I'm moving, it's true. No, it's not to another city or state, but to another blogsite. It's time this working mama grows up and moves on over to wordpress. Something to do with SEO or another fancy marketing acronym that I should know a whole lot about, but will frankly always be a student of.
So, here are the new digs. I've tried to bring all of the posts over, so while I will run this one in parallel for a little while, I'm hoping to transition fully as soon as possible.
For all you followers and friends, please come visit me in the new neighborhood. New URL, same wonderings.
I get lonely. Come on by and say hello!
Ramblings of a Creative Mind
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Thursday, September 12, 2013
A Boy and a Blue Balloon
This morning, I had the honor to be a small part of something special.
After rolling out of bed before the sun came up, I was
pretty tired. So were the hundred or so
fellow travelers I shared Southwest Airlines Flight #150 with this morning on
the way to Sacramento. Engrossed in our
smartphones, on auto pilot, we picked up our bags and began to exit the plane. That's where the magic began.
As I stepped out the door and onto the jetway, I glanced
up and saw a blue balloon taped to the wall.
Odd, but not remarkable. Then,
there was another. And another. In fact, the jetway walls were lined with
bright blue balloons - far too many to count.
Confused, I stopped. So did
everyone else. I heard our flight attendant bristling with excitement, lining
up the pilots and prepping them for photos and the surprise. And there, nestled amongst it all was a sign
- "We're honored to help! Yay,
Mason!" As my dazed companions
and I got moving again, I was struck by the bright smiles on the faces of the
flight attendants, the crew, the passengers... and me.
I have no clue who Mason is. I don't know his story. I overheard that he was headed to Orlando, so
I think he is a child, but why is he going there? What made this trip so special
that a team pulled together to create a thing of such joy for him, for
themselves and for all of us who were brief witnesses to the moment?
The background of his story may be bright or perhaps tragic. At the end of the day, it doesn't
matter. What hit home for me is how
someone on that flight crew cared deeply about someone they barely knew, had an
idea and led others with love.
The notion of love in leadership may be
controversial. As we build our careers,
we focus on learning the ropes, connecting the dots, generating the ROI and
building a great strategic plan. Those
are all necessary components to any great business.
But where is the love? Where is
the emotional connection that is so fierce, so deep and so passionate that it
leads you to chase dreams, move mountains and inspires others to
follow? Data, metrics and business plans
provide a framework for any good enterprise.
Companies and leaders become great though when they inspire people to
believe, to get uncomfortable, to go out on a limb and to give. We have to take that risk and bring love into
the equation. It's love for the company,
it's culture, it's team and its customers.
It's spending the time to get to know someone else's dreams, what they
want to achieve, and then committing full force... being there to help them
achieve that dream. It's investing in
what's in it for someone else. It reaps greater rewards for the giver than
you can ever accrue for. Even more, it
reaps rewards for your team as they invest emotionally. They go father, reach higher, work harder and
smile wider. They've shared the joy.
I still don't know Mason and his story. I think it's better that way. What I do know is that Mason was a king this
morning, and whatever mountain he may need to climb, he is stronger today and
has a hundred strangers cheering him on from the sidelines. I'm among them.
Traveling on business has its perks. Frequent flier programs can get you a window
over an aisle, free wifi and sometimes, a front row seat to greatness.
How can you lead your life with love today? Who will be your Mason?
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Celebrate Yourself
Get ready to get your groove on! |
Every day, you have choices to make.
You may choose what you want to focus on for
the day, which road to take to the office or what issue you want to
tackle. Making your decision, you start
your day and – with focus and effort – you accomplish things. You get a win. One small one might roll into another, and
then another. And at the end of the day,
you’re proud of what you’ve achieved.
You want to share the good news and celebrate it, so you call your
coworker, friend or (insert a person here).
The news tumbles out in one excited jumble. And how does the other person react?
Perhaps they’re as thrilled as you are, and
you both are off to the races. Most
likely though, they are happy for you – but maybe not as happy as you hoped they’d
be. Or just maybe, they have a different
take on your day. Maybe they don’t see
your win as a “win” after all. Now, how
do you feel? Are you deflated? Confused?
