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Bloggy Question 56: Get Your Own Network!

July 8, 2007 by Liz

Leave the Computer!

For those who come looking for a short, thoughtful read, a blogging life discussion, or a way to gradually ease back into the week. I offer this bloggy life question. . . .


A few months ago a blogger named, Evan, showed up on your radar. He’s a guy who went to your high school. You didn’t know him then. You figured that you know more about him — where he lives, what he looks like, who he used to hang out with — than you did when you met the blogger friends that you know now. So you befriended him.

You’ve been showing Evan around, helping him with his HTML, introducing him to people. When he’s asked for help, you’ve been there. That’s what bloggers do.

Lately, though, your friends have started complaining about him. They say Evan’s been trying to use them to milk their networks. He keeps asking Your friends to introduce him. Your friends hardly know Evan and don’t want to recommend someone they don’t know.

You heard yesterday that Evan lobbied to have you not invited to a party given by good friend of yours — one you introduced him to.

It’s a touchy situation. The friend throwing the party doesn’t know that you you’ve heard. His girlfriend told you about Evan’s duplicity. BUT the girlfriend is possessive, doesn’t like Evan, and has made up stories about you.

How do you respond?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles
Bloggy Question 55: It’s My Vacation!
Bloggy Question 54: This Conversation Is NOT Bloggable
Bloggy Question 53: What Kind of Home Is One Blog You Read?
Bloggy Question 52: They Read My Diary!
Bloggy Question 51: I Gave Him that Idea

Filed Under: Bloggy Questions, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, blog-promotion, blogging-hypothetical-question, blogging-life, Bloggy-Questions, personal-branding, problems

Alex Shalman and Steve Roesler Are B.A.D. Bloggers!

July 8, 2007 by Liz

Hello, Hello! I’d Like You to Meet . . .

BAD Blogger Button

It’s a fine way to spend a Sunday visiting some B. A. D. Bloggers I know. Without hesitation, these are folks who are worth getting to know. I can say that because I did.

Have you met Steve Roesler?

Steve Roesler knows Ann Michael and Valeria Maltoni. It took a while to find out. He called me. I called him. Then called me, and I him again. But in the end I know he knows them because we finally made a voice connect, and he outright told me. We talked about who knew who and how we knew each other. We even talked about how much we like them, and about how we met.

Then we moved on to other topics.

Steve and I had a delightful discussion about blogging and conversation. We wound through ways to invite readers to participate in what we have to say when we write — how to leave more room for them. It’s always fun to consider with an intelligent blogger how we present ideas on our blogs and the people who come to read them.

Steve works with client companies All Places World. The folks he works with become stronger communicators and better team builders. Steve handles All Things Workplace — he specializes in communication training and development and works on improving systems, relationships, and large-scale change. He has deep interest in the global nature of business and business relationships.

Steve’s a people person. It comes through when you talk to him.

Steve likes his family too. He’s worked all over the world, but he’s partial to the woods near Philly where his family is.

. . . And Ann and Valeria are nearby for a blogger meetup whenever he needs one.

Oh and, do you know Alex Shalman?

Alex Shalman says, “. . . a life stems from the realization that the past is gone and the future hasn’t happened yet, the only moment which we possess is the one in which we live.”

Alex is a student, son of a dentist. He’s going to be one himself. He IMs me from the library. Well, that’s where he always says he is. So that must be. Except when I was younger than Alex, I used to put 250 miles on the car going to the . . . um, er . . . library. . . . Of course, he’s past that stage. He’s working gainfully on a career.

Alex likes learning. He reads books on personal development and participates in a mastermind group. He seeks out mentors where he can find them. He’s a membor of the attendees at SOBCon 07.

Alex’s personal goal to be a dentist will make him the fifth generation in his family to choose that profession. His plan is to be an entrepreneur by developing a practice that will be franchised, provide mentoring, dental education, and lead to a career as a speaker and teacher.

Alex’s blog is a result of his exploration into personal development and his continuing interest in it. He has an undergraduate degree and a passion for psychology. He likes restating it in an understandable form.

Yet the coolest thing about Alex is his laugh when he’s relaxed and being himself.

Alex and Steve, you are B.A.D. Bloggers!

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

Filed Under: SOB Business, Successful Blog Tagged With: Alex-Shalman, B.A.D. Blogger, bc, blogger-a-day, Steve-Roesler

Change the World: Compliments and Apologies

July 8, 2007 by Liz

Say “Thank You”

changetheworld8

Something goes right or something goes wrong. Someone says something about it. That something is a compliment or an apology. Oh. Compliments and apologies are so . . . um, er . . . direct. The words, the thoughts come straight at us. It’s almost natural to move out of the way.

“Oh that, it was nothing,” is not an unusual response.

Or maybe it’s the other way around. Something goes right or something goes wrong. We need to say something. We try to apologize or give say how touched we were by an action, but the words come out wrong.

