Wishing You All a Successful and Astounding 2008!

Wishing everyone a healthy, happy, successful and astounding 2008! Clients are always talking about being "successful". "I want to be successful", "I don't feel like I'm a success", "how can I be more successful". It's one of those words that people use all the time nowadays in different ways. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote one of my favorite descriptions of success.

"To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch....to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!" Ralph Waldo Emerson

And of course my favorite quote this season is by Thomas Alva Edison.

"If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves." Thomas Alva Edison

Wishing you all a successful and astounding year!
Rebecca "Kiki"

Barnes and Noble Finding Focus/Writing Workshop + Juno

The next Barnes and Noble Finding Focus/Writing Workshop will be on January 15th at 7:00pm. Bring your thoughts, projects, blocks, gripes, friends and anything else you'd like. The last one was terrific and honestly each one is so full of information, insights, tips and motivation that I'm blown away by it each and every time. If you have any questions or challenges you'd like me to cover please email them to me before the 14th and I'll see how I can work it in.

Now for those of you who've been missing your fix and asking for movie and book recs for the holidays, here's the story (no pun intended). I haven't seen that much lately and my reading material this last month has been gorging on magazines while getting ready for the next batch of texts I have to read come January-ish. (Cinema Editor, Animation, Moviemaker, Scientific American Mind, Esquire(it's the What I Learned issue) and Outside are all great this month. Of course there's always the usual suspects as far as women's mags, fashion mags and of course the Brit rags...)

As for movies, I loved Juno and would definitely put that on my list. I'm probably going to see it again to analyze how the filmmakers did it. What's the big deal? Well, one of the hazards of the profession as a creative writer and being trained in any medium is that you tend to have a hard time just being an observer or consumer of it. (Believe me you haven't lived until you've gone to the movies with a filmmaker and had to sit in the front row so you could FEEL each cut. The memory of it still makes my neck ache and it's been years.)

I still love,love, love the experience of film, drama and reading and it informs my personal work and the work I do with clients on their stories and storytelling issues and challenges. While seeing Juno though, I had an experience that I haven't had in a long time. I didn't notice a lot of what I'm usually tuned into. The story just swept me away, and while I usually go to the movies when it's not too crowded I found myself in a fairly crowded theatre in Union Square with a very mixed crowd of people of all ages and everyone loved it. People laughed out loud. People wept. (Ok -guilty on both counts - but knowing me when it comes to weeping at the movies it's not a matter of "will she?" but "so? was it a three-hanky? one box of tissues? a bed sheet?").

When I work with storytellers of all kinds in many mediums I always stress the character elements. The plot is the plot - in an interview in the current issue of Cinema Editor Magazine Nic Roeg said mentioned the fact that fairly early on people have already seen the 38 plots there are. (Great interview by the way with his long-time editor). It's the truth. There are so many plots and different permutations of them. There's got to be more.

What keeps you there? What makes you care about the characters? What makes you not stand up and walk out in the middle? The struggle to know your characters and make others feel for and with them whether they're "good" or "bad" is a constant one but when you've got it - it's heaven to work on. When a filmmaker gets that it's heaven to watch the film.

Juno is that kind of film. It's the oldest story in the book. 16 year old girl gets pregnant, what will she do? But the characters and the way they're drawn, fleshed out and portrayed is terrific. I really just dove right into the story and when I was talking about it later realized I didn't know how the filmmakers had done x,y, or z. That hasn't happened to me in a long time. I don't know if it's the movies out there lately or me. Jason Reitman who did "Thank You For Smoking" (another terrific film) did an amazing job directing this one. Great and interesting characters, great dialogue, great conflicts, great acting. Great storytelling.

Because I cannot let it go without comment. Will Smith is NO legend as far as I'm concerned. Enough said.

Enjoy the movies and let me know what you've seen and how you liked it!

Enjoy the day,
RK

Meltdown 2007 - Individuals, Groups and the Planet

While the holiday season is supposed to be full of good cheer...OK let me start that one over again with something a bit more realistic like -

Why is the holiday season so difficult? That's the question that most people have been asking me whether in session or via email or phone, I even got an "aaaaargh" text. Nothing else just "argh". I understood completely. Sometimes, to misquote the lyrics, "argh is all you need".

Everyone has their own specific reasons for finding some elements of the holiday season difficult. For some people the shopping for gifts brings on hives, for some the too-much-togetherness can trigger anxiety, resentment and/or unresolved anger, for some the memory of lost loved ones can elicit tears and seasonal depression.

Throw in a dollop of relentless cheeriness coming at you from all sides, ruminating on the year that's on its way out and formulating resolutions for the coming year. This year I will definitely ___________ and I must ___________. Now I may not be a big one for cooking but what you've got there is a sure recipe for a meltdown.

But being me I couldn't let it go at that - there was something niggling at the back of my mind because 2007 seemed to bring out more meltdown situations and feelings in people than the previous few years. So I asked myself the question....what is going on? Beyond the usual meltdowns which can happen and invariably do at some point or another. That's just life - sometimes it all happens too fast/too much/too slow/too too/too _____.

I had a couple of thoughts regarding technology overload, society, delayed post 9/11 reactions, PTSD in returning soldiers, changing culture and norms and more....and they all made sense. Then I did a google search for "meltdown 2007" and this article from Science News Portrait of a Meltdown which describes the arctic meltdown of 2007 came up. Apparently, the ice meltdown in the Arctic this year is the largest ever. Hmmmmm - is there a connection?

I think there is. I'm a firm believer that we're all creatures of the planet (not to mention habit, learning, etc.) and when something is affecting our earth it effects us. How about this? Last week I was walking down the block in my neighborhood in Brooklyn and I saw two raccoons taking a little walk. Raccoons!! And no, they're not usually in the neighborhood. And during the last few years tropical birds have made their homes in the trees around here too. Something is going on around us and it affects us.

So if you're having your own meltdown - there are ways to deal with it depending on the circumstance. But pay attention to the meltdowns around you.
Are the people around you melting down and that's causing you to feel meltdown-prone?
Is the societal cheeriness and meltdown causing you extra anxiety or meltdown-y feelings?

Try and figure out which elements are your personal meltdown and which are coming at you from the outside. The external elements can affect you but if you're aware of them and prepare for them, you can find yourself sailing through the holidays with good feelings and optimism for the new year. (Of course there might still be some negative thoughts or feelings - you are human.)

Meanwhile - a quick soapbox moment - let's all figure out what we can do individually and as a country/planet to save our nature. Literally.

