So, I’ve accepted Alex’s proposition, and here are my answers.

1. How do you define happiness?

I’d say happiness is a feeling of elation, of positivity… the feeling you get when you’re seeing the world as a benevolent place, and that things are going your way.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

Oh, an 8 at least… I had some rough spots as a kid, from being overweight, and from not having the tools to cope with what was going on in my family. Having tools is such a huge part of the equation; we all hit rough patches in life, but if you don’t know what to do with them, or how to get through them, it’s easy to feel that life has you in a hole.

With what I’ve learned over the past decade-plus, about how to heal myself, clear issues, make decisions, live intuitively, etc., I feel like I’m a completely different person than I was (and to all the girlfriends I had before the age of 25 – sorry!).

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

I think it’s less about the things, and more about how we go about the things. For example, what brings me happiness is knowing that I’m championing my own destiny, not sitting back and waiting for life to happen to me.

From that place, all the things like spending time with my two girls, my wife, exercising, learning, talking with people… all of these things bring me a much deeper sense of joy. And yes, it’s pretty consistent throughout the day.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

Falling into negative thought patterns is the biggie. When I start spiraling down a negative, pessimistic path, it’s just a world of hurt that I’m swimming in.

What works best for me is to put on the brakes, and reconnect to my heart, and my connection to (insert name for Divine Oneness here). Then, using various tools like EFT, for example, to clear the beliefs that I’m stuck in… that does the trick pretty well.

Surrounding myself with positive inspirations is also a great thing; I try to pay attention to thought leaders in fields like the Law of Attraction, for example, and see if I can get into their mental slipstream.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

You mean, aside from world domination?

To run the risk of sounding like a groupie, I’m in the process of re-ordering my life around the kinds of principles that Tim Ferriss writes about in "Four Hour Workweek." Mainly, examining the assumptions I’ve made about how life is to be lived, and choosing to live the kind of life that inspires me. And that includes everything from income-generation to spiritual growth to family and social time.

I’m rethinking just about every assumption that has been handed to me (and the ones that popular people keep on espousing), to see what really makes sense for me in my life. It’s the pursuit of happiness on every level, really.

Thanks Alex! Good luck with the project!

And here’s that TED video of Dan Gilbert’s – he’s a fantastic and entertaining speaker. This is one of my favorites of all the TED presentations I’ve seen (and I watch a lot of them!). And in case the video doesn’t load, you can click here to see it on the TED site.

[coolplayer]http://static.videoegg.com/ted/movies/DANGILBERT_high.flv[/coolplayer]

Image by a4gpa on Flickr, via Creative Commons license.

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2008. | Permalink | 3 comments

gari.baldi

As you know by now, a big part of my approach to work is about healing the voices within that keep us from showing up at our best.

So when I got tagged (more on that in a second) for Peter’s “Think Different” challenge, it was a no-brainer; the idea, basically, is to try thinking differently about something in your life that you’ve been holding as a negative… start thinking positively about it, and see what happens.

(The “tagging” debacle? I was told by Tristan Loo of the Synergy Institute that he tagged me, but he actually tagged a different Adam (he has since added me to his tagged list, though!). I sorta put it out of my mind, but then Jennifer Mannion of Heal Pain Naturally tagged me from her post… so that’s when I figured the Universe was trying to tell me something!)

As the wind bloweth

Now, thinking differently about something you’re holding as a negative is good… and, in my experience, it can be like trying to keep a paper cup on a picnic table in a wind storm. You can try to keep your thoughts in the positive, but if you’ve got a strong wind — belief systems, in this case — that keep on blowing the same way they have been, then you can try all you want to keep that cup on the table, but it isn’t going to happen.

If you want to keep your thoughts positive, you’ve got to make your belief (which generates your thoughts) positive first.

Example:

If you look outside your window, see grey skies, and think, “Bummer weather,” that’s just a thought created by a belief that says, “grey skies = bad.” You can try to think positively about your day, but as long as you have it worked up in your mind that “grey = bad,” you’ve got an uphill battle on your hands.

But if you look outside your window, see grey skies, and think, “Woo hoo!”, then you’ve obviously got a belief system that says, “grey skies = good.” Thinking positively, then, becomes automatic.

So, back to the challenge…

Right now, the bulk of my time and energy is being spent working on the Internal Success course. And as excited as I am about it, and even as the project cascades into so much more than it was when I started, I still have doubts now and again.

(Doubts = thoughts = the evil brainchild of negative beliefs.)

I’d love to think differently about them, so rather than just try to reorient my thoughts, I put the Internal Success teachings into action. Within two minutes, my thoughts went from scarcity-based thoughts, “No one will want it, there are already tons of programs out there…”, to, “There are millions of people out there who need it… this could be huge. There’s no shortage at all. Make it, offer it, be open and invite people to it. Be positive!”

