EduBlogger Event'07

Just a reminder that my post for today will be on the Supercool Blog. So please join us and ask your questions and make comments.

It´s all about new & revolutionary education concepts & ideas

First Session: 10am - 1pm Pacific Time (GMT -7hrs)

Second Session: 2pm - 5pm Pacific Time (GMT -7hrs)

WHO:

10:00 - hj barraza on Decentralised Learning Services for Developing Countries

10:30 - Jon Bennett on Differentiation for Dummies

11:00 - Florence Meichel on New technology and knowledge accessibility

11:30 - Peter Haslam on The Need for Self-Directed Learning

12:00 - Liz Strauss on The Ergonomics of You

12:30 - Michael Beck on Long Term Memory / Human Computer Storage Techniques

- break -

02:00 - Joshua Hwang on Zen of Studying

02:30 - TONNET on Socialnetworking Phenomena & the Impact on Education

03:00 - Pat Aroune on Community of practice as a model for change in today's schools

03:30 - Steve Dembo on Is anonymity critical to the success of the edu blogosphere?

04:00 - Steli Efti on The 7 lessons we learned at school that could possibly ruin our lifes

04:30 - Tiara Shafiq with a bonus post

05:00 - Open discussion about education...

Bring a link to leave that shares something you know about education, learning & life!

How to Handle Regrets

There was a time where I would walk with stooped shoulders staring at the ground. From time to time I would sit feeling melancholy and reach into the sack I had been carrying around. I would pull out a regret; which starts as a lump of coal, from the many in the bag and take my polishing rag and spend some time buffing it. I had done it so often that some of lumps of coal had turned into diamonds. Then I would put them back in the sack and pick it up and carry on.

Then one day I was looking at the sack of coals and diamonds and realized that regret is not meant to be carried. Instead regret is simply a wake up call from living an unaware life. It is a statement that a situation was not handled in a way that is congruent with whom you want to be. It is a gap from your actual conduct of living and your vision of what you want to stand for. It is a reminder that you are not always perfect and there is still room to grow.

So for a final time I took all of my regrets and examined them one more time and asked.

What lesson was I being taught?

• Not being fully present when someone just needed to get a problem out of their bag. Not to judge, comment or tell how to handle it. Just be there.
• Not considering how judgmental I was in many situations when I was giving my advice.
• Not giving my understanding, love and support while someone was working on a their problem.
• Taking out my own frustrations on someone and then being hurt by their response.
• .... many other lessons I needed to have.

Today I try to be present at all times and when I slip and have regrets; I immediately take whatever actions I need to to rectify it. Sometimes I can't and learn the lesson and refuse to carry it around. Life is far more enjoyable and I am happier.

Isn't time for you to dump your sack?

Technorati tags: regrets, perspective, skills, how to handle

Meaningful Goals

This post was triggered when Ponn Sabra from Empower Women Now tagged me here with Alex Shalman’s Gotta Get Goals meme are here.

When looking at how I would respond to this meme my first reaction was to list a set that anyone reading would say I have got it together. That would be a cop out. I think that I worry too much about having long term goals because I find that as I start down the road to accomplishing a goal; it changes. Every new step gives me a new perspective and a reevaluation of the next step to take. So what I am going to list is the results that will be meaningful to me for existing and having the opportunity to live now.

1. To have lived my life in a way that will bring everyone I come into contact with a little happier for having met me.
2. To be missed by a least 1 person when I go.
3. To have seized every opportunity I can to make the world a better place.
4. To have laughed often and shared that laughter.
5. To see again the universe with the eyes of a child.

That's' it.

Now I will list some of my wants.

1. To sail to Tahiti and discover it just like Samuel Wallis
2. To earn enough money to become a digital nomad.
3. To help my friends meet their goals.

I tag:

Steli from Supercool School

Thea from Wealth and Money

Divya from Blogging to Fame

Sam from Acquire Wisdom and Live With Passion

Camille from Now

Sara from Pajama Professional

Remember to check the how to details here

Technorati tags: meme, goals, vision

MyBlogLog Community Items

This coming Sat March 31 Steli of Supercool School is hosting an all day event where he has different bloggers posting throughout the day on new and revolutionary education concepts and ideas. (disclosure- I am one of the participants). If you can stop by and ask questions and post comments and show your support.



I want to thank Digital Nomad for sending me a heads up on Link and Blog Challenge site. It is a community of bloggers who help each other by creating links between relevant posts on each others blogs. As you know this makes both blogs better in the eyes of the SEO engines. If you want to build links you will find it is an easy and fun way to do it. Check it out for yourself.

