Get Iconic with Jonathan Benjamin

Ultimate Guide to Ringless Voicemail

Fri, 28 May 2021 04:00:00 GMT

RINGLESS VOICEMAIL DROPS

Ringless Voicemail Drops or simply “Ringless Voicemail” is a fairly new technology that allows a company to send a pre-recorded voicemails directly to a large group of customers cell phones at once, without their phones actually ringing . Think of it as an “eblast”, but with voicemails as opposed to emails.

This is an effective and relatively inexpensive way for a company to get a message or special offer out to a large customer base all at once. It can be used many different ways and for a wide spectrum of offers depending on the industry.

In the automotive industry we use it to tell customers to keep an eye on their mailbox for the offer we sent them, before a Direct Mail Campaign – OR – we send it during the Direct Marketing campaign – OR – as a follow up after a Direct Mail Campaign.

THE PROCESS:

1. Record a voicemail message or offer to match your objective.

You can choose to record your Ringless Voicemail message yourself – or we can do it for you. We have incredible voice talent on-hand! We have found that the more candid and “non-scripted” it sounds, the better it will work. Speak naturally and from the heart about your offer. Don’t worry about those “ums”, stammers, coughs or tripping over your words. That’s REAL and it’s how people naturally talk. You can hear a successful Ringless Voicemail recording here.

2. Creating the list of people to send to.

We will upload the list of phone numbers into our system. Usually this is from our clients database. Our system filters out the cell phone numbers from the landlines and only keeps the cell phone numbers. We can even filter out anyone who is on the “Do Not Call List” which has become a big deal in a number of cities and states.

3. Decide the time-frame and volume of Ringless Voicemail Drops.

You can choose when your Voicemails will be sent. They can begin at a certain time on a certain day and keep going until all numbers have been sent a voicemail, or it can send for just an hour or two on certain days. You decide. At Mail Ninjas, we also set the number of voicemails that will send out per minute to suit the needs of our clients based on the volume of call-backs their staff can handle. We learned this one from experience. When we did the very first Ringless Voicemail Drop for a client, we sent so many voicemails out all at once that within a few minutes our clients dealership phone was blowing up with call backs. We had to turn it down so they could catch up! We slowed it down to a manageable level and they were pleased with the number of appointments & sales they were able to make from the Ringless Voicemails even before their Direct Marketing Campaign reached their customers physical mailboxes.

4. Track and resend.

We keep a close eye on the results of your Ringless Voicemail Campaign for you. We know how many were sent out and how many still remain. Sometimes the system can’t get a voicemail through for a various reasons. A person being in a bad service area or getting a busy signal are two examples. We track the ones that didn’t go through and can resend your voicemails back out to just those people to make sure we maximize the effectiveness of your Ringless Voicemail Campaign.

THE RESULT:

Imagine glancing at your phone and you see “missed call” but didn’t even hear your phone ring. Then you see a new voicemail pop up. It creates a lot of curiosity and you will most likely check that voicemail right away to see what you missed. At a time in history when people are getting alerts and notifications on their phones left and right, this key-point is really what sets Ringless Voicemails apart.

When a persons phone suddenly shows a “missed call” and a “new voicemail” it gets checked immediately – and people interested in your offer will call you right away. Get ready for your phones to ring. It’s like an instant flow of leads by flipping a switch.

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY:

Every rose has its thorn, and no marketing effort is without the possible downsides, so we’ve outlined some things you may experience below. None of them are “deal-breakers” in our opinion, as many of them can be covered easily with the proper preparation.

Different mobile carriers have different settings on when Ringless Voicemails get delivered. This means that some people may see “missed call” before the actual voicemail gets delivered. This might cause them to quickly call the number back to see who called them and why.

So, you’ll need to be ready with a script that is specific to the voicemail offer for your staff to use.

Because of different carriers and carrier settings some people may get a double missed call before the Voicemail hits or their phone may actually ring for a spilt-second and then stop.

A good script in the hands of all people who man the phones can take care of all of this.

Your phones WILL ring. As with any other marketing campaign there will be interested people you can make appointments with or do business with, as well as people that just want to tell you they don’t like the color of your building. Or, that you forgot to replace their windshield wipers, or extra French fries the last time they were in. This is just the nature of advertising. It happens. Acknowledge. Move on.

But, your phones WILL ring.

Ringless Voicemail Drops work. When we hit “send”, your phones will ring. We try to ensure the Drops go out in short bursts so that you don’t get too many calls at once. You will need to to connect with us if it’s too many so that we can or slow it down or even pause it so you can catch up.

LEGALITY:

Ringless Voicemail is legal. However, some states seem to be “cracking down” on it. Because of this, some people think it’s illegal in certain states. This is not true. As with any other forms of marketing, there are guidelines that have to be followed. With Ringless Voicemail Drops, the phone numbers need to be run through the National Do Not Call List. When done properly there is no legal issue with sending the Ringless Voicemails to the rest of the numbers on the list from your own database.

Interested in using Ringless Voicemail Drops to increase business opportunities? Connect with us today.

Turning Negative Reviews into Positives

Sat, 18 Apr 2020 17:35:22 GMT

Help potential clients see the light with these 5 steps: Respond, apologize, promote, get offline, keep it simple.

Believe it or not, the same premise applies to negative review response as it does to positive reviews. How you respond to a negative review impacts not only the reviewer, but all the sets of eyes that come afterward. Businesses need to handle particularly challenging reviews in a professional way that shows they are on top of things and proud of their business.

Here are some tips on how:

APOLOGIZE & SYMPATHIZE. The first step towards fixing a problem is acknowledging that one occurred. Regardless of what happened, a simple apology and sympathy for your customer’s experience goes a long way.

PROMOTE. So the famous crab cakes weren’t up to par the day this particular customer visited. If they’re what you are known for, why not reiterate that? “Our crab cakes are usually a hit, we’re sorry to hear that they weren’t up to par when you visited!”

MOVE THE CONVERSATION OFFLINE. Don’t open a can of worms. Keep the lid on tight by offering the reviewer the chance to reach out via phone, email or both.

KEEP IT SIMPLE. Avoid specifics and don’t ask questions. Those conversations are much better served in a space away from the prying public.

ALWAYS REPLY. But - NEVER argue or defend yourself or your business. This will only cause more negativity back and forth. Validate their feelings - no matter how crazy - apologize that they had that experience and offer to discuss further offline to rectify it.

Responding to negative feedback properly, shows OTHER potential customers that you are the type of business that cares to follow up when something may have slipped through the cracks.

This can attract far more new customers than the one that left the bad review, effectively turning that negative into a ripple effect of positives, as more and more people see you making an effort to correct the situation.

