Your best just got better

Joe Bruzzese (of Thinking-Forward) asks, "How are you?"

Show #30 - "Overwhelmed by your child's activities? Find the balance between parenting and personal growth"

If you have 3 and a half minutes to listen to something that I found thought-provoking...cruise on over to the Thinking-Forward website for Friday's "Big Show."

Tags: Thinking-Forward, Joe Bruzzese

Very, very, very cool...thanks for the kudos on our newsletter!

So, before you read what someone wrote in to us today, ya gotta know that the newsletter we write is really a joint effort. Each one (we're publishing one every couple of weeks or so) generally has some message, some idea behind it. Usually, it happens that Jodi or I have "something to say" in the newsletter, and one of us starts writing...

Before long, we're printing up drafts, getting new ideas, moving sentences around until all of a sudden...VIOLA! We get to publish another one for you.

So, when I read something like this I smile...real big!

Do you know how much I enjoy receiving your newsletter? A lot! And the alphabet idea with the computer keys…simple, fast, and easy to remember. Like it, love it, looking forward to more of it :>)
 
I can “hear” your enthusiasm and I can “feel” the powerful knowledge you have…all backed by the passion for sharing and making a difference for others. You’re quite the guy and I want to thank you for always giving…it will come back to you tenfold my friend.
 
Keep up the life-changing work Jason!
 
Have a great day...

A little more time in the industry...oh, THAT'S what I need!

Without mentioning any names, here's an E-mail I received tonight!

Jason,
 
I sincerely apologize for not getting back to you sooner. While I do manage the blogs, everything must get passed by our most senior editors. They want to give you a little more time in the industry before publishing you on our site.

I wish you the best of luck and hope that you will keep trying. 

Very cute...

I received this note today in my E-mail in box after offering to write (for free!) for a northern California university's magazine that proposes to be [from their website]:  "an award-winning magazine covering best strategies for nonprofits, foundations, and socially responsible businesses."

After 14 years serving as an educator, earning two master's degrees and starting 3 companies, I definitely have enough experience in the industry of identifying, testing, writing and speaking about best practices.

Click here for some ideas!

When this group of "senior editors" is ready to share some ideas on self-management, time management, and professional development with the people doing the most to do good for the planet...I'll be there.

C'mon people, share the wealth of proactive, positive, and implementable information!

I'm still a proud supporter of "Being Digital." (Great article in Financial Times today)

It's easier and easier to get inspired...just open a newspaper, turn on the news, listen to a radio show with a focus: "I'm going to read, see, or hear something uplifting." I bought an XO laptop (like the ones these Indian children are holding) back when they had a sponsorship program running. After hearing Nicholas Negroponte speak, I knew I wanted to lend my support to the cause. Now that I've read today's edition of Financial Times, the digital business section, I am increasingly motivated! One day, I would like to meet with Paul Timmers, head of unit for the European Commission's ICT for Inclusion programme. I'd like to hear more - and discuss the ideas I have heard in my work with clients - about what he said here: "Our position is clear: e-inclusion iis an economic opportunity and a social necessity." When I speak for groups on workplace performance and personal productivity I bring a balanced approach to my comments: My research shows that we need to advance all the skill-sets we can. For each advancement we make in using technology, we also need to enhance our understanding of the human psyche and spirit. This article, on the "new necessities" outlines a few of the technological ones we'll need to continue providing.

Subscribing to the Wall Street Journal mobile edition - on my BlackBerry

Ever since I found out about this mobile app, I have been a huge fan! If you're using a BB, I can definitely recommend you check this out!

Attention and awareness in stage magic

Attention and awareness in stage magic: turning tricks into research

So, If you ever thought you "saw it all," I encourage you to visit a magic show and see what you don't see!

I remember a mentor of mine saying how much he enjoyed watching the trees move and sway in the wind. "How do the leaves know to move? We can't see the wind, but it definitely affects the movement of the tree we do see!"

I found this article recently, and as I read it I realized how much in alignment the thesis is with what I do with my own work: Making Things Possible!

Thinking Forward TV - guest spot this week!

So, for those of you looking for ideas on "work/life balance," and managing the many areas of focus many of us have throughout the day, please tune in to this episode of Thinking-Forward TV:

The Middle School Parent Resource: Show #6 - "Work life balance, free yourself from distraction, increase your focus and productivity"

Where do you go for "Good" ideas? Good Magazine and Starbucks...free mini-issues each Thursday.

A few weeks ago, while working with the wonderful folks at SixApart in San Francisco, I came across the first issue of The Good Sheet...the joint effort with Starbucks.

This morning, I just read Issue No. 3, about Immigration. But, I gotta tell ya, the most inspiring part of the most recent Good Sheet (available at most Starbucks) is the ad by Lenovo.

I have on my "to-do" list to visit this site: www.lenovoblogs.com/heartofbusiness. According to the ad, Lenovo dedicates 1% of their income to help entrepreneurs in "distressed" communities. Now, that's my kind of vision!

I can think of reasons to get involved in such "small-scale" efforts as www.kiva.org or www.technoserve.org. For me, the reason I'm drawn to such efforts is that I know that things are changing, and that small experiments in finance, productivity, and community development CAN and do make a difference.

This belief is the impetus for a project I'll be working on over the next quarter:

www.20in20by20.com

*oh, by the way, Good Magazine has a subscription deal going...you decide how much you want to pay for the yearly subscription! www.good.is/join

"Home Office Classroom: Keeping Brain & Business Fit"

If you know anyone who works out of a SOHO (small office/home office) please forward them this article on getting the most out of your home office. Thanks!

A dream presentation...come true!

So, I've been blogging now for almost 6 years. In fact, at one point I found out that I'd almost gotten fired from a job for blogging (this was back in the early 2000's!). So, to be able to show up "on the inside" of the company that has supported me blogging for years now was a dream come true.

Yup, last week I got to present a short(er) version of our MWP (Mastering Workplace Performance) seminar at SixApart in San Francisco. For some ideas on your own productivity and performance...

When I arrived, I heard that "about 12" people were interested in coming. Well, by the time I was underway (15-minutes into the presentation we were really "in it") there were more than 25 people together in the conference room! I wish I'd taken a picture!

Here's the writeup someone did on the inside...thanks everyone at SixApart for helping me fulfill a dream!