Bytes Of Coffee Culture, Satire, Consumers & Mindful Marketing

Welcome to MugBytes

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An Important Reminder

One thing is for certain, in any business, in any field, in any industry: Mean people fail. When you're rude to customers? Your business will fail. When you're providing a service that is accompanied with a sense of entitlement? Your business will fail. When you're running a startup and are fearful of soliciting interest for your product because you see marketing as "rude" or "invasive"? Your startup will fail. How, you ask?

Well, think about it. Start at the source, and stop being mean to your business. Remember those nights you stayed awake hoping that big idea would work? You're being mean if you give up or cut corners in the creative process. Stop being mean to that effort you put forth right from the start, because if you’re not careful, you’ll end up being mean to those who dedicated their time and effort to you along the way. They do not deserve that, so cut the trend before it becomes the norm.

Stop being mean to your endeavor, to that little voice in your head that encouraged you to begin, the voice that came from somewhere deep down inside yourself. You're being mean if you talk yourself into delaying the pursuit of your goal. Stop being mean to yourself.

When you're rude to people who are willing to pay for your product simply because you feel you are owed something, stop that. It's important to be the example of kindness and pillar of poise that, at times, customers are not; we're all human, and we're all emotional. When you start a business, you're in the spotlight. Make sure you're putting your best foot forward and not misrepresenting your intentions in said spotlight.

When you don't ask, you don't get. When you wonder why no one took interest in your service, stop and take a moment to ponder whether or not the time and effort had been placed into bringing it out into the world for people to see. This is a double-whammy. You're being mean by hiding something the world can benefit from, and you're lacking faith in your creation. Stop that.

Do your hopes and dreams some goddamned justice and pursue them with your head held high, your integrity intact, and your ambition rock-solid. It will pay off, as long as you stop being mean.

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What is your favorite brand of coffee? Why is it your favorite brand?

Send your replies to [email protected] or in a direct message. All responses will be featured in a future blog post.

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Make your mark on this world, be remembered for your gusto and be unapologetic about the mistakes you make along the way...those mistakes are just lessons and wisom waiting to be shared with others.

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Mindful Marketing: Can It Work?

I believe the question should be, “Why would it not work?”

More on my thoughts about mindful marketing and bringing consumers closer to a brand will be later this week.

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Top 10 Marketing Concepts for Small Business

10 Marketing Concepts For Small Businesses To Implement For Success.

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Never stop reaching for the stars. 

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Mondays. Mondays are a thing. 

Think about this…

We wake up. We make a face of disdain at realizing the weekend is over, and a new week is starting. We know we can’t just sit around in our pajamas, watch Netflix or play video games at our leisure. It’s the day we get back to reality, one that is setting back into our minds with the start of a new day.

We feel demotivated and uncertain of the week ahead.

We cope with this new Monday by drinking caffeine in large amounts, a habit this writer is all too familiar with. We deal with it by mulling over what could happen to hinder progress, what we may face, or what we won’t be able to get accomplished, despite having tried our best.

We work ourselves into a paranoid and frazzled mess, sometimes all in the first hour of waking up.

We face each Monday, with negativity. Why? What’s it done to us? Is it the thought of facing unknown struggles, or even achieving greatness, that are keeping our Mondays overshadowed with uncertainty? Are we afraid to take ownership of our own Monday?  

There isn’t a day of the week we’ve come to loathe more than the sweet, sweet Monday. We bully Mondays. We beat this day of the week into submission for no purpose other than to feel larger than it, when in fact, we already are.

Mondays hold untapped potential, like any other day of the week. What we see as an unfortunate beginning to our five day trek before a weekend, is really our hesitation to move forward. It is our own trepidation at play. We’ve tricked ourselves into thinking Mondays are horrible days. 

Reality check: Any day of the week can be horrible or dissatisfying. Any day of the week can be as disappointing, just as much as it can be fulfilling.

Read this, and repeat it back to yourself: “I deserve a good Monday. I am worthy of a good Monday. Mondays do not define me. Today is mine to achieve and learn something new.”

Let’s start taking ownership of our Mondays. 

They are going to come whether we would like them to or not. Let’s learn from them. Let’s make them useful. Mondays will come, and Mondays will go. It is up to us to find the moxie and strength within ourselves to stand up, take ownership of our own Mondays and find ways we can benefit from it, and each Monday to come.

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Why Mindfulness Is The Next Revolution In Marketing

We’re all overtaxed these days – too much information, too many emails. That’s especially true of marketers, who are now expected to simultaneously master new platforms like Pinterest or Snapchat, develop a killer social media strategy, comprehend and analyze Big Data, and still handle everything marketers used to do, from [...]

This article is wonderful.

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2 Major Ways To Improve Your Focus

Do you ever have the full intention of starting a project, with the even stronger intent to see it finished?

“We’ve all been there” would be the proper answer for this question, but it is a phrase that downplays the frustration involved in taking that first step. Feeling scatterbrained is a great example. Have you ever started a project just knowing something wonderful would come out of it after all is said and done? But then, about halfway through, you’ve lost momentum. Things seem blurry and you can’t remember why you started, who or what all this hard work is for, and then...that urge to quit hits you like a sack of potatoes.