Getting consistent reviews - especially on Google - has become more important than ever. If you need an easy way to ask for reviews, actually GET them and launch your Google search ranking, check out SkyRocket Reviews .

One last pro tip: Leave your business name, location and category out of this. You don’t want your negative reviews showing up in search!

Now that wasn’t so bad, was it? You can use software to pull in your reviews from all over the web so you can respond quickly. And if you don’t have time, seek out our Digital Agency services to do it for you. Not only do we guarantee expertise, we guarantee it in a hurry: we respond to reviews as soon as our software pulls them in!

If there is anything else at all I can help you with, use the form below to reach out - and please share.

Counterproductive? Not So Much.

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 16:04:06 GMT

"As soon as you think about what you are needed for - instead of what you need - things begin to flow."

Many of you reading this are most likely experiencing the same feelings, or at least felt them at some point over the last month or so.

Even before the schools recently closed, I was already pretty overwhelmed - at least a few days a week - with all I needed to accomplish.

When I heard the news that the kids would be home and WE would have to home-school them for 2 months, I about lost it.

#NotMyProudestMoment

I couldn't possibly imagine how we were going to add this to our already busy daily routine, while still running our businesses - as well as help our clients run theirs. I was already burning the candle at both ends.

After a chat with an extremely talented client & friend - thank you, Jill! ( www.JillSellsTampa.com ) - I calmed down and started thinking about the new situation in a far more rational way.

I was able to focus on all the positives. Things like:

The fact that I already have a home office to work from
The kids are here most days after school anyway
My wife and I already work together and make a really great team

That last point was also one that Jill and I had discussed on our earlier phone call.

I felt really blessed to have that kind of partnership and help, especially at a time like this. Then I began wondering how other people were going to handle all of this.

What about people who were still working somewhere? How were they going to homeschool their kids? What about single people, or people without help? What if BOTH of a child's parents were still working?

My daughter has a classmate who's father is a single dad, so I called to ask how things were and what his plan was for school.

He said he still had to go to work and he didn't know what he was going to do. I immediately offered for him to drop his daughter at my house in the mornings and we would make sure her school work got done.

My response was almost instinctual. I didn't even think twice about it.

Once I shifted from an internal standpoint, ( what I needed and how I felt ) to one of external focus (how I could be of service to another ) - the overwhelm and stress began to melt away.

As a matter-of-fact, ALL the previous feelings of extreme overwhelm left and stayed gone, even as more things to stress about came creeping up....

Soon after this, a construction crew broke the water main outside our neighborhood. Boom. No water all day - and when it came back on, we received hand-delivered red tags letting us know that the water was contaminated and we shouldn't use it - for pretty much anything - without boiling it first. With kids in the house that routinely drink water from the fridge dispenser and wash their hands and take showers, this is almost worse than having no water at all! We now had to be constantly listening for water running, to ensure that one of them wasn't accidentally drinking it!

Still, I stayed calm and pretty much shrugged it off. No overwhelm. Three days later we got the "all clear."

Reaching out to offer help when we feel completely overwhelmed ourselves, can seem incredibly counterproductive.

I've noticed - in other areas of life too - that sometimes the answer is hiding right within the challenge.

Want more friends? Be friendly.

Want more love? Be loving.

Want more abundance? Be giving.

Often times, you have to first BE , or GIVE , the very thing you desire.

So....go and be. Do and give.

If there is anything else at all I can help you with, use the form below to reach out - and please share.

Success Within the Storm

Thu, 02 Apr 2020 22:32:00 GMT

"People make moves for only two reasons....from inspiration or from desperation."

Lately, there are so many people talking about going stir-crazy out of boredom, lack of a schedule or just generally being stuck at home during this current shutdown/stay-at-home order during the Coronavirus. Ironically, this is the polar opposite for the way life has been for most of us......busy busy busy and feeling like there weren't enough hours in the day to get ANYTHING done!

Life's a trip.

Times like we are experiencing now can be scary. Especially when it gets us stressed about our fin ancial future and stability.....

And while at times it's difficult to not get slightly stressed -out thinking about the future, I have been anything but bored. There is so much to do, plan and create, that I've been running non -stop!

"So many people have used economic situations like this to drastically change their lives by making moves they would have never made, had they not been forced by things outside of their control."

I know this first hand. Remember the downturn back back in 2009? We lost everything. Jobs, money, savings and even our home, but that is also what forced me into launching my most successful company to date - and I have been helping others launch and grow their businesses ever since.

So, instead of complaining about boredom, or binge -watching something off the internet (which is running slow as shit anyway!) we can accept what is, and make the best of it.

Below are some personal things you can do to be massively productive with this extra time that could very well be a blessing in disguise, if you allow it. If you are a business owner, Click here too.

Work on that passion project you have been putting on the back-burner.
Get cracking on that side -hustle or business idea you've been thinking about.
Actually watching that video course you purchased. I personally have 3, that I haven't even logged into!
Make your own video or audio program teaching that "thing" you always help people with.
Finally do - or finish - that home project.
Connect with people. Tell people how you feel about th e m. Write letters to friends. Call or video chat with them.
Update your Will. Not because you think you'll die soon, but we all will pass someday and we don't know when.
Rethink or revise your goals in life. Times like this can help us focus on what really matters to us.
Make a list of the things you need to keep a closet full of once everything is back in stock.
Do a massive level spring cleaning. You don't need all that shit. Give it to Goodwill. Someone needs it more than you.
Think about ways to add another income stream. This will help insulate you a bit more for times like these in the future.
Help someone else. Many may need even more help. This can be quite cathartic, even if you are barely hanging on yourself.

This is just a short list to get you started.

Another VERY important thing to remember is to breathe and stay calm. T hat means staying away from negativity, like the

news! I'm not saying to be ignorant of what's going on, just don't be glued to it.

Here's why:

It has been proven that as a persons stress or “threat level” goes up, “creativity" goes down.

We need our brains to be as creative as possible. It's what allows you to see opportunity and problem-solve at peak levels.

Here are a couple things that may help with financial stress:

Take a look at your finances and trim the fat. Once again, this is not from a standpoint of fear, but many of us are paying monthly for things we don't need or use. There are even smartphone apps that give you a quick rundown of your monthly subscriptions. Here is a link to one for iPhone called "Emma."
Even if you are ok and have the money, ask for a skip payment on car loans & mortgages. Since we are unsure of how long this will last, it's a safer bet to keep more cash on hand. Many banks will freely offer skip payments during a time like this, without any penalty. Some banks may have stricter guidelines, so be sure to mention the "Coronavirus situation", they may have a rule that you need to say that to differentiate you from others that call. Maybe DON'T do this, if you are planning on doing a refi soon.
Go online and check out which parts of the new Stimulus package you or your business qualify for. There are even business loans from the SBA that have portions that do not need to be repaid as long as you use it to pay employees and/or to keep your business afloat. Click here to check that out.

