About

Taking a break Resting your mind is vital to your health and wellness, but that does not mean you stop your efforts to create the life you want The life I want is making a living as a content creator and online educator. My sights are on the long-term, so I’m in it for the marathon and not the sprint, so pace is important. Mid-Year Review: July 18th is the halfway mark of the year. The perfect time to evaluate your life and business roadmap for the year and set yourself up for a strong finish to 2018. Are you on the right track? Do you know where you are headed? Are you doing everything necessary to get there? Are you in control or are you in reaction mode? Summary of Episode: I share my content strategy and plan for the second half of 2018 as I get ready to refresh and head out for a 2-week vacation to Nantucket. I plan my summer vacation by planning my 3rd and 4th quarter content strategy and business goals. My version of work-life balance. The Podcast Hiatus I shared in Episode 149 The Freedom Show that I was going to take an indefinite hiatus from this podcast. I do not know when Episode 151 will be published or I may launch a brand new show. I am not putting pressure or making any grand promises as I do not know. I just know I am making the right decision because it is from my gut and heart. The 2018 Roadmap In Episode 122: The 2018 Roadmap Show, the priorities I listed were: Priority #1: Murphy Concierge (Generating Income) Priority #2: Tutorials & Classes: Priority #3: Writing Priority 4: Ask Mike Murphy Priority 5: YouTube Priority 6: Health & Wellness Mid-Year Reaction: Wow! I did a really good job with that Roadmap. Note: podcasting did not make the list of priorities, but it is of upmost importance to my content puzzle and should be for many brands and businesses. Audio & Podcasting are extremely important and effective as we move into a mobile-dominated world. I am not going anywhere. I just need to find the rhythm which will come from adjusting the format and possibly the entire topic or concept. It’s not firing on all cylinders and I know it. I am simply transitioning to a new phase. This is me taking one step back to move 2 steps forward. My homework: Brainstorm and add specific ideas and types of content for each of the priorities so I can control the ebb and flow of my life and business and not feel controlled or lost on what to do next. Mantra & Theme for 2018: Simplicity, Fundamentals, Storytelling. To maintain the lifestyle of simplicity and reducing physical & mental clutter and place more emphasis on fundamentals and storytelling in my content creation. Storytelling I am approaching this trip with storytelling on my mind. Creating content drawing from my own personal experiences that others can relate to and make a connection to me. I am looking to make content that strikes a nerve and hits home with others. I’m not concerned with how much content I create on this trip, but I am going to explore and experiment with my cameras and audio equipment and see what I can come up with. . Micro-storytelling is my goal. It’s how I teach. I take big concepts and break off pieces instead of trying to cover too much. This takes discipline and can be challenging as simple is not easy. This is how I want to approach storytelling. Snippets of the journey when pieced together tell a larger story. Storytelling Homework: In Nantucket will be to create some micro-content and just see what is working and what is not. If I find a groove then I will make a list of ideas to add to my document that I can make when I get back. My biggest goal in storytelling is to illustrate and share to the world the journey of starting and online business and trying to create a life of freedom and happiness and healthy living in a way that is educational and entertaining. People relate to stories. I relate to stories. Telling stories that teach and inspire is what I hope to achieve, but in my voice and style. Obviously. Examples of micro-content I want to make: The gear & tools I use. What my workspace looks like. Why do I do what I do? Who inspires me? What do I really want in life and business? How much money do I make? How much do I want? How do I pack for travel? Snippets of me. Not to promote me, but to let people into my journey and connect. This is the motivation I need to create stronger content. My biggest struggle is I create content I think will be helpful. I want to create content I know will be helpful because people tell me what they are struggling with. Priorities for Q3 & Q4 of 2018 [Murphy Concierge](https://murphyconcierge.com) is my local tech support business where I go to homes and businesses and fix and teach people how to use their tech devices. I love this role yet I spend the least time on it. Why? Fear of success. It may just work. Yes, that is a real struggle of mine. My homework: Create a membership subscription plan that is a win-win for my clients and me. An annual fee that gives clients 24/7 access to my help, with additional fees for in-person fixes. I have started on the model, but hope to fine tune it over the next 2 weeks. Tutorials & YouTube & Ask Mike Murphy I want to grow my YouTube channel significantly. If I could pay my bills making daily tutorials on YouTube, I would be happy. I want to make helpful videos. Adding to my YouTube push is adding a live-stream Ask Mike Murphy component. I have 1600 subscribers and do not know who they are. It’s time to meet them and engage more with them. I will do that on YouTube Live. My homework is to come up with a giant list of video ideas so I can get ahead with my content schedule and not feel like I’m drowning in work. It’s about balance and control. Writing: I think it is the backbone of content that will never go away. Audio & Video will thrive, but text ties it all together. I write a lot. I will write more and produce at least one more eBook this year. I also plan to double down on my Medium.com presence. My homework: Scour through 150 podcast episodes and try to come up with 50–100 article topics. Micro-content and build a library of articles for Medium & LinkedIN. Health & Wellness: This is really #1 priority. I am almost 48. I feel great. I want to feel amazing. No back pain for one. I am convinced that if you take care of your body, everything else falls in place. I’m determined to get in the best shape of my life because I know it will carry over to my business goals. Homework in Nantucket: Learn to jump-rope. I mean long enough to make it an exercise routine. I bought a jump-rope and I stink at it. AKA…I’m pooped after a few minutes of trying. I’ll get it. Bottom Line: My priorities and vision is still on point and in check. Taking a step back and taking a break does the body and mind good. My summer break may go on longer than my 2-weeks in Nantucket. That is okay if I need it. Just do not confuse taking a break with being lazy and unmotivated. Two different things. Creating the life you want and running a successful business is non-stop hard work, but it is vital you block out times to clear the board and think and refresh and re-evaluate. Checking in with yourself is essential. Plato said: “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than you can in a year of conversation” What makes you tick? Are you doing enough of what brings you the most happiness? If not, set aside some time and give yourself a break. Contact Me Email: mike@mikemurphy.co Complete Show Notes: https://mikemurphy.co/ep150 My Gear List: https://kit.com/mikemurphyco My Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/mikemurphyco My YouTube Channel: https://mikemurphy.co/youtube Instagram: https://instagram.com/mikeunplugged Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikemurphyco Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeunplugged