Jan 31 2010

Nine Notable Innovators for 2010

     The Year of Living Exponentially

The Year of Living Exponentially

I’m a collage artist. I enjoy scissors, paper and glue. Always, I am trying to communicate something through my collage pieces.

Not all of my collages have a name, but this one does: It is “The Year of Living Exponentially.” It illustrates my tribute to nine notable innovators.

It’s a valentine, a winter bouquet, a gift for my readers and a tribute to my muses, leaders, and mentors. For me, it was a winter meditation.

I also practice another art: Cloud Alchemy. It is described in my manifesto by that name. The alchemy is putting people together in dynamic ways, talking about them with my readership, juxtaposing different energies in the “global brain.” In this collage, I’ve taken the nine notables and put them together as an art piece along with the stories I’ll tell about them.

The Nine Notables

The following are nine among many who have lit my path:

Janet Tokerud:

Janet Tokerud

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A web professional since the early 80s, Janet continues to inform her audience in a multitude of ways. I enjoy her intelligent reviews of new products, her enthusiasm about the culture of the web, and her grounded support of my own projects. Janet attended the first meeting of B.A.B.S. (Bay Area Bloggers Society) and is one of the reasons I went forward with it. Follow her on Twitter as @tokerud, and her blog on http://tokerud.com.
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Dr. Ellen F. Weber

ellenfweber
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Dr. Weber is a neuroscientist I have come to know on Twitter. She shares amazingly useful concepts about the brain and how to create leadership and learning environments which are most productive and human. Ellen contributes so much love and wisdom to the global brain through her continual high-level communication, she is like a one-person web of connective tissue. Everyone should follow Ellen. Find her on Twitter as @ellenfweber, and see her blog at http://BrainLeadersandLearners.com.
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Barbara Bonardi

barbarabonardi
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Barbara was one of my students in a new media class in early 2009. She has progressed at an astonishing rate, while continuing with her own art, journaling, and the process of earning a green MBA. Barbara is just getting her blog started and I am so curious to see how she will inform us all. She’s a superb example of a mature mind grabbing these tech tools and running with it. Barbara is an original member of B.A.B.S. Follow her on Twitter as @barbarabonardi.
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Michael Phillips

Michael Phillips1938
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Michael is one of my early influences. I read his book, “The 7 Laws of Money,” in the late 70s. His classic, “Marketing Without Advertising,” (now being revised for the 7th edition), taught us the culture of marketing at the deepest human level. It stands today as the best guide for marketing and led the culture of “the conversation” long before we had the tools to converse. Among his unique qualities is the ability to trigger the brain to think in a new direction. He does this on his blog, http://phillips.blogs.com/. Put your thinking cap on and take a look! Follow Michael on Twitter as @phillips1938.
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Valeria Maltoni

Valeria Maltoni
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Valeria Maltoni is another communication professional I met online. I think I was reading her vastly informative blog, Conversation Agent, before I knew her on Twitter. Every time I read something on her blog I think I should just drop everything and spend the next month reading everything she’s written. Valeria carries “the conversation” with elegance and a deep understanding of what is productive and true. You can find her on Twitter as @conversationage, and see her blog at http://conversationagent.com.
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Catherine Grison

catherinegrison
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Catherine is one of the new friends I’ve made through interacting on Twitter. She has a warmth and style you just have to experience. A Parisian ex-pat, she is a Feng Shui artist who embraces the Twitter community with humor and humanity. When I need an uplifting moment, I just go look at her website. It’s a tonic for the soul, in living color. You can follow her on Twitter as @catherinegrison, and see her website at http://YourFrenchAccent.com.
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Mark McGuinness

markmcguinness
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Mark is one of the creators of Lateral Action, which began as a great animated series about the role of creativity and innovation in successful business today. Before Lateral Action, I read his work on Copyblogger. Mark speaks the language of creativity and business, which makes him a potent contributor to the global brain. His art and his writing convey concepts in a simple, straightforward way that I find as reassuring as it is informative. You can follow him on Twitter as @MarkMcGuinness, and see more of his work on http://LateralAction.com.
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Chris Brogan

