Friday News Minute, July 31st, 2009

The Friday News Minute!

A weekly gem of information you will be using on Monday!

I had a new friend come visit me this week. (Itch, itch, scratch, scratch) Well, it was not exactly a friend...and it wasn't exactly a welcomed visitior. It was (and still is) Poison Ivy. This was quite a shocking development. To say that my face was red and swollen (and scary to look at!) would be an understatement.

After a few days of trying to treat the symptoms myself, and wondering if I would look like this for ever, I gave in and went to see the doctor. One shot below the waist and a prescription later, I'm on the road to recovery. I have been warned that my prescription has side effects including binge eating and being grouchy. Oh how lucky my family will be for the next two weeks! This is my "big bad wolf" and it got me thinking about a quote that I saw earlier in the week.

All of us have a "big bad wolf" that we're dealing with

We all have our big bad wolves. For some of us it can be a health issue seemingly out of nowhere. It could be an audit or a surprise from a Government Agency or a lawsuit. Maybe its an issue with money. Or a relationship issue with family and friends.

The big bad wolves seems to play no particular favorites. Well, except that most times the issue that brings the wolf calling is something that we have done to ourselves. Either consciously or subconsciously.

Obviously I did something to get Poison Ivy. Even if I don't remember how I came in contact with. I found it somewhere.

With our issues comes our fear. Fears that are real and imagined. Fears that can paralyze us into taking no action and that make our big bad wolves even bigger and badder. Since I didn't know it was Poison Ivy until I saw the doctor I was really afraid of what was happening to my body.

So how are you doing with your issues? A quote that I really enjoy says "The question to ask yourself is not do I have any problems...we all do. Instead, the question to ask yourself is: 'Are these the same problems that I had last year or the year before.' If your problems have been around that long, it's time to do something different."

Life is full of choices. We can choose to do something differently or do it the same way. The question that we should ask ourselves is "Am I happy with the way that I am handling the situation?"

If the answer is yes...keep going! If the answer is no...make a different choice. Face the fear and do it!

Remember: You can always go back to what isn't working!

Andrew Sanderbeck

Volunteerism

Folkmoot USA http://www.folkmootusa.org/ is a two-week celebration of the world's cultural heritage through folk music and dance. Held each summer in our backyard, across the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina, it features performances, parades and workshops by more than 350 performers from a dozen or so countries.

Last night, we volunteered to help out in the kitchen for one of the "late-nighters"at Folkmoot. We arrived around 9:30pm, quickly jumping into the slicing and dicing and cooking as we waited for the performers to begin arriving back at the center around 11:00 pm. The representatives from the country of Romania were hosting the dinner and celebration and I learned many things about their foods inclding ways that you can use cabbage for an entree!

Back to Basics: Life is About People

I am teaching an online class on Fundraising and one of the critical points in finding and cultivating donors for your cause is to build relationships with people in the community. I have found volunteering to be an excellent method of meeting people and growing friendships. To inspire you to volunteer your time with a group that you would like to support, take a look at these quotes on volunteering.

Without community service, we would not have a strong quality of life. It's important to the person who serves as well as the recipient. It's the way in which we ourselves grow and develop.
Dr. Dorothy I. Height, president and CEO of the NCNW
One is not born into the world to do everything but to do something.
Henry David Thoreau, poet, writer, philosopher

I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.
Mahatma Gandhi

Everyone can be great because anyone can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't even have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve... You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love...
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The magnitude of our social problems will require that all citizens and institutions make a commitment to volunteering as a way of life and as a primary opportunity to create needed change.
George Romney, former Michigan governor

Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation's compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain love for one another.
Erma Bombeck

The Friday News Minute, July 17th, 2009

A good friend asked me to go for a walk with her around Lake Junaluska last evening. This was an offer that I gladly accepted! The walk around the lake is peaceful, with breathtaking views of the mountains and of course plenty of ducks and swans to keep you company. A little more than a mile into our walk we came upon a stretch of rose bushes of all sizes and colors in bloom. Roses are one of the wonderful things in life that stimulate not only your eyes...but your nose too. I found myself stopping frequently to enjoy the different bouquet that each type of rose offered. Without sounding like too much of a cliche...the experience with the roses gave me the idea for this week's Friday News Minute.

