Think Group Media Newsletter Just Think Vol. 97

In This Issue: Just Think,Real Talk,Marketing Buzz...

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JUST THINK 97: "ACCESSING YOUR INNER HAPPINESS PART I"
by Shelli Tinae
twitter.com/ShelliTinae
theMindofShelliTinae.blogspot.com

It has become almost cliché to say, "Happiness is inside of you," but do we really know what that inside-happiness feels like? It can be a great challenge to look inside for happiness because we seek tangible evidence that it truly exists. Believing in our inner happiness is like believing there is a heaven; we hear good things about it but many have never experienced it first hand. We tend to associate happiness mainly with people, but also it's the vast experiences that we revert back to in our minds that claim the happiness throne. Many of us truly feel from our hearts that happiness comes from inside of us but it’s still hard to ascertain how to access the blissfulness within that we so often hear about.

So how do we make "Happiness is inside of you" more than a cliché?

We must start with gratitude. Be ever so grateful for all that you have and all that you're growing to be. If you stay centered in gratitude - then it will be difficult for sadness to overcome you.

To put it simply, GRATITUDE = HAPPINESS. Do you see it now? Happiness, in some way, shape or form, has always been something we've had the ability to access just by focusing on the things to appreciate in life.

You have to start somewhere so let's start with the basics. Gratitude does not require the assistance from an outside source. Everyone on this planet has many things to be grateful for. If you're having trouble thinking of something, just stop and give thanks for your breath. None of us have ever gone one second without breathing. Count your blessings so you can continue to attract even more things to be grateful for in your life.

Food is also a great example of something many of us have never gone a day without. Be thankful for your food but don't lightly say, "I'm thankful for this food because I was hungry." That is a very surface way of giving gratitude. It would be better to say something like, "I am thankful for this food as it is providing nourishment, strength and health so I can fulfill the life plan The Source has in store for me." Give some substance and depths to your feelings of gratitude so you can tap into the happiness that the Divine Creator accessed when it created that food for you to eat and enjoy. The ultimate key to happiness is seeing how intricately we’re connected we’re a part of Source energy.

Also, it’s important to Count your blessings so you can continue to attract even more things to be grateful for in your life. Like a magnet, we are continuously attracting things – the good and the bad, so maximize the feelings of inner happiness by shining light on all the things you’re grateful for.

I am grateful for you!

Namaste!



MARKETING BUZZ:"Ways to Increase Online Brand Visibility"
excerpt from SmallBusinessBranding.com by BY Nick Stamoulis,Sept 29th, 2011

...Here are 3 ways to increase online brand visibility:

Produce Quality Content

Obviously, you need to have a website filled with lots of useful information but that’s not where your content marketing strategy should end. The more “real estate” that you have online, the better. Remember, content shouldn’t be a sales pitch for your product or service. The content that you produce should provide some benefit to your target audience and establish yourself or the business that you represent as a trusted industry expert. By producing quality blog posts, videos, articles, whitepaper, E-books, and more you will gain a certain level of trust with target audience members and the search engines which will establish your brand identity.

Form Relationships with Others in the Industry

As they say, “location, location, location”. While the content marketing piece is extremely important to build brand visibility, where those articles, whitepapers, E-books, etc. are found plays a large role in its success. It’s necessary to attract the attention of the right target audience. This is why it’s important to reach out to and cultivate relationships with influential people in the industry, bloggers in particular. By establishing a relationship and a level of trust with the owner of a popular industry blog that gets thousands of unique visitors a day, you may be asked to become a guest contributor which may even lead to becoming a regular writer. Gaining support from a trusted industry expert passes authority on to you which builds brand equity and will also result in increased traffic to your site.

Develop an Online Community

Social media is great for brand building online. Of course, it requires developing a strong social media strategy. You simply can’t sign up for an account and expect that to help your cause. You need to be active and post content daily while taking the time to interact with followers. In social media, your fans and followers are your greatest asset. As long as you post quality content, they will share it, Like it, and re-tweet it to their followers expanding your brand visibility. While it’s certainly important to be active on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, there are numerous smaller and niche social networking sites that may be a good fit for your business that shouldn’t be overlooked.
To read the full article, click here



REAL TALK:"RE-THINKING YOUR VISION & SUCCESS"
by Native Notes
twitter.com/NativeNotes
NativeNotes.net

Sometimes when I think of a to-do-list I immediately get bogged down in having to have tangible items that I’m locked into. And while that may work for some, it doesn’t necessarily work for me. When I was 25, I was a law student at Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law. As far as my to-do list, I was going to be an attorney by age 27, work for a few years but ultimately I wanted to start my own non-profit and also a media company. I’m 28, I have 1 year of law school under my belt – not going back anytime soon and that’s that. But what about those other dreams, my other passions; did I have the mindset to achieve them?

For this list I want to tap into our passions and mindset more than a specific, tangible item. I’m not saying you don’t need measurable goals, you can think all day but with no action you’ll be 35 and still no closer to your dreams. We probably need a bit of both lists to get to that greater good that will truly make us happy but let’s get started with transforming our minds.

