Up and Down Lombard Street?

Lombard Street in San Francisco is known for the one-way block on Russian Hill, where eight sharp turns are said to make it the crookedest street in the world. The street has been in scenes in many movies and part of a comedy sketch by Bill Cosby where he jokingly remarks that the flowers are planted for those people who killed themselves trying to drive down the crooked street.  

I was so fortunate to be able to spend two weeks in this personal favorite City by the Bay in January. One week was with my family for vacation and the second week was for a conference.  On vacation with the family I rented an SUV one day so that we could visit Twin Peaks, (hills near the center of San Francisco with a complete 360 degree view of the city), the redwoods in Muir Woods and walk the Golden Gate Bridge. Most everything in the city is accessible via walking or public transportation but this would be the most efficient way for us to visit these landmarks in one day.  

At the end of our adventurous day we headed back into the city and toward our hotel.  There was a point where a decision had to be made to go right down a street toward our hotel or head up Lombard street at a very steep grade to only arrive at the top of the crookedest street in the world and drive down the hairpin turns.  My husband is gently advising "no - turn right" and my son is nudging me to head straight up Lombard street.  

I wasn't that comfortable driving the over-sized vehicle in a town where compact cars are the norm and in the past I always felt like my vehicle was going to flip over backwards when driving up steep grades. Maybe it was a bad dream, maybe it was a movie where I saw that happen, but I'm pretty sure there weren't any documented cases of cars flipping over backwards driving up Lombard street.  So, in my head this conversation was going on - talking myself into and out of heading up the hill.  

Up and over won out. 

I headed straight up the hill at the light instead of turning right. Adrenaline was pumping as I still wondered - "would we make it up without tipping over backwards".  

We did.

And we made it down the crooked street slow and steady.  

It was exciting - maybe more so for the kids i the back seats with mom at the wheel.  

Don't let assumptions and negative self talk keep you from going up and over the hill. You  might just be missing out on the time of your life and the opportunity to show your kids you're not a chicken!

A "Daring" Fashion Show

I have always wanted to attend the Fashion Week in Milan or Paris or New York or London or anywhere!  Friday night I had my chance. Ok - it wasn't Italy - but it was an incredible fashion show in Houston.  Fashion Week in Houston is in its 4th year. It lasts four days, takes place at the Wortham Center in the downtown theatre district and this time featured over sixteen designers including several from Houston.

I attended with several friends and we arrived soon after the doors opened to make sure we wouldn't miss a thing. The front entrance to the Wortham was an official red carpet complete with paparazzi surrounding us to take our pictures. Once inside, we located our seats and then went off discovering what there was to see and do.  We happened to wander into The Green Room, (where celebrities are interviewed and performers can relax).  It became our break room throughout the evening to people watch and enjoy a few free cocktails made with a featured new liquor.  

The show was exactly like I always pictured it would be. Beautiful models with similar hair styles wearing the latest designs of famous designers were paraded up and down the runway, all walking with the same hip thrusting move with their arms quietly at their sides and a serious look on their faces.  Except for one. She delighted the crowd when she reached the end of the runway and shimmied her shoulders to swing the fringe on her top and the beads on her shoulders.  I have to admit, there were quite a few outfits that I could picture myself in but I couldn't picture paying the price.

At the end of the evening we were invited to attend the after party with dancing models and thumping pumping music.  We decided the action inside was not worth the additional $20 cover charge at the door, and headed back to our Green Room to relax and recharge.  It was there I met a VIP member of the press. She mentioned that in addition to the fashion event, there were fabulous affairs happening all over town, and she gave me her card to connect with her on them. I shared my delight at having a new adventure seeking partner with my girlfriends.  They teasingly dared me to ask her if she had passes for the after party.  Not being one to be able to resist a dare, (and not being one to enjoy begging people for anything either), I turned the dare into a playful question.  I asked her "Do you happen to know any secret passageways into the after party?".  To my surprise her reply was "as a matter of fact I do, follow me".  And we did.  Holding hands we followed our fearless leader right up the pitch black hallway and carefully edged our way up the dark stairway into the party.  To our delight, in less than a minute we were right in the middle of the action.  We shared a brief good-bye, checked out the party for a short while and headed out into the late evening to our car, still exhilarated from our fashion adventure.
 