chrisbrogan
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Chris Brogan knows at least as much as anyone on the planet about how to live in a social media world with fairness and integrity. He talks about this openly in all of his material. If you want to see something really refreshing, look at his Disclosures and Relationships on the About tab of his website. When someone talks to me about values in leadership today (usually complaining that there are no values in leadership today), I point them to Chris Brogan. Chris is one of the reasons I believe we are creating a more civilized world through the employment of online communication tools. You can follow him on Twitter as @ChrisBrogan, and see his website at http://ChrisBrogan.com.
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Liz Strauss

lizstrauss
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It makes me smile just to type her name. To me, Liz is a mastermind of the giant hive of minds contributing their best to “the conversation.” She created a system to honor others for their work with her Successful and Outstanding Blogger site (SOB). That’s the best kind of announcing. Liz is a model for anyone who wants to get their mind around how helping other people keeps you on the track to personal success. She’s funny, too. You can follow her on Twitter as @LizStrauss, and see her website at http://successful-blog.com.
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I hope you will explore these fine contributors to the innovative online community. Our world is more sane, more civilized, more viable, and just better at everything because of them.

Suzanna Stinnett


Jan 14 2010

Super fun foods that blast away stress

Tag: Building Brain Power, CHOCOLATESuzanna @ 12:49 pm

choco heart

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Dr. Roberta Lee wrote The SuperStress Solution, a book full of excellent techniques to steer people out of what she calls “SuperStress” and back to a healthy mind and body. This article by Dr. Lee explains the benefits of some of my favorite foods. While she is talking about our needs around the holidays, her suggestions for reducing stress are high-value for kicking off the new year as well. Grab that dark chocolate and find out exactly why it works. Yum.

Reduce SuperStress with Super Foods

By Roberta Lee M.D.,
 Author of The SuperStress Solution

The holidays deliver the promise of festivities, feasts . . . and fat! But our ballooning girth will do more than stress our belt buckles. Most of us will feel the literal stress of over-eating and also suffer more from the guilt of gluttony than we would care to admit. It doesn’t have to be this way.

In addition to trying to keep up with your exercise routine, getting enough sleep, and having a snack before you head to a party (you won’t overeat if you’re already a little full!), try to avoid junk food/fast food, sugar-laden foods, too much caffeine and alcohol, and excessive amounts of high fat red meat.

These foods and beverages tax your system and will actually make you feel more stressed, more lethargic, and less able to cope with the stresses of daily life causing SuperStress.

But holidays and parties shouldn’t be about deprivation! Consider this: there are actually a handful of foods that can help reduce stress (and help you stay trim, too). Aim to keep these five easy to find and delicious foods in your diet through the holiday season, and beyond:

Dark chocolate. Chocolate has a lot going for it in addition to its divine taste. It is plump full of flavanoids — a powerful class of antioxidants — which have been shown to lower high blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease and strokes. Other compounds found in chocolate seem to lower the “bad” component of cholesterol (LDL) while leaving the “good” (HDL) component unchanged. Dark chocolate also contains several psychoactive chemicals that promote alertness and even euphoria. The latest scientific literature even shows it has some blood pressure lowering properties.

To me, though, that’s not what’s so beautiful about chocolate.

What I think is beautiful about chocolate is its ability to enhance sensory recruitment in every way. It’s so inexpensive to have a piece of chocolate and it’s so pleasurable, that if that’s something you like and that’s part of what living well is about, I say: go for it. Once a day, treat yourself to a guilt-free serving of one-third of a typical dark chocolate bar or 1 ounce of chocolate roughly the size of the palm of a woman’s hand. Doctor’s orders!

