I have always believed that hard work and dedication can get you what you want but it definitely helps to have someone who recognizes all that you have to offer.

My mother is one of the smartest ladies I know. She taught me from a young age that you cannot bypass long term goals in order to gain instant satisfaction. You must always keep the long term goal in mind and sometimes that means making sacrifices along the way.

If those small sacrifices ultimately allow you to reach your long term goal, then it is very hard to argue that those little sacrifices weren’t worth helping you to reach the final goal.

“Never let the things that matter most be at the mercy of those that matter least.”

-Mike Toner

www.miketoner.com

“You build a successful career, regardless of your field of endeavor, by the dozens of little things you do on and off the job.”- Zig Ziglar

For my friends who are experiencing their first semester without returning to college and perhaps simultaneously experiencing the start to a new career, here are a couple of things to think about:

1. Yes, I still think about college around this time every year and I’m 3 years out. The feeling fades slowly, but, Back-to-School is always an exciting time of year.

2. For those starting their first job after college, you’ll be in a work/ career environment 40 hours a week, but what will you do with the other 128 hours?

We all go through a rough patch upon entering the “real world.” It’s tough. Monday through Friday, for what seems like every sun-lit hour, you’ll spend your time looking at a computer or scheduling meetings, or typing emails, or drafting reports etc.

My first step towards finding the positive in the “real world” was realizing that I would need to find a work/life balance. Wow. That’s a big undertaking for any 22 or 23 year old. I knew that I would have some decisions to make. How much would I involve myself with networking for work and how much time would be spent meeting up with old friends from college?

Finding the right balance isn’t easy. I have up and downs. Some weeks I’ll work late, some weeks I’ll leave at 5 on the dot. Other days, my mind moves between my career and my next big adventure outside of the office.

Monday through Friday is only as good as what you make of the whole week, in and an out of work.

Anyone doing something outside of work, please feel free to tell us about it. Kickball league, community service, a hobby…How do you find balance?

I’ve been thinking and talking a lot about self-responsibility lately. I think we can all agree that the things we choose to do each day are all to often the result of a habit. I could outline my entire morning routine, you could too I’m sure. Our morning routines are made entirely out of habit. Alarm, Snooze, Shower, Brush Teeth, Coffee…etc.

Now, what happens when something affects your routine? What is your first response if the shower is cold? What about if the alarm didn’t go off? Do you think negatively? Is it someone else’s fault?

Life has its daily challenges and while we are all faced with difficulties, I believe we must find ways to understand that life is not meant to be a struggle. Life should be enjoyed and you have the opportunity to succeed everyday.

I realize that avoiding negativity is hard. Change is hard, even if it’s over quickly- but the more you know what your larger goals are the less the little defeats will affect your overall mindset. You can always choose to focus on the positive

“It’s All Good!” is meant to outline my daily experiences and hopefully offer some insight into the way I approach and learn from the people and situations I encounter in my daily life.

It is a true learning experience to understand and believe that methods affects effect and outcomes depend on actions.

How you live your life everyday is determined by the goals you set and how you hold yourself responsible for meeting those goals, despite any small bumps in your path.

Be responsible.

Today my Mom came to D.C. to visit and we went to the FDR Memorial as well as the WWII Memorial on the National Mall.

I wish all Mother’s the happiest of days.

-Mike Toner

My good friend Nikki is a part of the City Year program in New York City. “City Year unites young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service, giving them skills and opportunities to change the world.”

Check out her video, “Why I serve” and see how she is changing the world!

I believe that humans associate peace with individual responsibility and with equality. With all the talk of social media being about conversations, why not talk about something other than the medium itself. Why not peace?

There is no doubt that we must turn to grass roots efforts and cultural understanding to define peace. Most would agree that peace does not happen in the transactions of state leaders and governments, but that peace occurs in the transformations of whole societies through social revolution which crosses states and ignores borders to connect people and groups globally.

Isn’t social media, including the values of transparency, authenticity, respect and accountability and a step in the right direction?

Peace has to be social.

Good Morning, Good Afternoon & Good Evening friends,
I need your help. My roommate, Steven Knight and I have submitted an original song called Burnin’ to the Ground to the MyFoxDC Local Band Contest. The voting starts today and goes through May 11th. You have to register on their site, which isn’t hard, but does take a second. You can only vote once a day at http://media.myfoxdc.com/FoxRocks/voting.html

Vote Knight Train!