For any members of the MyBlogLog community that wants International exposure should check out the Ziki community again from Digital Nomad. Increasingly we need to pay attention to our International audience and so my thanks again to digital nomad for the translator widget.

If you want to see what you could win in ilker of The Thinking Blog contest; just check out FreshBlogger.

Creating Your Masterpiece

Why do we learn:

• English - to communicate information to ourselves, family, friends, community...
• Math - to communicate information to ourselves, bankers, IRS, investments, nuclear physicists, astronomers...
• Art - to communicate information to ourselves or others that requires a self descriptive language. Poetry, movies, paintings, colour...
• Languages - to communicate information to ourselves or others that requires a specific language. Programmers, Accountants, Electricians, Realtors, Environmentalists...

Learning then provides us with tools we can use just like an easel, paints and canvas are for a painter and applies equally to our inner selves as it does to what we do in the world. If our life is our canvas then we can paint a wall or a masterpiece. The choice is ours.

What are you learning? What are you painting?

Technorati tags: thinking, perspective, vision, communication

How Do You Relax?

There are times when we need downtime from meeting all the demands on our time. Some of us feel guilty in taking time or indulging in ourselves; but, its all about balance. We need enough time set aside to escape into pleasurable thoughts and activities. There are many studies on great thinkers who found that when they relaxed after intensely focusing on a problem; they had a solution come out of nowhere in the midst of their relaxation. The mind is like a muscle that gets overworked by constant pressure and unless you relax it and allow the blood to circulate then it will seize up. You will find you will be more productive and enjoy the times you are focused on your goals if you treat yourself well.

Find and enjoy your balance between work and relaxation.

Technorati tags: relaxation, skills, thinking, balance

Cyber Stalkers

This is an unusual topic for this blog but ever since I read the post on Creating Passionate Users blog written by Kathy Sierra today; it has disturbed, upset, bothered me and made me angry. It is a post about death threats, sexual references, and uncovers some very sick minds. Kathy's posts have always communicated a passionate belief in making a difference. One of my favorites is You can out-spend or out-teach which certainly made me think.

The saddest part about this episode that it may result in never hearing from Kathy again. What a loss that would be for the huge community of self-motivated learners that look for and enjoy someone who makes them think a little more deeply than we usually do about a topic.

Out of the millions of users on the net it takes only a tiny handful of bullies to destroy a person's feeling of safety. I wish I had the skills to help track them down. But I don't. All I can do is show my support for Kathy and spread the news in the hope that that someone somewhere knows some information about this and will come forward even anonymously and help put an end to this tragic episode.

Kathy, I wish I could do more. My thoughts are with you.

Technorati tags: cyber stalkers, death threats, bullies

Deliberate Creativity

I was thinking about the subject of creativity and what sparks a new idea to explore. Usually my thoughts are safely tucked away in my bomb shelter (my mind) and rumble along comfortably in idle. Do I have any unique or original thoughts? I don't think so. Just like everyone else I have a unique perspective developed from my experiences from living my life from moment to moment and interacting with my ever changing environment.

So where does a new idea come from?

Let's start by talking about the difference between thoughts and ideas. Thoughts are what ever comes up in our mind and just like a ticker tape at the stock market they just keep running all the time and unless you are paying attention they just slip on by. Our ideas are the words, feelings or pictures that form our beliefs (usually unquestioned), our standards (when no one is looking), form the basis of our actions and define our safety zone. A new thought is a response to something in our environment either internal or external that stops the background flow of thoughts and focuses our attention because something doesn't fit. The door to the bomb shelter has been opened. Has something happened that threatens our safety zone? We need to decide what we are going to do with this new thought. Do we incorporate it into and expand our ideas? Do we reject it? Do we explore it? The choice is ours to make.

Getting to Creativity

If we define creativity is a thought added to an idea or concept that evokes in us a different viewpoint. Now we have a key to unlock our creativity. We can choose to deliberately look for new things to trigger new ideas. How? The choices depend on our comfort zone and preferences. We could read new books, talk to new people, look for blogs that make us think and best of all by asking ourselves better questions.

If we want to be creative then all we need to do is exercise our power of choice.

Technorati tags: creativity, thinking, choice, perspective, skills

Evil John Chow Review

I love reading John Chow dot com because I think it is just a hoot to watch him out perform almost all of the blogs on how to make money online. It's fun because he tells you exactly what he is doing and why and then best of all; with an evil grin he waves for you to jump on his jet propelled band wagon; trumpets blowing and with screams of delight race towards first page ranking. Who can resist? All you have to do is make a post including the following

John Chow dot Com is a blog that helps you make money online. He is offering to link to your blog if you review his blog.