Apologies and compliments can feel unnatural, if no one has shown us how. Even when we mean to be gracious, we can deny or discount ourselves and the person on the other side of the conversation. From what I see, that’s what most often happens.

“This old thing?”

Whether giving or receiving, if head and heart are together and focused on the other person, we’ll get it right.

Love means never having to say you’re sorry, but that’s a rule to give by, not to live by — that’s only part of the story. Love also means telling a person how you feel and letting that person say what he or she needs to.

No matter how embarassing, love listens when people tell us how it feels to have made a hurtful mistake or to have received a kindness.

Sometimes I need to know that you’ve heard how sorry I am. It helps me heal.

Receiving or giving, it’s about listening. It’s about the other person. How could it not be and still be authentic? It’s not so hard to do. One simple thought changes everything. A real person meant what was just said. I need to show respect for that. That one thought can generate so many responses.

I’m sorry. I behaved badly. . . . I am so happy for you. . . . Wow! Thank you, I work hard, and that means a lot. . . . I hear you. . . . I understand.

It took me decades to realize that compliments and apologies weren’t about me. It only took minutes to find a new way of responding.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Filed Under: Liz, Motivation, Successful Blog Tagged With: apologies, bc, Change-the-World, compliments

Thanks to Week 89 SOBs

July 7, 2007 by Liz

muddy teal strip A

Successful and Outstanding Bloggers

Let me introduce the bloggers
who have earned this official badge of achievement,

Purple SOB Button Original SOB Button Red SOB Button Purple and Blue SOB Button
and the right to call themselves
Successful Blog SOBs.

I invite them to take a badge home to display on their blogs.

muddy teal strip A

Chaos Scenario

  Change your thoughts

Daily Tech News

hee- haw marketing

Jersey Todd

shake well before use

Startup Princess

Strategic Design

They take the conversation to their readers,
contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger.

I thank every one of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on.
Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community.

Should anyone question this SOB button’s validity, send him or her directly to me. This award comes with a full “Liz said so” guarantee. It is endorsed by Kings of the Hemispheres, Martin and Michael, and backed by my brothers, Angelo and Pasquale.

deep purple strip

Want to become an SOB?

If you’re an SO-Wanna-B, you can see the whole list of SOBs and learn how to be one by visiting the SOB Hall of Fame. Click the link or visit the What IS an SOB?! page in the sidebar.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Filed Under: SOB Business, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, blog_promotion, dialogue, relationships, SOB, SOB_Directory, successful_and_outstanding-bloggers

7 Wishes for Us All on 07-07-07

July 7, 2007 by Liz

I've been thinking . . .

about 07-07-07.

I started writing this at 7:07a.m., and I’ve time stamped it then too. I have no mystical, magical tie to sevens. I want to mark a moment in time. When a moment is officially called, 07-07-07 7:07a.m., it’s worth noticing that moment pass.

To celebrate that moment of sevens, I made 7 wishes for us all.

  1. I wish us all plenty of delectable food to eat. May it be so pleasing, so delightful, that we take time to savor it in the company of those we love.
  2. I wish us all bundles of beautiful clothes to wear. May they show off the light and wonder that is each one of us.
  3. I wish us all colorful, fragrant flowers on the streets and roads where we walk. May their scent and their delicate beauty soften thoughts from a world of machines.
  4. I wish us all vistas and horizons filled with color and space. May we always feel we have plenty of room to stand, reach, and breathe.
  5. I wish us all the music of life in the rhythm of our walk. May we hear melodies that inspire us to sing our song without caring who who plays the drum.
  6. I wish us all thoughts that remind us of our own genius. May we learn to value ourselves at the times when we once made ourselves small.
  7. I wish us all hearts that know unconditional love. May we give and receive without expectation.

07-07-07 7:07a.m., it’s so worth noticing that moment pass.

Keep these wishes for noticing every moment like that.

Liz's Signature

Filed Under: Motivation, Successful Blog Tagged With: 07-07-07, 7-wishes, bc, Ive-been-thinking

SOB Business Cafe 07-06-07

July 6, 2007 by Liz

SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

The truth is out about problogger.

5 Things You Should Know about My Dad the ProBlogger


Genuine Curiosity has been uncluttering.

Uncluttering my inbox


All Things Worksplace has a series to lighten the load.

Can You Make the Complex Simple? Part I


Brain Based Biz let’s us know how smart we are.

Bloggers Tap Intelligences!


Quick Online Tips has the coolest tool.

How to Create Flipped Text: ʇxǝʇ pǝddı1ɟ


Steve Olson has a question worth considering.

What Do You Want, More or Less Freedom?


Related ala carte selections include

Success Begins Today has an idea on how we can get balance.

Tuning Your Life


Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Filed Under: SOB Business, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, Great Finds, LinkedIn, small business

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