Moral of the story - It never hurts to ask. You just might find yourself being led up a dark stairway into an adventure you would have otherwise missed if you hadn't taken that dare!

Get Real! - Be Rational!

I saw this image on a t-shirt.  The real number is telling the rational number to get real and the rational number is telling the real number to be rational.  It may be something only a math lover will enjoy (I didn't want to bore you with the definitions - you can Google them if you really want to recall the difference) but it started me thinking about being real.  

I frequently attend business meetings - dinners, lunches and other events.  Most of the time I am in the audience and sometimes I am the headliner.  I have observed thousands of presenters that run the gamut from polished, professional and effective to shaking in their boots or reading their entire performance.  Sometimes the polished ones come across too polished.  It seems like they've given the presentation a hundred times before and they are bored with us, or if someone asked them a question it would throw them off their well-prepared script.  They are entertaining but aren't real.  
When you see real you know it.  The presenter has a story to share and does it so well you are wrapped up in the moment along with them.  You may be called to action and want to jump to your feet to follow as soon as you can.  Or it may be subtle - a great idea that you file away to work on later when you get back home or to the office.  Either way - they impact you.

Being real is a risk. You put yourself and your ideas out there for everyone to see.  

Are you ready to step up to the plate and take a risk?  What are you really afraid of?  How will you push past that barrier and move forward? 

Get real!

Quirky Dot Com

One of my favorite television shows to watch is The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  It is my humor injection for the day.  I delight in his monologues, headlines, Jay Walking (he walks the area near Universal Studios and asks people questions they should know the answer to - their guesses are hilarious), and other regular "bits".  He is a great interviewer in addition to being an all around funny guy.  In one of the segments he had on recently, the creator of the WEB site company Quirky.com showcased some of the products inventors had submitted.  How it works is inventors submit their product idea to the WEB site, they post the details and visitors to the site vote on the idea.  If it gains a certain amount of attention and positive feedback the Quirky Company produces and markets the product with the inventor reaping part of the profits.  They also post ideas that still might need a little work and visitors offer their insight.  It appears to be a great way to get an idea to market when you don't have the resources or the know-how.

Seeing Quirky.com on The Tonight Show activated my creative mind.  The next day I mentioned it to a guy in my indoor cycling class who always seems to have a solution to problems or a gadget in mind to fix them.  At first he said "ideas are a dime a dozen" popping a pin into my balloon of enthusiasm that started a slow leak - but not a bust!  After class we started discussing different ideas we had for products and my enthusiasm was revived.  He did have some pretty good ideas for products - even a fitness related one - and we both contemplated submitting ideas to Quirky.com. We will see where this goes.

We all have them - idea killers. People who trash our idea or shake their head or give us less than enthusiastic responses when we reveal our latest crazy dream.  Don't let them bring you down. There are a variety of ways to handle them - don't share your ideas with them, share but ignore any negative response, or ask them what they like about the idea, what they might change or what part of the idea is a concern and politely ask for any suggestions. You just might end up with a better idea and someone one your side.

A Raise - Ask and You Shall Receive

I worked in technical sales in the oil and gas industry as a contract consultant after a steady career as an employee in the power industry.  I loved the flexibility of my contractor schedule - part time to full time each week depending on what I had going on at the time.  It allowed me to take care of my growing boys, support my traveling husband, grow my training business and teach fitness classes.  