But sad to say John is not totally evil. Prove it you say!

Read Helping To Feed The Hungry This Easter and the results and A Time To Give Back. John also gives great advice under his top posts tab for anyone looking for information about making money through their blogs.

I can't wait to see next trick evil John comes up with.

Technorati tags: review, John Chow, skills

Persuing your Dream

This post is to recognize a MyBlogLog member who is persuing his dream.

Steli has a website called Supercool School and a blog Supercool Blog and he has a proposal for a manifesto at the Change This website. Change This posts manifestos written by leading thinkers such as Hugh MacLeod, Seth Godin, and Guy Kawasaki. The manifestos are excellent reading and you should check out the others to find thought provoking ideas in areas that you are interested in. There is something for everyone.

Why do I want to recognize Steli?

Self-learning is all about taking responsibility for creating and realizing your dreams and creating a positive change in the world. I read 2 posts of Stelis' that I want to recommend that you read. The first is The story behind Supercool School ( An open letter to the world ). It is a story of courage, vision and his desire to be the change that you want to have happen in the world.

Steli has an opportunity through Change This which works on a voting mechanism to get his message out to a large audience and it's rare that I have the ability to directly help someone towards realizing their dream. Read and make up your own mind. If you agree then the post "The Education Age" Manifesto will take to the voting page.

(Steli is currently in 2nd place - 47 votes behind the leader)

Realizing a dream and overcoming obstacles takes courage.

[UPDATE]

Steli has tagged me for his EduBlogger Event07

Technorati tags: MyBlogLog, courage, dreams, vision

The Future of Education

I like to simplify and use analogies to communicate my thoughts so bear with me while I try my best to lay out my concept.

I will start with knowledge is like water. Water finds a flow path constrained by the natural or man made topography.

The waterfall represents how knowledge is transformed by individual interaction and meanders from point to point unrestrained except by inertia or opportunity and you dip into it according to your need whether it be a bucket or a cup. The aqueduct represents knowledge which is focused for a purpose and is both controlled and controlling.

Now I am going to introduce the human factor.

The canoe represents the fundamental tools for using knowledge. A framework that contains the current method of utilizing the water(knowledge). One person represents the guide (teacher) with a passenger (student). The guide determines the configuration of the vehicle, direction, auxiliary tools(paddles) and the passenger follows the instructions of the guide. After enough practice and testing the passenger is allowed to go off on their own trip by themselves and eventually build their own canoe with whatever modifications in design they can make work. Over time they become guides or resources. There is collaboration and agreement amongst the guide(teacher) community as to best methods and tools.

The growth and speed of increasing knowledge is like a meteor strike that immediately transforms the topography so that constraints(dams) are overwhelmed and natural terrain allows new paths without the constraint of previous flow. The knowledge and skill of the guides is minimized or of no practical use and the vehicle no longer the best tool. The guide has to ride the new river with no idea where it now goes and whether he is going to come through with their passenger intact to create new guidelines because each time they go out there is uncertainty as to what will happen.

The result is that the guide and passenger need to modify their roles. It becomes a collaboration where the guide ensures that basic skills are known such as the qualities of different woods, how to read the topography and how to call on other sources of information and use and the passenger becomes a junior guide with responsibility for intelligent questioning and creativity and ownership in the solution.

The guide has the responsibility to point out resources and various methodologies and then get out of the way of the new junior guide by elevating them to a full team member. Through conversation, research and testing they jointly create new paradigms which will in turn create new vehicles and tools which are then placed under constant review and revision.

This is the new future of education as I see it and emphasizes the need to take responsibility for your own self-learning.

Comments and discussion is invited.

Technorati tags: thinking, perspective

Goings On in MyBlogLog Community

An extra post today

First I would like to thank ilker for my new favicon which you can see when you are on my blog up by the URL. Win yourself one or a site makeover.( contest details)

muffin53 has been ill and missed a cruise but is entertaining her visitors with a virtual cruise with lots of pictures and commentary. Check it out and say hello.

Reiki Blogger has a good post on how Reiki can help with children.

Camille on her blog NOW shares some provocative thoughts on spring and men. Makes you think and she is looking for comments.

Steli and his Supercool School will be going live this year and you can get signed up to be notified when it does. Great concept. Check it out.

Internet Safety Queen has a blog dealing with Internet safety for kids and a must read for any parent.

Tony D. Clark's blog Success from the Nest has a good post on how to determine whether or not to give up your own home business.