Enjoy the day!
RK

Reading the Mind Of the Body Politic - WSJ and The Neuroethics Society

Here it comes...Big Brother is so here and it should scare everyone. Really everyone. As soon as people start using information about how brains work to predict how one might behave, we're all in big trouble. Individually and collectively, no matter what group, race, country, denomination you belong to.

Reading the Mind Of the Body Politic ran in the Wall Street Journal last week and I've been so bothered by it I couldn't let it pass without comment. A description of the article reads "A wave of research suggests political decisions often occur at the subliminal level. Alexandra Alter reports on how neuromarketers and political strategists are focusing on an uncharted electoral frontier--the brain."

Neuromarketers? Did you catch that phrase? I've known this was coming for a while now but it's scarier to read about it in the Wall Street Journal then to discuss it, and possible solutions for it, with colleagues who study the brain and mind.

The article begins with "during last Sunday's Republican presidential debate in Miami, Mitt Romney declared he was the only candidate who had stopped talking about universal health care and "actually got the job done." Across the country, in San Francisco, five volunteers watched the debate while wearing electrode-studded headsets that track electrical activity in the brain.

When Mr. Romney said the words "got the job done," there was a pronounced shift in activity in their prefrontal lobes. "They liked what they were hearing," said Brad Feldman, an analyst with EmSense Corp., the company that conducted the test."

They might very well have liked what they were hearing. The analysts at EmSense may have gotten that right. But what will they DO with their feelings? With their thoughts? With their reactions?

I love all the new technology that is uncovering the workings of the brain. I love it, I study it and it informs the work that I do. Really, I love it, love it, love it. I've met neuroscientists who are doing the most fantastic work on the brain from monitoring how people react while watching movies to the biochemistry and psychobiology of PTSD and offspring of people who have suffered from PTSD. Great stuff - really - I can't get enough of it. But when people start using the information to predict and say with certainty what an individual, or groups of individuals will actually do - we're getting into dangerous territory.

Imagine if every one of your nasty thoughts and feelings was registered. Every time you thought about what you'd like to do to so-and-so and the revenge you were going to take on such-and-thus. Imagine if you were judged by your thoughts - some of which you weren't even aware of...ok - you can stop now. Way too scary.

Enter a newly founded group called The Neuroethics Society (of which I'm a member). The society was founded in May of 2006 and is "an interdisciplinary group of scholars, scientists and clinicians who share an interest in the social, legal, ethical and policy implications of advances in neuroscience".

Check it out and keep posted about the work that they're doing for all of us. (Martha Farah was quoted in the WSJ article.) We must all of us start paying attention NOW to make sure that the advances in neuroscience are used in responsible ways socially, legally, ethically, and politically.

Whew! Exhausted from that little stint on the soapbox but I just couldn't let the article pass without comment. Now....if only you could have all read my mind about what I thought of it I wouldn't have had to write it down here...but then you might have heard some of the things I didn't want to say out loud, some of the personal thoughts that I didn't want to share....

Finding Focus Beats Boredom - Scientific American Mind

The proof is in the article. Thank you Scientific American Mind for explaining how Finding Focus is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself and your life.

Ok - so we're ahead of our time here. What can I tell you? Our "Finding Focus" Seminars which I developed have been running for quite a while and continue to be a tremendous success. People walk out feeling more focused, more energized, looking at their routines and habits in a new way. Participants FIND new FOCUS in their work, creative endeavors, careers, hobbies, futures, whatever it is they choose to focus on. "Finding Focus" workshops have been ongoing at Barnes and Noble for a few years and writers, future-writers, blocked writers and creatives of all kinds have found themselves energized and inspired, and productive in ways they hadn't been.

The article in Scientific American is Bored? by Anna Gosline. It's full of information, a little boredom quiz, a short description of boredom in the brain as well as sources for further reading.

I believe and know that when you focus on what's important to you and you move forward in whatever direction that takes you, you don't bore easily. I also know that it isn't always easy to figure out what it is that you want to do. Really want to do.

Often when coaching clients a big part of our work is uncovering the layers of "should do", "what x or y wants me to do", "what I always thought I should do", "what I always believed I was meant to do", "what society believes I should do", "what's best for me to do", "what's easy for me to do" (and more) and getting to "this is what I really want" and "this is what's right for me".

Finding Focus helps you in the short run and in the long run. Do it for yourself. Find your personal focus. Live the life you want to live. The one you know deep in your heart you were always meant to live. Live your life.

For more info on Finding Focus Workshops and Seminars and how to arrange for one for your company or group feel free to contact me at kiki at dailylifeconsulting dot com or Jill Evans at jill at gtkgroup dot com.

What She Learned This Year - You Might Want to Too...(from Rachel C. Weingarten)

Wow - I know she's my sister and I might be biased but this is absolutely a terrific post from the blog of Rachel C. Weingarten author of Career and Corporate Cool(TM). Read about the things she's learned this year about friendship, love, success, work, health and much more.... I learned a lot and it got me thinking....


*Never take your health for granted because just when you think that life has cut you a break, it pulls the rug out from under you.

*Dream big and make your reality even bigger, and after you do that, shrug it off as just a fluke and try even harder the next time.

*Don't stay friends with people just because you've been friends with them forever. People change and when they're bad to themselves, chances are at some point they'll become bad to you as well.

*Don't be afraid to tell someone you love them, even if you know it won't work out. Sometimes it's a gift to yourself to remember that you are in fact capable of deep love.

*Some years are financial successes, some are personal or professional successes, it doesn't all happen every year.

*Don't become so terrified or overwhelmed by a milestone that you lose sight of the before and after.

*Don't trust the universe more than you trust yourself, the cosmos may conspire against you, but you should always keep trying.

*Don't make things look so easy that people resent you, Don't make things look so hard that people think that they can't help or don't matter.

*Laugh at yourself- because the human condition when not horrifically painful, is fairly amusing.

*Live by your own definition of success.

What have you learned in 2007?
Stay Cool!
Rachel
Visit Cool Quotient

Re-Grouping and Re-Charging for Evening Work Hours

Question -

Thanks for your guidance, Kiki.

Burnout is a periodic issue for me and a lot of the questions I have are
already addressed in questions above. Here's another issue on which I could
use your advice:

With three small children in the house, most of the writing portion of my
work occurs at night, which enables me to use any child care hours/nap time
during the day to interview sources or talk via phone with editors. But some
days by 9 pm my brain is on cruise control, at best. There's little creative
spark left in my daily dose, unless I drink lots of coffee to perk up (which
is what I typically do), which then keeps me up nearly all night. Good for
work, bad for sleep. Lack of sleep, of course, can quickly lead to burnout
on all fronts.

