Event Summary | SV Forum: B2B Content Marketing Best Practices

B2B-Best-PracticesEarlier this week I attended the latest Marketing and Social Media event for SV Forum. The event focused on B2B best practices for content marketing and centered around the experiences of the CMO for Apttus. It was a rare evening event where there were not any slides.  [Read more…]

Focus, Review and Reflect

Focus, Review and ReflectOne of the ways I focus my attention during a meeting is by taking notes. Over the past month or so, I have been in at least two meetings a week. During those meetings I have taken several Evernote’s worth of notes. The notes help me to pay attention to the ideas presented.  [Read more…]

Positive is Easy, Negative is Difficult

Yes! We did it!Think about your day/week/month … Now consider the times when you felt the most tired, exhausted, defeated, etc.

What did those events have in common? [Read more…]

It’s Green Day | Happy St. Patrick’s Day

I wore my green today. Have you?

HAPPY-ST-PATRICKS-DAY

Changing Your World

Change, it’s inevitable.

For me the last few months have been full of nothing but change. I moved, started a new job, began changing everything at work, and then the icing on the cake … My fiance cheated on me and we broke up after 4.5 years together.

Now, I’m single in a new place and reevaluating what is important to me.

What was the last change you made that totally and completely rocked your world?

It’s Been One Month …

And, I love my job, I miss my friends and family, and I have started to explore my new home. Oh, and I can get a few places without the assistance of GPS.

Today, I participated in a MeetUp group loosely affiliated with the Santa Clara Open Space Authority. We explored a recently purchased property for the Authority in Coyote Valley. It was a beautiful sunny day with just the right about of wind to keep us cool while we walked.

I learned a few things today:

  1. The official California state rock is serpentine.
  2. There are Juniper’s growing in the hills here that doesn’t really belong.
  3. Cow pies really smell!
  4. Cows don’t have blue eyes, contrary to David’s belief.
  5. Coyote Valley has some of the country’s oldest oak trees.

Here’s a few of my favorite photos from today. You can see them all in my Flickr stream.

A view up the valley

 

A look through the top of the Oak tree.

Creative Celebration in San Francisco

I found this article from the Los Angeles Times to be very fun. The city of San Francisco will be celebrating Tony Bennet’s iconic song “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” by blasting the song and encouraging all to take a moment to sing at Noon on Valentine’s Day.

According to the article, it is, more or less, the 50th anniversary of when Tony Bennett first crooned the song in the Venetian Room of the Fairmont Hotel.

If I lived in San Francisco, I would participate. And, even though I’m in the Los Angeles area, I still might!

A New Perspective

This weekend, David and I went to the park at the top of Signal Hill. We’ve been there dozens of times, but this time we parked on the opposite side from usual and walked. What we saw was a quiet, cute neighborhood, and several memorials and sculptures the neither of us knew were there.

By getting out of the car and walking, we both noticed things we wouldn’t normally have seen. The new perspective forced us to be part of the experience and be present. Below are some of the new things we noticed, and some of the scenery. The light was fantastic.

The Unity Monument dedicated to the victims of 9/11.

An image of the sky on Sun., Jan. 22 looking North West.

Sculpture titled, "A Tribute to the Roughnecks." That's Bruce on the right and Jerry on the left.

So, what did you do over the weekend? Did you explore your neighborhood? What did you find?

Cheers to Catching Up with Long Lost Friends/Colleagues

Tonight I went to the monthly Mix event for AIGA/OC. It’s been several months (let’s say six) since I attended. I was reminded of the third Thursday monthly event by a Facebook post from a friend. Social media works, people. It got one extra person to the event tonight.

While there, I ran into people I haven’t seen in person on probably two years or more. It reminded me that it’s important to keep in touch with folks. Don’t forget to work your connections, you never know where the next piece of business will come from.

My list of people to contact for lunch or coffee dates has increased by at least four based on one evening. I’m committed to working through my contact list and networking. And, out of that there are infinite possibilities.

What possibilities did you create today?

“Bloom Where You’re Planted” from Via My Viewfinder

A rare moment when she's NOT behind the camera.

One of my best friends, Crystal has a photo blog – Via My Viewfinder – where she not only shares one photo a day, but along with it she makes observations about life, places she’s visited, quotes from friends and more.

A post from earlier this week has a striking pink flower and is headlined, “Bloom Where You’re Planted.” The post caught my because it’s all about making the most of what you’re doing right now. Yes, the grass is greener over there, but in order to get there, you must do the best at what you have now.

Read her post, it’s much better than my summary. And, don’t forget to comment.