Technorati tags: MyBlogLog

I Hate Mistakes

I've read a lot of posts on self-help blogs that talk about how admitting your mistakes is crucial to being able to let go of it and move forward.

Garbage! I totally disagree.

Why is it a mistake when something didn't turn out the way we expected? We take actions with expectations of what will happen. But, we don't operate in isolation with everything within our control. Life interferes and we get results. Some we like and continue and some we don't and we need to make some changes in our expectations or actions. Nothing we do is a mistake because a mistake assumes that we goofed up, didn't think straight, that we could have done better.

How?

We always make the best decisions we can for ourselves given our understanding at the time we take action. When our actions move us towards the result but not all of the way, we don't call it a mistake. So why do we call it a mistake when our actions don't get the result we wanted. I call that learning.

Yes, we need to learn from our results but don't ever call it a mistake; it's just part of living. Learn and make better decisions to get closer and closer to the results that you want.

Don't let MISTAKES hindsight be your master.

 

Technorati tags: thinking, perspective, mistakes

Method for Creating your Vision

You read articles about how you need to create a vision that resonates with you; but, I often feel that the processes they use are too vague or too complex. I like simplifying things so that I am clear on what result I want. Today I am going to share one of the methods I used to create and then check on my progress towards my vision. I do this once every 3 months.

You need to do this in steps to maximize effectiveness. Use point form, numbered  list or statements. What ever you feel comfortable with.

1. Write your obituary (A final summation of our lives that, for most of us, occupies about three inches of space in what will shortly become cage liner for your neighbor's parakeet.) as your best friend would write it.
2. Write your obituary as your significant other (or family member)would write it.
3. Write your obituary as your worse enemy would write it.
4. Now write what you want your obituary to say.
5. Condense step 4 into a statement of your vision.
6. Check back in 3 months.

It wouldn't be fair if I didn't tell you what I want mine to say.

 

Peter

1947- ____

will be missed

 

Technorati tags: thinking, perspective, vision

The Distance Travelled

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in where I am going that I forget to be present. I am thinking about what I want to change and get impatient with myself as I feel I am going at a snails pace. As I was thinking about that today my thoughts drifted back to where I was even just a few years ago. I realized how much I had actually changed. My interests were different, I had more moments of sheer enjoyment, I had made new friends and I was holding myself to a higher standard of accountability for my actions and thoughts. Life was a great deal more fun and fullfilling.

I realized that I will never arrive at my final destination when all is done and I don't care. I am enjoying the journey.

Sometimes we need to take the time to measure the distance we have travelled.

 

Technorati tags: managing change, perspective, thinking

Good Addictions

Help! I can't stop. A casual comment, an interesting post, a feeling, watching a movie or video, an article, a book, watching the sunset or hearing the sound of laughter. I never know when it will arise; only that it will. A question will pop into my mind and I am off again looking for an answer. I don't always know where it will lead me but I do know where it will leave me. With a richer understanding or perhaps a little wiser and definitely with a different perspective.

As children this is encouraged and supported even when we get exasperated with their constant question. Why?

Why then do so many people turn off this exploration later on in life? Do they feel that that they know enough? I find the more I learn; the more I realize the less I know and it opens up my tolerance for different viewpoints. I am less certain that I am always right. I will defend my understanding and debate, argue and attempt to convince but; I am open to change. I can accept an opposing idea without abandoning my own as another viewpoint and in the process of answering the why not question; usually find that it either enriches my own viewpoint or modifies it by encompassing it into a larger perspective and once again I grow.

We are what we allow ourselves to see and believe. If there are no more questions then have we arrived, are we then wise elders, are we good examples or and have we just stopped growing?

I have decided that if I am going to have an addiction I can't stop; then so be it. I confess. I am addicted to living my life as an explorer. I don't want to stop discovering and growing. I will forever be a child in the universe of knowledge.

As always it is better when it is shared; care to join me?

Technorati tags: good addictions, thinking, perspective

MyBlogLog Community

Today's posts are about events in the MyBlogLog Community.

 

ilker of the thinking blog is running a contest where you review his blog and get entered in a contest for a redesign of your site or a favicon. I had entered and today I found out I have won a favicon (thank you ilker) which should be featured on my blog in the next couple of weeks. The delay is because ilker sent me some questions to answer before he designs the favicon. The contest information is here.

