Elephant in the Room

Painting - LeRoy Neiman


The following story is absolutely true, except for the parts that aren't. ;-)

A man landed at an airport in an unfamiliar city. He did a quick scan of the city on his way to meet with a big shot client, and he did not have a very good first impression of the town. This was very unfortunate, as what was about to happen was beyond his wildest imagination. This is how it all began: He posted his "140-characters-or-less" thoughts about his first impression on his personal social media account and went about his business.

An employee of the big shot client saw the man's post and immediately alerted the big shot bosses of his big shot company, who then had to take some big shot action right away. And when the big shot bosses get involved, there has to be big shot apologies, big shot hand-shakes and such… and hopefully, that would be the end… right? Wrong!

A big shot news man wrote a big shot story on his big shot blog about the big shot bosses not taking a big enough action to put an end (once and for all) to any negative comments being made about the big shot hand that feeds us. Never mind our true feelings. We must be always civil, polite, and spread fake love all around... by golly, or else!

"Off with his head!"
"Off with his head!"

The chants could be heard all over the nation.

Words to the wise: Do not, I repeat, DO NOT make less than pretty remarks when an elephant is listening. He will step on you. Why? Quite simply, because he can! And he will not hesitate to call in the rest of the herd to trample you as well.

[ADDENDUM: I'd like to add that there are always 360 degrees of very different views to every story. This is just one. Right and wrong is not my focus.]

Proud to be an American

photo credit

Barack Hussein Obama was sworn into the office as the 44th President of the United States of America. Today. January 20, 2009...

What would Martin Luther King, Jr. say today if he were alive? He would have been 80 years old on January 15, 2009 (five days ago, which happens to be my own birthday). Did he, in his wildest of dreams, dream that a black man would become the president of this great nation only 45 years after he gave that extraordinary speech (8/28/1963) in Washington D.C.? Obama was only 2 years old when MLK spoke those unforgettable words. Who could have imagined?

I became a citizen of the United States on December 17, 1981, one month before I turned 18. I saw a news clip earlier today, wherein a woman (naturalized citizen) stated that she actually felt like an American today. As I listened, I heard myself muttering, "Yes... me too."

Strange but true... I never realized until now that even with my citizenship, I had felt like a stranger in a foreign land all along. When the woman made that remark, it suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks that yes, I am every bit a citizen of this nation. I belong here. I am a part of everything that makes this country great, and I am also a part of all the blemishes that it may have. I am not an outsider looking in but a person (albeit very small) who represents what we stand for... what we fight for. And I took part in the making of this day.

Why not until now? I'm not exactly sure; but at last, I genuinely feel it. I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN. It is truly an honor and a privilege... not to be taken for granted.

The age of technology and social media

Is it out of control? How do we (the pre Gen-Y or the "Net Generation") keep up with it all?

Here's an interesting video I saw posted here about where we are headed:

I am basically a lazy person

Okay... the cat's out of the bag.

Those of you who have said, "Wow, how do you do it? I wouldn't be able to do half as much as what you do," please take another look.

I'm basically a lazy person. I do everything in my power NOT to do the things that I don't enjoy doing. It is a common misconception among many people around me that I am a dedicated and motivated hard worker.

The truth? The following facts, on the other hand, are absolutely true:

• When I do something, anything, I am a perfectionist (due to my competitiveness - because being competitive is FUN).


• When I'm having FUN, I work hard... extremely hard.


• I make every effort to see the FUN in the things that need to get done.

See a common thread? Yep! FUN-FUN-FUN~

So... if I'm not having fun, then you'll see me on the couch eating bon-bons. Even if I can somehow force myself to do something (especially if it is to help someone out), I guarantee I won't be doing it for long if I cannot see the fun in it. I'm not claiming it's good or bad...I'm just stating the facts. Yes, I AM LAZY.

I have heard people say, "Not everything can be fun, but you still need to do them." Oh yeah? You go right ahead and plod along, dragging your feet through life. I'd rather hop, skip, and jump... and maybe even do some somersaults. Falling and getting bruised is all a part of the fun. Don't be afraid of a little pain - it makes us grow. After all, the way I see it... if life isn't fun, why bother? God gave us creativity. Use it!

. . .
(Oh, and by the way... I did say that I wouldn't be posting much on here anymore. That still holds true, but sometimes thoughts just come up that need to be said, you know?)

Exploring the ellipsis

I'll be off exploring the ellipsis (...) for a while. I'm looking for possibilities... and there's ALWAYS more to come! ;-)

If you've read my last post, you probably became aware that there's a big change taking place in my life.

I will have to put all else on hold for a while and also reduce my blogging time. I don't want to shut it down completely, but postings will be very few and far in between for the time being...

Please check back periodically. Thanks!

Linda...

Change and Anxiety

Change is good, right? Anxiety is normal during a major change, no?

I am so anxious tonight. I don't know if I'll be able to sleep. Everything seems so topsy turvy. Things are changing. Tomorrow is the beginning of a new chapter and something I've been waiting for for a very long time...

I've opened the refrigerator at least 10 times in the last 30 minutes and can't find anything I want to eat. I've checked and rechecked my list for tomorrow. I think I'm prepared. Why am I so nervous?

