OKAY – Late night #3.  Almost midnight.  Going to sleep at midnight.  Must go to sleep at midnight…

TASK LIST:

Last night I re-recorded my prior podcasts to a) Insert the “Operation Healthcaring” name and b) Combine episodes so they are now 2x as long (5-10 minutes each) and combine similar topics.  The Operation Healthcaring podcast now has 5 episodes excerpted from my “Creative Ways to Teach Patients” talks.  I’m planning to record excerpts from the “Habits” talk I’m giving on Monday.  I’d like to record them ahead of time, so they’re ready right away for reviewing and sharing.  (It would also give me an opportunity to rehearse ahead of time.)  Unfortunately, it looks like that task is falling down on the priority list, below updating the website, so I don’t think it will happen this weekend.  The good news is that I’ve completed what matters most right now, which is posting relevant and helpful content on the podcast.  If people like what they hear, and especially if I tell them that I’ll be posting excerpts from the presentation at a later time, then they can choose to come back later.  People can’t come back, though, if there’s not anything there in the first place.  Check!

I now have two priority tasks to complete by Sunday noon.

FIRST, create “note” cards for the presentation.  The PowerPoint has lots of graphics/images and limited text (not lecture notes).  I don’t need to read the presentation – I’m sharing personal stories and examples and want to have flexibility with the content and “Crazy Laura” comments.  I do want to feel like I have a fallback plan, though, in case I get stuck or need a reminder for details or especially study details.  Ideally I would have more time left for rehearsal, but as I stated above I’m not super optimistic about that this weekend.  Maybe if I can create the notecards sometime tomorrow (kids have a day off and may be happy to play on those darned devices for longer than I’d normally prefer) I can make some time to rehearse before the end of the weekend.  I really like the idea of recording myself on Anchor.  It makes me feel like I’m speaking to an audience, it allows me an opportunity to review and listen to what I’ve said, and of course I can post the completed episodes on my Podcast!  It will also help me to confirm my talk’s length and timing.

SECOND, update the website.  I’m looking at the PeterBregman.com site because I like how the home page is clear and concise.  (He’s also the one that inspired me with the simple, authentic welcome email.)  There’s a main image and then 3 buttons underneath.  That’s what I want to do this weekend – choose one main image and then put 2-3 buttons underneath that link to separate pages.  Anything critical that doesn’t go on a button can go into the heading.

Critical elements to add:

• Email signup widget
• 3 Buttons – which ones?
  1. About.  I will use the info from my Welcome letter.
  2. Podcast.  Is there an easy way to put Podcast audio on the page?
  3. Contact.  I’ll just write as text for now and figure out how to create form page later.
  4. The SMILE Manifesto?  It’s relevant, complete, and captures the spirit of the project.
  5. Coming Soon.  “Open Heart Surgery” or something about being under construction.
  6. Survey?  This is an “eventually” idea, but doesn’t sound like a quick project for last-ditch-effort weekend.  I’d rather start collecting emails and later, in a week or two, send an email to my list (My List!!!) inviting them to a) listen to new podcasts and b) take a survey.  Asking for periodic input and feedback is called building a relationship.

So what buttons/elements would you include as the MOST BASIC and CRITICAL elements for your “emergency weekend” home page?  Am I missing something?

Done!  I presented to a group of about 50 renal dietitians and I felt good about the presentation. I had many supporters in the audience  People laughed in the right parts and I think I conveyed the important points. At the end, I was asked to scroll back to my Contact slide so people could write down the website/podcast info.  That gave me a little thrill

I will be really happy if I get 10 email signups from today.  That would be a great start

@bobbiejo @mars @saramccann @davidj – Thanks for the feedback and support.  On the drive home from the conference yesterday, I realized that I felt so exhausted, literally wiped out.  I came home and laid down on the bed for an hour.  It’s been a lot of work to get to this point.  A lot of nights awake until stupid o’clock.  A lot of time stolen away from my kids and invested into this crazy dream of mine.

I felt good about my talk.  Someone approached me afterwards, a dietitian who had heard one of my earlier company tele seminars, and she noted that this one was quite different than that one.  I have some ideas why she might have said that (I wish I’d asked but didn’t think of it at the time) and I may reach out to her later this week and see what resonated with her most from both of the presentations.  The good news is she’s heard me before, she actually remembers hearing me talk, and she was willing to provide me with some genuine feedback (as opposed to the “Good Job!  That was great!” that’s nice but not very helpful when you’re interested in learning and growing).  And she’s someone who recognized my name even though I didn’t recognize hers – which means I must be making some kind of a name for myself.

I could have presented the same talk I did for the tele seminar, but I didn’t for two reasons.  First, I knew there would be some people who had heard it before.  Looking over yesterday’s audience, that may have been only a handful but it was still a consideration.  Second, I wanted to try something different and see how it went.  So I took a risk and I followed through.  And I learned from that process.

No email signups.  I don’t think anyone has been added to the podcast.  But I put it out there (a HUGE deal) and I can work on the pitch some more.  Next time I think I may pitch it to a few close colleagues instead of a big group of people (many of whom were familiar faces, but still…)  I can come up with a lead magnet.  Some more podcasts, maybe the scripts.  And more than anything, I need to start working on the course.  If I felt vulnerable and raw sharing just the website with an audience, I can’t even imagine what it will feel like to release a course and ask people to pay me money.  This is going to be a big challenge and moment for growth.  There’s a reason I’m not working in sales and self-promotion!  But as long as I focus on being appreciative and helpful and adding value – I think this will all evolve and improve and I’ll gain my first subscriber and then the next one and so on.

@davidj – Woot!  Woot!  Indeed!  I’m off to celebrate with a group of kindergarteners dressed up for Halloween!

@bradleytmorris – I appreciate that “long game” comment.  It’s just like promoting behavior change in ourselves and our patients.  People may promise “quick-fix” solutions – but even if those work in the short-term, those advantages often wear off over time and sometimes put us in worse circumstances.  (Can anyone say “Lose Weight Fast” then gain it back and then some down the road?)

So I have to focus on the experience I’ve gained during the past month, process my emotions about the whole thing, and then move on to the next tasks, the next challenges that lay ahead.  It’s been one year since I started my trek on this mountain and while I haven’t realized my dream – not yet – I can see I’m getting closer and it’s hard to predict where I may be another year from now.

The next steps:

First, record excerpts from Monday’s talk and post it on the podcast.  I told my audience I would do that.  I have to follow through.

Second, create some kind of lead magnet.  A PDF would be an easy route, but an email mini-course could be more engaging.  I’m thinking I can use strategies from the “Creative Ways to Teach Patients” talks I’ve given (they’ve been well-received) and create some type of “5 Dares in 5 Days” challenge.  Each email can focus on one strategy: Mindset, Shrink the Change, Implementation Intentions, Bright Spots, and something else (maybe more about habits).  No video for this one (too much at the moment, unless it’s a relevant link) but I can include a personal story, a strategy, a link to one of my podcast episodes, maybe an article or book link.  Then I can give a “homework” assignment to practice yourself and/or with a patient.  And then I can ask for feedback – an email response would be easiest for me, but maybe I could figure out how to enable comments on my website, or even create some basic community forum where people could see what others have shared and maybe even start to interact.  I think if I can get that interaction started, that will be a huge motivator to get people signing up and engaged in the project.

So I don’t know the November challenge details yet.  I may have to morph the guidelines once again to suit my own needs.  Because sometimes a Motivation Superhero has to trust her gut and do what’s right even if it’s not the common path – and yet find the right place on the mountain for support and encouragement  😉