Think B-I-G.
Wednesday’s Word
How WordCamp Birmingham will rock your blogging world
WordPress is a popular online website creation tool that many bloggers use.
Image by Phil Oakley for Flickr/Creative Commons.
By Chanda Temple
Last summer, I attended a cool conference known as WordCamp Birmingham, which is sort of like a blogging bootcamp for WordPress users. And even though I didn’t have a blog at the time, I took enough notes to fill up a blog for days.
My biggest lesson from last year’s conference came when I heard someone say, “Stop waiting to get your website ‘pretty’ or ‘just right’ before you start blogging. It won’t happen, so you might as well get to writing now. The ‘pretty’ will come later.” (I launched my blog this summer, tweaking the look along the way. I think I used four themes before settling with the current one.)
Straight talk like that will likely be back this year when WordCamp Birmingham returns on Saturday, Aug. 16 at the Harbert Center in downtown Birmingham. Admission is $20. Sessions will focus on helping beginners set up their own website and give them tools to make it successful.
Jump into WordPress. The water’s just fine.
Photo from HubSpot.
If you are new to blogging, you don’t want to miss the sessions, especially the 9:30 a.m. panel discussion with Karla Archer, Wade Kwon, Williesha Morris and moi. Wade will address marketing your blog, Karla will address blog design, Williesha will address blogging for pay and I’ll discuss creating content. It should be fun because these panelists have their pulse on the blogging world and WordPress. I’m just honored to be in their presence. (Go here to see the schedule.)
The panel and other speakers will offer helpful tips that you’ll cherish. I should know. I still have last year’s tips Karla, a Birmingham web designer and lifestyle blogger, gave on blogging. To get you prepped for Saturday, here’s some of her advice.
Motivation Monday: How Rejection Fueled Wedding Gown Designer Heidi Elnora’s Future
Birmingham-based wedding gown designer Heidi Elnora Baker helps a bride on her new TLC reality show “Bride By Design,” which premiered in July 2014. (TLC image credit: DCL)
By Chanda Temple
What a difference a year makes.
In 2005, Alabama designer Heidi Elnora Baker was the second designer eliminated on Season 2 of “Project Runway.” But she refused to stay stuck in her present. She used the rejection to fuel her future.
In 2006, she started her wedding gown design company, heidi elnora. Today, her designs are in 25 stores worldwide; she’s preparing to show at Fashion Week in New York in October; and she’s on Hollywood’s radar.
Wednesday’s Word
If you want it, go get it.
Image of American Ballet Theatre ballerina Misty Copeland from Under Armour is part of the company’s new ad campaign “I Will What I Want.”
By Chanda Temple
If you are feeling that you are too old, too big or too anything to accomplish what you want in life, check out Under Armour’s new “I Will What I Want” video of American Ballet Theatre ballerina soloist Misty Copeland. It will leave you dancing, on your tippy toes, to your destiny.
The video, which was released on July 30, 2014, has had more than 4 million You Tube views as of today.
Under Armour’s campaign is full of empowering images, words and videos about women athletes going for the gusto. The online ad with Misty says “You must have the passion, strength and belief that you can become anything.” I love it.
Here’s what some of the other ads say:
Why you can’t tell everyone your dreams
By Chanda Temple
As a child, Eunice Elliott always said she’d be on television. Her classmates called her idea “ridiculous.” She ignored them. Today, she’s living her dream as a television traffic reporter for the NBC affiliate station in Birmingham, Ala.
How many times have you told someone an idea and they’ve criticized it or told you you should do something else?
You know these kind of people. They live for the thrill of hunting down a vibrant dream, only to pick apart every detail until there’s nothing left but the bones that once held together everything.
When you encounter these type of negative people, especially in business, know this: Their opinion does not matter. Trust your judgment and know that you and your dream are good enough.
Being good enough is what Birmingham, Ala. motivational speaker, comedienne and television/radio personality Eunice Elliott promotes in her public appearances. Here are her five tips on how she stays focused.
