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This Day In History

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Living the Dream, President Barack Obama, Dr. ...
Image by BL1961 via Flickr

Written by Karen D. Swim

Today in the United States we will swear in our 44th President, and the first African American to hold the job.  Whatever your political beliefs, this historical moment will be part of our shared history.

In a country with an ugly history of racism,  we have crossed yet another milestone that distances us from our segregated past.  We remain a country with flaws and divisions but today there is hope that there is no wound too large to heal.

This is also the first Presidential Inauguration where social media will have a starring role.  As tweets are typed and photos are shared we are putting aside our differences for the day to share in this moment of celebration.

In my own family, there has been excitement mixed with moments of silent awe.  Yes, we have come this far.

I am thankful for those who dared to hope and worked to make those hopes a reality. My own hope is that we will continue to have audacious hope and work together  to attain things we thought never possible.

How do you feel about this day? Will you be watching the Inauguration live or via television?

Resources

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Close Encounters with the Dark and Scary

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Divide : Scared To Death
Image by monsieurlam via Flickr

Written by Karen D. Swim

For the past week I have been working on a low cost information product for job seekers. I have ghostwritten two books and a manual on career marketing and management for clients, in addition to my own work in the field.  I have spent four years successfuly helping job seekers search for and obtain new positions. I have coached clients on interviewing and salary negotiation and have written hundreds of high impact resumes and bios.  Yet, with 65% of my product complete, I was gripped with doubt.

I was sitting at my desk working away. It was Saturday and I had chosen to work because I was excited about the product. I had it on my 2008 list and kept pushing it aside but here I was finally doing it.  It was snowing outside and the perfect day to write.  The peaceful silence was interrupted by an old familiar voice, “What if this is a big flop?” My stomach quivered as I considered the question. “Oh god, what if it is a flop, I’ll be a total failure and everyone will know, what am I thinking, I’m not as smart as…”My thoughts raced ahead to me being the  BIG FAT LAUGHING STOCK of the internet.  People would tweet about my failure and the virtual tomatoes would fly in my direction.

The voice taunted me, telling me I wasn’t smart enough, good enough or ready enough to complete this project. My shoulders began to sag as the joy dissipated from my heart. It was then another voice, softer but bolder declared, “And?’ One word but the meaning was crystal clear, “and so what?” I straightened my shoulders and listened to that voice.

I could try and possibly fail or never try and fail for sure.

We are all vulnerable to moments of self doubt.  In less than 10 minutes I had gone from a happy, reasonably confident woman to a quivering mass of insecurity.  This time I had stared fear in the face but I am ashamed to admit that at other times fear has been the victor.

If you are 100% comfortable and confident you are probably not taking a risk. Taking on new challenges, stepping outside of our “tried and true” is scary. Too often we allow fear to direct our footsteps. Yes, there are times that danger is ahead, but that voice is a confident voice of warning not a voice of self-doubt and negative self talk.

Instead of waiting for fear to leave, invite it on the journey.  Let faith drive the car and shove fear in the back seat, or better yet, leave it by the side of the road.

As for me, I am scared but I am also excited. I might blow it big time but there’s also the chance that I might get it right. Of course there are people who know more than me, but if I wait to be the smartest, fastest, or best I’ll die never having tried, and I have decided that would be a far greater tragedy than failing.

How do you overcome fear? Have you ever allowed fear to prevent you from doing something you really wanted?

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Five in the Morning

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coffee
Image by uberculture via Flickr

Written by Karen D. Swim

When Steve Woodruff gave me the opportunity to get in on the ground floor opportunity of the Five in the Morning franchise, I didn’t hesitate to say “count me in!” Of course  I then realized that his famous Five in the Morning posts really were 5 am. I love reading his posts, but admittedly I am never up at that hour. After unsuccessfully trying to negotiate a time zone that would put me closer to 9 in the morning, I acquiesced. I mean I kind of owe him seeing as how he did give me my dream job. So, without further pomp and circumstance, I’m proud to share five posts that are well worth reading…

Kelly Erickson reminds us that without a map you may miss your stop. Read her insightful post to map your business for success this year.

A new year signals change for many people and in this heartfelt post, Alex Fayle discusses the need to grieve what we are giving up before letting go and moving on.

BrandFreak treats us to a humorous look at marketing strategies by financial giant, Bank of America. Did B of A make an oop-oop-a -doop?

If you or companies you work with are wondering how to Make Your Corporate Blog Work for Your Brand, Not Against It, you will benefit from this social media case study on The Blog Council about how Kaiser Permanente is using social media to build their brand.

If you are still nto convinced on the benefits of Twitter, here’s an interesting story about Twitter’s day in court by Rex Gradeless, Social Media Law Student.

Like this? Re-tweet it on Twitter (just cut/paste):
Get today’s fresh-brewed Five in the Morning fuel from @swoodruff right here: http://twitpwr.com/1Hp/

Follow Steve Woodruff on Twitter

Subscribe to the Sticky Figure Blog

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At the Intersection of Been There and Looking Ahead

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You are here
Image by Martin Deutsch via Flickr

Written by Karen D. Swim

Hello and Happy 2009! Like most people I have spent the past couple of weeks reflecting on the past as I planned for the future. I took real time away from business and the internet to relax,  reflect and reconnect with the neglected pieces of my life.

Before I moved forward it was important to review the lessons learned in the previous 12 months. What went right? What went wrong? More importantly how would I apply the lessons to keep growing and moving forward?

So, what did I learn?