If there is anything else at all I can help you with, use the form below to reach out - and please share.

Winning Within the Storm

Thu, 02 Apr 2020 22:25:17 GMT

"People make moves for only two reasons....from inspiration or from desperation."

Uncertainty can be scary, especially as it pertains to your business's financial future.

I know you don't want to hear the word "Corona Virus" EVER again - so here are a few things you can do for your business now, while simultaneously shifting your perspective and focus away from the negative and onto building and creating:

1. Think about ways you can help your customers.

Maybe you aren't able to be open in the same way you were before - or at all. But that doesn't mean you still aren't amazing at the things you do.

Try to think of ways to shift the business model and still deliver the value of what you do, but in a different way. An example would be restaurants switching to delivery and pick-up options instead of dine-in. They could even do a video conference or class that shows people how to cook a certain dish.

There is most likely a way to create a video program or live class around any subject. Remember, even if you sold a physical product, there is still expertise involved on your end, about that product. Need help figuring it out or how to create and launch it? I can help you. See more here.

2. Learn - or continue to practice - a new skill.

As entrepreneurs, we need to always be learning new skills and technology in this ever-changing world. I personally have 2 books and 3 video programs I purchased months ago, that I haven't even taken the first look at yet. I'll be getting to those ASAP. If you haven't already check out The Hero-Preneur Resource eBook. It is full of great resources that I've used to help build my businesses over the years. Another updated one is in the works.....

3. Connect with customers individually to check on them, say hi, or to thank them.

This one seems so simple, but there was a dentist mentioned on a podcast recently who called all his customers and said basically, "Thanks for being a customer, thank you for your loyalty. I just want you to know if you need anything, we’re open to serve you."

And his books were slammed the next day with people saying he was the only dentist open.

You don't have to have a specific offer or reason to call. Just a "thank you" or a "how are you?" carries a lot of weight, especially these days. Have too many customers to call them all? I can help you accomplish this all at once with Ringless Voicemail Drops OR, as a Text Campaign directly to your customers. Click here to connect with me on this.

4. Offer something for free.

Try to think of a way to deliver the same expertise and value in an email, blog post or video. Many companies are already offering free trainings on different subjects. How can you deliver a free portion of what you do that will be of benefit to someone else?

5. Keep up-to-date on what financial help you qualify for.

Go online and check out which parts of the new Stimulus package you or your business qualify for. There are even business loans from the SBA that have portions that do not need to be repaid as long as you use the funds to pay employees and/or to keep your business afloat. Click here to check that out.

Some of your vendors might even offer a skip payment or a pause on some of your monthly services. Get out a pen and paper and write down all of them and focus on the biggest ones that would be of the most benefit to pause for a month or two. Then ask them. It couldn't hurt. Many banks are giving two to three months of skip payments on auto loans, credit cards and mortgages with no penalties. Believe it or not, Bank of America has made this SUPER easy. Maybe they learned their lesson after all, back in 2009...

6. Use downtime wisely.

Be as productive as possible. Business owners usually have a back-log of ideas and projects they just can't seem to find time to complete. I'm sure you are thinking of one or two of them right now. Use this time to work on product development, marketing ideas, or get your marketing and outgoing emails set up in advance. This is also a great time to work on your brand, refresh an outdated website or get super-clear on future goals.

6. Create another stream of income.

As an entrepreneur you have already started at least one business - but if you are anything like me - you have more ideas floating around in that cranium of yours. Blueprint a few of them to see which ones are the most viable options to put energy towards. Here is one I have been working on, that I plan to wrap soon!

7. Breathe and stay calm.

That means staying away from negativity, like the news! I'm not saying to be ignorant of what's going on, just don't be glued to it. Watching negative updates every five minutes won't put you in the right frame of mind to be creative.

It has been proven that as a persons stress or “threat level” goes up, “creativity" goes down.

We need our brains to be as creative as possible. It's what allows you to see opportunity, plan for the future and problem-solve at peak levels.

If there is anything else at all I can help you with, use the form below to reach out - and please share.

7 Lessons From a Sleazy Salesmen

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 19:58:12 GMT

There was a guy in a Facebook sales group, that used to livestream his sales calls for about an hour at a time. He would use the most crass statements and offensive humor - to his customers - while smiling and dialing his sales calls. It was truly cringeworthy to watch. He was the living embodiment of the a-typical "sleazy-salesman".... He called himself "TheFlowfessional".

But, no matter what happened, he just kept going. Making jokes, laughing at people and dialing away. As entertaining (and sometimes crazy) as he was to watch, there are lessons from everything in life.

Here are 7 takeaways from the king of cringe:

1. PUT IN THE WORK

Show up to your life each day and put in the work. You can daydream and visualize about all the things you want in life, but if you don't show up and put it in the work, it's all for nothing. This guy shows up each day and puts in the work, consistently. He isn't scared of that phone, cold-calling or rejection.

2. KEEP IT FRIENDLY ( but not too much)

As "sales-ey" as some of his lines are later in the conversation, when they first answer he talks to them as an old friend would. It's confident and nonchalant and doesn't necessarily scream "sales call".

3. CONTROL THE CONVERSATION

Pausing, asking questions and waiting for an answer is a great way to control the conversation. He does this many times over the course of each call, even if it's only asking them if they want to hear a funny joke - which is great convo, but in his case was SURE to offend!

4. KEEP IT FRESH

Having an actual reason to call someone is always a good idea. (Instead of "hey, you told me to call you back in 2 weeks..." )

He always reminds them that they previously asked to hear about fresh/new products. He is clear to his prospect that he is calling for that reason.

5. HAVE A GOOD TIME

A few years ago I found myself in an elevator with Darren LaCroix who was crowned "World Champion of Public Speaking" by Toastmaster in 2001. As I was about to take the stage to speak in front of a large audience for the very first time, I asked him for any advice he could give me. One of the things he said was:

"Have fun up there, if YOU are having fun, the audience will have fun. "

"TheFlowfessional" is obviously having a good time. He jokes and laughs on the calls ( maybe too much) and even has fun making snide comments, grumbling sarcastically under his breath or singing little jingles to the camera to make himself (and us) laugh.

6. BE YOURSELF

In a world full of automation, fake people and cookie cutter scripts, it's refreshing when someone comes correct and shows their true self. It's hard to imaging this guys personality being much different if you were sitting down having a beer with him. Whether people like it or lump it, being unique is never a bad thing and is always memorable. Be uniquely you.