 

The second community I will talk about today is bloggst. This is a community where information is written by bloggers for bloggers. There are blogging articles, a tag cloud of topics and forums on development, design and code, promotion and advertisement, and monetizing your blog. The information will benefit both new and long-term bloggers. Within 5 minutes I had found information on feeds that I am going to implement right away. Also for a short time they are running a feature where if you post about bloggst on your blog you will be featured on their front page. This is my post for that benefit but also because I think it will good new bloggers like myself as we can post questions. The founder is a member of the MyBlogLog community Lars-Christian and the site is at bloggst. To comment or post on the forums you need to register which only takes a few minutes.

 

Technorati tags: contest, MyBlogLog

Do you Suffer from Mind Chatter

A young man after another night of restless sleep finally decided to go and see Nowcleomind the wise elder. Setting off he arrived at the cabin of Nowcleomind and joined him on the porch. The young man asked what could he do about all the thoughts that were running through mind constantly. Ah, said Nowcleomind; the ghosts in the machine and took a sip of his tea. Ghosts? I don't understand what you mean said the young man. The nature of mind is interpret what is going on in the environment around you and within you. When the mind is not directed it babbles like a brook and runs on like a tape recorder. Thoughts are like ghosts having no substance until you dwell on them. 

What can I do to stop it asked the young man?

Nowcleomind said ; I want you to close your eyes and just follow your breathing in and out. Do nothing special just follow your breath. The young man shrugged and closed his eyes and started paying attention to his breathing. Nowcleomind watched closely until he saw that the young man had relaxed and his breathing had calmed. Then he said I want you to listen to your heart beat as you are following your breath. Don't do anything special just follow your breathing and listen to your heart beat.

After about 5 minutes the young man opened his eyes and smiled.

If your mind chatter is getting out of hand then breathe and listen.

 

Technorati tags: thinking, mind chatter, relaxing, mind control

The Power of Belief

One of my biggest hurdles to overcome to making necessary changes in my life was the belief I couldn't do it; that what I was getting in life was what I deserved. I called it fate, paying for past life deeds, lessons I needed to learn, anything that would allow me not to do anything. I put on blinkers so that I wouldn't see opportunities and lived a very gray life. Better stated that I existed rather than lived. I look back today and wonder why I put up with that belief for so many years. But then that is the power of our beliefs and it determines the quality of our lives. 

So what do you so when your life sucks? How do you change your beliefs?

You start by asking questions and writing down the answers. Why do I believe it to be true? What evidence am I using to prove it is true? What do I tell myself or others when opportunities come up? What do I say to myself or others when I read or hear about successful people? How do I feel about rich people? Ask yourself the tough questions.

Your answers will come from your beliefs that you may have learned as a child or through moments of intense emotion such as embarrassment or rejection. Once your unexamined beliefs come out into the open you can then check them over and make a conscious decision to accept them or seek to change them. Oftentimes you will find that all it will take is a realization that they are not true or not working for you and replace them with better beliefs.

Don't wait for a near death experience or some other catastrophe to create the life you deserve. Decide what is important to you and pick carefully what you choose to believe in.

 

Technorati tags: thinking, beliefs, managing change

Getting Help on Personal Changes

Here are three different kinds of help that you may need depending on the type of change you are considering.

1. If the change involves your physical health such as weight loss, starting a new fitness program or you are on medications then you need to involve your doctor or other professionals in discussing your plan before you start and establish any cautions and monitoring necessary. Being a diabetic it was essential that my doctor monitor the impact of the changes on my blood sugars, medications and my general physical health when I was losing so much weight. It is better to be cautious and check first and then design your program with their involvement.
2. Sometimes you get stuck on what to choose as your next small goal. There are a huge number of sites dealing with personal change in any category you can think of. For example: Steve Pavlina - Personal Development for Smart People contains a large selection of articles on all kinds of personal development topics or Jerry Lopper on Suite 101 also contains articles on personal development. The trick is to read all kinds of articles to pick up ideas you can use. You do not have to do their whole program unless it makes sense to you and feels right. Keep looking and reading and build a whole arsenal of ideas you can use in your personal change quest.
3. Some times we can take ourselves too seriously and feel that we must focus only on our change. Then you need some humour to laugh and lighten up and put things in perspective. Find some funny blogs that tickle your funny bone. I read Comedy Plus and Empress Bee for humour and blogs like GR8EGYPT to see a different country or the thinking blog for interesting photos and topics. There are lots of interesting places to visit so make sure you treat yourself to some exploring and fun.

Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Most people have had help in making their changes and are more than willing to help others and everyone I know has a problem mind reading; so speak up so we can hear you.