One of the salesmen I worked with advised me to raise my contract rate every year.  I had always been an employee before, receiving annual reviews and raises on a regular basis and never had to ask for a raise - or should I say - never thought of asking for a raise outside of those constricts (now that I think of it - why hadn't I?). So asking for a raise was something I knew I should do but I wasn't familiar with the process.  I immediately started to write out all of the reasons I deserved a raise as back-up to the amount I was planning on asking for.  My salesman friend said, "you don't need a list of why you deserve a raise, you just go in there and ask for it!".  He made it sound so simple and logical.  I kept vacillating between justifying and just doing it - and finally wrote a brief letter stating my new rate effective January 1.  

I walked into the executive's office and presented my letter to him after briefly stating my reason for being there, to present my new rates. He opened and read the letter, his mouth gaped open with shock, he then looked up at me and causally said "ok".  And that was it.

Wow! How many times do we hold ourselves back from the things we deserve or new things we want to try by doubting ourselves.  It does always help to have a backup plan (some justification, analysis or research), but don't paralyze yourself with the process.  

Ask and you shall receive.  

Dare I Say What I Really Think?

I recently attended a meeting of professional women in the energy industry.  The speaker's topic was related to the partnership of industry and academia.  For an ice-breaking table topic the speaker posted the picture of Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo, on the cover of Vogue magazine and asked, "Does she look like a CEO?".

Our table grew quiet for a few minutes as we all scanned the picture.  I saw a a very beautiful woman in a very blue and professional dress posed horizontal and upside down on a crisp white lounge chair.  Very Vogue - I thought.  It struck me as fun, beautiful, powerful and professional.  Other views came forth.  Some saying it really wasn't professional for a CEO. Everyone is welcome to their opinion.  

It was easy to state my opinion but I am sure not so much for others. Especially if after hearing others speak at the table, they realize their opinion varied greatly from the norm.  

I saw it as a great lesson in risk taking.  Are you willing to share an opinion that is different than the group's?  If you do or you don't - what harm will result? Or what good or positive steps forward will be acknowledged or missed?

I see Marissa Mayer as a risk taker and applaud her actions.  She posed for this picture, knowing the conversations that would ensue, but was not afraid. Her reputation and her performance stand strong.

I recall speaking with a meeting attendee before everyone was seated and the meeting actually began. I said it was possible to move up in the corporate world without selling your soul.  She looked back at me with surprise, hope and a "how can I do that?" attitude.  Look at Marissa, there is one example for you right there.

Dare I say what I really think?  Yes, I dare.

If you would like to see the picture and article, follow the link below.
http://www.vogue.com/magazine/article/hail-to-the-chief-yahoos-marissa-mayer/#1

Be the One to Get It Done

Speaking up can be quite a risk, from the corporate world to a personal situation.  If you speak up at work, depending on the culture of your organization, it can be a career changer - sometimes career suicide.  If we speak up in a personal situation we may lose a friendship or more.  People sometimes forget that doing nothing is also a risk.  If we don't speak up, it could possibly be more detrimental than saying what is on our mind.

A young professional was getting frustrated with individuals from another department that were supposed to be showing up to meetings and were late or completely absent.  In the meetings, summer students were making presentations on their summer projects.  They spent countless hours preparing for the event as their future opportunities at the company might be affected by this performance. The individuals that were late or missing from the meetings were supposed to evaluate these students.  Their behavior was so disrespectful and unprofessional.  The frustrated individual wrote a note to higher ups detailing the problem and requested a change in their behavior.  It was so wonderful to hear about him standing up to what was wrong within his organization.

So many people stand by and tolerate bad behavior by saying or doing nothing.  I salute those warriors who are up to the challenge of making things happen for the better of all.

Be the one to get it done!

One Question

I was on a call with several other business professionals and someone mentioned the "secret question". I asked if that was thinking about a question you want answered and listening for possibilities and hints to the answer in a conversation. "Yes", they replied.  They were surprised I knew what it was without asking.  In reality, it is one of a million techniques to inspire your creativity.  

