We just had a great weekend at the Latino Book and Family Festival in Chicago.  Some pics are attached.  Robert signed books at Giron books and was a featured speaker. We made new friends at Corazon Community Services (Frederick, Andre and Gerry), Morton College (Victor Sanchez), Goshen College (Liliana Ballge), The Confederation of Spanish American Families (Berenice Pond), Healthcare Alternative Systems Inc. (Susana Ortega), Chicago State University (Fernando Diaz), and the amazing Ayten Santillan, a teacher at Morton West.  Thank you to all who reached out and heard our message of hope. We look forward to working with you!

Congrats to our client Bea Fields, co author of Millennial Leaders and EDGE! A Leadership Story for her mention in Women Entrepreneurs:  The Next Wave of Leaders.  Bea is ferociously attacking the worlds of social networking and Gen Y and her dynamism is infectious.  She leads an online class called Become a Blogging Maniac if you’re interested in furthering your online skills. http://blog.becomeabloggingmaniac.com/about

Some writers have an exceptional ability to use language to convey an idea.  Others are brilliant with metaphor.  Still others excel at dialogue or description.  My strength is truth.  Coming from an acting background where I strived to always live truthfully in front of the camera or on stage, I have an innate ability to sense what is true vs. what is “put on” when it comes to writing.  I was watching James Lipton being interviewed by Dave Chapelle for the 200th episode of the show Inside the Actors Studio.  Throughout the episode, they played back various moments where guests of the show described what they believed acting was.  Harrison Ford’s comments struck an epiphany in me.  He talked about how hard he worked to “live” in front of that camera.  To expose the ugly, weak, frail pieces of a character as well as the strength, optimism and courage that a person exhibits in their life.  It struck me that that desire to live in front of others is the strongest asset that I brought into the world of writing from my previous career.  If you’ve ever read my fiction works (Excalibur Reclaims Her King, Edge! A Leadership Story), or the fiction of those I have coached (Duckey and the Ocean Protectors, China Girl), what you’ll find above all else are moments of very vulnerable truth.  I do not have a huge vocabulary. I do not have a colorful way with language, or description. But I do have a way of bringing the truth of a moment to life.  What are your assets as a writer? I hope you’ll take a moment to share them with me.

I am so blessed to say that I just got off a conference call convened by Ada Doris Gonzalez, RN Community Relations, Swedish Covenant Hospital.  She organized a call with the principal of Roosevelt High School, Dr. Alejandro Alvarez; the Community Relations Director for the Chicago Public Schools, Carl Hurdik; and our amazing supporter Leticia Chavez (also with Chicago Public Schools) who is working on getting us into Wells High School. We’ll be working together to bring copies of Robert Renteria’s “From the Barrio to the Board Room” into Roosevelt High School, and also in setting up a curriculum around the book, and bringing Robert out to engage the kids one on one and in group discussions. We are honored to have such high level support and are humbled by the opportunity to inspire their students to stay in school, off drugs and out of gangs while chasing the American Dream that is their birthright. We look forward to progressing with this new relationship and making a difference in the city of Chicago.

In the process of doing B2B marketing, I visit more websites that I can count (nor want to). With all those sites I see, precious few are distinctive. No one takes risks. In fact, I saw the same stock photo of a smiling Gen Y-ish business type on two different sites.

Where is the innovation that everyone is talking about? Why are B2B marketers stuck on the idea that buyers suddenly lose their passion when shopping for business products and services? Do you drink caramel macchiato at home but buy coffee from a vending machine at work? Doubt it.

The businesses that are thriving in the recession — and any time, really — are those that innovate. They don’t blend in with every other company in their industry. They’re distinctive, or as marketing guru Seth Godin would say, “remarkable” (see “The Purple Cow“).

Go back and take a look at your website. What does it say about your company’s uniqueness? Does it resonate distinction? If you want to be noticed, start with your web presence. And here’s a good rule of thumb: If you’re comfortable with your marketing, you’re not doing it right.

“It scares you because you know damn well you can’t write it with your brain.  You have to write it with your heart.  It’s like falling in love; you don’t fall in love using just your brain.  It takes heart and instinct.  And it takes heart and instinct to create a life that you fall in love with, too, and that life includes your work.  And when you do that, it shows.  People respond to you before you even say a word.”

—From EDGE! A Leadership Story by Bea Fields and Corey Blake with Eva Silva Travers

Yesterday was one of those classically wonderful work days for me. I had the luxury of spending an entire morning doing research on various subjects, including my favorite: marketing. I pored through emails that had collected in my mailbox and found more great material, which I used to incite thinking for one of my most energetic clients. I pummeled her with ideas and she responded with the same excitement.

Then I had calls with two new clients who are fired up about their businesses — and with good reason. So I got to flex my new knowledge muscles and give them solid reasons for making the strategic choices we discussed. In the end, we were excited about the direction to take, had a clear focus for taking the next steps to achieve our goals, and dove into our respective assignments. 

Working for Writers of the Round Table is lifelong learning. Every day, I get new challenges. I have the wonderful opportunity to keep expanding my knowledge. My family is always amazed at how I can find things on the ‘Net, and our dinner conversation is often sparked by some tidbit I came across during my searches.

No matter what job you have, take the time to explore your field by searching the Web. Find out what’s happening with the real thinkers and follow their blogs. Look at industry forecasts and see where you might spark a new direction for your business. Learn from the successes and mistakes of others. It’s so easy to go full throttle into your job each morning because of the workload staring you down, but I guarantee that if you grant yourself just half an hour to do some online reading, you’ll find new knowledge that’s like an extra caffeine jolt to your day.

Your workload will still be there. But you’ll have more energy and focus to manage it more effectively if you start your day with a hearty helping of new knowledge.