The amount of information out there for consumption has caused an unprecedented level of ADD never before seen. So many options, so little time.

That being said (which everyone knows), this has fundamentally changed the value of word-of-mouth advertising, or what some people may like to call “grassroots marketing.” The most important aspect of marketing or promoting a product these days? The viral buzz. Thirty years ago, we did not have all this information; such intimacy was not needed because consumers had limited options.

This is a very simple concept; with unlimited options and information at consumers’ fingertips, companies must allow them to touch, feel and become emotionally connected to a brand. No, that does not mean conducting a $10 million national print and television campaign. It means get creative, hit people at work, in their homes, where they hang out socially, to promote products and services.

Hailing from Detroit, I live in a business climate historically dominated by the auto companies. In dealing with them, it is truly unbelievable the number of advertising agencies and firms handling marketing and advertising budgets. It is even more unbelievable that these agencies have NO incentive to push the envelope and consistently innovate. A friend of mine, who works at an advertising agency for one of the auto companies, recently told me, “I have not done anything for two months. There is nothing to do; our Q4 budget is already allocated.”

My response, “Are you kidding me?”

Well-paid, intelligent people just sitting around surfing the Internet because they have spent their $10 million in advertising for the quarter.

Hey suits, it is time to get creative and engage smaller agencies to keep you on the cutting edge.

Watch where those dollars are going.

It is astonishing to me how poorly Fortune 500 companies utilize the education system to build their brands and properly train future employees. All I hear from companies is that the recent college graduates they hire need to be trained all over again once they enter the workforce. I have actually heard: what are they teaching these kids?

Wake up and smell the coffee, suits—you have an opportunity to become involved in traditional and experiential educational programs, inside and outside the classroom, across states, regions and countries, to properly engage and educate students for the workforce with the skills needed to succeed in today’s environment.

OK, that sounds good, right?

Well, that is just the beginning. These programs must touch young people, create allegiance and an emotional connection that is meaningful and can be spread among friends. They have to do this in an engaging, entertaining and non-linear way, through sponsorships, RV campus tours, marketing challenges, contests, case studies… the list goes on and on.

Think about it: research and development, brand recognition and recruiting are all elements of non-linear educational initiatives filtered within corporate America. So why are they not budgeting for this properly?

The coffee is brewing. Do you smell it?

I just spent a week at the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) conference, speaking with educators from across the country who are teaching entrepreneurship at the community college level. The amount of energy and dedication in the room among administrators and educators blew me away. But even more, the interest in creating alternative forms of educational programming that will truly engage the students and provide the skills it takes to succeed in today’s rapidly changing environment was incredibly refreshing.

I did not think I would ever write the following word: community colleges could very well be the savior of our educational system. They offer an affordable focus on skills that really matter, with a mix of in-person and online learning. This is a recipe for long-term success. To our friends at the University of Phoenix and Harvard: take a few plays from the community college playbook!

Partnerships are present in every aspect of our lives—social, sexual and professional. Strong partnerships are essential for fulfillment and success. We must surround ourselves by people, organizations and significant others who view the world in a similar fashion and share common goals. This holds true for significant others, friends or business colleagues.

So what has me on this topic?

Over the past week I spoke with two business partners, one involving content for the website, one involving technology. I uncovered something that hit a chord with me and surprisingly made me realize that I had never thought about this obvious dynamic (I guess I am not that smart after all J).

When partnering with other organizations in business, if you have similar goals and objectives, including operating with integrity, magic can take place. The time spent negotiating and going back and forth on the fine print of legal documents magically decreases and business tends to run smoother. Do not get me wrong here; legal documents are essential for each organization to uphold its end of the bargain and follow through on promised words, but when dealing with real partners, those fine-print and month-long contract disputes go out the window.

Partnerships of all types are what help make life truly special. Connecting with others personally, professionally and intimately from a variety of ages, races and socioeconomic standing—who share a common vision—is a powerful concept. I watched a documentary a few years back on Steven Spielberg, in which he spoke about the most powerful interaction to watch between two people—when there is some sort of language barrier as it is the most primitive and powerful form of communication and attraction to observe. I have always subscribed to this thought as I am blown away on how an attraction, sense of humor and mindset can be uncovered among two people who have to work extremely hard just to understand each other.

For all of you out there who do not know, this is why social networking and online dating has become such a phenomenon. The Internet has allowed us to create “meaningful,” let me repeat that, “meaningful” connections across the world. A little tangent here: before you go create another social network, ask yourself one question, “Am I going to create meaningful connections?” If not, move on.

In just six short months, journelism has created some unbelievable partnerships with organizations working together toward a similar vision. Even more, you are going to see over the next several months a variety of alliances and partnerships that will help make journelism’s passions a reality: redefining the way we learn and empowering others to turn their own passions into livelihoods.

I was at a rock concert last night at a venue that housed over 20,000 people. In between my frosty libations, I took a five-minute break from singing in my incredibly tone-def voice to take it all in. I looked around at the thousands of people completely lost in the music, singing and dancing, forgetting about all of their daily stress and challenges for a few short hours.

The way the band had such a powerful effect on its fan base was truly astonishing. I then started to think about the blood, sweat and tears it must have taken for a band to build an audience big enough to play at a stadium with over 20,000 people. About the countless number of musicians with a similar dream living off of coffee and cigarettes, touring cross-country in a van, barely making enough money to survive.