Here’s what’s at stake:
FOX 5, myfoxdc and Your local Ford Dealers are giving one local band the opportunity of a lifetime!
One night! One chance! One lucky band will headline a gig at Jammin Java and perform LIVE on Fox 5 Morning News!

AND WE’RE IN THE RUNNING!!!

Now it’s all about the vote. Please take the time to register at myfoxdc and vote for KNIGHT TRAIN – Burnin’ to the Ground

You can also follow the link from www.officialknighttrain.com

Your time and votes are greatly appreciated,

-Mike Toner
www.MikeToner.com

In preparation for my presentation at Virginia Tech’s annual PRSSA Symposium this Saturday I have gathered some tips I hope to pass along to the seniors at VT about to enter the working world. If you have any other words of wisdom, interview tips, or hard lessons learned please let me know.

1) The importance of networking online. Your employers will Google you! It is important to be found online. Use your profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn as an extension of your resume.
2) Ask how long your interviewer has been with the company. The longer a person’s tenure, the better the company is most likely treating them.
3) Know at least 3 or more direct competitors of the organization you interview with, they may ask you as way to gauge how much research and preparation you gave this interview.
4) Research the company’s most recent news. Know what is important to them and what is going on in their industry. Press releases are the BEST way to get breaking news on an organization and their competitors.
5) There is no substitute for internships. Start volunteering, start helping out, make a phone call, see where you can assist and then Make it Happen!
6) You are interviewing the organization as much as they are interviewing you. Make sure the company is a good fit for your personal style and interests.
7) Method Affects Effect. Make it look good. The way you present yourself, or the method, in which you present yourself, will affect the overall outcome. The vocabulary words you choose will affect your message. The shoes you wear will make an impression. Your personal method will affect the outcome.

Please drop a comment if you’ve got anything you’d like to add..

Mike Toner
www.MikeToner.com

Truth is what we make it out to be. If social networks wish to be truly social, then we should stop talking about them and make them what, [I mean really create and make out-of social networks] what we want them to be; make our own reality. Most folks know what a real conversation looks like. I say, why don’t we start making online networks focused on the people, the conversation and the knowledge that can be shared among those with similar interests? There are many social networks, each with their own personality and each with a level of community involvement that mimics the real world and just as in the real world, the relationships rely on the community involvement.

Twitter may be the easiest case study: Twitter has undoubtedly brought like-minded individuals together. Folks who “get” twitter “get twitter.” Period. The microblogging network has and will continue to grow, but its users will peak. And Yes, I agree that twitter’s cool but anyone who thinks twitter will reach the same number of users as Facebook is mistaken. Twitter represents a deeper involvement in the online world, it is often referred to as ultra-connected, the same way people view Blackberry’s and refuse to get one.

I hope to honestly engage with all communities I’m involved in, in real life and online.

Social Networking: It happens to be- what you make of it.

Interpersonal communication is the process of sending and receiving information with another person. Communication with this other person can be both verbal and nonverbal.
 
The idea is simple, but the implications are monstrous. It seems so easy to say, “I communicate well with others.” But how do you know? How do you measure your ability to communicate? How do you measure your communication success? Is it your ability to get what you want out of an interaction? Or the number of followers and friends you have on Facebook and Twitter? Google Analytics? How?
 
Let me stick to the basic idea. When you have a ‘personal’ interaction with someone you usually send them messages, both verbally and non verbally. However, non-verbal language accounts for 90% of a total interaction. Cues are given through eye contact, vocal inflection as well as haptic interactions or the act of touching i.e. a high five or hand shake are a big part of any interaction.
 
Each of these cues offer nonverbal messages as to the person’s intentions or feelings. They also cause feelings in the receiver, whether positive or negative.

How much of what we reveal about ourselves in an interaction depends on how much another person is willing to reveal about themselves. When someone opens up to you with a personal secret, you are more likely to respond with something a little more in depth about yourself, right? This give-and-take principle is how we adjust the depth we are willing to dive into a certain topic within an interaction

How does Social Media deal with the non-verbal part of an interaction?
 
Listen more and talk less?