Fellow Half-Fullers

Happy New Year!

Notwithstanding the global economic calamities that have negatively effected just about everybody’s net worth, 2008 was a great year for me, in both of my worlds. My day job’s company is doing well, and I’m loving my work. I’m now practicing Yoga regularly, and as a result my health is better than ever, and I’m a lot more centered to boot.

As for Terry Starbucker, he also did just fine, thank you! I launched a new blog platform at the beginning of the year on WordPress, and it’s been working very well. I put up 97 blog posts, and Tweeted nearly 3,000 times.

I co-hosted SOBCon08 with Liz Strauss and it was a fantastic experience (as this post would attest).

We’ve already launched registrations for SOBCon09 (May 1-3, Chicago Illinois), and Michelle Vandepas interviewed me about it on BlogTalkRadio in December (if you were ever curious to hear what “Half-Fullism” sounds like, check it out).

I also discovered the secret of life - twice.

And I came to the conclusion that “Blog years Are Like Dog Years“, and that it was important to thank those people that have helped me in my blogging journey.

Which brings me to 2009.

What are my online hopes and wishes for the New Year? What’s my theme, my mantra?

I’ve already coined a mantra - “No Fear, Stay Proud”.

I’ll be posting a lot more about how I came up with this in the coming days.

And my wishes? Here goes - I wish that……..

• Liz and I deliver the best SOBCon ever in May, where people walk away having made 150 friends for life.
• My blogging community at Joyful Jubilant Learning continues to thrive and grow, led by the always inspiring Rosa Say.
• My friend and leadership mentor Lisa Haneberg and I will continue to work together on projects like the “Developing Great Leaders” conference. And she’ll keep pushing me to finally start working on that book!
• I will continue to have much fun on Twitter, and in the process attract 5,000 “half-full” followers (more or less). Gotta spread the word, ya know?
• Chris Brogan and I will expand our singing repertoire beyond “Bohemian Rhapsody”, and I’ll continue to sponge all of his vast SM knowledge until my brain hurts. Oh, and sorry Chris, I went with 4 words on my goals instead of 3.
• My dear friend Phil Gerbyshak will achieve all 7 of his 2009 goals, particularly the one about keynote speaking. Go for it kid!
• I will once again have a post linked to by the internet rockstar (and Nirvana fan) Brian Clark on his Copyblogger site. See that post on the top of my “most popular” tab on the right side? His doing. Thanks Brian, by the way!
• That Joanna Young will continue to get goosebumps every time she writes another fabulous post, and (hopefully) every time she reads one of mine.
• Chris Garrett and I will enjoy a meal of Chicken Tikka Masala at least once in 2009.
• My site guru Jesse Petersen will continue to enjoy his new home, his gig with iThemes, and continue to give me great advice on the layout and design of this blog (in his spare time).
• Blogger Social founder Drew McLellan will have a BS09 in NYC, so I can see him again in his cute sailor hat.
• One of my best blogging friends, Tom Vander Well, will continue to preach the gospel of excellent customer service through his blog posts and his great work with call centers.
• My across the pond friend Trevor Gay and his wife Annie hit their fund raising goal and safely complete the Flora London Marathon in April.
• Marti Lawrence will sell hundreds of thousands of copies of her book “7 Ways You Screw Up Your Life (and how to unscrew it)”, not because I contributed a chapter to it, but because she’s such a darn lovely person and deserves a big success.
• My frequent witty Twitter verbiage exchange partner Amy Derby will get her wish and meet Mrs. Starbucker AND “The Bearista” in May, and we will collaborate on “Twitter, The Soundtrack - Volume 2“.
• Filmmaker Melissa Pierce will make the documentary of her dreams, and we’ll all get famous because of it (at least all of us who were interviewed by her for the film).
• I will spend at least another afternoon (or two) happily talking to Director Tom about Zen philosophy and rock& roll (not necessarily in that order).
• Steve Woodruff will be able to pull off the Mystic Meetup in 2009, so he can directly provide to me his “life-changing value and profound insights” at 5 in the Morning.
• Fellow JJLer Steve Sherlock will continue to channel Peter Pan with his witty and wonderful “2 Cents” blog.
• I will participate at least once in one of Robert Hruzek’s Group Writing Projects. And get one of his cool cowboy hats.
• The “Dude” will come to Chicago in May.
• I will ingest some of Jennifer Laycock’s fabulous Potato Salad (fromthe recipe she talks about on Twitter- yes that one. Yum.)
• Andrew B. Clark will come up with another cool illustration for one of my obtuse sayings (in 2008, it was for “iPod am I“).
• I had more time and space to thank everyone who commented on my blog and Tweeted with me in 2008, and particularly Vicky, Cheryl, Gavin, Dwayne, Sandee, Stephen, Dave, Ellen, Robyn, Todd, Linda, Amy, Michelle, Sonia, Brad, Donna, Karen P, Tammy, Scot, Jamie, Karen S, Julie, HART, Christine, Flora, Chris, Beth, Jackie, Erica, Derek, Maria, Lisha, Chris M, Mykl, Tim, Luis, Barbara, Meikah, Lyman, Loraleigh, Karen H, Mary-Lynn, Ria, Barbara R, Joe, Andrew, Stephen H , Stacy , Larry , Jen , Skylar, Jonathan, Doug, Anita, Amber , Zane, Becky, Pam , Arnie and Mark .
• My yogini friend from Georgia Liv will always remember that it’s about faith (and good down dogs).
• Lastly, I fulfill my rock star fantasy with my new writing partner John Haydon with “Blog Years are Like Dog Years” (to debut at SOBCon09)

