There hasn't been much action over here for months now, so I thought I'd reinvigorate my blogging by making a move over to Wordpress. Take a peek over here. One new post already up, many more to come...
There hasn't been much action over here for months now, so I thought I'd reinvigorate my blogging by making a move over to Wordpress. Take a peek over here. One new post already up, many more to come...
Posted on July 22, 2009 at 06:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
"What we find in books is like the fire in our hearth. We fetch it from our neighbours, we kindle it at home, we communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all."
Posted on June 06, 2009 at 03:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
From the musings of Tim Ferriss:
Posted on May 13, 2009 at 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
I am fantastically obsessed with great design. I’m not a designer by any means, but I’ve come to realize that the ability to put together fantastic visual communication tools can now be a reality for us all. Actually, let me correct myself: it's an absolute necessity for us all. Whether you’re putting together a presentation, building a chart or graph, or trying to pitch a concept to a manager or client, your communications can drastically improve with the use of some basic visualization concepts. Quite conveniently, I just put together this list of my favourite presentation/visualization resources for a friend and colleague of mine. Yes I realize that there are a LOT of links and that some of these you’ve likely heard of, but hopefully you can find a new gem or two in here! And a little extra to help you get through all of this: 10 days to faster reading by Abby Marks Beale & Roxy Allen. Happy visualizing!
Posted on April 22, 2009 at 09:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
As an "unemployed" (I love this term!) recent graduate, I’ve been talking to a lot of people about my “plans” lately. Actually, it's more like the impatient search for what my plans should be.
“Don’t worry. You’re still young. You have lots of time!”
Yes, it is true that I am still young. The ripe old age of 22 to be exact. And if my family genes remain strong, I’ll probably live until I’m 94, giving me 72 more years barring any major accident or illness. 72 years to get "there", but I’m still in a rush to figure it all out.
It’s a common theme with my fellow Gen Y friends too. We have high expectations for ourselves and we want to make an impact. We can Google the answer for almost anything, so when it comes to our life plans, we want to know what’s in store and how we can get there the fastest. We want to know the answers and we want to know them now.
Now, I am definitely one to take my day off to go to the beach if the sun is shining, or to drag on coffee chats with friends for hours and hours. I take the time to smell the flowers as much as I can because I believe that it is important to take every day as if it were my last – the exact same reason why I’m in such a rush.
I was reading the 37 Signals blog the other week and came across a very intriguing thought. David said, “I remember waking up [one] day long ago and thinking ‘the world would have been no different if I had not been here the past six months’. That’s a terrible feeling of regret.”
My belief is that while we’re here, we absolutely must make the most of it. Our last day could be today, tomorrow or 72 years from now. Who knows what happens after we pass or if anything happens at all. What I do know is that if today were my last day, I would be in a rush, so why wouldn't I live it up today? If there is something that I want to do in my life, why not do it today? Why would I live with that dreaded regret?
What do I want to do in my life? What's my rush? I want to be a great daughter, sister and friend. I want to soak up the sun, feel great and be thankful for every day. I want to have fun, eat delicious food and drink fantastic wine. I want to know that the world will be a little better by the time I leave and I'm in a rush to figure out how I can make the greatest impact possible while I'm here.
What you do today matters far more than what you plan to do tomorrow. What’s your rush?
Posted on April 14, 2009 at 05:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
It's how we learned as kids. We watched our parents walk, and then we took our first step. We listened to them talk, and then we said our first word.
It is all too natural for us to learn from others and to adjust to our environments. Even 20, 30 and 40 years later, we still naturally do as others do.
Don't believe me? Do you find you dress differently in different settings? Do you find you act differently with different friends? Do you act different in MacDonalds than you do at the finest restaurant in town?
Our environments have a HUGE influence on our attitudes, our worldviews and ultimately, our actions.
Take a serious assessment of what your surroundings are today. Where do you spend most of your time? What colour is the room? Do you take the time to walk outside or are you stuck in your desk? Who do you talk to the most in a day? Is she a happy person, a sad person, an idealistic person, a creative person? What do they do all day? What do they wear?
You are your environment. Please choose it wisely.
Posted on February 15, 2009 at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
As most of you (should) know, TED 2009 is happening this week at Long Beach. I am absolutely loving that I have all the free time in the world to be following the minute by minute coverage and since I know not everyone has the luxury to sit around and follow TED all day, I thought I would share some of the highlights and the best coverage with you in case you have a spare minute or hour to check in yourself.
