We're looking for a graphic designer or illustrator to come give us a hand at GiveGetWin. This can either be as a one-off project, if you prefer, or coming onto the team with some regularity.

We've recently put in place some very cool systems for training plans to help you reach all your goals -- career and cash-wise, getting all the right people into your life, skill development, and credibility.

If you're an Illustrator or Graphic Designer yourself, email me at sebastian@sebastianmarshall.com -- if you know someone who would like to do some good for charity while making some amazing life gains, definitely refer them to me, and we'll both be grateful.

Sebastian

I run a small consulting firm, and I’m the (volunteer) Executive Director of a growing nonprofit. I see a lot of different people in very personal, intimate, nitty-gritty detailed situations.

I see my clients — usually founders, CEOs, or high-level executives— and I get a unique window into their staff and partners. I see who is performing and who isn’t.

On the charity side, we have a core team of around 9 people, and another 10-15 on the edges of the organization who help out from time to time.

And here is one of the biggest predictors of success —

INTERNAL SCORECARD #15: A Brief Illness

I write up an "Internal Scorecard" weekly -- we look at production, productivity, habits. Some people like this, because you see the implications of long-term decisions unfolding in a real-world context. I like it because it gives me an accountability mechanism as well.

This one covers 8 September to 14 September.

STRANGELY PLEASED AT THIS ILLNESS

I was feeling great on the September 7th. On September 9th, I was feeling quite sick and run-down.

Dan Redford has built a life at the intersection of China/Michigan relations, doing international U.S./China business in raising millions of dollars of investment from Chinese clients into the United States. Knowing he wanted to be involved in U.S./China business, his first large opportunity came as a result of being a paid attendee covering the Shanghai Expo, and connecting with traditional media throughout Michigan as part of that trip. All along the way, he's connected with great people, lent a helping hand, and taken leadership roles in organizations.

In this interview to promote his GiveGetWin deal, a Group Class on Establishing Leadership and Influence, he tells his journey towards leadership and influence positions, and gives you extremely practical guidelines on doing that in your life.

"The Journey Through Fear To Influence" by Dan Redford, as told to Sebastian Marshall

My family really helped me become a leader. My younger brother is a famous basketball player where we're from. As the oldest of our family, it was a really big challenge for me. Seeing my younger brother rise as an athlete in the community and I didn't have to the skills to do that, it hurt.

I didn't pursue playing basketball in high school for a year because I anticipated my younger brother would be starting as a freshman and not wanting to compete with him.

Sebastian's Note: Lee did a GiveGetWin deal a while back that was very popular, and people loved the advice on audience building. He graciously agreed to share more insights with us on making quality media, at my request.

How to Make Quality Media Online by Lee Schneider, creative director at Red Cup Agency and founder of Digital Fundraising School

If you want to be remembered a bit longer than today’s meme, your art will need to offer quality material and craft. In doing research on crowdfunding recently, I've noticed a lot of what stands out powerfully, and what does not.

Look at the videos made by Charity Water and you’ll see a consistently high level of quality, in conditions that are often pretty challenging for production. Dig a little deeper, and look into the work of Paul Pryor, who directs a lot of Charity Water’s videos. You’ll see passion, craft, and technical perfection in every one.

If your video has technical issues, like hard-to-see images or hard-to-hear audio, it’s going to make it hard for people to get with your program. After a couple of decades of documentary and film production experience, I can tell you that your viewers and listeners don’t understand why they dislike your material if the technical quality is poor. They will just say they didn’t like your video. They won’t know why.

(Please pardon me if this one isn't entirely clear, for reasons that will be evident in a moment.)

I've been diligently practicing meditation recently. Where I would have missed days previously, lately I've meditated without fail before sleeping if I hadn't done it earlier. I do my end-of-day cooldown every day, even if I feel rather exhausted.

This end-of-day meditating is interesting, because it has me meditating in modes I previously wouldn't. I would've said, before, "I'm too tired right now..." -- maybe not consciously, but that would have been the subtext.

So tonight I'm having a very-tired-meditation.

And I noticed, sometimes thoughts spin up in entire chains linked together.

Agendas aren’t sexy, but they make you a better human.

Here is how to create one:

Before a call or meeting, you ask, “What do we want to accomplish on this call/meeting?”

You write it all down.

This becomes a set of points you use.

Today, I'm very pleased to bring to you Brian Sharp. A veteran, high level, and extraordinarily competent project manager in the video game industry, most recently with Bungie before becoming self-employed on his own projects. He was in the top 1% of well-paid project managers, but more importantly -- he was effective and empathetic, getting the best out of his people, helping them develop, and marching towards achievement after achievement while keeping his team healthy, happy, and engaged.

The following interview is in line with the launch of his GiveGetWin deal, Elite Management & Leadership Coaching for People In Creative Industries.

"Leadership. Highly Skillful Leadership." by Brian Sharp, as told to Sebastian Marshall

Buddhist philosophy has a lot in common with how I tend to think. I find professional work within organizations is one of the best forms of ethical practice.

It's one of the few environments where you're constantly juggling diametrically opposed goals (or at least, goals that can seem to be diametrically opposed).

INTERNAL SCORECARD #14: On Indomitable Will

I write up an "Internal Scorecard" weekly -- we look at production, productivity, habits. Some people like this, because you see the implications of long-term decisions unfolding in a real-world context. I like it because it gives me an accountability mechanism as well.

This one covers 1 September to 7 September.

RATCHETING THE POSSIBILITIES UP

Being around highly ambitious and enterprising people is incredible. Things you didn't realize are possible, are.

I avoided Adblock for a long time, because I think there's a lot of value in seeing trends in advertising and marketing.

That said, for whatever reason, I've seen a lot of distracting and attention-commanding ads recently, so I made the plunge.

Installed the Adblock Chrome Extension, and ads are now gone.

The verdict?

It's a minor productivity boost, but mostly I'm not noticing them even being gone.