William Tully Is a B.A.D. Blogger!

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Blogger A Day Call: Hello is Bill there?

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It was Chicago calling Toronto when I got Bill Tully on the line and any conversation between those two cities almost always requires a discussion of the weather — even when one of the participants is woefully lame at small talk — that would be me. It went fine. It went fine because weather talk isn’t small talk when you’re discussing winter in Chicago and Toronto, and we both knew that.

Almost immediately I was telling Bill, about my affection for Toronto, about how it reminds me of Chicago. He mentioned what he knew of Chicago. And next I was off on a story high up, in an elegant Toronto restaurant. I described the head waiter dressed in a Prince Charming uniform who delivered handrolled chocolate truffles on a porcelian plate that was set on red velvet pillow. I explained how I reached up to take the plate and was told that one truffle was what I was being offered.

How could I not love Toronto? I had my first genuine chocolate truffle there.

Our conversation turned from chocolate to writing and then to why we write. We spent some time discussing and dissecting that condition folks call “Writer’s Block.” I said that since I write for a living, I can’t give credence to it or i might go broke. Bill said that blogging was his plan to take him out of his comfort zone to write for everyone. He talked of a plan to write his blog into a book. We talked about the best ways of doing that. His plan is solid and well-structured. His premise is compelling — it’s about how people interact with the world.

Among the ideas that Bill is writing about is the fact that the Golden Rule really doesn’t work. He pointed out that we really don’t want someone with a bad self-concept to treat us as they might want to be treated. I told him I thought so too. He’s a philospher. Mr. Tully is. He said, “We draw on what we know and get to know other people that way.”

Our conversation went deep and wide. It followed no particular straight or narrow pathway. It had it’s own logic to it — sort of like a blogging thought highway. I keep thinking of the guy in Toronto who is writing about logical emotions. It makes sense if you read it, if you get to know him.

The tagline on Bill’s blog says, It isn’t about what I have — it’s about where I’m going. That’s a glimpse into how the man thinks.

B.A.D. Blogger Quote

People by the millions trying to be part of a community . . . It gives people a chance where they can actively participate. Somehow, somewhere, at some point . . . — William Tully

Stop by William’s Blog, Logical Emotions and say hi!

Thanks, William, you B.A.D. Blogger!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Want to be a B.A.D. Blogger see the. . . a B.A.D. Blogger? page in the sidebar.

Jesse Petersen Is a B.A.D. Blogger!

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Blogger A Day Call: Hello is Jesse there?

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I found an email in my old Successful Blog account. It was from a young man named Jesse offering to do a guest post. I suggested to him that we have a B.A.D. Blogger call. That’s how we came to talk. Jesse Petersen is one interesting man to have a conversation with.

Jesse told me that he got married a few months ago. We talked about the first year of being married. We discussed the way the world changes how it looks at person the second that the wedding takes place. That it changes the way we look at ourselves, our jobs, and our lives and how everything fits our world view.

Jesse told me that he’s technical editor for flight simulators. I asked him what that meant. He said he translated and trued up the documentation. I laughed and said it must be a lot like the work that I used to do on educational textbooks. We found a lot of places where the two jobs were the same. Jesse said he had an affinity for formatting the documents. I told him that was also my favorite part. We talked about the difficulties in turning what engineers wrote into prose that regular people might read. I mentioned an engineering text I worked on last year that had engineering editors from four different countries. I think we moaned in a sort of harmony, understanding the unique misery.

Jesse and I discussed the post that he wanted to write for Successful Blog. He was looking for feedback and was ready to hear what people had to say. I told him if he would rewrite what he sent that I would edit it. He said he’d be happy to.

Jesse sent a sincere and honest post asking how he might make a difference. The post went up. The discussion was interactive and enlightening. Jesse listened to the answers he got, and the answers he got were the best in the blogosphere.

I think Jesse will find that difference.

B.A.D. Blogger Quote

I like the interaction of hearing people respond and knowing what people think about what I think whatever that is. — Jesse Petersen

Stop by Jesse’s Blog, Gitr’s WoW Blog, and say hi!

Thanks, Jesse, you B.A.D. Blogger!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Want to be a B.A.D. Blogger see the. . . a B.A.D. Blogger? page in the sidebar.

Steve Farber Is an Extreme B.A.D. Blogger!

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Blogger A Day Conversation: Hi, Steve. What’s for Breakfast?