Do you have any recommendations for people who have to work odd hours as to
how they can re-group (other than highly caffinating!) and re-charge for
evening work hours? Or how would you recommend shifting a work schedule
where caring for small children dominates daytime hours (keeping in mind I
am not a morning person, so getting up before these early birds is not an
option!)


My Answer

Of course my first suggestion would be to wake up before the kids but since that's not an option we've got to figure something else out.

First of all, cut yourself some slack and realize that you're in a tough situation with small children around and a business to attend to which includes "being on" both verbally and intellectually. Tough stuff. But it won't be this way forever so it's a matter of organizing your time now to get through it the best you can.

A couple of suggestions - first of all, could you use one of the children's nap times as a nap time for yourself? Biologically our bodies do better with a nap in the afternoon. That might decrease your caffeine need, which you're right about - it can cause jitters, sleeplessness, anxiety if overused.

Another thought comes to mind as I put my teacher's cap on. Play teacher. I don't know how old the children are but try and prepare some activities for them that they can do on their own (it might take some planning of materials but once you get the hang of it it's pretty easy - collage, cutting and pasting, easy needlepointing, books on tape, puzzles, writing and illustrating their own books) which might free up some writing time for you during the day and cut back on the night time work.

Remind the children that they can't disturb you unless it's an emergency - (outline what those are!) and set aside a few minutes after the activity to look at it and all around oooh and aaah and tell you about it - that will motivate them to do it again. You can also have them be part of the planning process - shopping for the materials, putting it on a calendar, getting "rewards" for a completed job or a job well done.

Hope this helps - good luck and let me know how it goes!
Kiki

Is It Burnout?

Question -
Hi Kiki,
Thank you for coming to our rescue.

If you just sit and stare at the computer screen, with deadlines looming,
and are unable to decide what to do next, is that burnout? If so, what is
the solution?

My Answer -

Hmmmm - that's a tough question because it could be burnout but it could be a number of other things as well. We'd need to explore a couple of things first of all to find out if it's burnout, or writer's block or a situational or seasonal thing, if something's going on in another area of your life or how you're feeling about your writing life in general and the project you need to be working on, in particular.

Whew! Then we could start to come up with some solutions to the problem. What I would suggest as a start is to get up and walk away from the computer for a while if you can so that you don't start to connect the computer with the feelings of frustration which might make it harder to approach it in the future. Another thing you might try is using the computer to begin to explore what's going on. Ask yourself some of the above questions - and start typing away - do some automatic writing and you might find that some of your answers will find their way into words.

Putting the thoughts and feelings into words is the first step to becoming aware of them, understanding them and discovering solutions - the ways to implement the solutions is a step further down the road but sometimes all you need is a jolt of energy in the right direction and finding some answers is a good way to liberate some of the energy that's tied up while you're sitting and staring....

Hope this helps - feel free to email or call,
Best,
Kiki

"Go-To-Girl" Syndrome - Q&A

As promised - I'm posting the questions I didn't get to answer on the board. If you didn't get your email reply please let me know and I'll send it on over the ether.

Question -
Kiki,
Nice to see you here.
I suffer from what I call "go-to-girl" syndrome. I agree to last-minute
assignments, deadlines that are moved up, projects that grow beyond the
original scope (with pay) because I like being the one editors count on. But
it takes its toll. I'm crazed right now. Maybe I don't need to be so
available and agreeable, but how do I change?


My answer -

Ok - you mention a couple of things " I like being the one editors count on" and
"Maybe I don't need to be so available and agreeable" and "but how do I change". You also mention that all this takes its toll.

Ok - one thing at a time because it's a multifaceted issue. But we'll use your question as a guidepost. "How do I change?" Well, that depends on why you want to change. Not need - that's clear by the "it takes its toll". What you do want is to be the one the editors can count on.

Is there another way to be this person - perhaps a modified version with new limits set by you and still be the one they count on? How might you go about doing that? What are some new boundaries and "B's Rules" that you could let them know about at the beginning of a project? And of course you're letting them know this in the nicest, most professional way. "I'm happy to do x,y,or z however....." which lets them know that you're available to be the go-to-person but in a new way.

The other question to ask yourself is why you want to be the one they count on. If it's strictly financial - you have your answer and making the change is more of an intellectual and time-management, stress-management one. If there's something else going on - such as an emotional need or habit to be the one people can rely on then the changes will have to include an internal component including some thought about how that came to be part of your makeup and whether it's still something you need and/or want.

Hope this helps as a starting off point - keep me posted!
Kiki

Burnout!

Burnout. What a terrible situation to find yourself in. You started out doing something because you thought you'd love it/would be good at it/were born to do it/wanted to ____,_____, or ________ . Maybe you accomplished what you set out to do. Maybe you still want to continue doing it or maybe you've just stopped dead in your tracks and can't take ONE MORE SECOND of it. You're exhuasted, have no interest in an area that you used to love, can't get out of bed in the morning, dread it and/or anything connected to it.

Burnout can hit hard but there are steps you can take to prevent burnout, to energize yourself while in the midst of being burnt out yet still required to do the job that burnt you out, and ways to energize and get out of a burnout situation.

I had the great pleasure this week of doing a q&a session on a message board. The message board is for a profession that can have a high rate of burnout. Many of these people are small business owners/entrepeneurs, a role which requires inordinate amounts of work and work hours as well as intellectual involvement in the business. In short, it can be a 24/7 situation. I will add that they are an extremely smart and motivated bunch of people and I was interested to hear the kinds of issues they were dealing with and how I might be able to assist.

It was great! The questions came hard and fast and there were so many that I didn't get to finish all of them in the alloted time. As promised I answered the rest later in the day and will post them here.

Some of the issues that came up included life changes that cause burnout, behavioral habits that made it difficult to "just say no" to business requests which can lead to a work overload, ways to re-energize during the day/week/year, work-life balance when working from home, work-life balance when working from home and being primary caretaker of small children, work-life balance when work becomes a 24/7 proposition,
feelings of anxiety and the imposter syndrome when doing work that involves constant reinvention of one's self and one's craft.

I was energized when we were done and I had lots to think about, which I'll share here as I consolidate my thoughts on the issue. I'd like to thank everyone there who shared their questions and concerns and also to all of you who emailed after with thanks and kind thoughts and words. I always appreciate hearing from you!

