Time to clean out the tumbleweeds!  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Long time, no type!

A lot has happened since I last shared this space with you, most notably, I left the solopreneur  world to become the Program Manager for the National Robotics League.  It’s a wonderful position, (what’s not fun about robots that fight each other in an arena and teach students STEM skills at the same time?) but it has seriously cut into my free writing time.  After 5 months I feel like I’m starting to get things under control, and I missed the creative outlet of this space, so I’m taking a shot at doing both at once.

The question is, what should we talk about?  My new position means I don’t have the time or energy to do in-depth “how-to” posts, and I’ve cut my consulting way back so I have fewer avenues for case studies.

Here are some of the ideas that come to mind:

• Work-life balance, especially in nonprofit/change professions
• Stories from the field:  lessons from my own program management experiences, as well as guest posts from other nonprofit professionals
• Organizational development advice and discussions.  I am especially interested in what separates good meetings and bad meetings and would love to spend time helping people have more good meetings and fewer bad ones
• Musings about on-line communications.  Just random thoughts based on my own work, or the work of others I come across
• Probably fewer “how to” posts than before, more like a seminar course than a training program
• Online Book Club:  a place for us to read non-fiction together and discuss its impact on our life and work
• A brilliant idea that you just had that I didn’t think of

So, what do you think?  Leave a comment and let me know what you’d like to see for the next chapter of Low Hanging Fruit.

How is volunteer management like golf? It’s all about the follow through.
 (Photo credit: gibsonsgolfer)

I’ve asked myself this question more times than I can count.

Sometimes I ask it as a manager who works with dedicated volunteers–all of whom seem completely confident in their ability to live up to a commitment one moment and many of whom are absolutely “too busy” to follow through the next.

Sometimes I ask it as a volunteer who enthusiastically agrees to work in one meeting–only to sheepishly admit in the next meeting that the work is (still) not finished (or sometimes–started).

One very enthusiastic and capable volunteer explained this phenomena from her perspective in a way I’ll never forget.

She noticed that while she was sitting in the volunteer committee meeting she was very motivated to take care of the part of the project to which she committed.

But once she got back to her office to start working, she discovered the task that seemed straight forward in the meeting was actually somewhat complicated.  She needed information she didn’t have, or was faced with a judgement call she didn’t feel qualified to make.  In other words, the task required quite a bit more time and energy to complete than she had anticipated.

All the while, the piles of work she knew how to do–and that she was being paid to do–were staring her in the face.  So, she set the volunteer task aside and went back to doing her regular job.  Before she knew it a month had passed and her volunteer task was left unfinished.

What can be done?

The first step is for all of us to stop blaming each other.  The work we are trying to do would be challenging even if everyone who believed in our cause could devote their full-time attention to it.  By remembering that all of your volunteers and most of your staff members are juggling multiple commitments, it is easier to be gentle with others (and ourselves) when things don’t go as planned.

In addition to compassion, these practical steps can lead to more successful volunteer led projects.

Assign the right work to volunteers

Volunteer effort is best spent on work that can be done in discrete chunks of time.  That’s why a volunteer who seems so great in a committee meeting or at the annual gala sometimes struggles with work that requires bursts of self-directed individual effort between meetings.

If your organization can eliminate the need for volunteers to work in the more difficult self-directed way many of your struggles will disappear.*

Work the details out together

Another road block for volunteers is that work that seems easy when it’s assigned, turns out to be more complicated in practice.  Often that’s because we try to “save time” in meetings by glossing over the details and asking volunteers to just “work it out later.”  If instead you dedicate meeting time to making sure your whole team works together to uncover and solve as many of those “complications” as possible, you’ll find that the extra meeting time saves you months of “sorry, I’ve not gotten to that yet.”

Allow more time

When you work with volunteers you essentially trade spending money for spending time.  Often it’s a good trade, but expecting a volunteer committee to work as efficiently as even one staff member is crazy talk.

To compensate, create a well padded timeline for your volunteer driven projects.

