ryans blog »

Apr 20

6 Reasons Why I Am Moving To Mondays

By Ryan Avery Motivation 4 Comments

Hey Todayers, I have been evaluating how my core values tie in with what I am doing and what readers want in my writing. My number one core value is to produce quality.

Readers are looking for simple success strategies they can use to make a significant impact in their personal or professional lives. With that said, I am going to be moving my articles from Monday, Wednesday and Friday… to Mondays.

Here is my reasoning and what we all should consider when creating content:

Choose quality over quantity: I want to keep producing quality. I can tell from the way my schedule has been growing that I have been creating content to create content rather than to share strategies of high quality. Lately, I have caught myself saying things like, “Well, I just need to get an article out” or “Let me think of something creative to write, so I can get more followers” rather than taking time to do more research, learn about my readers/industry, and give you the best content. I am not saying I have not produced quality. In fact, I am proud of what I have done with this blog. What I am saying is that I have begun catching myself thinking about wavering with my core value, and I don’t want to go down that route. I want to keep producing quality content while managing my time, my growing schedule, and my upcoming opportunities.

Write in hopes it will stick: There is a lot of content out there. I want to make sure I don’t give you too much, but rather give you content you can immediately take, use, and implement.

Be the leading resource for readers: I have heard from a few people that I can overwhelm you with blog updates or content. I want to be seen as a leading resource for you, not as a spammer whom you gloss over when my email lands in your inbox with a new article.

Give time to building your brand: I am making some big changes in the next few months. I have hired a brand strategist, a videographer, and a photographer. I keep reaching out to my long-time followers and clients who are helping me identify the value I bring and lining it up with what I want to do. This takes time, and I want to get it right!

Listen to your statistics: My views on Mondays are almost double the views as my other days. When I sent out my questionnaire for last year to my readers, the most popular day was Monday when I asked, “What day do you want to read blog articles?”

Identify the purpose of your blog: The purpose of my blog is to share with my readers what I am doing and what I have learned along the way. I want to use this space as an opportunity to share stories and strategies that teach success principles and to connect you with leaders who offer advice that will change your life!

That is why I am moving to Mondays. I hope you stay with me! I hope my content continues to add value to your life. Together, we can continue to grow to be stronger leaders, better speakers, and accomplish our

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Mar 30

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A BIG Mistake People Make With Their Business Cards

By Ryan Avery Motivation 4 Comments

I went to a couple of events last week and collected a bakers’ dozen worth of business cards. After the event, I sat down and responded personally to everyone whom I had met and connected with him or her online.

When I started emailing a few, I caught A BIG mistake people make with their business cards! The BIG mistake people make is when they put their “given” name rather than the name they want to be called, or the one they used when they introduced themselves. For example:

Susan, who really goes by Sue!

William, who really goes by Bill!

Jonathan, who really goes by his middle name, Jake!

Felecia, who really likes to be called Fay!

Don’t put a name on there that you don’t introduce yourself as, or you don’t want to be called! Also, if you are one of those people who say, “Oh, it doesn’t matter which one you call me, I go by Susan or Sue,” please pick one!

This happened to me a few years ago when I used to go by my last name, Avery. I had Ryan on my business card, but introduced myself as Avery.

I didn’t know how much I really confused people until this moment sitting down at my computer looking at four business cards with names of people who introduced themselves differently.

Having a different name on your card is very confusing for the person on the receiving end. It can make the person who is reaching out to you second guess themselves. They might look at the card and think, “I could have sworn she said her name was “X”, or “Well, if that is what he goes by, how do you think he spells it?”

Don’t let the first impression you give to people confuse them!

What do you want people to call you? Put that on your business card. I know, I know, you have a professional side that you are trying to portray, but remember, people don’t do business with business professionals; they do business with people!

We want to know the real you!

So, if you want to be called Sue, Bill, Jake, Fay – or anything else – let us know what your friends call you, because in business the more friends you have the more business opportunities you have!

Some of you need to reprint your business cards, today! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Feb 11

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Six Lessons Leaders Can Learn From Tiny Little Babies

By Ryan Avery Motivation One Comment

I had the chance to hang out with a few of my entrepreneur friends this weekend who happen to have the cutest babies I know! After spending the day with them, I realized we, as leaders, can learn a lot from these miniature humans!

1) Cry and get over it: Babies fall, they fail, and they make mistakes. They cry for a minute, and then they move on to the next thing. They don’t look back.

2) Be happy with the simple things: Babies have fancy toys, nice clothes, and fancy food! What do they play with that makes them the happiest? The boxes the toys came in. They have no care for fancy clothes other than what feels good to wear. They are happy, too, with a simple diet of milk and mushy food high in nutrients! Now, I am one who likes to wear nice clothes, and I prefer tasteful food; but, I can do a better job being happier with the simple things in life!