December Doldrums, Decisions and Dilemmas

Ok - I got emails asking if the New Year's Resolutions exercise below should be completed in one day or one weekend. Aaaaack! No - just thinking about doing it that way makes me feel overwhelmed. Slow and steady. Take it slow and steady. Making changes is a marathon not a sprint. Slooooooow and steady. At your own pace. (More on that later in this post.)

I also got some questions about how I developed the 5Ws approach and as I've said often, so much of what I learned about coaching I learned by teaching first grade. Break down the big picture and goals into small, easier to achieve pieces. Take it slow. Work at your own pace. Forgive yourself mistakes. If it doesn't work the first time, try it again. Practice. Practice. Practice. Celebrate your achievements and successes. It's so simple it actually works.

This time of year can be very tough. Lots to do. Lots of holiday cheer, which is great if you're feeling 100% cheerful but I've got to tell you that just about everyone I've been working with and coaching hasn't been feeling 100% cheerful. Mmmmmmm, let's say they haven't been feeling even 95% cheerful. All milestones, holidays and any other big
events bring with them mixed feelings. Tension as well as excitement. Happiness as
well as sadness and poignancy. Exuberance as well as apprehension. Many people get blindsided when they think it will be all good and they won't feel anything negative.

The best thing to do is acknowledge everything that's going on which will assist you in dealing with it all and getting through it well. If the holiday shopping scene makes you want to scream, if planning for the holidays makes you break out in a cold sweat, if there are people who you miss more around this time of year, if there are goals or milestones you would have liked to have achieved by now but haven't, if you're feeling burned out, stressed out, shaken down or just plain exhausted - take a breath and acknowledge it. It's the first step to making adjustments and feeling better.

We've been doing a lot of that here and as you can imagine, it's not always easy but it's always worthwhile and feels just terrific when achieved. People feel a sense of empowerment as opposed to feeling overwhelmed. In control as opposed to out of control.

A few quick tips.

* Leave yourself plenty of extra time to accomplish things.
Don't pencil in 60 minutes to do something that takes an hour for you to do. Figure an extra 15-20 minutes to account for human error, technological snafus, traffic or transportation snags, the sniffles or a bad mood.

* Don't expect perfection.
Things will go wrong - it's just the way it is. Do the best you can and give yourself credit for doing the best you can.

* Rethink your holiday celebrations and expectations.
Are you doing the same things you always do because you always do them? Sometimes that seems like the simple way to go about doing things but it might be time for a change. If you've changed then the same routines might not work for the new you. Make adjustments.

* Treat yourself well.
When you feel you're about to hit overload - stop what you're doing and take a breather. Pay attention to what happened and plan ahead so it doesn't happen again. Were you too tired? Did you take on too much responsibility? Were you spending too much time with people who set you off? Make adjustments.

* New Year's Resolutions - take it slow and steady.
Start by answering the first question in the 5Ws below Who, What, Where, When, Why. Who are you today and who would you like to be a year from now?
Think about health, intellectual endeavors, physical abilities, career goals, personal goals, relationship goals. Slowly. Don't do it all at once.


Do the best you can, the best way you can, this year. Forgive yourself for the things you wish you could do differently or better or more or.....and as always - enjoy the moments you can this year because quite simply, this year won't pass this way again....

Be good to yourself - email or post any questions or comments. I love hearing from you!

RK

Any Time Of Year Resolutions

In the flurry of activity leading up to the holidays I've been particularly busy doing a lot of corporate seminars and one on one stress management coaching with people who are burnt out or who seem antsy to start their New Year's resolutions- before the New Year. I'll be updating with more tips and thoughts on changing behavior, but in the meantime will share some of my tips on resolutions (that previously appeared on About.com)

Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: Up to You!
Here's How:

1. Use the 5W System
As you answer the 5W questions below, jot them down in a journal you’ll be starting especially for this. Keeping a journal can often help in answering the 5Ws and helping you keep your resolutions. The journal will give you a starting point aside from January 1st to refer to. A week or a month from now you can see how much progress you've made and decide if you’re happy with your progress, or lack thereof. You can continue from there. You can modify your tactics and start differently. Or you can start again using different techniques that fit your lifestyle better.
2. The 5Ws? Simple. Who, What, Where, When and Why.
Who are you today and who would you like to be a year from now?
Why do you want to make the change? Emphasis on YOU.
What changes in behavior and shifts in attitude will you need in order to make the changes and achieve your goal?
Where can you get support to help you make the change? People, books, Web sites, journals etc.
When is the best time of day/week/year for you to make the change? To evaluate the change? To take action toward achieving the change?
3. A couple of tips to help you answer the "Why" for YOU.
You've decided you want to make a change. Think about the change you've decided you want to make. You. Yes, you. Not anyone else who wants a change from you. Just you. Think about it. It's okay, you can say, "I want to _______". If you need to write it down and burn it before anyone sees it, that's also okay. If you want to send yourself an e-mail describing it, try that. Whatever works. Now that you've decided what it is that you'd like to do/be/achieve, there's another step to take before planning the "How."
4. Why do you want _________________________?
Find a place and time where you can sit quietly and think and have a real conversation with yourself or with your coach. Explore the reasons. Sure there are the first few surface/off the cuff that come to mind easily. Dig deeper. Keep asking yourself why until you've gotten to the real reason you want to achieve your goal.
5. Once you've figured out the "Why" it's easier to schedule and sort out the rest. You'll know the end result you're trying to achieve. By answering the Who, What, Where and When you'll be able to schedule the small tasks needed to make the change into your schedule. Why? Why not? Why shouldn't you have the best year you've ever had before? Can you think of one good reason? I didn't think so.
6. Go for it! Out with the old and in with the new. Happy New Year!


What You Need:

* Journal Suppplies : a notebook, pen/pencil or a computer
* New Year's Resolutions Supplies: Your wishes, goals, hopes and dreams
* Strategy Supplies: Your strengths and limitations

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving. I am a total, complete sucker for Thanksgiving which is why I tend to go on and on about it. I'll make it short and sweet here.

Count your blessings and believe me you have many, no matter how it feels sometimes. When working with clients one of the first things we do when talking about making changes is to figure out what is working, what is right, what is wonderful, what is better than one could have ever imagined.

Engage in random acts of kindness. It really does make you feel good while at the same time doing something nice, generous or caring for someone else.

Show and tell your gratitude to the people in your life who have made your year a better one.

