Successful Blog

Dot . Dot . Dot .

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Connecting dots with The Idea Dude

Connecting Dots logo

2007 has been the Year of the Blog for me. My passion to promote blogs and bloggers was the catalyst for the TheGoodBlogs. My mission was really very simple. Touched by the stories I read, inspired by the words of giants, I wanted the world to know these stories, these words. And most of all, these people. Ordinary people, like you and me but so special because they gave us gifts through their blogs every day. The gifts? their voices, their thoughts, their hearts.

Then I met Liz. Who can refuse the most simplest of invitations. Can we talk? From that conversation, I was drawn into a much larger community, SOBCON, the conference that taught us that blogging is about bloggers, relationships and conversations. Hope to see you there this year!.

Undoubtedly the highlight for me would be receiving the keys to this blog. It wasn’t about sharing a soapbox, it was about sharing a warm cozy living room where the best conversations could be found. Right here, every Sunday, we connected dots. Each dot, a blogger, connected with others through words of wisdom, joy, sadness and every other emotion possible. I felt like a treasure hunter, delighting in every gem I found, eager to share each one with you.

Alas this will be the last connecting dots post for a while. Is this the end? Hopefully not, but it is a pause as I need to step back to figure out where the next part of this journey should take.

Successful-blog remains one of my favorite blogs just as Liz will always be one favorite bloggers. This blog like its host has become a constant in my blogging life. So you’ll see me in the comments and open-mic night. Why? because this is where my friends hang out, where the conversation is always great, where the laughter is infectious, where the hearts are bigger and the brains are smarter… and where I know I belong.

May the dots be with you!

Vern, The Idea Dude

Sunday Morning Light: Answering Why Givers Don't Ask to Get Paid

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A New Answer and a Hit

Last night, I asked a question.

Then an audience came. Real folks showed up to push me out of my head into the daylight. I got advice, ideas, tough love, and friendship. I listened carefully to every word, and I’m still listening.

The best part of community is finding out that other folks have stopped where you’re stuck standing.

From the comment, I saw the dots connecting to form the message I took from that conversation. It’s simple enough.

When If I give away my time, I’m agreeing to that contract.
If that’s not working, I need to stop doing it.

hitting one out of the park

Thank you all for helping me stand outside of myself
to see the disconnects in my thinking.

I’m a lucky girl . . .

. . . a lucky girl who’s decided that
I’m hitting one out of the park in 2008.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

(Dear Jeff, I know you hate baseball analogies.)

On a Blue December Night: Asking Why Do Givers Not Ask to Be Paid?

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relationships button

This year, 2007, has been one of learning and getting a business off the ground. Along the way, I have made my mistakes in choosing the folks I’ve worked with, and I’ve been blessed by working with folks who were heroes in every way.

But the hardest one of all I had to deal with was, by far, myself.

First, I had to learn to value what I do.

Then, I had to learn how to explain it to others.

Finally, I’m learning I have to ask them — tell them — that I need to get paid.

Sounds simple doesn’t it?
Yeah, it’s a lecture I’ve given often enough to everyone. You could probably find several versions of it right here on the pages of this very blog.

Yet, twice in the last week, I heard someone say, “I’m not giving free advice anymore” at the same time he was asking for free advice from me.

All I said was, “Yeah, I know people do the same thing to me.”

So I guess you could say that a couple of good friends sat me down. Well, they’ve been trying for a while now, but I’m a slippery character. Maybe I’m at a point where it means something, like whether I’ll keep blogging, or maybe I’m just growing up and ready to take responsibility. Or maybe it’s that I think it’s time that I build my own dream.

Whatever the case, one of them challenged me to answer the question in a blog post. This is it.

“Why do givers not ask to be paid?”

I cycled through the answers. You might be surprised with where I landed. I sure was. But, when I tested my answer, it held up. And, when I handed it back, the questioner agreed.

blue light traces

Is it pride?
No, I think of the givers I know. They’re not prideful people. They’d humble themselves for a cause.

Is it fear?
Not really. The real givers I know would walk through fire for the people they care about.

Is it a disdain for money?
Not a chance. Givers I know understand that money is a tool that makes it easier to give more and more generously.

So what is it then?

It’s the DNA of a giver. A giver lives generosity from the cellular level. Giving is without strings.

It’s not sensible and sure won’t pay the rent.

So how do I draw the line between the giver and the business person?

I’m asking for your advice.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

THANKS to Week 114 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 all 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 to me. Thie award carries a “Liz said so” guarantee, is endorsed by Kings of the Hemispheres, Martin and Michael, and is 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– A-Z Directory . Click the link or visit the What IS an SOB?! page in the sidebar.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

MWSnap

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Capture Screenshots with MWSnap

Great Find: MWSnap

Permalink: http://www.mirekw.com/winfreeware/mwsnap.html

Target Audience: Anyone who wants a screen snapshot

Content:

I’ve been looking for a low-cost, reliable tool to capture screenshots. You know, make an image out of selected parts of the screen. For example, when I write blog posts I often use a screenshot to explain something or display a product logo.

MWSnap is a nifty utility that’s freeware, although they do take donations. You can capture the entire desktop, a window, or a rectangular part of the screen. I really like that you can select the size of the rectangle first. You can choose from five popular formats to save your graphic and it’s available in several languages.

It also boasts a ruler and a color picker.

MWSnap

Be sure to check this one out!
See you next time!

–Sandy, Purple Wren

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

SOB Business Cafe 12-28-07

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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 Viral Garden asks do we market our products and services as well as rock stars market their wares?
Does it happen by accident? Is it just easier to create fans for music than it is for umbrellas or paper clips?

The thinking blog asks whether we remember lava lamps.
Drempels is a nifty piece of software that makes your computer’s desktop behave like a screensaver, providing a hypnotic and psychedelic display of constant motion . . .

Startup Princess asks about our frustration with what we’re doing.
I ask this question because I can’t be the only entrepreneur out there hitting my head against the wall trying to move to the next stage, unsure what that stage should be!

All Things Workplace asks how we’ll grow without risks?
“Risk-taking” is a criterion for hiring and promotion at many companies. We’re not talking ‘skydivers without parachutes’; we’re looking for people who know how to calculate the odds and shout, “Let’s go!” when they think the benefits outweigh the consequences of the risk.

clear.your.mind asks about how we’re keeping up with our plans?
It has been said, that 90% of business never grow up like they could because their owners lose, sometime in the battle, the goals they once thought for their business.

Just Creative Design asks if we want our great ideas to show up faster?

Related ala carte selections include

This review at Amazon via Phil Renaud’s wonderful blog.

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! See you when I’m home again!

–ME “Liz” Strauss