On my way to the refrigerator yet one more time, I thought perhaps I should just write about my anxiety to relieve some pressure. But what do I say? The words are not there. I may start a series of posts journaling this new adventure. Who knows? I have not decided.

To add to the madness of it all, I've completely turned my business upside down. It has always been a losing proposition. I was giving away more than I was bringing in and hated having to promote myself. I never wanted to start the business. I just wanted to help people. But I somehow got roped into the mindset that I must make a profit with my newly acquired knowledge/skills. I knew deep down that it would not work.

I've decided to turn the MindBlink business site into a just-for-fun playground to showcase and promote other talented people, randomly chosen by me. It will no longer be a profit-oriented business, but a place for me to have fun and use my creativity to encourage others who are brave enough to pursue what they are passionate about. I will continue to offer my MBTI services to whoever is interested and as give-away prizes, but I'm done promoting myself. I'm choosing to shed the weight that was making me sink deeper into the dark hole called "need-to-suceed".

On the home page of the site, I state my reason as follows:

"Why? Because I can!"

I'm too old (and too stubborn) to play the game of worldly success. Instead, I want to use my gifts and resources to encourage other creative people to go after their dreams. That, my friends, makes me feel like I can breathe again.

As to the other (big) change I mentioned earlier... I'll keep you posted!

Ciao! :-)

A twitter experiment/challenge

THIS POST HAS BEEN MOVED TO (The link to come)

Having some Twitter fun

Tonight, I'm helping a friend reach the number 2,000 in followers. He is the co-creator of Nibipedia, a site that combines YouTube and Wikipedia. I love what he's doing. He's a fellow fan of TED, which speaks for itself. I'm rooting for him. Why? Because it's fun to root for and help someone achieve something that seems so important to them. As I write this, he has 7 more followers to go. I decided to give away a prize (a book) to his 2,000th follower.

I've seen other give-aways on Twitter, and I've been thinking it would be fun to give something away. And voila! An opportunity for me to help someone reach their goal and have my fun at the same time.

The lucky winner will receive this book:


It has been sitting on my book shelf waiting to be given away as a gift (I had bought five copies - as I have a habit of buying more than one of everything), and I hope I'll be mailing it out to someone tomorrow...

And I can then say: "I've given a prize away on Twitter!"

Yep. That's my goal. :-)

Fallen under the twitter spell

In a previous post, I expressed my skepticism about twitter. I did not understand what all the fuss was about. However, I was determined to have an open mind and give it a try.

After two months and 100+ followers/followees later, something strange has happened. I've become a tweep without even realizing it. The thing about twitter is that it is so multi-functional. It is your friend; it is your critic; it is your micro blog; it is your support group; it is your business coach; it is your teacher; it is your market researcher; it is your sales team; it is your counselor; it is your comic relief; it is your debate partner; it is your sounding board... etc. It is what you want it to be. (Umm... I think I vaguely remember Danu Poyner saying something to that effect when he challenged me to keep my twitter account for 30 days.) Every time you log in, you become instantly in touch with what the world is thinking, reading, watching, buying, selling, playing, eating... and so on.

"Who cares what you're doing every minute of every day?" one would ask. What I see as a common misconception about twitter is that it is a narcissistic self-promoting tool where a bunch of voyeurs/losers are following your every move for whatever reason. It really does sound rather silly from a newcomer's point of view.

The funny thing is... once you start throwing your thoughts/ideas/questions out there in the sea of minds, people respond. And you see thoughts that catch your eye which you want to respond to. You find friends who share similar ideas and interests - friends with whom you communicate with 140 characters or less at a time. No pressure and no obligations. People come and go as they please, and twitter never sleeps.

It's a world in which "unfollow" is the worst thing we can do to one another. And when you lose a follower, there's always another to follow.

Regardless of the differing opinions on the purposefulness of twitter, the fact remains that it has the internet community under its spell. Although I'm still clumsily trying to navigate my way, there's no denying that the world of twitter has grown (and still growing) too big to ignore.

Twitter seems to have its finger on the pulse of the world, and I'm finding myself humming and tweeting along.

I'm still here, twalive and twell, well beyond my challenge period... And twitter, I dedicate this song to you! ;-)

To spread joy, you have to have it

I am a huge fan of Alan Watts. During our long drive to Florida and back over Christmas vacation, I listened to several CDs from one of his lecture series. I usually find every point he makes to be thought-provoking and worthy of hours of pondering, and I wanted to share the following thought which I think would be wonderful for us to start off the New Year with:

To spread joy, you have to have it.
To impart delight, yo have to more or less be delightful.
To be delightful is to do things that are delightful to you. You thereby become delightful to others.

People who are interesting are people who are interested. Because they are fascinated with other things and people, they become a fascinating person. A person who does not think about anyone else and has very little going on inside their skull is boring. In other words, your engagement with the external world -- the more you are involved, the more your personality is enriched.

Oh, and one more thought to ponder ~
Watts quoted the following statement from a letter written by a Japanese Zen master:

The sound of the falling rain needs no translation.

Don't you think that fits so perfectly with my #1 motto: RES IPSA LOQUITUR (as written in a previous post)?