Successful Blog

Have a Dream

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Can we talk about . . .

something to look forward to.

In the business of living, we need three things: food clothing, and shelter.
But even folks who live in house with designer wardrobes and chef-prepared meals aren’t immune from feeling stuck and sometimes feeling hollow.

Tuscan cafe

On a level higher than those three needs is a sense that our lives have purpose and meaning. It’s part of our humanity to want something we live for, something we look forward to doing or being.

Have a dream.

Don’t just have that dream, though. Put it on the horizon and make a path to it. Start working and walking in it’s direction. Picture yourself at inside it.

See the dream that you want, think that dream’s thoughts.

Live the dream. Make it your life’s business to be it.

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image: xch.hu

The Attraction of Blogger Conversation

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I've been thinking . . .

about folks getting lost in the blogger conversation.

Meeting friends on the Internet is seamlessly efficient. We click in, look around, and stay only if we find thoughts that are attractive. If we choose to click away, we cause no pain. We’re merely blips — stats in a calculation. If we stay, we often become part of a conversation.

We become part of a community of bloggers.

Bloggers like to think with each other. We ideate. We imagine. We suggest problems and then solve them. We open our heads and our hearts to each other. When we meet in person we hug rather than shake hands like strangers. A blogger conversation is built on trust and transparency that takes time to find in the concrete world. It’s incredibly attractive.

So we find ways to bring the bloggerly conversation into our 3-D spaces. We talk in taxis, restaurants, and airports. We twitter from hotel bedrooms and during business meetings. We send messages from commuter rail stations.

We talk about blogging culture in our own blogging language. Do you see signs that some of us view the world as “those who blog” and “those who don’t” — with the first being better and more interesting? Do you see nonbloggers who think the exact opposite? Are we becoming “us and them”?

Will we lose the gifts of our on the ground friends while we talk to our tribe of bloggers? Will we one day find that those friends have moved on because we’ve lost the intimate connection?

I wonder. The blogger conversation is so attractive.

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What Do You Do in a World of Too Much Noise?

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Seth and Dave Are Right

relationships button

Last night a trackback didn’t make it here. I saw the link in the list at the broken Technorati index. Dave Olson was asking, “Is it getting really noisy in here?” Dave mentioned that Seth feels it too.

On the other hand… it also seems to be getting harder and harder to find original content. Seth Godin noted that yesterday. Too much noise… not enough signal.

Brings up an interesting phenomenon I think. When given too many choices, people often opt out of the whole decision.

I’ve been thinking about the same thing for some time. As I look back at what I’ve been doing my answer seems to be how I always respond to too many voices shouting at the same time.

I’ve backed away to get some perspective. I’ve tried to sort the messages into meaningful chunks. I’ve gone outside. I’ve talked to people who don’t listen. I’ve listened to people who don’t talk at all.

Now I talk to one person at a time and when I do, I talk as softly as I might.

It’s easier to listen to what folks are saying if we don’t shout back to be heard. It’s easier to hear whether their noisy words have meaning when they are away from the crowd. It’s far easier to know whether the crowd’s talking wisdom when we check in with the world on the ground.

Maybe our circle has become too focused on the people inside.

Dave’s blog post ends with “What do you do?”

I finely tune my personal frequency — that value I most admire. I adjust my signal to a low decibel and broadcast my strongest message as clearly and as often I can.

Head, heart, and meaning are important.
Head, heart, and meaning are the keys to life.

What do you do in a world of too much noise?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. I’m checking in the hotel today!

Promise Yourself to Build Your Confidence

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Keep a Promise to Yourself

Personal Identity logo

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep. —Robert Frost

Do you keep your promises?

Kept promises inspire people to invest in us. When we keep promises, folks we work with are never left wondering. They’re sure that we’re solid, true, and worth betting on. They have confidence in us and in what we say.

A promise is a commitment. It’s my word. It’s my bond. I make good on my promises. Broken promises break relationships. Kept promises seal them.

What happens when I break a promise to myself?

Suppose I plan to get something done, then decide “Aw, that can wait.” What’s the impact? How do I respond when I don’t follow through? I’ve been watching, and it’s a bigger hit than I want to take.

When I back out of a plan with myself, it’s the same as breaking a promise with someone else. I know that I didn’t do what I said I would. I lose credibility — with myself. When I do what I plan, I feel credible, capable, and confident. I know I am who I say I am.

I’m making more promises to myself and keeping them. My confidence grows with each one. Other people have started to notice.

We build confidence by keeping promises.

What promise to yourself will you make and keep today?

-ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. Register now!

Do You Filter What You See? Does that Help You at All?

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I've been thinking . . .

about the way we filter information.

Every photographer knows that a filter or a gel can change the way we view what the camera sees. It color, shade, or shadow our view in some dramatic way.

At times, we have filters of our own. They’re a product of experience or something we’ve taught. They’re big ideas about behaviors we see.

rose-colored glasses

What I’m thinking is that the filters we use are all about us and our emotional state. When we’re joyful and optimistic, we have rose-colored glasses to color the world brilliant and vividly. When we’re feeling invisible and taken for granted, polarized gray lenses make picture more dull and depressing.

One filter can lead us to put someone on pedestal and days later, another can bring us knock that same person off. It’s wholly not fair. Filtering their behavior that way isn’t fair to anyone. They lose the right to be a complex human being. We lose our humanity and compassion.

When we’re secure, filters highlight other folks’ best traits. They open doors and connect. Sadly those same filters can leave us blind to people with not the best intentions. When we’re on unsteady ground, our filters can enhance what we find mean, nasty, or wrong. We end up finding good people not worth the effort.

I’m checking my filters regularly. Dropping what filters I have working makes me a little more able to see people I meet, a little more able to meet them as they truly are.

Do you filter what you see? Does that help you at all?

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Image source: sxc.hu

Is Productive What You Really Want to Be?

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I've been thinking . . .

about being productive.

I am competent. I get things done well, on schedule. I keep my promises and keep my clients happy. I don’t spend time on things that don’t move the game forward. I don’t spend time on things that get me looking in the wrong direction.

Is that productive? It seems so.

When I hear the word unreliable I get an image of a boy skipping his chores and sleeping under a tree. I sure am not unreliable. I just couldn’t bail when I knew someone was waiting for something I’m supposed to do. I value my credibility.

That’s probably productive too.

On a Friday when the sun is shining, I wonder whether I get so invested in productive endeavors that I forget to refuel. Do I really have to be productive every minute of every day?

I’ve slept under a tree. It’s a most relaxing way to spend time. Maybe this weekend I’ll be unproductive. Unproductive sounds like a synonym for free.

Are you productive? Can choosing to be unproductive be a good thing?

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