Where social media meets a perspective-changing movement

I must confess: I haven't been this excited about a campaign in a while.

As you will read below, there is an amazing amount of buzz building for Andy Andrews' new book, The Noticer (Thomas Nelson, Apr. 2009).

Thomas Nelson is a longtime client of ours and they regularly bring us great books by leading authors. They also push the envelope with their creativity and willingness to step outside the box. We're happy to be working with them and Andy Andrews on The Noticer Project, which launched yesterday.

What is The Noticer Project?

If you haven't been asked this question already, I hope someone will pose it to you over the coming weeks.

If asked, you can explain that The Noticer Project is a worldwide movement to "notice" the five most influential people in your life and it is inspired by Andy Andrews' new book, The Noticer. The movement started yesterday and I'm excited to see a number of people already taking part.

For more details on The Noticer Project, please visit the offical website here or join the Facebook group here.

You can also read a letter from Andy about why he's so excited about The Noticer Project here.

What is the goal of The Noticer Project?

Every once in a while a book comes along that has the right message at just the right time and proceeds to impact lives around the world. I think many would agree that we are in need of such a perspective-shaping message right now.

Many of you have read the New York Times bestseller, The Traveler's Gift, written by author and speaker Andy Andrews, which walks the reader through the seven decisions that determine personal success. Many people point to this book as a "game-changer" in their lives--a book that put them back on the right track. As powerful as The Traveler's Gift was and is, I think Andy's new book, The Noticer, has the potential to impact even more lives.

To say we're living in challening times is a major understatement--and a bit cliche--but with many struggling to find a new job, pay their mortgage and keep food on the table, it can be very difficult to keep the right perspective on life.

Andy Andrews knows this from personal experience--he not only lost both of his parents at a very young age but also became homeless soon-after, having to resort to living under a pier. Andy has long since gotten back on his feet but he knows firsthand how many are feeling right now.

Andy seems to have known that this book had the potential to not just entertain, but also engage readers to put its principles into action. In The Noticer, he talks a lot about perspective--something that many of us lose grip of as a result of the busyness of our daily lives.

The main question in many of our minds was how to turn the principles of the book into action.

Then an idea--what if we encouraged people to take a minute and notice those people who have impacted their lives--wouldn't that be an experience that put things back in perspective for many people? After all, when we think about the gifts we have thanks to the important people in our lives, it tends to put financial strains and other stresses back in perspective.

Andy decided to launch The Noticer Project out of a hope that people wouldn't wait until it's too late to notice those people that have made a positive impact on their lives. Far too often we take those treasured relationships for granted and end up sending a letter to the family after a funeral to tell them how much of an impact their loved one had on our lives (while hoping the lost loved one knew what we thought of them when they passed).

Why is it so hard for us to "notice" those people before it is too late?

That's where The Noticer Project comes in--it's a movement to push the pause button on our busy lives and "notice" five people that you owe a great debt to thanks to their love and care through the years.

Noticing those people can be as private (a hand-written note or taking an old teacher to coffee) or as public (posting on your blog, joining the Facebook group or posting a note on Facebook like I did here) as you want it to be. Andy's team has also set up a website that allows people to publicly notice their five.

When it comes down to it, the important thing is not how you "notice" your five, but that you take time to say thanks. When you do that, not only do you let them know how they have impacted you, but you also gain a new perspective on the gifts within your own life.

Here are a few public examples of those taking part in The Noticer Project:

Shelly Burns, Lindsey Read Nobles, Shannon (Potamus Prefers), Marie Burton, Bethany Hiitola, Kelly Klepfer, Christine (The IE Mommy), myself and many others around the country.

Head over to The Noticer Project website for a running scroll of those being noticed.

Why am I so excited about The Noticer Project?

I think The Noticer Project is going to be a great experiment on the power of social media to advance a meaningful agenda. The "25 Things" movement saw great success on Facebook and although The Noticer Project is more focused on others than it is ourselves--as the "25 Things" note was--I'm hoping that people see their various social media platforms (from Facebook to Twitter) as great tools for publicly "noticing" those who have impacted them.

I hope that you enjoy reconnecting with those five on your list as you take part in The Noticer Project.