India Journal: Where No One Knows Your Name
Even if you haven’t seen this bing commercial yet, you most certainly have felt this way at one time or another…
There was a time when I felt completely overloaded. It seemed as though it was never quiet enough to hear myself think, to hear that voice inside. There was always a distraction. Television. Internet. iPod. Radio. Busyness. Conversation. Meetings. Even the squeal of the subway. Distraction found me with ease…and sometimes, I was looking for it.
But then something happened. I remembered a time when I could hear myself. When I recognized my own voice and learned to use it, trust it, believe it, enjoy it.
I was an introverted, quiet, studious woman. And then I moved to Italy, a place where no one knew me or the roles I played in life. No one knew I was the shy sister, the serious student, the sensitive daughter. Being in a place where I was no longer expected to be a certain way, I learned who I actually was…extroverted, humorous and strong! More importantly, I learned (more…)
Revolution Me! Featured in Alltop!
Revolution Me! is thrilled to be featured in Alltop, Guy Kawasaki’s “online magazine rack” of the web. Alltop brilliantly aggregates all the information you could want from headlines of the latest stories on the best sites and blogs that cover a topic. Revolution Me! is found in the Personal Achievement category.
Check us out on Alltop and see everything else it has to offer!
President-Elect Barack Obama’s Victory Speech
While there is so much to say about the evening’s events, I thought it best to let our new President’s words inspire us to think about our responsibility to what is possible. Watch the speech, listen to the audio of Barack Obama Victory Speech provided by NPR or read the transcript below.
November 5, 2008 · In these prepared remarks provided by his campaign, President-Elect Barack Obama calls himself the unlikeliest presidential candidate. He thanks many members of his campaign, along with his enormous army of volunteers, and he warns supporters about what he calls the enormity of the tasks at hand that now face the U.S. He concludes by telling an anecdote about a 106-year-old African-American voter from Atlanta. (more…)
Finding Your Path to Success
Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.
— Abraham Lincoln
With less than a month to go before the next Presidential election, I thought a quote from a former office holder would serve as inspiration for the day.
In pursuit of life and career goals your resolve is the power behind your vision. Equally important as knowing what you want, is knowing why you want it - this core value is an essential navigational tool. Your resolve is your guide for plotting a powerful course of action and evaluating opportunities to determine if they serve your vision.
Held firm, your resolve can help you to overcome fear, detractors, road blocks and even failure along the way. Without resolve, you are ambling toward a desire, a wish. While you may achieve your goal either way, with resolve the destination purposeful, designed, intentional. Without first establishing the why, you may find yourself asking the question after you have arrived.
Any time you are charting a new course, you will encounter those who will tell you why it isn’t the “right path“ and your own fear may offer a few objections as well. Your job is to establish your own resolve to succeed, set your feet firmly on the path and then decide how to make it your path one step at a time.
I do not believe in wrong roads. There is only the road you are on and the turns you choose to make.
Toward a Dream Realized
Watching Barack Obama accept the nomination at the Democratic National Convention, I was stunned by how proud I felt to see people of every race, gender and creed taking part in the process – speaking, debating, protesting, nominating, conceding, championing, building, educating…and making history
Regardless of your politics, today is a day to celebrate. We have turned a new corner as a nation, and it will have deep and lasting implications.
Today, our country, a symbol of freedom and equality to many beyond its borders, breaks through a new boundary – taking that symbol to new heights.
Today is a day of historic import, commemorating civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr’s landmark speech describing his dream of justice and racial equality. It is a momentous day, as Barack Obama became the first African-American nominated by a major political party for the Presidency of the United States of America. It is a meaningful day, as we renew the self-evident truth that all men are created equal.
Today, we are offered a reminder of our responsibility to wake ourselves up, to dream beyond what others think possible, to be courageous, to break down walls, to build up others, to scale new heights, to never accept “impossible”, to face the odds, to remember our strength, to seize the day. And we are offered a challenge of mutual responsibility to build communities and lives worthy of the opportunity before us.