Then double it.

Make Sharing Easy

If you’ve ever had a volunteer go silent in the middle of a big project you know what a double whammy that situation can create.  Not only is the  volunteer unable to complete the work to which she committed, but because she has sole access to the work that had been done so far,  it is also difficult for others to pick up the slack.

This problem can be all but eliminated by ensuring that everything volunteers need to do their work is stored in a shared space.  Keep spreadsheets, meeting minutes, photos, documents–every piece of electronic data that is required to manage a project– in a cloud-based system like Dropbox or Google Drive.  Then when a volunteer (or even a staff member) gets hit by the proverbial bus, the rest of the team can pick up the pieces (of the project).

Your Turn

Fess up!  If you are either a volunteer or volunteer manager, I want to hear from you.  Share your volunteer success stories and train wrecks in the comments below.

*Stop laughing.

Happy Caine (Photo credit: Leslie Kalohi / nevercoolinschool.com)

I’m so enamored with the story of Caine and his arcade.  I love the imagination of it, I love how it has appealed to the innate generosity in so many people world-wide.  I love that it has inspired a renaissance of creative, hands-on play in kids of all ages.

Nirvan Mullick (Photo credit: the1secondfilm)

But today, I want to focus on a different part of the story.  Today I want to talk about Nirvan Mullick.

Just over a year ago Nirvan needed a new door handle for his ’96 Corolla and went to a used auto parts store in East LA to find it.  When he got there, he met Caine, saw his cardboard arcade and bought a fun pass.

He bought a fun pass.

Remember, he didn’t know Caine, he didn’t know he was Caine’s first customer, he’d didn’t even know he would make a film that would change the course of Caine’s life (and his own) he just saw something cool decided to play.

Be like Nirvan

Before the media attention, before the flash mob, before the money and the Imagination Foundation, one man took time out of his day to notice something novel, and instead of succumbing to  busyness he stopped to explore.

Caine is a special kid, but there are special kids (and adults) doing amazingly creative things all around you–most of them just haven’t had their YouTube debut.

What might happen if the next time you noticed something cool happening in your neighborhood–or in your living room–you spent less time worrying about your schedule, or the mess, and instead decided to “buy the fun pass”?

Need More Inspiration?

How about participating in the Global Cardboard Challenge?

Have you noticed how easy it is to add something new to your schedule? One more client, one more project, one more meeting. Each new thing on its own seems inconsequential, so in a burst of enthusiasm (or guilt) we say yes.

Then we wonder why we feel so tired all the time.

Normally this is where you would expect a lesson on learning to say “no.” That’s good advice, and we’ll probably cover it one of these weeks, but for now I’m asking you to do something different.

Instead of saying “no” to the new thing, try making room for it your schedule by letting go of something you do now.

To be clear, I don’t mean put some of your work on the back burner, or let some details fall through the cracks. I mean make a conscious decision to completely divest yourself of (at least) one commitment.

How to choose

I can almost hear you muttering through the computer: “There is nothing on my plate I can stop doing.” You know your schedule better than I, but before you give up, I invite you to look again through the following filters:

High Effort, Low Impact

Do you spend time working on a report, or writing copy you suspect no one actually reads? What would happen if you just stopped doing it?

Sacred Cows

What do you (ether as an individual or as an organization) do because you’ve always done it? Are you sure all of those tasks are still serving your mission as well as they did in the beginning?

Outside your Wheelhouse

Do you regularly spend time doing work you aren’t actually qualified to do? Would it be worth the extra money to hire someone else to do that work–especially if you got better results in half the time?

Want to share?

What are you ready to stop doing to invite new opportunities into your life? Leave a comment below to share what you are ready to stop doing–and what you hope to invite into your life to take its place.

my office assistant is cute but not helpful

Like many people who run a home-based business, I do most of my work alone in my office save for an office assistant whose main contribution is to sit on the Caps Lock key.  As a person who thrives on the company of others–and who needs the input and perspective only other people can provide to do my best work– one might assume this arrangement is a recipe for disaster.

