June 23, 2007

Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 4

published this at 9:03 am

Get Closer to You

This is a series of questions, I don’t know how many. They are the ones I ask when I help folks get closer to their personal identity.

How have you changed from the person you were 1 year ago?

I’ll answer first to get things started.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

Related
Branding: 5 Ways to Help You Find Out Who You Are
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 3
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 2
Questions to Get Closer to Your Brand: Question 1
How to Be Alive and 10 Ways to Celebrate It!

Filed under Branding, Successful Blog | 50 Comments »


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50 Comments to “Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 4”

  1. June 23rd, 2007 at 9:06 am
    ME Strauss said

    Since 1 year ago, I’ve learned the value of listening at a deeper level. I’ve found how it builds relationships and shows a side of me I cannot reavel by a signal word that I say.

  2. June 23rd, 2007 at 9:28 am
    Cas said

    I’ve learned that good things happen when you just let go and be yourself without being afraid of what other people will say.

  3. June 23rd, 2007 at 9:30 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hiya, Cas!
    Thanks for stopping by!

    I can see that. Yes. :)

  4. June 23rd, 2007 at 10:15 am
    Mike said

    I found and got comfortable with a purpose in life that I’m working to embody. It’ll be a long journey, but that’s what life is about, right?

  5. June 23rd, 2007 at 10:58 am
    Karin H. said

    Hi all

    I’ve found my strengths back and now utilise them better and more than ever to become the me I really am (but was ‘hidden’ in the noise somehow, somewhere)

    Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)

  6. June 23rd, 2007 at 12:07 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Mike!
    Finding a purpose, that’s an accomplishment for a lifetime! Yeah! But to get that far in a year is something. Impressive!

  7. June 23rd, 2007 at 12:08 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Karin!
    Getting back to what we already know is most of what we’re looking at, isn’t it. :)

  8. June 23rd, 2007 at 12:27 pm
    Mike said

    Liz,

    I don’t know about impressive, but it’s definitely exciting and scary at the same time, which seems right! ;-)

    Mike

    P.S. How was your son’s trip?

  9. June 23rd, 2007 at 12:30 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Mike!
    Exciting and scary, that’s what Steve Farber calls and OS!M. Search the video on his blog. Well worth finding it. I think the title includes the words “YouTube.”

    My son wants to go again! :)

  10. June 23rd, 2007 at 12:39 pm
    Mike said

    I’ve seen the OS!M video, and that’s about right! ;-)

    Mike

  11. June 23rd, 2007 at 1:08 pm
    gp said

    as i’m doing last minute cleaning for the guests and having a great time doing it… what’s different than a year ago, is I’m looking forward to having folks in my home rather than being nervous about it. Reeeelax … deep breath – she says as she goes down to ride Picken :)

    gp in sunny Montana

  12. June 23rd, 2007 at 1:21 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Mike!
    I think about the OS!M often. :)

    I know exactly what you mean!

  13. June 23rd, 2007 at 1:22 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi GP
    I think a general looking forward to life, rather than being nervous about it might be something I’d say about everything. I bet you might also. :)

  14. June 23rd, 2007 at 3:42 pm
    Expectant Father said

    At the moment I still feel like I did when I was 16!

    But ask me this question again in a month Liz, after Junior is born.

    I’m sure I’ll be able to write a blog about it!

  15. June 23rd, 2007 at 4:57 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Ian,
    I bet you kow a few things about yourself now that you didn’t know about a year ago:)

    But you’re right, you surely will know a WHOLE lot more than that in another year from now!!

  16. June 23rd, 2007 at 7:37 pm
    gp said

    Ah sigh would that it were so… It’s a work in progress. I just wrote about for me the best anti-dote for it :)

    http://fishcreekhouse.blogspot.com/2007/06/on-my-high-horse-in-field-of-dreams.html
    gp in montana

  17. June 23rd, 2007 at 11:19 pm
    Ramkarthik said

    I have changed a lot in the last 1 year. Last year I didn’t blog or never knew what blog was. This year I have started blogging.

    1 year ago, I didn’t have many friends online. But now I have many friends.

    1 year I was unknown in the net. This year few people know me.

