2Weeks2aBreakthrough

Great Day - Long Day! Day of questions.

I had a great day today. It was long and hectic and I had some traffic woes, but it was worth it and more.

It was fun connecting with lots of people - I enjoyed seeing MORE bubbling brains and the theme for today was great questions. Many people asked questions that told me they were really thinking about how they could best generate more breakthroughs.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I love questions.

I want to thank a few key connectors (catalysts!) that made today's great day possible.

• Thank you Judy for inviting me to your company. It was a pleasure to meet you and your colleagues.
• Thank you Deepika for pouring your heart and mind into the Invincibelle/SIPA event. You created a great environment for my chat.
• Thank you Rajesh for being a master connector and helping to catalyze today's event.
• Thank you Johnny for taking the initiative to reach out to me and then provide a motorcycle escort to the SIPA event. You were very generous with your time and assistance.
• Thank you SIPA.org and Invincibelle.com for being great hosts and sponsors.
  

And thank you everyone who attended one of today's events. Your energy and interest is why I love connecting with people to discuss generating breakthroughs. Remember, I invited you to share your goals and breakthrough plans with me by email.

I would like to remind people of the magic of the butterfly effect. Tiny actions can have a big impact. Here are a couple posts that relate to this topic.

Big Power of Small Actions - Butterfly Effect
Flap, flap, setback, flap.

Bottom line: Small = Big. When you put many directionally correct actions into play, amazing things happen.

Tomorrow I ride down to Newport Beach, CA. It's a long day of driving and no events. I look foward to hearing about your goals and how you focus and stay in action by email! (lhaneberg AT gmail DOT com)

Among Giants

Have you noticed the powerful affect nature's big things have on us? Mountains, oceans, valleys, deserts. We gaze out, up, and across and our thoughts go deep.

The huge rocks off the coast of Oregon and Northern California seem like spirits. Each has a different face and message. One told me to drive smooth, one said to relax, another reminded me to dream. Their breaths came onto shore and rocked me and Hazel as we twisted south.

There were giants on land too. Riding through the redwood forests, I struggled to keep my eyes on the road. Their huge trunks stretch strong and high - higher than I could see. This is where the architects of skyscrapers came for their inspiration, I am sure. At a few construction stops, I seized the opportunity to let inspiration float up to the heavenly tops of the trees.

Today was a long ride from Brookings, OR to Santa Rosa, CA, but I did not feel alone. I was among giants.

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I chatted it up with a small group of people this evening and had the priviledge to see a couple more bubbling brains (see yesterday's post). I want to thank Jon Pappas for being the catalyst for today's gathering.

One more note about today - I drove through fire. Well, not through fire, next to fire. There was a brush fire that had crossed highway 101 and fire fighters and helicopters carrying water were trying to put it out. They did not close the road, however, and as I came 'round a curve, I found myself driving right next to the fire. It was smoky and hot and I was surprised they were letting us drive within 10 feet of the flames.

Tip for Thursday - Want to generate a breakthrough? Reevaluate your definition of success. How do you define success and is that definition serving you and your goals?

Another tip - We are coming up on a holiday weekend in the U.S. It is common to peeter out and get little done as the weekend approaches. Why be common? Think about a goal that if achieved would make a great difference. Share this goal with five people between now and the end of day Friday.

What's next: Tomorrow (Thursday) is a busy day. I have three events, two private and one public. If you are in the Cuptertino/Santa Clara area, please come by my public talk at HP. Details here.

I am taking the holiday weekend off from events and will be visiting a friends in Newport Beach and spending a couple days in Tucson.

Brookings Breakthrough Event

Have you ever noticed that look that someone gets when their brains are bubbling with ideas and inspiration? I love seeing that and I love facilitating those kinds of reactions.

The event in Brookings, Oregon this evening was very fun. The local group that attended could not have been more friendly and interested. I felt welcomed. And what an fascinating mix of people!

This event was unique because I presented while my brother Perry Devine played music. I talked a bit, then he played, I talked a bit and then he played. It was fun. We finished the evening off by playing the You Tube video set to the song Perry created for me called Breakthrough.

I want to thank Perry and all the folks who worked with him to support this event. It was so cool. Everywhere we went in the downton area had event flyers posted in the store windows and on bulliten boards. Several of the local organizations advertised the event, too. It was very, very, nice.

And I got to see that look - the bubbling brain look - several times tonight. That's my favorite part.

If just one person enjoys a breakthrough as a result of thoughts or ideas shared tonight, it will have been more than worth the effort. Of course, I hope they ALL remain focused and in action and experience breakthroughs. Here are the topics I discussed:

Manifesting possibillity and the power of seeing more possibilities.
Setting and selecting compelling goals.
Catalysts and the big power of small things.
10 Ways to generate breakthroughs.
Catalyzing breakthroughs.

I signed a bunch of books and got to hear a few people's goals. People seemed pretty interested in the motorcycle trip and a few asked me ,"why?" See the aformentioned bubbling brain effect.

