those who are committed to taking their relationship to the next (and then the next!) level of happiness and wholehearted wellness."— Katherine Woodward Thomas, Bestselling author of Calling in "The One"

Purchase your copy of Renew Your Wows today and receive a FREE downloadable Action Guide that brings the ideas and exercises to life!

Jeffrey Sumber strives to support men and women on their path to uncover a place of deep renewal, empowerment and a sense of abiding joy. 'We are all capable of happiness once we liberate ourselves from the distorted expectations and projections that keep us stuck.'

The Check-In Dialogue - a Free Workbook — Learn how to create a safe process together.


 SPECIAL FROM Grandparents.com

The average American retires at age 62 according to an April Gallup poll, but even in a low-interest economic environment, it may be possible to quit working sooner.
Check out these tips for getting your financial house in order and kissing the 9-to-5 goodbye faster than expected. — 5 Financial Secrets Of People Who Retire Young via HuffPost50

“Make sure you’re enjoying every day because you just don’t know how the numbers will shake out.”
—Darrow Kirkpatrick 


An Epic Speech:

Poboycorp! An Online Presentation/Publications

To “inspire and empower young people to lead the best life possible.”—

 “When my daughter Stefani was a child, she had to learn painful lessons about the dangers of cruelty and the importance of kindness. She was creative and unequivocally her own person, but her peers didn’t always appreciate the things that made her unique—and different. As a result, they would sometimes taunt, humiliate, or exclude her. It was hurtful for her to experience and heartbreaking for me to watch. But this mean-spirited treatment did more than sting in the moment—it shook Stefani’s confidence.” —
Cynthia Germanotta, president of Born This Way Foundation and mother of Lady Gaga, writes about raising her unique daughter and the Emotion Revolution, launched with Yale. Raising Lady Gaga: Why It’s Time for an Emotion Revolution

The Emotion Revolution empowers high school students to create schools and communities where emotions matter. Hear Gaga's mother Cynthia Germanotta talks about the #EmotionRevolution:
*Be Your Biggest Fan*—Your feelings matter!

The Born This Way site includes stories of bravery from young people who have overcome bullies, as well as a number of ways for people of any age to get involved in spreading their message.  The foundation was based on three "pillars" of understanding and advocacy.

“We shine a light on young people, youth advocates and community members that embody our mission. We hope to leverage the reach of Born This Way to tell the stories of an empowered, creative and compassionate generation that is working hard to build a kinder and braver world.”— BTWF .

Born to Not Get Bullied: When she was in high school, Lady Gaga says, she was thrown into a trash can. “I was called really horrible, profane names very loudly in front of huge crowds of people, and my schoolwork suffered at one point,” she said. “I didn’t want to go to class. And I was a straight-A student, so there was a certain point in my high school years where I just couldn’t even focus on class because I was so embarrassed all the time. I was so ashamed of who I was.”

The scars don’t go away, Lady Gaga says. “To this day,” “some of my closest friends say, ‘Gaga, you know, everything’s great. You’re a singer; your dreams have come true.’ But, still, when certain things are said to you over and over again as you’re growing up, it stays with you and you wonder if they’re true.”

“The Born This Way Foundation is not restitution or revenge for my experiences, I want to make that clear. This is: I am now a woman, I have a voice in the universe, and I want to do everything I can to become an expert in social justice and hope I can make a difference and mobilize young people to change the world.” 

Yes, that sounds grandiose and utopian, “I’m reluctant to bet against one of the world’s top pop stars and the person with the most Twitter followers in the world. In any case, she’s indisputably right about one point: Bullying and teenage cruelty are human rights abuses that need to be higher on our agenda.”— Article by Nicholas Kristof via New York Times

We're so glad to announce #GagaQuotes. Starting today, we'll be posting a quote inspired by Lady Gaga every Friday. pic.twitter.com/P3xRhbNfOp
— LITTLE MONSTERS (@lilmonsfanclub) April 25, 2015

Poboycorp — An Online Network Presentation/Publications

Reinvent yourself in response to changing norms:

Connect To A Powerful Network of Change Makers
We know the world is changing – transparency is driving a multitude of stakeholders to connect the dots between brands and their positive or negative environmental and social impacts. The demand for new products, services and business models that deliver purpose and profit is soaring and it’s the resilient brand leaders of the 21st century who will thrive.
Dive deep into the brand innovation trenches at SB’15 San Diego and learn How you can successfully innovate your brand for sustainability Now. As part of our global conference network, SB’15 San Diego is the largest gathering of courageous optimists who are shaping the future of commerce worldwide. Find partners and solutions to help you accelerate your business success.

Shaping the Future of Commerce Worldwide

It’s time to create the vibrant and sustainable economy of the future by enabling productive commercial partnerships between companies and organizations who share the same commitment. The Activation Hub at SB’15 San Diego functions as a thriving marketplace for brands exploring how to transform their innovative ideas into reality. This action-centered environment holds the conversations, collaborators and tools necessary to bring good ideas – and brand success – to life.

Engage with leading edge change makers, insightful entrepreneurs and distinguished companies who are delivering innovative business solutions. Explore how to activate sustainability-led initiatives now within your organization through demonstration and dialogue and identify partners with a shared intention who can help you drive your large scale change initiatives. When collaborative conversations breed success.

SUSTAINABLE BRANDS 2015 SAN DIEGO
LEARN HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY INNOVATE YOUR BRAND FOR SUSTAINABILITY!

The Consumer are changing, and holding companies to a higher standard.

Reinvent Yourself in Response to Changing Norms; 

Dive deep into the brand innovation trenches at SB '15 San Diego and find detail-rich case studies, practical know-how and specific implementation tips to accelerate your business success. 

 Register early to ensure hotel accommodations on the island. 


 Not to be all snooty about online publishing, but can your newspaper Do THIS?

                              Poboycorp; An Online Network Presentation/Publications

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