And the great thing is, it was totally sincere. When I try to “overwrite” my thoughts, there’s always this nagging voice underneath it all, saying, “Oh, come on… you can try to affirm otherwise, but you know it’s not really like that.”

But with the negative beliefs cleared out of my system, those old connections just aren’t there anymore. There’s no tide I’m trying to hold back; my beliefs are naturally generating positive, abundant thoughts.

As a (wo)man thinketh

It’s true (to borrow the phrase from James Allen): As you thinketh, so you are. Changing your thoughts is a sure-fire way to impact the quality of your life (no big revelation here). But if you want to have more success at it than trying to keep a paper cup steady in a wind storm, don’t stop with your thoughts alone; clear the beliefs you have that are keeping your thoughts headed down the wrong paths, and you’ll be much better off.

Want a podcast of this? Click here.

And thanks to all those who commented on the previous post so far: Tim Warneka, Elena, Mark McCullagh, Shafie

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2007. | Permalink | 14 comments

With the cornucopia of choices that you deal with every day, wouldn’t it be great if there was a simple rule to handle at least most of them? Well, at the risk of getting too simplistic, I’ll share an over-arching “rule” with you that I found years ago that has served me pretty well.

It’s one of my favorite prophetic sayings from all of Sufism: “Leave that which makes you doubt, for that which does not make you doubt.”

It carries a call to right action that strikes the tuning fork in your heart, resonating with the place in you that knows what’s right for you, and what isn’t. The exhortation to walk away from things, thoughts, actions, and attitudes that keep you spinning, lost, stuck, or worse, is undeniable.

And from what I’ve seen, the knowing in our hearts is true. We just have to listen to it.

In honor of Blog Action Day, an awareness-raising campaign to honor the environment, let’s look at how this saying applies to our ecological footprint — the impact we have on our planet.

For example…

Let’s say you need some new business cards. When it comes to paper, the printer has more choices than a Japanese restaurant’s sushi menu… and then you see it: 100% post-consumer recycled cardstock. It costs 20% more than the plain-jane stuff, though. Do you pony up the extra dough and go for it?

Automatically, you’d say yes. After all, you can hear my bias already. But would you really? When the moment of choice came, which would win out: your preference, or your pocketbook?

Whether you would go with the earth-friendly paper or not, here’s the point: if you act in accordance with your heart, then you’ll experience serenity and certainty.

Follow your heart, it always knows

If, in your heart, you know it’s the right thing for you to do, then going with the enviro-friendly paper will lift your heart, because you have no doubts that it’s the right thing to do.

If, in your heart, you know it’s the right thing for you to do, and you don’t go with the enviro-friendly paper, you’ll know it. You’ll feel the twist inside. You’ll experience the doubt, guilt, or whatever comes along with not acting in accordance with your heart’s knowing.

Leave that which makes you doubt (the bleached, toxic paper) for that which does not make you doubt (the less-bulk-in-the-landfill-and-less-toxins-in-the-rivers, earth-friendly choice).

Now, I’m not trying to force the enviro-option, here, either… even though I believe in it. Your heart may strongly signal you that it’s time to be in more integrity with your finances first, and you can beef up your other earth-stewarding behaviors in other areas; I don’t know what the choice is going to be for you. The important point here is that you’re listening to your deepest internal knowing, and leaving doubt behind. You’ll know when you’re on target when your heart is at peace.

There’s an overtone of peace that enters your life when you live by the certainty you feel in your heart. The Sufis call this iman, which is the state of belief, trust, and faith that comes with living by the certainty in your heart.

No guesswork involved

What I love about this is that it isn’t about guesswork. It isn’t about doing something you hope will pay off, without actually feeling its effect in your life. It’s about (again) practical spirituality — bringing your experience of life, on all levels, into harmony, with richness and compassion for all.

When you think about your work, and all the choices you have to make, from the visionary to the daily, keep this rule in mind, and see what living by it does to your sense of peace and clarity.

And since our relationship with our beautiful, blue planet weaves throughout everything we do, work-related or not, let’s give a little extra love to our Mother this week, and see if we can help make a difference for her.

Want a podcast of this? Click here.

Images from the Blog Action Day website.

And thanks to all those who commented on the previous post so far: Eddie Corbano, Jean Browman, Jennifer Mannion, Judy Martin

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2007. | Permalink | 11 comments

Unless you haven’t been paying attention (and with the deluge of information out there, it wouldn’t be that surprising), you’ve probably at least heard of Tim Ferriss’ landmark book, The Four Hour Workweek. I’ve touted it here before, and the book has made it to #1 on the NY Times bestseller list.

As impressive as the book’s success has been, it’s what within the pages that has interested me the most. In short, it’s a complete recipe for creating the life you’ve always dreamed possible — and I don’t say that lightly. It’s damn impressive, to say the least. And that brings me to the reason for this post.

