Brief Buzz:
Found these gems in Bottom Line Personal.  For us in the 2nd half of life’s journey, it’s important to stay mentally healthy and alert.  One of the ways to prevent “brain-decay” is to regularly practice memory-boosting exercises.  Here’s a few from Bottom Line:
LOOK – the biggest challenge we face in keeping our memory alive and well is learning to pay attention.  Many folks who think they’re entering early dementia or Alzheimer disease simply don’t pay attention.  Attention to others; attention to detail; attention to their surroundings.  We tend to be so caught up in our own thoughts and what we have to do next, that we don’t make a conscious decision to absorb information.  By focusing (and listening to) on the other person; the details of information being presented to us; or our surroundings, we can fix information in our memory.
SNAP – Humans think in pictures!  When we practice turning information into vivid mental snapshots that have movement, dimension and detail, we utilize one of the most effective techniques for long-term memory storage.
 Example:  you park your car in a large lot on level 3B.  Visualize 3 giant bumblebees over your car and you’ll remember the spot.
CONNECT – Try to associate two or more ‘snaps’ so you can remember the connection later – a skill that will help you connect a name to a face.
 Example: you meet Ms. Beatty, a woman with full lips.  Focus on her mouth to create a memorable face snap.  Most movie buffs know the name Warren Beatty, so connect the two ‘snaps’ with the mental image of Warren Beatty kissing her lips.  Next time you meet Ms. Beatty, you’ll likely remember her name.
Since humans think in pictures (even when we see the words in our mind’s eye that we are thinking) – here’s a couple of tips I use to stay mentally young and alert:
THINK YOUNG – My mental image of me is as a 35 year old woman.  I see myself doing the same things physically that I did when I was 35 or so years of age.  I see myself in my mind’s eye as looking as I did at about that age.  This is not something I learned to do or even consider a skill – it is just something I do (or am).  I find that I can physically handle more than I might be able to do if I thought of myself as a 68 plus year-old woman and I find that I can relate to woman much younger than I with comfort and ease because it always comes as a shock that I’m old enough to be their mother!
 TIP:  Try not to look in a mirror more often than necessary.  It destroys the mental fantasy.
LEARN – Never stop learning.  Make it a practice to learn something new each day.  Read an article (on the internet) you might not otherwise read.  Devour your daily newspaper, including the little tidbits of information you might ordinarily not read.  Sign up for an online course teaching something you always wanted to know more about.  Make it a habit to learn a new word each week.  Start with your dictionary at work and just pick out a word you didn’t know; write down it’s definition and then try to use it every day.
 Example:  A few years ago, I heard someone use the word exacerbate.  I didn’t know what it meant, so I looked it up and then found myself using it more and more.  Now it’s a part of my vocabulary.
All of the above are simple tips that most of you probably already know for staying mentally young and alert.  But it helps to be reminded from time to time.
And I’ve go another little trick I use.  When I’m trying to remember something, I just ask the Lord to remind me – and He does!  It’s amazing and it works – at least it does for me, so I encourage you to try it too!

In marketing, they tell us to create provocative headlines and that’s something I love to do - so I created one for this blog entry.

“Ready - Go” refers to the fact that, if we engaged in all the dreams & visions steps to date; we’re Ready to Go!  Ready to get with the trusted person or persons and share what’s come out of the exercises we’ve just completed.

By way of brief digression - as you look at your lists (your dreams/visions and the skills, abilities, etc. with their appropriate ranking), you should begin to get a picture of what you can do with what you’ve created.  You should see those things that are the WOWs in your life at this point and the skill set(s) that you bring to them.  But before we leap to that point, let’s talk briefly about what to do with your destiny design friend (or coach).

Fix a pot of tea or steaming fresh java and invite your friend or friends to sit about the table with you.  Give them a little background as to what we’ve been doing (the Dreams & Visions process) and tell them you want their input. 

Without showing them the lists you’ve made, ask each of them to honestly share with you the skills, talents, abilities, learnings and wisdom they perceive you have.  They must be absolutely honest.  Write down what they say on a separate sheet of paper and save for a little later.  What they’ve just given you are their perceptions of your strengths.

Now, ask them to share what they see as areas of growth for you - challenges so to speak.  Write these on the same separate sheet of paper.  What they’ve just given you are their perceptions of your “growth edges” - the places where you need to focus on gaining additional skills, abilities, etc.