Or to paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi, We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
Maria Shriver asks Just Who Will You Be?
Maria Shriver has been everywhere from Larry King to Oprah talking about her new book Just Who Will You Be?: Big Question.
The book is a genuine heartfelt look at a question millions of people all over the world are wrestling with — Am I creating the person I want to be?
Each week, people ask me some version of this question. Typically, it starts out with a question about work, career, balance, happiness, even retirement. I am asked – How do I know what I want to do? How do I find what makes me happy when I have so many responsibilities? How do I explore what I believe and want when I am so afraid?
What emerges, however, is a true desire to be heard and understood; a desire to create a way of life that reflects the person we are and the person we are becoming.
As a society we are conditioned to consider our vocation and success in terms of wealth, prestige, prominence and the like.
But something is happening. Slowly, quietly, we are starting to question this norm. We are beginning to realize that true success is achieved when we design our lives and careers around who we are, rather than contort ourselves to fit a societal image of success. Revolution Me! is testament to movement.
I invite you to take a look around, you will find inspiration and motivation – from Chester Pitts to Markéta Irglová. And for exercises to get you into motion, you may want to check out some of our recent postings:
Consciously Crafting Your Career
Making a Life vs. Making a Living
How Gaps Grow and Consciously Creating Commitments
Memory Muscle: Part I and Memory Muscle: Part II
Take twenty minutes today to start planning your own personal Revolution!
Lessons from Fidel Castro – Part II: The Resignation Conversation
Now that you have planned your resignation, it’s time to move into action. You are ready to schedule an appointment with the appropriate person to officially start the negotiation. Review your research and your plan. Think through and outline your points. Remember this is a serious professional conversation. Keep your emotions under control and come prepared follow these simple steps. (more…)
Lessons from Fidel Castro: How to Plan Your Resignation
Reading about Fidel Castro’s resignation, I thought it might be a good time to discuss how to resign from your current position. While you may not be ending your tenure as the longest ruling communist dictator, a well thought out plan will serve you well.
Before you march into HR with your letter of resignation, consider what you need to leave successfully and construct a negotiation plan.
There is more on the table that you haven’t yet examined, including transition pay, outplacement services, health insurance benefits, references, company car purchases, fitness membership conversions, phone and computer transfer and a vast array of intangible benefits.
Before approaching management about leaving, think about your role, the direction the company is heading and design an exit strategy. Compile a list of separation benefits that should be on the table based on company policy, your tenure, position, and in return for easing potential problems. The following list may help you prepare your strategy. (more…)
The Revolution Defined
Most of us know when it is time to make a change, yet an actual shift somehow remains elusive. Often fear of making the wrong decision or inertia holds in familiar patterns.
Each January thousands of us embark upon the tradition of making New Year’s Resolutions in an effort to enact change. Gym memberships spike, bookstores are packed and class enrollments increase.
Within 60 days more than forty percent of
New Year’s Resolutions are broken.
With almost a month into the new year, are your resolutions bringing you closer to your goal or the statistic?
If you are teetering on the edge of inertia, it may be time to define your REVolution!
In the next few posts we will explore the steps to create your own personal revolution, including:
Making the Connection
Who are the most powerful people in your network of colleagues, peers, friends, family and acquaintances? Are you thinking of high level executives in prestigious companies, elected officials, prominent philanthropists, notable artists?
While these individuals are indeed powerful, they may not be the most powerful in your network. To identify your power players, other factors need to be considered.
Brian Uzzi, a professor at Kellogg School of Management and Shannon Dunlap, formerly of Kellogg’s Center for Executive Women (currently teaching at NYU) explored the power of networks in a Harvard Business Review article How to Build Your Network (December 2005). They identified three major advantages of networks. These factors are useful in identifying the most powerful people within your personal and professional network. (more…)