Technorati tags: managing change, thinking, skills

Definition of Success

I have read hundreds of books and articles throughout my lifetime and tried to apply them to make the changes I wanted in my life. I would start with great enthusiasm then a month later find that I had stopped following the program with no changes having taken place. Then I would start the hunt for next book or program that I would use for my next attempt. Then I discovered how to make the programs work for me. This change helped me lose a 130 lbs from 298 to 168 and after just over 39 years of heavy drinking (alcoholic) to become a non-drinker rather than a recovering alcoholic as well as a number of other changes. Some changes are still ongoing.

The discovery was how I defined success. When I used someone else's definition of success; it just didn't work for me. The turnaround came when I was put into hospital with clinical depression for a 2 week program and during my stay they found out I was a Type 2 diabetic and told me that my drinking and weight would lead to some major complications such as amputation if I didn't die of a heart attack first. Talk about a major incentive to do something about my problems.

I had to change but nothing had worked before because my habits were so deeply ingrained. I sure had incentive and a vision; in this case one I didn't want. But I had incentive before and I couldn't make it work so what was I going to do? I had to do something different. So I decided to do something I was sure I could do; something small. I decided to work on my weight first and instead of having my two big meals a day I would eat 3 slightly smaller meals a day. After about a month of this I went to 4 slightly smaller meals and the next month to 5 meals a day. The sizes of the meals shrunk over time and I even found myself eating green leafy stuff and worse enjoying it. The difference was that I had set small goals that I could do and started to reprogram my habits and my attitude. I was finally successful in making a change I wanted. Over the next year I steadily lost weight, started eating better foods and learned to be successful in reaching goals.

The concept I used here is also used by ocean sailors. They have a destination to reach but know they will not be able to go in a direct path due to winds and ocean currents. So they continually adjust depending on conditions but will arrive at their chosen destination.

When you have chosen your goal after much consideration; use the same consideration in choosing your definition of success. Make sure it is doable and that you can have it often. Afterall success builds on success. To give you another example. In my About Me in my sidebar I state that I will consider myself successful with this blog if I help just 1 person. I believe this is achievable and so again I will be successful.

I am finding that the journey is far more enjoyable than arriving at the destination.

 

Technorati tags: changing habits, thinking, success

Our Driving Force

Have you ever said to yourself I need to make a change but, I don't know what I want? Then you are not listening to your one infallible guide; your emotions. We want or don't want things according to how we feel. The greater the feeling or passion the greater we want or don't want something. It is our driving force. It is our engagement with the universe.

Emotions tell us when we are successful or drive us to go on to even greater accomplishments or through fear stop us dead in our tracks. Success is hollow and fleeting if we don't feel that it is successful and no one can convince us otherwise. How we feel is our final judge.

Research by Dr Candice Pert PhD and detailed in her book called Molecules of Emotion and a recent audio CD Your Body is Your Subconscious Mind underline the importance of our emotions as signals from our subconscious. The involvement of our emotions is a definitive part of all great programs of change from Anthony Robbin's Awaken the Giant Within to the Dali Lama's The Art of Happiness.

Engagement is a requirement for change and our emotions determine the degree and urgency for that change. Little emotion leads to little or no change whereas intense emotion leads to ongoing movement towards our desire or away from what we don't want in our life until we feel we are successful.

Discover your path, vision or calling by listening to your emotions. Make a list of what you envy, wish for, never want to be or passionately hate for therein lies the seeds of change.

Tomorrow we will continue with a discussion on the definition of success.

Technorati tags: changing habits, perspective, thinking, emotions

Review and Update for The Thinking Blog

[UPDATE] I am reposting the review with the correct new blog address as ilker has his own domain now and an updated review.

I have been on ilkers' - the thinking blog a number of times and I usually end up spending some time there because there are so many interesting posts to look at. Right now he is running a little contest with a great prize for the best review of his blog that you should check out.

In looking at the posts there are two that I consider my favorites. The first is under the heading of technology and is titled Sophisticated Android'. A video that is provocative with a great message. See for yourself and see if you agree. The second is under the heading of hobby and titled 'what you see'. It sure got me when I first saw it and I think you will enjoy it. But expect to spend some time poking around when you see all the great content.

Back to the review. It is definitely not a bland site. There is good use of graphics and colour with easy to read fonts and contrast that make good eye candy as well as keeping the sections well defined and pleasantly separated. All of the posts are well written and any buzz words are defined for you which is good for the novice reader. My rating is definitely a very solid A.

I am sure that ilker is looking for any issues that the reviews might uncover to fine tune his blog. I will be definitely be back for more.