Thank yourself. Make a big old list of the good things you've done for yourself. Count your achievements large and small, memorable moments, leaps into the unknown, new adventures, new experiences, new feelings, new ways of communicating, new plans, new goals, anything you've done for yourself that has improved your life in some way.

Now, don't you feel better about things? It's a great mind set to be in before you start working on those New Year's Resolutions. We'll be talking about those next month so for now enjoy and indulge.

Thanks to all of you who made my year so wonderful.

Happy Thanksgiving,
RK

Boomer Coaching Planning Ahead - The Top 25 Locations - Wall Street Journal

Thanks Brian H. for the article info The Top 25 Locations for Retirees
Seeking a Return to the Workforce in the Wall Street Journal.

Brian is one of many people who is taking a proactive approach and planning ahead even though he's years away from retirement (he made me promise to mention this if I mentioned him here - even if I only use an initial - how did I do Brian?). As a matter of fact, Brian isn't even sure that he ever wants to "retire". He's in his early 50s, active, young in body, mind and spirit and we both think of the coaching work we're doing together as planning for a different, new and exciting future.

Here is the information with some very interesting places on the list. Go forward, go further and have fun!

Barnes and Noble Writing Workshop - Follow Up and Writing Tips

Great workshop - thanks to all who attended and the great input, comments, advice, questions, grumbles and gripes as well as joys and fun moments in regard to writing. I will just do this as free association and just do a quick draft in order to get the thoughts out there - and worry about editing another day - which was one of the great topics of discussion.

G. hit one of the big challenges of creative writing on the head when he said "I want to just get the story out and I want to make it the best story it can be." That was it in a nutshell.


I suggested that both of those goals are achievable but possibly (probably) not at the same writing moments. So one goal and the goal of a first draft is to "get the story out". A second goal and the goal of re-writing and editing is "to make it the best story it can be". Approaching the writing based on which of the two is the goal for that writing time. If it's "getting the story out" then go - write and write and don't edit yourself. Just get it out there. Then when some time has passed, whatever time that is that you need to see the work clearly and somewhat objectively go back and edit. But both at the same time? One will counteract the other.

Some other great thoughts/tips/tools:

* Automatic writing exercises - just write. No right write just write.

* Word prompts. M said that she's been using that as a writing exercise. She picks a word and just writes about it.

* Getting into the, dare we call it, "hypnotic" state necessary to write. Going to the place of your story. I was describing the sensation of being deeply involved in a book or even going to the movies. With a book, you pick it up and you enter the world that the author has created for you - when writing the story you have to create the world and atmosphere and self-generate the feelings, emotions, descriptions - much harder to do. At the movies you are put into a somewhat sensory deprivation for the few moments before the movie starts. It's dark, silent there's a transition until you enter the world of the film which of course has the advantage of being larger than life and engaging your senses.

* Getting rid of those internal editors whether they're the nasty friend from high school or the college English professor who was so obsessed with grammar she didn't even read for content, or your favorite author whose work you know you can never match. Ask them to please leave the building while you're writing. Gone. Out. Away.

* Setting the stage - B. described how at one point she would have a glass of wine and a cigarette in order to get ready for the muse. I talked about sitting for hours and avoiding the blank screen by being on the internet only to have the perfect phrase/thought/concept enter my head on the train. I also talked about how I was teaching first grade while in graduate school for writing and how for me it was an adjustment when my work circumstances changed. Hmmmm now where can I get me 26 6 year olds and a classroom with a leafy view in order to prompt the muse? And the funny feeling when recently at the doctor's and the waiting room view resembled that classroom so suddenly I felt like whipping out my writing and just sitting there and writing. Go know.

* G. talked about taping dreams and thoughts first thing in the morning.

* R. described asking her patients to keep journals to work through some things and that that works for her as well.

* C. described wanting to write but finding that the idea of a long project made her focus on smaller ones - I suggested smaller projects for her to begin with.

* M. talked about turning chaos into writing and chaotic writing into coherent writing.

*D and B talked about the book by Julia Cameron that is assisting them chapter by chapter to do the writing without feeling pressured.

* Beginning to write what you want to be working on and finding that the page has gotten away from you - the work is something different than you thought it would be. Which will you follow? Which is really the story you want to tell/can best tell/need to tell?

* The difference between writing fiction and screenplays and how learning how to do one can make it difficult, but not impossible to switch and do the other.

Some good writing books were discussed like Norman Mailer's "The Spooky Art" which has an amazing section on the unconscious and how sometimes it's just not ready to write what you think you want to write.

Believe it or not there was more. I don't know how we covered all of that in a bit over an hour but it was great.

Thanks all for a wonderful workshop - I can't wait until the next one.

Barnes and Noble Writing Workshop - Tonight at 7:00pm

The next writing workshop is tonight, November 12th at 7:00pm at Barnes and Noble Court Street. Seating is limited so please call to reserve a place at 718.246.4996

Bring any thoughts, ideas, gripes, blocks and breakthroughs. See you then!

Veteran's Day - Giving Thanks

It's fitting that Veteran's Day is in the same month as Thanksgiving since giving thanks to veterans should be high on our lists of things/people to be thankful for.

We wouldn't be here living in our free and democratic nation without them. I certainly wouldn't. Without going too much into personal details I will say that without our veterans I wouldn't be here today. My parents and (more of) my extended family members would have been exterminated and I wouldn't have the opportunity to live the free life that I do. I am grateful and humbled by their sacrifices.

I also want to acknowledge the men and women who are fighting for us as we speak and those veterans of this war who have given the ultimate sacrifice or have come back wounded. I am thankful to every single one of you. I have friends who have suffered terrible injuries bothy physically and emotionally and one physician friend who has done more than one tour and who I haven't heard from in a while....I hope he's ok.

So, let's take a moment to be thankful for our veterans and the life they enable us to live.

Making the Right Change The Right Way (for you) Transition Coaching and Counseling

I work with some great people and learn so much from my clients. The experience of assisting someone in making a transition is extremely gratifying to me. Maybe it's because I've gone through it myself and know how tough it can sometimes feel and how great it is to finally get to the other side.

Somehow the specter of New Year's starts way before January rolls around. Most people would like to just START right then and zip right into whatever new mode they want to be in. Theoretically a great idea but most changes have a transition period. When you do it right, the transition period can be a time of great growth and positive change.

Transitions run the gamut of work transitions from one career to another, from one stage of life to another, from high school to college, from college to first job, from job to job, from working to retirement, from working to working retirement, from working to finding-myself-retirement.

Change is inevitable. Make the right change the right way.