Say you do liberate yourself to work only four hours a week. For most of you, that frees up at least 36 hours of time that you have to fill… and my buddy Ed Mills of Evolving Times seems to think that most people haven’t a clue what they’d do with all that extra time (Tim even says — and I believe rightly so — that “after a few days of sitting on a beach rubbing lotion on your belly, you’re going to get bored out of your mind”). And since it’s hard to get anywhere without compelling motivation to get there, thinking about the ‘Why’ behind having a four-hour workweek is time well spent.

(Ed says he’s going to compile a list of all the folks who contribute to the idea, by the way… it’ll be interesting to see what other folks come up with.)

Here are the activities I’ll be starting with on my 36-hour bonanza:

• Play with my girls more: perhaps the greatest benefit of them all… more Daddy time. My girls are seven and two as I write this, and I can feel the clock ticking already.
• Hawaiian vacation: drink POG, smell the plumeria, feel the trade winds blow, swim with dolphins, and soak up some tropical goodness. I visited Hawai’i once, over twenty years ago, and not a week goes by I don’t think about going again.
• Live abroad (Argentina, Europe): I’ve always had dreams of living abroad, and so starting with a month or two here and there would be a great way to test the waters.
• Learn spanish: I love languages (I’ve studied German, Italian, and a touch of Arabic), but I’m sorely out of practice. Spanish makes so much sense to learn, seeing as how it’s the second-most widespread language in the world (Mandarin Chinese is first, and that one’s on my list to learn, too…).
• Learn to play the violin first, then the piano: As long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to learn the violin (why I’ve studied the clarinet, trumpet, bassoon, English handbells, pennywhistle, guitar, and piano and not the violin, I have no idea). My foray into the world of piano was short-lived, though, so I’d get back into piano once my violin studies matured.
• Study aikido: another life-long dream… I studied a few Chinese internal martial arts in my college days, but aikido still holds a wondrous fascination for me.
• Just play more: a good idea in general, y’know? I might get back into rock climbing, disc golf, or invite some friends over and play Quelf.

There are a bunch of other things I’d love to do, such as build a natural home, get back into juggling, work in our garden more, spend more time with friends, learn woodworking, etc. But for now, this list will do just fine to serve as my Why.

What would you do with 36 hours of free time each week?

Image by Nav A. on Flickr, via Creative Commons license.

And thanks to all those who commented on the two previous posts so far: Communicatrix, Priscilla Palmer, Jeanie Marshall, Alexys Fairfield, Bob, Lucid, Edward Mills, Dean, Jean Browman, Joanna Young, Matthew Roberts, Judy Martin

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2007. | Permalink | 22 comments

Thanks to Edward Mills, I made the list. And in the words of Albert, the Urban Monk (no relation), I’ve gotten enough traffic from the list not to join in.

So, the idea is here… and I’m adding:

Colleen Wainwright of Communicatrix
Mona Grayson of Question The Mind
The TED Blog
Jessica Hagy of Indexed
Garr Reynolds of Presentation Zen

And now, the list…

Aaron Potts at Today is That Day | Adam Alexander at Adam’s Peace | Adam Kayce at Monk at Work | Adam Khoo at Adam Khoo’s Philosophies and Investing Insights | AgentSully at Life Learning Today | April Groves at Making Life Work For You | Argancel at C’eclair (for those who speak french) | Ash aka Mr. Biggs at One Powerful Word | Al at 7pproductions.com | Alan Torres at Made to Be Great | Alex Shalman at AlexShalman.com | Alexander Kjerulf at The Chief Happiness Officer | Alexys Fairfield at Unraveling The Spiritual Mystique | Albert Foong at urbanmonk.net | Alvaro at Sharp Brains Blog | Amber at Random Mangus | Amie Ragan at Psychology of Clutter | Amy Hedin at There is no Maximum to Human Potential | Andrea Learned at Learned on Women | Andrea J. Lee at Money, Meaning, and Beyond | Andy Wibbels at AndyWibbels.com | Anita Pathik Law at Power of four Way | Anmol Mehta at AnmolMetha.com | Anna Farmery at The Engaging Brand | Antonio Thornton at AntonioThornton.com | Ariane Benefit at Neat & Simple Living | Ask Lucid at Ask Lucid Spiritual Development | Barb Melloh at The Law of Attraction Info | Barbara Sliter at Creatorship | Belle Wong at Abundance Journal | Bill Perry at Lucid Blog | Billy Smith at The Organic Leadership Blog | Blogfuse at LifeDev | Brad Isaac at Achieve It | Brian Clark at Copyblogger | Brian Kim at briankim.net | Brian Lee at geniustypes.com | Bob at everyeveryminute | Cam Beck at ChaosScenario | Cara Lumen at The Success Magnets With Cara Luman and Your Second Wind Blog | Carlon Haas at Possess Less Exist More | Chris Cree at SuccessCREEations | Chris Marshall at Martial Development | Chris Owen at Pink Apple | Christine Kane at ChristineKane.com | Clyde at Feeling Good | Colin Beavan at No Impact Man | Conceive, Believe, Achieve at Conceive, Believe, Achieve | Crabby McSlacker at Cranky Fitness | Craig Harper at Motivational Speaker | Curt Rosengren at Occupational Adventure | Cyres at Cyres Matters | Damian Carr at Soul Terminal | Daniel Sitter at Idea Sellers | Darren Rowse at Problogger.net | Dave Schawbel at The Personal Branding Blog | Dave Schoof at Engaging the Disquiet | Davers at Language Trainers Blog | David Allen at The David Allen Company | David Bohl at Reflections on Balance | David Fitch at David Fitch.com | David Richeson at 360 Degree Success | David Rogers at How to Have Great Self Confidence | David Seah at David Seah.com | David Zinger at Slacker Manager | Dawud Miracle at dmiracle.com | Dean Lacono at Law of Attraction for Beginners | Debbie Call at Spirit In Gear | Debbie LaChusa at 10 Step Marketing Collection | Debra Moorhead at Debra Moorhead.com | Denise Mosawi at Destineering.com | Des Walsh at Thinking Home Business | Devlyn Steele at Tools To Life Guide | Dick Richards at Come Gather Round | Dominic Tay at Personal Development for Winners | Don Simkovich at He