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It stands to reason that a Blogger a Day call with Extreme Leader, Steve Farber, would take an Extreme form. A telephone didn’t enter the picture at all. It was breakfast when Steve was in Chicago!

This was going to be an Extreme B.A.D. Blogger connection. I packed up myself and my stuff into my car. I put my wallet in my back pocket. I put my key in the ignition. I turned the music up loud.

I drove past Wrigley Field and headed where the breakfast was planned. I couldn’t help thinking on the drive out there of the extreme birthday brunch I had celebrated at the same place — all chocolate, champagne, and one piece of bacon. I promised myself less embarrassing choices when I met the guy from California, I had wanted to meet since this summer.

Arriving at the atrium lobby, I aimed for the restaurant. Then a voice behind me said, “Liz,” and there he was. Thoughtful man, my mind said. I also thought, great smile, extreme shoulders, and a person who hugs when he says hello. I already like Mr. Steve Farber.

We found a table and soon the server, a lovely lady, who seemed part of our party, made sure that we had what we wanted. Not for a second did her presence seem an intrusion. Steve has a way of making the world feel welcome. He smiles a lot, and everyone notices that.

The conversation for me had started much earlier — in the car in my head driving there. As the coffee was poured, I had questions to ask Steve about the characters in his books, Radical Leap and Radical Edge. As a writer and as a reader, I was extremely curious about knowing about one in particular.

“Tell me. Is there really an Agnes?”

Steve paused for a thought, then said, “Agnes is not a real person.”

I told him as best I could what testament that was to his skill as a writer. I tried to explain that I found it quite something that anyone could deliver such a consistent message written in such a consistently believable human voice. I wanted Steve to know that I felt that way about all of his characters, but Agnes was more than a personal favorite. I still wish that I could meet her.

That’s when Steve and I talked about how his books relate to his leadership coaching. His speaking engagements draw lessons from the stories and the characters. Steve asked me how I would do a speech from “Agnes’s Book” Radical Edge. Almost immediately, I said I would structure a speech around the idea of finding one’s personal frequency — that note, the value that wraps around all other values the person holds dear.

Steve, being Steve smiled back at me and gently said “Of course, you go there because that’s where you are. Other folks chose another point completely.” He went on to say how some folks want him to talk only about the WUP — that’s the Wake Up Pad, where folks keep track of the ideas and implications of life as it happens. The WUP I thought. Can’t leave out the WUP!

The problem is that his books are so rich.

We wandered through ideas from speeches and books, to how Steve started blogging, and where he’ll be going over the next two years, when his next book is due to come out.

Somehow, being the leader that Steve is, he managed to get as much of my story as I got of his. It was his story, my story, and the stories of people we knew — all intertwined while we talked about the business of books, and speaking, and blogs, and websites, and future projects. I told Steve what I was doing with Phil. He added his publishing advice to the mix. It made a difference to the plans for Phil’s book.

By the end of the conversation I felt the power of extreme leadership, even though the words had never been mentioned.

I smiled the whole drive home. I don’t remember what we ate, but I don’t think I embarrassed myself in the choices I made.

B.A.D. Blogger Quote

The great, compelling writers are the ones whose voices are unique and whose passion is palpable–whatever the subject. Once I figured that out for myself, the process got much easier and . . . more fun. — Steve Farber

Stop by Steve’s Blog, Extreme Leadership, and say hi!

Thanks, Steve, you B.A.D. Blogger!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Want to be a B.A.D. Blogger see the. . . a B.A.D. Blogger? page in the sidebar

Calling All B.A.D. Bloggers: A Few Tweaks, Buttons and Thank YOUs!!

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A Few Weeks, A Few Tweaks

On that Sunday in November, when I started the B.A.D. Blogger prgram, I had no idea what it would be like, or that it would be such a fabulous experience, getting to know bloggers one by one. This kind of learning is packed with the insights and surprises of the unique and incredible individuals behind the screens that we read, and every time I end a call I am changed just that little bit by having connected with another living, breathing human being who taught me something I didn’t already know.

I’ve had a few weeks to talking to bloggers. Now I’ve got few tweaks to keep the B.A.D. Blogger program growing. Here are are the little changes and rearranges you can expect moving foward, as I talk to B.A.D. Bloggers one by one.