    1 year ago I earned nothing. This year,though Im not earning a lot, I earn money for buying few things for me.

    Not only this. But much more has changed.

  18. June 24th, 2007 at 1:53 am
    Galba Bright said

    Hello Liz:

    I’ve abandoned my need to produce “perfect” work and become more productive and happier as a result.

  19. June 24th, 2007 at 2:47 am
    zakman said

    Liz

    It’s so overwhelming to even start looking at how much I have changed in the last ten months.

    One thing that I’d love to share is what really opened my eyes on many levels:

    The key to my happiness does not necessarily lie in producing a great piece of work.

    It lies in giving it my shot.

  20. June 24th, 2007 at 2:48 am
    zakman said

    I mean it lies in giving it my best shot :)

  21. June 24th, 2007 at 6:58 am
    Karin H. said

    Morning all

    Zakman:

    I mean it lies in giving it my best shot

    reminds me of the old and true saying: never shot is always missed ;-)

    Right you are, I’m on the same ‘route’ (back and fort, from new discoveries to re-discovering old ‘own-knowledge’)

    Karin H.

  22. June 24th, 2007 at 8:11 am
    ME Strauss said

    GP,
    That link you left leads to so much we should all know. Thanks for leaving it. . . . :)

  23. June 24th, 2007 at 8:13 am
    ME Strauss said

    Ram,
    Teh question goes deeper. How have you changed? How do you think differently? What have you learned about life? :)

  24. June 24th, 2007 at 8:14 am
    ME Strauss said

    Zakman and Karin!
    How true your conversation is!

    Nothing ventured nothing gained.

  25. June 24th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
    Lara said

    Hey Liz – Boy have I ever learned a lot!

    - I’ve learned about the mistakes I made when I started this business, and how to avoid them in the future.

    - I’ve learned that there’s more to living a successful happy life than making a lot of money.

    - I’ve learned that there are people out there who will hurt you whenever they can, but the people who help you make up for it big time.

    - I’ve learned that it’s okay to do what feels good instead of what feels “right”, and to deal with the potential consequences (or benefits) later, because it’ll all be okay in the end.

  26. June 24th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Lara!
    Sounds like you’re been on a steep learning curve for a while. It’s nice when folks STOP to take a breath to figure out what they know now that they didn’t know then.

    About your last point, I thinking you don’t mean to do something bad, but that you don’t have to do what the “rules” say you are “supposed to.” Right?

  27. June 24th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
    Ramkarthik said

    Liz,
    I haven’t learn’t much about life.
    Im the same Ram who was 1 year ago. Maybe a slight unnoticeable change.

  28. June 24th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Ram!
    I think you’re probably storing up bits and bits that will come clear in the next few years. Experience is a great teacher too. :)

  29. June 24th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
    Jen / domestika said

    Still very very much a work in progress, but I think that over the past year I’ve started to gain more confidence that I might have something worthwhile to share. And a little tiny bit more resilience against the slings and arrows of an anonymous few who feel compelled to email me with advice to “get a life”! Pure gold, both gains.

  30. June 24th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Jen,
    Confidence is something to notice when we get it. That’s part of the reason I ask these questions. Sometimes we have new skills and haven’t even realized that. . . .

    About those emails, how much of a life can someone have if he or she has time to write an email telling you to get one? :)

  31. June 24th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
    Jen / domestika said

    Nice point there, Liz!

  32. June 24th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Yeah, Jen, we dislike most in others what we don’t like in ourselves. :)

  33. June 24th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
    Lara said

    About your last point, I thinking you don’t mean to do something bad, but that you don’t have to do what the “rules” say you are “supposed to.” Right?

    That’s what I mean by that, yes… Even if the rules are those you previously imposed upon yourself for whatever reason. And even if the rules are those which you plan to stick to in the future, but for whatever reason chose to break.

