Twisting Road Blog
The Karen Vignette
Thursday
The return of cooler weather has stirred my appreciation of whimsy and reawakened my hope. Not abstract political hope, like “maybe things will change,” but real, true hope that comes from a hint of proof that important things are beginning to happen.
By important things, I mean, No, my brain did not bake completely in the heat wave. As the siege of heat ends, I again have room in my mind for more thoughts than just seeking shade. Yes, I can still catch the quirky moments. Maybe, just maybe, Pedro Almodóvar is directing scenes in my life again.
Standing in the slow-moving line this morning at Einstein Brothers’ Bagels, I was trying to practice ideas I’m reading in Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the Box. “That droopy faced, hunched over young woman in line is a person, not just an object in my way. Maybe she’s not spreading her miserable mood and seeking pity. Maybe she just feels bad today.” People, not objects. People, not objects.
Then, finally, it was time for the two objects – I mean people – in front of me to give their orders. They were a man and woman, probably a couple based on both their mutual disinterest and their familiarity with one another.
The order taker asked, “Name?” and the gentleman replied. I didn’t hear, and neither did the order taker. He looked directly at the man and hummed, “Hmm?”
“Karen,” the man responded. The look of surprise disappeared nearly immediately from the order taker’s face as he bent down to write the name on the order. The man smiled a little, pointed at his female companion, and then slowly reached out to touch her lightly on the shoulder, in a playful way, as if to say, “Today, we will be you, not me.”
Or maybe he was just gesturing to show the order taker that he was not, in fact, named Karen, but his companion was.
Several minutes later, the orders were slowly being filled by the people – not objects – behind the counter, people with perfectly good reasons for going slowly, I kept reminding myself, thinking about the self-deception book. Eventually Karen and company got their bagel sandwiches. The guy delivering them to their table asked if they had gotten their mocha cappuccino yet, and they hadn’t. He went behind the counter to make it and Karen headed across the room to get forks and napkins.
The mocha maker called out, pretty loudly, “Hey, Karen! Do you want whipped cream on your mocha?” Karen turned, looked at him, and then spun towards her companion, sitting at the table across the room, and swept her hand towards him, as if introducing him on stage. As if to say, “You wanted to be Karen today, so now you get to be Karen!”
He looked back at the mocha maker and replied, “Yes,” strongly and clearly.
I had to hold the chuckle back and only smile a little, because they were complete strangers in a public setting. Even though it was staged with three people at distant points in the restaurant, even though it resembled theater in the round, it was not meant for my amusement. At least not by the actors. I think the scriptwriter was enjoying giving the spectators a good time at their expense.
I have no idea if this scene translates well in writing. I have no idea if other people would enjoy the humor of it if they witnessed it as I did. Maybe I’m just a story nerd, enthralled by things others find mundane. But I want to capture it and share it, because in doing so I capture the whimsy that gave me hope by telling me the siege of summer is over, life is not just a heat endurance test, and there is time to relax and enjoy now that fall is on the way.
Have a great day, Karen!
Trailblazing Media July 7, 2011
Thursday
Enjoy this week’s episodes of Trailblazing Media!
Trailblazing TV was simulcast with the first segment of Trailblazing Radio. Both shows are titled “Embrace Freedom.”
Here’s the introduction to the TV show:
“Simulcasting is hard work! This video performance is a little more raw than usual because it was recorded along with the first segment of Trailblazing Radio. The topic for both shows: What does it mean to celebrate life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Beyond financial freedom, and beyond the freedom to quit a miserable job? Watch the episode and then go to TrailblazingRadio.com for the second segment. And enjoy the behind-the-scenes look at the production of the radio show!”
It was surprisingly challenging to be recording the radio show and TV show at the same time. I use notes for the radio show to keep me on track, but I usually record the TV show with no script. Using the notes interrupted my comfort with the camera, and having the camera interrupted my connection with the microphone. That means it was a great new experience and a chance to learn!