7. NEVER GIVE UP

Smiling and dialing. It's a way of life for him and he is ok with that. No matter how the call goes, he moves right into the next one. He keeps the energy the same, pulls another joke out and keeps moving forward. Never give up.

Boom! Go get it.

Video Marketing in 2020

Wed, 26 Jun 2019 20:05:46 GMT

VIDEO MARKETING

Not so long ago, in a galaxy NOT so far, far away, smartphones became so popular that websites were being viewed as many times on a mobile device – if not more times – than desktop sites.

As customers used the “pinch & zoom” technique on their phones in an attempt to properly read website content, smart businesses realized they had to make a shift in the way they presented themselves online, by way of mobile optimized websites.

Stay with me, I promise it’s about Video, I’m painting a picture for you...

Soon, Google started prioritizing the mobile sites and “Google Shaming” the non-properly-mobilized sites with a badge that deterred people from viewing them.

Customers – who felt annoyed with pinching and zooming – got real hip to this pretty quickly, so when they came across a non-optimized website from a google search, they would immediately click the “back” browser button and go to the next site on the list in search of one that was easier to view and read.

This meant if your site wasn’t optimized for smartphones, ie: mobile friendly, you weren’t getting looked at as often and thus, you were losing potential customers.

A new day is dawning – and a new shift has taken place. This time, it’s video – and over the next few years it will quite literally take over the majority of the internet.

And it’s already begun.

As you’ve probably noticed, the human attention span is getting shorter and shorter. ( kudos to you if you are still reading this) People are reading less and less and would much rather watch a quick video about something than actually reading about it.

Everyone wants to see videos. Videos for fun, do it yourself videos, videos about products they are considering for a purchase and even videos about a business they are thinking of visiting. One study from Google showed that six out of 10 people would even rather watch online videos than television itself. Good thing we aren’t in the TV business, right?

Implementing video into your business, marketing strategy, websites and social media channels better engages your customers & increases conversion rates.

Check out the statistics below and you will see why video is a MUST.

• 84% of people said that they were convinced to purchase a product after watching a video

• 92% of users watching video on mobile will share it with others.

• 59% of executives say they would rather watch a video than read text.

• 81% of businesses already use video as a marketing tool — up from 63% over the last year.

• By next year video ad spending will increase from $1.97 billion to $5.71 billion.
• Because of how popular video has gotten, YouTube is the second most popular website after Google.

• Facebook has over 8 billion video views per day.

• Video in email creates a 200%-300% increase in click-through rates. You read that right.

If you’ve already gotten distracted while reading this or have already almost abandoned this article, that proves my point even further, because you’ve only been reading for around two minutes at this point.

If the above stats don’t make you want to produce videos - like right now - read on.

Viewers retain 95% of video messages and only 10% when reading it.

Video engages more of our senses like sound, music and visuals. Mobile video consumption rises by 100% every year and in a couple of short years nearly 82% of all consumer internet traffic will be online videos. You may need to read that again:

82% of consumer internet traffic will be video. The gears should be turning in your head right about now.

Already, nearly three out of four customers say they would rather learn about a product or service by way of video. That's MOSTLY everyone.

People are looking for products and services and want to be entertained while doing it. They are looking to video for it – and not just any video – GREAT video. Ultimately, your customers spend a large chunk of time watching video on the internet, so they EXPECT to see it on your website and in your marketing and quite frankly, are disappointed when there isn’t any.

Short entertaining videos are your best bet because they get swallowed up by your audience like candy. Short is the key word here because the average number of viewers remaining by the end of the video is usually around 46%, but if the video is 90 seconds or less you see that number increase to 59%. In other words, roughly 60% of people will stop watching by two minutes, so as I said, keep it short and sweet.

Also, if you can make it funny, crazy or extreme, all the better, since many customers report that they would rather see a more entertaining “viral style” video. They say sex sells, so think of funny as the new sexy.

A few video ideas for your business could be:

• Quick intro video for you or your team members.

• Videos that showcase specialty products or services.

• Customer testimonials. (its easier than you think)

• Videos that highlight what’s different or unique about your or your business. Things you offer customers that others don't

• Videos that match your sales offers, rebates, special financing or a special sale you have going.

• Videos that show what a customer can expect when visiting you.

Quality matters.

With billions of videos being watched daily, most people are very discerning of quality.

Lighting, sound and the right cameras & angles are paramount. Any disparity between them will be fully noticed – and your whole business may be judged by it. After all, would you hire a barber that had a dirty shop? Or an ad agent that came in disheveled or unkempt? Even though those things have little to do with the services they offer, many people will judge EVERYTHING you do based on those things.

Resolution is a key factor. At Get Iconic, we ensure that the quality is crisp, sharp, clear and even the video spots we create for social media can also be saved in broadcast quality for television, if a client so desired.

Speaking of high-quality video, many of our clients have already gotten aerial drone footage of their businesses, which is a great idea. It is totally worth the small price to have it done because the eye-catching footage looks incredible and can be used over and over again on a multitude of different projects.

As I mentioned earlier, the human attention span is shrinking by the second. Two to three minutes ( and three is pushing it) is about the max that most people will give to a video on the fly, unless they were purposely researching something specific. Those longer videos should be reserved for actual product demonstrations or an intro to your business. For social media, 30-45 seconds is perfect to get your monthly message or current offer out.

Keep in mind, the average time to catch a customer’s attention is 2.7 seconds!

2.7 seconds before they skip over you and move on to the next video. Remember that number when you run video ads on Facebook or YouTube, you KNOW people have their finger hovering over the “skip ad” button, so you have to get your main point out quickly to capture their attention and keep them watching.

Do you remember that car racing arcade game from the 80’s called Pole Position? Whenever you made it to a checkpoint, you got another thirty seconds or so added to your game-play. When you saw those glorious checkered flags waving, you knew you had more time.

Think of your video ads like Pole Position. Capturing attention quickly and then making a power or benefit statement every so often, will keep them watching.

74% of marketers who aren’t currently marketing with video, say they expect to start in 2019, because of this giant shift to video. There has never been a more dire need to stand out of above all the noise and the way to do that is with quality videos for your business and in your marketing.

One reason that a business may have not yet made the leap into making and launching videos, is price. I know some car dealerships that used to pay thousands upon thousands for short video segments, especially if the crew travels to you with all their equipment. Want them to include some talent because you are camera shy? The price can keep going up and up.

The good news is, along with the massive video takeover currently happening, there has been an explosion of affordable technology & products that with a little time, energy and a few bucks, can have you doing great and professional-looking videos right there in your business/home.