Tea. Although caffeine has been shown to lead to a more positive mood and improved performance, there’s a fine line between just enough and too much. Too much caffeine can make you dependent and make you nervous, irritable, and hypersensitive or bring on headaches. Because brewed tea is lower in caffeine per cup than coffee, you can drink more tea than coffee before experiencing these effects.

Tea also provides a little L-theanine, a calming amino acid.

Magnesium rich foods. Magnesium is an essential mineral for human nutrition. Magnesium in the body serves several important metabolic functions. It plays a role in the production and transport of energy. It is also important for the contraction and relaxation of muscles and has been shown to reduce blood pressure. Green vegetables such as spinach are good sources of magnesium, as are black beans, peas, nuts (peanuts), seeds (pumpkin and squash), tofu, broccoli and whole, unrefined grains.

Berries. Under stress we naturally crave sweet things but the problem is that nine out of ten times, the sweets we’re craving are calorie laden. Berries are naturally sweet and they have vitamin C which tends to be helpful in combating stress. Furthermore, berries have some fiber — which will decrease cravings by building up bulk in your GI track.

Avocados. When you’re under stress, your body tends to use B vitamins at a faster than normal rate. In order to replenish that supply, eat ¼ of an avocado when you’re stressed — on a sandwich, in a salad, or all by itself — to boost B vitamin levels. In addition to B, avocados are also rich in vitamin K, vitamin C, potassium and a fatty acid known as oleic acid — this fat has been shown to have a mild influence in lowering cholesterol.

To reduce stress, and avoid SuperStress, try this today:

Simple as it sounds; focused breathing — during which you think about your breath as you inhale and exhale — is a very effective stress-management technique. A slow, full breath triggers physical and cognitive changes that promote relaxation. Deep breathing helps release tension and anxiety and is a great energizer because the deeper the breath, the more your body is flooded with life-fueling oxygen. A full breath begins with the diaphragm pushing downward so that the stomach extends out. As your lungs fill with air, your chest expands. When you exhale, the reverse occurs — your chest settles first and then your stomach.
•    When anxiety strikes or you find yourself focusing on negative thoughts, immediately exhale through your mouth.
•    Now, open your lungs, and breathe in through your nose, drawing in a fresh, cleansing air to the count of four.
•    Exhale again slowly to the count of five.
•    Repeat four times.

Copyright © 2009 Roberta Lee M.D., author of The SuperStress Solution
For more information please visit www.superstresssolution.com


Jan 10 2010

Focus Words for 2010

Tag: Archives, Building Brain PowerSuzanna @ 2:25 pm

Power connection

Some call them power words. My sister says “touchstone.” I think it’s a great idea. In the newsletter from Chris Brogan, he said one of his was “ecosystem.” All his words got me thinking, and I have been working on my own set of words for a couple of weeks. So here we go.

Nature
The first word I settled on is “nature.” I talked about this in a previous blog. It means two important things to me. Being in nature, away from concrete and amplification of all sorts is mandatory for me to have balance and any shred of sanity. I have neglected this for a couple of years and it shows. I am also thinking of my own nature and what aspects of daily living spring from “my nature.” This leads me to think about my habits, my tendencies, my desires and many kinds of relationships.

Tools
Since I am deeply enmeshed in learning and teaching modern communication tools, I like using this as a focus word that simply adds validation to my daily activities. Seeing it up on my wall over my desk will remind me to continue to evaluate tools, write reviews, and create more pathways for my workshop participants to embrace them.

Play
Ahh. Now to the meat of it. My ongoing exploration of the workings of the human brain, especially in relation to helping people learn new things like how to create a viable blog, makes “play” a high priority focus word. Like “nature,” there’s a mandate woven into it. I’m enjoying Stuart Brown’s book, “Play,” and I’m grateful for the reminder that play is the answer to our questions about innovation, relationships, community, and healthy brains.

So about you, dear reader. Are you using playful tools to manifest your nature?

What are your focus words?

