I am guilty of moving too fast, of planning the next big thing, of looking forward instead of being in the moment. That is why it is nice when I am reminded to stop…reflect…give thanks. The wonderful Nila Nealy (@nilanealy) reminds me of this often. Most recently with a reminder to participate in the Epic Thanks Tweetsgiving 2010. (more…)
I took a time out this morning and volunteered to lead a reading group in my daughter’s 3rd grade classroom. They were studying action verbs or, as Mrs. Pappas called them, Wow Verbs. They started with a story full of boring words like went, got and going. Within 20 minutes, the stories were full of dancing, swishing, galloping, skidding, racing action. I could even hear the difference in their voices as they read their action-packed versions. These new stories were fun, even exciting.
On the drive home, I started thinking about how we as adults tell our own stories. (more…)
My 17-year-old daughter just called me from her U.S. History class to ask for a ride home. Her teacher – who will remain nameless since I want him/her to keep a job – allowed her to call as long as she told me that she loved me in front of the whole class. Which she did. Twice.
I think letting her call from class was a wise communication move on the teacher’s part. (more…)
Last Tuesday, I dreamt of flashing yellow lights. When I woke up the next morning, I was sure the dream was a warning of ominous things to come. I must have really been in tune with the cosmos because the next 24 hours were plain lousy. Rather than cowering under my desk, I reminded myself of my three philosophies of small business ownership. (more…)
My friend and colleague, Tina Noel (@tinanoelPR), sent me a great link today: The Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2014. This annual list was first published in 1998. It ”was originally created as a reminder to faculty to be aware of dated references, and quickly became a catalog of the rapidly changing worldview of each new generation.” (My favorites are a tie between #58, #12 and #55.)
This be-careful-what-you-reference thing works both ways, you know. So for all you 18-year-olds out there – not to mention you 20-something professionals – here is my Middle-aged Mindset List from the Class of 1990. (more…)
I was on vacation last week, which meant I had plenty of time to catch up on all the books I’ve been meaning to read. One of them, “How the Irish Saved Civilization” by Thomas Cahill, has been on my To Read list for five years. Since the rest of the book deals with how the seemingly uncivilized Irish preserved great literature and history after the fall of the Roman Empire, I was surprised to read a passage that dealt with marketing and public relations. (more…)
At lunch with a prospective client last week, I was asked if I was a publicist. I inwardly recoiled at the term. Then I decided I’d better make sure I understood his definition of publicist before I answered. (more…)