Best December in Years

For the past few weeks, I've been staying focused on how good marketing and good business can see us through external conditions. My colleague, Denise Michaels, mentioned that she's having her best December revenues in years. I was thrilled to read that after reading about her re-doubled marketing efforts because it flows right along from my way of thinking.

Yes, there is a lot of uncertainty in the world. And, yes, people need what we offer - This is a great time to get serious about telling them what we offer. Too many people in my community don't know that I do career assessments.

But in this time of job uncertainty, people need to know what they can do to 1. position themselves well in their jobs, 2. find a new job if needed, 3. figure themselves out once and for all so they can know what they really want in life. So, now I feel obligated to let people know that they can figure themselves out and be happier in their work lives. I've coasted on my marketing for far too long.

Now, it's time to get really serious about it. What about you? What attitude and actions will help your business stay strong (or strengthen) right now? How can you re-double your marketing efforts? What should you be doing today - at this precise moment?

Why does understanding yourself matter?

What's the point of understanding yourself anyway?

If you don't understand yourself, you continue to try to stick yourself in to the box that society has ready-made for you. Trying to fit yourself to other people's impressions and ideas of who you should be doesn't work well.

Starting this moment, look for small things you can do, choices you can make to live your own life instead of the one that you think other people want you to.

Best Laid Plans

Best laid plans - and all that jazz.

As a peace offering to make up for my lack of posting, I offer you this treat:

http://www.refdesk.com/

Chock-Full-'O Information! And, I do love good data.

Six Word Epitaph: today's meme

Today's meme is the 6 word epitaph.

Feel free to post yours in the comments.


Leah's 6 Words:

Relationships and ideas. All that matters.

Day 3 Transformation Revolution - 21 Days toward Transformation

Day 3.

Day 3. Transformation Revolution

Next we will look at the topic with which you may have thought I would begin.

What do you want?

If something is wrong in your life or if you want things to be improved in some way – then what is it that you want?

It seems to me that frequently the biggest risk is the risk to admit what you want. Once you can handle that, things get somewhat easier.

Write down what you want from your life – your ideal life. I know it’s risky, especially if the things you want are things you have wanted a long time. I have no promises, just a process to hopefully get you closer to where you really want to be.

It is really difficult for most people to write down what they most want. Sometimes, people just truly have become so dissociated from themselves that they have no idea what they truly desire. Other times, they know what they want but have a hard time admitting it to others. And some people can easily say what they want, but they are like Lady Macbeth, protesting too much. As a result they are pushing themselves away from what they most want to receive.

Something to do:

Write down every single thing about what you want for your life. Include your home, career, family, extended family, friends, business, fun, vacations. The list goes on and on. Write down everything about what you want. Then we’ll look at how to get out of your own way so that you can get to where you really want to be.

I need an illness indicator button (among other things)

Now that daughter is no longer sitting on my arm, watching me profess my love for Jon Stewart, I can blog freely (more freely anyway.)

Here's what I need:

1. An illness indicator button on the forehead of each child with two settings. Green for "Send her to school; she's not that sick," and Red for "Keep her at home; she's actually sick." This is one of the worst parts of parenting - the whole questioning of whether a child is sick enough to stay home.

Daughter #1 (age 11) napped yesterday evening, didn't want to get up this morning. Her color didn't look right but not really bad enough to keep her home. Guess I was wrong. She was sick enough to go to the nurse for a nap - which didn't revive her.

Now, I have to decide to send her tomorrow or not. I wish there was a button telling me if she can do school or not tomorrow.

2. More patience. When I'm sick, I gripe plenty. It's so much harder to listen to someone else feel pitiful.

3. To become a more easy going, flexible, tolerant mother. I think it's been 8 or 9 weeks since I've had a normal week. And I'm getting pretty irritable.

Each week, something has disrupted my plans:

• There was a 2 hr school delay. Actually, there might have been a 2 hr delay the previous week, too. And there was a snow day in January - can't remember if it was adjacent to these other schedule disruption weeks.
• Daughter #2 was sick. There was a school cancelation for snow.
• Daughter #1 was sick.
• I was sick, full week of flu.
• I was recovering from week of flu and still taking naps.
• I was mostly better but there was an early dismissal (there might have been a 2 hr delay a different day that week.)
• A daughter was sick (sadly, I can't remember which one.)
• Both kids home for Spring Break.
• Now, one kid came home sick today. And, I've got no idea whether she's well enough to send tomorrow.

Maybe other people can roll with these things better than I can. But I'm pretty exhausted and frustrated with the whole scenario. I want control of my life back. I want control of my schedule. And, it ain't happening anytime soon.

Next week, my mother is coming to town for a couple of days. I'll miss part of a work day getting her at the airport and part of a work day taking her to my brother's. Now, I was the one who said that I was happy to pick her up and would make whatever schedule work. So I'm not complaining about the flight schedule. I just wish I had maybe a couple of weeks of regular life interjected between now and her arrival. Regular life seems pretty elusive right now...

M*A*S*H Update

They are now playing M*A*S*H reruns for two full hours each weekday. How exciting is that?! I flipped to the Hallmark Channel a little early and found that MASH was already on. It just makes my day. Now the only question is what I'm supposed to watch between MASH and the reruns of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report... I'm totally in love with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. They make my life so much more enjoyable.