Let down? Are you still as
excited as you were before? Does some of
that joy come out of your voice, and do you move quickly on to the next chore
on your to-do list?
People crave connections. We’re social beings. While I might be an introvert or you might be
an extrovert, we all want to be understood.
Seen. Validated. Appreciated.
We look outward for reinforcement of whom we believe we are inside. Our self-worth, whether its at the office,
at home or in a relationship, may somehow be defined by what you see reflected
back at you by another person.
I say you are selling yourself short. When you accomplish something good, you know
in your heart that you have. You can
feel it in your bones. You’ve done great
work, hit a goal or laid the foundation of a great future, and you know
it. Feeling proud of yourself is a good
thing, yet so many people get that pride of accomplishment confused with
hubris. Instead of believing in the work
they’ve done, they feel guilty, so they turn outward for validation – for
“approval” to be proud – and find themselves disappointed. Their friend is distracted, thinking about
their own issues, and not providing the feedback you want or “need.”
Positive feedback is a good thing, but
there’s no guarantee you will get it.
That doesn’t diminish the moments when you know you’ve made a
difference. Hubris is one thing. Overt or excessive pride with no true
accomplishment, that’s another story for another time. You know it when you’ve done something good. That’s a feeling that’s weighty, sits deep
and resonates. You don’t need anyone
else’s permission to celebrate your job well done. Throw back those curtains of self-doubt and
celebrate yourself. Then do more great
work, and celebrate again tomorrow.
In
fact, everyday you can choose to accomplish something great and celebrate it
again. You deserve it, and your friends
– those true ones – probably know a good party when they see it. They won’t want to miss out on this one.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Agents in the Zombie Nation
It’s Friday,
and I have that “Friday feeling.” After the work week adrenaline rush, I’m
spent. Mentally and creatively fried actually. I need to recharge my creative juices. And what did I come home to?
Both of my
boys were bouncing off the walls, full of energy. Trying to calm the storm, I asked them about
their day. Luke (my 3 year old) shared
with me that he and Olivia played “Agents” at school, and promptly began to
demonstrate the main point of the game: press yourself against a wall, look
around furtively, then run and hide around a corner. Pretty fun at 3. But not nearly as fun as
playing “Zombies” I soon learned, as my 5 year old lurched up and down the
hall, moaning and dialing his “Zombie Mom and Dad” on an invisible phone. Soon, Agent Zombie Mom was lurching up and
down the hall as well, singing “Secret Agent Zombie” (I know you can hear the
tune in your head) at the top of my lungs.
How many
times have you watched children play?
It’s a trip. Toys are nice, but
every parent knows that if you give a kid a cardboard box, it’s going to become
a tent, then a train, then a cave, a boat or a turtle shell. And when two children meet for the first
time, after a few minutes they’re best buddies climbing a pirate ship or on a
great adventure. Creativity flows
freely. Their minds know no bounds. There are no limits or obstacles to what they
will create with their imagination.
Their dreams are big and loud.
It’s beautiful. You dreamed
loudly too, and so did I.
And somewhere
along the way, as you get older, the dreams get quieter. They’re a little smaller. You may lose that reckless abandon or your
dreams are more cautious. You may be
afraid to try. You tell someone that you
can’t sing or don’t dance well. You can’t
draw. You don’t like your hair. You’re not creative. Whatever your personal “can’t” is, it follows
you. It saps you.
It drains you, and you end up with that “Friday feeling”… looking for a
recharge, but why?
Someone
along the way told you “you can’t.” And
it was probably someone older than you were – someone trapped in that Friday
feeling – and it got passed on to you. Now,
you pass it on. But I say “you CAN.”
You can
sing.
You can
dance.
You can
draw, and you can dream.
You are
creative, if you give yourself permission to be you. Give yourself permission to try, to make
mistakes, to be embarrassed or scared or frustrated. Move through that frustration and move
on. Even if the Friday feeling starts
dragging you down, your mind is still powerful.
