Successful Blog

The Complete Metaphor Project Listing and Winners

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What Teachers and Learners!

What’s Your Metaphor?

When we know something well we have internalized what it’s about. That makes us flexible with our thoughts and our models. It offers us an ability to be fluent when talking about the subject. Our experience and knowledge allows us to teach others how it works.

When a concept or practice is simple, teaching is often an act of simple demonstration. When the concept or practice multi-layered or complex — when it’s process and information, people and data — sometimes a translation or a comparison that takes a person from the known to the unknown has a better chance. . . . That’s when a great metaphor comes in handy.

Thanks again to Char and Derrick for inspiring this project.

Welcome to the Complete Metaphor Project List!

Thank you all for being a part.

BONUS: 10 Winners

These ten contributors, selected randomly by a man, who paid so little attention that he doesn’t know what this contest is about, will receive an autographed copy of Lorelle’s book “Blogging Tips — What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging.”

If your blog’s name is listed below, please email me, using the subject line METAPHOR WINNER and include your email address and postal address. We’ll ship the book to you.

Congratulations to the winners!

Everyone won will all 50 metaphors! You drew unforgettable pictures with your words. Thank you, again!

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

SOB Business Cafe 06-15-07

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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

Confident Writing wants us to come out of the dictionary.

Blogoprenneur asks a duplicate content question.

Strategic Name Development Blog sells cell phones on the horizon.

Success from the Nest discusses a valuable life and work skill.

Orbit Now! knows when quality shouldn’t be first.

Related ala carte selections include

Mediator Tech offers some 20th century decision making.

THE ART OF COOL COMMENT WRITING –> June 15th, 2007 at 12:07 pmChinmay said

Who wouldn’t love a comment like that? Thank you, Chimay!

AND THEN THERE’S THIS –> Mystery Man: What’s He Going to Do?

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

I’m Lucky; I’ll Reach Out, and Celebrate

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I've been thinking . . .

about helping each other.

I’ve noticed something about the people who know me as a blogger and those who have known me longer, but don’t know the blogosphere.

Over the past few months, many blogger friends — friends I have known less than two years — have asked for help and offered help. In fact, I told someone yesterday that it’s hard to talk to a blogger without hearing, “How can I help you? or Thank you for reaching out.” In the past few days, blogger friends and I have found work for each other, worked together on projects, and when someone was in trouble people immediately rallied around to help.

Helping is a bloggerly thing. So is blogger synchronicity.

Friends I know from the 3-D world — friends that I’ve known longer, much longer — are having the same kinds of problems. Yet, they don’t call me or each other. I hear about their troubles when I call to see how they are. They struggle alone or with one friend who helps them. It’s not that they think I won’t help. They don’t think about me at all. They think they must walk alone through paved streets.

Asking for help seems to be not a worldly thing. Neither does letting many people too close seem to be.

I wonder at how small a big city seems when the world is our community.

I can reach out to people across the country. People of so many skills and gifts have taught me incredible things. I have learned to believe in the power of people and dreams.

I introduced a friend from the world of brick and mortar to a friend in the world of blogging today. She said she believed that when the learner is ready, the teacher appears.

Another blogger friend brought a nonblogger in trouble to me for help.

This weekend I’ll celebrate blogger generosity by looking for ways to give help away.

How could anyone how has received so much, do any less?

Liz's Signature

_________

What is He Talking About? Chris Cree on Friends

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“Contrary to general belief, I do not believe that friends are necessarily the people you like best, they are merely the people who got there first.”
—Peter Ustinov

I like people.

I mean as a general principle.

Oh, sure. There are some folks that I really would rather not be around. But mostly I like hanging out with other people.

In my book there is nothing better than hanging out with a couple people either over a good meal, or perhaps in a big cushy chair with some coffee and shooting the breeze. It doesn’t much matter to me whether we are solving the world’s problems – politics, religion, famine, disaster, war, WordPress vs. TypePad – or just simply making small talk, either way I’m for a good round of jawing most times.

One Way to CC It logo

So when it comes down to it, I’m all about friends.

Friend Defined

Who is a friend? I mean there are friends and there are Friends, if you know what I mean. [Read more…]

Business Rule 13: Structure Damage

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Times Are A’Changing

Business Rules Logo

It seems a good time to write about change.

Everything in life changes. If we’re not changing, we’re dead.
But then, we knew that. Knowing how we respond to the changes that can happen is key to being a leader, more importantly to knowing who we are. . . . .

I was going on a business trip.

When I travel I have all things in order days ahead. Otherwise, a little nagging voice reminds me that I’m likely to forget something that will cause me to miss my plane or get to the airport without my bags. This advance routine allows time to add in things that I forget on the first try.

I had everything arranged for a meeting. It was still two days before my flight. I got a note saying a good friend had decided to attend the same meeting. The staff assistant had changed my seat assignment so that my friend and I could sit together.

I froze. It didn’t feel good. I didn’t understand why I felt upset. I wanted to sit with my friend. The new seats were better.

Why was I ticked that no one asked? My answer was so obvious. She had done me a personal favor. I should be grateful. What was going on?

I took a walk around the building to find out. Halfway around I got the answer — structure damage. The new seat assignment had changed the picture in my head. It shook the foundation I had so carefully laid.

Everyone suffers from structure damage now and then.

I’m a fairly laid-back person, but I’ve got two places where I’m not -– when I’m getting ready to travel and when I’m conceptualizing a project. I try, but I don’t always see that I’m in high-structure mode when I am. At least, I can realize what rattled me when I give the wrong response so that I can explain and apologize. Luckily as I get older, I need less structure, because I’ve done a lot of things before.

Some people need more structure than others. What sorts of things mess with your structure? Do you know?

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

Related
Business Rule 12: The Brother Story and the Facts about Grandma
Business Rule 11: Apples and Oranges
Business Rule 10: Is Their Urgency Real?
Business Rule 9: What’s the Value of Money?