Suzanna Stinnett


Dec 31 2009

Resolution and the nature of the brain – 2010

Tag: Building Brain PowerSuzanna @ 9:47 am

bulb crop

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Photo Stinnett Archives_________________________________________________________________

Focus words
Thanks to Chris Brogan for bringing this good idea to my frontal cortex. It’s been a long time since I gathered my focus around “power words,” or concepts I want to keep in front as guiding forces throughout the year. It can be super productive. Chris talked about his three words in his subscriber newsletter. (Which you should definitely consider joining – chrisbrogan.com, and it’s the newsletter.)

My words won’t gel until January 6th, which is when I get my feet on the ground of the new year. But I can tell you one I’ve decided on: Nature.

Noodling around the meaning
The surface layer of meaning on this word, for me, sprawls out in two directions. One is my constitutional need for many more moments and hours surrounded by organic form. That can be beach, bay, woods, or even back-back roads. Also beasts. Any of those, just more. The other meaning is less definable (but I’ll work on that), it has to do with “my nature.” For now, my nature is Nature and that’s guidance.

This morning, on the way to Kathy’s office, as we pulled into the long, snowy driveway, a red fox ran out, and loped along the snow with a light, playful gait. We were treated to a good long look at this gorgeous beast.

The incident solidified this one word for me for 2010. Nature is. Nature does. And nature will.

I invite you to think about three deeply informing words for your new year. You might enjoy this very lovely gift from Christine Kane. She’s created a “Word of the Year Worksheet” and a sweet video to help you discover and work with those words.

Resolution Shmesolution

Meanwhile, the idea that we can create the life we prefer through New Year’s Resolutions has serious holes in it. This post by Jonah Lehrer in the digital Wall Street Journal finishes that idea off, and will help you understand how to work with the realities of your own brain to feel better and be happier with yourself as you navigate the promise of 2010.
Blame it on the Brain

Starry, shiny, surprising blessings to you all,

Suzanna Stinnett


Nov 23 2009

Interesting.org has a better idea

Tag: Building Brain PowerSuzanna @ 10:49 am

synapse

What frame of mind brings you new ideas? Are you aware of the process you use to generate and utilize your ideas?

The Idea Book is a fantastic tool for expanding your creative capacity, discovering untapped resources in your own brain, and actively connecting to the world of innovation.

Published in Stockholm in 2004, over 200,000 copies of this book have sold in 9 languages. Sold to 40 countries, it is not yet “available” in the U.S., but you can find it and the author Fredrik Haren at the parent site, www.interesting.org.

I’ll be telling you more about its excellent layout and the experience of writing in the blank pages over the weeks to come. This post is your heads up to seek out a copy of The Idea Book — and become part of the huge wave of innovation which is carrying us into a viable future.

Suzanna Stinnett


Nov 03 2009

Get your work hours sparkling clean with SKIP & SCAN!

dancing boobie

A modern communication skill taken from our young friends, the Digital Natives

There’s something I’ve realized, working with people who are learning how to use new media. Newer users, who are often older people, get stuck on little things that don’t make sense.

We newer users are, in general, making use of a different skill. It’s along the lines of proofreading. It has served us well for decades and it still has a high place in the world of communication.

But it is stopping us dead in our tracks when it comes to the efficient and effective use of modern tools. Tools like Twitter, for example.

I teach people to enter microblogging by using Twitter as a search tool. Twitter is already the premium search tool, for those who understand it, and it’s a good place to begin to see what’s going on in that universe.

Here comes the dead in our tracks part. The first time someone does a search on Twitter, they’re bound to come up with a string of seemingly irrelevant posts. When I sit side by side with a newer user, I can point to this and that to help them see what is relevant on the page. But they are drawn to everything that is NOT relevant. What does RT mean? Why is it there? What are all these @ signs? Is that a link? Why are they saying #FF, is that like an obscene gesture?

Hold it, whoa, take a breath. Let’s learn from digital natives, who are able to quickly find the relevance they seek. Here’s how they are doing it:

They ignore the vast percentage of what’s on the page. Instead of looking for the irrelevant or incorrect bits like any great proofreader, they are scanning the page for relevance.

