Success is sometimes lonely

Many moons ago I noticed that I had to constantly decline invitations to Happy Hour or Friday Night Dancing. It wasn’t so much that I noticed it as it was all of my friends, colleagues and family complaining about it. That’s when I realized that my road to success as an entrepreneur would mean I would be alone a lot of the time.

I wanted to be the best at what I did, and that meant spending a lot of time in front of a pc or reading books, especially when I was learning. I had to really focus, so I needed to be in my zone. When I taught myself to program or SEO or anything having to do with the online marketing world, there was a lot of learning, reading, trial and error, and rinse and repeat. There wasn’t as much content online as there is now, but it was, and still is, a lot of fun and work. Although I missed out on a lot of non-learning and non-working fun, I never really “missed” it.

As the years went by, those same friends and colleagues continued on their own paths as I left companies and built my own. Their paths were their own and not any better or worse than mine, but I did start to notice that the folks that busted through the corporate ladder and built something of their own were the ones that worked really hard and were sometimes lonely like me.

It finally dawned on me that those were the people, my people, that I needed to hang out with. So I started to go to more networking and mastermind types of events, and I joined online groups of like-minded individuals who were on the same path. It took away some of the loneliness and motivated me a lot.

Yes, many of my old friends still get together every Friday or Saturday night to hang out, have some beers and de-stress from the work week. Many times they spend the night drinking and complaining about their lives and “the man”. They wake up late on Saturday with a hangover and stumble through the weekend feeling cruddy. The friends who have persevered are the ones who weren’t around as much because they were furthering their education in the evenings or working on a new skill or going to networking functions, etc.

What I have learned from the loneliness is that it’s perfectly fine to be lonely. You can’t be the person who hangs out with your buddies all the time and the person who is laser focused on success at the same time. At least, this is the case for me. Couple that with being a mom, and my bandwidth of free time is limited to my kids.

Basically, I’m OK with being lonely at times if loneliness means I am working towards my goals. I’d love to hear feedback from other entrepreneurs and how they handle the loneliness of success.

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Top Latino / Hispanic Podcasts

I run at least five miles every day. It’s my favorite time during the mornings where I spend about an hour by myself. During that time, I like to spend 15 minutes doing a brain dump into my recorder while I run with the hundred or so ideas that pop into my head. The other 45 minutes I like to listen to podcasts. I listed to all types of podcasts, I have a lot of time on my hands, and most are usually 20-30 minutes long.

I usually focus on a specific industry or interest group each day, and Mondays are Latino podcasts and Hispanic podcasts. I really use them interchangeably, since most podcasters as well as general Latino and Hispanic folks tend to do so as well. While we can get into the ongoing debate about when to call someone one or the other, I’d rather just use them both.

Anyway, back to my favorite Latino/Hispanic podcasts. Some podcasts have been around for years, and a few are newbies that I recently discovered and fell in love with. All are worth a listen to see if you find a new favorite. If you’re like me, and you have at least an hour every day to listen, then you know that finding good podcasts with interesting content is a challenge.

Check these out and I would love to hear your thoughts on them.

The Little Radio Show

Since this is my all-time favorite podcast, I have to give them first billing on this list. Listening to this show makes me feel like I’m sitting back home with old friends and chatting about every-day happenings, current events and being Latino. The show is hosted by three Houston Latinos, Sandra Fernandez, Juan Alanis, and Angelica Cazares, all of whom are marketing professionals.

The show was founded in 2015, and has 51 binge-worthy episodes. I find myself having to slow down during my runs sometimes to laugh at some of the silliness. Topics range from current news headlines like the latest interns scandal to Selena’s Hollywood star, Mexican Machismo and Snapchat.

How to listen: The Little Radio Show Website, iTunes and Stitcher

Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations

HispanicMPR is a long-running podcast featuring interviews with leaders, newsmakers and experts on business, marketing, media, and America’s largest minority. Host, Elena del Valle is a 20 year plus marketing and public relations veteran who has worked extensively in health care and with U.S. and international markets.

This is a great show to stay on top of if you are interested in marketing to the Hispanic/Latino markets. You will gain tremendous insight into strategies from professionals in the field.

How to listen: There is one way to listen, and that is directly from the HispanicMPR site.

LatinoUSA

This one is a no-brainer. If you haven’t heard this show, visit the site right now and have a listen. Based in Harlem and founded in 2010 by award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa, the show, NPR’s only national Latino news and cultural weekly radio program, is going 20 years strong and focuses on everything Latino.

Anyone who wants to learn about Latino news and culture needs to tune in to this one.

How to listen: NPR, iTunes, or Stitcher

Since most podcasts are still trying to figure out their revenue or how to grow their viewership, please be sure to support them if you like their shows. You can either click the sponsor links and purchase their products or donate a few bucks to the ones that take donations. Even a comment on their blog or podcast review would be a great way to support these content creators.

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Most Popular Weekly Hashtags

Hashtags are the best way to grow your twitter and Instagram following and engagement. There are some well known hashtags that have been around since the inception of twitter, like #FF and #TT, but there are others that are just as popular and fun to use.

You can always find hashtags that pertain to your business or likes, however, the easy ones are the weeklies, which have a very broad audience. Just one good #FF or #FollowFriday post can garner you several new followers.

Here is a list of the most popular weekly hashtags. This isn’t an all-inclusive list, just my favorites.

Monday Hashtags

#MotivationMonday – This is one of my favorites. I am a sucker for a good motivational quote, so I eat these up when I see them, and I share.

#MondayFunday – This is for those who enjoy Mondays. Yes there really are people who do, and it’s great for photos of office high jinks and fun.

#MondayBlues – Use this to communicate just how miserable you are over the death of your weekend.

Tuesday Hashtags

#TipTuesday – No, this is not an opportunity for you to share pics of how giving you are when you tip your waiter. Although, I personally think it would be a great use of the term. This is your opportunity to share your business wisdom.

#TransformationTuesday or #TT – If you have lost weight or met a goal, this tag is for you. You can show a split image of your before and after and wait for all the “atta-boys” to roll in.

Wednesday Hashtags

#HumpDay – This is really the only tag for Wednesday that I feel is worth mentioning. It speaks for itself, with, or without a camel.

Thursday Hashtags

#ThrowBackThursday or #TBT – TBT is by far the most popular weekly hashtag. Everyone loves to share old pics, and this is the tag to use with it.

#ThirstyThursday – Drinks, drinks and more drinks. Most folks share pics of yummy alcoholic beverages, but the hashtag is also used for smoothies and other thirst quenching concoctions.

Friday Hashtags

#FollowFriday or #FF – Use this to share with your followers other brands and people you think are worth a follow. It’s another great way to connect, and when you #FF someone, they are bound to return the favor.

Saturday Hashtags

#SocialSaturday – there is no real theme to this hashtag. Use this for anything on Saturday that you’d like to share or to start a conversation.

Sunday Hashtags

#SelfieSunday or #SS – Share your best selfies with this hashtag.

Now that you are armed with some ideas for posts, pick a hashtag that speaks to you and have at it.

Let me know if I missed any of your favorites!

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