y Don | Donald Latumahina at Life Optimizer | Donna Karlin at Perspectives | Donna Steinhorn at Rethinking | Douglas Eby at Talent Development Resources | Dr. Charles Parker at The Core Psych Blog | Dr. Hal at Northstar Mental fitness blog | Drew Rozell at Drew Rozell.com | Dwayne Melancon at Genuine Curiosity | Edward Mills at Evolving Times | Ellen Weber at Brain Based Business | Emily G. W. Lilly at The Science of Waldorf Education | Emmanuel Lopez at The Adventures of Motivatorman | Ellesse at Goal Setting College | Elly Jolly at Jolly Life Coaching | Enoch Tan at Mind Reality | Eric Napier at Quotation Collection | Erin Pavlina at Erin Pavlina.com | Frank Kanu at Frank Uncovers Excellence in Leadership | Frank Roche at KnowHR Blog | Galba Bright at Tune Up Your EQ | Gilad Buchman at Sigsug | Gleb Reys at Personal Development Ideas | Grayson at Modern Worker Blog | Greg Butler at holistic-personal-development.com | Greg Frost at ChargedAudio.com | Gretchen Rubin at Happiness Project | Gustav at Success-is-in-you.com | Guy Kawasaki at How to Change the World | Gyanish at Diethack | Halina Goldstein at The Inner Travel Journal | Hilda Carroll at Living Out Loud | Heather Goldsmith at A Creative Journal | Henrik Edberg at The Positivity Blog | Honman at Open Your Mind to Prosperity | Inkedmn at The Cranking Widgets Blog | Isabella Mori at MoriTherapy | Itzy Sabo at Email Overloaded | Jacklyn Ker at Inspiring and Empowing Lives | Jarle Husefest at The Personal Development Blog | Jason and Michael at Black Belt Productivity | Jason Ivers at A Miracle a Day | Jason Womack at Fit and Effective | Jay White at dumb little man tips for life | Jean Browman at Transforming Stress Into Power and Cheerful Monk | Jeannette Maw at Good Vibe Coaching | Jeanie Marshall at Empowerment and Meditation Blog and DailyAffirm: Positive Affirmations Day by Day | Jeff Lilly at Druid Journal | Jeffrey Phillips at Think Faster | Jennifer at Goodness Graciousness | Jennifer Mannion at Heal Pain Naturally | Jenny and Erin at Jenny and Erin | Jeremiah Owyang at Web Strategy by Jeremiah | Jerry Hart at Blue Print to emarketing | Jerry Lopper at Personal Growth | Jessa at clairvoyantGuidance.net | Jim stroup at Managing Leadership | Jim Walton at Black In Business | JoLynn Braley at The Fit Shack | Joan Schramm at Accelerating Momentum | Joanna Young at Coaching Wizardry | Joanne at I’m Happy Fish | Joe Vitale at Dr. Joe Vitale at Zero | John Pratt at John Pratt International | John Place at John Place Online | John W. McKenna at The Leadership Epidemic | John Wesley at Pick The Brain | Jon at Join The Secret | Jonathan at Smart Wealthy Rich and Freelance Folder | Jory Des Jardin at Pause: Meaningful Work | Josh Bickford at Reach For Magnificence and Reach for Magnificence | Josh Kaufman at The Personal MBA | Judy Martin at The Work/Life Monitor | Julia Rogers Hamrick at Julia’s Blog: Journal of the Journey Home to Eden | Julie Bonner at Declutter It | Kailani at An Island Review | Kammie Kobyleski at Passion Meets Purpose | Karen at Journey with Water Learner | Karen Lynch at Live The Power | Karen Wallace at The Clearing Space | Karl Moore at Karl Blog.com | Karl Staib at Karl Staib.com | Kathy Mallary at Coaching Biz Tips | Keith Ferrazzi at Never Eat Alone | Kenton Whitman at kentonwhitman.com | Kevin Kinchen at Creative Power of Thought | Killeris at Attitude, The Ultimate Power | Kim and Jason at Escape Adulthood | Kim George at Doing What You Can Do | Kirk Nugent at Kirk Nugent.com | Kirsten Harrell at Ipopin | Krishna De at Biz Growth News and Todays Women in Business | K.L. Masina at Be Conscious Now | Leah Maclean at Working Solo | Laura Young at The Dragon Slayer’s Guide to Life | Lee Nutter at bmindful | Leo Babauta at Zen Habits | Life Reflection at Universe in a Single Atom | Linda Salazar at Awaken The Genie Within | Lisa Braithwaite at Speak Schmeak | Lisa Gates at Design Your Writing Life | Lisa Van Allen at Finish Strong | Liz Strauss at Successful Blog | Lodewijkvdb at How to be an Original | Lola Fayemi at Real World Spiritual and Personal Development | Lorraine Cohen at Powerfull Living | Luciano Passuello at Litemind.com | Lucid at