GREAT ADAPTATIONS

(A very happy feed…)  /////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The glossary term, “feed,” is up on the Examiner now. This is a very interesting one to me. I’ve been working on my new e-course, “The Writer in the Blog,” and one of the things I’ve been talking about in the course is how we share what feeds us.

Now, web feeds are certainly feeding us, but what feeds a writer may be very different from what shows up in the feeds on their reader or home page.

Then again, there’s crossover. Dogs are one of my most consistent feed-needs, and I tend to have dog pictures on my posts. When I come across a website that really has a positive impact on me, I often write about it on the Examiner, put a link to it from my own website, and tell friends. Like finding Havi Brooks’ site, The Fluent Self. Her work feeds me.

So I’ve decided to have a “Feed it Forward Now” event. Want to participate? Start by telling me your favorite web feeds. Look at feeds you’ve received for a long time as well as recent favorites. Tell me one or two or three in the comments below.

I’ll collect these and contact you with the next step of the Feed it Forward Now event.

Cheers and blessings,
Suzanna

See the Glossary Term on the Examiner here.

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This is one of those moments I love: Seeing concepts I’ve written about turning up in someone else’s smart, timely book. It’s happening in a few different places right now, and I keep getting my worn copy of “Little Shifts” out to answer my own question, “What did I say, back then?”

“Little Shifts” is not quite four years out now, but in publishing circles it’s an old horse. It enjoyed a nice run on the market and continues to sell. But I think some of the messages in my little book are just now ripe on the tree. In the chapter called “The Great Adventure,” I said “This is a grand opportunity for the best kind of growth – a growth of commitment, consciousness, and imagination.” I told the story about William McDonough, one of our most accomplished visionaries, and the community of innovators at work creating solutions for our planet. Then I made an invitation.

“When we join our willing optimism to the community around us, invite our imaginations to the party, and deliberately choose a positive future, a great adventure begins to unfold. The possibilities are limitless.
“Trust that your vision is connected to these mighty forces. From that trust your creative life will emerge, along with the energy and understanding of how to execute your ideas.”

In the book I advocate using business as a force for social change. Having a business gives us “arms and legs” beyond just the voice of an individual.

Today, I’m excited about the undercurrent which seems to be swelling to the surface. Daniel Pink’s book, “A Whole New Mind, Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future,” beautifully articulates where we are headed and why creatives are emerging as cultural leaders. Brian Clark and Mike McGuinness have started a very clever series called Lateral Action, with the fourth entry also mentioning Daniel Pink’s book. You can understand why I’m jumping up and down and pointing my finger. This imagination-driven culture is becoming visible. These are the great adaptations I’m talking about. It’s us!

I want you to think about something today. Where would you like to apply more imagination in your life? Let’s take it a step further. Let me know, in the reply area here, what three areas of your life could be most improved by a fully empowered imagination?

Blessings,

Suzanna

Participate in the Examiner Glossary Series, and see your name in the published document. Here’s the most recent entry:

“Mashup” - not about potatoes

Those of you who are interested in continuing to learn the language of online communication are invited over to today’s Examiner columns. I’ve included more of Marc Prensky’s informative work, as well as a chart which starkly shows the differences in brain preferences for digital natives, which are our students, and digital immigrants, which are attempting to teach those students. Very interesting and a little scary.

Here’s the link: Populating two worlds: Digital immigrants

See you there!

Suzanna

(Note: This is a guest post by Jenn Givler, as part of my Introductions series while I am away. Enjoy!)

“You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result.” — Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi’s words are very wise. And, I’m sure you know that you need to take action, or nothing will change. But, what actions are the right ones? And, where do you even start?

That feeling of overwhelm can really get you stuck in inaction. And then, as Gandhi points out, there will be no result.

It all starts with planning. And, if you’re anything like me, the thought of making a plan sort of feels stifling… or confining. I mean, what’s the sense in planning when you have no idea what’s going to come your way in the next few weeks or months – you want to have the flexibility to take advantage of any new opportunities, right?