Don’t know how? No worries, there are even videos online to show you how to make videos!

Don’t want to mess with it? You can hire a company like us to do what we do best, so you can stay focused on what you do best.

With the automotive arm of our company, Mail Ninjas, we have been adding video links to our direct marketing campaigns for years.

Because of the high demand – and because we love doing it – we now offer video as a stand alone service for car dealerships and businesses all over the country.

We even make great 30-45 second spots without even stepping foot on your property, and most of them are done for less than the cost of a set of new tires. You can find examples of the videos we produce on our Video Marketing page .

Bottom line, if you aren’t getting on the video train, you may get run over because there is no doubt this is happening.

Happy filming.

Connect today to discuss Video options for your business.

Focus + Action = Desire

iconimaging@me.com (Jonathan Benjamin) — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 16:47:57 GMT

"You can get anything you want in life, by helping enough other people get what they want."

I was recently reminded of the impact of this quote on a flight home from New Orleans. I was one of the first to board the plane and was sitting in the VERY front seat of the plane – big comfy seat, lots of leg room. The flight attendant was directly in front of me energetically and comically greeting all of the boarding guests. Behind him I could see about 4 full water bottles….and I wanted one – badly….

It was around 8pm and I had spent most of the very hot afternoon walking around the French Quarter with friends, site seeing & exploring. We had food and drinks and kept on walking. ( two dirty martinis to be exact) We had coffee and kept on walking and sweating. Probably the one thing I didn’t have, was enough water.

I was SO thirsty and I don’t think I’ve ever had dry-mouth that bad – and that’s saying a lot. The water bottles behind the flight attendant were definitely calling my name. I was trying to decide if I should ask him for a water bottle. I really wanted it, but I kept second guessing whether I should ask or not. My manners said I should wait until we take off and they actually come around with the drink cart. I had already been sitting on the plane for 20 minutes and it would probably be another 30 before they served and I was SO thirsty…..

There were reasons that justified not asking for the water.

I didn’t want to disturb the flow of guests boarding the plane.

The fact that this was Spirit Airlines and the water wasn’t free – so he would have to charge my card while trying to greet passengers.

Generally just feeling like it may be rude to ask, or that it would start a trend of others asking too.

It had now been about 30 minutes of me sitting there thinking about water. Water water water. WATER. I was at the apex of arguing with myself about asking for it when a funny thing happened…

A couple boarding the plane asked the flight attendant if I could move so that they could sit next to each other. I was in the very front seat of the plane ( happily) with only one seat next to me. They wanted it. I paid extra for this seat and didn’t really wan to move, plus they looked like they were kind of asking him, not me. I was sort of “overhearing” it. A moment later the flight attendant looks at me and asked:

“Would that be ok with you?”

I said “Where would I be moving to?”

He answered with “Just one seat behind you”.

I looked behind me and it was also a large comfy seat with plenty of leg room. I nodded, got up and moved back one seat and the couple took their seats. As I was buckling my seat belt, the flight attendant takes a step toward me, leans over and whispers “Thank you” …..and hands me a bottle of water.

Taking action, especially if it’s with a kind gesture can be the catalyst for results.

My action of giving, was the catalyst for receiving the very thing that I wanted for myself.

Boom.

Get Iconic.

4 Steps to BIG Change

Sun, 23 Jul 2017 16:10:00 GMT

"If you don't have 10 minutes for your life, then you don't have a life.” -Tony Robbins

I heard the above quote from Tony Robbins while attending a workshop where the discussion was about taking time in the morning for meditation /exercise/self-care. These are things I desperately wanted to consistently do, but just never took the time.

Nothing could have hit me harder. I wanted to have a better morning routine that included meditation and exercise but I've never done it with any level of consistency. I decided right then and there that I was going to create new morning habits that included these things. I started the next day.

But why had I not made this solid decision before?

This question led me to some self-discovery and a confession.

A confession that might resonate with you too, especially all the entrepreneurs out there:

I had tricked myself into believing that if I took time in the morning for me, then my entire life, world, business - everything - would just fall apart.

I felt I had to hurry up and and get to the office, and hurry up and check my email and obsessively hit refresh on my email, but the bottom line is:

The world will not fall down around you.

All of you “busy" people and entrepreneurs out there are tricking yourselves.

You've tricked yourself into believing that checking your email or Facebook or texts or whatever it is that you get that dopamine hit from, are the important things in life - and that the world will fall down around you if we aren’t "on it" 24/7.

I was speaking with a friend the other day who owns her own business and she took a 2 hour road trip to a meeting in another city and didn’t look at her phone the whole time. She made the realization that the world didn’t end. Nothing fell apart. We don’t need to be compulsively checking our devices. Plus, there's really no such thing as an urgent TEXT message or EMAIL. I advise you to disconnect from anyone who gets on you for not responding to their “important” text. You don’t need that kind of ridiculousness in your life.

You know that little rectangle smart-device in your purse or pocket? Believe it or not if there is an emergency, it will ring.

I had to stop the mental head-game of "too busy" and make time for what was really important.

Here's the four Hero Tips I used to make the shift.

1. The world is not going to fall down around you.

Realize that you can take time to meditate, exercise, write, go for a walk, whatever. You simply can. Barring any crazy emergency, anything and everything can wait a few minutes for your to do some self-care, relax, exercise or get your head straight. For the longest time I had tricked myself into believing that I couldn’t.

2. "If you don’t have ten minutes for your life, then you don't have a life."

Believe and adopt this statement. Think about it. Not being able make a few minutes for yourself each day with conservatively 18+ hours of useful awake time, is just plain sad. That's a sad life. You are worth more than that. Stop telling yourself that you are too damn busy to do something for you. When you take the time for self-care, you will be clearer, sharper and better at the other things you need to do.

3. Be realistic.

When I first decided to make a habit of taking time for myself each day, I made a promise that I would never skip a day ever again. I would do it each and every day for the rest of my life. Going from never doing something at all, to never not doing it, is a very unrealistic goal. I would then feel disappointed with myself instead of proud of all the times I actually DID make the time. Not cool Jonnyboy, not cool at all. Be realistic with your goal and then don't kick yourself for missing a day here and there.

4. Reward and congratulate yourself.

Often times in life we remind ourselves of all of the things that we should be doing better. The more we should've done or could've done, instead of simply celebrating the fact that we are doing SOMETHING. My first jog was basically a series of jogging and then getting pissed at myself because I was so winded that I had to walk. I also felt like a failure for only meditating 4 days instead of 7. This made me realize how often we criticize instead of praising ourselves. Certainly running for five minutes today before I got tired, was much better than nothing at all yesterday. Pay attention to the times that you did make the change and pat yourself on the back for it. When I first started making these changes, I wasn't giving myself enough credit for doing it way more often than ever before. Focus on the 3 days you did make the time, not the 4 days you didn't. Look how far you have come. Give yourself some grace. As long as you are moving forward on some level - even if it's baby-steps - give yourself that.

