Authentic Leadership 9-15 Meeting Invite

Authentic Leadership in Cincinnati

Inaugural Meeting!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

7:30 – 9:00 AM

Crossroads Community Church

3500 Madison Rd.

Cincinnati, OH 45209

 

Join us for the very FIRST meeting of Authentic Leadership in Cincinnati!!

Be a part of the kick-off, meet like-minded leaders and make requests for future meetings.

 

This meeting will be a moderated panel discussion that will include leaders from

Manufacturing, Professional Services and Retail-related industries discussing leadership.

There will be time allotted for Q&A and networking.

We will also introduce our Board of Advisors

and share the vision of this group.

 

Come help successfully launch Authentic Leadership and add your input to

determine how we can best impact leaders, organizations, and ultimately our great city.

 

Bagels and coffee will be available. Hope to see you there!

Donations will be accepted to cover event costs

 

Please rsvp on the LinkedIn Authentic Leadership in Cincinnati Group page: 

                                                                                                                                                                                                       http://bit.ly/XnR4G

 

Animoto.com

Thomas Merton on Dealing with Stress in Job Search

I grew up in a family that placed great emphasis on giving back to the community. The involvement by my parents in many different volunteer capacities, including leadership positions on various boards was a blue print for how I have chosen to live my life. I have always felt the need to use my gifts of talent, time and treasure to help make a difference in my local community. In fact, I believe that I have blogged about this before: here.

I am currently on the Advisory Board for the group Authentic Leadership in Cincinnati and will be working with the Business Development Group of Cincinnati's United Way organization, but the group that I wanted to bring up here in this space is the IHM Job Search Ministry, whose leadership board, I have recently joined. Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) is one of the largest Catholic parishes in the archdioces of Cincinnati. This group is an off-shoot of the well-known Job Search Focus Group (JSFG) in Hyde Park (Cincinnati suburb). The goal of the group is to provide training, coaching and support to the many folks in the area who are in transition. Job search is more than a full time "work" process, but is also an emotional journey lined with worry, stress and self-doubt especially given the economic conditions in the world today.

The IHM group met last night, and our speaker was well known area psychiatrist, Dr. Buzz Auvil, who spoke on the topic of Stress. Just wanted to leave folks with a list of strategies that Buzz recommended to the group to help alleviate the overwhelming feelings that can occur during job search or during any type of life transition.

• Own the Stress-once you own it, you can control it!
• Take Care of Physical Needs: exercise, eating right
• Seek Support
• Take a Break
• Get to Know Yourself
• Learn Relaxation Techniques
• Spiritual Practice-prayer, kindness to others, meditation, spiritual reading

Buzz opened the session with a wonderful prayer from Thomas Merton that I wanted to share with you:

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

- Thomas Merton, "Thoughts in Solitude"

Image credit: http://fulleryouthinstitute.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/stress_city.jpg
Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2009

Ghost Walking Upon My Grave

Another wet, cold rainy summer day in Cincinnati.....

Ever have goosebumps emerge on your arms and feel a prickly sensation cross the surface of your skin??? Well I have had two encounters this weekend with that very same feeling and the gloomy day just adds to the funkyness of it all. My first experience was yesterday evening, while I was out shopping. The muzak that was playing in the store hit a string of consecutive songs that held a lot of meaning for me. By the fourth song, I was beginning to think that someone was seriously trying to get some type of clairvoyant message to me! I don't know if I am unusual or not, but music holds a lot of meaning for me. Somehow my brain ties it to feelings, events, people that I am experiencing while the song is playing. Music always takes me back to that place- so imagine being barraged with multiple songs pointing to a particular time/person in my life.

My second prickly event involved spending time at a Nursing Home today. I had a long conversation with a female resident who is 90 years old and remembers taking her very young children to Aglamesis Brothers for Ice Cream in Oakley (founded in 1908). She was very articulate and talked about growing up in Deer Park and all of the major events of her life. Her eyesight was failing her, but her hearing was great and she could get around with the use of a walker. We met in the hallway on her return from Bingo. She held out her hand to show me the palm full of shiny silver quarters she had won. She was proud of this, as she said that all of her financials were taken care of by her family. She likes to keep change for the kids who annually make a pilgrimage to the center on Halloween night.

Where do the goosebumps come in? Well, they reappeared when she looked into my eyes and told me in a loud whisper that she prays to God every night to take her from this earth. She stated that there is nothing left to live for, save Bingo and that she is ready to go and give her life to someone else. I'm not quite sure if she meant that literally as in organ donation, or if she meant it in some karma/energy of the world kind of way, but I found myself, for once, not knowing what to say.

I looked around the place and took in that "hospital" smell that places like these have and wondered what it would be like to be one of the last ones left. To have children that have gone before you and friends one by one leaving this world. To be the bastion of your generation.

I leave you with some words to really take in and digest from one of my fave bands: Nickelback
"If Today Was Your Last Day:"




Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2009

LIFE UNPLUGGED- Start Living

"Power down. Log off. Unplug. Have mercy on your thumbs. Browse the World Wide Something Else. Send some not-so-instant-messages. Undo. Hit cancel. Be together."


Ahh the power of Twitter. Just saw a link to this great article in a Tweet by @GuyKawasaki. The writer is college student Lauren Stewert and her blog is: Lauren's Thoughts. The article, "How to Find Time for Face Time and Personal Interaction" deals with stepping away from our virtual relationships and living more in the moment of real time interactions.

What caught my eye was the quote listed above taken from a Dentyne gum commercial. Go to the link and you will see one of the best renditions of taking social media and turning it on its head. We have to remember that social media represents tools to connect with others, but the real deal is in the relationships that develop off-line. So as Diana Ross says in this YouTube video: "Reach out and touch somebody's hand, make it a better day, if you can."












Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2009

TWITTER MILESTONE

Just hit a Twitter milestone last night by having the 1,000th follower find me organically. I started this Twitter account in February and have followed an organic natural approach to developing a "Tribe". I believe that each Tweeter needs to develop a strategy for their account, whether it is for personal or business usage. This particular account is my personal account and I tweet a variety of messages, both business (social media & marketing related) and general messages (comments on current events, great quotes, etc.). The emphasis here is on "conversation" and building relationships with interesting and knowledgeable people around the globe. I began with four categories of people that I wanted to follow personally:

• Social Media "Experts" like @GuyKawasaki, @Mashable, @Scobleizer
• Writers- both local and nationally published
• Cincinnatians- interesting folks who give off a vibe of what's going on in the city
• Media/Companies like: @Huffingtonpost, @WSJ, @FastCompany

Some follow back and some don't. I occasionally ask a follower how they found me and the answers are quite varied. I have never used an auto-follower or any type of auto-reply message. When someone follows me, I check out their tweets, bio, stats (do they tweet 100X/day, cus I don't want that much noise in my life!!) and their web-site. If they fit one of my four criteria above or seem to be incredibly interesting, then I follow back and send a personal message thanking them for the follow. I always include their name and some tidbit from their page so they will know that it is not an automated response. I enjoy engaging in discussion with other Tweeters. I have built some great on-line and off-line friendships as well as discovered business opportunities and created some partnerships.

The most exciting thing is attending a live networking event, and meeting someone that you have been in conversation with for a while on Twitter. There is always the feeling that you have known the person for a long time, even though you are meeting for the first time! I have no idea what it will feel like to have 2,000 followers or even 10,000 followers, but for now things feel manageable for this personal account.

A business account is a completely different animal and requires a much different strategy both for following and obtaining followers. Note the emphasis on the word "obtaining"-with a business account, you would be foolish to let things happen organically. Business accounts demand tribe development- after all, aren't you selling something???


Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2009

INMATES' FREE TIME FEEDS THE HUNGRY

A noteworthy piece of news caught my eye this morning over my breakfast of waffles & coffee (Millstone, of course!). I was actually reading a real (as in paper) copy of the Cincinnati Enquirer which is something that I usually reserve for Sundays, because I typically digest my week day news on-line. I scan the on-line headlines for The New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN and the Cincinnati Enquirer and have late-breaking news alerts emailed to me and of course am instantly updated on Twitter with one of the many media outlets I am following.

But what really struck today me was an article by a writer in Columbus detailing how prisons are utilizing their inmates' "free" time to help grow and harvest food for the many families who find themselves in need due to the devastating economy. It was reported that many of the inmates felt great satisfaction from their ability to make a difference in someone's life. I think this is an incredible concept with wins on all sides. Hungry people are being fed with fresh, nutritious food while people serving their sentences for transgressions committed can feel like they are accomplishing something good and learning some skills that they can use later on the "outside".

I grew up in a family that always had a garden and we children each had a role in the production from weeding and watering to picking and washing the produce. I have many fond memories of being outdoors in the summer in the middle of the rows just marveling at the various varieties of vegetables that were growing. Often times, my brother and I would set up a small table at the end of our suburban driveway and have fun selling the extra tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini.

I still remember the times that our kitchen was filled with steam from the many jars of tomatoes that my mother canned that would last throughout the winter months. There is something special about growing your own food and the organic aspects of it can't be beat.

When was the last time that you grew some of your own food?

(image credit: http://4simpsons.files.wordpress.com/2006/08/vegetables.jpg)

Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2009

LIFE

Ok, had to add some real creative writing, lest my last blog post leave a negative taste in your mouth. Warning though, I'm pulling these from my past files. Enjoy!

Nighttime is our time in our haven of blue and early American that

Yields traces of secrets buried among the stain of tears

Tears of joy, tears of excitement, tears of such incredible emotion

That the pure feelings take on a life of their own

Something you can reach out and grab and hold onto for dear life

Life is something you now possess

Rescued from the brink of the abyss

From the edge of madness; from the depths of an aching soul

Our fingers reached out and touched and a spark ignited the world

The world will never be the same

For the pure possibility that together we walk through it

Making a difference everywhere we go on this path

Called Life.

Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2009

Another One Bites the Dust

I just hate when life gets so busy that I neglect my writing. Just realized that it has been a week without any measurable posting. There are so many things that I could write about, but what is burning most in my mind (and which has also been a recurring thread in many posts and updates to FaceBook andTwitter) is the fact that this summer in Cincinnati totally SUCKED!! I don't ever remember weather as horrible and morose as that which graced our lives this summer. It was incredibly rainy and cold. In fact during our July spell of highs in the mid-60s (yes I said HIGHs!), there was a night or two that I was actually contemplating throwing a log onto the fireplace to generate some heat.

It was horrible weather for any sort of outdoor sport or even sitting poolside to bronze in the sun. My garden is waterlogged and the veggies that should have been harvested weeks ago are just now starting to come to maturity. I have absolutely no tan, not even a sun branded flip-flop strap tattoo. One silver lining, is that my lawn is emerald green. A color that it has never been during what used to be called the Dog Days of Summer. Remember when August brought some days in which it was almost too hot to go outside unless you were on a direct mission to the local watering hole (and I'm talking swimming not libations)? Hoping that fall will run more true to form- would definitely like to enjoy the great outdoors soon in between my stops on the social media highway.

(And by the way, that tanned foot in the flower pot is from the summer of 2008 when we really did have hot days!)


Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2009