This morning on the drive in, I stopped to help some folks whose car needed a jump.  It took about 2 minutes.  They were happy, I was happy, and my whole day immediately changed to a flavor better than ice cream.  Yummmm!

I already tweeted a version of the opening paragraph because I thought it was a fun thought to share, but it also ties in with the fun time this weekend at the Redbull Soapbox Derby that I was already planning to tell you about.

The Derby took place in several blocks of downtown Los Angeles on September 26. There were a lot of people in a small amount space which meant we didn’t get to see much of the actual runs, but there were also large screens so we waited at the finish line area and watched the precarious journeys down Hill Street, through the straw bale chicane, over the jumps (lots of air, often too much) and down to the finish at 5th and Olive.

These were some fun vehicles and crazy drivers and it was hot (92).  Could have done with some of that ice cream, but water was good. We stood and watched and sweated rivers and laughed some more.  When the jumbotron went out, we just watched the people and admired the buildings and chatted.

Anyway, thought I’d share with you a peek at the good people of L.A. last Saturday.

soapbox-1

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 25

P.S.  Note to self: need to get out more, there’s still a world of fun out there!

I’m at my son’s football game late last week.  It’s the 4th quarter and dusk, looks like we’re going to win.  Suddenly a large (3 or maybe 4″ long) flying something lands on my left forearm.  The mom friends either side of me freeze and/or squeal and want it to go away, but being the lover of creatures big and small that I am, I know a little about critters and I say wait, it’s fine, this gentle giant is a moth, it doesn’t even have a mouth to bite me with.

We sit for several moments, someone takes a picture, and then I encourage the moth to climb up on my right forefinger and I raise it up.  Its wings go to the upright position, and as it gathers momentum I can see the yellow spots on its abdomen.  Then it takes off, leaving a trail of frightened shrieks and squeals as it swoops low over the bleachers.

Here’s the picture that was taken – it’s blurry so you can’t see the detail, but you can see the size.  Yikes, right!?

I’m pretty sure it was a Five-spotted Hawk Moth – so I’ve added a picture of one of those in its full glory, courtesy of Wikipedia.

Driving happily home from the game I thought, hmmm, I feel a little life metaphor coming on: just how fear of the unknown can block so much enjoyment and appreciation of the truth.

Be brave on your journeys, my friends, things are so often not what we think they are.

The previous post reminded me of something important and I wanted to share it with you.  It’s all to do with raising boys and using practical diversion as an enabler for communication about something emotional.

In the late 1990’s I became a single mother.  My son was 3 and a half. I felt I could cope pretty well with raising my son on my own but when I tried to do the things dads do so naturally – things like rough-housing and the way guys set different exploration standards (no, no, you can’t let him do that it’s too dangerous, or he’s too young, or he’s not big enough, cry the Moms), I knew I was going to fall short. I tried, but I’m a woman not a man.  I let that part go but it made me really think about what was going to be important for our relationship thru the years ahead.  What we were going to need was to be able to communicate really well with each other and I realized I didn’t exactly know how to do this.  I am one of three girls, raised by Mum who was an only child.  I’m talking all girls, all the time.  My father had left us early on and was non-communicative.  So what I’m saying here is I had no experience with boys in a direct family context.

I did my research and came upon this book.

The element that I was reminded of today being:  if you need to talk to your young sons about something on a more emotional level, start working on a practical project together and then bring the subject you need to discuss into the conversation.  Keeping some focus on the project seems to reduce or take the stressors out of talking about a more emotional or anxiety-ridden subject (i.e., is something bothering you, or I heard something happened at school today let’s talk about it, etc.).  Women know talking about stuff is important, this is a mechanism to make it happen with your sons that works.

So any mothers of boys out there, particularly if you’re on the single parent path like I was, please read this book.  It’s important.  More so today than ever before I think.

