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Q& A with Author Amy Jo Martin ---------------------------------- Amy Jo Martin * How did social media become such a passion for you? My desire to innovate, to do what hasn't been done before. There were no rules when I was experimenting and I found that invigorating. * Your high-profile clients like Shaquille O'Neal and Tony Hsieh have had huge success with social media. But do these strategies really work for lesser-known people and companies? Absolutely, everyone has a personal brand. From students to mom-and-pop stores to the President of the United States and everyone in between. It's all about delivering value when, where, and how your audience wants to receive value. For example we have worked with A-List celebrities like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and high-profile brands such as DoubleTree by Hilton, but also small businesses like my mom's bed and breakfast, Copper Canyon Lodge in South Dakota. * You're constantly on the move. Was it hard to slow down and write a book? I found myself writing in the most diverse locations--from boats to airplanes, at my family cabin, and on the elliptical machine. It was an amazing exercise in re-learning the art of focusing for lengthy durations of time. Our society encourages and rewards multi-tasking, but when it comes to sitting down and writing words on a page, there is no such thing as multi-tasking. The best reprieve is a simple "Ready, Set, Pause." If we continuously work toward training our minds to reset, we'll be ahead. The muscles we exercise when taking a temporary pause strengthen, and eventually the value and ROI of a four-minute pause can be condensed into 30 seconds. Every day my life managing director (a.k.a. my magical assistant) schedules an eight-minute "meeting" during which I have to stop working, put on my headphones, and listen to music from my "Innovate Your Life" playlist. The value in taking this eight-minute meeting has been unbelievable. * What's the most fun you've ever had with social media? We held a Twitter hashtag battle between the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians during a game and positioned the fan bases to face off against each other for the sake of charity. For every use of a hashtag, one dollar was donated by the teams to their team charitable foundations. The a of excitement, engagement and participation was incredible and unexpected. People who weren't even MLB fans were participating in the conversation just for the sake of the greater good. That was when I realized social media channels have massive greater good potential. * What's with the jetpack? I just always wanted one. It seems like the original jetpack era was a time when people would look at jetpack believers and just shake their heads, dismissing that the idea could ever work. People would laugh at them. That's how I felt years ago when I'd advocate for social media in the boardroom and my superiors and colleagues would tell me it was just a fad.