I’m not a natural born planner, I had to learn the value of planning, and I had to learn to do it in a way that allowed for a certain degree of spontaneity, but also helped me move forward and feel productive, and fulfilled.

The first thing to realize is that – the plan can change. Anything you develop can (and probably will) change. The second thing to remember is, stay true to yourself and only include things in your plan that feel really good deep down in your soul.

To begin planning for the things you want to accomplish, the first thing to do is paint a big picture vision of where you want to be in 6 months to a year. I often tell people to write an essay as if they were standing in their lives and had everything exactly as they wanted it.

This activity will help you devise the bigger goals, and then you can fill in the details. For example, let’s say you want to leave a full time job within a year. Once you can see that in your mind’s eye, you can start thinking about smaller actions that will get you to that larger goal.

Next, think about how much time you have to work specifically on your plan. Think about what you’ve already got in your schedule, and determine when you can fit your actions in. Set boundaries when working on your plan – if you plan to work for 2 hours, focus and get through the activities you want to get done.

Finally, start looking at what activities are serving you and what’s not. In other words, what are the things that will get you closer to your goal, and what are doing because you feel you should? Start to release those things that feel like “shoulds.”

Planning and goal setting can seem dry and boring on the surface. But truly, it’s the only way you’ll make changes. Just remember, rigidity is not how life works, so allow for flexibility and new opportunities. If you get stuck, get help. There are many, many experts, books, web sites, and blogs out there to help you get what you need and move forward!

About Jenn
Jenn Givler is an Intuitive Business Coach. She teaches holistic business owners and healing arts practitioners how to promote their businesses. Through her Mindful Marketing program, Jenn teaches marketing techniques that help you connect with the people who need you, but don’t make you feel overbearing or aggressive. If you wish you were more courageous about marketing, check out her web site:

Create A Thriving Business

http://www.CreateAThrivingBusiness.com

Note: This guest-post is by Eileen Williams, the owner of “The Feisty Side of Fifty.” It’s part of my Introductions series while I’m touring. Enjoy! And be sure to visit Eileen at her blog.

Many women over fifty complain they become more forgetful. In fact, some have affectionately dubbed this phenomenon “mental-pause,” and there are real physiological reasons behind it. There are estrogen receptors throughout your brain, including the hippocampus, and this is the part involved in certain aspects of memory. So, when estrogen levels drop, your brain and your ability for recall are affected.

In fact, I know this to be true in my own life. Things seem to be slipping through the cracks, and every day brings fresh surprises and more than a few awkward moments. I have to confess to frequently drifting off into my personal, inner space—not certain where that is, but I can assure you it’s well endowed with black holes.

So, are we older gals forever doomed to sending out those embarrassing “I forgot your birthday” cards? Will we never again recall with ease telephone numbers, significant dates, or names of those near to us? Will endless searches for our glasses, important papers, or that great book we were reading be our final destiny? Not so fast—there’s some good news too!

In her book about women’s second adulthood, Inventing the Rest of Our Lives, Suzanne Braun Levine provides us with some exiting data concerning the aging brain. Dr. Francine Benes, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, has discovered that there is a growth spurt that takes place in the human brain around the age of fifty. Myelin, which is the fatty layer that covers nerve fibers, actually grows about fifty percent during this time. This coating is responsible for aiding the brain to more effectively synthesize life experiences and to enhance the ability to make thoughtful judgments and prudent decisions.

Even better, the location of this growth spurt is found within the area of the cerebral cortex that is identified with emotional learning. Perhaps, as Levine suggests, this myelin growth factor may likely play a part in creating the highly revered trait that we call wisdom.

So, next time we hunt for our car keys, call our son by the dog’s name, or forget to tell our husband his boss phoned, we have to remember that somewhere in our noggin there’s a whole heap of wisdom going on!

Eileen Williams

The Feisty Side of Fifty

This is a guest post from Gina Gwozdz, CPA.

If you earn income from your website, your blog and/or your writing and you are not in collaboration with others, then for tax purposes, unless you incorporated you are a sole proprietors. The taxes for website owners, bloggers and writers, in this situation, is the same.

