Time for a change

Two Hands Dancing has been around for almost 3 years.
A lot has happened in that time.

I reflect back on the beginnings as a complete novice in the world of small business operation. There are some things that I did well, which served me well at the time.
There are some big mistakes I made and thankfully have learned from.

As 2008 draws to a close and 2009 is set to roll on in, I have had to look more upon the mistakes of this past year and draw upon all my strengths to learn the lessons. Not only that, I have to look at how to implement the lessons.

It is one thing to think about all of the challenges from the past 12 months. It is a much bigger matter to TAKE ACTION upon the lessons learned.

ACTION is happening.
Two Hands Dancing will be no more in 2009.

It is time for a face lift, a new name and a new direction.

The lessons were harsh, and picking myself up from the dust left me with a few scars.
However, I am proud of what I have learned.
Sharper focus.
Wiser choices.
Much more deep-seated confidence
Gut instinct.

These are some of the lessons I learned.
The biggest change is in my confidence.
It took the HUGEST dive in the last 3 months.
A client let me down BIG time, and another ditched me unceremoniously from working with the company she represented. Not without making a harsh statement about my skill set.
I got the runaround from another client and in the end, the whole lot came crashing down on me. These three were major clients - and were responsible for significant cash flow into my business.

Lesson learned, indeed!

Of course, the wise will understand that it is never just one aspect of our lives that causes for us to be so vulnerable to breaking.
And so it was for me - it wasn't just my business situation that rocked my world.
There were other events taking place on a personal level that contributed to the downward spiral.
No one event was to blame.

Sure, I could have held a much more dynamic and optimistic view of the whole series of events.
Whether I did, and why I handled the events as I did, is a matter for me to consider.

Here I am, though, now on the other side of the experience, and much more wise.

Business will go on.
I am certain of that.
Two Hands Dancing is being renamed, and repositioned, and there will be a much more confident copywriter sitting at this PC as 2009 dawns.

What doesn't "kill" you makes you stronger!!!

Social Networking and Leveraging through the Internet

If you haven't already, you need to take
a deep breath and dive in head-first to
explore the social networking platforms...

I am only just discovering the huge value of the powerful internet networking platforms. (Okay, so I may be a little slower than others to embrace everything that comes my way!)

If the thought of participating in that "F*** book" thing (sorry - the FACE book) erks you badly, maybe do what I did, and find a way to look at the concept of it differently, and also look for others to be part of.

Seriously, you may be very foolishly hurting your business if you don't participate in these sites.

I'm all for cost effective and efficient marketing and ways to reach out and let others know what you do, and how what you do is helpful to them.
It is absolutely hugely valuable to capitalise on these services...

Take a look at the list I've offered below - in some cases I have given you links to just the sites, and in other cases I have directed you to those with my profiles or profiles for business people I hold in high regard, and can honestly call 'friend'.

Not all of the following links are social networking.
I highly recommend those that are designed to put businesses in contact with other businesses.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/twohandsdancing

http://www.ojeez.com/profile.aspx?id=760

http://www.podclass.com/peoplesmart

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1137741524

http://www.myspace.com/

There are literally heaps of these sites, and I am on others... however these are amongst the best.

If you haven't been too sure about whether you ought to join or register for any of these, contact me and I may be able to help you with some great advice, directly or through those who are already good with these things.

Go take a look - you may want to set an hour or two aside over one go or across the week, so you can absorb the details.

I'm sure it will surprise you and shift your thinking.

When it comes to it, you may need a helping hand with the copy... let me know.

Aussie Writer in the States

This is my first blog from the States. I'm in San Diego.
Not altogether different to Sydney, where I'd been for the last 11 yrs.

So, for me as a naive/inexperienced traveler, there was little culture shock to contend with. Just as well... the whole jet lag thing was definitely a weird sensation.
Knocked me about for a few days. Kind of crept up on me. I was a bit out of whack for the first day - not surprising after 13.5 hrs flying, sitting near the back of the 747 along with a screaming little child (poor thing must have been struggling with the pressurized cabin) and let's not forget the gang of 30-somethings who were determined to drink and talk for the majority of the trip, while leaning on the back of my seat...

The joy of flying in public transport.
Where was my private jet, I wonder?

After forcing myself to stay awake, from 6am on the day I was due to fly out, through until 10pm-ish on the day I landed in San Diego, I was disintegrating.
A night's sleep seem to put all things back in order.

Just when I felt a little aclimatized, I was off to a seminar for 3.5 days.
LONG days... 14hrs, late nights, early mornings, disrupted sleep patterns.

YEK!
When the seminar was over, the hype was over too. My body and my brain craved sleep.
I went to bed at a normal hour, got up next day in a semblance of normalcy.
Then got slammed by a sensation even more disintegrating than Jet Lag.
I slept 6 hrs during the day, and 10 hrs during the night and slept on and off, over the next 3 days.

Today, I've been in the States for 2 weeks.
I feel kinda normal.
Not too fussed on the water from the tap. It doesn't like me too much either :->

So, the main challenge is dehydration. Boiled, filtered water or bought-in water seem my only chance for hydration.

