10 Blogs I Love…Learning and Laughing

One big difference between adults and kids is their attitude towards learning. Kids just go with the flow. They seek out new ideas and adventures. As adults, most of us are pretty complacent. This is normal, but not good. One way to keep learning while keeping up with all our daily responsibilities is to read blogs. People tell me they don’t have time… to read, think, learn, etc. Really? Do you have time to be a role model for your children? Here are the ones I like…

1) Mashable.com bite sized news of the digital world & relevant biz stuff.

2) Occam’s Razor web stuff including analytics, measures, etc. clear, lucid and insightful

3) Escape Into Life  awesome art of all kinds

4) In Over Your Head  Julien Smith’s occasional writing on hitting life — head on

5) Laughing Squid various music, stuff and nonsense

6) Soulpancake.com art, science, humor, philosophy designed to open your mind

7) The Atlantic Monthly blog short and long thought -provoking articles, photos

8) The Inspiration Room “a global effort designed to influence, affect and involve creative communities in the development of a world standard for inspiration”

9) The Cynical Girl “Hard core punk rock pixie of the apocalypse. Blogging about work, money, power and politics. And cats.”

10) Outside Innovation Patty Seybold’s blog on enabling customers to lead the design of your business processes, products, services, and business models.

Photo credit:  Hand Over Mouth Mel B.

Find Your “Zone of Genius”

Do you think you are an interesting person?

In her book, How to Be More Interesting in 10 Steps Jessica Hagy shows us direct ways to enhance our “interestingness” (my word). Here’s my suggestion. Get a piece of paper… rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 (with 1 being no way and 10 being — I’m already doing that every day!) — how comfortable are you with each of these?

1) Talking to strangers

2) Exposing yourself to ridicule, risk and wild ideas

3) Learning an entirely new skill; especially one that interests but intimidates you

4) Embracing your inner weirdness

5) Ignoring the “scolds”

How’d you do?  If you scored above 50, you’re on your way. Below 50? What are you waiting for ? There’s a saying, “when the student is ready, the teacher appears — but you have to be looking! In my experience the teacher is already available – I just haven’t been paying attention.

– Don’t hide your quirks; they are what make you interesting!

–Don’t let the ‘shoulds’ get in your way? When others will criticize you, be prepared. Don’t listen. They’re projecting their fear onto you. Push it back to them.

So this relates to your “Zone of Genius” – a term coined by author Gay Hendricks. Here’s how she describes it:

“Your Zone of Genius is the combination of your innate talent and your greatest passion. Innate talent, for this purpose, is how–not what–you do what you do. Your greatest passion is the activity that you could do for countless hours with unending fulfillment.Finding your zone of genius can be tricky. We’re all blind to many of our own true strengths and weaknesses, so it often helps to find an objective, supportive person to help. Knowing your Zone of Genius also makes you caring, humble, and brave.”

The ‘teacher’ can be anyone… your child, spouse, co-worker, an old friend, a complete stranger. You just need to let go and ask for help. It will be there. Go!

Photo credit: RiÃ?©Kââ??¢

Life’s Like a Ten-Speed Bike…

“Life is like a ten-speed bike… most of us have gears we’ve never tried.” Charles Schulz (creator of Charlie Brown comics)

I’ve led a rather colorful life. I had the advantage of growing up in a difficult family environment. Why do I consider that an advantage? Because I can empathize with people — in fact almost everyone. Pushing myself is part of my DNA and my life circumstances.

So what’s that go to do with the 10 speed bike? Well, because I know what it’s like to be hungry and scared… I’ve probably used a few more of my gears than others. Would I wish difficulty on anyone – no. But I can tell you that it made me the person I am and I am happy that I have challenged myself in almost every aspect of life.

So how do we figure out which gears we’ve used and which gears we ought to try?  It’s a matter of understanding where we’re comfortable. Trying a new gear has to do with making a conscious choice to do things differently.

Here are my energy gears:

1. asleep
2. before I’ve had my tea BUT I wake up everyday in a great mood. (it’s truly annoying to those around me)
3. reading, skimming, thinking, meditating
4. making art in my little studio or creative writing
5. at work, talking to folks, making sure I’m present in my day
6. starting something new or pushing through an existing project
7. talking in front of a small group – less than 50 people
8. talking to a big group > 50 people – energy needs to be really high
9. going into a room full of strangers and talking to people (takes everything I’ve got)
10. Not sure what this is..