Actually, it would be, save for one very important technological advancement:  the Internet.

Sure, I rely on it to connect with potential clients, and I teach those clients to use it to connect with their clients, customers, and donors, but that’s just the most obvious benefit.

The Internet also provides me the one thing I need to stay sane, productive and creative while working on my own:  access to other humans.

Thanks to Twitter, I am connected to a huge community of theatre artists and administrators through the #2amt hashtag and some of the most dedicated nonprofit professionals you’ll ever meet though #smNPchat.  Twitter is also the place I “hang out” with some of the smartest and most generous consultants I know including Erica, Pamela, Jenny, and Shoshana.  (I’ve linked to their twitter profiles, but be sure to visit their websites as well!)

Thanks to the Society of the Secret Play Date, I (usually) remember to incorporate a sense of wonder and play into my everyday work.  I also have the pleasure of cheering the accomplishments of other play-daters (and receiving encouragement myself) when we meet in our secret hideout.

Thanks to the Remarkable Marketing Blueprint, I now count some of the internet’s best “third tribe” style marketers among my friends.  I  also have a place to go to test new ideas, get advice, and blow off steam when I worry I’ll never have another good idea.  (Thanks to the blueprint, I’m also just one Kevin Bacon-style step removed from Seth Godin, but I’ll spare you the fan girl moment.)

Finally, thanks to Facebook, I have a way to stay connected to my “real life” communities made up of family, friends, teachers, students, neighbors and colleagues scattered across the United States–and increasingly, the world.

So while my physical space offers only 3 cats and one engineer for company, the Internet provides me a variety of spaces, some public, some private, where I can go to hone my skills, get advice and encouragement, ask silly questions, build relationships and, of course, procrastinate.  Thanks to those communities, and the amazing people who are a part of them, I’m able to pursue a dream that would not have been possible for me 10 years ago.

Another Place to Build Community

Because these online communities have been so crucial to my work, (and because the world will be better when more people start pursuing their dreams) I built a private space where smart, kind, generous, and driven people can take the ideas about which they usually only whisper, and give those ideas the nourishment, protection, support, and care they need to grow.

Click here to learn more about the LHF Greenhouse.

I hope to see you inside.

It’s my Birthday!

That means cake and balloons* for me, but I mention it here because it also means today is the last day to get a discount on your LHF Greenhouse membership.

If you have a project that is stalled, or long for a community of visionary people to help you figure out how to find and do the work you are called to do, I hope you will join us.

Click here for the full invitation, or here to skip straight to the membership levels.

Hope to see you inside!

*Well virtual ones at least.

Do make time for regular trips to Oz?(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There was a time when my life was overflowing with creativity. Not simply my own, but everyone around me. Writers, artists, actors, musicians, songwriters, designers … I couldn’t throw a paper airplane without hitting someone whose talent filled the space. My spare time was filled with art shows, community theatre in all its forms, or performances of local musicians.

At the time, I didn’t realize how unusual my life was, or how fortunate I was to be surrounded by so many incredibly talented people. I didn’t realize that most people’s reality was so much more … mundane. I know that may sound judgmental, and I truly don’t mean for it to, but it’s like seeing the Wizard of Oz and going from Technicolor back to Kansas in plain old black and white.

Sure, I worked, but it was secondary to everything else. My job didn’t interfere.

Until it did. And I went back to Kansas and the colors faded in my memory as time passed and I grew older and more responsible. Work began to take more and more of my time and creative exploits became a thing that I talked about on the phone in the car when driving to or from work. Then I just listened to other people talk about the projects they were working on. And finally, I just stopped. Work became all consuming. It wasn’t my intention and I certainly didn’t enjoy it, but it crept up, slowly taking more and more of my energy and focus until I didn’t have any more to give to anything else.

