a BEER + a COCKTAIL NAPKIN = INSTANT GENIUS

The best new business ventures, latest fashion trend or bauble, environmentally smart new technology, cure for an obscure disease, global initiatives, and our own brilliant next steps are usually sloshed around at the neighborhood bar while hanging with buddies and throwing back a few beers.

So what if ....

Just what if ...

For the next three months, every time you venture out to meet the boys for a beer, or step up with the ladies and have a cocktail or two, you quietly commit to "holding court" for the first 30 minutes on a topic or question that might actually lead somewhere.

What's a problem that needs solving?

What is a question everyone is asking?

What would you do for FREE for a whole year?

What are you doing when you are at your best?

And then there it is! The potential unexpectedly explodes ... for your next invention, career track, partnership, travel plans, or whatever!

When you put together:

Community

Networking

Brainstorming

Intellectualizing

and Synergy (OK, and a few beers)

That can lead to:

Creativity

Ideas

Progress

Innovation

Partnerships

and the next GREAT widget of this decade!

Just a cocktail napkin, a cold one, and 30 minutes ..... and see where things GO!

Who wouldn't drink to that?!

Feeling down? Go see UP

There ain't no time for the summertime blues-- "Cross my heart."  

Grab a salty box of popcorn, some chewy Red Vines, your favorite drink, settle in to one of those cushy theatre chairs -- and let Ellie and "The Spirit of Adventure" sweep you away for an hour or two.  

You will not be sorry! Your imagination will stir, your heart will swell, your whole face will smile, and your sense of adventure will bust wide open.  It will be two hours where you will be absorbed with the childlike spirit of play and adventure and imagination-- and I think that is a really good thing ... especially in summer.

It seems that it is at about this time in the summer vacation that we all begin to get a little bit restless. Eager for a little more structure, eager to reunite with some old friends, and dare I say, even a bit eager for the challenge and familiar routine that a new school year brings.

Don't go there yet!  Breathe in!  Breath out!  Breathe in!  Breathe out....

There is such great value in down time -- time to restore our physical and mental health, and time for creativity and dreams to take hold.

And in this glorious summer space of limited responsibilities, warm summer breezes, sandy beach days, and carefree long afternoons that roll into evening .... I challenge you to make some promises for yourself in the coming year.

Promise yourself that you will:

Celebrate free time.

Schedule in creative, alone time this year.

Be selective as to how you invest in extra-curricular activities.

Connect with those people and activities that interest YOU.

Drop those commitments you are doing out of obligation. 

Colleges are looking to enroll "human beings" and they quickly see through those applications that are filled with a lot of contrived "human doings."  They want the real deal --  the real person -- They are looking for authentic, genuine college students who will find a true sense of belonging and feel at home on their campus.  They want the real YOU!

Free time, down time, play time, the "Spirit of Adventure" time is that necessary space that allows us to quietly discover our own interests, competencies, and talents. We can do this because we set the tempo, we set the calendar, and we can move at our own pace.

This is healthy stress management. 

This is balance.

We need sleep to rejuvenate our over-scheduled minds and bodies.

We need daydreams to tap our passion and set us on our own creative course.

We need time to think and reflect so we know who we are, and where we fit.

And sometimes we need a few cartoon animated characters like Ellie, a heart-warming story, and a sleepy dark theater to remind us to take our time -- to dream --  to explore --  and to unbury the child-like spirit of summer  inside each of us.

Go see UP!

P.S.  What's inside your "Adventure Book" ? 

 

BOXED IN? BUST OUT of the Conventional Job Search

In today's job search you need to shed the stiff expectations, the obvious search methods, and the conventional choices that lead to frustration, rather than reward. Work to discover and access your own unique skill set, your passion, and differentiate yourself from the millions of other recent college graduates on the job market hunt.

You need a change up!

Quit chasing titles, status, the big money-- as too often the external world and outward marketing ploys tend to focus our thinking and options on the material gain -- Quit chasing the text book job! Bust Out of the Boxed In cubicle chaos.

Something inside of us let's us know when we are not at our best.

Pay Attention!
Listen!

Or
You will lose your way!
You will lose your principles!
You will lose your genuine drive and passion!

Take some time to...
Be quiet
Reflect
Dream

Get Creative
Scheme
Get Busy
Take Action

What can you begin today that is a ....
A smart idea?
Innovative?
A new development?
A new solution to an old problem?
A quality investment of time, creativity, and your own resources?

Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind advocates that right brainers are now primed to rule this next business and career decade .... as we move from the Information-Technology Age, to what he has termed the Conceptual Age...  Pink feels that the keys to success in this next decade will rely on two broad skill sets:  Design and Empathy.  Adding aesthetic, creativity, color, and immagination to the automated, sterile, big box products coming out of the Tech era is going to be a skill set that is valued and lucrative in the next career market.  As well, possessing the emotional EQ to demonstrate empathy, tolerance, understanding and acceptance are going to be essential, required "people skills" as we work to build a more interactive global community.

Pink gives credence to the value that six sensibilities will bring to the future workplace: design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning.  He believes these traits will be necessary to keep people passionate, motivated, innovative, and productive in this next generation. 

(For a faster read, try Pink's adult comic book:  The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You Will Ever Need.  He highlights the "6 Career Secrets No One Ever Told You."

With these ideas in mind, how can you radically change the direction in your job search today?

Remember you choose where you go from here. You can change direction, change your strategy, change your own location, change your focus any time you want.  And you can do this as many times as you want!

What is meaningful to you right now? 

What can make a positive difference in this world?

Are you a business guy? Start a company.  Become an entrepreneur.

An educator? Find a job or internship in a high-need neighborhood.  Volunteer at your public library, Boys or Girls Club, local elementary school.

Do you think like an engineer? Jump into the Green Revolution.  Design, retrofit, invent, train environmentally-sound operations and people.

Trained in health care or nursing? Care for our aging population.  Tap their energy, their wisdom, their creative reservoirs-- make their final life chapter one worth celebrating. Outward Bound for Seniors!

Do small things. 

Do big things. 

Find somebody or something to be successful for.... 

Ahh! Now that's the way to put personal passion and your unique skill set to work in the world!

You are Incredible; and the Earth is Hiring

Stop with the job search whining already.... Jobs DO exist for anyone with ambition, an entrepreneurial spirit, a creative eye, a sensibility toward "green commerce," and the guts to put themselves out there.

The GREEN revolution is happening-- so why not make your own place in its evolution?  Get creative!  Get bold! Get moving!  The questions that "green entrepreneurs" are asking themselves include: "What 's urgent? What's futuristic? What will the world need in the next 5-10 years?" These questions are your own wide open invitation on the road to becoming a successful, bold, green entrepreneur.

Here is how to find HOT, GREEN jobs in a COOL, BLUE economy:

1.  TURN THAT SHIRT INSIDE OUT - Don't be afraid to try your skills on in a new arena.

2.  BOXED IN? BUST OUT? - Carry an open mind with you everywhere you go.  Enjoy the idea of an unexpected job change, a new career path, open up to new possibilities, and think about how you might repackage your skills.

3.  NETWORK LIKE A CRAZY MAN - Let all kinds of people know you are looking. Everyone becomes a new opportunity or resource eager to be tapped.

Start by researching these potential environmental job clusters:  

• Renewable Energy (wind, solar, alternative fuels) 
• Building green, Building efficiently 
• The science and engineering behind biofuels, bio-genetics and green farming
• Transportation and alternative fuels
• Environmental law, compliance, and regulations
• Green function and design (clothing, food, shelter, everywhere)

This economy and environmental job market needs environmental engineers, chemical engineers, computer and electrical engineers.  We need construction management teams, architects, and builders to retrofit, design, and build resource-efficient buildings. We need creative  designers to add the aesthetic to the function of eco-building. We need farmers and scientists to genetically maintain the growth and integrity of whole, healthful foods. We need innovative and strategic land use city planners to help us think through ways to conserve and limit our use of space and resources.  Artists and creative spirits are needed to breathe life, passion, and color into this new way of being and thinking in the world. They are needed to soften the sharper edges of science and function necessary for this evolution to take hold and stick. Educators, trainers, and researchers who can reach and teach others about green innovation are in high demand in every career cluster.

So whether you specialize in practical skills, hards skills, soft skills--All skills are in great need as this green revolution takes the earth by storm. So... Get creative!  Get bold! Get moving! NOW!

So no more whining -- "YOU are incredible, and the EARTH  is hiring!"

Wipe Your FACE(BOOK) Clean & Create a Professional Online Presence

Head hunters, HR recruiters, and your future employers are "googling" you to gage whether you're the next hire for their company. So if you are serious about trying to market yourself, serious about trying to create a professional brand, eager to show off your strengths and your unique value proposition-- best be dumping Bambi's birthday bash party album on Facebook, best be deleting the four-letter sentiments on Twitter, and ditching your Hottie Horoscope news group. More and more employers and head hunters are using online media sources as an initial sorting tool for competing candidates, and as means to gather off-the-record data about the quality and professionalism of their next new hire.