I decided to create my own version of the secret question.  In the past, I have encouraged those who want to up their creativity factor to write down three questions each day and think about them throughout the day.  It is not a requirement to solve them - but be open to any ideas that might come up in relation to the questions.  It may be how to fix a problem, handle a difficult person, or a decision you are contemplating. The questions can be about anything.  I tried the experiment myself and found that I frequently forgot completely about the questions. So, I decided that one "secret" question each day would be more reasonable and easier to focus on.

The first question I posed myself was "How could I get into the habit of writing every day?".  Everything else always seemed to get in the way.  From proposals to clients to laundry and grocery shopping - there was always something else that needed to be done.  No sooner had I put that question into my head, then the next person to speak on the call mentioned she was having trouble getting into her writing and presented two challenges she was committing to. One was to write several hours a day and the other was to get a few friends lined up to review parts of her book every week. Now there was commitment!  And - there was the answer to my question - committing to a certain amount of time and lining up friends to review my writing - which means I had to have something to give them.

It's working. What question will you play with tomorrow?

Risk and the Blue Jean Pile

It needed to be done.  They were multiplying on the hangers and it needed to be done.  I grabbed the whole rack of them, it must have been twenty at least, and pulled them out in one giant armful that I couldn't see over as I walked and dropped them in a pile on the bedroom floor.  My jean collection now lay in a neat stack on the floor and a whole section of open space existed in my closet.  Well, step one accomplished.  They weren't going back until I went through every one of them and tried them on and made a decision.

With each pair of jeans there's a story.  There is the pair I had my first horseback riding lesson in, (is that the day I became a real Texan?) and continue to ride in - just enough stretch to allow me to swing my leg over the horse to mount.  I wouldn't wear them anywhere else.  They probably shed horse hair as I walk even though they are washed after every ride.  Another pair is the one that I truly wore until the material became baby soft.  It takes a long time to get a pair of jeans to that state.  And the stories go on.

So, it is hard to let go of them.  I separated them into piles; ones that I was sure needed to be thrown out or given away, ones that I wasn't sure about and ones that I would keep.  At least I was making progress. Finally they went on for the final fitting and decisions were made.  A bag of beloved jeans made its way to the garage to wait for a Goodwill delivery date.  

The same kind of process happens when we want to make a change or take a risk.  We hesitate. We look at the risk as something that is too big to tackle right now or as a situation where we are not sure about the outcome and we put it off.

If we can just break it down into smaller pieces (i.e. smaller piles) and tackle it piece by piece, we are finally able to break through and make some progress.  There are emotional obstacles to overcome, but they too fall.  And the end is finally realized - (the closet is finally clear) and it feels great!

Here's to tackling a risk - bit by bit!

Just Say NO To More Work

I think we are overwhelmed because simple activities or requirements slip quietly into our lives one by one and before we know it we are overloaded.  We didn't think it was a big deal when it came up so we didn't resist but now that we see the whole shebang - it is a big deal.  

Years ago I worked as a contract engineer in technical sales.  We frequently entertained customers - especially on the golf course.  Apparently one salesperson was playing a lot more than they were working and the CEO started mandatory Friday afternoon meetings at 3:00 pm to indirectly address the situation.  We were all punished because he didn't address the situation with the individual and no one would address the unnecessary meetings with the CEO.  I didn't mind at the time because I was contract and the meetings served as an opportunity for me to catch up on everyone else's projects (as I wasn't in the office as frequently as the full time personnel).  If I had worked full time it would have been another one of those "things you had to do but didn't have time for and wasn't necessary that just slipped into your already busy schedule".

I also teach fitness classes at several studios.  One of the studios acquired new stereo equipment and some instructors were unfamiliar with how it worked.  The manager wanted to have a meeting with everyone to provide simple instructions on how to set the controls and wanted to know when I was available.  I said it wouldn't be necessary - that I could easily figure it out and if anyone had questions they could contact her. Whew - an unnecessary meeting avoided!

Take a serious look at your daily and weekly activities. What has slyly slipped into your schedule that could be eliminated? Take a risk - speak up - be a time waster eliminator.