This may take some time - perhaps an entire evening or half day.  If this part of the process has been lengthy and everyone is ready to ‘crash’ - then save the next step in the process until another time.

In fact, I’m going to save the next step and for the most part the last step in the formal part of the process, until tomorrow.  I think you can see where this is leading you, but if not then I’ll give you a little hint.

What should be the outcome of a dreams & visions process is a list of at least 3-4 life areas you can pursue that contain a high level of passionate interest for you and a list of the skills you bring to that pursuit.  As we wind this down (or up), I’ll give you some tips about how to begin to hone in on what it is you may want to pursue given the information you now have.  Remember, it isn’t always the obvious that is our destiny design!

It’s been 2 long days for me in front of the computer, on the phone meeting new women and sharing the exciting news of AWP, and now preparing the AWP Buzz for your inboxes tomorrow a.m.

Later tonight, I’ll post a few brief buzz items that I found yesterday.  So watch for those as well!

Have an AWESOME evening!

   Linda

Linda S. Fitzgerald, M.S.Ed

We’ve walked through a lot of the Dreams & Visions process and should have some good data to work with.

Let’s review briefly:  1) we listed several items under 3 headings (”The one [or more] thing(s) I’ve always wanted to do or be”; “If I could, I would”; and “If there were no barriers, the one [or more] thing(s) I would do with the rest of my life is. . . “).  Additionally, we’ve ranked each item by placing a WOW beside the one that we are most passionate about; a WOW-1 beside the one we are next most passionate about, and so on until we’ve exhausted the list and ranked every item.

Next we’ve made a list of all our skills, abilities, talents, learnings and wisdom. AND, we’ve given thought to the one or two folks we would trust with our personal info and to be honest and truthful with us.

That brings us up-to-date with the process, I think.

Now it gets a little more interesting! 

Begin the next step by placing the skills, talents, abilities, learnings and wisdoms you have next to each item from your list of things you’d most like to do or be (from the first list under our “review” section above).

It should look something like this:

“The things I’ve always wanted to do or be”: 

1) an organizational development consultant - WOW

2) own my own O.D. consultant business (be an entrepreneur) - WOW-1

3) a “developing life purpose” coach - WOW-2

SKILLS, TALENTS, ABILITIES, LEARNING & WISDOM I possess:

WOW: (1) excellent communication skills; (2) ability to relate to a broad range of individuals, regardless of age or gender; (3) insight; (4) love of research; (5) growth-oriented; (6) process-oriented

WOW-1: (1) comfort working alone; (2) above average patience; (3) ability to seek advice from others more seasoned than me; (4) learned business principles and strategies over time.

WOW-2: (1) passion for self-discovery; (2) passion for teaching and learning; (3) strong perception skills; (4) passion for seeing women become all we can be

I hope the above example is helpful as you complete this aspect of the D & V process!

Now you should have a list of items that relate to what you are passionate about or have always had a “hankerin’” to do or be; a list of the skills, abilites, talents, learnings & wisdom you bring to each item and a ranking for each item.

TOMORROW, we’ll talk about what to do with what you now have.  What I call your “life-purpose map” or “destiny design map”.

Now it’s time to say something to the one or two persons I asked you to consider as your “accountability” partners. 

Actually, they’re not so much for accountability as for seeing things you don’t see!  I call these folks our “see the forest and the trees” folks.  Hopefully, they will enlighten us on ’stuff’ they see that we have in our life-bag of goodies that we don’t; haven’t or won’t see in ourselves (often we don’t or won’t see those things because of the old tapes we sort of automatically replay when we haven’t achieved the level of confidence we’d like to have or struggle to achieve).

Be ready to ask the folks we’ve chosen to sit with us as our ‘destiny-design’ partner.  Once we’ve gone through the rest of the steps - then you’ll be ready to employ the volunteer assistance of your partner or partners.

Enough for today!  This is quite a process and an exciting one at that - particularly if you’re facing a change in your work life through impending retirement; downsizing; outsourcing; or just a nagging desire to do something different in the 2nd half of the journey. 

I hope to add some Buzz Brief Stuff here later today.  I’ve found some great info among the “stuff” in my inbox and those wonderful little newslets (that’s what I call them) I get in my snail mail.

Have an AWESOME afternoon!

