Okay, so I have had maybe 5 or 6 of you faithful readers tell me that you like my blog. Thank you! You know who you are. I do hope to be funny or inspirational or at least worthy of water cooler conversation with my blog. Water cooler? We don't call it that anymore, do we? It's more like coffee pot conversation right? When did anyone ever stand around a water cooler to gossip, anyway?
Anyway, the topic of my blog today is really about inspiration and feeling good about oneself. At work we have a Women's Resource Group that holds lunch and learn events quite often. I used to lead our Women's Resource Group but now I just get to be a regular ole attendee. Anyway, today I went to an awesome event that featured Simon T Bailey. You can google him if you want to know more about him. You can buy his books - they look like really inspirational books. He has a website, a Twitter account and a Facebook page so you can follow him too. He resides in Central Florida but he is currently a world traveler teaching others about how to stay motivated and how to release your brilliance. Wow, was he a great speaker. His latest book is called "Release Your Brilliance".
Simon T Bailey had this amazing and infectious laugh. He had a deep and full laugh and he laughed quite often during the presentation. Every time he laughed I found myself giggling not just at what he was saying but at his laugh itself. After the presentation I was talking to a few other people and each of them said separately and independently that they liked his laugh and it made them chuckle. Even though the laughing part had nothing to do with his presentation, I thought today about how important laughter is. How often do you find yourself really laughing? Do you like to laugh as much as I do? According to helpguide.org, laughter is good for your body and peace of mind too. The site says, "Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert." While I was laughing today, I almost physically felt the stress of the day slip away. I have been pretty stressed at work lately so this stress relief felt good. I often laugh with my kids at home too and it is so much fun to just let loose and be funny with them. Last weekend when the kids and I were in the pool together we were all trying to lay on this little float and we didn't all fit. We were laughing like crazy as each one of us kept falling off and trying to get back on it. Such a simple thing, but we had so much fun. So I challenge you today to find those occasions where you can just let yourself go a little to do something silly or fun that will make you laugh.
The event with Mr. Bailey was really about how brilliant I am. It was also about how brilliant you are. In fact, most of us don't really give ourselves enough credit about how brilliant we are! The first part of his talk was about storytelling. I have thought about this topic a lot in the last two years. Think of storytelling as your way of creating your brand and having a means of educating others on your brand (what value you add to your organization or community or family). I sat down a couple months ago to try and figure out what my brand is. I decided then that my brand is to be the type of person that people feel like they can go to in order to get something specific done that they feel no one else can help them with. I've always enjoyed being that type of person to others. When I started out my career 17 plus years ago, I was the computer expert to my boss. Whenever something went awry with his computer or his e-mail, he called me up. "I'll be right over," I'd always say. No matter what I was doing, I dropped everything to go help him. I am not a true computer expert, but I always knew enough to solve his problems. Not only did it feel good to "be needed" for something that my boss thought was unique and valuable, but I was actually increasing my value at work because others started to see me as someone with unique skills. I was an engineer, and not computer technical support. We had a separate help desk for computer issues. But it was faster and easier for my boss to ask me. Fast forward 17 years and even today I do some things that I think of as computer-related that people rely on me for help. We use Live Meeting to connect our computers virtually between Orlando and other office locations. I taught myself how to use the software and the external hardware mic/speaker attachments. I purposely branded myself at work as someone that is an "expert" in this so people would ask me for help. I started working in a new department only eight months ago and within 2-4 months people from all over the department were calling me up asking me for help with Live Meeting. In fact, I was even asked by both the CEO and CFO of our regional division on separate occasions to help them with it. So while helping others with Live Meeting might not seem value-added to some people, it has given me unique opportunities to become "valuable" to our CFO and CEO. Again, this is just how I have branded myself. You can figure out your brand and it will be unique to you. Think about the cross between what you are passionate about, what you are good at and what your department or organization needs. The cross between those three areas is where you will find your own brand. My brand is not just about computer technical support. I find other ways to get people to "need" me for some kind of expertise. According to Mr. Bailey in today's discussion, if you can constantly demonstrate to others around you that you deliver a certain value to your organization, then you will continue to be appreciated and promoted within your organization. People will realize your "Brilliance". While Mr. Bailey was talking, I was thinking about how much I subconsciously demonstrate my value to my organization. If I didn't, I wouldn't have been asked to lead up a large project so soon after joining this organization. The key is to find ways to continue to demonstrate your value and get others to recognize your capabilities.
One more thing I will challenge you on this week, dear reader, is to ask your boss or your spouse "what do you value most about what I am able to contribute?" I say your boss or your spouse because if you don't work outside the home, maybe you want to ask your spouse this question. In your home life do you ever wonder what your family values about what you do? I work outside the home, but I still often wonder what my kids or my spouse appreciate about what I do at home. Do they care if I take out the trash? Does my husband even notice if I change the sheets on the bed? I know he notices when I load the dishwasher because that's something he does so often and hates to do. So even knowing how you are valued by your family can be important. Maybe we should spend less time doing the things that are not valued?
So hopefully Mr. Bailey won't mind me repeating a challenge that he gave to us in the event today. For the next week, wake up 15 minutes early each day. Spend the first 5 minutes meditating. Spend the second 5 minutes reading something inspirational, and spend the last 5 minutes stretching and physically getting ready for the day. By getting your heart, head and body ready for the day, you will be in the right frame of mind to realize and promote your own brilliance. Have a great Friday!
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