Spiritual Suggestions | Lumosity at Brain Health Blog | Lyman Reed at Creating a Better Life | Lyndon Antcliff at LyndonAntcliff.com and Cornwallseo.com | MT at MindTWEAKS | Maddy at Illuminated Minds Want to Know | Malathy Badri at Laws of Universe | Manny at Success Books | Maria Garcia at Get Organized Now | Maria Palma at The Good Life | Marianne Williamson at Journal | Mark at The Naked Soul | Mark Forster at Get Everything Done | Mark LaPierre at The Winding Path | Mark McManus at Build Your Life To Order | Mark W Shead at Productivity 501 | Martin Avis at Kickstart Daily | Mary K at Becoming Your StellarSelf | Matthew Cornell at Matt’s Idea Blog | Meg Haworth at Life Lessons From Your Soul | Melanie Benson Strick at The Success Blog | Merlin Mann at 43 Folders | Michelle at aMusing My Genius | Michelle Moore at Happiness Blog | Michael Port at The Think Big Revolution | Michael Vanderdonk at TOACH Performance | Mike Janssen at Opgestroopte Mouwen | Mike St. Pierre at The Daily Saint | Mr.Wang at Mr Wang Says So | My Everyday Planner at My Everyday Planner | Nancy Tierney at Unconditional Confidence | Neil Patel at Quick Sprout | Nic Askew at Monday 9AM Blog | Nick Smith at Life 2.0 | Nneka at Balanced Life Center | Organize-It at Organize-It | Pamala Slim at Escape From Cubicle Nation | Pamm Larry at My Spiritual Dance | Patricia Singleton at Spiritual Journey of a Lightworker | Patti Digh at 37 Days | Paul at Paul’s Tips | Paul Piotrowski at Self Help Wisdom | Paula Kawal at Paula Kawal.com | Peggy Payne at Peggy Payne’s Boldness Blog | Peter at I Will Change Your Life | Peter Aldin at Great Circle | Peter Haslem at Necessary Skills | Phil Gerbyshak at Make It Great | Philippe Matthews at Shockwealth | Priscilla Palmer at Personal Development Demands Success | Quint Jensen at Win Your Mind | Raymond Salas at Zenchill Powertools | Real Modern Man at Real Modern Man | Reg Adkins at ElementalTruths | Ricardo at Wake Up Tiger | Rich Schefren at Strategic Profits | Rick Cockrum at Shards of Consciousness | Rick Cooper at The PDA Pro | Ririan at Ririanproject | Rob at 7Breaths | Rob Cooke at Leave the Office | Robert at Compassionate Council | Robert at Myselfdev | Robert Ashcroft at PDSS Online | Robin Skeen at Robin’s Reflections | Robin Yapp at Yapp 3.0 | Robyn McMaster at Brain Based Biz | Roger Von Oech at Creative Think | Rolf F. Katzenberger at Evomend | Rosa Say at Managing With Aloha Coaching | Ryan Marle at The Alpha Project | S.J. Yee at Personal Development for the Book Smart | Sam at Aquire Wisdom and Live with Passion | Scott Adams at The Dilbert Blog | Scott Berkun at Berkun Blog | Scott Bernadot at Keeping The Secret | Scott Ginsberg at Hello, My Name Is Blog | Scott H Young at Scott H Young | Scott McArthur at McArthur’s Rant | Self Pursuit at Self Pursuit | Senia at Senia.com Positive Psychology Coaching | Seth Godin at Seth’s Blog | Shane Navratil at Zoomstart | Shauna Arthurs at Breathing Prosperity and Follow Your Path | Shaheen Lakhan at GNIF Brain Blogger | Simone at Dynamic Living | Simone and Mandy at Outfit Inspirations | Slade Roberson at Shift Your Spirits and Spiritual Blogging | Sleeping Dude at How to Wake Up Early | Sonora Jayne Case at Positive Realities Coaching | Spike at Organize It | Start Up Coach at Take Charge of Your Life | Stephanie and Jeffrey at Brains on Purpose | Steve Beisheim at Jumping Ship Happens | Steve King at The Green Geek | Steve Olson at Steve-Olson.com | Steve Pavlina at stevepavlina.com | Steve Roesler at All Things Workplace | Stephen at HD bizblog | Stephen Hopson at Adversity University | Steven Aitchison at Change Your Thoughts | Success Current at SuccessCurrent.com | Surjit at Gurushabad | Susan Sabo at Productivity Cafe | Suzanne Bird-Harris at Learning Curve Coaching | Takuin Minamoto at Takuin.com | Ted Demopoulos at Blogging For Business | Terry Starbucker at Ramblings From a Glass Half Full | Thom Quinn at Qlog | Tiffany at Little Red Suit | Tim Ferris at 4-Hour Workweek and Lifestyle Design Blog | Tim Taylor at My Agapic Life | Tom Peters at Tom Peters.com | Tom Spanton at TRCoach | Tom Van Brunscot of Transformation Economy | Tony Chimento at Living Forward

