The No Impact Man

Have you heard of this book? This blog? This guy?  Well, now you have!  Check it out.

The book was a great read but more than that, I really appreciated Colin’s honesty about this project.  It definitely makes you look within and see how you are living your own life.  I was impressed in so many ways and shocked too.  I dog-eared a ton of pages and it had a profound impact on me.  I hope you will read the book or check out the blog. Or even go see the documentary from their yearlong journey.

His wife and child also participated and to read his wife’s perspective on this via a column in Business Week (reposted on his blog) was also brutally honest about her life and the changes this yearlong experiment had on her as well.

I am sure some of you wonder about my latest movies and books. Between Food Inc., Better Off, and now The No Impact Man, you would consider me a very organic, vegetarian, of the earth kind of person. Well, I am trying to be. I don’t often eat meat and never cook it.  I do wish to be more reliant on farmers markets and other similar farm options year over year.  I think it takes each of us to make adjustments and just keep making them.

To Kindle or Not to Kindle – Follow-up

I first became aware of Amazon’s Kindle in April of 2008. I explored it and thought it was interesting.  I considered it but thought it was too early to make a buy and held off. I reconsidered again in March of 2009 (both times blogging about it).  I went back and forth based on feedback from those that did have it and even looked at some of the upcoming purchases I wanted to make to see if it was offered on the Kindle. I again held off.

Well, Amazon has had a few new iterations since then and the price has come down considerably. I have looked up numerous books I would like to read, old and new. There are classics that are free to download – how cool – and many books on my wish list now on Kindle.  Despite already making plans to mark my 40th in a very unique and substantial way, I decided to purchase this as a combo birthday present (another one!) and Christmas gift.

Do you have one? Are you happy with your purchase?  Mine is charging as we speak. I have downloaded a number of literature classics I haven’t read in a long time as well as one on the bestseller list.  I noticed that some of my textbooks could also be downloaded at a ridiculous savings over the hardback.  What a way to spend a snowy afternoon in Omaha!

What is your theme?

I have received a few emails lately from readers asking in different ways what my specific blog theme is and where I get my ideas for topics. I thought they were both interesting questions and got me thinking.

What is my specific blog theme? Do I have one? I read quite a few blogs and am an active subscriber to at least 30 or more.  I love to read their posts via Google Reader over breakfast. Some I get via email.  Some folks have very specific themes, like productivity, marketing, saving money, home organization, workplace issues, leadership, etc. All of their posts are specific and refer back to their main blog theme in a very consistent way. It is in large part while I subscribe; I like hearing their perspectives on certain themes or issues.

It’s interesting, I do have a blog for my company that is specific to leadership coaching and related topics. So, I understand the questions I received.

But my personal blog is more about life in general. I tend to write about things that have happened to me or things I have observed. From my perspective, I just want to have the opportunity to share my dorky view of the world based on my own experiences or just things about myself in general.  This really comes in any form and is not predetermined by a specific topic or issue that every post revolves. What do you think – is that distracting to you as a reader that my posts can range from talking about the greatness of the holidays, or books, or movies, or school supplies, or life and whatnot? Feel free to share your comments or email me!

NOTE 9/19/09:

Read a post via email today from Write to Done talking about blog theme’s in which his lead into his post stated “Blogging and writing shouldn’t be just about talking about what you did today, or rambling about things in general — at least, not in my mind, not if it’s done well”.  I found this interesting but it is a sentiment I don’t agree.  I think the point of blogging is based on the writer. If you are like Leo Babauta, his desire with his blog is enlighten but what seems even more prevalent to me over the past few months, is his overwhelming desire to sell things especially his books and ebooks.  That is his prerogative and I don’t dislike him for it. It has however changed my personal desire to read his blog and have done so with much less frequency due to this feeling like I am being sold to.

What you choose to do with your blog and its content are entirely up to you.  Do what you want and be happy with what you do.

Another rant?

I used to love listening to Dennis Miller’s rants. I even have two of his rant-related books.  They make me laugh at their honesty but also their absurdity.

At times, Seth Godin does this too.  Right now, he and I are in a parallel situation. I have been selecting textbooks for a 9-course program I am creating and am finding the textbooks to be anything but what I want or need.  But instead of me ranting, check out his post.  I had one of those ‘heck ya, you said it’ kind of moments after I read it.

It seems that the more I review textbooks, the more I am shocked by the prices –a paperback, 9th Edition leadership book is $150. WHY??  And am equally shocked by the repetitive text. Doesn’t anyone have anything new to say based on projects that have occurred in the past 3 years? Why are we still dissecting projects from twenty years ago? No mistaking their value, but there have been some recent projects that would be more interesting to dissect if you ask me. Apparently they didn’t.

As a professor, but also a student, I can agree with some of Seth’s final statements,  “This industry deserves to die. It has extracted too much time and too much money and wasted too much potential. We can do better. A lot better”.   He’s right. We really could do a lot better.

Love and the workplace

Do you love your job? Do you like the people you work with? Do you try to leave your personal life at the door when you walk into the work? Do you truly care about your teammates or your team?

When you read these questions, did you think I was insane?  I am asking about feelings and work.  If you read many leadership books and talk to many bosses, there is NO room for any emotion when it comes to business and the workplace.

I completely and adamantly disagree.  How do you compartmentalize your life like that?  Is it working? Do you feel guilty that you missed your kid’s picnic or field trip, or spelling bee (or whatever)? Do you feel guilty when you’re on vacation or leave just a bit early for a parent-teacher conference or a basketball game?  Is this really the way to live?