Daily Life Consulting

Barnes and Noble Writing Workshop - November 12th at 7:00 - Nano/Writing Email answers

Hi All!

How's the writing going? Bring your thoughts, issues, gripes and questions on Monday, November 12th at 7:00pm. We'll talk about Nanowrimo and other writing topics.

Gabrielle - yes, it's ok if writing sometimes becomes the Diane Keaton scene in "Something's Gotta Give" where she's weeping over the computer.
Sometimes? Why only sometimes? Try oftentimes.

Mandy - yes, it often happens that one doesn't like what one wrote/doesn't remember what one wrote/doesn't like how one wrote what one wrote. Sounds about standard actually. A very wise person and writing mentor once told me that no matter what it is you should love your writing. The piece may not be what you thought, the impulse may have turned into something completely different than what you thought, an idea for a comedy becomes a tragedy, one of your characters has some horrific flaw or past that you can't tolerate....but that's the great part of it. The discovery - what you learn about yourself, your characters, your story, your thoughts and feelings.
"Writing is problem solving" a great quote that was in a professor's office. So true.

Juliet - a soundtrack? Very personal I couldn't tell you what to use. I would suggest music that is evocative to you and that takes you to a time and place. Because when the writing is going well (the process) you'll be transported to that place. You'll be where you're writing about.

Michael - don't be shy. Just come by and join the workshop. You don't have to speak if you don't want to. No pressure whatsoever.

Shout out of support to the writers on strike. Without them there would be no stories told. How fast have some of the tv shows gone to repeats?

Writer-at-large - I can't give you specific suggestions on your character because you didn't give me enough information in your email. Feel free to email again with more details.

Laugh, scream, cry but just write. Whatever it is - just say it on paper or ether or your hand or a napkin or a scrap of paper - just write it!

For more info visit Daily Life Consulting

One Step At a Time....

Rosalia posted a question/comment here that I have heard from some clients during the course of coaching or counseling and that some have you have emailed me regarding the questions in the last post and others of that sort. For those of you who wanted more, more, more I say the same thing...one step at a time.

Do you have to know everything at once? No. Can you? No. The questions were posted here as a road map to give you a general idea of the kinds of things we might explore. Sure it can feel like a lot especially if it's the first time you've done it. But here's the thing, if we're working together or if you're involved in an exercise of this sort, chances are it's because something in your life is not the way you want it to be. Yes, I work with clients who are doing and feeling great but they still want to be doing better, feeling better about things, setting and reaching goals they weren't aware of or didn't know how to approach.

It's about making it the best it can be. Whatever "it" is.

So Rosalia, take a deep breath. Relax. Think of it this way. One question. If you could change one thing what would it be? You can let me know by posting or emailing me at rebecca at dailylifeconsulting dot com.

Start slowly with one thing, one small change, one small step and we'll take it from there.

TIER(c) System Expanding to TIERS(c)

Quick Note

Through the work with clients using the TIER(c) system I realize that there was another element that needed to be added to it. Using the TIER(c) system we explore the client's Temperament, Intellect, Expectations and Reality but there's one more thing that's necessary in order for people to attain a Work/Life Symmetry that works for them. I will refer to it as Satisfaction for the purposes of the TIER system but it encompasses satisfaction, meaning and purpose.

More on that later, but in the meantime give some thought to the things in your life that give you satisfaction. That doesn't only mean what makes you happy. Happiness is great and no one is discounting it but it can be fleeting. It comes in moments or times and can't possibly be sustained 24/7. In addition, if that's the goal and the focus what happens during the rest of life? You know, the daily life stuff that isn't always a smile a minute, grand, fun, over-the-moon great.

What sustains you?
What gives meaning to your life?
What gives you a sense of purpose?
Who is important to you and why?
What is important to you and why?

So Many Questions - A couple of answers...

I ask zillions of questions myself and have lots of patience for answering other people's questions (hey - I taught first grade and kindergarten, it's a job requirement "thou shalt answer zillions and zillions of questions during the course of the school year"). Having said that, I must say that some of your email questions get me thinking about why the information might be important or of note. I'm not sure why I'm going to write the following but here goes. Maybe I'm just exhausted and know not what I do...

Now, professionally speaking when working with clients I don't necessarily answer all their questions because the questions are not always relevant to the coaching and sometimes the question is information.

What do you want to know and why? It's a great exercise to try with yourself.
What information are you looking for and how will it help you to know it?
Will it inform a decision? Provide more information about whatever? I read a great line recently which I wish I could attribute but in true "reading overload" don't remember where I read it. It was something like "information can insulate against shock". Sometimes people want the information as a protective device, insulation as it were. There are more and more reasons people ask questions, too many to mention here. Then again there's something to be said for "sometimes a question is just a question".

So here are a couple of answers.
A number of you wanted to know why I mentioned taking the seat near the door at the doctor's office (I would have been curious too). Occupational hazard in addition to personal preference.

Dan asked here what many of you wanted to know and a question that comes up in workshops and seminars. What do I read for inspiration? It depends on what I'm working on. I devour books of every sort on every topic. I read vast amounts of non-fiction as well as fiction and when working in, or learning, a new genre I read everything I can on the genre, topic and works in that genre. That goes for fiction, short stories, essays, scripts etc. I also recommend reading current magazines on the topic. You'll find out what's going on, what the new trends are, what's being picked up or published etc. Subscribe to internet newsletters as well, there are tons on most topics - look through them and see which ones match your reading and information style.

Don't forget to go back to the classics in the area you're trying to learn about. Also, I recommend books that describe people's experiences when they were first starting. They're very helpful as far as finding out what to expect, what's considered "normal" and what should set off warning bells.

What am I reading now? Professionally....well - at the risk of your eyes glazing over, and knowing that talking about it can clear a room pretty quickly, I'll leave that for another time - or perhaps for The Dramatic Mind sometime in the future.

For fun - I've been devouring books by Douglas Kennedy. He wrote "The Big Picture" which is one of the few books I read and re-read. I like some of his themes and having started out as a playwright his dialogue is spot-on. He relocated to the UK and his books are only printed there now so I just tracked down a whole slew of them and have been inhaling them.

The William Zinsser book I mentioned in an earlier post is
Paths of Resistance: The Art and Craft of the Political Novel by William, Editor; Allende, Isabel; McCarry, Charles; Piercy, Marge, Contributors Zinsser (Paperback - 1989) .