When done consistently, creating new little habits can bring about big life changes. I hope this helps.

Get Iconic.

The Future's in the Rearview

Sun, 09 Jul 2017 13:34:00 GMT

I recently saw a video where mothers were interviewed on how they felt they were doing as parents. Most of them focused on their shortcomings, things they thought they were failing at, or areas that needed improvement.

The interviewers also asked their kids (in private) how they felt about their mothers. The children only spoke of the things they loved about their mothers. They talked about how beautiful mom was, the good ways she treated them, or the fun things they loved to do with her.

This moving video had a profound lesson that can be applied to various aspects of our lives.

How we view ourselves can be – and usually is – very different than others see us .

We tend to focus on shortcomings, failures, things we still have yet to achieve, how far we still need to go and our future “not-yet-met” long and short term goals.

Others, mainly focus on how far we’ve already come, how good we have made them feel, all of the things we’ve done for them, the love we’ve given, the fun we’ve had, the generosity, support and help.

That’s what others mainly see. If we went around interviewing people and asked what kind of person they thought we were, and the feelings they have toward us, I think it would be emotionally moving.

More than that though, is the “why”…

I think the reason we would be so moved is that part of our soul would see elated knowing that somehow, some way, we were on the right path – that we are achieving and have achieved so much already.

One of the things that I tell clients all of the time is:

“Just move forward. There's a reason that the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror. The rearview is just for a little perspective."

But now I see that it’s way more than just for perspective.

The past should be celebrated.

We tend to get so focused on the horizon, on future plans and the big-hairy-goals of our lives that we forget to periodically look back to to see the distance we have traveled and to be proud of it. Even if it hasn’t yet brought us to where we want to be, we are certainly on the way.

It’s completely acceptable and ok to want more, while simultaneously being grateful for growth, how far you have come and be happy with what you have already achieved.

As a matter of fact, I believe looking back and feeling the gratitude is an intricate part of the process to receiving and achieving more.

I for one, am super-grateful today for this reminder to look in the rearview and take inventory of past achievements. It’s just the fuel I need to keep moving forward.

So – Relax. Glance back, and feel the gratitude.

Take Your Business Rogue.

Mon, 02 Jan 2017 15:31:00 GMT

Your Business Backstory.

In the original Star Wars, the movie starts off with the Empire (bad guys) hunting down a droid (R2D2) that is carrying the blueprints on how to destroy the Deathstar. (Big, bad, planet-killing weapon) In the Star Wars Movie "Rogue One" , they tell the backstory of how the Deathstar plans came into Princess Leia and R2D2’s possession.

People are intrigued and persuaded by the story of how something came to be.

The battles, courage, struggle and even heroism move and resonate with people. Does your business have an intriguing backstory? Passed down through the generations? Single-handedly built from the ground up? A partnership with a lifelong friend? Partnership with a new friend? A life-long dream that you manifested into reality? Maybe all the above.

Your business history or a great back story can be an incredible source of branding and marketing for your company.

Hearing the struggles, challenges and achievements – many times through adversity – can make a great story and compelling enough to be a source of motivation for a customer to choose to buy from you over the competition.

It also gives a vast amount of credibility.

This can be especially true if you are an independently owned business in an arena with a bunch of corporate, more well known or larger businesses to compete with.

Focus your time and energy on cultivating your story, how you came to be, what makes you unique and develop your strengths in who you already are, instead of trying to follow the crowd or be something you’re not.

You can - and should - use your business story in your marketing efforts. See an example for Video Marketing here.

Break-off from the pack, get out of the box and paint outside of the lines.

Go Rogue.

Think differently. Talk differently. Act differently. Market differently.

Build value – and for G-d’s sake – get out of the price war. Doing so, will separate you from the pack and give customers a true buying preference. Be honest, we ALL would rather work with people who see and appreciate the true value in us, versus people just looking for the lowest price and best deal.

With the companies I run, we’ve gone Rogue.

We talk different:

Informing/consulting vs selling.

We think different:

Constant & progressive product development & services that consistently increases our clients bottom line.

We act different:

We don’t cold-call. Over the past decade our clientele has grown mainly from repeat clients and the referrals they send our way.

We haven’t made a single cold-call in years. We’re proud of that fact. We like making cold-calls about as much as you like receiving them. We mainly connect with businesses and clients who reach out to us because they did their homework on us or were referred by someone who saw the value in us, how we provide it and the effectiveness of our products.

If you are reading this right now, you may already be getting that impression.

If you are ready to go Rogue, sick of making cold-calls, or just want to do business with someone that actually cares about your success, make a warm -call and connect with us today.

Incompletely Complete.

Sat, 18 Jun 2016 22:28:00 GMT

Some of my earliest memories contain my father. He was a handyman. He was also an abusive alcoholic, so he would get real “handy” with us as well. One of my very first memories is of him trying to fix a window in the bedroom with a hammer & nails. As he was holding a nail in one hand he missed and slammed his thumb with the hammer. He screamed and cursed as blood dripped down his hand. He then continued slamming the hammer down onto the nail in anger for the next 3 or 4 minutes, missing every other time and crushing his thumb and forefinger as well. He continued to yell obscentites until the job was “done” and his hand was a bloody mess. I watched this from the corner……..I was about 4 years old.

His anger and abuse (verbal, mental & physical) continued to get worse and came to a head about a year or so later when he threw me across the room into a full length mirror and stomped on my brother, nearly killing him. My brother was about 6 or 7. Our crime? Jumping on the bed.

This seemingly horrible incident was actually a blessing in disguise. It was the catalyst that led to us getting away from him.

My mother still allowed him supervised visits with us, which ended up being very short-lived.

I remember standing at the large bay window with my overnight bag on my shoulder, staring outside waiting for him to show for our visit…..for hours…with tears in my eyes. He rarely showed. I remember feeling my excitement spike each time I caught glimpse of a car coming toward the house. This happened over and over again until my mother couldn’t take it anymore, so she ended it. We never saw him again. Well, just once….

The Dad-napping.

A couple of years later, my father grabbed us from the parking lot of our apartment complex as we got off the school bus. Getting kidnapped by your own father at 7 or 8 years old is a really scary and confusing thing. I was not only crying because I was so scared of him, but I also thought I would never see my mother again. I vividly remember him looking over at me and angrily yelling:

“Do you want to keep crying like a little prick?… Or do you want to have some fun?”