  1. I will still be talking to a Blogger a Day, but I won’t write about every one of them. A Blogger a Day on the phone for me is one thing, asking you to read about them is another. I’ll schedule a two to four a week for you to get to read. I’ll save the other calls for business so that the B.A.D. Blogger calls can be unique and take on a life of their own.
  2. I have new questions up my sleeve to make each call just that much different from every other.
  3. I also have room on my schedule for any blogger who wants to talk life. . . . Let me know that you want to be a B.A.D. blogger and we’ll arrange a call if it’s possible. I find that most things are possible.
  4. I’m exploring ways to bring the best blogging onto the real world. If you have ideas email me at lizsun2@gmail.com.

    5. Who would you like to get to know? Feel free to recommend someone.

Thank YOU, BAD Bloggers . . . You Deserve an Award

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A few folks will tell you, if you survive a “Liz” telephone call, you deserve an award. . . . The B.A.D. Blogger button finally is here. Thanks to my son who made it happen. — I got to watch. Cool -huh! Take one if here’s room on your blog. If not, leave it here. :)

The part I like most is that I get to say thank you again to all of you who have been B.A.D. Bloggers so far. Here you are in the order I spoke with you these past days.

You really have to see what an incredible group you are!

  1. Ann Michael Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  2. Jeff De Cagna Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  3. Tony D. Clark is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  4. Mark McGuinness is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  5. Sheila Scarborough Is a B.A.D Blogger!
  6. Cat Morley Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  7. John T Unger Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  8. Wayne Turmel Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  9. Kent Blumberg Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  10. Roy Jacobsen Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  11. Derek Andrews Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  12. Victoria Elizabeth Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  13. Drew McLellan Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  14. Katiebird Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  15. Michael Vizdos Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  16. Tony Hung Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  17. Jon Symons Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  18. Chris Cree Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  19. Phil Gerbyshak Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  20. Dr. Delaney Kirk Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  21. Scorpia Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  22. Rodney Rumford Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  23. Char Polanosky Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  24. Roger von Oech Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  25. David Armano IS a B.A.D. Blogger!
  26. Terry Starbucker Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  27. Steven Streight Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  28. Jonathan Bailey Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  29. Jay Andrew Allen Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  30. Michelle Mitchell Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  31. Andrew Flusche Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  32. Hsien Lei Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  33. Kammie Kobyleski Is a B.A.D. Blogger!
  34. Deborah Byrd Is a B.A.D. Blogger!

Thank you to every B.A.D. Blogger for taking the time to talk with me. It’s been incredible! I know it’s only going to get better. I’m blogging on the telephone now.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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I Want to Call You a B.A.D. Blogger! Wanna Be One?

Deborah Byrd Is a B.A.D. Blogger!

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Blogger A Day Call: Hello is Deborah there?

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Down in Austin, near the famous music street, lives a woman named, Deborah Byrd. A few ago she did something remarkable. She wrote grant and produced a short daily message that became an international radio show.

I asked Deborah how she got interested in sky radio. She told me that college she took a general Physics class that first counfounded her, then captured her interest. Deborah told me that soon she was seeking out classes in Astronomy.

We discussed the story of Star Date, how it started as a daily phone message. Every day it would ask, Have you seen the stars tonight? She wrote the grant for that message that then became a radio short, which she left to the University of Texas.

Now Deborah is producing Earth and Sky Radio, which is on 1000 stations. Deborah explained that Earth and Sky has over 2000 scientiest on their database helping people explore possible, positive human futures. People meet and talk on the Earth and Sky blog.

We talked about how the blog changes the radio venue. Deborah explained that now it’s not just her words going out; now she also gets to hear what listeners think. We talked about the conversational aspect. To Deborah that’s one exciting part. She said that she welcomes comments, ideas, and opinions from every point of view — she’s anxious to listen, to hear what people think and why they think as they do.

Deborah said that producing a radio show with an extensive blog resource is a different kind of journalism. She said the exciting part is that not only do people get to talk, but that she gets to talk back to them. I thought “Ah conversation! Yeah, I know what you mean.”

B.A.D. Blogger Quote

I’ve been talking at people for thirty years and now, wow! They’re talking back to me! It’s so exciting! –Deborah Byrd

Stop by Deborah’s Blog, Earth and Sky, and say hi!

Thanks, Deborah, you B.A.D. Blogger!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Want to be a B.A.D. Blogger see the. . . a B.A.D. Blogger? page in the sidebar.

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