About movie recs. You are correct that I haven't mentioned any lately, as far as writing, editing, character, story etc. That's because I have been soooooo underwhelmed by anything I've seen recently. That includes lots of the over-hyped movies we've been hearing about. Most recent DVD? An Israeli film called "One Small Step" or "Tza'ad Katan" which is the last film produced by someone I knew very well who passed away a couple of weeks after the movie was released in 2003. It's a sweet movie with some wonderful dialogue, characters and insights. In all honesty, I can't be very objective about this one but I loved it.

That's about it for now.

Enjoy the day,
RK

Resolutions for a New You

Can it be that time of year again? (almost....) Well, the summer is really over, the holidays are on the horizon and along with planning for Thanksgiving, the new year is on its way. People are starting to think about New Year's resolutions and with it the panic of "ohmigodIcantbelieveIdidntdoxyorzresolutionfromlastyear". Yes. In one breath. It can feel that intense.

This year why not resolve to change the process of resolutions? I'll start here with a general outline and we can take it from there in the next couple of months.

We can use the holidays that are approaching as markers and ways to begin.
For Halloween imagine who you'd like to "dress up" as.
Who do you want to be?
What kind of life do you want to be leading?
How much of it matches up to what you're currently doing?
What needs to change?

During November we'll focus on the things we're grateful for. What's working in your life? What do you want more of? What do you want less of?

During December we'll focus on the specific changes that you might want to make and strategize different ways to go about making them.

By the time 12:00am January 1st rolls around (ok - cut yourself some slack - January 1 or 2 is good) you'll be ready. You'll know what you want to keep, what you want to change, what you want to add, subtract or multiply and how to go about doing it.

Ready? How about ready to get ready? Good enough.

Some More Answers to Nanowrimo and Writing Questions

Sometime in the near future the writing and creativity blog, q&a and other information will be on The Dramatic Mind . Until that gets going I'll post that information here. Many of you sent in questions about Nanowrimo. I'll try and answer them in general here. If I haven't answered your question here feel free to email me at kiki at dailylifeconsulting dot com. To current clients - we'll be able to discuss which option is best for you at greater length but you can use these suggestions as a starting point.

Scriptwriting For those of you who wanted some sources for scriptwriting this month's MovieMaker magazine is the annual issue chock full of information. They have a list of different software and describe them pretty well. FinalDraft is a great program and saves you a lot of the formatting work. There are also great storyboard programs available now that make the storyboarding process easier. For Nano and first draft purposes don't focus on editing programs. The goal now is to get the story out of you and on to the page.

Fiction One of the best books I've come across on writing fiction is The Modern Library Writer's Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction (Modern Library Paperbacks)by Stephen Koch . It's dense and full of great information as well as writing exercises and resources.

Children's Stories - An amazing and inspiring book on writing for children is
ORIGINS OF STORY: On Writing for Children by Barbara Harrison, Gregory Maguire, and Erik Blegvad

Another good one is William Zinsser's Worlds of Childhood: The Art and Craft of Writing for Children

Playwriting I did most of that reading back in the day when I was doing my MFA but there's a great book on the three act structure directed at screenwriters which I think is amazing for playwrights as well Aristotle's Poetics for Screenwriters: Storytelling Secrets From the Greatest Mind in Western Civilization . (Yes - I spelled "one who writes plays" differently both times - long, old discussion...)

William Zinsser also wrote some more great books on writing. One of them on writing political fiction and essays whose title escapes me now. I'll find it on my bookshelf later and post it. It's very very hard to get - took me forever to track it down but really great reading.

Memoir I gave my 90 year old professor/mentor the book Your Life as Story by Tristine Rainer which I had seen and thought was a great way to explore organizing a life's story in different ways. She likes the book but still isn't sure she wants to write her autobiography even though everyone is begging, begging her to. But the truth is one should only write what one needs/wants to and the story that doesn't let you go.

Ok - as for inspiration and why bother and how to books - that's for another time. And for those of you who asked about the "Authorship and Authority" system/program that I developed, that's based on journal writing and self-exploration more than story, fiction, children's stories etc.

Whew! That should be enough to get you going. Let me know how it goes!


Enjoy the day and live a great story!
RKW

Quick Answer to Questions about Best-Way-To-Do Nanowrimo

Ok - Nanowrimo is starting next week and many of you have been asking about the "right way to do it". Dingdingdingdingding there is no "right way".

What works for you? Does an outline help you focus on the story? Go for it! Does automatic free writing work for you? Go for it! Do you write better in a coffee shop surrounded by strangers? That's where you should be. Do you write better in a dark room with soundproofing and blinders on your eyes and ear plugs?(Could I make this up? Jonathan Franzen said he needed something of the sort while writing The Corrections)If that's the case, do it.

You might find that different pieces or parts of the story require different internal or external stimulation. You might be the type (pardon the pun) who writes for 24 hours straight and then collapses. You might be the type who writes for an hour and leaves the thought hanging so you can begin again the next day. WHATEVER WORKS!

Some of you wrote that you find Dorothea Brande's Becoming a Writer is a bit too pure and artsy and internal and touchy-feely. Try Stephen King's book On Writing. It's down to earth, fantastic, real and really gets you going whether or not you're one of his rabid readers.

And for those of you who have asked me whether or not I'll ever compile all the workshops and writing into a book on creativity and writing. Thanks for asking - it's in the works but no idea when it will be ready... and that's a workshop for another day.....

Enjoy the day,
RK

Coaching and Orthopedic Medicine

Huh? Yes I know what you're thinking. Something like "huh"? I get lots of emails asking what goes on in coaching and how I could coach in so many different areas and with people of different ages and how is it different than the one-size-fits-all and do-these-ten-things-and-your-
life/career/schooling/creativity/relationship-will-be-completely-fixed-and perfect. I never would have thought of Orthopedic Medicine as a metaphor to describe the coaching I do except that I broke my foot and had the opportunity of spending time in the Orthopedist's office and see the things that he does. First of all my deepest gratitude, respect and thanks to my doctor. He is the best.

So the waiting room is jam packed, I take my usual spot right near the door, take the latest issue of Outside magazine and wait. People of all ages, shapes and sizes come in. From senior citizens to juniors in high school to babies. People in lots of pain, moderate amounts of pain or discomfort. People walking in on crutches, being wheeled in in wheelchairs, walking unassisted but limping, walking in leaning on someone else. People at all stages of their injuries, just happened yesterday, fell last year but still bothering me, healing very well and even a pair of mirror injuries.

What's different about everyone there? The people are all different, at different stages of their lives, the circumstances that brought them there are different, the injuries are different, the way that they'll heal is different, what they'll need to heal will vary, how long it will take them to heal will vary.