This is only one measure of the gears that relate to the amount and kind of energy I need to summon. What are your gears and what pushes you use new ones?

Photo credit: Snowed In Chris Metcalf

Building the Brand of You: Portrait of an Expert

So imagine you are a the only person of your race in a world full of money, power and prestige. Now imagine that through your talent and pure force of will… that you build an impeccable career and reputation. What would it take for you to overcome all the odds against you?

Some reading this, may not know Sidney Poitier. For the rest of us, Mr. Poitier is a movie star who starred in tour de force movies like, In the Heat of the Night . If you haven’t seen this wonderful film, I encourage you to check it out. If you are wondering how to build your personal brand, I suggest you examine the public life of this amazing human being.

He rose to be one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. No rehabs, no scandals, no spin — just a high quality ‘service’ (his acting) delivered with dignity and thoughtfulness. It’s not about being famous… it’s about a sure and steady knowing, inside ourselves, that we have done the job well and conducted ourselves in way that makes us proud.

As I think about my own career, I can say that I have done well on some fronts and could have done better on others. Here’s what I learned from Mr. Poitier…

1) Be myself. I can learn and grow, but don’t take any crap from anyone; particularly those who would exploit or diminish me.

2) Don’t let them judge me by my looks and don’t judge others that way. Remember the words of Martin Luther King …” where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” (Substitute age, race, religion, gender, sexual preference, etc. for color of their skin).

3) When in doubt, don’t do it, say it or type it. Mr. Poitier gained his reputation by making thoughtful choices from words to roles. Did he sacrifice tremendously for those choices? My guess is yes.

If you want to figure out how to build your personal brand… look at those who have done such an amazing job before us. They’ll teach us everything we need to know.

Kerploppi and Other Old Friends

My kids favorite book was Professor Wormbog’s Gloomy Kerploppus.

What did they love? the silly pictures? the way I did the voices of the various characters? or simply the comfort of snuggling and reading the same story over and over – completely predictable in an unpredictable world. As children we are naturally attracted to what interests us. We are open. Life is compelling and fun. Do you still feel that way?

Check out one of my favorite bloggers – Julien Smith -  his post 19 Thoughts on Finding Your Purpose. There’s a little something for everyone here. I particularly like…

“Go through your childhood and find what interested you. Combine those things and add a trend or two. Do it right and you’ll have a great business.”

What did you love as a kid? Do you still do it now?

If you can’t remember what you loved as a kid– think about how you can remember? Smells and sounds can be evocative so remember those childhood foods and songs and see if that helps. Ask someone who knew you then how they remember you.

What book, stuffed animal, cartoon, movie, friend, house, toy -do you remember? See what you can learn about yourself today.

As I kid I loved to read and write. I had a very difficult and unhappy childhood but I still remember sitting in an orange wing chair (oh the 70′s!) next to a window where birds chirped all day. Those books and that chair took me places where I felt safe. Now I look to find ways to help others “find their way.”

What did you love as a child and how might it help you be happier and more fulfilled today? You can do it!

Stuck in the Middle with Me

Do you know when you’re stuck?

Sometimes it takes me a while. But when I’m crankier (than usual), finding fault in the people I love over small things, am afraid to try new things and so on… I realize that I’m stuck. Here are a few things to think about…   You’re not the only person who is stuck, you just need to be brave and reach out to someone else.

Remember, ” When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”

Symptoms of being stuck include, thinking you’re…

• always right
• always wrong
• the only person who has money troubles (really you lived below your means? … hmmm)
• married to/in partnership with the wrong person (without fully examining your part in it)
• in a job that you’re too good for (but you haven’t kept up your skills or networking)
• in a job you hate (but you don’t haven’t even looked for a new job in years)
• unemployed for several months (and still scoff at… social media, networking, building skills) unable to  remember the last time you learned something new that took real effort not helping other people
• a drip… you don’t even want to be around yourself

I understand. The reason this post was so easy to write… this is me. But I’ll tell you this…I stopped doing it as soon as I could.

Please tell me, what are you afraid of… go on, explain it to me or someone else.  Get unstuck. It feels so good. Take one little step.  You can do it!

Photo credit: CHUD.com

Help, I’m a Millenial Trapped in a Baby Boomer Body!

This past week, I had the fun of being a mentor for the first Rochester Start Up Weekend. Start Up Weekend is an international non profit organization that helps communities run a weekend ‘create a company’ marathon.

