5 Lessons in Facebook from My Puppy

Meet Bodhi. His name is short for bodhisattva, which in the Buddhist tradition is one who achieves enlightenment yet stays behind on Earth to help others end suffering. How fitting is that for a puppy?!

To Bodhi, everything is an adventure and the world is his for the taking. Already I?ve found that inside that bundle of puppy enthusiasm are plenty of lessons for life and for business.

Here are 5 Facebook lessons direct from my puppy:

1) Every new day is an opportunity.

Every morning Bodhi acts as though it?s been forever since the last time he saw me.

?Where have you BEEN?!? I can practically hear him thinking. ?It?s been SO long! I thought you were NEVER coming back…?

But within 2 minutes of licking my face, all is well and he?s on to other adventures.

It?s easy to get bogged down and not know where to focus your online marketing attentions. Don?t dwell in past disappointments or overwhelm, but instead shift your focus to new opportunities.

2) The power of social media is incredible ? so make it work for you!

I met Bodhi at an in-person adoption event. But Bodhi became a bit of an online celebrity. The Humane Society that was housing him and his litter mates posted pictures of each puppy on its Facebook page. That post was so widely shared that when I brought him into the office the first time, two members of my team recognized him. In fact, one?s husband had mentioned wanting him, too. Fortunately, I made a quick decision to adopt him. If I had waited 15 more minutes, he would?ve been gone because he was that charming online.

Trust the power of a strong message and compelling content. (Psst, that?s actually one of the huge secrets for making social media work for your business!)

3) Distractions don?t replace genuine connections.

Bodhi finds amazement all the time ? investigating blades of grass, sniffing new scents in the air, you name it. He?s easily distracted. As a puppy, his very nature is exploring every passing whim. But what really holds his attention are those things that he craves at a deeper level ? bonding with his people, food that sustains him, and his walks, to name a few.

In business, you can create all the distractions you can think of to get people to pay attention to your business, but you can only distract someone so long if there?s not really good stuff backing it up.

4) Playing is an essential part of life.

For Bodhi, every situation is an opportunity to play and every person he meets is a new friend. He automatically considers every situation an opportunity to play. And here?s the thing ? Bodhi is one of the happiest creatures I?ve met. There?s definitely a lesson there!

Entrepreneurs tend to be so passionate about what they do – and how they can do it better – that they can sometimes forget to take a breather. Take a moment every day to just have fun. You?ll be refreshed and get new perspectives and your business will reap the rewards!

5) Enlist the help of experts.

Confidence is knowing what to do and how to do it. Puppies, on the other hand, don?t quite yet know what to do or how to do it. Everything is new and unfamiliar, even the basics of walking on a leash or eating breakfast with the bigger dogs. Bodhi is learning by watching his new friend ? my much more experienced 70-pound black Lab, Guinness.

There?s no substitute for knowing exactly what to do. Lack of experience in business can be costly, in terms of both money and time, so learn from others, including paid experts, who know the ropes.

If you need help seeing your business (and Facebook?s potential for magnifying it) in a new way, click here to schedule a chat with my team. You probably won?t get Bodhi – he?s pretty busy – but the rest of my team is awesome too.