   Linda

I just read one of the inspirational e-letters I get daily to my inbox.  Written a few weeks ago (I’m considerably behind in cleaning out the mail), the author discusses going beyond average; not settling for sitting on past achievements, but celebrating them and moving on!  Moving on to the next dream, the next desire, the next seemingly impossible or improbable thing we want to do in life.  Her premise being that when we sit on our laurels and fail to move forward - those major achievements and monumental accomplishments become average over time.

AWP women have achieved some pretty AWESOME accomplishments and completed some fantastic tasks.  But if we sit back, kick back and spend a lot of time reflecting on the successes of the 1st half of the journey - what was excellence in the past will fade and tarnish into simply the ordinary and the average.

 Life is meant to be full of movement - preferably forward movement!  Poets and mystics call it a “dance” - St. Paul calls it a “race”.  I call it a ‘journey’ - a journey to meet and achieve our destiny - the purpose for which we were born.  As I mature chronologically, it becomes more important to discover that purpose and to take the necessary steps to fulfill it.

It’s Sunday evening and I don’t want to drone on, but just want to be a little enticing as the weekend comes to an end and another work week begins.  If you joined AWP because you feel the urge to spread long tucked-under wings, then make this the week that you take that first step on the road to destiny discovery! 

Have an AWESOME evening!

    Linda

Webster defines strategy as the “science and art of miliary command exercised to meet the enemy in combat under advantageous conditions” (1a2).  Also, “a careful plan or method: a clever stratagem (2a), (2b): the art of devising or employing plans or strategems toward a goal”.  A synonym for “stratagem is ruse or “trick”.

The broadest definition for strategy, listed first in Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary relates to the “science and art of employing the political, economic, psychological and miliary forces of a nation or group of nations to afford the maximum support to adopted policies in peace or war.”

In the business and professional world, we use the word “strategy” or “strategic” to define the process of developing specific targeted plan or plans in order to accomplish goals that are established as part of the “strategic” process.

What does all of this have to do with what we’ve been talking about over the past several days - the “dreams & visions” process?

The dreams & visions process is simply one strategy for accomplishing a life goal - whether it’s making the transition from the marketplace into retirement; returning to the marketplace after rearing a family; returning to complete a college degree after years of fantasizing about doing so! 

But how many of us ever do this.  We don’t usually sit down to plan unless we are pressed into a situation that seems beyond our control or grasp; or suddenly find our life and world turned upside down by widowhood, divorce, downsized or outsourced or some other major life event that changes the course of the mental image we have for the rest of our lives!

I’ve used the word or words “strategic” or “strategic planning” over the course of a more than 25 years career.  And yet I never looked at its true meaning according to Webster.

Excuse while I digress into a somewhat metaphorical take on the meaning of strategy and what we are doing with dreams & visions.  If we look at developing a life strategy out of the dreams & visions process, we are creating or employing a plan to put ourselves in the most advantageous condition we can to manuever a victory against an “enemy”. 

The “enemy” is usually “me” - myself, with all my doubts, fears, lack of confidence or esteem - all the old tapes that play in my head because those unseen memory traces just won’t give them up!

Then there is the “enemy” of others - what network marketers often call the “dreamstealers” - the “naysayers”.   You know, usually those folks close to us who, if they dont’ say it in so many words - give us a look that says “oh come on now”!

And finally there is the enemy of what I call the “kissemwhaw” folks!  You know, the folks that wouldn’t or couldn’t speak the truth in love to us if they tried because they need us to like them or some other equally noxious motive.

Each “enemy” has the same goal - to defeat us on the path to discovering who we really are; but more importantly - what our true destiny or purpose is!

And it doesn’t matter how wise and mature we grow, we still have the same “enemies” to deal with.  But if we’ve learned the “strategy” (clever plan; ruse, trick) for dealing with each one of them, including the one called “me” - then we will win on the “battlefield” of life.

Okay - back from the metaphorical world.  I’ve said all this to say this - that the “dreams & visions” process is one excellent strategy for achieving new goals and a new direction for our lives.

So as we continue with the D & V process, let’s remember who the “enemies” are; be aware of when they’re rearing their ugly heads and manuever through them with grace and ease.  Something women of excellence learn to do well!