They skip over everything they don’t need and go straight to what they want. And even then, they scan. Skip and Scan. It’s the great new way to use your brain. And it will make a big difference in getting where you want to go – if you want to access the vast intelligence now available to you on sites like Twitter.

Skip and Scan! Anyone for an Evelyn Woods class?

Here’s to your new brain areas: Breathe deep, walk often, and drink lots of water.

Blessings,

Suzanna Stinnett


Oct 20 2009

The global brain + cloud alchemy = thoughtsourcing

Tag: Building Brain PowerSuzanna @ 2:18 pm

thought train

Catching up with my brain

While preparing my notes and whiteboard scribbles for a corporate presentation tomorrow, I realized I had not articulated some concepts I refer to often. In my journal.

Remember, folks, the global brain does not carry your information unless you upload it. So I’m writing today about thought sourcing. If you Google “thoughtsourcing,” you get references which contain sentences like “what they thought sourcing was…” Well. That’s not it. That’s about sourcing. Not thoughtsourcing.

(Before I go any further, let me state clearly:  My use of thoughtsourcing is NOT “outsourcing your thoughts.” What Nick Nanton called “The 8th Deadly Sin” in his article in January 2009 is a completely different animal, and, to my mind, a good example of how we often jump the gun with a negative reaction before we really see what can be done with instant and exponential communication. Nick’s concern was that people stop thinking for themselves and draw from the collective without any creative effort of their own. I believe it is quite the opposite. In my Glossary, I put Nick’s definition as the second possibility for this term. Consider this disclaimed.)

Thoughtsourcing

Thoughtsourcing is using modern communication tools (digital) to feedback an answer, a segment of an answer, an expansion of any kind – on your own thought.

Bringing it down to earth a bit more, I could say that “thoughtsourcing” is in the same ball field as what we do when we use Twitter to “crowdsource” and get answers to questions or come up with some research data. But it’s more than that.

Cloud Alchemy

Let’s back up and reference that other term in the title, cloud alchemy: Connecting the thoughts of two or more people on the Internet in a meaningful way to create a new synergy, a new statement or definition or resource or investigation. Cloud alchemy can be done in a few different ways, but it speaks to the new capacity of the global brain to think as an organism.

I think, therefore I tweet

Thoughtsourcing happens when a skilled new-media user employs a tool like Twitter, for example, to almost instantly answer a question or fill in a blank. A new-media user with a broad range of skills can obtain the next piece of information related to their own thought so quickly that it mimics the human thought process. It’s still thousands of times longer than thought itself, but it is so fast now, we can start to see the future through it.

It’s not crowdsourcing

Thoughtsourcing is faster than crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing has its own value and purpose. Thought sourcing is an individual’s extended reach, through their organized and informed use of new media, into the global brain, where they can cherry-pick a trusted source and zero in on an answer – or a new perspective – which does not require further research to validate. The sourcer (ooo, sourcer!!) can then promptly move on to the next thought with new information integrated.

A global brain area, properly connected, means the participants can thoughtsource each other, which makes them all more efficient and more intelligent.

So go do some cloud alchemy. Bring your sources closer together by introducing your best peers to one another. Make a new brain area strong and effective and meaningful.

Be well, friends.

Suzanna Stinnett

*train of thought illustration (c) Suzanna Stinnett 2008

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Oct 01 2009

The demands and rewards of our tech world

Tag: Building Brain PowerSuzanna @ 1:19 pm

little smile dog

We’re all young pups when it come to the wide world of modern communication. Much of what we are now starting to use was only invented in the last 18-36 months. While we explore our too-numerous options and skirt the edge of overwhelm, (or fall right into that pit), it does help to keep the rewards in mind.