The First Video Posted!
On Wednesday, Bill Gates gave a fantastic presentation in which he offered two potential answers to the following two important questions:
How do we stop a deadly disease that's spread by mosquitoes?
... and yes, he does release a jar of mosquitoes into the crowd!
Announcing the TED Fellows
Wednesday was also the announcement of the TED Fellows program, which "is designed to bring together young world-changers and trailblazers who have shown unusual accomplishment and exceptional courage." They are looking for 50 remarkable individuals who have done remarkable things to attend one of the TED conferences, all expenses paid. If you are amazing (which I'm sure you are), I encourage you to please check out the program.
TED Prize Wishes Unveiled
Then last night, the TED Prize was given out to three incredible individuals. What is the TED Prize?
"The TED Prize is designed to leverage the TED community’s exceptional array of talent and resources. It is awarded annually to three exceptional individuals who each receive $100,000 and, much more important, the granting of “One Wish to Change the World.” After several months of preparation, they unveil their wish at an award ceremony held during the TED Conference. These wishes have led to collaborative initiatives with far-reaching impact."
While their videos aren't posted yet, the winners and their wishes are below. You can also hear more about the needs, the plan or the individual or you can offer help by clicking on their names below.
Sylvia Earle: “I wish you would use all means at your disposal -- films! expeditions! the web! more! -- to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas, hope spots large enough to save and restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet.”
Jill Tarter: “I wish that you would empower Earthlings everywhere to become active participants in the ultimate search for cosmic company.”
Continuous Coverage...
Although there are only two days left in the conference, there is sure to be many more incredible things to come and you check out some of the below links for some great coverage:
Start at the TED 2009: The Great Unveiling home page for live coverage.
You can also check out the Official TED Blog although most of the TED Blog posts come from Ethan Zuckerman's Blog).
Loic Le Meur has some great interviews with Tim O'Reilly, Seth Godin and more.
And if you'd like to check out some past TED talks, check out my old Top 10 favourites (this list will be updated VERY soon!) or go on to the TED website yourself for an archive of 378 videos, which is also updated with a new video daily.
Posted on February 06, 2009 at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Over the last few weeks, I’ve had a number of friends come up to me and say: “I read your post on NYC and I’m so sorry! I know you are trying to be positive about it, but I know that that must have been heartbreaking. Are you seriously okay?”
Well yes, of course I was sad and disappointed and frustrated. I did truly want to move to NYC and work with some incredible people to make amazing things happen. I did everything I could to get there, but somehow, it all fell through in the end.
Now, I’ve also had some other friends who recently lost their jobs in company layoffs or received a rejection letter from their dream graduate program. I know of people who are dealing with disease, who have recently lost a family member, who are struggling with feeding their children every day. I know of a lot of people who are going through unfathomably tough times right now.
By no means am I saying that our individual problems aren't difficult and that we should just brush them off, because of course they are individually devastating and we have to deal with them in our own ways on our own time.
What I am saying though is that if you are going through a tough time and feel as though you have no control, remember that you can do something now. You have no chance of changing the past, but you do have an enormous opportunity ahead of you: the future.
I went to a session last night hosted by BC Business Magazine on Doing Business in Tough Times and the keynote speaker, Peter Legge, had a great quote:
“Something terrible happens when you don’t take action: NOTHING.”
Then Joe Segal, who is the founder of a company which became the largest shareholder in the Hudson’s Bay Company, said:
“it’s not the end of the world - it’s a new era.”
Finally, I know this video has been spreading around like wildfire lately, but I believe it is worth posting again in case there is someone out there who hasn’t heard of Nick Vujicic, who says:
“it’s not the end until you give up.”
So yes, spend the time to cry, to think, to hang around your house and watch TV and eat junk food for a couple days; your body and mind probably need it. But when you are starting to feel anxious and don’t know what to do, just go do something. Attend a workshop. Meet a friend for coffee. Read a book or two or three. Watch a foreign film. Write out your thoughts and ideas. Volunteer for a day. Go for a walk. Do it like Nike and just do it. Just do something. These small steps won't solve your problems, but they may give you a change in perspective or a brilliant new insight to get you on your way. And if not today, when?
"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers."
Posted on February 04, 2009 at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
A little piece of wisdom from that legendary libertine, Don Juan:
"The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge while an ordinary man takes everything either as a blessing or a curse."
Posted on January 29, 2009 at 03:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted on January 24, 2009 at 01:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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