   Linda

P.S.  There’s a FABULOUS book (if you like metaphor as I do) that I can’t recommend enough for those who are engaging with me in the “dreams & visions” process.  “The Dream Giver”, by Bruce Wilkinson, author of the New York Times bestseller, “The Prayer of Jabez”.  There is an accompanying “Dream Planner” that is journal style and can be used for the dreams & visions process.  I’m sure it can be purchased from www.amazon.com.

Tomorrow, I’ll give the next step in the process and we’ll wrap it up mid next week.

 Have an AWESOME weekend!                     Linda S.

Yesterday, I said I was going to spend a little time on the word “strategy”.  I’ve been networking most of the day and just revisited my Webster’s to again go over its definition.  Begging your indulgence, I need to study the word further and get a good handle on what I want to share about it.  So watch for that early in the week while I put my head in the dictionary over the weekend!

Is everyone caught up with the D & V process to date?

If not, you have an entire weekend to do so; but I’m going to forge ahead with pieces of the next step in the process.

Let’s review what we’ve done so far: 1) we’ve answered the questions a) The one thing I’ve always wanted to do or be is_____, b) If I could, I would _____, c) If there were no barriers, the one thing I would do with the rest of my life is ______.

If you’ve done this part of the process, I’m going to encourage you to go back and add two, three or maybe even four additional things you’ve always wanted to do or be AND the same number of additional things you would do with the rest of your life if there were no barriers.

Next review step:  write WOW by side of the item that most excites you - about which you FEEL the most passion or energy in your body.  Continue putting a wow by each of the other items with a minus number (example, wow-1; wow-2 & so on until you’ve ranked each item).  Do this for each of the 3 questions).

So much for review!

On a separate sheet of paper, list all (and I mean ALL) the skills, abilities, talents, learnings, wisdoms you know in your head and feel in your ‘gut’ that you possess!  Don’t hold anything back - don’t censor your list - just write them all down.  Don’t stop until you absolutely feel you’ve exhausted the list. 

If you experience some challenges in identifying your skills, abilities, talents, etc. - ask your spouse, adult child or another adult who knows you well to tell you the skills, abilities, talents, etc. that they experience you possess.  Write those items on your list!  (Be sure to note whether the list is your own or from someone who shared how they experience your skills, etc.

One more piece of the process for now:  go over your list of skills, etc. and RANK them.  Rank them according to how strong you think you are in that particular skill, ability, talent, learning or wisdom.  If someone else gave you their input - ask them to help you rank them.

That’s enough for a warm summer weekend!

I know that at least one of our new members has started this process, but I don’t know if this is meaningful or important to anyone else.  It feels a little like talking during a walk outside the space shuttle - “is anybody there!”

Let me know if you’re reading the BLOG and if this is helpful to you.  And of course, let me know if you are actually engaging in this process.  I am!

I’m looking here for your comments very soon!

Have an AWESOME weekend!

Linda

I said I would talk about other transitions in life for which doing Dreams & Visions sessions is a good strategy!

If you read Gail Sheehy’s famous book on passages, you know that we go through certain periods or passages in life - partly based on the age we achieve (i.e., a bar mitzvah for young Jewish boys or confirmation in the Christian tradition) and partly because our life is made up of ’seasons’.  In going from one ’season’ to another, we transition through a “rite of passage”. 

It may be high school graduation (I remember the day after graduation was pretty traumatic for me - eek, what do I do now, I thought!).  Or marriage, or the rite of passage from college to the work world.  Each of these seasons or passages comes with its own set of challenges and/or unique opportunities.  (Remind me to talk more about challenges vs unique opportunities later as it’s an important attitudinal distinction).

How do we know we’ve come to the end of a season and are entering into a ‘rite of passage’?  I can’t speak for anyone but me, however, women I’ve encountered over the years report same or similar emotional experiences during these periods of life.

The end of a life season often carries with it a sense of sadness; and in extreme situations, grief felt in the heart.  Confusion, doubt, fear and a strong sense of loss often accompanies the end of a life season.  A child leaving home, what we call “empty nest syndrome” is an excellent example.  It’s as if our usual rational mental processes take flight.  For me, I again feel like a little girl who has lost her way and doesn’t know where to turn.

Does any of this sound familiar?

These ’season-ending’ life episodes are perfect times to engage in the Dreams & Visions process.  I know, the head doesn’t want to participate or maybe it’s the heart that says “no, I don’t wanna!” 

