September 2014 – Page 2

authenticity, Books, Brene Brown, imperfection, inspiration

The Gifts of Imperfection – your guide to a wholehearted life

Each day we face a barrage of images and ideas from society and the media telling us who we should be. We are led to believe that if we look perfect, live perfect, and do everything perfectly, we'd no longer struggle with feelings of inadequacy. Ironically, it's the pursuit of perfection that fuels the message 'never good enough.'

In The Gifts of Imperfection, Brené Brown, a leading expert on shame, authenticity, and belonging, shares ten guideposts on the power of Wholehearted living—a way of engaging with the world from a place of worthiness.

Each day we face a barrage of images and messages from society and the media telling us who, what, and how we should be. We are led to believe that if we could only look perfect and lead perfect lives, we'd no longer feel inadequate. So most of us perform, please, and perfect, all the while thinking, "What if I can't keep all of these balls in the air? Why isn't everyone else working harder and living up to my expectations? What will people think if I fail or give up? When can I stop proving myself?"

In "The Gifts of Imperfection," Brene Brown shares what she's learned from a decade of research on the power of "Wholehearted Living". In her ten guideposts, Brown engages our minds, hearts, and spirits as she explores how we can cultivate the courage, compassion, and connection to wake up in the morning and think, "No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough," and to go to bed at night thinking, "Yes, I am sometimes afraid, but I am also brave. And, yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable, but that doesn't change the truth that I am worthy of love and belonging."

ISBN: 978-1592858491

Format: paperback, 160 pp

Publisher: Hazleton

Buy the book from Book Depository (currently best price for Australians), fishpond.com.au, The Nile, or Amazon

Success

6 Time Management Techniques For Crazy Creativity

At first glance, "crazy creativity" and "time management techniques" seem to contradict each other. Of course it's not very creative to live enslaved to a fixed schedule. However living surrounded by a "creative chaos", you can easily become distracted and feel overwhelmed if you have a lot of things that you need to keep in mind. To prevent that from happening, check out the 6 best time management techniques to get your mind clear:

1. Be Aware That Time Management Is Actually Self Management
When we say "time management", we actually mean "self management". Time will pass regardless whether you manage it or not. What we need to do is improve our own behavior, in order to increase our focus and productivity.

2. Know Your Prime Time
Everyone has their own biological rhythm. Most people are able to work best in the mornings, others in the afternoon, still others (like myself) in the early evening or even at night. One of the most important time management skills is to be aware of your biological clock, and not to force yourself to work against it.

3. Activate Your Subconscious Mind
Before going to sleep each night, write down or go over your planned tasks for the next day. This will get your subconscious mind to process your plans while you are sleeping. Often, the next morning you will wake up with new ideas and inspirations.

4. Set Written Goals
Make sure you write your long-term goals down somewhere. This will help you to focus and actually achieve them. I never got into the habit of setting goals until I started writing them down, however once I did, I started to achieve many of them without even having to think about them a lot.

5. Have A To-Do-List
The most important habit for time management is to have a list where you keep track of all your small and large tasks, and tick them off once you achieve them. This does wonders for keeping your mind clear, allowing you to focus on the task at hand. Whenever inspiration strikes and you have a new idea, add it to the list, so no creative thought ever gets forgotten.

You can use pen and paper for your to-do-list or a text file on your computer. However, over time these lists have a tendency to multiply and paradoxically, you will spend time managing your time management lists. If you want to be really efficient, you may want to try a task management software to make sure you have all your data in one spot. (Click on the link towards the end of the video.)

6. Prioritize efficiently
Start your day with a couple easier tasks, just to make a dent in your daily to-do-list. This is great for motivation. Once you got the little tasks done, focus on whatever task will advance you most towards your goals. Don't try to get as much stuff done as possible, try to make as much progress as possible.

Put together, these time management techniques really help to get things done.

Author unknown.

busy, slow, speed

“Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast

-- you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.”

-- Eddie Cantor

Books

The Paperback revolution

As we look at the changes in format occurring now, with electronic readers taking their space alongside paper books, it seems hard to imagine why there would be such a furore over paperbacks. It was an interesting time ...

‘‘Whether this revolution in the reading habits of the American public means that we are being inundated by a flood of trash which will debase farther the popular taste, or that we shall now have available cheap editions of an ever-increasing list of classics, is a question of basic importance to our social and cultural development.’’—Harvey Swados, 1951

Experience the Revolution

Between 1935 and 1960, the paperback revolution created a new industry overnight, permanently changed our understanding of "the book," helped to democratize reading by increasing readership and eroding the lines between "high" and "low" literature, and created its own, unique genres and forms of expression. This animated timeline traces some of the companies and personalities which shaped the birth and growth of the paperback industry. >> http://bit.ly/1AJdtvw

Quotations, Quotes - public speaking

[Quotation about public speaking] Commencement speakers

"A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that 'individuality' is the key to success."

— Robert Orben

breast cancer, cancer, friendship, shave head, videos inspiration, women

Anything for love

In February 2014, one of Gerdi McKenna's friends wrote an email requesting a photoshoot for all her friends as she was diagnosed with breast cancer a few months before ... and this what happened

videos

… on Dreams and Goals

[Quick Public Speaking Tip] Does your audience know how competent you are?

Your credibility will be built on how your audience perceives your competence, your character and your charisma.

Let's look at that first element of credibility - competence. To be seen as credible you need to be seen as competent.

Obviously you need to know your material, and know it very well. Know it so that you can answer questions that go deep into your subject. Also know your limitations and how you can refer questions to someone who is an expert.

Establish your competence right from the beginning, by ensuring your audience is aware of your credentials and experience. These can be written, very factually into your advertising material, website and brochures. They can also be written into the introduction you are given when you speak. You can also weave them into your speech, and particularly into the introduction. Bragging will not work here. Stories will, however be incredibly effective. Make sure the stories support a point you are making, and it would be good if the point is not necessarily about your competence. Use stories about your experiences, about your client successes and case studies.

Being well organised will show your competence.

Confident presentation will indicate competence. Be prepared for your presentation so that the confidence is genuine. Use eye contact to further establish your confidence and sincerity – your comfort with your subject and the act of sharing your information. Composure – emotional control - is anther facet of this. Be prepared for anything that might throw your emotional control.
Finally, use quotations, statistics and other support material from sources that are held in high regard by your audience. If you are quoting a source on health, for example, you would choose, say, the Mayo Clinic rather than, for example, Wikipedia.

Plant the seeds of your credibility throughout your speech or presentation. Establish your competence, and you will have established a foundation for successfully persuading your audience to act, be or think in the way you wanted.

Quotations