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Cool Practice Review: Gratitude Challenge

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Todd Hoskins chooses and uses tools, products, and practices that could belong in an entrepreneurial business toolkit. He’ll be checking out how useful they are to folks in a business environment.

Cool Practice Review: Dialogue Exercise
A Review by Todd Hoskins

Earlier this year, Liz wrote on how gratitude is more than saying “thank you.” “Breathing” gratitude contributes to thrivability, both in oneself and extending to one’s friends, co-workers, and community.

But gratitude is very difficult in the face of pain.

Can I be grateful for my divorce? For my genetic condition? For a decline in income or revenue? For a dissatisfied client?

By finding gratitude within a challenge or hardship, it takes away my victim status, and allows me to see how suffering can contribute to my growth. My wound can become my strength, and I can grin (and weep) in the face of loss because I know a stronger foundation is being built.

Businesses have had their share of pain, not just now, for it is a part of working within a living system where systemic needs are sometimes contrary to the people working within the system. At an organizational or group level, there is enormous power in sharing the individual and collective difficulties along with the growth that may emerge from the hardship. Try this exercise as a reflection on the past year, or use it in your annual reviews:

1. Each person writes down 2-3 difficulties and why they are grateful for them. Encourage your people to speak on behalf of themselves, and/or the team.

I am grateful for _____, because it has ______.

(i.e. I am grateful for John’s resignation, because it has shown me how I do not allow people who work for me to creatively experiment and try out their own ideas).

((i.e. I am grateful for losing our largest client, because it has demonstrated how much we compromised on our vision in order to keep them happy).

2. Each person shares their gratitude sentences, with no judgment or commentary from the group.

3. Offer thanks for the participation, but don’t try to solve anything. Give the exercise some breathing room. A discussion may ensue, but a debate, planning session, or analysis would be best saved for later.

Try it, and let us know how it went!

Summing Up – Is it worth it?

Enterprise Value: 5/5 – Groups should be kept below 25

Entrepreneur Value: 5/5 – Want commitment and teamwork? This helps you get there.

Personal Value: 5/5 – For family, for friends, even your network of ambient intimacy

Happy Thanksgiving!

Blogging As Literature? Why Not?

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By Jael Strong

At the end of March of this year, blogger Gregory Cowles wrote for The New York Times blog Paper Cuts questioning whether or not blogs could ever rise to level of literature.  Ultimately, he came to the conclusion that it  could not.  Is that true?  Is the blogger doomed to a life of genre writing that could never be called literature?

King Solomon said, “To the making of books there is no end and much devotion to them is wearisome to the flesh.”  How true! In our modern world, certainly blogs fall under this lexical umbrella.  There are so many blogs out there, more being added each day, is it fair to assume that none could ever rise to the level of literature? 

Some argue that blogging is journalism and as such is hindered from being fine, creative, literature.  In order to discover whether we bloggers could ever find ourselves listed among the pantheon of great literary writers, we first need to establish what is literature.

What is literature?

This is the stuff of which books are made, and they have been made.  Jean-Paul Sartre’s essay titled “What is literature?” is certainly a definitive and recognized source on the subject.  I won’t pretend to offer the final word on the topic.  Instead here is a short list to help us define literature.  Literature:

  • is recognized for its value and is shared for that reason.
  • represents society, culture, history, or some element as a whole.
  • endures over time, being called upon years or centuries past its creation.
  • is artistic or creative by nature.
  • displays outstanding style and quality.

This list is not comprehensive of course.  It gives us some benchmarks by which to measure our writing, though.  Analyzing this criteria, it appears impossible to say whether any blogs written today could be labeled literature.  Equally true is that we can’t make the blanket statement that a blog could never be literature.  Time will tell whether any bloggers will make a permanent mark in the world of writing.

How should this affect us?

 When I read the post written by Mr. Cowles, I was taken aback, not because I feel that I have written something outstanding that could be called literature, but because I felt the opportunity for great writing was being snatched away from bloggers. 

