With the advent of social media sites, we are bombarded daily with a plethora of diverse opinions. All too often our voice can be lost in the drone of mediocrity. How can we break through the noise and let our “signal” be heard? Here are 7 ways.

1. Keep it short – Brevity is wisdom; keep your words clear and concise.
2. Question everything – Don’t swallow every bit of information you hear and take it at face value. Ask yourself why do I feel or think this way? Know what you believe in and why.
3. Be different – This is so simple and yet difficult at the same time. Don’t give in to peer pressure. The masses are only too eager to follow and hate brand X or love person Y and then parrot each other, thinking that they are unique. Set your own course and speak your mind.
4. Keep it simple – Any fool can grab a thesaurus and confabulate eloquently. However, it takes a true genius to speak simply so that everyone may understand. Big words are fine, but to appeal to a wider audience, keep it simple.
5. Think rationally - Speaking words in a moment of anger will make you feel good now, but you may soon live to regret it. It takes more strength to walk away then it does to engage in a fight. What is your goal? What are you trying to accomplish? Think before you speak.
6. Control the swearing – While we all enjoy a spicy sentence sandwich from time to time, swearing is one of the surefire ways to not be heard and blend in with the noise. Do you want to be unique and sound intelligent? Then cut the swearing to a minimum.
7. Hold your tongue – Silence is golden. Knowing when to keep silent shows others that what you have to say is important. Speak when everyone is ready to give you their full attention and listen.

• 20 Ways to Say I Love You
• Word of the Day:: Acceptance
• Giving Shape to the People Who Shape Our World
• Beauty of Life – Quote from Jennifer Edwards
• Interview with Jenna Edwards – The Benevolent Beauty

Whew, man what a week. Learned so much about blogging and interviewing people. Just a quick summation of things I learned.

1. That people (even famous ones) are genuinely nice people
2. That everyone makes mistakes (just wait till the cons)
3. Have to be positive
4. Failure is ok
5. Everybody is human
6. Brevity is wisdom, keep it concise (when speaking to others) – thanks Craig!
7. Everybody especially well known people are busy
8. Blogging is hard
9. Don’t blast people with 50+ interview questions
10. I have to be more personable

Here are the things I have learned from the different interviews:

1. Craig Newmark – Treat everyone the way you want to be treated.
2. Rob Malda – The greatest achievements have to do with the people in our lives
3. Walter Lewin – When doing something we love we give it our best effort
4. Jimmy Wales – Failure is a stepping stone to success, not a barrier

To add to this list, I wanted to put into words the mistakes I’ve made thus far. Originally I had this brilliant idea that I ask people 50+ questions and tell them “[pqr]don’t worry, just pick and choose the questions you want to answer[/pqr].” In the end my idea was brilliantly unrealistic. They’re too busy. It’s like asking them to do my homework and then turn it in for me.

Since then I whittled my questions down to 10 or so. Still very good questions which give us insight into their mentality and optimism. Honestly, looking back I’m like what the fudge was I thinking?!!! Haha! Well, like I stated earlier, mistakes are to be expected – especially when you’re learning.

Interestingly this morning while getting breakfast at a local restaurant (portuguese sausage, eggs and fried rice from loco moco) I saw an older guy with a football shirt that had an interesting statment. It read “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”. That’s so true. [pq]What I lack in skill I’ll definitely make up in determination and desire[/pq].

One of the interviewees stated that my interview request wasn’t personal enough and that while I did not offend him, I might have offended others. I bypassed being personal for the sake of being concise and to the point. I realize that most rejected due to the fact that I really am a nobody – for now. So far I have been rejected serveral times. If I were contacting them in behalf of TIME magazine or Wired it would be a different story. I’m not discouraged by this reality but realize that I have to start somewhere. If it were so easy, everyone would be doing it. Soon – very soon, these circumstances will change. Until next week!

• Interview with Jimmy Wales – The Knowledge Benefactor
• Interview with Noah Kagan – The Amusing Entrepreneur
• Giving Shape to the People Who Shape Our World
• Interview with Neil Patel – Internet Marketing Guru
• Interview with Leah Culver – The Social Networker