Loving Life Blog

Spur of the Moment Reflections

Yebo Gogo! Freedom! April 28, 2012

Yebo Gogo! Sounds like a new site. A new movement maybe. Sporty. Getting things done? How about a new app!?

Have you thought of creating your own app sometime? What kind? For which platform? How about a mobile webb app?

If you do, there are a number of things to consider.There is an article in Mashable Tech that summarizes it well. These are the key questions covered:

8 Things to Know Before Building a Mobile App

1. What Does It Cost to Make an App?
2. What Should You Charge for Your App?
3. When Will You Get Paid?
4. How Do You Write Your iTunes Description?
5. What’s the Best Way to Beta Test
6. What Happens When You Get Featured on iTunes?
7. How Do You Get Press?
8. How Do You Avoid the Spam?

“If you’re new to the app game, prepare for some sticker shock. Making an app will cost you, at the very minimum, around $10,000. This is for a super-simple program — none of that fancy enterprise or social networking jibber-jabber. Even still, any app worth its weight in code will likely cost you closer to $20,000.
Unless you have some basic design skills, you’ll need to enlist the help of both a programmer and a designer. And these guys ain’t cheap — particularly programmers who, thanks to a pronounced shortage of qualified coders, can pretty much name their prices. (A suggestion for those low on funds: Find some creative way to come up with the cash. I funded my app through Airbnb income.)

Airbnb – I know more people doing that. I met a super nice South African woman, a social media professional peer, who used Airbnb while traveling. I had a drink with her yesterday and had the opportunity to celebrate South Africa’s Freedom Day. 18 years since the first post-apartheid elections was held April 27, 1994. They were the first national elections in South Africa in which the franchise did not depend upon race.

14 years since I was in South Africa with “Project South Africa’98”, a student initiative by 13 students from the student association AIESEC at the Stockholm School of Economics in Stockholm, Sweden. We did a study on “Affirmative Action and Employment Equity in Corporate South Africa” and organized for 7 South African students to come for an internship in Sweden. A fantastic experience.

With that I just want to say: “We are all one” – that is also what a skull symbolizes to me. Therefore this and my first Instagram photo of a Swedish candy, to die for… 🙂

© Yebo Gogo! – Freedom! Raise your glasses! And no, it’s not an app – yet. But I just got an idea… Yebo Gogo – it means Yes Grandma!

See, how it’s all connected!? Or is it that you see what you are looking for? If that is the case – then look for the good stuff!

Enjoy,

Johanna

I can warmly recommend Airbnb – a great way to travel and meet local, great people.

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I am like an IKEA chair April 27, 2012

I think I got the best complement ever last week when I asked Rakesh about his perception of me, or why he asked the question the day before “if I am an excited person”.”Do you think I am?”, I asked him. The response was: “NO, I don’t get you. You are like an IKEA chair: you have a really good idea, and you are about to produce it not knowing that the market really wants it, and you will sell for a billion dollars”.

The truth of the matter is: I do believe that the market want this.
And funny enough: I already had IKEA in my vision statement.

This is my 2010 Dream – Vision – Purpose – Mission – statement, per the Michael E. Gerber E-Myth/Dreaming Room model:

Dream (WHAT):

To enable and capture transformational journeys worldwide.

Vision (HOW):           
To create the IKEA of transformational journeys documented.

Purpose (WHY & for WHOME):
Enable every individual who wants to make a change in their life and impact in this world to reach their dream, and at the same time inspire others.

Mission (HOW):
Create a state of the art journal software that will help the user ENVISION the future, EMBRACE the presence and ACHIEVE more than imagined, with the output of a well designed e-book or printed book.

Not only has Facebook and Timeline become, sort of, one of the competitors. Now, seeing the below video from CNN, I am  fearing that IKEA itself is tapping into my field… Although, the Herringbone solution is much more straight forward. 😉 I bet you would be willing to give it a try.

Enjoy,
Johanna

http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=showbiz/2012/04/24/conan-assembling-ikea-furniture.tbs

 

Tell A Story Day – With a Red Thread

I was curious about the origin of the apparently in US and UK celebrated “Tell-A-Story Day”. Today April 27th every year in the US and 6 months later in the UK. So I find out that the “World Storytelling Day” has a bit more of a known history. It started around 1991 or 1992 in Sweden and has spread around the world.

I’ve been told that I find a Swedish connection to anything. It just so happens.

That said: grab the opportunity! Which story will you tell today? Which story could you share that would make someone laugh, learn, or lead? What is the “read thread” in your life story? Share it from your heart.

Go do it! I am going to share a story about IKEA…

Enjoy,
Johanna

The read thread in story is a direct translation from the Swedish expression “den röda tråden”, meaning: the connecting dots, the “main thread”, a theme reappearing in several connected texts or phenomena.