  1. Sometimes you’re on the right road but you’ve got the wrong mode of transportation.  For me this meant for  looking at plans and processes in detail. Often the plans were solid but I needed to tweak the process which included sometime appointing a different driver.
  2. I am not my business. As a small business professional it’s easy to blur the lines between the business you created and you as a person. My whole reason for creating a business was to allow me to have the lifestyle I desired. I had to take a step back and realize Words For Hire is not Karen Swim. That delineation helped me to think about my business with a clear head free of emotional baggage.
  3. I don’t have to know everything. This was a hard one but my natural curiosity led to information overwhelm. My feed reader had more than 400 subscriptions, I was receiving alerts every 5 minutes from the 50+ forums to which I belong and I was consuming far too much “news.” I cut my feed reader down, unsubscribed from tons of email messages (which I never read, they simply taunted me until my weekly email clean-ups) and stopped the steady flow of news.
  4. Mindful motion trumps multitasking. I had redeveloped the very bad habit of thinking I could do multiple things at once…and do them all well. However, after a period of rest I returned to work focusing on one thing at a time, fully engaging and completing one task before moving on to another.  I accomplished more in half the time.
  5. I’m the boss of ME.  I am not an employee in my life or business.  I am CEO and that comes with the responsibility of managing my most valuable asset – me. I have to chart the course and ensure ME Inc. stays on track. I also must set boundaries and block out the things that are impeding my progress.

Using the Past to Propel the Future

There would be no point in reflection if I was not going to take action on the information.  The first major change I’m making is to my schedule.  I’m switching to a 4 day work week with shorter hours each day.  I have committed to a 90 day experiement and will share what I learn with you here.

My schedule change will enable me the time to fully engage in the things I love like the blogging community. I would much rather complete my essential tasks for the day and then spend time visiting your blogs or chatting on Twitter rather than trying to juggle it all during the “work day.” I look forward to more meaningful interaction with all of you this year.

One final nod to 2008- Robert Hruzek has graciously extended an invitation to all of you to showcase your Best of 2008 posts in his super sized, Blogapalooza.  Going through my own archives proved to be a wonderful opportunity to see how far I’d come in a blogging year.  Robert’s more than halfway there to his goal of 100 participants. I would love to celebrate your accomplishments, so please participate and spread the word.

What’s in store for you this year? Care to share any big hairy audacious goals for 2009? Do you have a theme for the year? Your comments are always welcomed.

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Perception and Art

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Written by Karen D. Swim

The picture to the right is a Rorschach ink blot. I became quite familiar with Rorschach as a Psychobiology major in college.

Rorschach ink blots (developed by Hermann Rorschach) are a projective psychometric test. The theory is that when you show the ink blots to patients, each individual will  project his or her real personality into the ink blot via the interpretation.  The results were to provide a clue into the person’s psyche.

It is fascinating to see how differently each person will interpret an ink blot. What do you see in the photo to the right – the silhouette of a woman, armadillos crawling along a desert, kidneys? Each person will see something slightly different. As we view the ink blot we impose our own perspective shaped by our life experiences.

The efficacy of the ink blot has been questioned but the underlying theory that we can look at the same thing and see something different is incontrovertible.  Law enforcement officers understand this theory well. If multiple people witness an incident,  there will be some commonalities but each version will be slightly different.

We bring our perceptions to everything we read, see, hear and touch.  For the writer, artist, photographer or marketer it is a truth that we must not only recognize but embrace.  The interpretation of our words, paintings, sculptures, and photographs belong entirely to the beholder.  This is the beauty and challenge of our work.  In a Writer’s Digest interview, Isabel Allende offered these thoughts:

“I’m not the one who invents the stories; I’m like a radio that picks up the waves. Somehow if I move the dial very carefully, I’ll pick up the wave and get the story. But the story doesn’t belong to me; it’s somewhere out there floating. That’s very liberating.” (Writer’s Digest, Oct. 2008)

The story, photo, painting, novel, marketing message or even blog post does not belong to the creator but to those who will shape it, interpret it and experience it through the lens of their perception. As we create we bear the burden of this knowledge. No matter how clearly we seek to articulate our ideas, thoughts and concepts not everyone will see them as presented. Once created, we must find the liberation that Allende alludes to by simply letting go.

I take comfort in  knowing that in this way all truth has its own element of fiction.  I release the responsibility of attaining perfection and yield myself to being the receptor of the waves intended for me.  I am the vessel and not the creator. I can let go and take pleasure watching the work float “out there” free to become what each reader wants and needs it to be.  Liberating? Indeed.

Now over to you reader, it’s your post, share your interpretation. The comment box is open and it’s your turn at the mic.

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WordPress Stuck in HTML Edit Mode

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Written by Karen D. Swim

I have an update to my issues with the WordPress 2.6.1 fiasco and wanted to share the solution with you.  After reversing my attempted upgrade, my WP Admin dashboard still had issues.  Two of the most troubling were:

  1. Inability to edit publish date (I could save as draft or publish immediately)
  2. Visual editor did not work. Visual was highlighted but it was stuck in HTML mode

After doing some online surfing I was able to determine that the visual editor issue is not new and can be traced to the TinyMCE file.

I found jerrydrussell’s forum answer helpful:

edit /wp-includes/js/tinymce/tiny_mce_config.php find the line that says ‘compress’ => true and change to ‘compress’ => false.

I found my answer in the WordPress forum. There are a series of helpful steps to help you diagnose and fix the problem.  Fortunately, I did not have to go through all the steps because I had my old tinymce file. I was smart to backup before attempting the upgrade. I actually did two backups to two separate locations. Now that I knew the problem file, I went to the folder on my server labeled wp-content/includes/js/tinymce and deleted the entire tinymce folder. I then uploaded my original tinymce folder and my visual editor is now working! So I can once again post images without coding or using a workaround. If you are not comfortable using FTP or working on your server, have someone do it for you.

I still cannot edit the post date so I’m off to work on that issue next. The moral of this story is back up your files before doing anything! If you screw something up you can restore yourself to ground zero.

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