You are a creative being with endless energy. I know you are. After all, you were a kid once, and so was
I.
When I was
young, the floor was hot lava. The
couches were islands which we leapt across to be safe (sorry, Mom). The bed was a raft that we were sailing down
the Mississippi. And tonight, I was an
Agent in the Zombie Nation – so energized from letting the day go that I had to
sit down and write this.
You
can. You can. You can.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Finding Answers
“Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.” Og Mandino
When you begin a career or a relationship, you begin as a
student. You have a manager or a mentor
who teaches you the ropes. You discover
who they are. You ask questions, study
books and learn as much as you can about the field you have chosen. You make mistakes, learn from them and move
on to the next lesson.
And time goes by.
You get more opportunity.
Becoming more experienced and more knowledgeable, you rise through the
ranks.
And years go by.
One day, you turn around and find that you have become the
teacher… the mentor. People ask you
questions. They learn and you lead.
And leadership can be lonely. There’s not a lot of positive feedback. Sometimes, it feels like you give more than
you receive, and you are still grateful to do it. Perhaps you feel unappreciated or bored. You love your opportunity, but yearn for
something more. You’ve stopped asking
all the questions, because you know most of the answers about your
business. So you begin to search for new
questions to ask, new lessons to learn and new places to grow.
I’ve spent a long time learning what I know. I run my piece of the business, and at times,
it seems quite easy. I’ve felt restless.
I’ve been searching. At times, I’ve felt unappreciated or
undervalued. (Don’t we all sometimes?) I
still ask questions, but not as often as I did before. And yesterday, I was reminded how valuable –
no, how critical – it is to always remain a student, not only of your business
but also of your life.
Positive change is coming for our Company. Yesterday, I began to share it. I reached out to each of my team members to
discuss the change, the implications and the opportunities. The focus of each call was to talk about what
this meant for them. I learned what it
meant for me.
I thought I knew who I was and what I did. I thought I understood my relationship with
each of them. But we only see ourselves
through our own eyes. You don’t know who
you are in someone else’s eyes until you ask.
Frankly, I didn’t really ask as I made each call. That wasn’t on my agenda. I “knew” my answers, until my students schooled
me yet again. And as I spoke with each of them and learned
who they believe I am, I was floored, humbled and deeply moved.
I’ve been feeling unseen, unappreciated for a while. But that wasn’t the truth. It was what I saw in the mirror – a one way dialogue
with myself. My team… my friends…
reminded me that communication is a two way street. If you want to know how people feel about you,
then ask. If you want to know what you’ve
taught them, ask. If you want to know
what you mean to them, ask. And if you
want to find out what you still have to learn from them, just ask.
There was a hole in my heart, and my team filled it.
There was a question in my mind, and my team answered it…
and more.
They created new questions for me, and taught me that I
still have a lot to learn.
I am grateful.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Thoughts on Theft and Things
My truck was broken into last week as I ate dinner with a friend. I'd just returned from a business trip, so I had a lot of stuff with me: favorite clothing, my computer, headphones etc. While I am angry that someone felt the need to do something like this, it's the loss of one particular item that I cannot let go of: my iPod.
My iPod was tragic. It was a second generation model that I have had easily for almost 8 years or so, battered, slightly malfunctioning and filled with the music that I adore. I have staunchly avoiding upgrading each time something better comes out. I want to stick with what I know works. Yes, it has been on the fritz, but it is mine. Each song represents a memory, a time in my life that I cannot recover, just as I cannot rebuild that music catalogue as it was on that machine. It was set up in a certain way. I knew its quirks. It was safe, dependable, loved and all mine. It was my past and present. It is not my future though.
Losing something is never easy. You spend time looking back, looking around and looking at the loss. You weren't ready for it, weren't prepared. But that doesn't mean it's not the right time to let go... to move on.