Be fluid
Don’t be a slave to a timeline. You need a timeline, most definitely, but you can’t be a slave to that timeline. Things are going to happen that will throw you off your course or accelerate your path and you have to be prepared for both scenarios. Be like water; transform in different settings and learn what you can through observation. Don’t give up just because it’s not happening how you want it to happen, there might be a greater lesson by taking the scenic route.

Dare to dream
You could very well be the next Steve Jobs. But not if you just sit at home thinking you could be the next Steve Jobs. Hell you’re home you could at least Google Steve Jobs and study his moves and how he got to where he is. Then, speak it into existence. Listen to some old Jay-Z (Circa Vol. 1), Jay was always rapping about big things but he hadn’t accrued them just yet. He was speaking his success into the universe and allowing it to manifest itself. We can do the same. A few weeks ago I found myself speaking about my work life in a very lackluster way. Now what would make you want to work with me on a project if I’m this fella who lacks enthusiasm about his current gig and doesn’t sound too excited about the next move. That’s speaking failure into existence. Let’s stop that.

Align your passions
What do you love to do? What are you doing currently? If those two don’t match you’re doing something wrong and the truth is most of us are doing something wrong because we’re not aligning our passions. It’s going to take some creativity because gone are the days of graduating college, landing a job and sticking with them for 50 years,retiring and collecting a fat pension. There are many different pathways to success, which one will you choose. Seek out people in the industry you want to be a part of and pick their brain. Merge their successes with whatever it is that’s unique about you and that’s a start right? Beats working a job you hate to pay bills you wish you didn’t have. DO YOU!

If you fall off try, try again
So many of us had dreams, for some reason or another that dream failed. Someone said black kids need to be taught that it’s ok to fail because any good business man knows that it’s going to take a few tries before you get it right. But failure hurts; it drains the life out of you, if you let it. Get back on that horse and ride into your happily ever after ending because if you just sit there sulking you’ll miss the dope ending that is your success.

Make time for your dreams
You can’t just keep working that same old slave (throwback word for job) and expect to reach your dream job. I read a quote recently that I found applicable here “Nothing will chain you to work you don’t want to do like debt will.” Student loans, living way outside of our means and everything else money related can sometime stifle our dreams. But just because you’re putting time in on your job doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make time for your passion projects in your spare time. I don’t care if you have to take a little time during your workday to clear your head and help refresh those ideas that are going to get you to your happy place, DO IT! Wake up earlier, and go to bed later but make some grind time for you. You have to be your largest investor, or as Katt Williams says, “pay a little more attention to your star player and his/her dreams.”

Lay your foundation
For men, chasing women is a sure way to throw yourself off track. For women, letting lame dudes chase them and this some strange game of cat & mouse often tends to throw them off track. I’m not saying plan your wedding by age 30 but start thinking about what your foundation will look like in life. Some of my more successful fraternity brothers always tell me that they couldn’t imagine where they would be without their wives and children because their support and love is invaluable. Maybe your foundation is to just keep great, ambitious friends around you so you push each other to strive for more. Just focus on the foundation that works best for you because we’re not going to make it by just hoping we make it. We have to do it.

When you started this decade of your life you were in college. If you were like me, you didn’t really know what you wanted to be when you grew up even though I was racking up debt by the bunch loads. Most of us knew we wanted to finish school, we might go to grad school and we wanted to make enough money to lead a good life. 10 years later, you’re still in the earlier part of your career but hopefully you’re a little bit wiser. The most important thing you can take into this next decade is a renewed mindset that focuses on your happiness. A mindset that focuses on your definition of success and no one else’s. Shoot for your dreams, as I will mine because I don’t want to write this same article in another 10 years and still haven’t found my happiness and purpose.

For the under 30 crowd, what are your goals to accomplish by 30? For the over 30 folks, did you do everything you had hoped to do by that age?



PHOTO RECAP:"Courvoisier Rose Bet Weekend"
By The Fabian photography
twitter.com/theFabe
www.TheFabian.com
Courvoisier Rose and Fly Kix clothing boutique teamed up for Bet HipHop weekend to present an auction/in store event to raise funds and awareness for educational programs.


See all the photos here
Need to book an event photographer? click here



SPOTLIGHT: ''Model and Business woman Brit Eady Interview with The Christ James Show "
via TheChristJames.com

Model,mentor and business woman Brit Eady sits down with the Christ James Show and talks about soulja boy swag ,dating, relationships, her venture Project Fancy,her high-end consignment Closet Fancy and more.

View on Youtube here



NEW MUSIC ALERT:"PERIOD POINT BLANK!!"
Oakland native, London has released a new set of "slaps" (as he calls them) for your listening pleasure.Check the link below
LondonLand.tv






UPCOMING EVENTS
Dubai Thursdays
October 13th, 2011
VANQUISH, 1029 Peachtree St. N.E. Atlanta, GA 30309

MillerCoors T.A.P. Awards
October 27, 2011
Bradford Galleries, Atlanta GA 30324



Brand Ambassador & Model Resumes Accepted at www.ThinkGroupMedia.com
Don't Waste Ink...Think
Keep Haiti In Your Hearts"
sincerely,Think Group Media, Inc.