Johnny Russo Ecommerce and Digital Marketing Blog

From Writer to Marketer, and How I Embraced the Curveballs Along the Way

May 23, 2019 by Johnny Russo Leave a Comment

I read a book called Mind Platter last year. It’s by a Canadian-Lebanese author named Najwa Zebian. It’s one of those books where every page or two is a different topic, or chapter.

She had many topics on life, success, happiness, family, positivity, personal development, heartbreak, and career.

I highly recommend reading that book, but this is not a book review. There was one particular section on change that made me stop and think about my own life and career. I often take images of quotes or writings that resonate with me, and upload them into Evernote for safe keeping and future use. This was one of those times.

“Sometimes we choose to stand at a closed door and hope that it will somehow open,” writes Zebian.

Chase Growth, Embrace Change

I don’t know about you, but my oh my, do we change a lot over the years. In my case, I think that’s a great thing. If you follow my blog or my social channel, you know that I embrace change (not just for change’s sake) but real, solid, growth change.

When I was growing up, I didn’t have too many frustrating days. I’d play lots of sports, my parents and family would support me, financially and otherwise, and even when I bought my first car, a 2000 Toyota Celica, my parents were there to throw in the extra cash I needed. Things came easy.

My grades in high school were pretty good, and then in College (Cégep in Quebec) and University, as I got more independent and more interested in what I was learning (sorry Physics and Chemistry classes, you just weren’t my jam), my grades and work went from good to great.

I Was Going to Be a Hall of Fame Sportswriter

However, things always seemed to come relatively easy for me then. I got into one of the best Journalism programs in Canada (Concordia University), got an internship at the only English language newspaper in Montreal (the Montreal Gazette, my dream place to work), got published a few times in print, worked for the Montreal Canadiens writing blog posts and news articles (interesting, since I detested the Canadiens since I was 9) and then I graduated with a high GPA. All good I thought. Easy. Next up, my dream job, which was either working at aforementioned Montreal Gazette, to be a sportswriter and learn under the great Red Fisher, or to be a sportscaster on TSN.

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Saying Good Morning: Small Effort, Huge Impact

April 10, 2019 by Johnny Russo 1 Comment

I am fascinated by people. More than that, especially since I started my career, I like to watch body language, how people carry themselves, how people dress, posture, how people communicate when things go well, how they communicate in tougher times, and so on.

There is one habit I dislike, a lot. A simple good morning or hello can make someone’s day, can make a team less defensive on a Monday morning, can send a jolt of serotonin into the blood stream, and yet, so many leaders, managers, and employees don’t say hello or good morning. I have an issue with that.

Now, I know that not everyone’s a morning person, and it’s hard to be happy every day of the week. And I’m not saying to strike up a full conversation before you’ve had your double mochaccino. But saying hello is not only common courtesy, it’s respectful and makes the other person feel good.

Is Saying Good Morning Really That Hard?

And I’m not even advocating to go out of your way to say good morning to every co-worker, every day. What I’m advocating for is to say good morning to your team, your boss, those near your office or desk, the receptionist, or those you run into on your office coffee run.

Still on the fence?

Here Are Some Reasons You Should Say Hello in the Morning:

Increases positive energy
Can help you make a friend, or at the very least, get to know someone, as it could spark a further conversation
You’ll be perceived as positive, and that is huge
We’re living in an altruistic society (you can challenge me on that, but I’ve never heard so many people talking about purpose and value as today’s generation does), so saying good morning to someone could make their day, and it will likely make them smile and feel welcomed and appreciated
Smiling is contagious – usually when you say hello, you will naturally smile, and they will likely smile right back at you. Try it.
Help them, help you: at one point, that person you’ve been saying hello to for the last 3 months, will help you on a project. And maybe she’ll work a little extra because you’re such a positive and nice person.

Does Your CEO Say Good Morning? When He Does, Does It Make Your Day?

Imagine working in an office and your CEO comes in, and doesn’t say hello to anyone, not even the receptionist? That would surely create a culture of negativity, standoffishness, and potentially selfishness. Now imagine a CEO who comes in, says quick hellos to everyone he runs into, asks someone how their weekend was, and then gets to work. Doesn’t that feel like a more welcoming environment?

We all have bad days. Heck, I know I can have them. And on those days, you just want to keep to yourself. And those may be the days you yourself need a good morning boost, a quick hello from someone else. Keep that in mind, and pay it forward. The effort and investment to say good morning is minimal, but the feelings of warmth, positivity, and comradery can last for hours on end.

