Successful Blog

Mondays and Futures

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I've been thinking . . .

about Mondays.

Mondays get me thinking about the future. I am moved out of this place and time. I think about what I am going to do, must get done, will accomplish, rather than what I am doing. Mondays are goal-oriented, live-in-the-future times.

Is that what causes the burden of Mondays? The entire future is larger than any one day should bear.

Would I live my Mondays with more joy and wonder, would I be more thoughtful and more efficient, if I lived my Mondays in the now?

Do you find yourself spending most of Monday living for the rest of the week?

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Bloggy Question 68: 2 Palm Trees, You, Me

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Reflection Is Good

Tropical sunset with two palm trees

Two palm trees, a great bottle of wine,
maybe some bread and cheese, me, and you . . .
What would we talk about?

Would it be music, books, blogging . . .

C’mon, you know we’d talk for days.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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Remembering Dots

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Connecting dots with The Idea Dude

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Remember when? reminiscing is something we often do. Sometimes it is with a friend, walking back together to a special point in time. Sometimes it is in solitude to replay a fond farewell, a sad passing or a victorious moment. Reflection stirs our souls, brings a sigh, a smile, a tear. We look to the mirror of our past to draw inspiration, strength and comfort.

Remember because memories last beyond our lifetimes

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Crushed by Insoc tells us We need to KNOW what humanity remembers… Because with the coming of speech, comes the ability of man to remember beyond his own lifetime.

Surely our blogs are a manifestation of that speech, their existence will help us all remember this world beyond our lifetimes.

Memories are relived in unexpected ways

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For Ruth, each recipe made me think of a special moment from my childhood. The inspiration for her present comes from memories of the past. I remember the scent of whatever was cooking that clung to her apron when my grandmother hugged me…I can’t recall ever hearing my grandmother speak. Obviously I did, but all the other images are so much more powerful.

Memories offer painted pictures, the smell of the sea or a freshly picked flower, the sound of a train, a few chords from old song, the warmth of a hug, one seemingly ordinary moment can send us on an extraordinary journey to the past.

Try to remember to never forget,

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Julie reminds her 5-year old To cherish the little things, little but not insignificant. Like chalk drawings, carousals, kisses, laughs and hugs. She says, When I look back, I recall most clearly the unexpected hilarity, the joy found in what would normally be mundane.

We are the sum of our experiences…

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. . . says Wolfgang, adding that Memories, especially painful ones, help us to refine ourselves.

We often forget that our memories from our past can influence our future. We can choose to take the unhappiest ones to justify why we should be unkind, horrid or mean, or we can choose to take the brightest ones to inspire us to best that we can be.

What memories will you reflect upon today?

May the dots be with you!

Vern, The Idea Dude

What Do You Argue for?

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I've been thinking . . .

about what we argue for.

While I was gone, I spoke with many folks about their plans for the future. Many folks have a clear vision of where they are going. Some think about getting the world to come to them. Others are still outright searching.

The searchers often are stopped by what they see as obstacles.

“I don’t have the support. I don’t have the money. I’m awful at doing this one part.” Then they argue in detail why it’s so hard to come by what they need.

I hear myself do the same thing sometimes. “I need more time and more resouces,” I say. I wonder if that’s really what I need.

I wonder how I’ll ever do something when I spend time convincing folks why I’ll never have what I need to get that sometbing done?

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Supposing that I was determined to make a plan happen, would I still be convincing folks I didn’t have what I need?

Would I still be arguing for my limits?

When we argue for our limits is that just a smokescreen?

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Thanks to Week 107 SOBs

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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.

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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.

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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

Time Management for Creative People

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No Stopping Mark!

Great Find: Time Managment for Creative People series . . .
Time Management #1: Why You Need to be Organised to be
Permalink: http://www.businessofdesignonline.com/time-management-why-you-need-to-be-organised-to-be-creative/
Target Audience: Anyone creative who has to get work done
Content: Mark McGuinness, who wrote the wonderful enneagram series here, is over at Business of Design Online (BODO) doing a series called Time Management for Creative People. The taghline tells both the focus of the series and its promise: Manage the mundane – create the extraordinary.

The eight posts in the series — which will form an ebook — break out as follows.

  1. Why you need to be organised to be creative
  2. Prioritise work that is ‘important but not urgent’
  3. Ring-fence your most creative time
  4. Avoid the ‘Sisyphus effect’ of endless to-do lists
  5. Get things done by putting them off till tomorrow
  6. Get things off your mind
  7. Review your commitments
  8. Resources to help you get things done

Time Management for Creative People is one of the ways business coach Mark McGuinness helps creative professionals and creative agencies succeed.

For more practical tips and inspiration visit his Wishful Thinking blog.

Bravo, Mark!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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