I Suddenly Get the Social Networking Thing for Business

I had an epiphany on the whole social networking possibilities for business. I did not see the whole picture before. It was not that I was not working at it. I read books and articles online to try to integrate it. I played with my Face book, my blogs and Twitter and kept trying new things but it did not completely make sense to me. I just was not getting how it could all work to promote your business. And then I just got it. For some reason the knowledge clicked and now I can see how it can all work. It has amazing possibilities and now I see why everyone is talking about it. Not that it could be, by any means, considered a static entity or one that you can ever truly know. But I get the why and how in it's present form and it makes sense.

I also see why companies who leverage it hire people to monitor it. It can be intensely laborious to remain current all through the various channels that make up social networks. Blogging,comment monitoring, posting comments on other blogs, Face book presence and interactivity and Twitter presence alone can consume your time. Not that it isn't fun! It is lots of fun. But it can eat up the hours that you were planning to do other things. But really...what could be more important than free and almost free advertising for you business.

So some thoughts for anyone out there muddling through the possibilities but not seeing them. I recommend that you just keep on keeping on. Try things and if they work keep them and if they don't work, do something else. Keep doing things and more things. When I felt like I got it, it was like a cloud cover clearing and I could see forever. Nothing amazing happened to cause it. No single catalytic event. Just sudden clarity.

Painting the Canvas that is Your Life

I wanted to share a quote that was wonderfully revealing to me.

Alex Crockett from Broken Postcard sums it up like this: "I used to paint a lot. When I painted I would often have to stand at a distance from the painting in order to not add too much detail to one single area at the exclusion of the whole. It seems that faced with immediacy of life we all too readily get involved in details at the exclusion of what may be a better perspective."

Now, although I often do not know of what Alex speaks on any given day, this particular quote changed how I think. How interesting it is to realize how we shrink our world. We get involved in the day to day of our lives and "add the detail" to our days. That potentially becomes the whole picture and fearfully we can frame it as we see it and it becomes our world view. And we operate there for the rest of our days. In actuality it is a very small microcosm of the entire reality in which we exist. "The whole painting."

If we can for a moment, back up and see how our microcosm fits into the world view, we would be startled by how insignificant the petty details can become. When you view the whole painting, the small area where you were working looks...well...small. What seemed so large becomes so small when you change it's context. It can shrink your problems to a manageable almost laughable size. They become mundane. Humbling. On any given day, I cannot rise above and on other days I can see beyond my world to a strange and exciting distance. Splash color on the whole painting not add endless detail to a small area. Way more fun.

I think the desire to try new things is an effort to expand the piece of the painting that you work on. It makes you want to add colour to a bigger part of the picture. What you see when you back up can make you want to back up even more. Seeing your world as a microcosm of a world that is a microcosm of an even bigger world. How fascinating.

Picture is from http://www.transformyourimages.co.uk/art-gallery-16/paint-burst-yellow-canvas-8109.htm

AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN FIVE SHORT CHAPTERS

This poem is from a website called Vibrant Nation. For women 50+. Check it out.

by Portia Nelson

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost ... I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes me forever to find a way out.

II

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place
but, it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

III

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in ... it's a habit.
my eyes are open
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

IV

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

V

I walk down another street.

I Have an Inner Princess!

I grew up in a time when retail was functional but not meant to entertain. I should say my inner princess was growing up then. Everything you needed was there but there was no glitter and lights. Or not that I remember. It just was what it was. We did not know enough to realize that we might be missing something. So my inner princess sat quietly inside.

There were no pink frilly things, no sparkly things in my memory. I did not know they were even out there if they were. So what happens when this inner princess, who has been repressed through years of working in the competitive world of business, while I made my way to Director with a major blue chip company, suddenly starts to communicate with the competent shell in which she has been hidden for so many years.

I realize that my inner princess is there when I pass by any store with sparkly or pink things and I am unable to comprehend my strange fascination with all things in this realm. Until recently I think the only pink thing I owned was a pink Iron Man T-shirt buried deep in my cupboard. (My dog wears it on Breast Cancer runs now!) The rest were varying shades of blue or black with an odd splash of red.