Met some great people.
A couple of ex-pats.
Sooo good to hear some good ol' Aussie vernacular...

"You beaut."
"Mate!"
"Gobsmacked!"
"Strewth!"
"True Blue!"
"Dinki-di."

Getting homesick.

Have the option to be here up to 90 days without a visa on holidays.
Not sure I could last that long.

I've been asked if I plan to get to Disneyland/world... so far, my answer is "not really"...
Maybe not this time around.

Still, this has been an experience so far.
The whole trip has taught me to be much more appreciative of the amazing life we live in Australia. We have some lessons to learn, as so many of us do, yet our culture is unique and refreshing.
My observations are that we could ditch that Tall Poppy Syndrome thing... what an attitude crisis it gives us. Rally in support of those who stand tall with integrity.
We would become a stronger country for it.
We could also do well to lose that 'Stiff Upper Lip - English coolness' that leads us to be less direct, overly reserved and stand-offish. Perhaps not 'lose', but certainly open our awareness to the times when it hurts us... when it causes us to shut people out, and put on a false facade of camaraderie.
As a writer, I would feel blessed if I could help generate small changes within the Australian Culture that created a warmer more open environment of love and acceptance.

I'm proud to be Aussie.
We are blessed. Undoubtedly.

(Yes even our weather is amazing. I do understand about that clarity and brilliance that is our weather-atmosphere. Here in San Diego, while it is great - though cool as we come out of winter time - the atmosphere seems somewhat washed out. Hazy without the haze. I just want to celebrate our weather. )

Terri
An Aussie Writer in the States.

Make this one personal DISCovery.

Like with most things, the more familiar we become with a topic or subject, the more it begins to register with little 'aha!' moments.

I had one of those moments recently, when involved in a conversation with a friend of mine.

He was telling me about a co-worker who is the least popular in the kitchen environment. My friend is a chef, and the co-worker is a kitchen staff member. There was conflict between them and as I listened to his story, I felt the "aha" moment hit me.

The "aha" was the recognition I had for the personality types, or styles, engaged in the conflict my friend was telling me about.

In the last couple of years, I have been becoming familiar with the concept of Personality styles.
I was generally familiar with Personality assessments through recruitment testing for employment. Psychology tests too, such as the Myer Briggs, the results of which indicate a person's personality type and cognitive style (way of thinking).
As a psychiatric nurse, I saw a lot of these in application.

I had yet to learn of the Marston model (DISC) for personality profiling.
In fact, I had not even considering profiling. Detective shows may have used Profilers to characterise killers, but that was television. In my non-celluloid world, I was not familiar with Profiling.

Then I met Carol Dysart, and my world slowly and steadily began changing.
I was learning a new language, the language of DISC - the Marston model, as I mentioned earlier.

DISC - the 4-quadrant personality model - is Carol's specialty. As a DISC Master Profiler, with over 25 years experience and thousands of profiles behind her, Carol is an expert in her field, with a gift for helping people find the key to self-awareness. Her technique is effective for showing you how you are as a personality style in given situations.

That's the best thing about the DISC model and about Carol's application of it. Carol is very aware that we are not one rigid personality style at all times. We fluctuate depending on the day, the events and people in our lives. DISC allows for this and provides a really powerful insight into who we are as people over time.

Through the power of DISC, you can learn what your weaknesses are, and make an interesting DISCovery about under- and over-using your strengths.

Go DISCover something potent and vital about yourself and your personality style.
Take a free DISC mini-profile by visting Carol's website at http://www.caroldysart.com/whatisdisc.html#free

The rewards will be amazing.

Discovering the way you think.

The festive season is quickly drawing to a close.
Yesterday was spent with family, and the gift giving was delayed till after lunch. We were so caught up in conversation and catching up that we had not even thought of the gifts under the tree.
It was our first Christmas with all the family living in the one state, rather than across the country.
Lots to catch up on.

As for the gifts, my brother had received a word card game.
Participants must guess a mystery word, based only on descriptions given by the card holder who knows the word, but cannot use typical or familiar phrases or other words to describe it.
A bit like Pictionary, without the pictures - verbal descriptions are used instead.

Well, we all discovered just how different our way of thinking was. We all struggled, and realised how much we took some of these words for granted. That is, we simply used them in conversation as though everyone understood the given word in any context.
Imagine describing 'Crystal' without being able to say "clear", Chandelier, Cut, Glass, or sand.
My first thought when I learned what the word was salt or sugar (crystals). All very well in hindsight!

When it came my sister-in-law's turn, she was far more articulate and we eventually claimed the answer within the time limit of the game.

Me?
Hmmm.
I made an interesting rediscovery.
Not a new realisation. Just a reaffirming of something I had long known.
I cannot seem to think in words.
Weird, huh!
A writer who does not think in words.
I had my card in front of me, and had the target word I had to describe, and the 5 key words I was not allowed to use in my description to assist in the clues.
For the life of me, all I could do was see this picture, bright, bold and colourful.
No words came to me, to describe the one word I hoped my family would guess.
Struggled.