Those of us who have given in to the learning curves of technology are wheeling along in a new world of connection and possibility. I like to think of it as forming my own area in the global brain. My global brain area includes a whole lot of interesting, helpful people. They live nearby and they live on the other side of the planet. We are connecting across our diversity and benefiting from it. I’ve even met a few people I hope to keep as friends for the long haul. It’s a global community, a neighborhood defined by our willingness to connect. And because I keep plugging away at the new-best-tools, I’m finding more ease of organization. That’s one reward.

I’ll tell you more specifics at another time. For now, I’m sending you over to this great little list of iPhone apps that help your brain keep growing.

By the way, I’d add one to the Science and Mathematics category. I like the one called Pi Brain. It’s an app that prompts your memorization of pi. Yes, I memorize pi. How many do you know? You can read about it here: Pi Brain.

Here’s Adrienne Carlson’s post on 100 iPhone apps to boost your brain power.

Have fun!

Suzanna


Aug 29 2009

Why I love the Google Profile

Social Media outlook girl

In the classes I teach on new media, I have learned that one of the biggest hurdles people face is coping with the avalanche of options for their new web presence.

That’s why I guide my participants toward the simplest, most reliable tools. You see, it really doesn’t matter which tools you use. What matters is that you can understand them, access them, and direct people to your own little kingdom online clearly and easily.

The Google profile is one of those simple tools we now can access. I love it because it is super clean, super simple, and gives me one web address that I can send people to. From my profile there, everything else I’m doing online has its own pretty little link.

When newer users of modern media ask me what they should do first, this is what I tell them:

Relax, take a breath, and do one thing at a time–

~>Single Task – Multi Outcome. That’s what you want.

1. Get a gmail account. Make your gmail name as short as possible.

2. Create a Google profile. Don’t worry that it’s a bit thin at first.

3. Start a simple, free blog on either Blogger or Wordpress. Use your first one as a “play-and-practice” blog, knowing you can delete it. Remember you can have as many as you want, for free.

4. Open a Twitter account and start following a few reliable people. (If you don’t know how to do that, then follow me, and start exploring who I’m following. Let yourself meander and find people, posts and links that reach out to you. Follow those people.) Use your Google profile as your link out of your Twitter profile.

5. Go back to your Google profile and create the links to your new blog and Twitter account.

Relax, play, and do NOT overdo it. You are creating a new brain area. Spend about an hour a day for five days. Do NOT keep trying when you are frustrated – that blunts your new brain area.

Get a blog buddy. Find someone local you can meet with and share this process. There is no substitute for face-to-face interaction.

Keep playing and realize that each of these processes is a new world with its own language and culture. Do you expect to learn French and understand Paris in a week? Of course not. But you can read about it and begin to love it, a little bit at a time.

See all of the above as your entry into a whole new world. Your new skills will grow. Your new brain capacity will grow. You will use these skills the rest of your life. It is an important investment in modern communication. It will get easier.

For many of you, it will become part of your daily life. The benefits of connection and engagement as you continue to show up will expand into untold new opportunities, new fantastic relationships, empowerment, and a growing sense of belonging.

That’s what it’s all about — boom-boom.

Welcome! Follow me on Twitter at

twitter.com/brainmaker. See my Google profile at

Google.com/profiles/imaginecreating.

Now relax, get a glass of water, and spend some time with the dog.

Suzanna Stinnett

Listen to audio here: Spoken For You

See local classes here: Twitter for the Trees


Aug 16 2009

Now What? 10 Tips to Creating a New Life Direction

Tag: Building Brain PowerSuzanna @ 8:12 pm

While I’m enjoying the rest of her book (”Now What?”) I want to pass on this article which the author, Laura Berman Fortgang, has generously shared. These are powerful, meaty tips and exercises. Enjoy!

10 Tips to Creating a New Life Direction
By Laura Berman Fortgang,
Author of Now What?: 90 Days to a New Life Direction

1. Make a list of all you can’t stand about work/life
Those who are really stuck may complain that they don’t know what they want. Not true. Make a list of all you do not want or like about your current situation and you will find on the flip side, something you DO want! Write it down.