Things are just that: things. They are possessions that ultimately possess you, if you let them. They can hold you back with a tune that is familiar, safe and beloved. But a thing is just a thing after all. It has no emotions. Rather, it acts as a mirror, reflecting back at you only that which you allow it to. The same goes for life. Life, career, today... it can be safe, loved and a good place to be. Or it could be holding you back as well. Are you leading your own life today, or are you allowing "things" to possess you - to keep you from moving forward, moving up or moving on?
Letting go is hard. I miss my iPod. I am angry. I am sad that its gone, and have to face the fact that it will never be again. I am moving through my emotions - moving on. There will be another iPod, another opportunity to create new memories and new magic. I will build the next play list of my life. While the old one feels like it is gone too soon, perhaps instead it is gone at the perfect time. Someone else will love that iPod and fill it with their songs and their memories. They will make it new again, just as I make mine new again.
Someone told me once that "you are a slave to what you own." Possessions... these things. They shall not possess me any more.
Today, what is holding you back? What will hold you down no more?
My iPod was tragic. It was a second generation model that I have had easily for almost 8 years or so, battered, slightly malfunctioning and filled with the music that I adore. I have staunchly avoiding upgrading each time something better comes out. I want to stick with what I know works. Yes, it has been on the fritz, but it is mine. Each song represents a memory, a time in my life that I cannot recover, just as I cannot rebuild that music catalogue as it was on that machine. It was set up in a certain way. I knew its quirks. It was safe, dependable, loved and all mine. It was my past and present. It is not my future though.
Losing something is never easy. You spend time looking back, looking around and looking at the loss. You weren't ready for it, weren't prepared. But that doesn't mean it's not the right time to let go... to move on.
Things are just that: things. They are possessions that ultimately possess you, if you let them. They can hold you back with a tune that is familiar, safe and beloved. But a thing is just a thing after all. It has no emotions. Rather, it acts as a mirror, reflecting back at you only that which you allow it to. The same goes for life. Life, career, today... it can be safe, loved and a good place to be. Or it could be holding you back as well. Are you leading your own life today, or are you allowing "things" to possess you - to keep you from moving forward, moving up or moving on?
Letting go is hard. I miss my iPod. I am angry. I am sad that its gone, and have to face the fact that it will never be again. I am moving through my emotions - moving on. There will be another iPod, another opportunity to create new memories and new magic. I will build the next play list of my life. While the old one feels like it is gone too soon, perhaps instead it is gone at the perfect time. Someone else will love that iPod and fill it with their songs and their memories. They will make it new again, just as I make mine new again.
Someone told me once that "you are a slave to what you own." Possessions... these things. They shall not possess me any more.
Today, what is holding you back? What will hold you down no more?
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Just Push Pause
Go ahead. Make your day. |
Unfortunately, what do
you do when you get the news sitting in a hotel room in Seattle, far away from
it all and already committed to an event that you can’t back out of?
That was my morning.
I was excited and feeling the heat.
After knocking down a few conference calls, I headed out the door –
grumbling that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, doing the wrong
thing. I made call after call on the 30
minute drive to the event, sat in my car and made a few more calls and then begrudgingly
went off with a smile on my face to do something I felt was a “waste of time”
when I ought to be doing something “more important.”
And a funny thing happened as I cranked my way through the
first hour of the meeting: I started to relax.
Standing under the sun on the side of a hill, I stopped thinking about
what used to be, what I needed to do today or the million things on the to-do
list tomorrow. Instead, for a few
precious hours, I let myself BE. I
looked around, saw how beautiful the world around me was and allowed myself
to laugh, to enjoy it and just to be grateful for the moment. I just pushed Pause on work and let life in.
Today, that’s a hard thing to do. We work longer hours and do more for
less. We make lists: the workday list,
the grocery list, the chore list and more.
We rush through the day, checking things off the list, adding something
else to the list, looking down and rarely looking up. We ask for permission from our bosses, our
spouses and ourselves for a few hours off and may feel guilty when we do. But stopping for an hour or a day doesn’t
stop our forward momentum. It doesn’t
stop us. The world keeps turning just as
the song keeps playing, even if you push pause for a little while.
Push Pause. Work
hard, yes. But don’t forget to enjoy
today.
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