3) Tell people how you really feel: Babies don’t keep their emotions inside. When they are angry, they let you know. When you are happy, they let you know. When they like someone or don’t like them, they let the person know. They don’t care what people think of them. They care about letting others know what they think!

4) Be curious and try new things: Babies are constantly crawling to explore new territory and scanning for new things to touch! They are alive and happy to be alive, because there is so much out there to explore, see, taste, and touch!

5) Always be learning: Babies are digesting new things everyday! They are thirsty for knowledge.

6) Laugh often: No matter how much they cry, babies always laugh. They smile, they enjoy, and they experience happiness. They want to be happy and do what it takes. They say what they need to say in order to find that happiness.

Sure, babies scream on planes, make a mess, and deprive their parents of sleep; but, we as leaders can do many things to be more like tiny little babies! Move on! Be happy with the simple things, tell people how you feel, try new things, learn something new, and laugh often! Enjoy the day, and as always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

P.s. Thank you Jessica and Devin for letting me use your little one for this post! Y’all are awesome!

Feb 04

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Five Ways to Increase Your Productivity

By Ryan Avery Family & Personal Life One Comment

So you need help being more productive and finding ways to increase your productivity? You and me, both! Wouldn’t it be great if we had four or even three more hours in the day? Better yet, wouldn’t it be nice to only need four or three hours of sleep each night so you could do more!

Well, we only get 24 hours in a day and for those of us who would like to be more productive with our time, here are five ways to increase productivity:

Complete things in threes. Write down

Do a time audit. The first thing I make my clients do is a time audit. I want to see– and I want them to see–how they are spending their time. It is crazy how much time people spend on social media, Hulu, Netflix, and lounging around. See how much time you can save in the week by being more productive. I am all for social media, Hulu, and lounging around, but maybe you are doing it too often or too much!

Block out time for time-wasters. Instead of taking time everyday to plan your meals or what clothes you are going to wear, take time at the end of each week to plan them out and get them ready. Schedule your email, keynote practice, social media, and TV consumption. Don’t check and respond to email throughout the entire day. Block out time in the morning and at night to do them rather than being interrupted on a regular basis.

De-clutter your work space. Stop letting your office space get in the way of what you need to accomplish. If you have paperwork you need to file, letters you need to write, bills you need to pay or things you see you need to do, clutter can stop you from being productive and fully engaged with the work at hand because it lingers in your mind.

Turn off that thing you still call a phone. Its buzzers, whistles, alerts, and photos comprise of a ticking time bomb to distract you. Put your phone on airplane mode when working and see how productive you really are.

Take time to incorporate one or more of these five things this week and see how much more productive you will be! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Jan 30

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My 4 Favorite Speeches of 2014

By Ryan Avery Communication, Motivation No Comments

I watch TED talks every week. Sometimes, I lose track of time as I watch speech after speech soaking up knowledge and critiquing a speaker’s style.

In 2014 I heard four different speakers who each moved me in different ways. Here are my four favorite speeches in 2014 and why:

Dananjaya Hettiarachchi: The 2014 World Champion of Public Speaking rocked the stage in Kuala Lumpur at the Toastmasters International Convention. He had the world captivated with his message and is doing a great job representing the organization!

Edward Snowden: What I loved about this speech is how we can utilize technology to get our voice heard. We no longer need to be on stage to share a message. This speech is inspiring, futuristic, and insightful. You can see the government’s response to Snowden’s speech here. In my opinion, whether you agree with Snowden or not, he did a much better job presenting. You can tell why how you present makes just as much of a difference as what you present.

Simon Sinek: I may or may not have a man crush on Simon Sinek. He is genuine, full of knowledge and uses his voice to create better leaders. His books are fantastic and his speaking style and ability is of the quality of Ziglar and Robbins. His speech inspires me to be a better leader and motivates me to “up my game” as a speaker!

I realize there are no women on this list and I am going to do a much better job this year keeping my eyes open for amazing females who rock the world with their voice!

What were some of your favorite speeches of 2014? If you know of someone who moved you last year, please share in the comments below! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Dec 29

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GIVEAWAY: Merry Christmas Todayers

By Ryan Avery Motivation, Uncategorized 28 Comments

I want to wish all the Todayers out there a Merry Christmas from the Averys! For those Todayers who don’t celebrate Christmas I hope your holiday season has been amazing and you enjoy spending time with your family and friends, eating way too many cookies and watching enough reruns of A Christmas Story to last all year!

December is a month of reflection and opportunity to give thanks for those we care about most! This week we are spending time with our entire family. We haven’t all been together since Chelsea and I married four years ago, so it really means a lot to us!

With that, I have decided to take a week off and spend it with my family! My next article will pick back up on December 29th and we have an awesome schedule or articles already planned for 2015!