The concert was a reminder of the magic that happens when people decide to follow their dreams, and the effect they can have on others. Of course, not every band is going to end up playing in front of 20,000 people, but whether your audience is 20 or 20,000, whether a performer, teacher or businessman—if you follow your dreams, you will accomplish things beyond your wildest imagination, and somehow magically build an audience that will find inspiration and strength in what you do.

One tradition when having dinner with family is to dip apples into honey to taste the sweetness of the New Year. There is something so powerful for me within this tradition: I feel re-energized and it makes me look forward to the year ahead. Then I started to think, why not eat apples and honey every day? Bring in the daily sweetness. When talking about building a company or organization, to get full satisfaction out of what you do day in and day out, you must operate with a sense of passion to create something of true meaning. When I say true meaning, I am referring to meaning not only for others, but yourself. This hold true for your co-workers, colleagues and customers as well, who must feel this way to succeed.

Even though it may not be apples and honey every morning for your staff, remind yourself to start each day enjoying the sweetness of another morning, and just as important, make sure the people around you do the same. That is when something special is created, the world is changed, and people accomplish things that seem unimaginable.

Happy to New Year to all!

People all around us have great ideas, yet more than often the spectators like to point out what other people are doing wrong, that their ideas are crazy and do not make any sense. These are people who tend to spend a fair amount of time on Twitter and play on Facebook all day from the office, looking at their watches, watching the minutes tick by, and slowly letting their youth slip away.

This world of apprehension is contagious, and if you surround yourself with people who employ this train of thought, the apprehension will start to seep into your own life. Get out there. Push the envelope. When someone shuts you down without listening to you, question that person and push back.

They’ll remember your name and, more importantly, what you stand for.

We hear the words repetitively over and over again:

“I wish I was young.”

“The best four years of my life were back in college.”

“What I would give to be back in high school and do it all over again.”

Come on, I know that you’ve said these phrases multiple times; if not expressed them, you’ve definitely thought them repeatedly. The main reason is linked to the ever-so-familiar word: responsibilities. Add a spouse, children, house and car, and all of sudden you’re responsible for much more than yourself. Of course there are times that will be stressful, with emotional ups and downs, but humor me and follow along…

Remember when you went to the first house party, the first kiss, the first week of college. Think about your thought processes; there were none (or very little). Such is the beauty of youth—one acts out of emotion and decisions are not overly thought out. The consequences from your decisions would affect only you. As we grow older, we tend to over analyze as well as have a strong focus on what our peers are doing.

If friends are getting married, should you step up and have a serious boyfriend or girlfriend?

If friends are having children, should you start thinking about having a family?

If friends are moving into lavish homes and buying nice things, should you let go of your dreams and put everything on the line to conform?

It does not matter how old you are, married or single, five children or none. The real key to the fountain of youth is to STOP over thinking your each and every move. Recall the time you were caught in the rain, and instead of grabbing an umbrella you splashed in the puddles and dove head-first into the mud. Or how about the time you and four friends picked up and hit the open road for a week just to get out of town. We must all get back to this mindset.

I know what the stressed-out mothers and fathers are thinking right now: it’s not that easy. I agree with you; when a family and others rely on you, more responsible decisions must be made, but that does not mean you can’t take a last-minute trip or go play in the rain.

Next response: “I have a mortgage, bills to pay and other financial obligations that have my hands tied.”

First things first, do not live beyond your means. If you have to stretch to make a mortgage payment, live in a smaller home. If you cannot afford your car payment, buy a cheaper car. If you lose your job, find another one. Make a list of 20 companies and positions you want to pursue and go after the opportunities relentlessly; if there is no opening, make one. If those do not work out, go after 20 more. Do not just send the résumé and cover letter in. Email, send handwritten cards, call twice a week, show up at the office, actively demonstrate that you want the job.

No matter what age, socioeconomic background or challenges we all face on a daily basis, start doing without thinking so much. Let your creative juices flow. You may find those juices flowing right into a fountain.

As defined by trusty Wikipedia: A social entrepreneur is someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change. Social enterprises are for ‘more-than-profit,’ using blended-value business models that combine revenue-generating business with a social-value-gathering structure or component.

It troubles me why people immediately dismiss a business as a social enterprise if it is not directly conducting work in a third-world country or helping poor or underprivileged citizens. Do not get me wrong, these enterprises and organizations are truly amazing, as they focus on and solve wide-ranging issues, save lives and accomplish remarkable feats. Yet there are so many social problems needing attention that range far beyond the issues mentioned above.

What about the person who rolls out of bed each morning, hating his/her life and job, and popping two antidepressants just to get through the morning? Or what about the person who sits behind the desk of a dead-end job, no one to speak to other than the ubiquitous computer screen, no motivation, no one who cares about developing him/her professionally? These are huge societal problems that must be addressed; we need to utilize technology and provide resources to enable people to follow their interests to lead fulfilling lives.

Even though our job or occupation should not define us, it is a key part of who we are, what we stand for, and with what we spend the majority of our lives. Let’s do the simple math: you work 50 hours a week and sleep six hours a night, which comes to 92 hours a week. There are a total of 168 hours in a week, which means this covers over 50% of your available time.

I hope that you do not spend over 50% of your adult life sleeping and doing something you fundamentally dislike. Life is too short; this situation often leads to common problems such as depression, obesity and other health issues that cost those individuals, as well as businesses and government, a lot of money. So, the next time I ask you what defines social entrepreneurship, I hope you remember this post and realize that a person does not need to be creating a new water system in rural Africa to be considered a social entrepreneur.

These are the new rules of business, rewritten.