Motivation Monday: 9 weight loss tips to a thinner you
Apples are a good tool in the fight against the flab.
Image by Dustin Bouwhuis via Flickr/CreativeCommons
By Chanda Temple
For three years, doctors had been telling John Long that he needed to lose weight.
And for three years, John didn’t respond to their comments. “Nobody, friends or family, was telling me I was fat,’’ he said. “For me, being 225 (pounds) and 6’2, I thought I was a good size.’’
But he began to pay attention to what doctors were saying in June 2012 when tests showed his glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol levels were all high. A test had also categorized him as “obese.’’
He was 41 and on the verge of becoming a diabetic.
The medical reports were a lot to digest, but his wake-up call came in July 2012 when one of his college fraternity brothers had a fatal heart attack while playing with his children. The man was only 40 years old.
“Besides the news of his death being devastating, I knew I had to make a change in my life,’’ said John, who pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. at Tuskegee University. “I didn’t want to have all those health issues. That was my extra motivation to go to work.’’
A week or two after his friend’s death, John researched information about diets, exercise and losing weight.
His wife, La’Shara, bought them a YMCA membership. John also did a meatless detox, workouts and other things.
Within six months, he lost 45 pounds.
John, assistant program director for Clear Channel Media and Entertainment in Montgomery, Ala., said he’s only gained back six pounds since losing the weight.
Today, his medical test levels are normal and he’s maintaining his weight. How did he do it? Here are nine of his weight loss secrets.
Wednesday’s Word
We all face obstacles in life. But we can’t let them stop us from crossing the finish line.
By Chanda Temple
No matter how much you’ve promised yourself that you will have a good day, there’s always someone determined that you won’t. They dig in until they find your weak spot to make you fall.
Or there’s a plan you hatched with hopes of it being successful, only to see it fail.
When this happens, some give in to the pressure and crumble. Others stay to stick it out and fight.
If you are determined to face down defeat, there are so many ways to do it. During a televised sermon earlier this year, I heard some encouraging ways from Houston pastor Joel Osteen. His words may inspire you to continue the journey to find your greater.
Remember this: Your greater is out there, you just have to be encouraged to go get it.
Motivation Monday: Eight motivating messages from Joel Osteen
Joel Osteen of Joel Osteen Ministries
Image from Joel Osteen Ministries via Flickr/Creative Commons
By Chanda Temple
Words can be powerful motivators.
When properly strung together, they speak to our soul and feed our spirit.
One person with a knack for doing that is Houston pastor Joel Osteen. His messages come with a 1-2 punch, planting little seeds on how to become a better person. Once you hear his words, it’s left up to you on what you do next. Will you continue to wilt where you are or will you grow and thrive?
On April 6, 2014, I was out of town and caught one of his sermons on television. Forever the journalist, I quickly began scribbling down his words. They were powerful and, well, motivating.
Here are a few of the highlights from that sermon:
Wednesday’s Word
Stop beating around the bush. If you have something to say, go ahead and say it. No one likes a drawn-out anything.
14 ways to get reporters to notice your pr pitches
By Chanda Temple
Do you know the editors, producers and reporters at your media outlets? You should.
On a recent Tuesday night inside Birmingham’s Trim Tab Brewing Co., the beer was flowing and so were tips on how to get the media to notice your pitches from pr professionals.
Those doling out the info were Erin Shaw Street, deputy editor for Southern Living magazine; Rachel Lindley, news director for WBHM FM; David Magee, editor of Birmingham Magazine; and Walker Sorrell, associate publisher of Business Alabama. They were Trim Tab to participate in a panel discussion presented by the Alabama Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and the Public Relations Council of Alabama, two organizations focused on giving pr professionals networking opportunities and tools to improve their craft. (Today’s post is Part 2 of the PRSA/PRCA panel discussion. To see Part 1, go here.)