As for the GIVEAWAY: I have wrapped a present I want to send to one of you! If you want it, all you have to do is write in the comments below what you are thankful for this year and why! One random winner will be selected by December 29^th and the winner will be posted in the comment section. All I ask is if you are selected you are willing to share with the group what was in the box!

Soak up the time with your family and friends this week. I am looking forward to starting a new year with you in a few days! Merry Christmas, Happy Giveaway Day, and as always…

Dream BIG!
Ryan

Dec 12

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Ryan Avery: 12 Photos for 12/12

By Ryan Avery Motivation 4 Comments

Several of us are getting together to go through all of our photos this year and selecting twelve photos that highlight the best, worst, happiest, saddest, coolest, most adventurous, or most terrifying moments of our year! Here are my #12x12x12 and looking forward to seeing yours! Remember to use the #12x12x12 on social media so we can see your 12 photos!

Photo 1 – Completing the 2013-2014 North American Tour: I learned so many lessons, met so many fantastic people and visited 50 cities in North America with my wife! We lived in hotels for half the year and it was more than difficult to pack for three months at a time but it was worth every minute! Thank you to everyone who came to one of our workshops. Remember, don’t wait for things to happen, make things happen!

Photo 2 – Taking my family to Alaska: The thing I look forward to is spoiling the people who have taken care of me! My mom and dad have always wanted to go to Alaska and after Chelsea and I got on our feet this year we decided to take our family on a 7-Day cruise to say thank you for all they have done for us! We laughed, ate way too much cruise food, went whale watching, played cards and took home a life-time full of memories! I can’t wait to take them on another trip soon!

Photo 3 – Starting the 31 Days of Kindness Challenge with you: This was for sure a highlight of my year! One day I posted this idea on my personal Facebook page and 48 hours later I had over 500 people sign up and jump onboard. We shared photos with our #31DaysofKindess hashtag and together we did more good than most people do in a lifetime! We will do this again next year and make it even bigger, better and spread kindness around the world together! Thank you to everyone who joined in this year!

Photo 4 – The World Record Attempt with Speaker Leader Champion: With the help of 60+ day-of-event volunteers, family and friends all over the world, 16 local and global organizations and partners like McGraw-Hill and CSU, we came together to do something BIG! Our goal was to sign and sell 5,000 books in 12 hours. We sold 1,300 in nine hours. Although we did not reach the goal this time, we raised money for a good cause, showed the world what happens when people come together and helped more than 1,000 people be better leaders! We will break this world record one day and thank you to everyone who supported this attempt, we could not have done it without you! Always go for your BIG dreams, they are worth it and no one benefits from us being average! Even if you don’t make it on your first try, you learn, you get better and you try again!

Photo 5 – Getting our puppy: I mean look at this photo! Sugar (our dog) and Chelsea (my wife) bring so much joy to my life. I will have to say they have made it even harder for me to work from home now that I get stare downs like this! Sugar has been such a joy in our lives (she is even sitting right next to me as I type this article) and thank you mom and dad for saving her life and sending her our way!

Photo 6 – 17 speeches in 17 days in China: Thanks to D85 and D89 this was at the top of my speaking experience this year! It started out with me planning to give four speeches in China and two weeks before I arrived in China we had book events with Speaker Leader Champion, corporate speeches and even more trainings. When I found out it was 17 speeches in 17 days I thought, “Let’s do this!” They treated us so well, we experienced culture, tasted delicious foods and meet so many amazing people! We can’t wait to be back soon!

Photo 7 – Becoming Toastmaster of the Year in my home District (7): This award means a lot to me! District 7 has done so much for me over the years and they are like a second family! When they asked to do a group photo, I thought, “It’s time to beat Ellen’s tweet and make our own!” This one got about 400+ likes so we were only off by only a couple million! Thank you D7 for all you do and have done for me!

Photo 8 – Scuba diving with one year old whales: One of my hosts and meeting planners asked what I would like to do while I was in town and I usually look for places to scuba dive. Well, they gave me the best gift as they took me to a “Sea World” type place and let me scuba dive with whales in one of their aquariums. They gave me a full scuba tank and let me stay in as long as I wanted! It was an experience I will always remember!

Photo 9 – Becoming an approved Vistage Speaker: When I speak at Vistage groups I feel like it is where I am supposed to be! They are all professionals who have businesses and are looking for ways to improve themselves, their customers and their employees! I teach leaders how to use the power of storytelling to sell and motivate others. I am looking forward to speaking to several Vistage groups around the world, starting with four in January 2015! They are a great group of leaders and Garth… if you are reading this… thank you for taking the chance on me, I could’t have done it without you!