I describe that job as soul-destroying. It might sound melodramatic, but it’s an honest assessment. The nature of the job combined with the hours that I worked sucked so much energy that I didn’t have the ability to participate in the creative outlets that had always provided me with stress relief. The company frowned on individuality and stifled creativity. For a free-spirited theatre loving soul like myself, it was one of my personal circles of hell.

During those years, creativity was not on my agenda. Sometimes dinner was too overwhelming and took too much time and effort, so how was I supposed to be creative?

You see, the problem with creative people is we think too big. When we get grounded in a world of work and life and problems, we set our creativity aside because it’s “too much work.” It takes too much time to get involved. It’s too much effort to paint a picture and then clean the brushes and … and …. and …. We are so creative in our ways to avoid being creative that it should be a form of creativity in itself. We forget that creativity can come in small packages. 15 minutes with a sketch pad and a pencil. 20 minutes with a blank word document, keyboard and an imagination. 15 minutes telling bedtime stories. 30 minutes trying a new spin on a recipe for the family dinner.

But believe it or not, creativity doesn’t just go away. It doesn’t wither and die if you don’t use it. It just gets rusty. It might give you a headache. It will definitely give you a heartache. Mine did.

At first, I told stories. To friends, to co-workers, to the teller at the bank and the cashier at the grocery store. I told stories to anyone who would listen. Telling stories could be like performing. I had an audience and a script and away I went. But performances are for the audience, not the performer and it didn’t quite fill the void.

You know the void that I’m talking about. The void that leaves your heart a little empty and your eyes a little wet and your head bursting with so many things that you can’t put words to. The void that tells you when you’re missing a piece of yourself that’s so vital to who you are.

Art for the Artist’s Sake

I needed something personal. Something for me. A way to express my creativity. So I started a blog. I don’t have a huge following. I don’t care.

I don’t write for them. I write for me. I write because when I don’t, I begin to function on auto-pilot and I fall into a routine and eventually, I stop seeing in color. For me, creative writing is something I can do anytime, as little or as much as I want. It doesn’t require a rehearsal schedule or an accompanist. I don’t need anything beyond a pen and piece of paper. Or just my cell phone (there’s an app for that!)

It started out as a way to de-stress from work. I would write out an encounter from my day. Sometimes they were funny and sometimes they weren’t. Some of them were worth sharing and some of them weren’t worth the digital page they were typed on. All of them were important to me. They were pieces of me. They were and are reminders to me that even in a world of black and white, I can still open the door to a world of Technicolor.

I need reminders that creativity, like happiness, is a choice to be made each day. It’s always there if I’m willing to take the time to actively see it, to let it flow. It’s easy to get swept along in the fast pace of life. Slowing down for ten minutes to rejuvenate the inner creative streak can be hard to justify.

Make Time for Creativity

Most of you who are reading this probably understand the importance of self-care. I hope that you believe in the necessity of taking time each day and each week to care for yourselves. I challenged myself to add 15 minutes to my self-care ritual once a week (that’s only an hour a month) to sit down and write. Sometimes I find that I have more time during the week and I write more frequently, but I know, and I look forward to those 15 minutes each week when my schedule is cleared for my imagination to fly.

Surely you can make the choice to find 15 minutes in your week to do something so good for yourself? After all, remember the magic of opening the door to Oz for the first time? Your life doesn’t have to be black and white all the time.

Editor’s Note

Need some help committing to creativity?  We’d love to have you join us in the LHF Greenhouse.  Membership rates go up Wednesday morning, so if being part of a virtual community of creative souls sounds appealing, I hope you’ll check it out today.

I’m 33 years old. I’m healthy. My blood pressure is 100/65. My BMI is 21.3. My “bad” cholesterol barely registers on the charts. I eat nutritious foods – lots of fruits, veggies, chicken, yogurt. I do have a sweet tooth, but I try to balance it out with some exercise.

Oh yeah, and I’m a brain cancer survivor.

**Cue screeching tires, deer in headlights look, and one or more of the following reactions:

“Are you ok?”
“But you look so healthy…”
“That’s terrible. You don’t deserve that!”