So the next time you have the opportunity to make someone’s morning, will you?

The Happiness Advantage: Yours For The Taking

March 31, 2019 by Johnny Russo Leave a Comment

Just before I went on vacation, I read a book called The Happiness Advantage, by Shawn Achor. I love reading books on leadership and personal development, and I always have a backlog of about 5 books ready to go when I finish the previous one. But The Happiness Advantage was not on my list. My wife actually got it from her boss. Once she finished reading it, I picked it up…and I could not put it down.

The Happiness Advantage centers on The 7 Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work. I really though this was just going to be study after study of random research. But Anchor is a great story teller. He took research, his own life experience, and created a framework for being positive and, maybe just as important, spreading that positivity. I also enjoyed that this was not solely for your personal life, but also your day-to-day work or professional life.

And about halfway through reading the 7 Principles Achor outlines, I knew I wanted to document it and start implementing them. So not only are these principles in my own life purpose playbook, but I wanted to help others by writing this blog post.

Now, a warning. If you plan on reading this book soon, maybe you should read it before reading my blog post, as I don’t want to ruin any surprises.

I’ll outline the 7 Principles from the book, and try to give my own story around them as well.

Principle 1: The Happiness Advantage

The first principle talks about ways we can improve our moods and raise our levels of happiness throughout the day. These are helpful to always keep in mind, as they are proven to raise serotonin levels, known as the happy chemical.

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Gateway to Relaxation: Permission to Disconnect and Recharge

March 23, 2019 by Johnny Russo Leave a Comment

If you’ve ever gone on vacation, and told yourself that you could never disconnect fully from work or life, then maybe this post can be helpful, as I used to be like that.

For context, I work in the Digital Marketing and Ecommerce space in the Retail industry. Always-on type of work – after all we have English and French transactional websites we need to run. It’s very rare for me to completely shut off, be it nights, weekends, or on vacation.

So here’s some potentially helpful advice.

Give Yourself Approval To Disconnect

I went on vacation with family in the middle of March. Usually while I’m on vacation, I’ll check my emails every hour, check Google Analytics regularly to see where sales and traffic are at, and I’ll usually even bring my laptop “just in case.”

Maybe being a Dad changes things, or maybe it’s because little Luca, my 19-month old, is a bundle of energy and is always in play mode, but whatever it was, this vacation felt different. I didn’t bring my laptop. Once I got onto the flight to Mexico for a 7-day sojourn and responded to my last email just before the plane took off, I felt a sense of calm and relaxation, one I wanted to maintain for the next 7 days. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do, the people I work with, and the industry I work in. But every now and then, the mind, body, and soul need some rest and calmness, along with a few manly strawberry daiquiris (double vodka of course).

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Stop Saying I Wish and Start Saying I Will

March 7, 2019 by Johnny Russo Leave a Comment

I wish I could get in shape. I wish I could take a vacation. I wish I could be happier. I wish I had time to read more. I wish I could eat healthier. I wish, I wish, I wish.

We hear this often, don’t we?

I’m guilty of this too.

I wish I had more time…but to do what? If you have 100 priorities to get done in 1 week, sure, you may need more time (unless you can hire some good minions to do all the things you want). But realistically, you have the time to accomplish the priorities you set, or the activities you want to accomplish. Your issues may be with conflicting priorities and in the belief that they are all the same weight of importance, rather than time itself. In the last few months, I’ve consciously practiced setting my main priorities for the week, and not let other ones in if I can’t complete my main ones. To date, I’m at a 90% success completion rate for those priorities. And that’s just one example for the “I wish I had more time” argument.

“I Will” Can Be More Powerful Than “I Wish”

But the “I wish” versus “I will” mindset is key. And some things may always be a wish, and that’s ok (I wish I could be the General Manager of the New Jersey Devils, or the greatest sommelier the world has ever known). But honestly, that’s more of a big dream, rather than a realistic goal. And I have many goals I want to achieve way before those.

[Read more…]

Saying Good Morning: Small Effort, Huge Impact

The Happiness Advantage: Yours For The Taking

Gateway to Relaxation: Permission to Disconnect and Recharge

Give Yourself Approval To Disconnect

Stop Saying I Wish and Start Saying I Will

“I Will” Can Be More Powerful Than “I Wish”

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