Will You Tell Me About Being Brilliant?

Filed Under Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog | 12 Comments

It’s not being smart.

Brilliant is far beyond smart. A brilliant person is so because of character, intelligence, wit, wisdom, creativity, ethics. With me it is the same as being in the presence of beauty. Your mind knows you have witnessed something great.Your heart reacts.
SashaKane told me that.

Brilliant is bright beyond belief. So bright in fact, the glare can hurt your eyes if you stare at it directly. Brilliant is sooooo sexy. . . . brilliant, awesome, overwhelming, intense: words that are often used too frequently away from the power of what they mean.
Elizabeth Grattan knows brilliant obviously.

Stopping to savor each word, I squint and can’t help smiling.

Rose said, Brilliant means the ability to see things in new ways and to find relations between seemingly unrelated ideas.

The connecting is brilliant. We know.

Human Folly said, Brilliance means something spontaneous & beautiful with a slice of genius.

I’m thinking every 8-year-old has a slice of that. Right?

Randy added this bit, far enough ahead of the curve that it shines for all to gaze at in bewilderment.

We gaze in bewilderment . . . awe.

A single drop of water doesn’t seem much.
Then it freezes and holds the light while it thaws.
Brilliant.

It’s a second. It’s a glimpse.
It’s a momentary catching of the light.

Ever been brilliant? Bet you have.
Will you tell me about being brilliant?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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What Glenda Watson Hyatt Said … About a Smile

Filed Under Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog | 6 Comments

A community isn’t built or befriended,
it’s connected by offering and accepting.
Community is affinity, identity, and kinship
that make room for ideas, thoughts, and solutions.
Wherever a community gathers, we aspire and inspire each other intentionally . . . And our words shine with authenticity.

A Smile Is a Powerful Tool

If only positive things happened, we have no worries about what other people were thinking, what could go wrong, or what the future might be bringing. We’d also never learn about strength of purpose or facing down adversity. No one has courage every minute, but when we need courage, a smile can be a powerful tool.

Here’s what Glenda said . . .

“What do you do when people are looking at you?” Being in a wheelchair with an obvious physical disability, people look or stare most times I head out my front door. Generally, I take deep breath, hold my head up, slap on a smile and carry on! Most times it works. . . .
Glenda Watson Hyatt from a comment on April 22, 2008

I so believe in the power of positive thinking. Sometimes it does take some effort, like slapping on a smile when I don’t really feel like it. But, when I am truly in the zone of positive thinking and being grateful, amazing things happen!

Glenda Watson Hyatt from a comment on April 20, 2008

A successful and outstanding blogger said that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

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Sorting Is a Breeze, a Day at the Beach

Filed Under Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog | 11 Comments

Thoughts that Say Easy . . .

I love those idiomatic phrases that mean things are easy …
Easy as pie …
It’s a piece of cake.

My most favorite of them are …
It’s a breeze. . . .
a day at the beach.

I use them when things get stressful or hard, especially when my head gets too filled with details and options.

When I have too many options, those last two idioms help me sort them. A breeze and beach conjure up images that let me sit back for a thought, no matter how busy or anxious for answer the world is.

I imagine a day at the beach where the sand and the sky are big and open. No clocks or buildings interrupt a chance to spread out my thoughts. I need to see the spaces between the options to know what I’ve got and sort them.

A few well-spaced thoughts and I remember that my life is my creation. I’m in charge of valuing the options. I choose the path, the curves, and the interactions. When I listen to what I know, seeing where I am and I’m going is easy. It’s a day at the beach drawing possibilities in the sand.


How do you sort too many thoughts and options?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Image: sxc.hu
Image: sxc.hu
Work with Liz!!

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What Chris Cree said . . . About Making a Difference

Filed Under Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog | 8 Comments

A community isn’t built or befriended,
it’s connected by offering and accepting.
Community is affinity, identity, and kinship
that make room for ideas, thoughts, and solutions.
Wherever a community gathers, we aspire and inspire each other intentionally . . . And our words shine with authenticity.

Does It Matter that We’re Here?

So many people are in the world. So many problems large and small. We watch and maybe wonder where we fit, what we might do. So many days it can seem that any effort is sure to fail. How could one person possibly make a difference in the world?

Here’s what Chris Cree said . . .

My suggestion is to start where you are and do what you can.

I’m reminded of the story of the grandfather walking the beach where thousands of starfish had been stranded by the tide. As he walked along he would reach down grab a starfish and toss it back into the sea.

His grandson asked him why he bothered. With all those stranded starfish there was no way he could really make a difference.

As he held up the next starfish the grandfather responded, “To this one starfish I can make all the difference in the world.”

comment on December 27, 2006

A successful and outstanding blogger said that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

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What LaurenMarie Said . . . About Authenticity

Filed Under Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog | 5 Comments

A community isn’t built or befriended,
it’s connected by offering and accepting.
Community is affinity, identity, and kinship
that make room for ideas, thoughts, and solutions.
Wherever a community gathers, we aspire and inspire each other intentionally . . . And our words shine with authenticity.

Naturally Authentic

When we’re fully expressed in what we’re doing, talking about it comes naturally. The sounds of our engagement breathe through us. We lean into where we want to be. We’re not changed by who’s watching.

Here’s what LaurenMarie said . . .

I notice with myself that sometimes I am just happy to be excited about what I do and share that with people. I hope that they catch the excitement, too, but I’m not hurt if they don’t.

Other times, I am nervous about telling someone about what I do because of what they will think of me. I know this has to do with me, not them, but I wonder what about me determines those two completely different reactions. I’ll have to observe more closely next time. I definitely like the first way better!

Ari, I like what you said. That is very insightful. hehe, employing tactics to be authentic makes you exactly the opposite, doesn’t it?

LaurenMarie from a comment on July 29, 2008

A successful and outstanding blogger said that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

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