If something is worth writing about, it is worth writing about it well.  True, there are a lot of lack-luster posts out there, just as there are many lack-luster books.  It isn’t the form that written work takes that defines it, but it is the quality of that work.  Therefore, as bloggers, we need to write about things that matter to us and hopefully to others.  We need to write well.  We need to write creatively.  As writers, we should never feel stunted by our venue!

What do you think?  Could a blog ever rise to level of literature?

Jael Strong writes for TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility.  She has written both fiction and non-fiction pieces for print and online publications.  She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas .

Thanks, Jael–ME “Liz” StraussWork with Liz on your business!!

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Blogs in Education?

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Blogs – Enhancing Education
A Guest Post by Brian Jenkins

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Why do teachers blogs? They use them as a networking tools, to share news and tips with other teachers, to let parents know what’s going on in the classroom, and to distribute information to their students. Teachers are using blogs to post student assignments, handouts and notices, and to offer instructional tips. Teachers provide links to websites related to topics and concepts discussed in the classroom. Blogs are also used by teachers as question and answer forums. Also, school administrators are increasingly using blogs to communicate with parents, faculty members, the community, and other administrators.

Some teachers use blogs to showcase exemplary examples of student writing, ideas, and creativity. Blogs are utilized by teachers to create a classroom that goes beyond the boundaries of the traditional school setting.

Parents and School Blogs

Many teachers encourage parents to read their blogs. If parents follow these blogs they’re more likely to take an active role in their child’s education. The blogs may include summaries of what the students have been studying each month and the projects they’ve been working on.

Student Blogs

Many teachers encourage their students to maintain a blog, which can be assigned as an individual or a team project. A blog gives students an opportunity to express themselves and to enhance their writing skills. It provides students an opportunity to work on assignments as a group and improve their ability to work in a team. Students can also share course-related resources.

Blogs provide opportunities for students to express their ideas who may be too shy to participate in the classroom. They also provide students the opportunity to get feed back from their peers and discuss a variety of issues. Students can use a blog to create a digital portfolio.

Blog Topics

Blogs are used to focus on a variety of topics. Some of the popular categories are education news, college, E-learning, Internet culture, education policies, library and research, learning, technology, and teaching.

TeacherLingo (http://www.teacherlingo.com/) is an educational community of teacher blogs, lesson plans, and other teacher resources. Teachers can share experiences and advice with other educators.

Blogs are increasingly being used by teachers and students throughout the nation. They’re easy to create and use, and they certainly can enhance the education experiences of both teachers and students alike.

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Brian Jenkins contributes content related to elementary school teaching careers, among other education and career topics, to the BrainTrack website.

Thanks, Brian!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

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4 Reasons You Should Stop Blogging

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By Terez Howard

A couple weeks ago, I got Sisterlocks. For those of you who haven’t a clue what I’m talking about, it’s basically like getting very tiny dreadlocks (like hundreds) in your hair. If you would have asked me six months ago if I would ever make such a permanent decision, I would say, “Never!”

Why not? Locs are not versatile. Locs are not beautiful. Locs are too permanent. Locs are not for me. Those were my excuses, and yet here I am with a head full of Sisterlocks.

What changed my viewpoint? In short, an education.

Stop blogging now!

Blogging is a beneficial endeavor. It gets your business heard on a more social level. It gets your audience to trust you. It makes you appear as an authority in your niche. So, why would you stop blogging?

1. You don’t have the time. You have a life. You are a parent, a spouse, a full-time worker, and you’d like to keep up your hobby. Blogging takes the back-burner.

I am the same way, and yet, I find the time to write. How I do it is with simple scheduling. However, I find that most people will agree that a schedule looks good on paper, but it doesn’t help with motivation. I love blogging because I write about topics that interest me. So, I have my schedule, and I have something interesting to share, which brings me to my next point:

2. You ran out of ideas. You don’t know what to write about. You feel like you’ve covered every single topic in your niche, so you’re ready to give blogging a break.

Been there. Maybe you need a creativity boost. I’m not saying to create a whole new blog, but maybe you need to repurpose your blog. Do you have a tight niche?Do you have a creative slant on it? Do you share information in a way that interests you and your audience?