Technorati tags: review, the thinking blog, contest

Accomplishing Goals

There was a young man named Godwin, who went seeking the wise elder Nowcleomind. He walked through the woods to the glade where the elder lived in quiet harmony and after introducing himself sat on the porch with him. Godwin said that he had been reading books on how to become rich and had created his vision and focused day and night on that vision for the last two years and had not accomplished anything. What was he doing wrong? Nowcleomind sipped his tea and in a soft voice asked Godwin to find him a rock. The puzzled young man went searching for a rock and returned placing it on the table. Nowcleomind told Godwin to concentrate as hard as he could and move the rock. Godwin furrowed his brow and concentrating as hard as he could on a vision of the rock moving until covered in sweat he gave up and said he couldn't do it. Nowcleomind picked up the rock and threw it away and looking at Godwin said thought without action just leaves you sweating.

Are you sweating or acting?

 

Technorati tags: goals, thinking

Mean What You Say

We all know about 4 letter swear words; you hear them all the time. What about the ones nobody thinks about? What did you feel the last time someone said you were "nice". Nice is a word I used when my grandmother gave me a pair of socks for my birthday when I was 9. How many times have you heard or said "I've got to work" and everyone nods sadly because they instantly know what you mean and how you mean it. Have you ever used the phrase "That's kind of you to ..." when you really wanted to say "No thanks"?

Our words project what we feel and think and the other person or persons know and are drawn to you or away from you by their use. Communication is a skill you need to master because you usually have only one chance to make a good impression in meeting someone for the first time or if you are interested in building a deeper rapport in a budding relationship.

Effective communication requires that you be present and focused and not sending an ambiguous message that leaves you wondering why they reacted the way they did.

What I would say today to my grandmother is "Thank you grandma, I really appreciate your gift"; and I would because she bothered to get me one at all. It's not the gift but the act of giving that I am appreciating.

It's a skill that will improve with practice. Give it the attention it deserves and mean what you say.

 

Technorati tags: communication, thinking, skills

Make a Difference

It is sometimes easy to forget that we are each unique; that there is no one else on this earth who is identical to us. We can become convinced that we have nothing important to offer to others and so miss out on the opportunities we don't take.

We need to remember that our perspective is always unique and our ideas and opinions have value. Others may not agree with our views; but, maybe our views will make the difference. We won't know until we try.

Use what talent you possess: 
the woods would be very silent 
if no birds sang except those that sang best. 
Henry Van Dyke

 

Technorati tags: thinking, perspective

Beware of Free Gifts

I was sitting in a coffee shop today when a person sat down pulled out their cell phone and proceeded to have a loud conversation with someone they were upset with. I was immediately angry at the person for forcing me to hear the abuse they were heaping on the other person. I felt like getting up and telling them off but instead I sat there stewing about it.

About 5 or 10 minutes later I thought about a blog post I had read about a discussion with a monk on anger. (I cannot remember who's blog it was to link to, sorry)The monk was asked how he handled anger from other people and he replied by saying no thank you I do not accept your gift. I thought at the time that was neat and then promptly forgot about it.

So today while I was stewing at the coffee shop; the thought popped into my mind don't accept the gift. It was no different than accepting the gift of anger. On numerous occasions I had allowed others to give their free gifts of anger, rudeness, irritating habits and the like by thinking about them; sometimes for days and years. I then thought to myself no thanks for the free gift.

It no longer bothered me because what I focus on is my choice and I chose to let it go; I was in control. What a sense of freedom. In future I will pay more attention to the free gifts I don't want and there are some old gifts that I need to throw in the garbage can.

Think about the free gifts that you need to let go.

[update] The post was http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/02/16/what-a-buddhist-monk-taught-me-about-blogging/

Thank you to Clarke for the reference

Technorati tags: thinking, anger, free gifts

Can Money Buy Happiness?

I have to thank the Love To Lead team for the great question. When seeing the question I first had to determine what happiness meant to me. It took some time because every time I thought I had the answer; I would come up with a 'Yes, but...' that required me to continue my search for the answer. So I finally decided to look at what and when I felt I was happy. This was the first clue to the answer. I started a list of the times I could remember being happy. For example when my cat would jump up on my lap and as I stroked her; hearing her deep contented purr made me want to continue to give her pleasure. A time when I was out with my daughter and watched her pleasure and joy the first time she held and caressed a rabbit. The laughter when sharing a good joke. Helping a friend through troubled times. There were a lots of them but I had never stopped before today and savored those memories. I was always searching out there for my happiness. Then it occurred to me that I had answered the question. My happiness came from moments of sharing without thinking of what's in it for me. Making others happy gave me the gift of my own happiness.

So my answer is a definite no.

What's your answer?