But forcing ourselves to sit down and enter into the process is healthy because it causes our brain to focus.   And focusing our brain on any task tends to turn off the emotions that have taken over control during these stressful times.

So, take a look at the events of your life and see if you can identify the ’seasons’ that have ended and the feelings you experienced during those periods.

Then look out at your world and try to identify what season you’ve transitioned into and give it a ‘name’.  Sounds silly doesn’t it, but it’s great stuff.  I just had a season end in my life and all the above of which I’ve just written were a part of the season-ending episode.

Most importantly, it coincided with a “rite of passage” into the launch of AWP and the knowledge that the next season of life was just starting to ‘take off’.

What’s this have to do with the Dreams & Visions process?  Everything!

Make it a practice to do a Dreams & Visions session on a yearly basis - even when life is coming up roses!  Don’t always make it at the end or beginning of the year.  Try doing it when the summer is giving way to fall.

Keep a record of your sessions and revisit them frequently.  They are much like a chronicle of your growth and development.  They also serve as a refresher for a ’self-checkup’ to see how you’re doing on accomplishing the goals and objectives that are the outcome of each session or process.

Tomorrow, I’m going to talk about STRATEGY or strategies.  It’s a word we use often in the work world, but we seldom stop to study what is meant by “strategy” - so I’m going to do a little something with the word and why it’s an important process word for the 2nd half of our life journey!

 I’ve given you a little break from outlining additional steps in the Dreams & Visions process so that those of you who are just starting the process can get caught up.

In addition to talking about strategy, I’ll take us through the next step in the D & V process (shortcut for Dreams & Visions - okay?!). 

You’ll need to do a little preparation for some steps I’ll give you over the weekend - so be thinking of one or two persons (male or female) in whom you have considerable trust.  You trust them with much of who you are as a person - but it’s also important to TRUST THEM to tell you the TRUTH (hopefully in love)!

At the bottom of your list tonight,  jot down the names of that person or persons so you’ll be prepared when we get to that point.

Enough for today!  Have an AWESOME evening!

Linda

 Found this in today’s NAFE newsletter.  NAFE stands for National Association of Female Executives! 

By Entrepreneurs, For Entrepreneurs. Visit StartupNation.com for advice about how to start your own business. This website provides articles, resources, discussions, and more, all geared to help your business grow and succeed. Startup Nation covers every topic a business owner needs to know, ranging from finance to marketing to technology to sales. Use their website to build a successful, profitable business.

from NAFE member newsletter reprinted here.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive professional association to be a part of, take a look at www.nafe.com.   They have a blog and message board, as well as events across the country.  Indiana doesn’t seem to have much going on - anyone want to join me in pumping life into an Indiana NAFE Chapter?

“There are TWO great days in a person’s life - the day we are born and the day we discover why.”

William Barclay

Did you start your dreams & vision session?

Whether you did or not, I’m moving you on to the next step in the process.

There are 2 more questions to answer in the initial process: 1) “If I could, I would. . . .” and, 2) “If there were NO barriers to my doing so, the ONE THING I would do with the rest of my life is. . . .” to respond to.  Let me repeat them here: 1) “The one thing I always wanted to do or be is. . . . “, 2) “If I could, I would. . .” and 3) “If there were no barriers to my doing so, the ONE THING I would do with the rest of my life is. . .”

REMEMBER - pay attention to what your body tells you about each item you write on your list.  If the adrenaline pumps and there’s a spring in your inner person - then put a WOW by that item. 

For each item that is less a WOW, simply put wow-(and the number that corresponds to how far from wow that item is - example, wow-1 would be the next most exciting item TO YOU and so on until you’ve rated each item according to what your BODY is telling you. 

IMPORTANT - PAY NO ATTENTION to what your HEAD says!!!  I can’t emphasize that enough because your head will almost always find reasons WHY and those reasons are usually ‘downers’ or ‘negatives’ that short-circuit the process.

DISCLAIMER:  Yesterday I titled this piece as a “pre-retirement” piece based on the comment of one of our earliest members. 

But it’s not just for those of us who are in the pre-retirement stage of our lives!

Later today, I’ll comment further on some transition times for which I think a “DREAMS & VISIONS” session is helpful!

Recommended reading on related subject:  “The Passion Test” by Janet Bray Attwood and Chris Attwood (http://www.thepassiontest.com).  Check it out.  It can be found at www.amazon.com.

More later today!