A Heartfelt Thanks | Law Office of James E. Novak
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like
wrapping a present and not giving it.”
-William Arthur Ward
The Expert Institute recently announced the results of their 2015 Best Legal Blog Contest.”Thank-you”. Though heard often, these two words carry the utmost sincerity, gratitude and appreciation.
Thanks to all friends, friends of friends; family, extended families, and neighbors.
Thanks to peers, peer networks; social media friends, connections, communities, and groups who voted and shared to their own friend networks and campaigned on my behalf.
Thanks to all loyal readers of our blog.
Thanks to all of you for whom I have not had the fortune of meeting, but still you voted, shared, and showed your support in the The Expert Institute 2015 Legal Blog Contest.
Thanks to all the guest authors who have contributed to the Blog articles. You have added value, authority, and enriched the content and benefit for the readers.
Thank-you to all contestants for your unique and interesting Blogs. They were of the highest quality and benefit to readers. It was an honor to be competing with your Blogs. I knew that winning would no easy task for any contestant.
Congratulations to all the winners in all categories. Your victories were well deserved.
Thanks to the Sponsor of the campaign, The Expert Institute hosting this well run contest.
Thanks to Joe O’neill, Senior Associate, Marketing, at The Expert Institute, who kept us informed and well instructed throughout the contest. He worked very hard to make it a huge success.
“Depth of friendship does not depend on length of acquaintance.” – Rabindranath Tagore
Lessons Learned
I learned that participation in an industry contest is a lot harder than it looks.
I learned that while you might have the best blog entry in the contest, it will not be recognized as such, unless you promote it.
I learned that to be a competitive, you must set aside your pride, and ask for help. There is no indignity in teamwork.
I learned that creative, enthusiastic, and committed volunteers are the key to success.
I learned that people genuinely are willing to help if asked, and want to see you succeed. In the least, if they took the time to vote, they want to make sure it counts.
I learned that others will take the contest only as seriously as you do.
I learned contests can be a lot of fun. I enjoyed engaging with old friends on social media, and making many new friends at the ones.
I learned that if you look for the goodness in others, and expect the best in them, you will find it.
I learned that there are no strangers on Social Media.
There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven’t yet met.
– William Butler Yeats
Memorable Moments
There were a lot of memorable moments behind the scenes during the contest. This was especially the case, in the way of comments and interactions on social media.
Interacting helped me to identify three key elements which I think will help anyone succeed:
- Strategy, teamwork, and utilization of every your resource in your arsenal;
- Work hard until the last minute of the race; reach high for 1st place; and never give up;
- Have fun; Let people give what they wish to give. Accept graciously. Acknowledge every act of support.
I. Strategy, teamwork, and utilization of every resource in your arsenal Google Plus Community Post – These are just a few of 36 comments on this Post (Throughout the post are comments in red to illustrate my reality checks at the time).
Me Post: What do you all think about this integration of “We Dig” movement, “Collections” and our “Campaigns” all in one? Also, I would really would appreciate your “We Dig” Vote for my Blog!
Monika: Sorry it won’t let me vote… (Wait, wait, this can’t be happening…OK, Just breathe).
Me: Thank-you for trying, and thank-you for the heads up so I an check it out. Anyone should be able to vote. 🙁 I need to check this out.
George: I can dig it. If I were you I would add some blog posts into your collection. (I didn’t expect to get help with campaign strategy. And I need all the help I can get. Go George!)
Fran: I think you’re right on. How could I not vote for fellow Arizonian. (This might just work. The Arizona home team approves).
Melinda: Great idea. I voted and it went through even though it said “already voted”.
(I wonder how many people tried to vote and couldn’t? Oh no, it’s Saturday, and we won’t be able to contact The Expert Institute for guidance. How many votes will I lose this weekend? We’re doomed.)
Patti: We Dig Voting for James Novak! Done. Good luck. (OK, calming down now. Patti’s vote counted.)
George: You need to include a CTA in each post. (Wow, George is sharing more ideas for strategy. I’m not leaving this thread for anything. George, you rock!)
Me: George what’s a CTA?
George: “Call to Action”. (Oh, right…I knew that:-)
Sue: I have voted for you James Novak. And I love the We Dig image. (OK Litmus test for “We Dig” passed.)
Jim: After clicking the link, I saw an orange button on your website that said “Already Voted 54+” At first I was baffled thinking it implied the button was incorrectly reflecting that somehow I had already voted. I searched around to see if there was some other button I could push. Finding none, I said “What the heck” and clicked on the orange button to see what would happen. Darned if it didn’t refresh and say “Voted 59+”. What?!… (Jim wanted to make sure his vote counted as much as I did! How cool is that? He was on a mission to find out, so that we could share instructions in posts for people. Right on Jim!)
Monica: I tried it again! And now, in this minute, the voting seems to run in the correct way: Click on: “vote” (=thumbs up) on the left side. Immediately the number will count one up etc.
(Monica then provides step by step instructions on the correct way to cast your vote. Go Monica!)
II. Work hard until the last minute of the race; reach high for 1st place
“Donny” Campaigning on Facebook
Donny: James, where are we?
Me: We’re in 5th place.
Donny: That’s not good enough….
Me: We’re in 4th place…
Donny: Where are we now?
Me: Oh my gosh, we just moved to 3rd place!
Donny: That won’t do. We’re not done here… I was excited to be in 3rd or 4th place, up from 9th. But Donny wouldn’t settle for that. He reminded me that we were in to win. No slowing down or settling with less. Rock on Donny!
III. Acknowledge every act of support; Let people give what they wish to give, and accept graciously. “T.L.” Campaigning Everywhere!
T.L: James, How many now?
Me: 1800 and something.
T.L: That’s not enough. I told my family, and called on more of them in Vietnam. I told them that everybody loves James’ blog. I told them that you help a lot of people when they make a mistake like getting a DUI, and get arrested. So they need to vote for your blog.
Me: Thank-you so much!
T.L: My daughter also teaches Taekwondo Class and has lot’s of students. She is going to spread the word there and ask them to share with their friends too.
Me. Wow. that’s awesome. Please extend my thanks to her for that.
T.L: And I told my friend that if she spreads the word I will make her some egg noodles. She loves my egg noodles!
Me: T.L. Great! Let’s have a voting – egg noodle party. What can I bring?
T.L. was a loyal and generous volunteer. She never stopped giving and campaigning. She was creative and tapped into everything in her arsenal. Thank-you T.L. I will be forever grateful. Now about that egg noodle party…
The Law Office of James Novak is committed to the goal of providing high quality law educational resources and articles you can use.
We have great articles and topics in store for the end of the year 2015 and 2016. We hope you stay connected for more interesting and resourceful articles.
Thank-you again everyone!
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- 3 Ways Arizona Underage DUI Accident can Impact Minors and their Parents
Note
James Novak and the Law Office of James Novak are not affiliated, employed, or participating in the referral program of The Expert Institute.
The Arizona State Bar Communications of Fields of Practice R.7.4 .Prohibits use of the word “Specialist” in their respective of practice unless they are certified by a national entity was has standards for certification established by the Board. Arizona State Bar may consider “Specialist” synonymous with “Expert”. The Expert Institute Blog Contest, its advertising, or James Novak’s participation should not be construed as a representation that James Novak is a Certified Specialist in his respective areas of practice.