I like the other symbolisms that are out there too, such per Wikipedia:

The red string of fate, also referred to as the red thread of destiny, red thread of fate, and other variants, is an East Asian belief originating from Chinese legend and is also used in Japanese legend. According to this myth, the gods tie an invisible red string around the ankles of those that are destined to meet each other in a certain situation or help each other in a certain way. Often, in Japanese culture, it is thought to be tied around the little finger. According to Chinese legend, the deity in charge of “the red thread” is believed to be Yuè Xià Lǎo (月下老, often abbreviated to “Yuèlǎo” [月老]), the old lunar matchmaker god who is also in charge of marriages.

 

Are you excited? April 18, 2012

Filed under: Herringbone,Inspiration — Johanna C. Nilsson @ 7:28 am
Tags: ,

I got the question yesterday from a visiting, fairly new, friend of mine: “Are you an excited person?” “Me? Yes… I am smiling – can’t you tell?”

What type of question is that? I should have asked: what is the perception of me? I will ask him. Later. What do you think?

Right now, the answer would be clearly: hell yeah! How could I not be?

Waking up 6am after 5 hours of sleep with this song in my head:

If I didn’t have a guest sleeping in the other room I would put it on speaker and sing it out loud. And if this video didn’t have the lyrics I would make up my own.

From now on I am not going to say “could I bounce an idea with you?”… Or “I’ve got an idea…” – because that is not how it feels like.

From now on I will say “Please, speak with me – I have a bomb – and it’s a darn good one”. That is, how it feels like.

Thank you Rakesh and those of you else (Thomas Fogdö, Rosh Khan, Gerome, Dorian, Will, Sturdy, Laura, Carlx2, Helene, Emma… The list start to grow) who thinks it’s a great idea. I’ve started taking “that’s a crazy idea” as a complement. It has got some power in it!

Feel the excitement – keep the momentum – and go do it! Maybe I can go and sing that song quietly in the shower?! It’s gotta come out… 🙂

Good start of a new day. Hope it rubbed off on ya’!

Enjoy,
Johanna

 

Well, that flight was interesting! April 12, 2012

Filed under: coaching,Entrepreneur,Herringbone — Johanna C. Nilsson @ 5:36 pm
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Love flights. Just had an open conversation with the woman, entrepreneur and coach, next to me on the plane to Utah. We spoke about my Herringbone software/platform – supporting and capturing journeys of change worldwide. Even pulled up the two year old investor pitch.

This was the reaction:

“People need this. The world need this. This is heart and soul. And future.
[…]
You can give me that!? I want that. Get some funding this weekend. I want to be cutting edge with my coaching. I’m a California girl now – oh yes – that’s what you got to be!”

Anne Martin, who went from lawyer, to 18 year entrepreneur, to reinvention coach and recently moved to San Francisco.

Well, that was an interesting flight! What an injection of inspiration and confirmation.

Want to invest in me!?
Johanna

 

It Makes Me Feel Love April 11, 2012

Filed under: coaching,Health — Johanna C. Nilsson @ 5:25 pm
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…what is it that you love that would bring your voice and life back should you be in this position?

For me – music, yoga, dance. If you ever see me with my head down – that would lift me up. And even if I know it, it is easy to forget. Even without Alzheimer.

It’s not a coincident that I together with Emma,  my partner in crime in a Co-Active Leadership Program, created a workshop called “Dance to the voice of your core”.

May we never forget. Put on the music and get movin’! Do you feel that spring is in the air?! 😉

Enjoy,

Johanna

AND DO SEE this movie. To the end. – The full article is in today’s Mashable.

Love is in the air. Do do do, do do do….

 

The Baby or The Bone April 9, 2012

Filed under: coaching,Herringbone — Johanna C. Nilsson @ 6:04 pm
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Yes, No or Always?

Life is full of choices. Some choices are easier to make than others. For some people it is easier to make a choice than others.

At the end of the yoga class with Rusty Wells this past weekend we, the students, were given the choice:

1) Happy Baby’s Pose

or

2) Fish Pose

It made me think back of the time when I chose my business name. Herringbone. Symbolism is of importance to me – that name is loaded with symbols and “the reason why”. I wanted to make sure that it also made sense for the yoga community. What I had in mind to create with Herringbone did also apply to them. In the middle of a yoga class back then, we were guided to some movements – I misunderstood, and thought that another name for Happy Baby’s Pose was Fish Pose. What a perfect coincidence! I thought. Even better is that, Fish Pose has an impact on the fifth chakra in yoga which is located in the throat and focuses on communication. Herringbone is about communicating, and making voices heard for positive change.

And to quote Rusty: “If you choose Fish – don’t eat one – be one.” The good thing with being a foreigner in another country is that you can make sense of things, the way it relates to you or your language. This one fully does. Be a Fish – communicate well. It’s obvious – no?

If you have difficulties to make choices, one approach to get out of that is to simply make powerful choices. Make them fast and clear – feel how they feel – stay with it, or make a new one. This is – by the way – coming from the practicing master ;).

Or Happy Easter Pose?

If you want more choices than the Fish Pose or the Happy Baby – check out this image – it’s all yours, it is Easter after all.

If you want them all – go for it! Why cut ourselves short if we don’t have to?

Johanna

The story about The Bone – I might have to save for later…

 

 
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