Whuffie

It's a new term I've recently learned: Whuffie. It's about building social capital through online tools. Very interesting. I'm going to see what I can do to explore this concept for myself and build some whuffie for me! Stay tuned for updates. BTW, the author of the book I've been reading is Tara Hunt.

And more!

It just gets better. I came home the other day to a message from the chair of the creative arts department asking me if I'd consider teaching a section of the Freelance Business Management course in the Creative Communication program at the local college. It took me about a nanosecond to say yes. The last five years of my professional life have perfectly prepared me for this teaching...and I cannot wait for it to begin. Yet another excellent payoff for having said no earlier in the year to other offers.

Got there!

Patience pays off if we use the time to persist in our pursuit of what we truly want to do...and achieve. It's mid-summer and I am looking ahead to a fall of work that includes teaching at the local college. Only by saying "No thank you" to offers that popped up along the way have I been able to say "Yes thank you" to the one offer I've been waiting for. It takes real guts to turn down work, but the payoff is real joy - and it's worth waiting for. The biggest challenge is maintaining confidence in yourself and staying focused on your long-term goal. Now THAT'S a full-time job!

Open space with NO

I've been reminded recently of the power of saying NO, even when the offer seems positive. Sometimes we have to say NO to firmly close one door in order to keep another wide open. In these days of seemingly limitless options (even despite the recession), saying NO is a vital skill. Only when we can say NO with intention can we say YES with equal intention. If we only ever say yes...to work, to contracts, to new experiences...we deprive ourselves of experiencing the difference between duty and desire, between reaction and action, between living our life and creating our life. 

Give it a try. Say NO to something today and see what happens in your head and your heart. It may surprise you! 

4-legged family members

Ah the joy of having cats. Let me count the ways:
1. purrs of contentment when held in one's arms
2. food dishes licked clean
3. bright little eyes watching the BarnYarn toy about to be tossed
4. body curled tight against my leg

Oh the frustration of having cats. Let me count the ways:
1. waking schedules that precede dawn
2. fussiness with food flavours
3. desire to be outside when inside is the rule

4. limbs flailing at nail clipping time

And yet, our 4-legged ones make me laugh and make me love.

So it goes with cats. As with humans.

Joys. Frustrations.

Life in all its richness.

social media

You might call me a reluctant adopter...I was dragged screaming away from my electric typewriter to the new computer back in the mid-80s. Why did I need all that fancy stuff? Wasn't the two-line erase function on my typewriter as sophisticated as it needed to get? Of course, once I started using the computer for my writing work, I never looked back. Today, it's social media tools I'm being pulled towards - and the more I explore them, the more I "get" the power and purpose. I'm still just dabbling in the mainstream of Facebook and this blog, but I GET how online communication tools change how we connect, relate and communicate. Who knows? Maybe I'll soon be twittering with the best of them!

Time without shape

Having time is not the same as having balance. I had all the time in the world in December but spent most of that time gnashing my teeth about the lack of work on my desk. In the end, the month passed and the time was used, but I felt frustrated more than fulfilled.

As a business owner, it's essential be fully in charge not only of my time, but also of the shape I give that time. Hours and minutes are just that - hours and minutes. Time becomes meaningful only when I shape those hours and minutes into productive endeavour. Doing so with conscious effort, with intention - that's the way to 'have a good day'.

I've come to realize that lists are my friend. Make a list. Follow the list. Check off the items. Move through the day by following the shape of it the list supplies.

Lesson learned. Lists on every surface. Discipline exerted. Time has shape. Shape gives meaning.

Have a well-shaped day, my friends!