Taking the time to stop and smell the roses

Walking beside the roses brought back the pleasant memory of the walkway through the rose bushes at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida. As a one time Florida Resident Passholder, I frequently visited the Theme Parks in Orlando and would find myself caught up in the crowds...and the long lines for some of my favorite rides; Rock-N-Rollercoaster, Splash Mountain, Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk Coaster, Test Track etc.

While the rides were fun, I found alot of enjoyment in the time that I spent smelling the roses and doing other things that allowed me to step back away from the crowds and the rush-rush. It seemed that each of the parks had its own unique area that allowed you to slow down and smell the roses. This might be one of the greatest secrets of attending the parks. In the midst of tens of thousands of people and what seems like an almost unlimited amount of things to "do"...there is an area to do nothing.

We seem to enjoy being busy and giving ourselves lots of things to do. I wonder, that in the process of doing so much...that if we took the time to stop...if we would be more and less. More productive, more peaceful, more connected to our selves, and less stressed and susceptible to life's energy draining drama.

Your opportunity this weekend and into next week is to stop and smell the roses...or to just stop being so busy. In the beginning you may find yourself impatient with stopping and your ego telling you just how stupid you are. (Really, how can you stop when you have so many things that have to get done!)

With a little bit of practice that persistent little voice will quiet down and you will enjoy the time you create to refresh, reenergize and replenish yourself for the next rounds of busily doing things. Quite possibly, you will be more and less.

Friday News Minute, July 10th, 2009

I went for a walk around our neighborhood today. Our house is on top of a hill, and as you would expect the walk down the hill seemed to be quite a bit easier than the walk back up. A surprising thought occured to me during the walk...there are stressors to different areas of the body going both up and down the hill. Interesting.

It's all down hill from here

From the www.phrases.org.uk website, The specific phrase "it's all downhill from here" is at its simplest used to mean "The hard work's over, and it's all going to be much easier from now on", with (obviously enough) the idiom stemming from finally cresting the top of a hill and starting to go down the other side. (Actually, walking down a steep slope can be every bit as tiring as walking up one)

As many of you know, I have a very diverse client list. One week I am working with a library client somewhere in the United States, another week I am working with a University or College, the following week with a corporate client and a few times a year I'm teaching on a cruise ship sailing somewhere around the world.

I have been working with both Public and Academic libraries for more than 10 years now and it bothers me to see them going through such difficult times. The recession and downturn in the economy have been especially difficult for the libraries and to make things worse, the number of people using the libraries has been steadily rising. The Haywood County Library in my community has had to cut both their hours of operation and some staff positions. Monies for continuing education and staff development are gone.

This weekend at the American Library Association conference in Chicago, Illinois, I am launching a library sponsorship program that focuses on providing continuing education and training for library professionals. My goal is to sign up a number of vendors (whose businesses are supported by libraries) to become sponsors for the program to support libraries through these tough times.

I thought alot about my upcoming trip during my walk today and I realized that the steps I will be taking in Chicago represent my continuing steps up the hill to achieving this goal for both the libraries and my organization. I'm looking forward to writing a Friday News Minute in the near future that tells you that I have made it to the top of hill (the attainment of the goal) and to share what it is like to begin taking the next steps...whether they be down the hill or perhaps another few steps up the hill to a loftier goal.

Wish me luck...and thanks for your support! A celebration of success is coming!

In the next 7 days I challenge you to take a look at your goals for this year and to evaluate where you are on the hill with each of them. I'm guessing that you may have already reached the top with some of your goals while other goals have yet to be manifested or achieved. Use this time as an opportunity to examine and reflect upon your progress on those goals not yet achieved. Then, without beating yourself up...plan your next steps. Make your plan, take the first step and recommit yourself to achieving your goal. Build a little momentum each day until you become unstoppable. One step toward your goal today. One step tomorrow. And one step each day after. Surprise! Some days...you might even take two steps. And one day...you will have made it to the top of the hill. You will have achieved your goal.

And then you can celebrate your success too!