Kouzes and Posner wrote a fantastic leadership book called The Leadership Challenge, which was followed up by Encourage the Heart (one among many fantastic book follow-ups). Both are awesome and should be organizational bibles if you ask me.  In essence, caring about your coworkers should not be taboo.

I know for me, it is the model I have followed since college and I refuse to stop. I have been mocked for this by upper management, told I was less responsible than my peers because my teams had fun while at work, and constantly told to stop being friendly with my team.  I might have lost out on opportunities for myself, but I was never in it for me anyway.

What kind of leader are you? What stand do you take professionally?  Don’t change who you are because others disagree, make fun, or are threatened. Just stay the course!

Hmph ..

I was  going to just do it and get the Kindle. Use a little tax refund money and splurge.  It seemed like a good idea considering I usually pay the $79 for Amazon Prime, so was thinking this would help me to realize financial benefits sooner.  WRONG!  The 3 books I would like to get right now?  Not offered on Kindle.  Hmph.  I would say that maybe my purchase of Kindle is officially and indefinitely on hold now.  Give me some bound pulp any day I say.

To Kindle or Not to Kindle?

I am in a quandry.  I am huge reader and love to be reading.  I am usually reading a few books at once, mainly because I am reading some for school, and some for pure curiosity or enjoyment (or both).  I am one of those people who gets interested in random things and then follows the path down the rabbit hole for a while. I also can get addicted to authors and will read everything they have ever written. Now, don’t mistake my incredible love for reading with being a shut-in, just like I shouldn’t mistake your shaved head or face piercings for anything more than self expression.

As an avid reader, I am starting to consider Amazon.com’s Kindle 2.0. It has a lot of new features that held me back from purchasing the first one, but now, the issue I have left is: what about having the actual book.  Right now, I have three bookcases that probably house about 400 or so books.  I have never counted and honestly, have no desire to.  I have about 20 books in my cart at Amazon.com at any one time and at least another 40+ on my wish list.  If you do a little math, to get the Kindle with most of the books being $10 or less, I will only be ‘out’ about $150 or thereabouts.  Of course, as time passes, the benefit of having purchased the Kindle will continue to rise and the financial side will tip to my favor.

So, if one can get past the initial shock of the price and decide that going electronic is the way to go, my last hesitation is with upgrades. Amazon is on version 2.0. What happens when version 3, or 5 comes out? Do we get upgrade options? Has anyone who has the first generation Kindle found any challenges now that the second generation is out?  I know, crazy random thoughts. But not completely unfounded when you consider the iPod and that most of us are on our 2nd or 3rd one.  My first had a battery challenge and when I found out the cost of replacing the battery, I decided to buy a new one from, yes, Amazon.   You can get just about anything from Amazon!

Anyone want to share their thoughts, suggestions, Kindle experiences?

Pageturners

I love a good page-turner.  When I was younger it started out with V.C. Andrews. Remember her? Flowers in the Attic, Petals in the Wind – the whole Dollanger saga. I found the series fascinating. I used to try to figure out why the mother was the way she was, how the kids turned out as the did. It was all very psychological for me, which are the best kinds of pageturners in my mind.

I moved on to Stephen King.  Wow, that man can write.  The last book of his I read was Salem’s Lot. Scared me to death and it didn’t help that most of his books were starting to get made into movies when I read that one and I knew what kind of scariness he could throw at you.  Oh wait, I did read his autobiography, On Writing, last year but I don’t think that counts. It was an awesome read if you are interested. He’s a very honest engaging writer, no matter the topic, which is why I stick to his writings in Entertainment Weekly now!

The latest page-turner I picked up is James Patterson’s latest, Run for your Life.  I liked it because it wasn’t an Alex Cross book (even though I love that series) and the language was different that some of his other books.  The only thing I didn’t like was the protagonist’s name was ‘the teacher’, which reminded me of that awful Alec Baldwin movie with Demi Moore (so awful, I can’t remember the title). If you know me, if I am absorbed in a good book, little can pry me from it.  Such was the case with this one, in which I read it in one four-hour sitting.   I am already looking for the next page-turner to read!  Any suggestions?

(Wo)Man’s Search for Meaning

I am in the midst of reading Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning and amazed at the heart this man had.  On several occasions in college, we were assigned to read Elie Weisel’s Night, which truly was worth every read, every time, but was never assigned Frankl’s book. Now, if you know me, I read anything and everything now, but in college, if it wasn’t assigned, I didn’t go the extra mile.  Lately, my head has been in the world of business, leadership, coaching, management, and motivation.

So to offset this kind of reading for my graduate program, I decided to do something I said I would do “later”.  As a way to go back and read some classics that I missed in high school due to moving around so much or that I missed in college, I have been on enjoying my own version of a summer reading list.  I have found various Top 100 books of all time lists and compared them.  It is amazing the level of variability in them – one had Spock’s guide to raising kids on it.  Yes, I am sure that was a milestone book, but not of the caliber I was looking for.  After finding the list with classics I wanted to read while taking into account those that I had already read, I am on my journey.

Frankl may have passed away in 1997 and may have written this book from the perspective of his time during the concentration camps, but his meaning, his heart and his message are just as great today as they were then.  Inspiration can come from unlikely sources; this being one of the biggest for me.  As I read more through the list, I will share my thoughts.  Maybe you will join me!