I later learned when having a conversation with my brother, that I could not recall the name of the Television program I wanted to talk about with him. I knew the key word "Sea..." and I could very plainly see in my mind's eye the actors, the scenery of the introduction to the program. Could not even recall the name of the actors. Could only recall one of the other programs the female lead had previously been in.

I think in pictures.
Elaborate and very emotionally colourful pictures.

It's fascinating, when we think, how we think, to realise that we use this skill of recall to conduct conversation, business and social interactions.
Perhaps there is some scientific explanation for the differences in the way the brain selects the information it draws upon when we ask ourselves to sift through and find the right words.

For me, I simply rejoice in the fact that when a client asks me to produce copy, the gift I have been given lets me capture the essence of those wonderful mind pictures I see, and turn it into powerful copy.

Enjoy the way you think.
It is a gift.

When your success takes more than just you...

A team spirit makes the difference to your dynamic success.

I'd not long come from a business network meeting.
Business people were formally gathering to share about their business, to increase referrals and business leads.

I was surprised by the number of participants uncomfortable telling others about their business.
These people represented various business sectors:
Solicitors and conveyencers, electricians, deportment coaches, financial advisors, mortgage specialists, plumbers, website developers... many and varied.

If you were to ask them how important their business was to them, I am sure they would say "vital".

Being in business for yourself can result in financial freedom, time freedom, independence, personal wellbeing, family closeness... and so many wonderful other experiences.

To achieve these results, you must offer needed or desired goods or services.
You must also tell the world what you do!
How else will people know about you?

Sometimes, though, we may not feel comfortable talking about what we do.
In Australia, we have that dogged fear of Tall Poppy Syndrome - anyone who reaches success may be seen as "too big for their boots" or "bragging of their success" and we tend to like to level the social playing field.

The downsides of this attitude are many - and felt intensely by those who go into business for themselves.
How do they tell others how good they are at what they do, or how good their products are, without risk of being cut down to size?

There is one analogy that comes to mind.
I think it offers a solution to those who struggle to stand tall, and talk confidently and assertively of their goods/service and their business.

Something like; one arrow will break, yet bind ten together and the arrows are unbreakable.

If you don't feel strong enough to stand before your peers and market your goods or services, and do so with conviction, then find more "arrows".

Get together with some supportive peers and work together.
Find the one among you who has the voice and can speak on your behalf.
Select the one who has the ideas, the one who is analytical, the one who is the leader.
Each person will have their gifts to share and can help you build your own success.

You must take one action.
You must at least decide that you will find these people to help you promote your business.
Join groups, forums, your regional business committees, online newsletter services that offer great supportive information.

Sometimes your success will take more than you.
That's fine.
If your business means anything to you, do what it takes to find that success.
You won't regret it.
The lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
You will grow and be stronger and have richer experiences.

When you have a committed and focused team devoted to one cause, the flow on effects are astounding.

You deserve it.

Are we still in the "Information Era"?

We've been educated about the Eras of our times.
The Industrial Era
The Technological Era
The Information Era

In the 1800's Europe and the USA experienced major developments in methods of production, changing the face of industry forever.
Technology advances in the C20th influenced every human activity, and changed the pace of the world.
When the Internet became a public domain in the 1980's, communications were permanently affected. No more were we dependent upon the Postal services to deliver our hand written or type written messages. No more did we need to use the telephone to talk long distance. The Information Age was upon us, and we could transmit information via email, across the network at a pace never known before.
It has been said that those with power today are those who have access to information, and know how to manage it, manipulate it, disseminate it...

But, are we still in the Information Era?

It's more than 10 years since the Internet and the Personal Computer changed the way we communicate.

Of interest to me, and why I raised the question, is the view of Generation Y toward our current communications environment.

This group of young people - born between 1978-1994 - have never known life without computers, the internet, and all the technological advances of our time.
I was excited by being able to use the office's NT mainframe for my emails in 1996-97.
In 2006-2007, this young population use handhelds, and PC-telephones to send text messages, video images, photos, and other instant communications from almost anywhere, to almost anywhere else.

I read recently that GenY think that emails are passe, out of date, old-fashioned, BORING!!!!

If you've ever read a communication from a GenY, you're probably wondering what new kind of language these kids are speaking.
Phonetics are common and using numbers to replace word sounds helps abbreviate the words, and thus eliminate the need for spelling.
The general reason for this that most kids are sending text messages via mobile phones.
Mobile carriers offer a limited text field per screen. Longer messages going over the character limit of 145 characters will be sent in a second message.

Generation Y is impatient, focused on instant fix, and getting immediate answers.
Most have mobile phones or other devices that allow them portable access to the Internet.

They are the upcoming generation that will influence and shape the future of our lives.
I wonder if we are passing from the Information Era to a new Era - The Era of CerebroTech - where focus seems to be on creating faster technologies, providing immediate fixes, removing the need to have to think when technology can do the thinking for you...

A scary thought.
Very Real.
After all, who doesn't use a calculator to add, subtract, multiply, divide...
Why?
They're quicker and save us having to think.
Today's technology is just a rapid advance on that.

GenY rely on PCs, the Internet and a burgeoning techology, including the likes of Asimo (the Humanoid created by Honda), for their communications, information, and entertainment.

Will we - of generations past - be able to keep pace?