(Cross-posted at Shankman.com and A Year to Ten Percent.) I’ve already gotten about 30 party invites, have had two hotels ask me if I need comped rooms, and been offered several dinners, rides, and the like for this year’s South by Southwest festival. And I’ve had to turn them all down, because this year, I’m not going. Say you’re not going to Southby (as the “cool kids” call it,) and you’re looked at like you just turned down a backrub from the next door neighbor on The Big Bang Theory. So I’m putting it out here, why I’m not attending the huge festival of South and West. 1) I’m busy. This is the simple reason. I’ve got two paid speaking [...]

This is a part of a continuing series of posts on the topic of how to be taken seriously. And if you wonder why a post about how to live your life while having fun is part of a group of posts on being taken seriously, think about it – If you can be a professional, while having fun and enjoying your life, there’s nothing more respected than that. Before you read this post, read this one first. Chances are, if you’re gonna leave a snarky comment, it’s already been left there. Now then: I’m writing this blog post on a flight back from Frankfurt, a connection to end a trip that started four days ago at Newark Airport, led [...]

Jumping a little off-point from my usual social media tirades, we find ourselves on an Amtrak headed from NYC to Philadelphia today. We find ourselves in the quiet car, because, well, when almost most people in the universe took tact lessons at the Mubarak School for the Ethically Gifted, the quiet car has the least of them. But then, we find our subject in front of us, oblivious to the blue and white signs that scream “THE QUIET CAR THAT YOU’RE IN IS FOR EVERYONE, NOT EVERYONE EXCLUDING YOU. He’s talking to “Michelle.” I know this, because he’s mentioned her name four times in four minutes. Several minutes of hard staring into the back of his skull later, and I [...]

This is the first in a series of posts on how to be taken seriously. Each post will focus on a specific concept, and the five ways to be taken seriously within that concept. This post has to do with backup plans and timing. Last week, during the 854th NYC storm of the month, I had to get out to San Diego to keynote a conference. Knowing there was going to be a storm, I made a backup plan. I booked the Continental 8:45 EWR-SAN, then booked the Continental 2:45 EWR-SAN as a backup, pretty sure the 8:45 would be cancelled. And of course, it was, and I was all like, “It’s cool, I’m on the 2:45.” And it was [...]

One line takeaway: Productivity is available to you 24 hours a day. Don’t stifle it by not having the right tools at any given moment in time. Additionally, with the exception of being on the advisory board of the ScotteVest, I have no financial relationship with any of the products I mention below. Over the past 60 days, I’ve figured out how to increase my productivity by over 25% with a smart series of moves that I’ll share below. Before I go into it, I should thank Adam Boettiger. He’s like a time-saving savant, offering me several of the tips below, and I want to publicly say thank you. I recommend following him if you’re looking for good tidbits on [...]