• If your website, blog and/or writing is a sideline business, you must have a profit motive in order to take advantage of the sole proprietor deductions. If these activities are writing for any other purpose then your activity is considered a hobby and the rules in this article do not pertain to you (but your income must still be reported).
• If this activity is not a hobby, then your income and expenses belong on Schedule C, “Profit or Loss from Business”. Many writers still make the mistake of recording their royalties on Schedule E, “Rents and Royalties”. The royalties the IRS is looking for on Schedule E include oil & gas royalties and royalties from an estate, not book royalties.
• All income you receive from your activity is considered gross income (includable on Sch. C). This would include advertising revenue, affiliate revenue, first NASR, royalties and royalty advances.
• All “ordinary and necessary” business expenses that you incur while trying to earn a profit from your activity are deductible. Examples of these expenses include office and computer supplies, research expenses, subscriptions, business use of telephone, internet, car, advertising and potentially your home office. In general, an expense is considered “ordinary” if other profitable entrepreneurs incur the same expense. An expense is considered “necessary” if it is necessary to make a profit.
• In addition to business expenses you are also required to capitalize any item that you are able to use for more than one year (desk, computer, printer, etc.). Most of these items you will be able to depreciate in the year of purchase through Section 179 expense, but there are exceptions and limitations.
• As a profitable business you are eligible to set up many tax savings plans, such as retirement plans and medical expense plans.
• Website owners, bloggers and writers who are in the business of writing to make a profit will owe self-employment taxes, in addition to Federal (and possibly state) taxes on their net income as computed on Schedule C.
• When you are a successful sole proprietor and have a net income on Schedule C, you may be responsible for remitting quarterly estimated tax payments. If you fail to make these payments you may have to pay a penalty when you file your tax return.
• If you sell to other countries and collect foreign royalties the foreign country may send you a request for certification that you file a U.S. tax return. If the IRS certifies that you file a U.S. tax return and we have a treaty with that country, they won’t withhold as much foreign tax from their payments to you.

Gina L. Gwozdz is a CPA who specializes in minimizing taxes by helping to educate taxpayer. Visit her blog for more Tax Tips articles (http://GLGcpa.com/blog)

(Note: This is a guest post by Lisa Hunter, as part of my introductions series. Enjoy!)

What if “balance” and “slowing down” aren’t the answers to our overwhelmed lives?

You’re having one of those days. You know, the days where you feel like you’re running on a habitrail of endless to-do’s and not enough time to do them.

Your friends and loved ones keep saying, “You need to slow down. You need to create more balance in your life.” And you agree.

Problem is, you’ve tried countless times and it just doesn’t happen. You keep thinking things like…

“If only I could just get myself to slow down”
“If only I could follow through with being more balanced”

But for some of us, it’s not that simple…

Back when I was a performing singer-songwriter in the 90’s, I was driven with an unstoppable urge to get my music and message out into the world. I had endless energy for it and I was willing to pour that energy full-force into my career. At a certain point, though, I began to burn out. I reached for self-help book after self-help book, only to find them all telling me I needed to balance or slow down.

Among many other things, I tried meditating, deep breathing, yoga, time management, setting boundaries and “being” rather than “doing”. But those approaches never seemed to stick. I’d either do them and then go right back to driven-and-impassioned mode, or I’d forget to do them altogether and then feel like I failed.

If balance and slowing down are so important, why do we keep failing miserably at them?

My belief is that we’re not failing at all. We’re just being our selves. And some of us are high-octane people. Full of ideas, full of drive, full of passion and full of the will to follow through with it. Telling a high-octane person to “slow down” would be like telling a race car going 120 mph to suddenly go 20. The shift would be abrupt. And not very natural. It’s the same for those of us who “fail” at slowing down.

We ultimately would like smooth lives where we’re not crazily running around or working all the time. Most of us ultimately would like to slow down. But trying to slow down is not the way to get there.

