Category: Inspiration

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One of My Coaches

What are your action items?

What progress have you made to get those done?

What’s the big picture goal?

Those are just a few of the questions life coaches ask.

One of my current coaches is Darren Hardy, who’s a motivational speaker, author, and publisher of Success Magazine.

I’m getting daily coaching and mentoring by subscribing to Darren Daily. By signing up you’ll be reminded to strive for excellence, stay fit, don’t look for external validation.

His daily messages are delivered Mondays through Fridays via email, text or both.

The dailies are concise.

In a recent post I mentioned graphic facilitation. Some of his videos use this technique.

Hardy also has some excellent tips for goal setting in his book, The Compound Effect.

He shares these forms online for free. Here’s the link. The downloadable forms are available in several languages.

You can sign up for your own dose of Darren Daily at http://www.DarrenDaily.com/

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Creating a Smooshing Business Plan

"Real Artists Ship" Quote by Steve Jobs, Drawing by Mary Gow
“Real Artists Ship” Quote by Steve Jobs, Drawing by Mary Gow
Did you ever think drawing stick figures could help your career?

It wouldn’t hurt if you’re trying to draw out instead of write out what you want.

It was a profession I’ve been researching called “graphic facilitation,” also known as “sketch notes,” and “graphic recording.”

What I find fascinating about graphic facilitation is it’s like visual transcribing. And there’s some places you can learn this skill. Two that come to mind are The Grove Consultants International in San Francisco, and Alphachimp Studio online.

There’s a terrific book called The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures, by Dan Roam. You learn how to scribe meetings with a blend of drawings with words which can engage your audience more than PowerPoint would.

I could go on about graphic facilitation but it was in researching that obsession that I found a highly useful book called “Business Model You,” by Tim Clark.

In a previous post I mentioned Emilie Wapnick (puttylike.com) who coaches people on how to smoosh their many talents into a career path.

I like her idea and there’s one page business plan in Business Model You that can help you map out a way to utilize your talents.

Check out Business Model You’s business plan form. There’s three different versions of the one page plan you can download here.

Happy Smooshing.

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The Super Bowl and Timing

Venus Time, painting by Mary Gow
Venus Time, painting by Mary Gow
A workshop scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Sunday was just cancelled. I wonder if it was because of the Super Bowl.

At the grocery store today several people in front and behind me had shopping carts full of party snacks, bottles of wine and cartons of beer. I wonder if it was because of the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl Sunday is becoming more and more like a holiday in the U.S.A.

Magic Time

In Russell Bishop and David Allen‘s “Managing Accelerated Productivity” course, Allen says he gets more done on Friday and Saturday nights and on holidays than any other time.

But some part of me finds it so “counter” to be at home when the social norm is to be out at those times.

Would you feel comfortable having your Friday night on a Wednesday night?

Sounds do-able doesn’t it? Why go along with the crowd?

Which leads me to knowing and honoring the times you know you’re at your best. When do you do your most creative work? It’s what Craig Ballantyne, Editor of Early to Rise, calls the “Magic Time.”

Through experimentation I’ve found my magic time is before 2:00 p.m. So I try to work on my most challenging projects early in the day.

I think it’s ideal to get grocery shopping done by Thursday for the upcoming weekend. Avoid weekends at the grocery story, especially after 3:00 p.m. on Sundays which is what I call the end-of-the-weekend-rush-to-get-the-groceries time.

Except this Sunday at 3:30 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time), when Super Bowl XLIX begins. That might be the best time to go grocery shopping. Or to work on your next painting.

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True Friends

Tree No. 19, by Digital Drawing by Mary Gow
Tree No. 19, by Digital Drawing by Mary Gow
Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher. – Oprah Winfrey

“At the end of your life, count yourself lucky if you have more TRUE friends than you have fingers.” -Thomas J. Hayman

A true friend is a rare jewel to be treasured.