Thank-You Maya

The world lost a great mind and mentor this week. Dr. Maya Angelou was 86 when she passed away in her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The St. Louis native and Pulitzer Prize nominee gave us a seemingly endless list of great works and shared her thoughts and wisdom through her books, poems, speeches, and tireless inspiration.

We'll let her have the last words.

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.

Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it. 

My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return. Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.

We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Nothing can dim the light which shines from within. Nothing will work unless you do. 

You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.

A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song. 

One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.


__________________________________________________________________

getty | voavideo

Are People Important to You?

We marvel at those who appear fearless in their pursuits. We look for inspiration from individuals who seem to know exactly what they want to do.

We may think they've done it all on their own but if you believe in Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers theory (which I do), none of us is self-made. Conversely, none of us need to do it on our own. In fact, we need each other to help us get there.

No Experience Necessary

To make the dangerous assumption you don't require experience and perspective from others can only hurt you. To create a matrix that you have it all figured out, your way is always best, or worse, you need to figure it all out, can hold you back. It often personifies in arrogance which makes the climb even more difficult and lonely.

Look at the people in your life offering to help and thank them. Extend your hand to help others. Collaboration is not a hashtag or a word to put on a t-shirt. The realistic optimist in me thinks you want a better work culture while the recovering cynic hopes you mean it. It takes a village to raise a child and a network to grow a career.

Four words we shouldn't forget – can you help me.
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | Leadership Strategist, consultant, writer, speaker, executive coach facilitating performance growth with leaders, management, and teams.

knealemann

The Power of the Human Network

Our People are Important to Us

I am what some might call a realistic optimist. I go into each situation with hope but know that the world is not made of lollipops and rainbows. I want everyone to get along and treat each other with respect. That is not always the case, not everyone operates from a place of integrity. We need to be strong. We need to move business along. But we can do it with compassion. This goes beyond customer service.

The social web is a wonderful place to meet people who think like you and share your values and passions. They can live next door or across the world but the connection is there on a level you can't easily explain. There are human beings behind each blog post and tweet. They have hopes and fears, stress and victories. And we can connect with them if we give the process its due care.

What Do You Do?

Since I am not a painter or a plumber, the answer is not always clean and tidy. I help businesses do business better. My offering is not as a social media guy or a marketing guy. My first step is to decipher how I can help improve what you are doing. We can get into social channels and websites and marketing plans and strategy after that is established. Without our desire to get there, we will never know when we arrive.

With channels like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus or Empire Avenue, we have the opportunity to lead blended lives. If we connect with authenticity, work and develop friendships at the intersection of collaboration and then pick up a phone once in a while to connect on my favorite social network - person to person.

Admiring Trailblazers

We marvel at those who appear fearless in their pursuits. We look for inspiration from individuals who seem to know exactly what they want to be doing. Yet we call them self-made and if you believe in Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers theory (which I do), none of us is self-made. If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes true human collaboration to clear a path to our passion.

Thank you for dropping by here. And thanks to those who have invested their time in helping me get better. Look at the people in your life offering to help and thank them. Then extend your hand to help others. Collaboration is not a word to put on a t-shirt.

Are You Ready to Inspire?

Kneale Mann

image credit: onebrowncow
original posted May 2011

Collaboration | The Human Experiment

Our People are Important to Us

I am what some might call an realistic optimist. I go into each situation with hope but know that the world is not made of lollipops and rainbows. I want everyone to get along and treat each other with respect. That is not always the case, not everyone operates from a place of integrity. We need to be strong. We need to move business along. But we can do it with compassion. This goes beyond customer service.

The social web is a wonderful place to meet people who think like you and share your values and passions. They can live next door or across the world but the connection is there on a level you can't easily explain. There are human beings behind each blog post and tweet. They have hopes and fears, stress and victories. And we can connect with them if we give the process its due care.

What Do You Do?

Since I am not a painter or a plumber, the answer is not always clean and tidy. I help businesses do business better. My offering is not as a social media guy or a marketing guy. My first step is to decipher how I can help improve what you are doing. We can get into social channels and websites and marketing plans and strategy after that is established. Without our desire to get there, we will never know when we arrive.

With channels like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and the latest one to get the buzz, Empire Avenue, we have the opportunity to lead blended lives. If we connect with authenticity, work and friendship meet at the intersection of collaboration.

Admiring Trailblazers

We marvel at those who appear fearless in their pursuits. We look for inspiration from individuals who seem to know exactly what they want to be doing. Yet we call them self-made and if you believe in Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers theory (which I do), none of us is self-made. If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes true human collaboration to clear a path to our passion.

Thank you for dropping by here. And thanks to those who have invested their time in helping me get better. Look at the people in your life offering to help and thank them. Then extend your hand to help others. Collaboration is not a word to put on a t-shirt.

Who will you inspire today?

Kneale Mann

image credit: flickr