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Own Your Life

November 22, 2007 Newsletter

Thanksgiving_3 Dear Subscribers,

Welcome to the Holiday edition of Own Your Life!

Today, here in the United States, it’s Thanksgiving Day. Tomorrow is Black Friday, the kick off of the traditional Christmas shopping season. Strange juxtaposition of names, if you ask me.

Of course, each year, this contrast typically invites comment on unchecked consumerism and the “real meaning” of the season. In the 90s, Ellen St. James, author of Simplify Your Life and Inner Simplicity, offered “opting out” as a tip for simplifying your life during the holidays. Of course, this was not a particularly new strategy. People were choosing simple avoidance well before the 90s – whether it was leaving town or checking out emotionally. So much for discovering the real meaning of the season!

So, what to do?

Continue reading "Own Your Life" »

Mobile Learning: Personal Branding Podcasts Now Available

Posdact_2 If you missed the November 8, 2007 Global Telesummit, A Brand You World, which featured 24 hours of programming on personal branding, or if you were only able to dial in for parts of it, here’s good news: the podcasts are available!

Now, you can go download all 24 sessions to your iPod and take this rich source of learning with you wherever you go, be it the gym, a business trip, or your daily commute. Chained to your desk? You can also access mp3s, at the event website.

Either way, don’t miss what Paul Copcutt, at Career Hub, calls, “quite probably the richest source of information and expertise on personal branding in one place on the web." 

Oh, and if you haven’t already done so, don’t forget to stop by social cause partner for the event, Kiva, to make a donation or loan. It’s a great way to help an entrepreneur in the developing world – and great career Karma for you!

Playing Big

Brand_you_globe I have the distinct privilege of being part of a team that delivered the November 8, 2007 Global Telesummit, A Brand You World, celebrating ten years of personal branding.

It was an amazing experience that was made no less incredible by the fact that the team orchestrated this event in just under six months – all while juggling their own full time jobs and businesses. And before you underestimate the immensity of this achievement, consider that the team needed to: build a website, recruit a world-class line up of speakers, put together a social cause partnership, find sponsors to provide needed resources, create a program schedule that worked for all, and get word of this event out to bloggers and journalists.

Certainly the team gained a lot of support and momentum from speakers, hosts, partners, sponsors, bloggers and journalists. Yet, there is an essential lesson in this; one that you can apply to your own life:

No one on this team played small!

The drive and ambition of team members was always clear. We set a big goal and stretched. Yet, coincidentally, just after the event, I found a quote that captures this basis for achievement. The quote is from Marianne Williamson; it has a spiritual quality, but the message is appropriate:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world."

She goes on to say:

"And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."

How about you? Are you playing big?

Update: Personal Branding Global Telesummit

Byw_meetme120sq Have you registered yet for A Brand You World? No? Well, do it now!

This history making event is set to kick off at 10:00 a.m. EST, on Thursday, November 8, and run for 12 consecutive hours.

Once you’ve registered, check out the Program Schedule; it has links to Speakers' bios and program descriptions that are posted on the event site. You can even post a question for the speaker (Hosts will do their best to work these questions into the session).

You can also visit JibberJobber, where Jason Alba has posted a side-by-side schedule with links to speakers’ own sites.

Just to give you a sense of how important this telesummit is, here are some event facts:

Continue reading "Update: Personal Branding Global Telesummit" »

Threshold Consulting

  • Walter Akana is a Life Strategist who works exclusively with mid-career individuals who want to achieve more self direction in their careers and lives. Give him a call at 678.938.9512.


Walter Akana

  • Walter Akana's Facebook profile

Kudos

  • “It was really great discussing my career direction with Walter. I found him to be attentive, a very good listener, engaging, and in a world full of negativity, very positive with a strong sense of purpose.” – Brad B., Health and Wellness Executive
  • "Your professionalism was superior to any kind of career counseling that I ever had before, and I felt we had a great working relationship. I was prepared and confident going into interviews; and felt like I had your support behind me, making it easier to show my abilities to potential employers. Based on your advice, I listed my top companies and pursued them. I truly believe it was the help and advice that I got from you that helped me to get the job I wanted with my first-choice company!" - Lindsay Seitz, Professional Pharmaceutical Representative
  • "Being in the thick of it for so long, I just couldn't see what my options were. Through your professional insight and expertise, you guided me through the process of identifying those skills that I could use in my 'second career'." - Eileen Kimble, Voice Over Artist and On Air Talent

    "You aided me a great deal by encouraging me to look at my professional identity, my likes and dislikes, and especially my authentic vocation. At first, I thought this was important information for reflection; yet, I had no idea that you would show me how I could transfer these necessary insights into a viable working portfolio." - Jennifer L. Manlowe, PhD

    "Thanks to [Walter Akana's] excellent advice in every step of the process, he helped me secure a position as a Spine Physical Therapist in one of Atlanta’s premier orthopedic clinics." - Doug Sturgess, PT, Cert. MDT

    Before I worked with Walter, I thought planning for retirement meant having enough money to live on. He has given me much more to think about; for example, how important it is to get started now on planning for how will I live my life and spend my days once I leave my career. - Cheryl B., Event Planner

More

  • Find more Kudos in my LinkedIn profile.