Would Eleanor Roosevelt be on Twitter?

January 29, 2013 By

eleanor_roosevelt“One thing life has taught me: if you are interested, you never have to look for new interests. They come to you. When you are genuinely interested in one thing, it will always lead to something else.  The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear. I think, at a child’s birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

One of my favorite “mentors” from history is Eleanor Roosevelt.  An important note about her role is that she was one of the first public “officials” to use mass media to talk about important issues such as civil rights; the rights of children and women; and the value of public service.  Because of that, there are many quotes attributed to her that remain relevant today.   She continues to inspire me and her words often find their way into my own writing and teachings.

I am drawn to her in part because even as she supported the rights of others, she never lost her passion for lifting up the importance of personal responsibility.  This is ultimately the game changer for anyone that aspires to live a life of significance.  Her innate curiosity also helps me see a kindred spirit in her.

If she lived today, there can be no doubt that she would be delighted with the power of Social Media and would be leveraging it to make meaningful and powerful change in the world.  I can well imagine I would be following her and re-tweeting everyday!

Here are ten pieces of “Eleanor” wisdom that are among my favorites that could be called “Eleanor’s Tweets”….

  1. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
  2. You can often change your circumstances by changing your attitude.
  3. With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.
  4. What could we accomplish if we knew we could not fail?
  5. Never allow a person to tell you no; who doesn’t have the power to say yes.
  6. Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.
  7. A stumbling block to the pessimist is a stepping-stone to the optimist.
  8. When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die.
  9. Do one thing every day that scares you.
  10. Courage is exhilarating.

 

Hmmmm…. I may just have to send them out for her myself.

 

Filed Under: Learning & Growth, Possibilities & Perspective, Success & Significance, Winds of Change Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Are you the next or the first?

July 8, 2012 By

Yesterday was all about my newest granddaughter, Keira.  Today was about my first granddaughter, Skylar.  I love the fact that I have the privilege of passing on the wisdom of all the generations before me to these young bright minds.  We have the most interesting conversations!  Since we live some distance from each other, I spend time with her each summer.  We have a list of questions we go through when we reunite that brings us up to date on where we are now and share together how we’ve grown.

Here are three of my favorites from the list:

1)  What was the most interesting new person to come into your life this past year?

For Skylar, sometimes this has been a teacher, sometimes a new friend or neighbor.  But what she shared with me this year is that the most interesting person to come into her life over the past year was in fact someone who had been there before but she felt like she was getting to know all over again – her Mom.  She said that she discovered her Mom is a really interesting person and very talented!  What a delightful and precious thing to hear from your granddaughter about your daughter.  And how nice to know that at nearly 12, she is already discovering the person behind the role.

2)  What was the most interesting book you read this past year?

This one we love because we’re both avid readers.  There is usually a debate as we go over several possibilities and make final choices.  And some years, we simply cannot choose and we allow each other to name two.  But we often share our response to almost a dozen books in the process.  I marvel at how our minds work and how different people can read the same words and be affected in vastly different ways.  And where we are in our life stage can make such a difference.  One year she chose The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis) and it brought back such great memories for me of when I read that as a young girl.  So I made it a point to read it again myself and was able to see it anew from the perspective of those young eyes of the past and the fresher (albeit older!) eyes of now.

3)  What was the most interesting thing that you learned this past year?

This is often the most difficult to answer because the idea of new knowledge is so vast.  But we are usually able to pinpoint it to some area of interest.  Skylar is particularly interested in animals and so in many cases it will be intriguing facts about the latest part of the animal kingdom that has caught her attention.  But sometimes it is something we learn about ourselves, too.  Other years it has been tied to travel.  My daughter’s family takes an RV trip every year to a national park and hike the trails.  They have climbed mountains and go down into craters.  Amazing places!  There are always some interesting facts that she picks up along the way on those journeys.  I love this one most because it means I can share what I have learned which re-enforces the idea of lifelong learners.

As we have gone through the questions this year I thought about the fact that this ritual I have with Skylar binds us together even beyond our familial ties because it keeps us engaged in each other’s lives.  It re-enforces the fact that we not only accept change and diversity in each other, we welcome it and celebrate it.  What a wonderful gift to give each other and something that we would all do well to incorporate into all of our relationships.