Take some time to read other blogs, whether they relate to yours or not. Talk to friends and family. Observe your day-to-day activities. Then sit down and write as many topics that come to your mind. You’ll soon have more topics than you ever imagined.

3. You are not a good writer, so why keep up a blog?

Well, you could try some of the editing tactics Jael mentioned last week. You could also hire a professional blogger to write for you.

If those ideas don’t appeal to you, have you tried starting to video blog? Writing is talking with letters. If you cannot string your letters together in an intelligible manner, but you love to talk, try talking to your audience. Uncomfortable with your face? Two words: Audio Podcast.

4. Your blog doesn’t look as nice as other blogs, and you’re ready to shut it down.

I’m no graphic designer. I know as much about html as a newborn knows about pizza. It looks good, but I can’t do a whole lot of anything with it. There is such a thing as a template. Shop for a new template, and it doesn’t have to cost you anything. Of course, if you do hire someone to design your blog, you are more likely to get exactly what you want.

If you just want to tweak your existing look, search for some help. I recently got some help from a fellow blogger with my blog’s appearance. And guess what? She didn’t charge me a cent! Enlist the help of bloggers you know.

Educate yourself

There are more reasons you should stop blogging. But before you indulge yourself and call it quits, educate yourself. See how you can make your blog work.

I became educated about Sisterlocks, and now I wish I would have gotten them sooner. Don’t be like me, wishing you would have solved your blogging problems sooner. Take action.

How do keep yourself motivated to continue blogging?

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Terez Howard operates TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility. She has written informative pieces for newspapers, online magazines and blogs, both big and small. She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas. You’ll find her on Twitter @thewriteblogger.

Thanks, Terez!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Cool Tool Review: FairShare

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Todd Hoskins chooses and uses tools, products, and practices that could belong in an entrepreneurial business toolkit. He’ll be checking out how useful they are to folks in a business environment.

Cool Tool Review: FairShare
A Review by Todd Hoskins

This is a good time to emphasize that tools in themselves are neither good nor valuable. It all depends on how you use them.

FairShare is a product from Attributor, a company that has been very important within the online publishing industry. Attributor works with publishers to help protect licensing rights across the web. They index the web and compare billions of content bytes with the content you publish to find the plagiarizers, copycats, and seedy content (re-)generators that proliferate across the web. This is a wonderful and valuable service to diminish the number of splogs and opportunists that are seeking clicks for cash.

If you blog or regularly produce valuable content (Bravo!, no matter what business you are in!), FairShare will find where your content is being reproduced and whether the correct attributions are being made. Simply state what license exists with your content (or no license at all), set up a feed, and let FairShare feed back to you the other places where complete or partial content matches are occurring.

It’s a tricky question what, if any, license to pursue. If you get a FairShare account for your copyright attorney, I must ask the question, “Are you making the Internet a more democratic and free space?” I favor defaulting to the Commons – allowing your content to be reused with limited, chosen restrictions. We looked at Creative Commons months ago. Also, I recommend this book that gives you a historical perspective.

FairShare also offers a WordPress plugin and widget that are great ways to let it be known that you encourage people to use your content (perhaps with a link).

What if you find your content elsewhere (and you likely will)? The digital tap on the shoulder is recommended: “Hey, I see you liked what I had written. Tell me why you saw it as valuable? Would you mind linking back to me?”

You may make some friends, find some customers or partners. Even if you don’t, you’ll be contributing to a more civil and self-policed web.

Summing Up – Is it worth it?

Enterprise Value: 4/5 – Please make friends, not enemies

Entrepreneur Value: 4/5 – Did I mention it is free?

Personal Value: 3/5 – Don’t publish your poetry without it

Let me know what you think!

Todd Hoskins helps small and medium sized businesses plan for the future, and execute in the present. With a background in sales, marketing, leadership, psychology, coaching, and technology, he works with executives to help create thriving individuals and organizations through developing and clarifying values, strategies, and tactics. You can learn more at VisualCV, or contact him on Twitter.