I teach whole classes on alternatives to slowing down for busy, stressed-out and passionately-driven entrepreneurs who feel like they’re failing at having balanced lives. So I could go on and on. But let’s get a conversation started instead:

What snags have you encountered with trying to slow down?

And what would be your creative way to get to a place of “slow down” without having to initially slow down?
That second question might first hit as a bit of a brain teaser. But let’s see what we can come up with…

Lisa Hunter

Continue the conversation with Lisa Hunter on her website, Extraordinary Women Thrive.

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I just love this post from Sonia Simone: The 3 Secrets to Massive Online Marketing Success.

Reading it, I had Brian Clark in my head, his voice. It sounded different, like he was a little out of breath (the voice in my head, you know). Then I remembered, no, this is Sonia!

Then I saw that Sonia Simone is an Associate Editor on Copyblogger. I don’t know when this took place, but it gives me that warm rush of satisfaction along with a slightly smug smile as I sit and nod my head at the screen.

Sonia, the voice at Remarkable Communication, puts out fantastic, thoughtful, deep pieces on content and relationship-to-readership.

Seeing her as Associate Editor on Copyblogger makes me feel the strength and power growing in all our voices, our collective intelligence, on the world wide web.

If you could place a woman in a high-profile spot on the Internet today, where her voice would reach millions, who would she be?

Suzanna

(Note: This is a guest post by Jennifer Smith, Owner of Eco-Office Gals, part of my Introductions series while I am away. Enjoy!)

Green, Paperless, Eco-this and that, you can’t get away from the green effort these days. NOT growing green in your small business seems so much easier. After all, you’re just a small business, how much damage can you really do?

Regardless of businesses size or type, one fact remains static - the Earth isn’t going anywhere any time soon, but continuing to trash it will make it a hostile environment for every person and every business, no matter how big or small.

This is the realization that came to me as I started Eco-Office Gals. I spent ten years working as a real world administrative assistant not thinking twice about printing, shredding, filing & storing massive amounts of paper. Driving 35 miles each way to an office was an inconvenience to me and my wallet, environment was never a factor. Grabbing my turtle mocha cappuccino and Chinese take out from one of my many choices on Main Street was commonplace. It took reading, learning and willingness to become aware of the impact I had made and what needed to change. I also learned that taking steps, not leaps, was the only way I could make a difference.

Today is a good day for Eco-Office Gals if I didn’t turn my printer on, if I drank my coffee out of the same cup all day and ate last night’s dinner for lunch. Today is a great day for business if it succeeded in making another small business paperless, helped someone start an online business, or shared what I learned about making a smaller impact to anyone that is willing to listen, learn and encourage.

Eco-Office Gals strives to have a great day for business everyday. My mission is to share my green steps, useful information and resources that I find and provide a site where other small businesses can start taking their first green steps and in turn encourage others to do the same.

Eco-Office Gals – Small Businesses Growing Green One Step At A Time!

(Note: This guest post by Connie Boaitey is part of my introductions series. Enjoy!)

Podcasting is a driving force in the Web 2.0 evolution. It is giving rise to entrepreneurial empowerment through web-based multimedia. It is also providing new ways of learning and sharing information; moreover, podcast production tools are simpler and more accessible than ever to anyone with a computer.

Podcasting is egalitarian in its power to draw a wide audience of listeners, creating an opportunity which businesses of all sizes cannot afford to miss.

There are three immediate benefits podcasting can give any business:

1. Self-generating referrals.

2. Become the knowledge resource for your clients through podcasting.

3. Share changes and trends that are important to your clients.

Don’t get left behind while others capture new audiences through this exciting technology!

Want to know more about the explosive marketing potential podcasting can have on your business? Tune into my podcast “Jump Start Your Marketing” on iTunes or Podcast Alley.

Connie on iTunes

(http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=284590580)

Connie on Podcast Alley

(http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=59600)

Do you have a podcast or want to start one? Please share your podcasts stories or questions.

Connie Boaitey
Web Visibility Coach
http://www.iConnie.com