I am OK. I do look healthy and I feel healthy. And, there are over 600,000 people in the United States living with a primary brain tumor and not a single one of them deserves it.

My tumor was discovered accidentally after an MRI in 2002.  It was a slow growing tumor, so my doctors recommended a “watchful waiting” approach.  In 2008 the tumor had grown and after a biopsy, I was diagnosed with an Oligoastrocytoma.  Due to the location and size of the tumor, it is inoperable.  I began radiation therapy and chemotherapy in the winter of 2008.

No one knows the exact causes of brain tumors. There’s no real explanation why one person develops a brain tumor and another does not. Is it just dumb luck, or bad luck? Or, maybe it’s serendipity.

When someone is diagnosed with any type of cancer, it is common for the individual to ask, “why me?” I asked, “why not me?”

I have always believed that you are never given more than you can handle and people are so much stronger than they think they are. I decided a long time ago that if there is a certain percentage of the population that have to get cancer, I’m glad it was me as I wouldn’t wish it on anyone else.

I am the luckiest cancer survivor I know. I have an incredibly supportive husband, family and network of friends. I’m stubborn and I have a hard time asking for help, but I wouldn’t be who I am today or have the perspective that I have if they hadn’t helped me when and in the way I needed it.

How to Help

People want to help other people. We are naturally altruistic. So, how can you help someone who has been diagnosed with cancer?

Ask them.

Everyone has different needs and everyone has a limit to the type of help they are willing to receive. While they may need financial support, not everyone is comfortable having a fundraiser in their name. Providing a meal or gift cards for groceries may be more appreciated. Offer to help clean their house or mow their yard. Sometimes, the smallest things can help the most.

Since the discovery of my tumor in 2002, I’ve wanted to do something to help raise awareness about brain tumors.

After discussions about 5K runs and awareness walks, my family and I decided that we needed to do something that would allow participation by all. One evening in late fall, the idea of individuals knitting handmade scarves and hats and selling them to raise funds and awareness popped into my head. I don’t remember exactly what sparked the idea. It was serendipitous, as ever since I went through treatment I seem to always be cold!

Tie One on for Brain Cancer

In 2011, with help from my friends and family, Tie One On For Brain Cancer was born!

Tie One On For Brain Cancer provides an opportunity for everyone to assist in the quest to fund research that focuses on new therapies for brain tumor patients and improvements to existing therapeutic options.  Those who can’t knit or crochet can donate yarn or purchase items during our sales.

You can help raise awareness about the prevalence of brain tumors. Visit www.braintumor.org to learn about tumor types and treatment options, awareness and educational events and giving opportunities.

To learn more about Tie One On For Brain Cancer visit our website  or check us out on Facebook.

Share your story!

The summer showcase is all about you and the stories that inspire you. Or stories about how you spend your free time. It won’t be the same if your voice is missing.

Click here for more information on how share your story! Or, if you aren’t a phone-talker, e-mail me.

Many of them are also almost completely blind to their own brilliance.

Because of that blind spot, they choose to play small, to sit in the shadows, and teach themselves, day by day, to ignore their dreams.

That madness must end.

The world needs the dedicated, talented, generous, and kind among us to stand up and be counted– to be ready and willing to do what only we can do to make the world a little more beautiful, a little more safe, and a little more free.

That’s why I created the LHF Greenhouse.

The greenhouse first opened last January.  Since then the site’s pioneers and I have been working together to create an online community for people ready to recognize their own awesomeness and start using it to change the world (or at least a corner of it.)

Now, we are ready for you to join us.

How you can help

If you are reading this, chances are good you have untapped awesomeness that the greenhouse could help you access.  I hope you will choose to join us.

That having been said, it’s probably going to be easier to identify your friends and colleagues who could use to have their amazingness reflected back at them.

Do you have a friend in mind?  Will you please make sure she sees this post and knows that she is personally invited to join us inside?

Here’s the invitation:  You are invited to join the LHF Greenhouse!