Photo 10 – 5th Honeymoon in Thailand: Chelsea and I received advice when we got married to take a honeymoon every year and I think that is some of the best marriage advice we received! This year we explored Thailand and sat on the beach, went scuba diving, played with baby monkeys and relaxed as we reflected on our relationship! If you are married, start planning to take a honeymoon every year to rejuvenate your relationship and reflect on what you like and how you want to improve it moving forward!

Photo 11 – Walking into the Convention Center I am speaking at and seeing myself on the billboard: I start walking to the venue where I am about to speak and look up and there I am! This was one of those “Oh, wow, I am a real speaker!” feelings and I had such a smile on my face I felt like I was an avid football fan and someone told me I just won Super Bowl tickets! Thank you Tim for making this happen and thank you to everyone who came out that night!

Photo 12 – Seeing my book sitting on my nightstand: Without Jeremey Donovan as my co-author, McGraw-Hill as our publisher and my awesome literary agent Jackie, this book would not have been possible! Writing a book was one of the most mentally exhausting challenges of my life with edits, re-writes, edits and more re-writes! Did I mention re-writes? But it was worth it as we created a resource that helps leaders become more influential leaders and succeed at work through the power of public speaking! I am so proud of this book. It has hit #1 on Amazon, been translated into four languages so far and I enjoy receiving emails from readers. But this photo was the one that stopped me in my tracks one night as I was getting ready for bed after a long trip back home I walked into my bedroom to find my book next to my nightstand! It was one of those moments where you get caught off-guard and no one knows why you are smiling other than you! For me, this photo says so much! Thank you to everyone who supports this book, learns from it and shares it with others! Please keep speaking and using your voice to make a difference! Our voices are the most powerful tools on the planet and if we learn how to master the art of communication, we can make a big impact while we are here!

This was a fun exercise and a great way to reflect on your year. I hope you too take the #12x12x12 challenge with us. I am looking forward to seeing your photos! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Dec 08

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3 Ways to Expand Your Comfort Zone Today

By Ryan Avery Family & Personal Life No Comments

Whether introverted or extraverted, we can all expand our comfort zone. Here are three ways to expand your comfort zone starting today:

1) Walk into a store and try something on you can’t afford. I did this last week with a Dolce and Gabbana jacket. Wow! It made me feel uncomfortable. The jacket was priced more than my first car! You could tell that all the store clerks knew I was not going to buy it. Go into any Gucci, Tiffany’s, even a Lamborghini dealership and try it out! It will boost your confidence all while expanding your comfort zone.

2) Talk to someone to whom you would never usually speak. Perhaps a homeless person on the street, or someone who has a different sexual orientation, skin color, gender, or race than you! We will all benefit the more all of us get along and become comfortable with each other.

3) Say yes to something that you’ve never tried. Go skydiving or bungee jumping. Go to a new restaurant. Order a different drink at an unfamiliar bar! Say Yes, and see what adventures await you!

Expand your comfort zone because the more comfortable you are the more confident you will feel. I challenge you to try one of these things today and see how big your comfort zone becomes. I bet it will expand by at least 20 feet! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Nov 28

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If you want to be the best…

By Ryan Avery World Records No Comments

This article will be short and sweet! If you want to be the best, then all you need to know is this: the only competition is you! You can’t be the best by comparing or holding yourself to other people’s standards. If you want to be the best you need to do your best!

What are you doing today that will make you the best at what you do and remind yourself you have the potential to be number one in your desired category? Stop competing against others and start competing against yourself! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Nov 26

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3 Ways to Make a Thanksgiving Toast People Will Remember

By Ryan Avery Motivation One Comment

It’s time for the holidays and being a true Toastmaster I had to give you three ways to make a Thanksgiving toast people will remember! If you want to make an impression on those you are spending time with this holiday season try one of these three ideas:

1) Share a time your family (or those you are eating with) helped you this year: Most likely people around you have helped you accomplish something in your life this year! Let them know how much you appreciate them and what you learned along the way as they supported you! Relive an up or down moment but make sure to end with a positive story or inspirational thought that will leave everyone happy and thankful that you are in their life!

2) Put a note under everyone’s chair: Before everyone comes over, you can write a letter of thanks to each person who is coming over for dinner. Tape it under their chair if they have assigned seats or pass them out at dinner, but ask them to read it when they get home! Make a short toast to give thanks and remind them why they mean so much to you.

3) Initiate A “One Word” Toast: Start by sharing the power of one word and let everyone go around the room to say in one word what are they thankful for (some people will say things like family, health, love, house, kids or friends). Take photos throughout the night and remember their one word. The next morning in a subject line write their one word and then attach the photos with a message that says, “Me, too!”

Happy Thanksgiving Todayers! I am so thankful I have you in my life. You give me an outlet to share my voice, you have helped me learn so much along the way, and have truly made me into the speaker I am today! I would not be here without all of you, and I am so lucky to be able to do what I do! If I can remind you to do one thing today and forever it would always be…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

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