To all of you, I wish a fantastic and half-full 2009! And remember,

No fear, stay proud!

(This is dedicated to all who I’ve come to know on this medium in my three years of blogging - you have brought great joy to my life, and I will forever be grateful- T.S.)

Blog Years Are Like Dog Years, by Terry Starbucker

You start like a child, eyes open wide
To possibility, of what lies outside
Guided by teachers, showing the biz
Tom, Phil & Rosa, Trevor and Liz

You put thoughts on a page, feeling your way
Wondering if folks want to hear what you say
Before too long, you begin to be seen
By Mike, Ben & Lisa, Chris & Christine

You start to blossom, like a child of thirteen
Still not assured, trying not be mean
Then more friends arrive, and things start to click
Thanks Mary, Maria, Jodee and Rick

You grow strong, a young blogging adult
Independent and tough, with cause to exult
And those who raised you, begin to lay low
Like Easton, Tim, Ellen, Kammie and Joe

You put faces to names, as SOBs
Fast moving forward, just like a stiff breeze
All these good people, sharing their views
Too many to count, too many to choose

You go to the next sandbox, and Twitter away
And now there are thousands with something to say
Just three years have passed, from the very first word
But it’s been a lifetime online, and that seems absurd

I guess blog years are like dog years
Passing through guideposts like a bat out of hell
Leaving mentors behind, rushing ahead
The lure of bigger numbers always in your head

But I shall never forget, those who helped out
In those childlike days of excitement and doubt
For I am now an old man of the blogosphere
And you will always, always be welcome here.

Happy Friday all!

Before I get to my favorite links this week, first one more pitch for the “Chicago Tweetup” hosted by Liz Strauss and I - join us at the Emerald Loop on Wabash on November 10 at 7PM. I’ll be posting about it on Tuesday.

And now, as Casey Kasem used to say, “on with the countdown” of my three favorite posts of the week:

1. Andrew B. Clark, aka “The Brand Chef”, used a brief Twitter discussion we had about our iPods as a catalyst for a pretty darn fascinating look at what our song playlists say about us. Andrew even posted a really cool illustration (at left) of my summation of the whole thing, through the mouth of Yoda - “iPod am I”. By the way, he “nailed me” too, especially the parts about being a nerd, and having a thirst for knowledge. Good on you Andrew!
2. I was keyword searching “Leadership” on Twitter recently and came across this gem, a characterization of President-elect Barack Obama by Pam Hoelzle as a “Reality Leader”, and a very good breakdown of the key elements of this style - being rooted in the “now”, the courage to deal with the facts (good or bad), transparency, honest dialogue, and accountability. It’s the best description of what’s behind Obama’s success that I’ve read so far.
3. Starbucks has been taking it on the chin lately, with its poor financial performance, store closings and cratering stock price, but I will say this: the lattes are still pretty darn good, the new Vivanno drinks are tasty and good for ya, and CEO Howard Schultz still “gets it” as far as what a modern day business leader should be doing in these trying times. Read this excellent blog post he put up on Huffington and you’ll see what I mean. He’s still advocating “valuing people as much as profit”, because in a downturn, what the person puts into the product (i.e. exceptional service) means more than ever to a very discriminating consumer.

