Sitting in Tullinge, Sweden. Working remotely, sort of. And jamming with singers all over the globe.
I got the question in San Francisco last week which song I would sing if I went to karaoke. Now, my answer would be this one. đ
“No matter who you are, no matter where you go in your life, you don’t need somebody to stand by you…”
Join the tune. Or another one: Playing for Change,
Enjoy,
Johanna
Sharing the video of the day from Simple Truths.
The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale. I’m wondering though – is it that strange at this point? Either way, it’s a good reminder.
Consciously plant your seed of thoughts and actions. The harvest will be so much more enjoyable…
Enjoy your day,
Johanna
Goosbumps, for so many reasons. Watch and enjoy.
I had a conversation with a friend this weekend about the very first Internet experience. I remember when starting at Stockholm School of Economics 1995, and a friend had organized a business visit to a consulting firm where her friend was introducing us to this rather abstract concept of “The Internet”. Today, almost all of us are walking around with Internet access in our pockets.
Ponder: Given what you know today is possible with the Internet and technology, knowing what is important to you, and add a little bit of imagination – what would you want to create?
Now – share it!Eric Whitacre didn’t have the right technology to do this virtual choir of 2,000 voices when he started. He got it by announcing his project. Online.
Thank you Chris Kawaja for sharing!
Music moves,
Johanna
Just sayin’ – or singing… “Stockholm, Stockholm stad i vĂ€rlden” by Pugh Rogerfeldt
Stockholm, Stockholm, city in the world
Stockholm, Stockholm, the world’s city
Stockholm, Stockholm, great it is
Stockholm, Stockholm, makes me happy.
Have you planned your visit yet? Mmmmmmm, so beautiful.
You’re invited!
Johanna
DON'T GIVE UP!
Coming back from NYC this time I had one new thing to unpack: a package of magnets with the look of iPhone apps. Hm. As I put them up on my fridge, I was thinking – I guess it’s official: I am an apple nurd! Or fan, to choose a more flattering word.
My fridge has a number of photos of family and friends, and a few motivating cards and statements etc. The one card that draw my attention, that got surrounded by iPhone apps, had the message “DON’T GIVE UP!”. They had one thing in common. This very card I got when visiting a friend in London, the summer before starting my business studies at Stockholm School of Economics. I was spending a whole day in the city – shopping – and came home with one thing: this card. Summer of 1995. Since then I have moved more times than number of years that have passed, and it is still with me…
So now it sits on my fridge, surrounded by a reminder of my original business idea of Herringbone. The software – and app – that will support and inspire stories of change and positive impact. Maybe, if the idea still holds, I will get there one day. But there are many roads to Rome.
The main software I use today to get voices heard for positive change is another one. Objective Marketer, the social media marketing campaign manager. The core reason why I am doing what I do is still the same. Itâs not about marketing. Itâs creating a positive impact by using social media to reach out with your story or offering, making yourself accessible and provide others with something valuable for them to gain from, because they choose to listen. And at the same time reach those who express that they want what you have to offer, because social media can help you find them. Real time. Globally. Or locally. And create a social media community landscape of likeminded where demand and supply meet. I think that is a beautiful way to serve the world.
Now – what is your story? What is your dream to create? And is something holding you back?
A friend of mine shared the video in this link from Harvard Business Publishing on this topic: What is holding yourself back? with special focus on leaders and entrepreneurs. Maybe that will give a kick in the right direction.
Enjoy,
Johanna
1.11.11 Begin Again. If you would write a new chapter in your life…
Herringbone path
THERE’S A HOLE IN MY SIDEWALK – Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
By Portia NelsonChapter 1
I walk down the street.
There is a hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in. I am lost. I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter 2
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there. I still fall in. It’s a habit.
My eyes are open. I know where I am.
It is my fault. I get out immediately.
Chapter 4
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter 5
I walk down another street.
…. what would be the different path you would take this year? This quarter? This month? This Week? Today? Starting now? Just do it. Try it. What’s the worst that can happen? Or the best…? đ
Enjoy,
Johanna
Happy New Year.
That was the status update on facebook that I powered to make after a very long day, and a fun celebration in the evening counting in the new year with a dear old friend and many new.
But really â Happy New Year! [UMPF!] With other words: to read with power, energy and excitement. I canât wait for 2011 to unfold. How about you?
I had a conversation with the gentleman next to me at the New Years eve dinner table about intention for the year. Or statements. For example: his girlfriends statement was was âEnjoyâ in 2010. His was âGilla lĂ€getâ â e.g. as a consultant, whatever the clients situation was: like the situation. Mine the last two years has been âFreedom of creationâ.
