Sunday, April 26, 2009

Curious about Participation: How Do You Use It? How Important Is Participating – and Where – In Your Life and Business?

Definition of Participation: The act or state of participating, or sharing in common with others; as, a participation in joy or sorrows. Community; fellowship; association.

Life it is not just a series of calculations and a sum total of statistics, it's about experience, it's about participation, it is something more complex and more interesting than what is obvious.” - Daniel Libeskind, Polish architect

Many of my Internet involvements lately have included Web 2.0 and loads of Participation in Social Media. I am an active user of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Plaxo Plus and Digg. I started thinking about the time involved because of this participation and how worthwhile it is.

I know that many skeptics feel it is a huge waste of time. I beg to differ. I feel strongly that it will only continue to grow because of the participation. Even though we have had forums, discussion groups and membership sites in the past, we did not build the both fun and serious participation I am experiencing in Social Media.

I have also experienced more traffic to my websites along with more people taking my Portfolio Career assessment and signing up for my e-newsletter.

Let’s shift our thinking to other means and advantages of participation. Do you participate in clubs, associations and organizations? Some of my best friends I met in Toastmasters, computer user groups, Chambers of Commerce and Mensa. Basically, it all happened because of my participation.

As you probably know by now, I teach group fitness classes. Those who participate, not only improve their fitness level, they also become friends with other “regulars” and cheer each other on.

When as a speaker and storyteller I give workshops and other presentations, if I can get the listeners to participate with feedback and other interaction, I notice that they appreciate what they are learning so much more than if I were just flashing PowerPoint slides on a screen.

Let’s find out what the experts think about participation:
  • Such happiness as life is capable of comes from the full participation of all our powers in the endeavor to wrest from each changing situations of experience its own full and unique meaning.” - John Dewey, American philosopher
  • Participation, I think, or one of the best methods of educating.” - Tom Glazer, American musician
  • Many activities and team play participation will give you a training that will prove invaluable later on in life.” - Walter Annenberg, American businessman
  • I envision a future where there'll be 300 million reporters, where anyone from anywhere can report for any reason. It's freedom of participation absolutely realized.” - Matt Drudge, American celebrity
  • Conflict cannot survive without your participation.” - Wayne Dyer, American writer

And, one to take with you – especially if you are a storyteller or speaker.

Participation is easily obtained with Latin chant.” - Richard Morris, English clergyman

Have a wonderful week and do let me know how you participate – and, with life!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Curious about Foundation: The Necessity for and the Importance of – No Matter What the Endeavor

Definition of Foundation : The act of founding, fixing, establishing, or beginning to erect. That upon which anything is founded; that on which anything stands, and by which it is supported; the lowest and supporting layer of a superstructure; groundwork; basis.

A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” - David Brinkley, American journalist

The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.” - Zig Ziglar, American author

One of the most valuable tools I have learned over the years is the creation of a foundation for every project. If I am working on a business or marketing strategy, I must stop and ask myself what I need for a strong foundation. What are the basics that will build the foundation? The different parts and details must all fit together for a strong whole.

During this exciting global time, there is so much happening daily and so much to learn that we can easily be swept into overwhelm. My advice to you is to take your time, step back a bit and determine what are the foundational basics, because once they are established and are a solid part of your arsenal, the rest will flow smoothly.

We are so often in a rush to learn and try the new programs and subjects, we skip the beginning steps. Unfortunately, we are setting ourselves up for failure and frustration. I even find this with my fitness participants. Rather than starting at their own pace, they want to jump right in with both feet (forgive the pun) and end up with an injury and/or debilitating pain. Those who start slowly, building that foundation progress with speed and success.

Let’s find out how our experts feel about foundations:
  • The health of the people is really the foundation upon which all their happiness and all their powers as a state depend.” - Benjamin Disraeli, British statesman
  • The thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see it, is service to a fellow human being.” - Lee Iacocca, American businessman
  • To succeed, you will soon learn, as I did, the importance of a solid foundation in the basics of education - literacy, both verbal and numerical, and communication skills.” Alan Greenspan, American economist
  • If we would build on a sure foundation in friendship, we must love friends for their sake rather than for our own.” - Charlotte Bronte, British novelist
  • If you build that foundation, both the moral and the ethical foundation, as well as the business foundation, and the experience foundation, then the building won't crumble.” - Henry Kravis, American businessman
  • Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress.” - Nicholas M. Butler, American philosopher

And a few more:

  • I've come to believe that all my past failure and frustration were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy.” - Tony Robbins, American author
  • Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation.” - Saint Augustine, Roman Saint
  • Education is the foundation upon which we build our future.” - Christine Gregoire, American politician
  • Good order is the foundation of all things.” - Edmund Burke, Irish statesman
  • “I think it will be found that experience, the true source and foundation of all knowledge, invariably confirms its truth.” - Thomas Malthus, English economist
  • Idealism is like a castle in the air if it is not based on a solid foundation of social and political realism.” - Claude McKay, Jamaican writer

So, I urge you to get into the habit of foundational planning. Once you have a strong foundation in place, you will be amazed how the rest takes shape. Let me know how this works for you.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Curious about Mastery: When Can We Consider Ourselves Masters? How Long and How Much Effort Does It Take?