And then it wins. We quit. And we start feeling those pangs of frustration and regret.

The reality is this:  It’s an issue of focus. We lose track of it. We go into projects with all the gumption and only half of our wits. We think all the motivation in the world will catch us the moment we feel like we’re going to keel over from the weight of the urge to quit.

It doesn’t. It won’t. It never will.

We are all naturally driven toward things that grab our interest, be it people or places or things. In terms of starting and finishing a project, or in general. We lose focus of what caught our interest, and what it was that drove us to start in the first place. We forget to ask ourselves a few simple questions that will help us keep focused on what we are setting out to do:

Question #1: Why am I doing this? This is the hardest question to ask yourself, but the reason for asking yourself this is quite simple: If you can remember why you started, it’ll be even less of an issue figuring out why you should just keep on going. This answer is different for everyone. You could be in it for the money, of you could be seeking a sense of accomplishment after having learned a new skill; either way, you have a desire to showcase what you are capable of doing. Note: If you’re feeling pressure from the answer, turn that pressure into persistence, and then keep on going!

Question #2: What do I need? This answer will become clear when little things about your project are starting to get on your last nerve. It’s important to keep a positive mindset during this time, so take a step back, you don’t want that negativity to derail your efforts. Take a break for a few minutes, or a few hours. Find a quiet place to think, go for a walk, hydrate. Do whatever it is you do to have a clear headspace. Then, ponder the question. Here’s some examples of what you could need: A break? A few minutes or even a few hours pondering the question itself might be the recharge you need. More time to complete the project? Don’t restrict yourself to an unrealistic timeframe! Or, you could need more help. Never be afraid to ask for it!

So, in short, remember why you started, and don’t forget your own needs as you tackle a project!

- MugBytes.com

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Time management is dead; in our day the true struggle is focus management.

Dave Crenshaw

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Seize the day, everyone. 

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The value of a product is always going to influence a buying decision, regardless of how much it costs. Think of it in terms of cars: some people want to pay more for a luxury car, because they find the value in the look of the car while some people would rather pay for a car from a more commonly driven brand, because they find value in something other than aesthetics.

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Losing is up to you. See how failure drives innovation: http://stanford.io/1EMi01H

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If you’re going through hell, keep going.

Winston Churchill (via thesuccessrules)

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Don’t Stop Having Fun

For many entrepreneurs and self-starters, it goes a little something like this...

You had an idea. You turned it into a product. You spent countless hours perfecting your creation and you had an urge to see it flourish.

So you did it. You decided to hop onto your favorite social media platform and you started promoting your brand like crazy. You went into this nervous, and maybe even a little afraid of failure. But, you took the jump and then something amazing happened.

You started having fun. Whoa. 

Your product is gaining attention. People are actually seeing what you’ve created, and are realizing what it will do for them. You started engaging potential buyers, you started building value in the product and you even earned yourself a few referrals at the end of the day.

You had fun, and you can breathe a little easier because after hours of typing and texting and e-mailing and messaging, you feel like you’re on top of the world.

It doesn’t matter that your thumbs or wrists hurt from sitting at the computer, or from using your phone for an extended period of time. It doesn’t matter that your back hurts from sitting in that bad-for-your-posture office chair for so long.

You feel as if you accomplished something great, and you can rest easy knowing that you’ve completed the goals you set for the day. Anything else at that point is easy to brush off, because you feel like a rockstar.

But then, the adrenaline rush of success fades, reality creeps in, and all you’re left with is the following thoughts: Will I be able to do this again, tomorrow? Or the next day? This is only going to be fun, as long as I am successful. What is going to happen if I fail? What will happen if I don’t meet or exceed my goals? Will I stop having fun? Will I get bored with this?

Here is the truth about anticipating failure: The more you anticipate failure, the more likely it is for failure to manifest. You’ll be drawn to it by being hesitant to perform well at the tasks you do, without even realizing it, and you’ll start to confuse motivation to succeed with fear of improving your success. The more you worry about failure in favor of nurturing your successes, the more likely it is for you to be consumed by negative thoughts, trepidation, and you’ll begin to grow a fear of doing more in an effort to succeed.

This cycle is more common than you may think. Goals are backed by a desire to succeed and are driven by emotion. Ironically, too much emotion will throw any goal off it’s main course unless it’s handled right from the start.

The secret to preventing fear from controlling your performance, is to always have fun. Consistently balanced fun, the kind of fun that keeps you motivated and allows for a good night’s sleep. To name a few...

Video Games - keep your mind happy and creative

Movies - let your mind have a break

Going for a walk - fresh air does wonders

Spending time with people you love - reminders of who is watching the   examples you set by chasing your dreams and achieving your goals

Never taking yourself too seriously - where’s the fun in that?

Having fun keeps you aligned with your goals, while remaining productive enough to create results. Fun keeps your work ethic positive, fun keeps the seriousness and fear of failure at bay. It also keeps you real. It lets the best of who you are, as a person and as an employee, be recognized by others around you.

So, no. You’re not a failure. Remember why you started, keep drinking the coffee and always be having fun.

-  MugBytes.com

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