Now: what about 2011? For my neighbor, we talked about singing. As a fun part of the eveningâs program they had listed a statement per guest and the names separately, so that you could make guesses and figuring out who is who. My neighbor was âthe best piano bar player in the roomâ. Did you sing too? I asked. âNo, who would want to listen to me? I am not schooled enoughâ. The guy had a great authentic and personal voice â that is what people want to hear. Start singing â show you! [Gosh! Itâs so easy to push others!]
So the search for 2011 intention/stake for him was around singing. I was looking for an expression â what is it we sayâŠ? Sing with full lungs? Sing with your heart. Sing from the belly? There is something else that is an expression with umpf. It didnât come to me at the time â but this is what we say in Swedish: Sing for full cups! (sjung for fulla muggar!). How come I didnât remember that one??? It really means sing with full speed, with all the power you have. No holding back.
What is your intention for 2011? What is your stake that you can hold on to, whatever you do? Really. Share it in the comments! Inspire others.
I like my old intention. If I would add a little umpf to it I would say Freedom of creation – with impact. This year â canât wait for it to unfold. One day at a time.
Happy New Year dear reader!
Johanna
Halo Phenomenon Dec 1 2010, Tullinge Sweden (LennartWennberg.wordpress.com)
Today my father would have turned 75. This very morning I get an email from a man – fellow blogger, Lennart Wennberg – from the suburb Tullinge where I grew up in Sweden. He had found me because I used the same tag #Tullinge in a previous blogpost and wanted to share a photo his son had taken from there. A circle of light – beautiful. Isn’t our nature pretty amazing!?
This is for you Dad – Happy Birthday!
Thank you Lennart for sharing the beauty!
Grateful,
Johanna
Grateful and inspired.
The thanksgiving class by Rusty Wells and assisting team at Urban Flow Yoga was out of this world. Grateful.
The presentation software Prezi that will kick powerpoint and keynote out of this world. Inspired.
Now – the first thing I have done for a few years. The last one for 2 hours. Inspired by Tom Shadyac and Jan Troell, I decided to film it.
With a handheld camera. [iPhone]. Combining the two. Sort of. Here it is:
And yes – music by Rusty Wells: “Govinda Adi Purusam”, album Bhaktify my Love.
And – if you are as lucky as I was when having tested the film, a short documentary about Urban Flow Yoga by Rusty came up. In case not – I have included it below.
Enjoy,
Johanna
And did you notice? The winter season is here! Snowflakes falling on the site. Don’t you love seasons?
Bonus!! This is the official Urban Flow Thanksgiving Video
Have you ever gotten a Love Shower? It is a pretty nice experience. I guess you could give it different names. Appreciation Shower. Acknowledgement Shower. You can do it one-on-one, or in group. Privately or publicly. You can do it in different occasions. Situations I have seen it in are:
It is like the absolute feel good movie Validation (do you remember â did you see it?) â but more focused and concentrated and times 10. Or times 100.
Imagine sitting in a circle with 10 people who you know to a more or less extent. Your task is to sit quietly and receive while looking into the eyes of the person who speaks. The others task is to one by one express what they love and appreciate about you. The strengths they see. How you have contributed. How you impact them. The gifts you have.
It can be extremely powerful. It can be quite surprising. They can call on things you were absolutely not aware of. They can call on things that are totally contradictory to your own inner critic. (Inner gremlins in life coach terms). It can make a positive mark for life that you can forever lean on.
Imagine standing in a circle of 100 students with whom you have participated in a global international conference. Your task is to write on three different pieces of paper a message to three different people, fold it and walk over and give it to them, so that they can bring with them home to their country as a memorable takeaway.
You can make a friend for life. Maybe someone feels like they have a friend for life.
I can give many more examples. Bottom line: you touch people deeply. You make people feel good. Appreciate themselves more. Be more aware of their strengths and their impact.
What if you, or we, do that more often. What if we by doing that shift a âbottom lowâ situation to âraise to the topâ. Maybe leaving on a high.
Bring this ritual to that set of situations:
What if you would leave something that could be very sad and heavy, with a high head and warm heart, knowing that this past epoch had many valuable memories, made a difference to someone or something and you were part of it. And it is something you can bring with you and do again.
What if the mandatory SOX procedure in HR for all companies was to have a Team Power Shower annually in addition to the occasion of anyone leaving, for any reason.
I think I just came up with another business idea. I know â it sounds a little flower power and out there. But I live in California after all. And why do we do these things? Because we can. And because it has great impact.
Who are you going to give a loving power shower next?
I would like to end with the expression that Tim Nichols at the Hub Soma (where change to to work) uses in the member distributed emails:
Of everyone who read this, I like you the best.
With love,
Johanna
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