| Tony D Clark at Success From The Nest | Torlink at You Create Reality | Travis A. Sinquefield at Disorganizational Behavior | Travis Wright at Cultivate Greatness | Trizoko at Trizoko.com | Trevor Gay at Simplicity is the Key | Troy Worman at Orbit Now! | Tuck Self at Rebel Belle Blog | Tupelo Kenyon at Tupelokenyon.com | Ubertech at Geeks Guide To GTD | Vera Nadine at Vera Nadine.com | Vickie at Contemplate This | Wade Millican at The Middle Way | Wally Bock at Three Star Leadership | Wan Qi at Meditation Forum Mantras | Wild Bill at Passionate Blogger | and these collaborated sites: | Burst Blog | Change This | Change Your Thinking | Daily PlanIt | Did I Get Things Done | GTD Wannabe | Jobman2 | Joyful Jubilant Learning | Life Coaches Blog Stratagies for a Greater Life | Lifehack.org | Lifehacker.com | Transformational Girlfriends | Unclutterer

And as if all this isn’t enough, Alex Shalman of AlexShalman.com (he’s on the list, above) is adding a contest on top of it all, piggybacking a chance to win an iPod shuffle (isn’t the web a great place?). Check out his post for more details.

Image by aussiegall at Flickr, by Creative Commons license.

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2007. | Permalink | 12 comments

I’ve compiled the list I have of all the Learning Edge posts that folks have made so far; if you’ve written one, but don’t see it here, leave me a comment with a link to it, and I’ll add it to the list. There are also a half-dozen or so people who left comments on the original post, sharing all the Edges they’re up to… be sure to check it out.

And if you haven’t written one, and would like to, check out the original post for directions, and join in the fun! In addition to growing your own horizons, you’ll also get a few links out of it, which never hurts, right?

Colleen Wainwright of Communicatrix wrote What’s your Learning Edge? (The hypnotherapy project)
Evelyn Rodriquez of Crossroads Dispatches wrote Learning Edge, or you can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf
Dailytri of DailyTri wrote My Learning Edge
Eve of Sparkle Life wrote Try and Catch Me
Sue Melone of Ignite What Matters wrote an untitled Learning Edge post
Siona at Zaadz wrote What’s My Learning Edge?
Ben Yoskowitz of Instigator Blog wrote Starting a Business is One Massive Learning Experience
Jean Browman of Stress to Power wrote Lifelong Learning
Edward Mills of Evolving Times wrote What Is Your Learning Edge?
Dawud Miracle of dmiracle.com wrote How Do You Use Social Media To Grow Your Business?
David Thomas of Glittering Muse wrote What’s Your Learning Edge?
William Harryman of Integral Options Cafe wrote What is Your Learning Edge?
Peter Clothier of The Buddha Diaries wrote What’s Your Learning Edge? And, “Come Hell and High Water”
Apollo Lemmon of Frozen Truth wrote Learning Edge + 7
Stuart Baker of Conscious Cooperation wrote My Learning Edge
Pamm of My Secret Spiritual Dance wrote Edges Meme
Kent Blumberg of KentBlumberg wrote The Learning Edge
Jeremy Cherfas of Another Blasted Weblog wrote Lifelong Learning
John of Technology For Living wrote Where My “Edge” Lies Now
Isabella Mori of Change Therapy wrote What’s Your Learning Edge?

