In this episode we had the chance to interview Ted Rubin who is both an author and father of two. If you don’t know who Ted Rubin is, he is a social marketing strategist, keynote speaker, brand evangelist and acting CMO of Brand Innovators. Also, in March 2009 he started publicly using and evangelizing the term ROR: Return on Relationship™
In speaking with Ted Rubin about this philosophy he talked to us about how important it was to default to happy. He brought up the great point that kids default to happy on a daily basis and he asks all of us, why can’t we.
Take a moment and paint a picture in your mind of one person who defaults to happy – can you name one? This might not be as easy as you might think! Ted Rubin is definitely one person that makes the decision every day to be happy. He takes a step back, and really reflects on what is important and refocuses on the happy no matter what is happening!
Ted Rubin shared that he always thought the videos below were great examples of what you should not do “don’t make the mistake they made, which is hold it inside”
Pins and needles, needles and pins – honeymooners
Serenity now (Seinfeld)
Ted Rubin had a special relationship with his own father and he learned a lot about being a great dad. His father passed away not too long ago but Ted has written a lot about his father and about the return on relationship that he emphasized in the relationships that he had. Ted Rubin wrote a great post about this called Thanks Dad…
Ted Rubin shared how important it is to lead by example to others including our own children. Why? Ted stated that relationships are the new currency – We can now build relationships 24-7 without leaving our home. You used to have to have a lot of money and time to be able to build relationships and interactions. Now, every piece of content that you share, you have the opportunity for engagement!
So this means that we need to to put the social back in social media. Over the next few years Ted Rubin believes that we need to work to redefine what “friend” means. We need to add value back into this so that it is not meaningless word or just something someone does online on Facebook.
So how do you do this? How to look people in the eye digitally? Ted Rubin wrote a book recently called Return on Relationship . In the book he discusses:
- How to Maximize your potential by using the right community-focused tools on the Internet
- The importance of moving from convince and convert to converse and convert
- What main problems will keep you from seeing dramatic results
- How building engaged and responsive communities around your brand will significantly impact your bottom line
Ted Rubin also talked to us about the obstacles and challenges of divorce and children – and he gave three things for anyone going through this type of life circumstance to consider:
- Make it about the kids – Put the kids first.
- Live by what Winston Churchill said – When you’re going through hell keep going
- Life is not waiting for the storm to pass, It’s about learning to dance in the rain
People also know Ted Rubin for his amazing socks. Whether you follow him on Instagram, Facebook or other social media channel you will see that he wears different (very vibrant socks) everyday and he shares this using the hashtag #TedSockie
Ted Rubin let us know the story behind this, but also commented that by doing this it allows people an easy way to talk to you. He gave Sandy Jenney props for being the first person ever to post a picture about the socks that he wore and this led to more sock pictures and different hashtags: #sockie, and then… #TedSockie
In the end Ted Rubin left us understanding the importance of the concept of No Let Up #NoLetUp where he stated that in life there is no let up in what we do and that we have to work to support and empower others.
He also said that whether you are in professional or personal life how you approach life is very important. You need to consider:
- How to stop and sing
- The value of skipping
- If you can make someone metaphorically skip you will always win!