For our time today she chose to see the recently released documentary of Katy Perry’s 2011 tour.  I wasn’t sure what to expect but it turned out to be entertaining and insightful.  It gave us more things to talk about.  We both agreed on one thing – our favorite line of the film.  It is where Katy Perry is talking about the time in her career when everyone was trying to find a “spot” for her and figure out what other pop star she should emulate.  You should be the next “??” or the next “??”… She said that she knew that it wasn’t going to work because she wasn’t interested in being the next anyone.. she wanted to be the first Katy Perry.  Bravo!  I loved the lesson not only for Skylar but for me as well!

Brings to mind the words of Oscar Wilde:  “Be yourself.  Everyone else is already taken.”

I am the first and only me.  How amazing!

 

 

 

Filed Under: Learning & Growth, Possibilities & Perspective, Winds of Change Tagged With: , , , ,

A note from Nana…

July 7, 2012 By

Today my daughter and son-in-law  welcomed their second child into the world and I will soon meet my next grandchild. My first granddaughter, now 12 kept vigil with me – her Nana. Precious times.

Lois Wyse has been credited as stating that “..grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation.” Since becoming a grandmother myself, I can only say that truer words have never been spoken. Her book, “Funny, You Don’t Look Like a Grandmother”, remains one of my favorites.

So today’s musing is going to be brief and quite personal but I can’t think of anything more symbolic of possibilities than a new life.  In honor of my grandchildren, I offer these words from Ms. Wyse’s book on inheritance:

China cupboards filled with cups of memories,

A piano’s tune that sang its tune before me,

Secret drawers that hold my parents past,

All these are here for me to see

And so piece together what has gone before

To understand the people who once walked these halls.

For in the home my grandmother created,

I find the beginnings of the love I have inherited.

 Hurry home, Miss Keira! My halls (and love) await!

Filed Under: Possibilities & Perspective, Winds of Change Tagged With: , , , ,

The business of books…

June 26, 2012 By

In case you haven’t noticed, the subject matter throughout my blog this past month has gotten rather “bookish”!  That is because I agreed to participate in an Author’s Blog Challenge for 28 Days in June.  We all need to do things that provide opportunities to interact with our own communities.  Targeted blog challenges are a great way to do that.  The key however is to attempt a level of creativity that allows you to participate within the optimal subject matter for the challenge while still creating value and words of interest for your continuous community.

One of the things that made this challenge unique were the writing prompts provided by the facilitator.  Those prompts just by themselves generated some creative treatments across the various participants.  Some really brilliant writing and thought leadership resulted.  And those were generally the posts where the prompt was not followed literally.  You see we all have as much creative license with whatever we do as we allow ourselves.  We can play within the field, follow the guidelines and still show up with our own incredible gifts and style.   I love that about my communities.

For today’s writings, the prompt focuses on the business of books vs. the writing or creative processes.  This is also often where my own audience struggles within their respective genres.

How do I generate a business base while staying true to my work or passion?  Or perhaps, how in the world can I make money doing this?  The range is broad but the sentiment is the same.

We are great at bringing forward ideas and taking action.  We are not always great at the longer view of the business.  This is true for just about any solopreneur endeavor.  Dentists, doctors, lawyers, artists, writers, actors – all professions where the primary business “brand” is the person and what they do.  This particular group of professions are also ones that can benefit quickly in every area of their business by embracing the idea of books as part of their mix simply because of their business value.

When developing our businesses, we all often turn to the “masters”, the gurus, the industry experts.  We don’t have personal access to them physically but we DO have access to their writings, their books.  Investing in the right library is a great business investment for the solopreneur.  Having that virtual “board of advisors” can only make you better and by extension, make your business stronger.

The next progression can be natural.  Readers of those books can become writers of those books.  Growing a business through book marketing is one of the easiest ways to establish true expert credentials and to also be able to approach others for interviews or collaborative ventures.

When we are innovative with how books are integrated with our business, they can generate revenues beyond their sale.  Book coach and publisher Lynne Klippel wrote a book that she rarely sells.  That is by design.  She gives it away.  Is it worth it?  Of course.  Because the book has been used as a marketing and expert status positioning tool that has generated tens of thousands of dollars in other fees from publishing and coaching.