There you have it, the best of this week. Stay tuned for the recap of the Chicago Tweetup on Tuesday.

Have a great weekend!

My usual routine on Saturday morning is to brew up a hot pot of coffee and sit down with the New York Times, and last Saturday was no exception.

I expected to find many articles dealing with the latest financial crisis, government bailout, and last Thursday’s vice-presidential debate, and I was not disappointed.

But I also found something that managed to put all of that news on my mental and emotional back burner, and refocused my attention in a more philosophical and spiritual way – back to the “secrets of life”.

I had written about what I thought was the core secret a few weeks ago – the concept of never growing up, and thus keeping our child-like wonder and amazement at the world around us.

While on one level I was satisfied that I had “nailed it”, something had been nagging at me of late – there was something missing in my formula to happiness and fulfillment, and what’s more, it was most “unchild-like”.

That something appeared on the pages of the New York Times. After reading this article, I am now prepared to amend my previous declaration.

The Real Secret of Life for me now reads:

“Never Grow Up, and Never Give Up”

Who was the inspiration for this amendment? A woman named Heba Said Ahmed.

Ms. Ahmed was the subject of the paper’s weekly feature called “The Saturday Profile”.

She recently won a Gold Medal for Egypt in power lifting during the recent Paralympic Games in Beijing, after being stricken with Polio as a child that left her without the use of her legs.

What struck me about her was her drive and determination to succeed, despite the many obstacles she faces in her home country. As the article explained:

“It is hard to overstate how different Ms. Ahmed is from many of those around her. It is all about attitude. Egypt is filled with people who face adversity, most often a function of poverty and systemic indifference. It is a class-based society with an unwritten contract that many people believe condemns them to live as they were born, poor and marginalized. There is a pervasive feeling of impotence, a collective belief that fighting back is futile.

But Ms. Ahmed never refers to fate; she talks about choices. She doesn’t talk about obstacles; she talks about challenges”

Living is challenging enough for those of us enough fortunate enough to live in societies that tend to be more open and optimistic about our individual chances for success, but for Ms. Ahmed, the bar is much, much higher.

But she’s clearing it, with room to spare. Because she refuses to give up, and give into all the preconceptions. “There’s no such thing as a handicap”, she says. “A handicap is in your thinking, or in your heart”.

In Egypt, “people tend to look away from disabled people, as if they are invisible. There is no such thing as access for them. The curbs are a foot high”. For Ms. Ahmed, these barriers are simply looked at as ways to strengthen her character for future challenges– because there is no way to go but forward.

Now that she’s won accolades abroad for her athletic feats, she’s thinking even bigger – marriage and family.

“I want to raise children and raise them well. I want them to be champions, too.”

After reading this inspiring (and life theory amending) article, I would not bet against her.

Thanks Ms. Ahmed, for reminding me that a child-like mindset must be matched with a grown-up will and inner strength.

“Never grow up, and Never give up”.

Recently Liz Strauss challenged us on her Successful Blog to write a 25 word blog post. Could I express some life wisdom so pithily?

While I was out of town last week I noodled on this quite a bit. I’ve probably spent longer working on this than any other post to this blog (ironic, I know, since this is probably one of the shortest posts).

Now I now why Liz called it a challenge! It’s proven to be a great writing exercise, and I would recommend it to anyone trying to hone their craft.

So, without any further ado, here it is, the 25 word post:

The world’s most precious resource is not oil;

it is joy, a life-sustaining energy that is also extracted,

from the soul instead of the ground.