Can’t wait to see you all inside!

On the evening of March 11, 2011 my life and the lives of my children were changed forever.

I was brutally attacked, strangled, and beaten so badly by my ex-husband that friends and neighbors didn’t recognize me. It was highly publicized by the media because my injuries were so graphic. During my ex-husband’s sentencing hearing the county attorney stated “that it was the worst beating she had seen in 11 years of doing domestic violence prosecution and that I had looked worse than some victims in homicide cases she had prosecuted.” I was lucky to be alive.

Unfortunately, our children were all present during the attack and watched their father beat me, and then kick and stomp on my face repeatedly. They could do nothing but scream in terror and beg their father to stop hurting me. They were 1, 3, and 5 at the time. At some point during the attack my five year old daughter knocked on a neighbor’s door and they came to our aid saving us physically from the attack.

We had survived….physically. And yet we were so broken emotionally that making it through the day was difficult for all of us. I was forcing myself to take my kids out to do things to get their mind off of things but inside we were all suffering. My children were exhibiting behaviors that were damaging to them and I could see that they needed help I was not able to give them so that they could cope with the damage that was caused from witnessing domestic violence.

I sought help for them in traditional counseling but the behaviors were not improving. Although I was able to find programs for both offenders and victims there was a lack of services for children exposed to this type of violence.

I was already practicing as a mental health therapist at the time and felt I had to do something to help these children. I knew that statistically “80% of boys and 77% of girls who see this violence will repeat it,” and I was determined to do whatever it took to break the cycle of violence within my family.

I realized it was my calling in life to help these children, and from that point forward I would fight every day of the rest of my life to ensure that no child would have to go to bed to the sound of their mother being beaten.

In April, I officially opened and began seeing client’s at my counseling agency where we offer mental health counseling for victims and children dealing with trauma resulting from witnessing domestic violence in their home.  We also teach those children the skills they need to  break the cycle of violence in their own homes.

Healing from domestic violence is a long process. Not only does the victim have to deal with the physical pain, but even after the bruises fade, the emotional pain persists–even after the actual abuse has stopped.

Resources

If you or someone you know has (or is) suffering abuse do not be afraid to get help. The emotional impact this has on your children can last a lifetime.  You and they need help immediately.

Warning Signs A Child Is Being Exposed to Domestic Violence

• acting out
• withdrawing
• attention seeking behaviors
• care taking (taking care of and worrying about the needs of others more than self)

Somatic complaints including:

• headaches
• stomachaches
• asthma
• nervousness or anxiety
• short attention span (which may seem like “hyperactivity”)
• regression in developmental tasks including bedwetting, thumb-sucking, clinging behavior, and poor conflict resolution skills

What To Do If You Think A Child Is Being Exposed to Domestic Violence

• listen
• validate feelings
• show belief
• dispel fault
• explore fears
• maintain calm
• be honest with yourself
• Do NOT confront the abuser
• Report your concerns to Child Protective Services (click for a link to contact information for each state)

I’ve noticed a recent trend in the way I read my e-mail: I rarely make it to the end of long messages.

Maybe my attention span is starting to go, or maybe it’s because I read so much of my e-mail on my phone, but whatever the reason, after about 300 words, I close the message telling myself I’ll come back to it “later.”

Except, later usually means never.

It occurred to me that if I feel that way about e-mail you might be noticing that same problem with say, e-mail newsletters with “monthly on-line communications advice.”

To that end, I’ve decided to try something new. Instead of sending one long article each month, I’d like to send you a short “prompt” each week.

One week’s e-mail might include a short challenge designed to help you improve your social media presence. The next week it could be an activity to help you get out of your own way, overcome resistance, or be nicer to yourself.

The unifying factor is that each one will invite you to take a simple (if not easy) step just outside your current comfort zone, in order to help move you just a little closer to your goals.

Oh, and each message will be short enough to read on your phone between meetings.

Sound like fun?  Click here to subscribe!