The locally owned and operated Book Dock Bookstore brought refreshments, sold books, and hosted the event. They are a wonderful group of people - thanks Cynthia and Sharon!

Remember, small actions make a big difference. Flap your butterfly wings every day!

Tomorrow I will be driving down highway 101 during the day and speaking at the Barnes & Noble in Santa Rosa, CA at 7pm. Please come by if you live in the area!

With all the goings on, I did not remember to take pictures. Bad! I will get some and post them soon.

My Interview on Invincibelle.com!

Invincibelle.com just put up an interview they did with me. Check it out here and then check out the rest of the interesting interviews and site features. It's a very cool place and I am honored to be included. Invincibelle.com and SIPA.org are also the driving force and hosts of my talk at HP in Cupertino later this week. Anyone can attend, it is a public event - click here to see the event details.

New Roads

Writing from Brookings, OR.

Today – day 2 of the tour – was the first of many days to come where I will be traveling all new roads – roads I have never traveled on or it has been so long that I don’t remember them. Today was all new. A few observations about new roads.

I drive slower, pay attention more in turns. My mind wandered less than when I am riding in familiar territory.

I appreciated the scenery more. After spending the better part of the day on 101 on the Oregon coast – which is lovely – I was wowed by the coast. Interestingly, a similarly lovely scene in a familiar harbor might not seem so amazing.

Experiencing something for the first time is special – the magic and emotion and intensity quotients are all higher. Perhaps this is why some people gravitate to careers where things constantly change. Perhaps this is why we go away for vacation even if we live in places where other people spend thousands of dollars to see and experience. Perhaps this is why we love gift wrapped presents (not in bags, but with real wrapping paper).

Taking a road trip on new roads (I mean this literally and figuratively) is catalytic and a great way to reinvigorate our senses. Reenvisioning your familiar roads in new ways can be great too (but should not replace all exploration of truly new roads). How much time do you spend traveling new roads?

A bit about the day:

This was a very long day of driving. I knew this and had planned it this way. I will be here in Brookings for two days, so I get the day off from big miles on the bike tomorrow. I only encountered rain a few times and for a few minutes each time. Along the coast, the wind was a bear – it knocked me all over the road. Motorcycles are engineering marvels and can handle wind with no problem, but it does make the driving more strenuous. There were several times I thought my shoulders and upper arms were on fire. I stretched and moved them around as much as possible.

In Oregon, you can’t pump your own gas. I have driven my car in Oregon many times and knew this, but this was the first time I took a motorcycle into Oregon. I was pleased that the station attendants let me pump my own gas. I think they get it that bikers want to fill their tanks in a particular way and guard against getting gas on the tank finish.

I underestimated: knee pain - The pressure of keeping legs tucked in against the wind force that is moving them outward - pressure point = the knees.

I overestimated: hand pain - knock on wood. I though my hands would be the most painful spot. It has not been that bad compared to other spots.

I WAY underestimated: the amount of time I need to plan to repack the bike bags and load them and lock them on the bike. I got started later than I had planned today because it took bout an hour to get my bags repacked and loaded. Note to self: Set alarm 30 minutes earlier! I would also hope that I get a system down where I get more efficient.

I want to thank the Kuryakyn Company for making such great touring bags for motorcycles. These are definitely worth the price. They are made just for motorcycles and do a beautiful job. I have the full dresser sissy bar bag (with wheels – common in business luggage, rare in biker luggage) and a roll bag. Each bag has it’s own raincoat, is made of strong materials, and has lots of straps and d-rings to make it easy to tie down. This is important because imagine what would happen if your gear shifted while leaning in a turn?

The first two days focused on traveling. Tomorrow I have my first event – a presentation combines with a musical performance with my bother, Perry Devine. Details here. The way we are working this is that I will talk for a bit then he will play a song that ties in. We do that about five times. Should be very fun. I hope to have some pictures to share.

A first test.

Writing from Tigard, OR - just south of Portland.

I would be lying if I said I had an easy and enjoyable first day of the tour. It was extraordinary, for sure. As in, out of the ordinary.

Here’s the cliff notes version:

• Spent 4 hours riding in the pounding rain.
• It was cold – well, in the rain at 60 mph made temps in the 50s feel cold.
• It was very windy. With all my bags, the bike got kicked around the road a bit. When it is very windy, it requires more upper body strength to drive the bike.
• Because I waited to leave until I thought the worst of the storms had passed (I was wrong), I missed having dinner with the Slacker Manager. Dang! I was looking forward to meeting he and his wife in person.
• I was wet, cold and fatigued when I got to my hotel, so my dinner came from the only place near the hotel – the Seven-Eleven.
• Bottom line: this was the hardest driving I have done on two wheels.

I am not sharing this to seek sympathy. I learned a few things today.

I learned that I have not done anything very hard recently. Today was hard. It was not reckless, I drove safely – there is a difference between danger and difficulty. I have not been challenged this way in quite some time. The physical challenge is straightforward – the mental challenge is something I can look back on with appreciation.

