When is telling the truth just too much information? Over the weekend my husband and I returned from a really nice 10-day vacation. Although it’s been planned for over a year AND we had a laptop with us, I never mentioned it on Facebook (or Twitter, or in a blog post, etc.) It’s one thing that I always caution those in my seminars about. Be careful what you say – when leaving town it always seems to me like I am announcing, “Come burgle me!” So I just did very minimal posting during my vacation – (hello? vacation.)

There are a lot of things we might consider NOT talking about on Facebook or social media outlets. Good judgment should always be used and do like I tell my children: act as if Grandma were reading your posts. I’ll be writing more about that soon. That’s not to say you shouldn’t have SOME personal touch; remember that social media is about the know-like-and trust factor. Letting people get to know you is a key part of it. And that would include vacations, hobbies, pets and kids. But, I am much happier telling you when I return that I’ve been gone, instead of announcing it to my Friends and potentially their Friends before I leave or while I am gone.  We’ve all heard those stories about people who announced they were leaving on Facebook and actually WERE burgled.

Now, you are probably thinking, “Oh boy! Amy is going to post some great pictures or videos from her vacation.” And you would be right to hope that. Unfortunately, I don’t take many pictures but I will have some in an album in Facebook and will post some short videos I took (6-10 seconds long!) at various points. It’s hard to capture the beauty of the mountains, so I only took a few. I’ll leave you with one of the last parting shots from Breckenridge. We go every other summer and enjoy it tremendously. Especially this year when it was about 40 degrees cooler than back at home.

What do you think about posting when you are leaving for vacations? I see everyone doing it, but it still bothers me. Leave me your comments!

This weekend I was alone during the day. My son was working and my husband was playing in a golf tournament. Perfect timing for me since I had lots to do in order to be ready for a business trip I am taking. The weather was glorious – clear blue skies, 70 degrees, and all sunshine. This is amazing after the near month-long rain and gloom we’ve been having. I just admired it from the window as I slowly worked my way through the to-do list.

The highlight of my weekend was listening to a teleseminar series by Gina Bell, called “How Does She Do It?”

Fifteen amazing women business owners gave advice on “How To Stop The Knee-Jerk Reaction of Comparing And Copying So You Can Create Success Online (Your Way) With Authenticity And Confidence!” It was the perfect thing to hear since I have been falling prey to seeing what others are doing and feeling like I have to copy cat my way to success. As Dr. Phil would say, “How’s that working for you?”

Here are a couple of things that were Aha moments to me:

•    You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. Be authentic to your own style. Discover what works for you. Create new paradigms! Don’t look outside yourself for definition.

•    Talk about money with your business girlfriends. Get to know money so it will flow into your business. Love your money. Pay attention to it. That will start bringing it to you.

•    Be generous with your contacts, but don’t give away everything. And there will always be a segment of your audience that will want you to do the task for them.

For me it all boils down to staying true to my strengths- which are completely different from everyone else’s strengths. What I bring to my work and clients is me. And you bring you! Listen and watch what your mentors are doing, and then take what you can that works with your business. But don’t BE them. Be You!