What's the same about everyone there? For the most part the people's internal musculature is the same, bones, ligaments all the internal stuff we can't see.

What else is the same? The doctor's knowledge of that internal network and the ways to figure out what's wrong and how to fix it. How to get people back on their way. Whatever way that was/is and whatever way they want that to be going forward.

Not everyone came in there needing to be able to walk for hours and hours every day like I do. Some people might have come in because they want to do the Ironman (I've often wished I wanted to....) some people might just want more range of motion, flexibility, to lessen pain, to increase mobility and on and on.

I didn't even know how many things an orthopedist does until I left and took a look at my receipt. It was a full page of all the different areas and treatments that a patient might need treatment for. Truly I had no idea. The doctor is trained to know those areas, the injuries, how to detect them and how to treat them. Everyone left his office in better shape then they were when they came in.

How does that relate to coaching and TIER(c) coaching in particular? Well, I work with people of all different ages, at different stages of their lives, who come in with different life experiences and want different things moving forward. How could that possibly be one-size-fit-all? How could there possibly be a magic bullet that works for everyone? Believe me I wish there were, I would have tried it myself years ago.

The TIER(c)system is an outgrowth of my training and experience as an educator, mental health professional, director, planner and developer of programs, the creative arts and a vast vast insatiable curiosity about people, what they want and how to help them get it. TIER(c) stands for Temperament, Intellect/Intelligence, Expectations and Reality. Everyone has different combinations of them and they work in different measures at different stages and depending on what people want.

One of the great challenges for most people is figuring out what it is that they want. For example last week I was speaking to a journalist for an article on work satisfaction. She asked terrific questions and mentioned the one-size-fits-all how-to articles about how to know when to quit a job. I was telling her about two of my clients who work at the same company and are struggling with that issue in their lives yet the coaching experience is so different for both of them. One of them is at her job as a stopgap, she's focusing on building a business on the outside and needs her current job to support her until then. Her level of tolerance for unpleasantness is much higher than the other woman who is searching for meaningful work, thought she'd found it and now realizes that she was looking for something else.

With one client the coaching task is to manage the discomfort and continue to have energy and drive to build her business. The other client's task is to explore alternatives and not take any measures until such time as she's able to do what she needs to do and know what that is.

Using the TIER(c) system we find out WHO you are, WHAT you like and want, WHERE you want to go, WHEN you'd like to be there and HOW you're best able to get there. Whether that's work/career, transition, education, creativity whatever your unique set of circumstances and desires are.
(Yes, yes it's that all I needed to know about coaching I learned by teaching first grade again - can't seem to get away from that.)

Coaching helps you manage your life today, explore your dreams, options and wishes for the future, focus on the tasks necessary to achieve them, and get you on your feet to, and into, the life you want to lead!

Enjoy the day!
RK

Barnes and Noble Writing Workshop - Rescheduled for November 12th + Nanowrimo Info

As I mentioned, tonight's Barnes and Noble Writing Workshop has been cancelled due to foot breakage. The next one is on Monday, November 12th at 7:00pm.

I was going to talk about Nanowrimo and many of you have been asking about it since I posted on it last week. NaNoWriMo is an annual (November) novel writing project. It's a great way to kick-start your writing, break through some blocks, practice some automatic writing, try out new styles or a new genre and all around have some very intense and creative fun.

I've gotten some emails and questions asking for suggestions. Here's the rub. Every one of you has a different style of writing, a different writing process, different reasons for writing, different subject matter that you're writing and lots of other differences. What you have in common are the tools of your creative endeavor. Words. Even the way you go about putting them down is different. I work with writers who use pen and paper, some dictate to someone or to a tape or podcast, some type on old favorite typewriters or computers, some on newfangled PDAs or even their phones.

The challenge is to assist YOU whoever you are, in getting what you want to say on the page. In articulating your thoughts, emotions, ideas and anything else and getting it from inside to the outside. Ok. That means you've got some thinking to do about the who, what, where, when and whys of your material and process. Having said that - I can answer generally here - Susannah H. posted a comment and question about it last week.

Susannah, thanks for the kind words and comment. The first thing I would do is check out Nanowrimo and register. As for getting ready. A great book that I recommend is Becoming A Writer by Dorothea Brande. It's great for beginning writers as well as experienced writers and it's the kind of book you can go back to over and over.

It was written in 1934 and isn't a how-to or about the ins and outs of fiction or other forms of writing. It really is about becoming a writer. Harnessing the inner and getting it out there. It has a beautiful purity about the process and writing, in my opinion because it was written in 1934 when writing and reading were so culturally different than they are now. Especially since the advent of personal technology and the immediacy of writing and electronic publishing that it has brought with it.

Brand's book is a great place to begin. Please email or comment with more questions - I'm not sure what kind of writing you do or how you go about getting it on the page. It's easier to make recommendations if I have more info.

As for Nanowrimo if you decide to do it - have fun! I'm doing it this year and looking forward to the insane pace of it and to see if I can accomplish what I'd like to.

Enjoy the day,
RK

The Amygdaloids New Album - Art and Science

Because you've got to see it to believe it - or hear it to believe it... Dr. Joseph LeDoux and his merry band of Neuroscientist Rockers have just released their album, Heavy Mental.

Dr. Ledoux is the author of The Emotional Brain and The Synaptic Self-as well as one of the founders of The Amygdaloids.

I'm guessing this band has got stage-fright covered!

Here's some info -

THE AMYGDALOIDSBAND INFO: BIOS, NEWS, CLIPS, ETC:
www.cns.nyu.edu/ledoux/amygdaloids

SHORT VIDEO:
www.cns.nyu.edu/ledoux/amygdaloids/videos/uhc/flv.htm

Enjoy the day,
RK

Previous Posts from Daily Life Consulting Blog

Hi Hi!

Just changing things around so the old posts aren't here yet. To those of you who asked about them - we'll be putting them up again soon. Meanwhile, you can always check out Daily Life Coaching 4 Kids http://dailylifecoaching4kids.blogspot.com
for information.

Keep an eye out for The Dramatic Mind which will focus on creativity, the brain, mind, emotions and experience while experiencing and/or creating different art forms. Running Snail Edutainment and Development is also inching its way over.......

More to follow!
Enjoy the weekend,
RK

Kick Start Self Coaching

"Begin from where you are" Rainer Maria Rilke

If you're here you're ready to start exactly now, exactly where you are. Now. To figure out what you want and how to get it. That is the challenge and we're up to it!

Congratulations on a great first step!