2Weeks2aBreakthrough

Rocky Paths

Rocky paths force us to notice our footing...

Photo taken while on a recent hike in the Cascades.

Where the sun shines....

The sun does not shine everywhere
On everyone
All the time

Even on a clear day
There are shadows
And colder dark spots

The warm rays touch us
When arms open
And we reach

I took this picture on a recent hike in the Cascades. The leaves glowed with happiness.

Looking for Reviewers

Would you like to get an advanced peek at by book Two Weeks to a Breakthrough?

I am looking for several people who are willing to read a few sections of the book and then provide a blurb for the book. I would like to email out the sections on Monday, Aug. 21 and then would like your blurbs back in three weeks - by September 12th.

Send me an email at lhaneberg AT gmail DOT com if you are interested and willing!

Thanks!

Random Walkabout - Part 2

I leave for my first solo Random Walkabout next Wednesday - two weeks in southwest New Mexico. Here's the first post I did about this concept.

Part 2.....

I’d like to take a wee mental side trip here and rant about the notion of covering ground.  In business, we cover topics in a staff meeting. In training, we cover techniques. When we take a traditional vacation, we cover ground. Guidebook open, we cover the bolded places and numbered dots on the map. I don’t want to cover a thing; not a place; not a dot; not a bold. Covering a place is disrespectful and downright rude. We cannot come to know or understand or appreciate a place that we cover in two bells or document with a photo taken from the car window at a rolling stop. The nature and people deserve better. They are deep and complex and their charms and beauty only fully shine when closely examined and explored.

Take the high desert of New Mexico, for example. Many have told me that they find the place boring, empty, and void of life and color. This conclusion often comes from those whizzing through on a Route 66 cross country car trip, train passengers, or those who are trying to check off all the attractions listed in the latest Fodor’s. Oh, my goodness, I don’t even know where to begin my response to these comments. Have you seen Sandia Mountain turn watermelon red at sunset (“Sandia” means watermelon in Spanish)? Have you smelled the sagebrush after a summer rain? Have you seen the real life chase of the coyote and roadrunner? Have you tasted local the red and green chile peppers and felt their heat ooze into your veins and warm you from the middle outward? Have you touched artwork molded and shaped by masters? Have you peered down the Rio Grande Gorge? Have you gazed across the sparkling gypsum dunes of White Sands National Monument?

You get the point. One cannot and should not cover places. The Random Walkabout is the antithesis of covering. This mode of exploration is both highly flexible and changing while running an inch wide and mile deep. Spend a hour marveling at the water’s movement in a babbling brook. Spend three meals in a row savoring the blue corn posole of a local unsung hero of a cook. What’s that flavor? How does she make the kernels so nutty and comforting? How can I take this masterful culinary artist home with me!?

My Random Walkabout will be fluid and deep and will not cover a thing.

David Byrne on Learning from Other Artists

I love this post from Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne. He describes a recent concert he went to and what he learned from the artist. He's a great role model for openness and coachability.

Go where the energy is....

I was having an email conversation with someone the other day and I remember that the last thing I wrote was: go where the energy is.

She's a management trainer and was focusing on a particular program that was getting a lot of attention. As trainers, we often try to cram stuff down people's throats - something that does not work very well.

When I worked as an internal consultant, I would spend disproportionate amounts of time with leaders and teams. Those that wanted coaching got it. The leaders who were not interested in my coaching got none. I went where the energy was.

I was once a director of product development for a medium sized firm. My job was to research, define, and recommend new product ideas and tweaks. The owner was change averse and 90% of the time would respond saying that things were fine the way they are. People asked me whether I was bothered by the fact that I would do all this great work only to have the ideas discarded. Sure, it was a bit of a downer, but 10% of the time a new idea made it to the light. And often enough, the ideas from a couple cycles previous would come back up in conversation. Most of the work was put to use in some manner. Instead of getting too discouraged, I influenced the company and products where it was possible - going where the energy was.

I am not writing this post to pat myself on the back.

Two questions:

Are you wasting your time focusing where the energy AIN'T?

Are YOU where the energy is?

I think these questions are key to helping us shape how we spend time and how we produce breakthroughs relative to our goals and dreams.

Part 2 - The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy and Superstition of the Biker's Bell

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the self-fulfilling prophecy and my need for a biker's bell. Well, I have an update.

I got a bell! And now I am fully protected from road gremlins.

I want to thank fellow writer and blogger EM Sky (awesome author name!) for taking the time and care to find and send me a bell (and the expense!). I got the bell last Friday and it came with a fun story. Here is a portion from her letter:

So I'm driving up to Atlanta yesterday, on my way to a meeting, and as I'm zoning out on the highway something suddenly catches my eye: a row of motorcycles. I look over and discover that they are in front of a motorcycle dealership. And not just any motorcycle dealership, but a Harley Davidson motorcycle dealership. [Lisa's note: I mentioned in my post that the bell can be found at most Harley stores] "No way!" I think to myself, and I check again. Yes way, definitely Harleys. No question.

I check for traffic, and discovering myself alone in a miraculous "traffic bubble," I careen off the highway at the last second into the dealership lot. (Never fear... my whip-lash entrance did no damage to any of the lovely Harleys, nor to myself, nor to Padme, my beloved Jeep, who has accepted my impulsive nature from the beginning.)

Very funny. EM and I have never met, by the way, but we read each other's blogs. EM went into the dealership and found that there were several kinds of bells. She selected this lovely one for me. It says "Lady Rider" and came in a small velvet bag with a copy of the legend that confirmed the bell's powers are greatest when the bell is given to the biker. This is awesome news because it means that my new bell is supercharged. (Side note: Thoughtful gifts are always supercharged, for both parties, don't you think?)

That furry thing at the bottom of the picture is my 16 year old cat, Paris, who is checking to make sure the bell works. It does! I love it. It is a much nicer bell than I had on my last bike. I immediately put it on Hazel. Here's a look.

You can see the bell right below my headlamp. Now I am protected. I am blown away by EM's generosity. Doubly nice is that I can tell by her letter that she really enjoyed the whole experience too. Please stop over and check out one of her blogs, all under the banner of Mind Unbound - a great concept. Now I have the self-fulfilling prophecy working in my favor, not against me!

Thanks EM, for making my week and saving me from those nasty road gremlins!