Enjoy a Great Talk

TedTalks are amazing. You can also find these through iTunes Podcasts. Here are some great ones I've really enjoyed:

Malcolm Gladwell on Spaghetti Sauce

The author of Blink, The Tipping Point, and Outliers is an entertaining and informative speaker. But is he really talking about Spaghetti Sauce or about figuring out what people want and what makes them happy?

About Malcolm Gladwell

Eva Vertes Looks to the Future of Medicine

The wisdom of youth. Eva Vertes was only 14 when she started working in a medical lab. She's a prodigy who has posed the theory that cancer may be the body's immune system gone awry, and if the key can be found, perhaps cancer stem cells could be used as agents for healing. 

About Eva Vertes

Dan Gilbert asks, Why Are We Happy?

Be careful what you wish for... something else may make you happier.

About Dan Gilbert

Gary Vaynerchuk: Do what you love (no excuses!)

Talk about passion! This guy really cracked me up. 

About Gary Vaynerchuk

How about you? What makes you happy?

Pamela

"The easier it is to quantify, the less it's worth." --Seth Godin, from his book Linchpin

Just Listen.

Here's what I'm going to work on today. I'm going to really listen without thinking of the next thing I want to say or blurting out what comes to mind. 

When someone wants to talk or share something with you, go into ultra-attention mode and absorb every word they're saying as well as think about what they're saying. 

Tell yourself your job right now is to listen, not talk, solve, answer, debate. Just listen.

I can be quite a yacker, so this one is a true challenge. I'll let you know how it goes.

Your thoughts?

Pamela

"It takes two to speak the truth - one to speak and another to hear." --Thoreau

Let One In Today

I was driving to work the other day, as usual trying my best to stay calm and mellow as frantic drivers rushed with urgency toward their various destinations. People are often bolder behind the wheel; the things around them are cars, annoyances, obstructions rather than people like themselves.

So, I was thinking, how can I make this a better trip for me and maybe - just maybe - help someone else start a more positive behavior? How can I relate to other drivers as the humans they are: moms, dads, siblings, spouses, people who are probably much like my own loved ones rather than nameless, faceless commuters.

I let one in. It's something my Dad taught me years ago, and I have never forgotten it. Trying to get home after a Gator game in Gainesville Florida, the traffic was sheer wildness. Not a chance was someone in the main flow of traffic going to allow room for someone to pull out of a side road; they would squeeze as close to the car in front of them as possible and avoid eye contact. Not my Dad, though. When traffic was moving at a crawl and people were just trying to get home or wherever, he would open a spot and wave one driver in. Often the driver would wave back in gratitude. Curiously, the person behind Dad would often follow suit and let the next guy in. It was a tiny little ideavirus (term coined by Seth Godin) that made a difference.

I wonder how much of a positive impact I can make by just letting one in. What would happen if more of us let one in? And when someone lets us in, what might change if we were more diligent about waving our appreciation?

So this is what I'm going to do a better job of going forward, and I'd really like to know your thoughts on this too:

• When I'm in line waiting for the interminably long traffic light at the end of our street, I will ensure I leave a spot for those trying to get in and out of the driveways on either side.
• When someone wants to merge into my lane on the Interstate, I will do as the truckers do and turn my lights off and on (I always run with my lights on by default) and wave them in.
• When someone is trying to merge into traffic, I will switch lanes or adjust speed to assist their effort if it is possible and safe.
  
• When someone lets me in, I will thank them by waving or blinking my lights in appreciation.
• When there's a draw for a good parking spot, I will yield the spot to the other driver and smile. I usually get lucky with parking, and a little extra walk will only do me good. Plus, that other driver and I are likely to be entering the same store, workplace, wherever, so instead of starting a negative experience that could continue, I've opened the door for positive interaction.

It's a very small, simple list of changes, but I hope it will be a move, no matter how small, toward making a better world one little change at a time.

What do you think?

Pamela

"Expose Yourself... It's a choice if you want it to be." --Seth Godin