2. Recognize that ALL change (good or bad) means loss
The ‘evil’ we know is sometimes less scary than the ‘evil’ we don’t know. It is normal to be afraid to make a change because of what you stand to lose. However, the only way is forward, so you might as well accept whatever perceived loss of status, money or identity and realize that more happiness awaits. In fact, if everyone else is telling you you are crazy for making a change, you are on the right track!

3. Reframe ‘I can’t!’ to ‘I can!’
“I’m not good enough.” “I’m too old.” “I’m not qualified.” NOT TRUE! Look for examples in your life, your surroundings, in the media or in books of people who have done things against the odds and use those examples as symbols of what’s possible for you. Change your vocabulary and watch your results change.

4. Understand how the past got you stuck today
Many of us make vows when we are young that get us stuck as adults. “I’ll never be like my parents!” “I won’t be poor!” “I’ll show them!” Whatever it is, the motivation you chose at some early point worked but is no longer working now. Determine what your old motivation for your life was, decide if it still serves you and if not, CHANGE it. Fast!

5. Realize that discovering your ‘purpose’ does not have to be hard or grand
Many people, when searching for direction in their life may also be putting their life’s purpose into question. Most make the mistake of thinking they have to have a Mother Teresa-level of purpose to rate. It’s just not true and that likely keeps you stuck or suffering. Who you are everyday and what you do naturally (whether it fits your job description or not) is your purpose. How you affect others positively is your purpose. What you contribute that is uniquely you is your purpose. It’s right under your nose. Recognize it and try to make it central to whatever you do next.

6. Gain a criteria for happiness
Most people know they are not satisfied but really lack clear criteria for what will make them happy. Humans feel satisfied when their needs are met and they don’t have to compromise their values. Write down what you truly need (emotionally, not financially) and value. Do you need stability? Honesty? Recognition? Do you value spirituality? Adventure? Education? These are not optional. Get purposeful about getting these things in your life and new directions become clear.

7. Research ALL that interests you
List all fields, jobs, careers, or areas of interest. Choose no more than three at a time to research. Besides the internet, try to talk to people who will let you have an informational interview or give you the real scoop on the areas you are interested in. A process of elimination will begin and one particular area may get traction through luck and coincidence that starts to feel like the front-runner.

8. Tell the truth about your money life
Money is usually the first thing that stops people from pursuing what they truly want. Don’t let it stop you. Get straight with your money. Even if it’s painful to see, know what you have and don’t. Don’t let it stop you. Moonlight, borrow or barter to move toward your new direction.

9. Put Yourself in Opportunity’s Way
It’s time to push the envelope. Take risks, get out of your comfort zone and get out there. See opportunity where it is — everywhere — and don’t be shy about asking for favors or things that seem pushy. There are great rewards out there when you put yourself on the line.

10.Create a Plan and Get Support
Make a timeline for how you are going to cross over into something new. It usually takes 1-3 years to fully transition into a new direction. Don’t fret. Make a monthly plan and get plenty of cheerleaders around you. No naysayers! Hire a coach or get a group of like minded folks around you and you will be settled in a new, satisfying direction before you know it.

And note: Unbearable situations seem more bearable when you know you are on your way out. Hang in there!

©2009 Laura Berman Fortgang, author of Now What?: 90 Days to a New Life Direction

Author Bio
Laura Berman Fortgang, author of Now What?: 90 Days to a New Life Direction, is a pioneer in the life-coaching profession. A renowned speaker and the president and owner of InterCoach, Inc., a full-service life-coaching business that works with individuals, small businesses, and corporations, she is also the author of The Little Book on Meaning, Living Your Best Life and Take Yourself to the Top. She lives in Montclair, New Jersey.

For more information please visit http://www.nowwhatcoaching.com

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Many thanks to Laura for offering to share these incredibly useful tips with my readers.

Cheers,

Suzanna Stinnett


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