That’s quite a list, eh? It reminds me of a quote I read once, about how birds fly, fish swim, and people learn. It’s just what we do.

Thanks, everyone, for sharing… and we’ll see what happens next!

Image by me, under a Creative Commons license.

And thanks to all those who commented on the previous post so far: Jean Browman, Edward Mills, Mary Schmidt

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2007. | Permalink | 8 comments

I’m always learning something — right now, I’ve got a stack of four books from the library on my desk, and two more in the living room, plus all the ChangeThis manifestos I still need to read, and the myriad of blogs in my Google Reader that are patiently awaiting my attention.

In fact, one of the aspects of the blogosphere that makes it really easy for me to spend way too much surfing is the amount of wonderful information and personal perspectives that are out there. New learnings are just a click away.

So, here’s my challenge to you, and my invitation:

Challenge: If you’re not currently pushing the envelope of your intellectual horizons… or if you’re feeling a staleness in your life that you wouldn’t mind giving the ol’ heave-ho to… then I invite you to pick something that you’ve always been curious about, and dive into it with all the passion of a two-year-old on a playground.

Invitiation: Write a post about your “learning edge” and what you’re into these days. Feel free to mention any books you’re reading, classes you’re taking, people you’re learning from or collaborating with, etc. Tell us about the gems you’re picking up, the fun you’re having, etc., especially if they’re shifting the way you look at what you do.

If you link back to this post when you write yours, I’ll compile the topics everyone is learning about, and link back to your post with it.

And, of course, feel free to tag a bunch of people you know as well…

My hope for this project is two-fold:

1. That you’ll get a chance to expand your horizons by seeing what other people are learning about. I know there are lots of subjects that have been out there for years, but they often take a while to make it to me (or me to them, whichever way it goes). This just may speed up the process a bit…
2. You’ll get a chance to not only hear about a subject, but get some personal insight and recommendations as well. I’ve always benefitted when a trusted friend turns me on to something that’s lighting their fires, and this could be a great way to get some first-hand accounts of some very interesting subjects.

And if we share some link-love, and grow our community, how much better can this be?

Okay, I’ll start:
I’m risking feeling a bit ‘behind-the-times’ by saying this, but my Edge right now is the Law of Attraction. I know it has been around a long time, but I got turned off from it by some comments made by people I trusted, a long time ago, and I’ve steered away from it ever since.

But having seen (and read) The Secret, and then reading material from the teachers in it, like James Ray, Denis Waitley, Mike Dooley, Bob Doyle, Laurel Langemeier, John Assaraf, including the ‘wowser’ program by Bob Proctor and Jack Canfield, I’ve seen so many similarities between what I’m learning from them, books like “Ask and It Is Given” by Esther Hicks, my new friend Edward Mills, and my experiences with Sufism, that I’m really excited by it all. More soon, I’m sure.

And since I’m kicking this project off, I’ll tag Tony Clark, Edward Mills, Wendy Piersall, Phil Gerbyshak, Ben Yoskowitz, Dawud Miracle, Tshombe Brown, and the Communicatrix, Colleen Wainwright.

And everyone else, feel free to write your own post and keep the learning going!

(you’re welcome to grab the image above, or this one here.)

Image by me, and I’m putting it under a Creative Commons license, natch.

And thanks to all who have commented on the previous post so far: Lee Riddell, Jean Browman, Dawud Miracle

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2007. | Permalink | 52 comments

I came out of tunnel-vision to find that I was tagged for another meme, and it seemed like great timing, not to mention that it’s about a subject dear to my heart: music.

Joanna Young of Coaching Wizardry tagged me in Hilda Carroll‘s meme about “Songs That Make Your Heart Sing.” With a title like that, how could I refuse? (Besides, as Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “Most people go to their graves with their best music inside them.” Not me, friend.)

The challenge is to pick your “number one energy-raising song of choice”. And now you know why I’m calling that a challenge!

How to pick one? My iTunes library has 1863 items in it (that’s 11.81 GB of data) that could play for 14.7 days… and Hilda wants me to pick one. Sheesh, where to begin!?

I could start with an artist that’s captivated me lately, the lovely and talented (isn’t it great how often those go together?) — not to mention downright hilarious — Christine Kane.

Or, I could go with something by David Wilcox, who I mentioned in a recent post, whose music always transports me to a higher place.

