August 11, 2009
Speaking of Impact is the magazine for professional speaking, events and conferences in Canada. It is published every quarter and has a lot of really great content. But, things have just gotten better. SOI, as it is known, is now online with additional content, blogging and video blogging. If you are a professional speaker, work in the events industry or just want to get some great content you need to check it out.
SOI Online: http://www.speakingofimpact.ca/
SOI Home Page:
http://www.canadianspeakers.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=30
Enjoy!
Paul
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Observations | Tagged: speaking, SOI, events, meetings, conventions, conferences, speaking of impact | 
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Posted by mindscape
August 8, 2009
I continue to be amazed at the power of the story. I was walking along a shopping mall recently and walked past a couple of “old timers”. You know the scene. They were holding court with each other on a bench, oblivious and completely aware of those people around them. And, what were they doing? They were telling stories of how things were and how they had made the right decision long ago at an important junction in their lives.
Last night, while perusing what was on TV, I realised how many reality shows there still are. Why? Because, we all love a good story. We love the story of the hero, the underdog, the opponents, the good and the evil. And, we get all of that from these shows. We get people who are often larger than life living out a “play” where we get to see a very human story act itself out.
Why are these stories so important for the old timers and the reality TV stars? Because we are essentially defined by the collection of our own stories. Both people define their self-worth in what they’ve done and what they’re planning on doing.
You are your stories… happy writing!
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Posted by mindscape
August 7, 2009
This is not going to come as a surprise to anyone, especially those who read my blog…. but, you can learn a lot from kids if you choose to.
I had a belief reinforced recently when I watched my kids after what had been a couple of long days. We had been packing the days a fair bit and needed to have a couple of later nights. What did this mean? Our boys were starting to get fatigued. Not fall on your face tired, just grumpy tired.
Fatigue causes performance loss. And, the worst kind is not the kind of tired where you go to work completely worn out. I’m talking about just a little tired. It can be insiduous. You don’t see how your performance changes. Or, the kind of decisions you make… or don’t make. You don’t see the subtle little changes that happen to your manner and your manners. People around you don’t know quite what it is but they don’t enjoy your company as much.
It’s very much like kids, except that they are more external and overt about it. They may get grumpy, stamp their feet, cry or even get very quiet… it’s all the same thing. They are telling us that they need more rest… and likely that we need more rest too.
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Posted by mindscape