 

Technorati tags: happiness, thinking, perspective

Law of Attraction #363

It is amazing the buzz that is going on right now about the "Law of Attraction"; 362 blog posts in the last 24 hours. When you glance through the selection you see a lot of references to intentions, focus and believing. There are also a ton of programs to help you manifest it in your life; some of course for a small donation. :-) And, if its' not working for you, then it isn't their advice; its' you, who is doing something wrong. But I think that a majority of them are missing the point.

If you want to meet an expert on focus; just talk to an addict. They have absolute focus all of the time. Intentions; say hello to the con artist who has great intentions, your money. You can wish, shout it out, write it down, or have a group and wait for it to come; but, without the essential ingredient it will only happen through coincidence.

Now don't get me wrong. I am not saying that you don't need focus, intention or belief. Focus is like a laser beam cutting through the fog of your thoughts directed by your intentions and rooted in your beliefs. It just needs the final touch.

The final touch is action. You get what you give. You just need to give first, sort of a proof of intention. It is the ingredient present in all good programs of change, great accomplishments and true happiness. The moment you take action believing it is true (being what you want) then your focus will bring to your attention all of the opportunities that exist to make it happen. They were occurring all the time before but you just didn't see it.

You want a great example? Look to the Dali Lama; his stated purpose in life is to be happy and make others happy. Intention in action.

Technorati tags: Law of Intention, thinking, creativity

Creative Thinking Posts

 

Here are some time to get you thinking  posts from blogs that I regularly read:

 

Craig Harper - Motivational Speaker has a post on "The Art of Completion".

 

Eric - TrueYou Success  has a post on "Character and Integrity Prevails, in the Long Run".

 

Steve Pavlina has a post on "How to discover your life purpose in about 20 minutes".

 

Christine Kane posts on "You Teach People How to Treat You".

 

Gleb Reys - Personal Development Ideas Blog  has a post on "Knowing Where You Want To Be".

 

 

Technorati tags: creativity, thinking, inspiration

What is Great about bloggers

 There is one thing that all bloggers have in common; they have an opinion. Where else can you get such a diversity of opinion about any subject under the sun and have the opportunity to engage them through comments?

I enjoy reading opinions that are similar to mine of course; but, I enjoy even more opinions that turn me upside down, challenge my perspective, make me incensed and generally disturb my peace of mind.

Why?

Because too often our opinions are never challenged. When my opinion is challenged in any way it makes me look at my truths and either reinforces them or makes me rethink them. I learn more about myself when I am forced to rethink or broaden my truths. Sometimes I am led on an exploration that increases my knowledge or allows me to dust off and polish my truths. Either way I grow.

Isn't that what self-learning is all about?  I am a member of the MyBlogLog, Explode and Whooiz communities and often find myself browsing through the communities and finding blogs that are interesting and provocative and I would not have found any other way.

Try picking a few different blogs from time to time that are not in your fields of interest but shake your thinking; who knows where that might take you.

 

Technorati tags: blogging, thinking, self-learning

Examples of excellence

I read a great post by Kathy Sierra on the blog creating passionate users about learning packages and user interaction. It raises the bar for designers of training packages for any area of self-learning. I know it also has an impact on me to work on improving my engagement with my readers. I know I will need to hold myself to a higher standard which is part of my self-learning.

Examples of excellence are out there and when we come across them it should make us look to our own performance and ask how can I do better; the first requirement of self-learning. Its' easy to dismiss excellence by saying they are experts, have credentials or any other reason that you feel comfortable with, but then, you don't have to grow either.

Most self-learning starts with the question how do I... and I look forward to finding my answer.

What's your question?

Technorati tags: self-learning, skills, thinking

Create your Vision

Have you ever noticed that there are a lot of self-help programs that talk about creating your vision. What if you can't come up with a vision? Are we condemned to living a life of mediocrity? No! Most people mistake what a vision is all about. It is really just a goal or result that you want to achieve that is important to you; but it sounds so much better when you call it a vision.

You must give as much life to the result as you can so that you will know when you reach it. What does it look like? How does it feel? Can you taste it? What would your friends, family and other people say? Can you smell it? Yes, money has a smell as does a new car, plane or boat. The idea is to get as many of your senses involved as possible.
Don't worry if your vision isn't about saving the world; it's your vision and it simply becomes the target of your focus. Once you have your focus then you will be amazed at the opportunities then seem to come up out of nowhere. They were always there its' just that you were not paying attention.

Creating a vision may take a little or a lot of work at the beginning but practice will make it easier as you start accomplishing your visions. Start wherever it requires to stretch your abilities.

Where will you be a year from now?

Technorati tags: vision, thinking, skills