In 54 hours, teams work to build a company idea. By Sunday night, the teams pitch their company ideas and the winning team gets cash and prizes.

This is why I feel like I’m a 20 something trapped in a boomer body. I loved the idea of spending hours hanging around young entrepreneurs who are so excited about their ideas.

But more than that, I am excited about change. I’m excited about the revolution that’s taking place across the world– people telling their governments what they want.

I see tremendous power in the social enterprise and the way customers are telling companies what they want.

I am thrilled to see so people involved in changing the world for the better.

Here’s how I am contributing:

• teach as many people and organizations as possible about the power of social media
• teach college student where I learn more from my students than I teach them
• lead a small non-profit that helps people who live in low income communities
• speak for free for any non profit that asks me
• mentor entrepreneurs through SCORE
• support and encourage people of all ages to live life fully
• respect every person I meet for exactly who they are

I hope that I am also a loving wife, mother, in-law, sister, friend, etc. Let me know how you are making your life as fun and vital as possible. It’s great isn’t it?

Who’s Your Customer? It’s Not Who You Think…

A lot is written about discovering who your customer is and how to find them. A new blog post by Seth Godin, titled, “Who is Your Customer?” sheds light on this in a whole new way.

Instead of thinking about customers as a group of people, think about the one, two or three people who are most important and pay attention to them.

For example, Godin asserts that Apple employees had one customer only, Steve Jobs. Nike’s customers are not the people who buy their shoes but the athletes who endorse them.

I’m not sure I agree with Mr. Godin; but I do like the idea of shifting our thinking. Whether we are in a job search or looking to put some sparkle back into our lives, the idea of thinking about who we are trying to get to support us is a great exercise.

If I want to sell a book of fiction, maybe my customer is a publisher. In a way, this is like the viral sales funnel. In the “old” way of selling, we broadcast messages to lots of people. The ‘new’ way (social) of selling/marketing is to get to the key influencers and then ‘attract’ them to help you spread the word.

If we always do what we always did, we’ll always get what we always got… but the rules have changed and we have to find a way to change too.

Photo credit: Inc.com

Viral funnel credit: Socialsteve’s blog

Success = Complacency. Antidote = Urgency

Billy Joel has song called Second Wind…here are some lyrics,

“We’re only human, we’re supposed to make mistakes –So take it from me you’ll learn more from your accidents–
Than anything that you could ever learn at school”

The reality is that we reward people who are ‘successful’ and think that ‘failure’ is bad. If babies thought that, they would never walk!”

In an excellent article titled, “Success: A Breeding Ground for Complacency“,  John Kotter reminds us…

“Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.” Bill Gates

I live in Rochester, NY, home of Eastman Kodak; another great American company that has filed for bankruptcy. Why? Because we (yes I worked there for 17 years) became arrogant. We stopped being hungry for change. Success spoiled our drive.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com CEO has a mantra, “every day is day one.” In other words, whatever we did yesterday isn’t enough to ensure success tomorrow.

Look at your organization or your job search or your family goals? Is there a sense of urgency (that’s different from desperation, exhaustion, hamster wheel running)? Be clear and energetic. It’s contagious.

Photo credit: http://fashionrunher.com

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. Progress Not Perfection.

If a beaver really thought about all the work it would take to build a new home (dam), (s)he might never start. But since the need, desire and drive to build are innate… he doesn’t stop before he starts.

Somewhere along the way, human beings, who start out curious and driven (just watch a baby learn to walk) – we stop learning new things. How many times have you stopped yourself from trying something new because you were afraid?

Is it looking, acting or sounding stupid or admitting you don’t know something? We think that if we act like we’re not sure that we’ve somehow failed.  The older we get, the less likely we are to try something different.   We need to recalibrate our ideas so that learning new things is what’s good!

Here are my suggestions for staying hungry. Those of you who know me, know I’m already foolish (thank goodness!)

1. Everyday do something you don’t want to do… just for practice.  Don’t gripe or complain, just do it. If you say one word about it to anyone, it doesn’t count. Do it for 7 days in a row and then talk with someone about the experience.
2. If you have a chance, watch a child learn new things. Do they get frustrated easily?
3. Make a list of the last 5 things you learned. Is it an easy list to construct or did you have to think about it for a while?
4. Set a goal to learn something new and take one small step towards it.

If you want to be Steve Jobs (author of ‘stay hungry, stay foolish’ and noted perfectionist) then this  post is not for you. If you’re a mere mortal, then please tell me…. how do you stay hungry?