The first segment of Trailblazing Radio is the TV show, where I discuss how my beliefs about freedom guide my work and the way I serve people. In the second segment, not available on the TV show, I talk about how my beliefs around freedom guide my personal life and even my political views.
Politics? Yep. Questioning people’s political cheerleading has cost me Facebook friends, but I think political views are worth questioning and discussing.
Click here to listen and then leave a comment about what freedom means to you.
Since the featured resource for the radio show is the e-book Worklife Liberation, it’s a great time to remind you about the month of shows on Tapa Palapa on that same theme. Take the time to listen to all four of them in order, and enjoy the mix of light-hearted fun and serious discussion that co-host Francie Cooper and I include in each episode.
Click here for all the episodes on this topic.
I appreciate your comments. They let me know when my ideas are helpful and give me direction on ways to serve you better.
May you know the joy of sharing your strengths,
Steve Coxsey
The Trailblazing Coach (TM)
Trailblazing Media June 30, 2011
Thursday
The Traveler isn’t published this week so I’m posting my Trailblazing Media updates here.
The latest episode of Trailblazing TV is available. It’s called “Experience is Earned.” Here’s the introduction:
“We don’t do something flawlessly from the beginning, again and again, and call that experience. Experience means facing challenges and tough times. It means struggling and experimenting and overcoming. When we do that things get messy. Crap piles up. So what should we do with all of it?”
I discovered after I recorded that I accidentally turned on HD recording in widescreen format. That means this episode has a 16:9 ratio and is a little less clear. I had to shrink the HD video to keep it within the size limits, but then Vimeo expanded it to fill the screen so the resolution isn’t as good as I would like. But that means – while recording a tip about the messiness of gaining experience, I was mucking along gaining experience – - accidentally!
To see the episode click here.
The latest episode of Trailblazing Radio takes a controversial stand on the Law of Attraction and what it seems to be missing – especially according to strong research on what it takes for people to accomplish their goals and get what they want.
Episodes of Trailblazing Radio are around 10 minutes long so you can listen easily on your computer or download a show to your iPod or other MP3 player and listen on your way somewhere. Leave a comment with your thoughts on the Law of Intention compared to the Law of Attraction.
Listen to this week’s episode by clicking here.
If you didn’t get a chance to hear each weekly episode of Tapa Palapa as it was produced the summer is a great time to catch up. Tapa Palapa is a little more light-hearted than Trailblazing Radio because of my effervescent co-host Francie Cooper. You’ll laugh as you listen and come away with some really useful ideas. Check out our monthly theme on the greater good, called “Life is Bigger Than You.”
Click here for all the episodes on this topic.
I appreciate your comments. They let me know when my ideas are helpful and give me direction on ways to serve you better.
My you know the joy of sharing your strengths,
Steve Coxsey
The Trailblazing Coach (TM)
Trailblazing Media June 23, 2011
Thursday
The Traveler isn’t published this week so I’m posting my Trailblazing Media updates here.
The latest episode of Trailblazing TV is available. It’s called “Dwell in the Question.” Here’s the introduction:
“If you rush to come up with a solution you might skip over identifying the real problem. It’s a lot easier to rush to pick a solution to some problems than it is to saute and simmer in the frustrations and conflicts that define those problems. But that’s where you have to stay, discomfort and all, to get the question right.”
No, it’s not a screen test for a cooking show! It just seemed the best way to add a visual to the concept of immersing yourself in something and becoming aware of all the parts contributing to the sauce – err, conflict.
To see the episode click here.
Trailblazing Radio is filling the schedule while Tapa Palapa is on summer break. The latest episode is about another important resource you need to manage in your Trailblazing life – time.
The format of Trailblazing Radio allows me to focus on a narrow topic and give you a couple of useful tips. But it’s still a short program. The current episode is 10 minutes 15 seconds long.