“Fun.” I sobbed. It seemed like the only acceptable answer. Besides, I didn’t know what a “Little Prick” was. Sounded bad though.

He drove us to his apartment, a dark, dirty & gritty pigsty with holes in the walls and a dirty mattress in one of the corners, somewhere in Cleveland.

I thought this horrible place would be my new home…… forever.

For some reason he decided to take us to the dinosaur exhibit at the natural history museum. It was there that he finally made a call to my mother. (at this point it had been hours later and her kids never got off the school bus, I can only imagine how terrifying that was for her.) I watched as he unscrewed the payphone receiver and dicked around with the wires a bit. He was either trying to bug the phone, or fool himself into thinking he was. I can’t remember what was said or if I spoke to my mother or not, the rest of that evening is a blur.

The next thing I remember was him driving us home. I can’t describe the feeling of seeing my mom again.

That was truly the last time I ever saw my father.

My mother truly did an incredible job raising me, however it was difficult to not have that male companionship and guidance. Although I know that his influence in my life would have drastically changed who I now am. I had a few friends with incredible fathers which sometimes intensified the feeling of lack, but at least I was able to gain a glimpse of what a father really was.

After becoming a dad myself, I began to think about my own father – who I had not seen or heard from in over 30 years. If I was thinking of him, was he also thinking about me?

It dawned on me how easy I would be to find. I was all over the grid. A simple Google search would show my LinkedIn bio or at the very least one of my websites – all of which contain my contact info. This frustrated me because it led me to the conclusion that he didn’t want to connect. But why? Maybe he’s all fucked up, but what’s he got against me? Wouldn’t he want to see what I am doing, or how I am doing? Maybe wonder what I look like? We have the same blood running through our veins. But for over 30 years, nothing…

I had these feelings fairly often but only spoke of it here and there with my wife.

The Package.

Around 2011 I received a random package in the mail. It was addressed to my brother and I. I didn’t recognize the name or address on the return label. I took the box and dumped it out on my pool table. As I did this, my heart stopped.

The box contained old pictures of my father as well as new-ish pictures of him with people that I didn’t know. He was old, maybe seventy-five, with more wrinkles and grey hair but I recognized him immediately. It also contained old audio tapes with no labels on them and some handmade knittings, doilies and trinkets. They were all so familiar, I think I remembered them from the house we used to live in.

My heart sunk. My original thought was that he had passed away and maybe some nice person packed up some random drawer in some random room he was renting in some random house, found his next of kin and sent them his belongings.

My wife just stared at me from across the room. I was frozen, and heavy-hearted. I slid the pictures aside and saw the last component of this package. It was a 200 page, hand-written letter, from my dad.

It began with:

“Boys, ….”

I really don’t remember what the rest of that first line read, because it was immediately followed with a grudge-filled rant about how horrible it was that we were taken from him. He used the most vulgar words imaginable about my mother – the person who single-handedly raised two boys on her own while getting her Masters Degree with very little outside help. Certainly none from him. I couldn’t read any more of the garbage and I was only halfway through the first page.

As 200 tattered sheets fell to the ground, I cried.

I cried for my childhood, I cried for my loss of a father and mentor, I cried for the shattered hope of any reconciliation, but most of all – I cried for him.

My wife flipped through the letter, 20 pages at a time, just glancing at the words on the pages. She would turn to me every few seconds and say, “He’s still bashing your Mom”. He bashed her to the end of the letter. This is what he had to say to his son after 30 years of silence…and at the very end, a phone number for me to call him.

A hate letter , was his legacy to me.

I felt broken.

Over the next few weeks there was much debate from friends whether or not to call the number. Some said not to call and that I was better off without him and others said to just call because “What could it hurt?” The sad truth is, had there only been a single sheet of paper that said “Jonathan, please call me.” I most likely would have immediately called without even blocking my number.

In the end, I didn’t call. This seemed like closure. Enough closure for me anyway – or at the very least all the closure I was needing, even though there was still a piece of me that felt hollow or missing.

I now have two children. When my son was born, we named him “Chase” so he will always remember to go after everything he wants in his life and to also remember that there will always be different desires in life, always something to go after and pursue, and there is no final destination or “arrival” here on this earth.

When Chase was about a year old, he was giving me a good-bye hug as I left for work one morning. It was a different kind of hug this time. I remember that it was the first time that he had intentionally really “hugged” me. The kind with a good tight squeeze and a true heart to heart feeling. He laid his head on my shoulder and was holding me tight.

He really melted into me. I melted too.

What I felt at that moment is hard to put into words or explain. The hollow piece of my heart filled up. The pain stopped. Just like that. I realized something over the next few days.

I thought that the void in my heart could only be filled by a father. A father I didn’t have and never would have – but I was wrong. With the birth of my son, and through our bond, I have become the father. I have BECOME the very thing that I needed. I became the very man I needed. It is me. It is within, it was never without.

Confirming once again, that if something is truly for you, it will never pass you by.

What do you need, that you yourself can become, today?

8 Things I learned from Being Homeless ( For a Summer)

Sat, 23 Apr 2016 04:00:00 GMT

"If you cannot see where life is taking you, perhaps it is higher than you can perceive"

A few years back, just before summer began - my wife and I found a house we fell in love with. It was perfect, it had everything we ever wanted or needed in a home. It had beautiful open spaces for entertaining, a pool, a built-in outdoor kitchen, detached mother-in-law suite and was in a beautiful, friendly neighborhood with bars, shopping and restaurants – all within walking distance.

We put in an offer and it was accepted. We were getting our dream home. We listed our current house and it sold very quickly. We would be moving in the first week of June while our kids were on summer break. We were beaming. We visualized the colors we would paint the walls, the decorations we would use, the new furniture we would buy, we even purchased beautiful modern wood flooring in advance. We took our kids to see it, took pictures outside and drove past it regularly. We even started frequenting the restaurants in the area.

Visualizing the end result? ✅

Imagining all of the details? ✅

Acting as if? ✅

Done.

No doubts, no fears. It was ours.

But then...... it wasn’t.

Through a series of mishaps including an appraisal on the home coming in way too low for the sellers to accept, we lost the house. We lost – what we thought was our dream home – a week before moving into it.

We heard a lot of “Then there must be something better out there for you guys.” from many people. We couldn’t imagine what that could possibly be. We were broken-hearted, shocked and in disbelief.

