A dream of mine had always been to go sky diving. I looked into a couple local places, checked on prices, weighed my options, and finally decided on a static line jump. I didn’t want to be tied to someone, but I liked having the safety measure of the parachute automatically opening up when leaving the aircraft. The big day came, and I sat through the training, and I practiced and read the altimeter and hung in the harness until it was time to suit up for the actual jump. The plane was a small Cessna that was modified with a step outside the door. The instructions were to put your feet on the step and, with a hand over hand approach, work your way to a certain spot on the plane’s wing strut, step off the step and hang there. The aerodynamics made it easy for you to hang there, not like trying to do a pull up in gym class, but more like floating in a pool on a summer day. The final thing you have to do before you are actually sky diving is to let go of the plane. Now, once you let go there is a person on the ground watching you, and they have a large arrow that they use to guide you back to the landing area. If you are going too far to the left, they point the arrow to the right, and you pull your right cord and start drifting right. If they are pointing away from you, just float and enjoy the ride. I had a little problem with the letting go part of this plan and hung on a little too long which meant once I finally did let go, all I was able to do was come straight back in for landing. I didn’t get to enjoy steering around and looking at scenery as I hung there from a piece of cloth.
Sometimes we have dreams and we know what we are supposed to do. We have coaches and we have mentors, but when the time comes are we able to let go of the plane? What things are you holding onto that are holding you back from being able to look around and enjoy what you are doing? Are you holding onto a job that you hate? Are you in a relationship that is hurtful or unhealthy? Are you hanging out with positive friends or colleagues?
After I landed, I had my parachute repacked and went up in the next flight. This time I stepped out of the plane, grabbed onto the right spot on the strut, floated for a second or two and let go immediately. I was able to do several full 360 degree turns in both directions; I saw the sun setting from the sky and it was an amazing experience. I ask again, what are you holding onto that is holding you back? Let go of the plane, and see what great things are all around you waiting for you to do.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Are you re-Tweetable?
Three guidelines to become re-Tweetable.
1. Does your message contain value?
Do I really have to ask this question? Do you really need to know the answer? Absolutely! If you tweet several times a day with little discernible value in your tweets, not only will you not be re-tweeted, but you may lose followers. On the other hand, if you tweet only once per week, but that one tweet strongly impacts me, not only will I re-tweet you, I am going to talk about you repeatedly. Most tweets fall somewhere in the middle between powerful and mundane. So what makes a tweet worthy of a re-tweet? That is what makes Twitter so useful. The saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” can be restated here to say “valuable tweets are in the eye of the reader.” I will re-tweet a short inspirational comment; I will re-tweet a topic about which I’m passionate; I will re-tweet events or appearances conducted by my peers. Why am I telling you this? You now know what value I will re-tweet. Watch not only what people are tweeting but also what they are re-tweeting; it will give you a glimpse into what is valuable to them.
2. Do not bait and switch.
If your message talks about a topic I am passionate about and contains a link, I always follow the link, for a couple of reasons. First, I want to make sure that the link actually works before I forward it on. Second, I want to make sure I believe in the entire message, not just what you say in the tweet. If you tweet about something specific but the link you provide is to something completely different, I will definitely not re-tweet you and will probably block you. Another bait and switch technique is to provide a link that should go straight to an article but actually takes me to your unrelated site which then must be searched for said article. This will also get you blocked on my list. On the other hand, if your tweet contains a brief summary of the topic and links to an actual article on a topic I am passionate about, I will be happy to re-tweet you.
3. Leave enough room for your name.
When you re-tweet someone, you need to credit that person. If you want your tweets to be re-tweeted, leave room for your name so you can also receive credit. If, after abbreviating every 2, 4, U and R, your tweet is still 140 characters then either, A) you will not be credited in the re-tweet, B) the end of your message will be cut short or C) even worse, your tweet will not be re-tweeted. If I want my message passed along in a re-tweet, I must leave 20 spaces available for “RT @larrystraining: ”. Your space needs will be different based on the length of your name.
I look forward to learning from you and following your tweets in the future and possibly re-tweeting you.
Larry Straining
1. Does your message contain value?
Do I really have to ask this question? Do you really need to know the answer? Absolutely! If you tweet several times a day with little discernible value in your tweets, not only will you not be re-tweeted, but you may lose followers. On the other hand, if you tweet only once per week, but that one tweet strongly impacts me, not only will I re-tweet you, I am going to talk about you repeatedly. Most tweets fall somewhere in the middle between powerful and mundane. So what makes a tweet worthy of a re-tweet? That is what makes Twitter so useful. The saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” can be restated here to say “valuable tweets are in the eye of the reader.” I will re-tweet a short inspirational comment; I will re-tweet a topic about which I’m passionate; I will re-tweet events or appearances conducted by my peers. Why am I telling you this? You now know what value I will re-tweet. Watch not only what people are tweeting but also what they are re-tweeting; it will give you a glimpse into what is valuable to them.
2. Do not bait and switch.
If your message talks about a topic I am passionate about and contains a link, I always follow the link, for a couple of reasons. First, I want to make sure that the link actually works before I forward it on. Second, I want to make sure I believe in the entire message, not just what you say in the tweet. If you tweet about something specific but the link you provide is to something completely different, I will definitely not re-tweet you and will probably block you. Another bait and switch technique is to provide a link that should go straight to an article but actually takes me to your unrelated site which then must be searched for said article. This will also get you blocked on my list. On the other hand, if your tweet contains a brief summary of the topic and links to an actual article on a topic I am passionate about, I will be happy to re-tweet you.
3. Leave enough room for your name.
When you re-tweet someone, you need to credit that person. If you want your tweets to be re-tweeted, leave room for your name so you can also receive credit. If, after abbreviating every 2, 4, U and R, your tweet is still 140 characters then either, A) you will not be credited in the re-tweet, B) the end of your message will be cut short or C) even worse, your tweet will not be re-tweeted. If I want my message passed along in a re-tweet, I must leave 20 spaces available for “RT @larrystraining: ”. Your space needs will be different based on the length of your name.
I look forward to learning from you and following your tweets in the future and possibly re-tweeting you.
Larry Straining
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Think Outside of the Bulb!
Imagine driving through the painted desert of Arizona, it is a warm dry day and you look to the side of the road just in time to see a single road runner speed by a hungry coyote. The coyote perks up and a light bulb appears above his head. Aha, an idea is born. The coyote makes a call and seconds later an elaborate setup is delivered to his door. He assembles it and the chase for dinner is on. Unfortunately things don’t go quite as he planned.
Imagine now that same coyote. The light bulb appears however this time he hesitates. Several more light bulbs start to appear with alternate choices. He takes the time to evaluate all the alternatives and finally he orders a contraption that has been well thought out. He executes his plan and ends up enjoying a fabulous dinner.
“Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it’s the only one you have.” - Emilé Chartier
In A Whack on the Side of the Head, one of the questions Roger von Oech asks is “What is the second right answer?” How much more productive would the coyote have been if he had not jumped at his first idea every time? How many times do we get an idea that doesn’t quite get us where we want to be because we stop looking for other solutions?
When you get that “Aha!” light bulb above your head, take a break to Think Outside of the Bulb and gather some more ideas, evaluate all the ideas and take action on the best solution. I think you will walk away with many more roadrunners following this approach.
“Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.” - John Steinbeck
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