Even if you do not want to write an entire book, you can still leverage publishing as part of your business plan.  Consider collaborating with other experts in your field by creating a collection of ideas or stories within a single book.  Or write an endorsement for someone else’s book that would put your name and expertise front and center with their audience.  However you incorporate books, with all of the “buzz” today with e-readers, virtual print on demand publishing and information based businesses, you will not be disappointed with the range of value you can generate leveraging books as a business development tool.

But here is the thought that I love when I think about the role of books in business:  When you describe someone who holds the $$ reigns of a company, that provides oversight on the profit and loss statements and everything financial – isn’t it marvelous that they are called the “book”-keeper?  So for authors and the rest of us: Keep the books, literally and figuratively and by extension you will without question improve your business.

Filed Under: Learning & Growth, Possibilities & Perspective, Winds of Change Tagged With: , , , , ,

As easy as 1, 2, 3….

June 22, 2012 By

One of the success philosophies taught by thought leader Napoleon Hill is that “It is always your next move.”

When building a personal or professional platform, there are three essential elements that can guide our steps as we make each move.

The first element is education.  Before we can have a platform, we need to know what it is and have a depth of knowledge that allows us to champion it with passion and purpose.  For a platform to be sustainable, it must also include growth.  And so a continued focus on education for ourselves and our community is an essential component.

The second element is engagement.  A platform without a community or audience is merely a person with an opinion.  We have to engage an audience in dialogue.  We need to ensure that the platform is of value and serves.

The third element is execution.  A platform without associated action will not create change.  In the words of the Greek philosopher Epictetus: “First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”  

The key to this is translating it into activities within each element.  My professional platform is centered on personal possibility.  The philosophy that there are abundant options.  I am always researching and looking for possibilities.  My personal quest is to learn something new everyday and then teach someone.  Engagement is covered by the teaching activity in many cases.  The execution comes with creating the framework where all of this happens.  That translates into the creation of a business focused on personal and professional development.

As I begin each day, I keep those three elements front of mind when planning my activities.  As I end each day, I reflect on their value and presence.  What a wonderful way to serve:  Learning, Listening and Leading.  What a rewarding way to live.

Thank you for being part of my community.

 

 

Filed Under: Possibilities & Perspective, Success & Significance, Winds of Change Tagged With: , , , , ,

The results are in!

June 21, 2012 By

It could be said that we have moved from the industrial age to the information age and have now arrived at the age of influence.  Everywhere you turn, you are not just asked to buy something, you are also asked to review it.  And if the review is favorable, you’ve endorsed the product, and by association, its maker.  Because this practice is so prevalent, it also drives us to search out the opinions of others ourselves before we buy.  Whatever work you do, there is now a need to produce some form of social proof that it does what it purports to do.  Even if that is education or entertainment.

This requires a great deal of transparency when the value of what you do is demonstrated by another person’s results.  When working as a possibility coach, I know that the engagement of the client is what will deliver a successful outcome.  As an author in that same area of thought leadership, the value is going to come from how someone applies what they read.  There is no “true to color or size” or “operates as advertised”.  That shifts how social proof is going to look and sound.

To get feedback that is meaningful, we need to be open to (even seek) several responses.  The one we desire (simply because we’re human) is that they loved the work and cannot wait to recommend it and take advantage of what we bring to market next.  That’s always the goal.  But it’s not always the result.

Another response could be that they are confused.  The message wasn’t clear.  Here is an opportunity for genuine feedback to improve our ability to present the message.  These responders are extremely valuable simply because they themselves are willing to be transparent in their reaction.  It takes courage to say that something isn’t clear.  We need to listen carefully to these members of our community.

We can also spark disagreement and find those that would argue against our ideas or position.  These responders are valuable because dialogue is always a good place for discovery.  The key in these situations is to keep the discussion on topic and shrouded always in respect.

Regardless of which of these types of response we receive, the key is not just seeking the feedback of our audience but also listening to it and responding.  Response does not equal a change in message.  In fact, usually it will not.  But with critical thinking and meaningful dialogue, our voices can soften or sharpen and our words will blossom more fully in their form and function.

One last word on the subject of feedback:  Don’t just expect it – give it!  Those that give first, often receive best.  Always remember that a candle loses nothing of its own light just because it lights another.

 

Filed Under: Possibilities & Perspective, Winds of Change Tagged With: , , , , ,
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