My wife’s father and step-mother were compassionate and gracious towards us and let us stay with them while we started the house search all over again. With no house to move in to, we loaded every room in our office to the ceiling with boxes and furniture, then packed a few suitcases with clothes for us and the kids and took them to my in-laws. Since most of the kids toys were boxed up, we bought them each Lego sets at least once a week to keep them occupied. For them, this particular summer may very well be remembered as “The Summer of Lego”.

We scrambled to look at every home in the area that met our criteria and was still close to the kids school. Within two weeks, we must have seen 100 homes online and forty in person. There were times that we saw six or seven houses on the same day. We eventually agreed on a house we saw that was on a golf course with a lake view, and after a few weeks began to let go of the pain of the dream house we lost and allowed excitement to build for the golf course home.

And then…..the unthinkable happened….. AGAIN.

Another series of mishaps including another low appraisal and sellers being unwilling to bend – and boom, we lost that house as well.

Again, everyone told us: “There must be something better for you guys out there.” Hearing this for a second time after living out of suitcases for nearly two months offered little to no comfort, even though we desperately wanted to believe it.

With heavy hearts - and with an attitude that at times I was less than proud of - the search started over, once again.

Maybe one of the hardest parts was being asked by our children why we don’t have our own place to live, as well as them pointing out random apartments and communities that we drove past, saying “That one will do Daddy! We can just live there, can’t we?”

What happened next was amazing. We came across a house that is vastly more beautiful than any of the others, even the original “dream house” pales in comparison.

As a matter of fact, it is like a blend of all of the greatest features we saw in the many of the homes we liked on our search.

It was, dare I say, perfect?

We ended up moving into that house a few weeks later, after 16 weeks of not having our own place.

Below are a few of the things we learned over this “homeless summer”:

1. We are not the sum of our “things.”
Not having any of your own space, and living daily without the personal belongings and routines that make you comfortable is challenging. Think about it. The things on your bedside table, the things that you do daily that make up your life. Eating, cooking, exercise. The art on your walls and not having to put clothes on to walk through the house or use the bathroom at 2 am. These things provide a sense of comfort. A sense of home. After a few weeks I didn’t feel like myself at all.

If we aren't careful, we can allow ourselves to be defined by our routines and our things as they reflect our unique personalities and lifestyles.

Who was I without my things, without my normal routines? Do they define us? For the first few weeks, I thought so – at least a little – but as more time passed living without all the things around that were uniquely “me” I realized they didn’t. I define me. I was me before “things” and I am me without them. I just, am.

It took being without , to have a deeper understanding of what was within . Which brings me to lesson number two:

2. We don’t really NEED that much (in life).

I had been more or less been wearing the same 5 or 6 shirts and 4 pairs of shorts for the entire summer, and you know what? I became totally ok with it. For one thing, it makes getting dressed in the morning so much easier. You may not find choosing outfits stressful, but I do. I totally understand the thought processes of Albert Einstein and Steve jobs in this regard. What do we really need in life to be happy? What is of the utmost importance?

Although I strive for – and enjoy – abundance in my life, living with the bare minimum had been freeing.

3. Cleaning up after yourself/ Staying organized.

Although we all revel at the site of IKEA’s “600 square foot” home setups, (How the heck did they get a whole house in there?!) it’s a completely different story when you add people living there up in the mix. The spaces are indeed small, but ultimately look great and liveable….unless you actually tried to live in them. That’s kind of what it was like with four people sharing one guest bathroom. There wasn't enough space on the counter for all of us to leave everything we need to get ready in the morning. We had to adopt a policy of using something and immediately putting it away. Toothbrushes, hair dryer, gels, sprays, shavers, and makeup, all need to be put back in their place after being used to allow the space for others. This conditioned us – in a very short time – to constantly put things away and clean up after ourselves a little more than we would in our own home. A little organization never hurt anyone, right? We were getting better at it by the minute.

4. Letting go of resistance.

The resistance you feel when trying to control things you can’t, bleeds into every other area of your life, and creates more blocks that keep other desires at bay. We learned this the hard way. For the first few weeks, we allowed many of the ups-and-downs to get to us. Especially the loss of money and multiple homes.

Not going with the flow and feeling frustrated with things we couldn’t really control, bled over into our business and also into our relationship with each other. We fought more, nit-picked constantly and got on each others nerves. Things weren’t much better at the office either. (my wife and I work together.)

But - once we took a step back and realized how much resistance we had allowed ourselves to feel, we let it go.

How? We decided to accept the things we could not change. Once we did this, something broke. A load was lifted. Things started flowing again. Well, they never really stopped flowing, we were just out of that flow, standing on the sidelines whining and complaining about it.

Ever been there?

Business picked up, we found a more beautiful home and we started communicating better and getting along. Funny how that works.

For the kids it may have been the summer of “Lego” but for us it was certainly the summer of “Let Go.”

5. There. Truly. Is. Something. Better. For. You.

Even though you may want to punch people in the face when they say that to you during a time of challenge or loss, it’s true. Sometimes we get to see it immediately – in Judaism this would be called “Revealed Good” – and sometimes we don’t. Two house deals that fell through and living out of suitcases for an entire summer, had led us to deepened relationships with friends and family as well as an amazing and beautiful home. One that is above and beyond our original dream.

6. You find out how loved and supported you really are.

In times of stress or challenge, friends and family have an opportunity to show you how much you mean to them. People came out of the woodwork and went above and beyond to help us, love us, support us and generally try to make our lives easier. Gifts of love came in all forms. A place to stay, cooking us dinner, inviting us to game nights, and sleepovers, all the way to watching our kids and offering up their homes and garages to store our belongings. Through this process we have become closer to so many as well as gained a deeper understanding of what being a friend truly means, and we learned it from a challenge that lasted months.

7. You get what you ask for. (but maybe not exactly how you want)
Before that summer, I had been asking/praying for more space and more peace. What I got – in the physical – seemed to be the opposite. But within the space that was created, also came the opportunity for me to go within, to seek out what I needed. Asking for things (especially qualities you desire) sometimes puts you in a position of having to create those very things within yourself - basically where ALL the best changes come from.

8. Everything is an adventure.

We have the power to turn anything into a (fun) adventure if we choose to see it that way. There was certainly a lot of ups and downs that summer, especially with our emotions. We had to learn to be content and happy way past the edges of our comfort zones and routines that many of us rely on for structure, stability and quite frankly, sanity.

Once we allowed ourselves to see all of the above was taking place, we were then able to view this summer – the summer of “Let Go” – as a beautiful and fun adventure.

Again, a heartfelt thank you to all who helped. You know who you are.

I can now even see the "revealed good" that came out of this, so I am also thankful to the situation that created this experience.

If there is anything else at all I can help you with, use the form below to reach out - and please share.