Deedle Deedle Dees create smart, talented and deep music for kids...

A childhood friend of mine was recently featured on NPR.

He is a part of a band in NY that is creating smart, talented and deep music for kids...

What a great idea!

As a parent and music lover I can tell you the mindless, chirpy, sing-along stuff they usually call kids music gets REALLY old REALLY fast. It is about time that someone started realizing that kids appreciate talent just like the rest of us.

Way to go Deedle Deedle Dees, you have raised the bar for what kid's music should be!

Slow is Smooth and Smooth is Fast: Remembering the Tortoise in 2012

So often, the 'Truths' we hold so dear are actually 'truths,' with a lower case 't.'

We often fixate upon our 'reality' at the expense of the bigger picture. We try so hard to push forward that we forget that sometimes paths are not meant to be straight and we would do better to weave around obstacles rather than try to plow through them.

Just like the pretentious jackrabbit in the fable, we hurry and hurry, and in our haste we lose ourselves and our purpose.

This seems to be what is happening with how people use technology as of late. Social networking especially is being used like it is supposed to help us become multi-tasking gurus with lightening fast communication skills. While in reality, ‘quickness’ is not necessarily the most important thing when it comes to communication, or many things in life for that matter.

I learned a long time ago (and often forget) that sometimes the quickest way to get somewhere is actually to slow down and enjoy the journey. Like that tortoise who beat the arrogant hare, winning is not about speed at all. It is about taking the right steps at the right time and continuing on the right path. In the words of Confucius:

“It doesn’t matter how slowly you go-so long as you do not stop.”

In this New Year, I suggest we slow down and enjoy our existence a bit more. I suggest we take things like Tumblr, Tweeter, texting and Facebook and use them for what they are supposed to be—tools to help us live life more fully, NOT necessarily more quickly or efficiently.

If we slow down a bit, we may find that these tools can be used in new and interesting ways which promote community, freedom and systems thinking in ways we have not considered. We may smooth out what is right now a disjointed, jagged and over-whelming ‘Information Age’.

In the process, we may find that slow is smooth and smooth is fast and the best use of our time may in fact be simply making the most of the time we have.  

essential rudiments for job seekers...

http://anthropologyofwork.blogspot.com/2011/04/applyng-to-jobs-bare-essentials.html

What job seekers who want to have success in this job market should resolve to do in 2012…

I resolve in 2012 year to:

1.       Remind myself every day that my attitude affects my job search.

Despite these tough economic times (and the long period of time I may have been without a job), I vow to start fresh and approach my job search with a positive attitude. Successful job searches are driven by positive emotions. Fear, desperation, depression and anxiety will only prolong my job search. I have to find ways to balance these emotions and approach my job search from a positive place...Therefore, I will…

2.       …Strive every day to pursue my passion.

Ask myself, “Am I really following my heart when it comes to my job search?” Passion always wins in this economy and people who let their values determine  their direction tend to be more positive and have more success in their job search.

Remember:    Passion  + Ability + Availability = Meaningful Work

3.        Work every day as if my job search is a ‘real’ job.

Remember: I am getting paid to look for work. Why? Because, the quicker I get a job the sooner I am making a pay check. So, the more I work AND the better I work means more money sooner.

Therefore, I will schedule my day as if it is a real job...

I will dress for work and I will set and accomplish real goals.

4. Finally, I will focus every day on NETWORKING. 

People hire people they know!

(Figure out how to best use your network to communicate your Brand and you will find productive work that makes you happy...:-)

People ask me sometimes what it is like to run a 50 mile race...

Pain spread through my legs like a creeping virus army…

 infecting my muscles with lethargy bordering on leprosy.

I began to feel like I was falling apart, piece by moving piece.

“Just keep moving forward.”

That was all I could think, as the unfamiliar sounds of moans and whimpers pried their way through my clinched teeth. I was here to prove that I was a man, but I just felt like a scared boy…a scared boy who was determined to run 50 miles!

My feet kept moving, the pain kept coming, and somewhere along the way, somewhere out there on that trail, the Man met the Boy and decided to form an alliance. They both whispered to me from deep inside my mind.

“Just keep moving forward.”

“Just keep moving forward.”

And so I did.

Running Lennon’s Race

They say John Lennon died 30 years ago.

But I saw him today at an intersection in Ballard.

He is older and rounder.

And he walks with a cane.

But it was him.

I could tell by the glasses.

I whisked by, 10 miles into a 13 mile run,

and he mumble-yelled something in my direction.

At first, I thought he was crazy, or drunk,  

or maybe humming the words to 'Imagine' backwards.

Then I realized that he said,

"If only I could run like that!"

I raised my fist in the air, a sign of solidarity,

as if to say, “Brother, if only I could sing like that!”

And then my feet carried me into a place far away from there

Where all the people share the world

and live in peace.

brush up on your navigation...you never know when you might need it...

http://www.learn-orienteering.org/old/nocompass1.html