    Example: You’re on a weight loss plan and have been realllllly good about what you’re eating, you’re working out 6 days a week, and you’re faced with your all time favorite dessert. You fight with yourself over it. You have spent the last year convincing yourself that it’s bad for you to eat that thing, but for one brief moment, you grab that spoon and dig in. You enjoy it. You savor it. You beat yourself up for a few hours afterward. But what’s the bottom line? You might not even gain any weight from eating that dessert. You could, but the chances are you won’t. You risked breaking a “good habit” for a moment of self-pleasure. (This is why you hear a lot of people referring to food being “better than sex” I suppose! LOL) But then you realize that it’s okay, and even if you gain 30 lbs. you can take care of it. (No, this isn’t the event that made me realize this about myself, but rather an analogy that perfectly explains it.)

  34. June 24th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hey Lara!
    Learning to not beat ourselves up is a hard one. Some folks never get that one right. Some folks do for a bit and then they slip again on forgiving themselves.

    We’re the ones we have to love first. Love means that we want what’s best for us and sometimes what’s best is a little forgiveness. :)

  35. June 24th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
    Lara said

    That’s it – and I have spent 30 years beating myself up for stuff. I still have a hard time – struggle often – but you’re right… Loving myself is so much more important than beating myself up – but I still need to use my mistakes to learn – that’s the hard line in life. :)

  36. August 23rd, 2007 at 6:01 am
    Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 7 - Liz Strauss at Successful Blog - Thinking, writing, business ideas . . . You’re only a stranger once. said

    [...] Who You Are Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 6 Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 5 Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 4 Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 3 Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 2 Questions [...]

  37. December 28th, 2007 at 6:42 am
    Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 9 - Liz Strauss at Successful Blog - Thinking, writing, business ideas . . . You are only a stranger once. said

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  38. December 28th, 2007 at 11:01 am
    Todd Jordan said

    Yes! I’m now not a total idiot to photography. I’ve joined the ranks of the socially networked, and I’m personally involved with other bloggers, and networkers. Also, through God’s hand, I’ve become one of the more respected programmers on our team. It’s been a good year.

  39. December 28th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Todd!
    Sounds like you’ve made some inroads into finding your “feet” on the planet. How cool is that?!!

    I bet the world you’re encountering is delighted to have you. :)

  40. December 29th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
    isabella mori said

    i have a more realistic outlook on what does and doesn’t work for me and how i do and don’t work well. basically, my awareness of the interdependence of my relationships has deepened, i “grok” it much more today than i did last year.

  41. December 29th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Isabella,
    I think the same is true for me. I put a lot of that down to reflection that occurred related to blogging. :)

  42. December 30th, 2007 at 4:54 am
    Sarah said

    I understand myself alot more as I’m learning to listen to who I really am. That means that I am alot happier in myself because I’m happier being in my own skin…I no longer want to change who I am but accept it.

    I am also alot more open to the world and its experiences and now view all circumstances, good or bad, as opportunities and a new path to explore.

  43. December 30th, 2007 at 10:05 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Sarah!
    Somehow I think we’re all learning to get better at listening to ourselves.

    Boyhowdy, when our skin starts to fit comfortably that’s a whole new world to enjoy. :)

  44. December 30th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
    Sarah said

    It certainly is and I’m loving every minute of it. It’s so much less effort being who you really are as opposed to pretending to be someone else. People have to like me for who I am now or it’s there loss.

  45. December 30th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Yeah, Sarah, best of all is that I like myself better too. :)

  46. December 30th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
    Sarah said

    Exactly!

  47. December 30th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
    isabella mori said

    just a tack-on to the relationship bit: last night i did an exercise suggested by kilroy: go to one blog post for each month in 2007 and write down the first sentence. i chose the second last post of each month (the last one i hold a carnival) and lo and behold, three quarters of those posts were about relationships!

    … and it’s neat to write that on a blog like yours – to me, THE relationship blog …

  48. December 30th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Isabella,
    I once went through an exercise like that . . . they’re very revealing. I like what this one says about you. :)

    Why thank you. :)

  49. January 16th, 2008 at 8:02 am
    Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 10 - Liz Strauss at Successful Blog - Thinking, writing, business ideas . . . You are only a stranger once. said

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  50. January 22nd, 2008 at 6:18 am
    Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 11 - Liz Strauss at Successful Blog - Thinking, writing, business ideas . . . You are only a stranger once. said

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