Definition of Mastery: The position or authority of a master; dominion; command; supremacy; superiority. Contest for superiority. Specifically, the philosopher's stone. The act process of mastering; the state of having mastered.

Ah, mastery... what a profoundly satisfying feeling when one finally gets on top of a new set of skills... and then sees the light under the new door those skills can open, even as another door is closing.” - Gail Sheehy, American writer

Having a “Portfolio Career” – many careers at the same time – I have heard and been told time and again, “Jack of all trades, master of none.” Well, I disagree. I know several entrepreneurs with Portfolio Careers who are masters of many.

What does it take to become a master and have mastery over a skill? I have read that we get close to mastery when we have at least 1000 hours of experience in a skill or field. Personally, I feel it takes more that time.

To become a master – and I do feel one can be a true master of many different skills - I think that the most important ingredient is absolute passion for what you are pursuing. You love your field so much, you can’t get enough of it. You have a plethora of books and magazines on the topic. You attend workshops, seminars, teleseminars and webinars in the field. When you find them, you hang around with people who also have a passion for your field.

You are never, never bored!

Let’s see what the experts have to say:
  • The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.” - Alfred Lord Tennyson, English poet
  • An artist must possess Nature. He must identify himself with her rhythm, by efforts that will prepare the mastery which will later enable him to express himself in his own language.” - Henri Matisse, French artist
  • If fear is cultivated it will become stronger, if faith is cultivated it will achieve mastery.” - John Paul Jones, American soldier
  • If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all.” – Michelangelo, Italian artist
  • Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person.” - Albert Einstein, German physicist
  • Roman civilization had achieved, within the bounds of its technology, relatively as great a mastery of time and space as we have achieved today.” - Arthur Erickson, Canadian architect

And three more to make note of:

  • We talk of our mastery of nature, which sounds very grand; but the fact is we respectfully adapt ourselves, first, to her ways.” - Clarence Day, American author
  • Order and simplification are the first steps toward the mastery of a subject.” - Thomas Mann, German writer
  • With all our mastery over the powers of Nature we have adhered to the view that the struggle for existence is a permanent and necessary condition of life.” - Frederick Soddy, English scientist

So, how about you? What have you mastered and what on you working upon mastering? I would love to hear how you are doing.

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Curious about NOW: What Does this Strong Word Mean to You, Your Life and Your Business?

Go for it now. The future is promised to no one.” - Wayne Dyer, American writer

Your big opportunity may be right where you are now.” - Napoleon Hill, American writer

I was watching a short video today where Kevin Nations was sharing seven strong words. These words weren’t what a marketer usually suggests. They are words that influence a buyer to buy or a potential client to sit up and pay attention. I am not going to share all seven at this time, but I am going to address the strength of NOW.

If there is anything I have learned during my many years, it is that doing, saying, and planning now - rather than waiting until later – pays off big time. My tagline includes the word “speed” and we definitely live in a time period where speed becomes more and more important daily.

Do you answer pressing problems now? How about urgent e-mails and phone calls? Do you get right down to working on the unpleasant tasks now? Or do you do the laundry instead?

How about that new plan of healthy eating and daily exercising – now or tomorrow? What have you been putting off that you know needs to be started now? I submit to you that we all tend to avoid the unpleasantries and the difficult tasks. The good news, however, is how extraordinary we feel when we have tackled and completed them NOW.

Of course, I found a plethora of now quotations to share with you:

  • The time to save is now. When a dog gets a bone, he doesn't go out and make a down payment on a bigger bone. He buries the one he's got.” – Will Rogers, American actor
  • The past is a ghost, the future a dream, and all we ever have is now.” – Bill Cosby, American comedian
  • We are all, right now, living the life we choose.” - Peter McWilliams, American writer
  • I've done a lot of things and I've been a lot of people, but now I've come to realize who I am.” - Bobby Darin, American musician
  • If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative.” - Woody Allen, American director
  • Happiness is the only good. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so.” - Robert Green Ingersoll, American lawyer

And, several more:

  • If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” - Henry David Thoreau, American author
  • I thought, if ever there were a time to write a book about hope, it's now.” - Studs Terkel, American journalist
  • The time for action is now. It's never too late to do something.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French novelist
  • Begin to be now what you will be hereafter.” - William James, American philosopher
  • A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” - George S. Patton, American soldier
  • I got only one thing to say. Whatever you're thinking right now, do it. Do it!” - Eamon, American musician
  • We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.” - Martin Luther King, Jr., American activist

I suggest getting a piece of cardboard and write on it, “DO IT NOW!” Post it in full view of where you work and anytime you find yourself procrastinating, check out your sign and do it!