Need some convincing?  Check out a couple of the messages you’ve missed.

• 07/30/2012 - Try it: Write a (real) thank you note
• 07/23/2012 - Try it: Make New Friends
• 07/16/2012 - Try it: Make an It’s Done list
• 07/09/2012 - Try it: Carry a Talisman

One of the producers for Katie Couric’s new daytime show e-mailed me about Brené Brown’s upcoming appearance on the show and asked me to pass on this invitation to attend the taping in person.  For more information, about the segment visit KatieCouric.com.

From the e-mail:

We are doing a show all on “Daring Greatly” with Brené and want to fill her audience with fans AND feature some fans as guests on the show to discuss ways they can possibly dare greatly for the first time with Brene’s help.

I was hoping that you could help spread the word to your followers that we are looking for fans of Brené that would like to, as Brené says, show up and be seen. Meaning, we are looking for women and men to dare greatly by being vulnerable on our show.

Specifically, the show’s producers are looking for fans to answer the following question:

What are you afraid to do that you’d love to find the courage to do?

Are you keeping a secret from a loved one because you are worried about how they will perceive you? Are you recently divorced or widowed and are worried about putting yourself on the line again to be open to more hurt? We all have something we are afraid of opening ourselves up to- things that make us feel like we are on a stage completely naked. We want to hear about what makes you feel naked. What would you love to find the courage to do or say if fear wasn’t holding you back?

 

When Maureen asked me to write a post about how the world benefits from cognitive surplus efforts, I was thrilled. I have surplus cognition! I have my fingers in lots of business pies! No problem.

No problem, that is, until I sat down to write. Blinking cursor. 218 words too embarrassing to submit. Blinking cursor. Delay, embarrassment, blinking cursor. Finally, I realized why writing a post about spare time efforts was like pulling teeth: I’m multi passionate.

“Hi, I’m Deanna and I’m multi passionate.” It feels like the kind of thing one admits in a church basement surrounded by supportive but similarly afflicted friends. Over the years my many interests have led people to call me flaky, unfocused and indecisive. I’ve been accused of lacking drive, commitment and ambition. In college a friend suggested I get tested for ADD. Once a friend even lamented that I would be happier with my work if I were less intelligent.

I’m just now starting to accept the idea that I’m not flighty and shiftless. I don’t need to settle down and focus. I’m learning to embrace my multi passionate self. Many years ago, Barbara Sher coined the term scanner to describe people who were interested in a dozen things at once. I think my parents bought her book for me because I couldn’t choose a college major. Since then, renaissance man has gone in and out of fashion to describe the same phenomenon. Some of us are just wired to need variety. Having the option to switch between multiple projects keeps things interesting.

I suspect having a side business is also a way to keep things interesting, but the idea of cognitive surplus or spare time work implies that someone has a primary role. When she has some time to spare, she works on a side project for the fun of it. Multi passionate folks don’t see any of the things they work on as spare time activities. All the things we do are primary roles. I get just as excited, focused and driven cleaning up a coach’s Quickbooks as doing a rune stone reading. I don’t see either one as using up spare mental energy. Both activities use different kinds of energy and brain functioning. I could never choose one over the other, I need both.

Compartmentalization is Overrated

Don’t do this to your life! (Photo credit: yuan2003)

Whether you have a cognitive surplus business or are actually multi passionate doesn’t make a difference in how you impact your world. So many of us, especially those of us with corporate backgrounds, have been taught to compartmentalize. I think compartmentalizing is a terrible idea. Keeping all your interests in separate little boxes robs the people around you of the opportunity to learn from your experiences. The skills you learn teaching cooking classes on the side easily translate into teaching in your primary job function. And vice versa: the skills I learned running training programs in my corporate job improve the way I share information with my consulting clients.