So how to explain the sudden infiltration of all things pink when I am about to turn 53. Strange sparkly sweaters that I have yet to wear and can no longer remember why I had purchased them. A lifetime of pent up desire or the emergence of my inner princess?

For Christmas we decided that we would not purchase gifts but would give things away to those that had no gifts. After Christmas I listened to some friends who were over talking about some pretty cool gadget gifts one of which was an IPAD and my inner princess cried. (Not really but she stamped her feet a lot!)

And then the day I had to clean the caulking in the shower might have been the day she died. I think she was buried in the caulking I removed. Certainly not a job that a princess would do. Note to myself: Hire someone to do that one next time!

Could this strange awareness of the possible existence of an inner princess actually be aligned with going back to a time when you knew clearly what your hopes and goals looked like. A time when you planned to do something and then you did it and then you made another plan. And you did that. And then life started rolling along seemingly by itself. And so you handled whatever life threw your way. You handled other people's priorities without a second thought too. Your inner princess is the child in you tapping you on the shoulder and saying "Remember?".

My inner princess has surfaced to remind me of a time when my life was my own and my goals and plans were endless and possible. This is the second act and could it be that my dreams are just as endless and possible.

I Resolve Not to Make Resolutions!

Funny how as New Years approaches you take a sudden look at long forgotten goals for 2010. I resisted making resolutions in 2010 and instead I set goals.(Somewhat nebulous ones in some cases!) The word resolutions has, for me, negative connotations of years gone by. Good Intentions. Great starts. Long forgotten by year end. That makes me normal, I think. There are too many expectations tied up in the term "resolution". So this year, I resolve not to make resolutions again.

When I set goals, I make plans to achieve them. I think that is the difference between resolutions and goals. Resolutions feel wishful. Goals have a plan. Semantics? Maybe, but it works for me.

My goals for 2010 were to get the business started. That goal is one that will never end. I need to constantly breathe life into that one to keep it alive. This one is definitely still on the list for this year 2011. The execution plan is more expansive so I definitely made progress in 2010.

Another goal I had in 2010 was to change things up in my work life. Still on the list for 2011. I made progress once again but I am not ready to make the leap just yet. I think the rest of my goals last year were too nebulous to determine if I have made progress. How do you really evaluate if you have slowed down. I think i have but it is hard to be objective. Life still feels busy. How do you evaluate if you are living more authentically. Hmmmm...

Robin Sharma (a favorite as you know) suggests picking your top 5. The five things that if you achieved them you would say, I had a great year! I like that approach too.

I took out a new notebook last night and came up with my Top 6. When I was finished I evaluated them this way. If I achieved each one, am I closer to my goal? Are they measurable? Sounds a little corporate but at the end of the year you have to be able to say that you either achieved it or you didn't. I was pretty excited about the list. Then I put a next step on each of them so I can begin right away.

No resolutions but lots of resolve. Funny how inspiring a life with goals ahead can be. The reverse is also true. How melancholy a life without goals can feel. So clarify your goals and burst ahead into the New Year!

25 Things that Make Me Feel Happy

1. Try New Things. Keep things fresh and new. Keep your brain in overdrive. It makes you feel invigorated to have tried something you have never experienced before.

2. Sit alone in a quiet place that inspires you. Is it in nature? By a fire? Yesterday I sat on an indoor pool deck which was closed. The air was warm and the lights were dim. The water was calm and peaceful. It was a wonderful opportunity to check in with me and see if everything was on track.

3. Help someone. Give someone your time and or money. Give them a step up in whatever they need to move forward. Volunteer at the food bank with your friends.

4. Go for a long walk in the woods. Where we are the snow is on the ground and as you walk it crunches underfoot. The cold air is exhilarating.

5. Hang out with a pet and really give him your attention for a few minutes. As with people there is a big difference between a passing pat and a real touch.