Self-talk changes reality. Change the way you talk to yourself and you will change your actions and results. I know this and have preached it for years. Today I learned it at a deeper level. It was the conversations I had with myself that enabled me to be proactive in keeping my hands shoulders and legs moving enough so that they did not get too cold or go numb. It was my self-talk that rationally assessed the driving conditions and reinforced my periodic decisions to continue. I could have stopped, but I am glad I did not. Again, just because something is hard and unpleasant does not mean it is dangerous.
And the greatest mental challenge was redefining the experience so that I stayed out of the worlds of right/wrong, good/bad, fair/unfair. Also, I found that I could summons the strength to react calmly.

There were a couple times when I imagined what my response would be if I where in a passing car and saw Hazel and me on the road in the pounding rain. I think I would have thought, “I wouldn’t do that.”

It has been an interesting day. The weather report for tomorrow is very good and I look forward to a nice and easy ride on highway 101 down to Brookings.

Oh, one more thing I learned today. I have packed too much! I need to downsize and ship some stuff home. It’s tough to choose what goes, but something’s gotta go. All the gear adds up to being too heavy and I don’t have room to buy a pack of gum. OK, that’s an exaggeration.

The Tour is On!

I started my Year of the Breakthrough Tour today. Well, actually, I will head out in about 10 minutes. Here is a picture of what Hazel looks like fully loaded.

Stay tuned RIGHT HERE for posts about breakthroughs and the adventures I encounter trying to catalyze them on my trip. I will post pics and share the inspiring stories of the amazing people I meet. I hope you will be one of those people!

This week I have three public events and two private events. Here are the public events. If you live in the area, I would love to meet you!

City	Date(s)	Event
Brookings, OR	May 22, 7:00pm	This is a special event - a combo performance with my singer/song writer brother Perry Devine (listen to "Breakthrough" here). Best Western Beachfront Inn Conference Center, 16008 Boat Basin Rd., Harbor, Oregon. Sponsored by The Book Dock, call 541-469-6070 or email bookdock@nwtec.com to register.
Santa Rosa, CA	May 23, 7:00pm	Santa Rosa Barnes & Noble
Cupertino, CA	May 24, 6:30-8:30pm	Event at HP, Oak Room, 19447 Pruneridge Ave. Registration details here.

Ride your dreams.

Notice When you smile

There are challenges, sports, things, places, and/or people that make us smile. I mean that literally - that when we engage in these things, we can't help but smile.

Here's an example. I took a short trip to Albuquerque over the weekend. When I got in my rental car and drove away from the airport, I could not help but smile. All by myself in the car and I took one look at the landscape and smiled. New Mexico makes me smile. I love being there.

It's important to notice the people, places, and things that make us smile. The smile means that there is a connection - a powerful and attractive connection. We should arrange our lives to move toward that which makes us smile and away from that which drains our smiles away.

Server Troubles...

If you are trying to access my main website www.lisahaneberg.com, you might not get through. My Internet Service Provider is apparently having server troubles. Hopefully it will be up soon. Fee free to email me at lhaneberg AT gmail DOT com with questions.

Technology......

The Storm Before the Calm

I got to thinking about my tendency to take on too much. Do you do that?

Adrenaline junkies jump off perfectly good bridges and out well functioning planes. And sometimes they create pressure situations that require their best performances.

That last one, that's me. I aim for the moon and then layer on the stars, planets, asteroid belts and a few comets. Too much is not enough - not nearly enough. It's gotta be darned near impossible to get my pulse racing. And then only when it reaches unfathomable do I start to perspire.

Pretty crazy.

Can I relax with this knowledge? That this is all made up? That I am the architect of my experience?

I guess I could relax but that would be highly out of character.

It's the long arduous storm before the brief calm where I become fully alive. The calm is brief because I am a junky. Always thinking about the next fix.

I just gotta chuckle at myself.

So that's what I am doing this evening as I simultaneously freak out (because I have only 9 days until I leave on my six-week motorcycle trip and I am not ready) AND decide to book a two day trip for this Friday and Saturday. Freak out, pile it on, freak out, pile it on, freak out....Everything will be fine. Better than fine, really. It will be great.

Make peace with your methods for bringing out the fully animated you. And don't be under any allusion that things will change. We all have a process that works best. I am just glad Bill is nothing like me because that would be too much overdoing it for one household (he has his own brand of crazy, of course, we all do).

This post is related to the last one because I have come to learn that breakthroughs occur when we find our flow or zone and then go with it. Not against it - with it. Polish with the grain. Find our rhythm.

When I was in the Silver City New Mexico area last year, I took a hike with a local Apache guide named Joe (I did an interesting podcast with him here). Joe said that dancing is important (he was talking about an upcoming Pow Wow) because the Earth needs to hear our songs. This makes great sense to me. The Earth really does need to feel and hear our individual rhythm and song of life.

Now I have the old Police song stuck in my head.... synchronicity....