Listen to this week’s episode by clicking here.
The summer break is a good time to catch up on past episodes of Tapa Palapa. It’s a little more light-hearted than Trailblazing Radio because of my effervescent co-host Francie Cooper, but it’s still full of useful ideas. I recommend that you listen to our shows on “Play is Serious Work” as we head into summer.
Click here for all the episodes on this topic.
I appreciate your comments. They let me know when my ideas are helpful and give me direction on ways to serve you better.
My you know the joy of sharing your strengths,
Steve Coxsey
The Trailblazing Coach (TM)
There Is A Season
Thursday
Perhaps I’m unoriginal. Perhaps I’m obsessing and can’t let go of this thought. Perhaps I’m just perseverating (look that one up!). But the topic of flexibility has grabbed hold of my mind and demands to be heard.
For last week’s episode of Trailblazing TV I chose the topic “Practice Flexibility.” The tip is about ways to keep trying new approaches so you can stay adaptable.
A few days later I was talking with Francie Cooper, Life Coach, my friend and co-host of the Tapa Palapa internet radio show. We realized we were both thinking a lot about flexibility and adaptability. It was the theme showing up for our clients and it was the theme banging on the doors of our own lives. We decided to name our season finale show “Go Gumby!” and talk about ways to stay limber to prepare for changes, both expected and unexpected .
For this week’s episode of Trailblazing TV I had the topic chosen days in advance. It’s been a time of change in my world. A lot of people around me are going through significant transitions, some heading up and some heading down in their work lives or in their relationships. On top of that, my son graduated from his Montessori school, so he heads off to middle school in the fall. Sadly, it was the last year the school will operate because of changes in the community and a city street project that is going to take a big piece of the property.
These events leave me a little melancholy. To everything there is a season. But the positive side of that is the possibility for improvement and renewal that change brings. That’s why I called this week’s episode of Trialblazing TV “Everything’s A Play Project.” I realized as I was editing and formatting it that it’s a message about being flexible and adaptable, too.
With Tapa Palapa going on hiatus for the summer while Francie is busy with other projects, I started looking at ideas for recording a podcast of my own. I “dug through” my computer files and found the recording I made in November as a sort of pilot episode for a podcast. It was shortly after Francie and I had planned our first month of themed shows. I had suggested improvisation as a theme in our discussion. We decided to go with a different theme so I wanted to capture my thoughts on the value of improvisation. Improvisation, of course, is about flexibility and adaptability.
For me that’s full circle. As Francie and I were starting our first season of Tapa Palapa, I had improvisation on my mind. As we finished up, we both had flexibility and adaptability on our minds. We ended where we began. Since things have beginnings and endings, we all need to be ready for change.
You can listen to my “Twisting Road Travelcast” by clicking the triangle below, or chose to play it in a separate window or download it to your computer. If you use an iPod or other MP3 player, that’s the way to get the file so you can transfer it to your device.
In the show I talked about a video interview by John Williams, author of Screw Work, Let’s Play!. If you click here to go to the original post of the podcast you can see that video.
I also mentioned an e-book I was formatting. It contains ten of the most surprisingly good (surprising to me!) articles I wrote for people new to marketing. They reduce the concepts into everyday language that marketing newbies can understand. I finished it shortly after recording the podcast and put everything in place so I could start giving it to anyone who signed up for my newsletter. That’s the standard thing to do – give away something to entice people to give you their e-mail addresses.
But to everything there is a season. I’m not doing the standard thing any more. I decided to do the Trailblazing thing. I’m giving it away with no strings. You don’t have to sign up for anything. Just go to AnythingButMarketing.com and you can download it there. If you decide to sign up for my newsletter while you’re there I certainly won’t mind!
Marketing Demystified
Do you get really excited when you think about being self-employed…
but then freeze up when you think about marketing?
Here's my gift to you!
Click the image to get easy examples of marketing in everyday language.
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