Japanese doctors are now prescribing walks through the woods to help with mental health. And they have an awesome word for it: shinrin-yoku, or "forest bathing."

you know you want it...

Learning and the "Dislocation Theory"

"Learning eventually results in changes in action not just taking in new information and
forming new ideas."
- Peter Senge,
The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization

Dislocation theory seeks to replace what the enemy thinks should be occurring
with something that is happening faster than he can understand.

Notes from John C. Maxwell's book: "The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player"

You've got to think of "big things" while you're doing small things so that all the small things go in the right direction. – Alvin Toffler

Adaptable people are good team players because they are teachable; they are willing to face the unknown to learn and go to higher levels.

Stodgy: Dull and uninspired; commonplace…

“A person’s age can be determined by the degree of pain experienced when he/she comes in contact with a new idea.” – Quincy Jones

Adaptive people are creative – when difficult times come, they find a way.

Really creative people aren’t afraid of failure because they know that they can do something different and make it work next time – or the time after that.

Commitment is a choice and lasts when it is based on values.

There are no half-hearted champions.

“The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issue from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way.” –William H. Murray

Most communication problems can be solved with proximity; make it easy for others to communicate with you (and each other if on a team).

“Friendship is a slow-ripening fruit.” – Aristotle

Be accessible; follow up within 24 hours; follow up on important matters in writing.

There is no union without good communication: open communication increases trust; trust increases ownership; and ownership increases participation.

Excellence:

“People forget how fast you did a job - but they remember how well you did it.” – Howard W. Newton

“Building a team is as important as producing a product… You have to let the people be a team. That means fostering an environment where people say what they really think. You can’t be dogmatic.” – Bob Taylor, Taylor Guitars

Competence: to be well-qualified, fit.

Highly competent people never settle; they pay attention to detail, no matter how small; are highly consistent; try different things but do what they are best at – they ‘edit” themselves.

Dependable team members possess the desire to do the thing that they are capable of doing.

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“No matter what I’m working on, I like to do what I’m not doing.” – Woody Allen

“Obstacles will look large or small to youaccording to whether you are large or small.” – Oreion Swett Marden

No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.

“Every successful person finds that great success lies just beyond the point when they’re convinced their idea is noy going to work.” – Napoleon Hill

“Success is like wrestling a gorilla. You don’t quit when you’re tired, you quit when the gorilla is tired.” – Robert Straus

“You beat 50 percent of the people in America by working hard. You beat another 40 percent by being a person of honesty and integrity and standing for something. The last 10 percent is a dogfight in the free enterprise system.” – A. L. Williams

Raising frequency, raising awareness

Teal Scott's The Spirit Science - I want to watch this every day...
Source

Reminiscing about New Orleans

New Orleans is a sexy place if you're into music, food, and have an active imagination. It's so Gatsby-like. I can relate to Daisy as crazy as she was... N'Orleans makes it easy to live in the moment, because no matter how fast you peddle, you don't get anywhere. The only way to advance is to accidentally run into the right person. And then play hard-to-get because that person also wants to "meet the right person". Then you got to be street-wise or you'll lose it all in a heartbeat. Good training ground for life.

Cloud Computing in a Nutshell

I love the motion graphics in this video... from Fast Company.

True nature of existence

If you would like to reveal the true nature of existence you have to move away from your familiar ways of perceiving reality, for example knowing that opposites such as meaning and no meaning dwell in the same moment, while for the mind it is always either this or that.

If you need to have a confirmation that there is absolute meaning in order to have a meaning in your life, your life is meaningless.

If you do not have a space left in your moment to wonder about meaning because it is filled by your experience, your life is meaningful.

(Source)

What Not To Do At Meetings...

From Fast Company: "Don't Meet Like That..."

Status Update staff meetings are best done one-on-one, it's a waste of other's time; besides, they are boring and ineffective. What to do instead? Try these ideas:

1. What are the key outcomes we are on the hook for? How will know if we are achieving them?
2. What are the risks we face? What should we do about them?
3. What is the data we wish we knew about our business? Is it knowable? How will we find it? If it is not knowable, what scenarios should we plan for?
4. What stupid stuff are we doing? I would have this as a staff topic at least twice a year. Grit always creeps into the gears, and old habits lose their usefulness. Question them.
5. What has changed in our market, business, or customers’ markets and businesses? What does that mean for our plans?
6. What process or infrastructure improvement would have the biggest impact on our ability to deliver?
7. What has become harder and easier in our work and business? What should we consider changing?
8. What should we all be learning about this year in addition to our core work? What do we want to be better at, or smarter about next year?
9. Who in our organization has done something remarkable that we should recognize?
10. Who are the stars in our organization that we should be investing in developing?
11. Who/what groups should our team be communicating, networking, or improving our brand with? How should we do it?

Raw Orange and Blueberry Cheesecake

This looks so yummy - may not be low in calories, but most likely healthy enough for a dessert.
No dairy, no flour - I have to try it just out of curiosity...
Find recipe here.
Click here for more raw dessert recipes.

Art of Small Talk

I am comfortable in silence, and I have no trouble connecting with people, but I really wish I had the skills to be able to talk to anyone, anytime. Fortuitously, I came across a book this morning about "small talk" - something in which I could use some improvement.This is what I learned:

1) Small talk is the gateway to deep talk which is intuitively obvious, but something I did not realize before.

2) There is a technique that has worked on me from people expert in small talk: make eye contact, smile, exchange a greeting including names, remember the other person's name (hard for me as I am a visual person), ask open-ended questions such as, "What do you think about...?"

3) Use an ice-breaker such as, "How did you become interested in...?" or "What would you do if you weren't doing what you do...?"

To sum up, be a good listener and show an interest in the other person's ideas.

I have a wish to go to London, Paris, Prague - what to wear?

I decided today to work on my positive thinking. Lately, I have been reading the news too much and it is depressing. Now I want some of my "innocence" back - at least, I want to  keep my hopes and dreams alive. To start, I decided to go through my closet and start downsizing. Then, when I discovered that my favorite outfits have yet to be worn, let alone enjoyed, I decided to model them so I wouldn't forget to keep my dreams alive.