6. Cook a dish that you have never made before. Create it from scratch, buying the individual ingredients, create it with love and and when it is finished bring some to share with a friend.

7. Go swimming. The feeling of cutting through the warm water and feeling your body stretch and contract is amazing for your body and your mind. Sometimes I like to just float on my back and watch the sky go by.

8. Choose a day when you have a couple of hours to read. Curl up with a new book or magazine and get lost in it.

9. Make someones day. Call a long distance friend that you have not spoken to. Find out what has been happening in their lives.

10. Get a massage. For mind and body there is no better therapy. Gets everything moving and feeling great again.

11. Do Yoga. Like a massage but even better. Always concentrate on you with no comparisons to those around you.

12. Spend an hour with a child and let him/her lead the way on what to do and where to go. You will feel like a child again when you are with them.

13. Really focus and savour the taste of a food that you love. Whether it is you first taste of morning coffee or a square of extraordinary chocolate or a complex Thai dish, savour it and really be in the moment.

14. Go to a place where you can watch the sun go down. There is a sense that all is right with the world when you watch the sun go down and when it finally sinks below the horizon, the feeling of inner peace is unmatched.

15. Choose one thing on your bucket list and create a plan to make it happen. Choose the date and write the action countdown to that date.

16. Put your bare feet in a river or a lake. Feel the coldness of the water and splash around like a child would.

17. Go to a travel website and find out your new next favorite destination. Or go to Google Images and put your destination into the browser and check out all the beautiful pictures associated with your destination.

18. I get inspired from watching a UTUBE Jack Canfield video or a Robin Sharma video. They get me to a place where I can see that anything is possible.

19. Go to a coffee shop with a friend who really gets you. A friend who knows who you really are and loves you for it.

20. Turn on the music in your house really loud and dance. Remember the adage to dance like there is nobody watching. Do that.

21. Do something creative. Try your hand at pottery or painting or any creative endeavor. Don't try to be great. Just be creative. Frame your piece or put it in a place where you can see it every day.

22. Write a short passage or blog and then rewrite it until it is something you are quite proud of. Some days, after I have finished writing this blog, I go back and read some of the earlier entries and I feel quite proud if some of the entries.

23. Spend a day wandering through a small town that has shops and restaurants. Buy or don't buy but just browse and have coffee and people watch. Do it with a friend or do it alone. It can be amazing to your happiness either way.

24. Eating things that feed my body makes me happy. When I am on my game and exercising and eating right, I get a harmony with my place in the world and it makes me happy.

25. Listening to your favorite music can transport you to another place. Listening to some great beats can lift you up before your workout and get you in the mood to workout. Listening to some great jazz while you are driving can give you a feeling of peace and contentment.

These are the things that make me happy. Surprising how simple and inexpensive most of them are isn't it? That is food for thought. What makes you feel happy?

Wave Surfing and Life

Trying new things even on a small scale can be likened to diving through waves. When you stand in the shallow water and face out to sea and watch the waves roll in. If you stand just shallow of where the waves break you can watch them break from a safe distance. You sit safely bobbing in the swirl that happens after the wave breaks untouched by the ferocity of the breaking wave.

If you happen to stand right near where the wave breaks, the water crashes over you, tearing at your clothing and slamming you toward the sandy bottom. You come back up breathless and disoriented. Here is the secret though. To pass through a breaking wave you have to dive into it. When you do you smoothly emerge on the other side. You see the obvious analogy. Right now I am standing in the shallows watching the wave break. Feeling the need to dive in.

I have chosen three things that I can do right now. Climb Kilimanjaro. Register at the University to get my Masters (and then do I dare hope a PhD?) and go to my first Yoga class at my gym. Those are three things that I can incorporate into my life NOW. I have a willing friend to climb with. We just need to book the trip. I have already contacted the University for registration and all I have to do to start my yoga class is drive to the gym. Done. Many of the people I have read about, who had made their midlife changes, had chosen to do something inspiring and that changed their path completely. To a more fulfilling one. I see a big wave coming.