Successful Blog

The Second Submissions: What’s Your Blogging Metaphor?

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The Metaphor Project: Wow! More!

The next bunch of submissions are in, and like the first batch, they’re colorful creative and inspiring. They show the individuality of each blog and each blog author, while at the same time they show what we all have in common.

It’s such fun reading all of the submissions to The “What’s Your Blogging Metaphor?” Group Writing Project. Some great blog writers have taken on this challenge. Again, the creativity is reflected in the titles! Check this new batch out and pass them along to your readers. The more ways we look at blogging the better we’ll be able to explain it when we need to.

Let’s find some more.

Because this project spread so quickly and not all links are making their way to me, if you’ve written a metaphor and you’re not on the list, please email me a link. If you’ve already done that before 10:00 on June 4, please forgive me and send it again. (I had dental surgery yesterday . . .)

Be a Part of the Project

So, what’s your blogging metaphor? Join the project. There’s still time to be a part

I’ve extended the list to 10pm Chicago time (GMT-6hrs.) June 11th the Monday I return from NYC. So you have plenty of time to take part.

Here’s the original post for the background — the whats and the hows.

C’mon tell us. How would you explain blogging to someone who knew nothing about it? What’s your blogging metaphor?

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

Change the World: One World-Sized Idea

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Are We Afraid We Would Make a Difference?

changetheworld8

A lucky part of being who and where I am is that I get have conversations about people’s passions and dreams for the future. I hear their heads describing their skills and talents. I hear their hearts explaining how they long to follow their calling.

The wish is always there, often unspoken — sometimes from fear of it, sometimes from a lack of ownership.

Yesterday, I had a conversation with a young man. He had some idea of his future, but not yet a whole one. He asked my experience. I said is that, if he were going to make one mistake, I suspected that he would not think big enough.

“Not think big enough,” he pondered that phrase.

“Yes, I don’t think I’ve heard anyone think too big for years, maybe forever.”
He asked for more. I elaborated in this way.

We make our ideas smaller by thinking we weren’t meant to do something. Other folks were meant to change things. We were meant to live with them. Why do we argue for that? Isn’t the opposite an equally valid argument?

Why do we shy away from what we long to be doing?

Are we afraid that we actually could make a difference?

Nelson Mandela knows.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.

Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Ghandhi
Mother Teresa
Martin Luther King

They were each one person with a refusal to follow their fear.

Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.

One person can change the world with belief in a world-sized idea.

This is not talk. I truly do . . . plan . . .. to . . . Change the World.

With capital letters.

Why not me? Why not you? Why not all of us?

We can change the world — just like that.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Mandela’s speech was written by Marianne Williamson.

Starbucker’s Meme

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What Can I Do? He Danced!

When I’m a speaker at an event and the emcee asks me to do something for him, I naturally give him my attention. When he’s the Terry Starbucker co-founder of SOBCon, one of two guys who handled so many things through the event planning and details, I make sure that my attention is unwavering.

Ah but, when you know that Terry is the famous half-fuller, the guy who danced and sang at the conference, ah then, ah then, that’s an even bigger story. Then, dear readers, attention is too small a word. When the half-fuller guy comes calling to say “Liz, how full is your glass?” I have no other option, but to tell him and to answer to the best of my abilities.

handpainted champagne flute

These are the questions Terry Starbucker asked me.

What’s in Your Glass (The Starbucker Meme)?

  1. How full is your glass?

    2. My glass is completely full. There’s no question about that.

  2. What kind of glass is it?

    3. It’s a hand-painted French champagne flute, lovely and light to the hand.

  3. What’s in the glass?

    4. A nice, sparkly French champagne I enjoy on occasion.

  4. Reasons for #1, #2, and #3

    5. All of the above go together so I’ll do my reasons this way. Champagine is light and effervescent, celebratory. It’s a drink of positivity. It’s about hope, new beginnings and I’ve got a new beginning I’ll be announcing soon. When I reached a certain age, my father once said to me, “You can drink all that you like, but don’t get drunk.” He followed that with a smile and said, “Do you know what that means? That means you can’t drink all that you like.” Then he smiled again.

I smiled so sweetly right back at him, and gave this reply, “Aw, Daddy, I thought for sure you meant just drink something incredibily expensive so that I don’t have the money to get drunk.”

Some other who might like a chance to take a creative drink. David, Wendy, Nick, and Billy. Don’t forget to link back to that half-fuller man. 🙂

–ME “Liz” Strauss

ImageChef

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Cook Up Something Special With ImageChef!

Great Find: ImageChef

Permalink: http://www.imagechef.com/

Target Audience: Anyone interested in creating graphics quickly!

Content:

ImageChef was founded in 2003, so while it’s not a brand new graphics generator, they are always releasing new features and support. You can create custom images without special knowledge or software. Once registered you can email your creations to friends and host your images on the ImageChef site.

And there are so many choices! Below are some examples of graphics I created. This tool is on my favorites list because it is:

  • Easy-to-use
  • Free
  • Unique
Images Created in ImageChef

Check it out yourself.

See you next time!

–Sandy, Purple Wren

Related
Sandy’s Great Graphic Find: CoolText
Sandy’s Great Graphic Find: Pixel Ruler
Great Find: PictureTrail

The Art of Giving a Gift to Someone You Know

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Can we talk about . . .

giving gifts.

I’ve been thinking about how some folks think they are other-centered, really believe they are, when they don’t quite know how to be. It shows when they buy gifts for people they care about. The gifts don’t always work out.

I have an agreement with my closest friends about giving gifts. When we see something that so perfectly suits the other we buy it and it send it no matter when. When a birthday comes and we haven’t found it, then we don’t. We like it a lot just like that.

Giving with head and heart has a full-on view of the person who will receive it.

Why do we sometimes give gifts those we love without looking?

Companies do it. Parents do it. Husbands, and wives, and lovers do it. Children do it too. Though young children do it least.

I know you know what I mean. It’s that episode of the TV show Frazier in which they try to buy Frazier’s dad a new chair. He loves that chair duct tape and all. What sort of gift separates a guy from something he loves? Who is the gift really for?

It’s the cross pen I got one year for a gift from someone who knew me for over a decade. It was engraved with the wrong initials. It wasn’t the engraver’s mistake.

It’s the shirt, or the tie, or the dress that you would never wear — that so obviously doesn’t reflect who you are.

It’s sad, because often the receiver had no request, no need, and now sees a face filled with anticipation of a joyous response and must blend gratitude with honesty.

The art of giving a gift is accomplished so easily. I don’t understand how we miss this.

A friend said to me recently, “I knew exactly what to buy, because I know her, because I love her.” His gift for her was all about her.

That is the art of giving an unconditional gift.

We have so many gifts to share and so many ways to connect.

A gift can be a kind word, a smile, and hand on a shoulder that says, “I know you. I see you. I am aware you exist.” It’s something that shows I heard you, when you didn’t know I was listening.

How do you recognize a gift from someone who knows you?

–ME “Liz’ Strauss

Related
Personal Identity: What Is Humility?

Liz's Signature

Thanks to Week 84 SOBs

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muddy teal strip A

Successful and Outstanding Bloggers

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

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

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