The arrival of September begins a period of intense enjoyment for me.  Mostly related to my son’s participation in high school football.  I note in myself several layers, all shifting and adjusting during this period.  Having football first in line in my focus, means other priorities shuffle back a step.  What I’ve realized this does not do is lessen their importance, instead it lessens the pressure, anxiety, stress, I feel about them.  That’s a really good thing and something I’d like to maintain all year if I could, and I’ll be working on it.  However, for now I stand up and say, Hi, my name is Gillian and I’m an adrenaline junkie.  And oh boy, that rush I feel watching from the high school bleachers!

‘[Wikipedia] “Adrenaline junkie” is a term used to describe somebody who appears to be addicted to epinephrine (endogenous) and are sometimes described as getting “high” off of life. The term adrenaline junkie was popularly used in the 1991 movie Point Break for people who enjoy dangerous activities (such as extreme sports) for the adrenaline rush. Adrenaline junkies appear to favor stressful activities for the release of epinephrine as a stress response. Whether or not the positive response is caused specifically by epinephrine is difficult to determine, as endorphins are also released during the fight-or-flight response.’ Whether it’s the epinephrine or the endorphins that do it for me, I really don’t know.  I just know I definitely get high on life whatever I’m doing.

My daredevil days are long-gone (I’m a little too responsible and a lot too old now), but I still push myself, test my limitations, rise to challenges.  That must be part of my warrior DNA.  And speaking of warriors: Go West High Warriors!

Anyway, September of course heralds the Fall – Autumn, as I knew it back home in England. Having lived in California for almost 30 years, I’m used to the fact that the Fall isn’t really much to speak of in foliage terms.  Yet there are trees that turn and leaves that drop, rustling onto the sidewalks, and the neighborhood hues change.  The morning mist begins to smell different.  It makes me think of my home, my family all there, and I draw comfort from that reminiscence.  I may be far away, but I never forget.

Happy Birthday Clare, I love you… and Go West High Warriors! (I know, I said that already).

As I currently maintain one foot in the corporate world, from time to time I come across magazines and other periodicals aimed exactly there and often find great thought-provoking articles, hidden treasures if you will.  Here are some snippets from an article in the August 2009 issue of Chief Executive, written by Soumitra Dutta, Roland Berger Chaired Professor of Business and Technology, and Matthew Fraser, senior research fellow at the INSEAD business school in France, coauthors of “Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom: How Online Social Networking Will Change Your Life, Work and World”.

“CEOs are becoming aware that the Web 2.0 explosion is not just a technical phenomenon, but represents a fundamental shift in values and perception that can enhance value.”

“CEOs have long functioned in closed, bunkered environments, operating according to an “I know best” ethos…  The Web 2.0 model assumes that the CEO does not know it all…  This requires a great deal of openness and humility – both core values to the Web 2.0 leadership.”

“Most companies regard communications as a “push” function… This form of communicating rarely provides a conduit for immediate two-way feedback…  The Web 2.0 model, by contrast, encourages proactive use of platforms like blogs and Twitter to have authentic conversations with key stakeholders both inside and outside the company…. Communicating is not a “push” function; it’s a conversation based on a two-way dialogue.  Sometimes it’s even a networked discussion.”

“Many CEOs, in a word, are structurally prevented from learning…it is easy to see how a traditional leadership role can produce nonoptimal results, if not serious dysfunctions.  The Web 2.0 model, by contrast, affirms that anybody can be a source of knowledge.”

Here’s the full article:  Why – and how – so many CEOs are suddenly embracing Web 2.0

And so can you see how this caught my attention?

I am frequently struck by the yawning gap that exists between the two working worlds I operate in, and acknowledge the leap that so many people have yet to make. I found this article very encouraging and hope I can provide similar encouragement to clients and friends who continue to struggle with the change in mindset needed to embrace Web 2.0 in their business structure.  That article, particularly being published where it was published, suggests to me that the corporate tide is turning finally.

Pretty darn exciting don’t you think?