Interests outside of work are useful beyond transferable skills. Think about points of connection. I recommend that all my clients include personal interests in their About pages. Those personal interests create points of connection. I sail and so does one my copywriting clients. Whenever he calls, he asks me if I’ve gotten out on the water lately. I’m suggesting you share your side projects and outside interests as way for people to make a genuine connection with you. This isn’t intended in the smarmy way sales courses tell you to write down the names and ages of a prospect’s children.

Whether you are multi passionate or just have a side business that excites you, give yourself credit for those skills. Share that knowledge and those activities. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking about work vs side business or work vs life, but really its all just life.

Share your story!

The summer showcase is all about you and the stories that inspire you. Or stories about how you spend your free time. It won’t be the same if your voice is missing.

Click here for more information on how share your story! Or, if you aren’t a phone-talker, e-mail me.

I didn’t realize it when I was young, but I hit the grandparent lottery. Every holiday, every birthday, every graduation, every life event, big and small, included Grandma and Grandpa. They visited us at school. They took us on vacation, they invited each of us to stay with them for a week each summer by ourselves (so we could be the sole beneficiary of their affection for a while). As we got older, they loaned* each of us the money we needed to buy our first (and sometimes second) cars. Their house was always open, and several of us grandchildren took full advantage of their hospitality by living with them (or at least coming over to do laundry) as we transitioned between living with our parents and living on our own.

What is even more amazing is their generosity was not reserved for “family” in the traditional sense. Grandma and Grandpa never met a child they didn’t welcome into their home and hearts with open arms. They were always happy to extend their hospitality to friends-of-friends be it for a meal, a trip to the airport, or even a stay at the “Harney Street Bed and Breakfast” as some people took to calling their house after an especially active month of house guests. After they retired, they filled up some of their free time volunteering in a local elementary school listening to second graders practice reading, and serving at a local homeless shelter providing a smile and a warm meal to some of the city’s most vulnerable residents.

Even with all of these amazing gifts, I realized as I was writing this post that the most precious gift they’ve given me is not on this list. Through a lifetime of decisions big and small my Grandparents taught me the joys of giving. They taught me, not through words, but through example, to give as much as I could joyfully give, without worrying about what I would get in return. They taught me there is plenty of love to go around, and the rest will work itself out later.

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for setting such a great example. I hope to be half as inspirational to the people in my life as you’ve been to me.

Your Turn

Is there someone amazing in your life who deserves a tribute?  Tell us about them in the comments.

*and by loaned I mean they said they were loaning us the money but didn’t want us to pay them back until we could afford it. I’m fairly confident none of those loans were ever actually paid in full.

If, like me you find her posts to be both hysterically funny, and surprisingly poignant, you’ll also be happy to know you can now follow her on a semi-regular* basis over at her new blog, Mylifesweird.

being a mentor means having this much fun at the drive-in

I never thought of myself as a mentor and frankly, I think many of the lessons I have to offer today’s youth are a bit sketchy.  Sometimes though, you just meet a kid who is so awesome you think, OMG this kid had better succeed in life because wow, what a cool kid.

That’s what happened to me and is why I became a mentor.  I’ve been involved in a mentoring program for going on 2 years now and I must say, it has been a great experience and one I highly recommend for anyone who isn’t a pedophile, criminal, rapist, stalker, or otherwise creepy person.  If you, like me, are just kind of awesome and enjoy having an excuse to go out and do things, seriously, become a mentor.

I call my mentee my Padawan and I drag her with me to do all sorts of stuff like visit zoos and aquariums and to watch theater.   She’s turning 18 next year so we’re going to go to New York for a few days to celebrate her graduating high school, staying out of trouble, and generally being an amazing person despite some pretty crappy things happening in her life.  I won’t go into her personal life or history I’ll just say this is one strong and amazing young lady.  She inspires me as much as I hope I inspire her.

Read the rest at Mylifesweird.

Share your story!

The summer showcase is all about you and the stories that inspire you. Or stories about how you spend your free time. It won’t be the same if your voice is missing.

Click here for more information on how share your story! Or, if you aren’t a phone-talker, e-mail me.

*Dude, she’s studying for the bar, give a girl a break.