So time to clean up your social media presence and re-brand your online persona as a professional who is mature, and ready to be serious in the real working world.

Here's how:

1. Join Linked In. -- "It's Facebook with suit"-- This is a professional networking site which holds credibility in the business world.

2. Complete your profile with as much detail and accuracy as possible. -- Use this space to "publish" your resume online. Take advantage of this free exposure.

3. Update your site regularly. Keep information current. Add articles, blogs, professional books, sites that you follow or recommend-- It shows you are current and educated. It shows that "You get it!"

4. Join other online professional groups related to your business niche.

5. Get yourself noticed. -- Set yourself apart from the pack. Comment and follow professional or unique blogs. Add YouTube videos to your site.

6. Start your own blog.-- Create a positive & professional business brand for yourself through your commentary on your own blog.

7. Clean up Facebook and Twitter.

"The majority of students coming out of college are essentially generic." Time magazine / April 2009

Time to create your own dynamic, unique professional BRAND-- and use the FREE, worldwide exposure that social media tools provide to set you apart and get you noticed!

Survival Gear 101: REAL RESILIENCE

"Whether you think you can, or you can't .... You are right."  

Henry Ford

How you handle setbacks is more important than how you handle success ... and skillfully handling adversity is the secret to success in college and beyond.  So don't worry .... Be Happy!

Don't we all wish it was that easy!  In a world that tends to value the quickest, the brightest the fastest, the first -- finding the "happy face" and "joy" part in this equation is tough!

I believe the best weapon of defense we have to fight this crazed "more is better, faster is the best" mentality that our society is swirling in, is a big dose of REAL RESILIENCE! Bounce-back strategies that allow us to realistically manage our own failures and shortcomings, as this is the key to healthy life balance and successful, positive experiences through high school, into college and beyond! 

Emotions like sadness, rejection, fear and loneliness are normal, healthy and helpful when based on real, authentic life experiences -- No one rushing in to "save us" to make it "all better." No trophy, no blue ribbon, no one diluting our painful experiences with false hopes or shallow compliments. These are real feelings that don't always feel so good!  These raw emotions sting, they burn, and they surface for a reason, and it is our job to sit up, pay attention, and determine how we want to respond.  

If we don't allow ourselves time to feel these unpleasant feelings before rushing back to the world of "being busy" and settling back in to our "happy place," how will we learn how to honestly deal with setbacks and disappointments, sadness and rejection, in a healthy, balanced manner?  

We need the time and attention to grow our sense of resiliency and learn how to genuinely bounce back from life's inevitable obstacles.

Got cut from the baseball team?  Tank on you first AP test? Come up 100 points short on your SAT score? Don't get into your first choice college?  Believe it or not ... this is life's very personal  invitation designed just for you... an invitation for valuable personal growth.  We cannot always control the external circumstances in our world, but we can control how we react to these situations.

6 BOUNCE BACK STRATEGIES:

1)  Set reasonable expectations  Learn to identify the positive aspects of an unexpected outcome -- "When life gives you lemons ..... " Establish a wider, more open window for personal achievement and success.

2)  Accurately evaluate the situation   "Is this really the only college in the world?"  "How does this AP score impact my long term future?" Get real!

3)  Surround yourself with positive, optimistic people  I am firm believer of the saying... "Whatever you go looking for, that is exactly what you will find."  So the search begins today... Look for others who are upbeat, positive and view the world with the glass brimming with opportunity!

4)  Focus on the areas you can control   No sense putting out a lot of effort or stress toward those circumstances you have not control over.  Re-energize your focus around your strengths, special talents, and passions  -- suddenly you have complete control.

5)  Let go of negative feelings or emotions   Resilient people can recognize which events will resolve themselves quickly vs. those twisted ones where you need to rationally talk yourself down off the rooftop.  Once you're safely back on the ground, take a minute to love ALL of yourself -- bumps, bruises and all your imperfections -- Celebrate being human!

6)   Gratitude every day   Be present, pay attention.  Fill each day with the personal mindset that gushes with grace, goodwill, and a deep appreciation of goodness for all that is right with the world.  Positive people easily bounce back from adverse situations and are adept at finding the silver lining in life's shadier moments. 

So sure, try it ... Don't worry....  Be Happy! And do so knowing the origin of your happiness is real, within your control, and 100% genuine!