What I noticed, though, as I thought more and more about this while rifling through my iTunes playlists, is that music, for me, is very situational.

A song that inspires me deeply one day may not have the same effect the next, because I’m in a different place. As my state changes, the music that matches and affects that state changes, too.

Have you noticed this? Your receptivity to certain grooves (music, art, food, the company you keep, etc.) changes as you change. You can have micro changes (day to day) and macro changes (year to year), but your tastes will most certainly change as you go through your own cycles of evolution.

Which is why, in answering this question, I chose to go with a band, and a song, that has been with me for 12 years.

The Dave Matthews Band has been a long-time fixation in my music library. I got into their music back in college in 1994, lost track of them for a while (heck, I lost track of just about everything for a while, there!), and then got back into them a couple years ago.

And then, for my birthday last year, my good friends Jim and Mary Keeley gave me a ticket to go see DMB live, at the inaugural show at John Paul Jones Arena in their home town of Charlottesville, VA. It was amazing.

Dave Matthews Band is who I put on when I want to get my groove on in a big way. I can’t help but dance, sing, and feel pumped up when I listen to them. Seeing them live, and soaking in their stage presence, has also revolutionized the way I hear them, and I love that.

Consistently, DMB does it for me. Admittedly, some of their lyrics can be intense at times, but I’ve always been more of a melody man than a lyrics hound; it’s just how I was raised. It works for me, anyway.

What’s the song I return to again and again? It’s gotta be Ants Marching.

So, in the spirit of meme-tagging, I’ve gotta tag Dawud, because he’s a lyrics hound, so that’s a good counterpoint to me. I’ll also tag Peter, David, Colleen, and Wendy, because I have absolutely no idea what they listen to, but I have a feeling that music is a big part of their lives, based on what I know of them. And, I’m curious as heck. (no pressure, y’all; I know you’re busy…)

And the question to you: Do you listen to music as you work? What gets your juices flowing and your feet marching? Feel free to post a comment, or pick up the meme and run with it yourself.

Images by metrojp (by Creative Commons license) and Dave Matthews Band.

And thanks to all who have commented on the previous post so far: Dan Schawbel

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2007. | Permalink | 25 comments

The first is David Airey’s “Face Behind The Blog” (tagged by Dawud Miracle), a chance to look behind the scenes of a blog you read and see who the person is that’s typing on your behalf.

The face behind my blog is a rarely-captured one, to tell you the truth! Most of the photos I have (digitized ones, at least) are of my family, and since I tend to be the “guy behind the lens” as well as the “face behind the blog”, I have many more pictures of my kids than I do of me. That said…

Family is, obviously, the largest aspect of my life. Here we are at some family outings, including DisneyWorld (when Sara was four months old), bowling, at Hershey’s Chocolate World, the DC Zoo, and more.

Gardening is also a passion in the family, although I tend to do the ‘heavy lifting’ jobs, and my wife Laila does most of the plant tending. Here are the girls picking strawberries, and us washing off some of our lettuce, spinach, and arugula.

Being in the great outdoors is a favorite pastime of mine, so you’re seeing glimpses here of hiking, sand sculpting (which I got into when we lived on Florida’s Gulf Coast), and playing with the kids.

And last but not least, there’s family downtime. Here are the girls hanging out, me giving two-day old Yasmin (who’s now 7) a smooch, Sara covered in blueberries, and our 2005 Halloween costumes (that’s me, the pirate, in the back).

The second meme is Terry Starbucker’s “What’s In Your Glass?” (tagged by Director Tom), a creativity-enhancer based on Terry’s namesake blog, “Ramblings From a Glass Half Full”.

Terry asks four questions, which I’ve paired with my responses:

1. How full is your glass? Overflowing!
2. What kind of glass is it? A “looking glass”
3. What’s in the glass? You, me, and world of possibility.
4. Reasons for #1, #2, and #3…

I say, “overflowing,” because when I feel the question, I feel my heart. And my heart feels like it’s tapping into an abundant space of love and generosity, overflowing with hope and joy.

So, that immediately gave rise to the idea of my glass being a ‘looking glass’ — to see what I see when I look in the mirror of Monk at Work.

And when I do, I see you and me together, in a world of possibility. I believe the sky is the limit when it comes to creating love-centered businesses, and bringing your spirit into the world.

Now in memes, the tradition is to tag five other people. I’ve done that before, but what I’d rather do this time is encourage you to take one or both of these memes and make them your own, on your own blog. (And if you don’t have a blog yet, this would be a great reason to start one.)

Images by David Airey, me, Terry Starbucker, and Striatic (by Creative Commons license).

And thanks to all who have commented on the previous post so far: Dave Schoof, Stuart Baker, Jeff, Jean Browman, Jennifer Louden

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2007. | Permalink | 70 comments