Hand in hand

I'm not an astrology believer, but the other day I found myself sitting in the car listening to an astrologer making predictions for 2013. He was trying to explain that he's only the bearer of news and it's not really his fault the theme of 2012 was, has been, recession. And then he stressed the key term of 2013: collaboration.

He said something along the lines of Marin Luther King Jr.:

 We must all learn to live together as brothers or we will all perish together as fools. We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. For some strange reason I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be.

Or John Donne:

No man is an island entire of itself.

Or Cloud Atlas:

Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others. Past and present. And by each crime; and every kindness we birth our future.

So here, to close 2012, is one of the best Prezis of past year to start the new one. A Curriculum for Future Minds (a.k.a what the next generations seriously need to know) by Sunni Brown as seen by Amber Lewis

Happy New Year to All!!

Lots of love, health and happiness!!

Over&out,

Dora

Pay it forward

I want to keep things light this Christmas - sometimes a little bit of kitsch is good for the soul, and there's plenty of it during the holidays season.

What I especially like about this time of the year is people coming together and being kind to each other (provided they actually get the point of it all).

So this Christmas do something nice for someone. And don't expect things in return. Tell them to pay it forward.

May these days pass in peace.
Love to all, no matter how far your are...
Be safe, healthy and happy!
Over&out
Dora

 

How does putting a ding in the universe sound?

Money makes the world go round is a famous cliché, but is it true? Are sticks and carrots really the key to motivation?

There are people around this world coming home from their paid jobs who continue working in their free time. This work can constitute volunteering of any kind, programming of any kind, design, music, writing, teaching, coaching, searching for ideas and solutions. I'm obviously one of them. Last night, after an exhausting day I sat down and started blogging. Two of my friends asked me WHY?! with a mixture of why don't you just go to sleep? and laughter (they know me too well). I didn't tell them but I asked myself the same thing. And this morning, an answer came:


 

Remember - autonomy, mastery, purpose.

Have a happy International Volunteering Day 2012!

Click on the picture for a bit of inspiration! 

Now go and put a ding in the universe! ;)

All my love,
Dora

Stage fright and other ghouls

Have you ever found yourself asking: "How and why did I get myself into it in the first place?" about an hour before having to step out in front of a group of people? Public speaking is a tricky thing and the trick about it is to make it look easy, appealing even - which makes the pressure even higher, if you're one to feel it. But the hardest bit is stage fright. Or to put it in the words of FDR (inaugural speech, March 1933):

So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

and Sir Francis Bacon (De Augmentis Scientiarum, Book II, Fortitudo (1623).):

Nothing is terrible except fear itself.

I don't think fear is necessarily something bad - if observed and learnt from it can be precious (not to mention it saved a lot of our ancestors from hungry bears and angry crowds). Sometimes there are things to be afraid of.

The point is for it not to stop us in growing and changing things for the better.

There is a potential to go on a downward spiral before having to give a presentation, but once you did get yourself into public speaking, there's no point in analyzing how, but (as always) focus on what you can control:

1. Make sure you're comfortable and comfortably acquainted with the subject matter of your talk.
2. Preparation, preparation, preparation - but be kind to your voice and tailor the preparation to yourself: some people need to go through all the details, some do the work in a very short time and without saying a word.
3. Find three points in the audience to look at - you won't be able to look at everyone if there are a lot of people there. Kind faces help the situation. 
4. Have some water available.
5. Take your time before the event. Do whatever you feel is good for you. 
6. Try to be aware of your body language.
7. Breathe.
8. Speak.

Everything in life is taking a chance: sometimes smaller, sometimes greater. No gain is certain only if no chance is taken. 

All my love, 

Dora

This one's not for travellers...

...or photographers, because they already know it. It's for those stuck in an apocalypse they just can't get out of.



Have a really good day!!
Over&Out
Dora