God's magic in the world...

Last night being the first Monday of the month, I had the plan of attending "ReVision Your Life" which would be through the ReSolutions Meetup group though Mother Nature threw a monkey wrench into that. By the time I realized that the location would be closed I was already there and figured, "Ok, something is up here so I'll check my e-mail." There was a message that the organizer changed the format to a webinar and so I just switched to a backup plan at this point.

That plan being "Tehillah Monday" where I was earlier in the day helping the bands set up as the previous week I had my original plans fall through and this was something someone suggested and so I figured, "Do I really have something better to do? Not really." Thus, I show up at 6:30 and notice a few people going into the church at this time that seems really early.

While the music was quite something there were a few other things that also seemed oddly poignant for me:

Fashion notes - I decided to wear my "Creator's Code" shirt on this day just as something that would be neat yet at the end of the night I was asked about it and had a lovely conversation with someone about it. There was also someone that wore these sparkly pants that I doubt I'll get out of my head anytime soon.

Offering - As an offering is taken there is a question put forth for those in the audience in need of a job to put their hands up and this would be one of a few times in that night where up goes my hand as I am in that situation. While there isn't really any judgment here externally, there is that internal sense of failure for being in this situation where I either be honest and put up my hand or I hide from the world which would be my old style. I go for the hand up and have one of a few crying moments on this night.

Altar call - This would be the big "A-ha"-y moment where in the first round of calling people forward, I thought, "That isn't for me. I had my Jesus intellection throw down 2 years ago and got baptized that Easter, this couldn't be for me." Anyway, a second call is put forth and this time I sense a, "Go do this and see what happens," to which being in the second row I'm not moving far but I figure I owe it to myself if noone else to go do this. Now, this leads to the ~40 of us being led into the Chapel and this would be where I'd claim the 2nd box of Kleenex for me to start going through as I am just ridiculously emotional on this night. Quite intense and yet I tell my story as calmly as I can and get a new Bible and think, "Eeeek, where do I go from here?" I kind of felt like I had outed myself as someone that needed some help that kind of made more broken than someone should be at church.

If there is one great challenge I have with these kinds of services, it is figuring out the hugging ettiquette. Within my comfort zone I'd imagine most people know that I really like hugs though as I get outside of that it becomes more of a paradox where what is appropriate is the big question. I see all these other people hugging and part of me wants to yell, "I WANT THAT! GOD YOU KNOW I WANT THAT!" and I suspect in my inner voice that call does go out but I don't really get a response and so a little more heartache follows. What will I do about this? Well, that is what I'm still trying to strategize over...

Empire Avenue

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Empire Avenue is this site I found where it is kind of interesting to buy shares in people and build up an empire by holding shares in others. I've only been on it a few days but it does appear kind of interesting. The start of this post was a verification code they requested and thus this quasi-useless post.

Listening vs Paying Attention

Not long ago, I had to explain the difference between these two ideas as to my mind there is a world of difference between them. Listening is merely my ear's recording something that happens and nothing more. There is no extra effort spent to process or analyze what was heard. This is where if I spare some mental processing power to analyze and sift through something to have some new result then I did pay attention and got somewhere with it.

There are times where I enjoy playing semantics and toying with words. Which words to use in what circumstances and how can I put them together for various effects. Alliteration can be quite cool to have the repetition of a sound over and over again. Other times it can be fun to just pull from movie lines and see what happens.

New year, new assessment

This past Christmas I took Marcus Buckingham's "Standout" assessment which out of 9 roles:

• Advisor - You are a practical, concrete thinker who is at your most powerful when reacting to and solving other people's problems.
• Connector - You are a catalyst. Your power lies in your craving to put two things together to make something bigger than it is now.
• Creator - You make sense of the world, pulling it apart, seeing a better configuration, and creating it.
  
• Equalizer - You are a level-headed person whose power comes from keeping the world in balance, ethically and practically.
• Influencer - You engage people directly and convince them to act. Your power is your persuasion.
• Pioneer - You see the world as a friendly place where, around every corner, good things will happen. Your distinctive power starts with your optimism in the face of uncertainty.
• Provider - You sense other people's feelings and you feel compelled to recognize these feelings, give them a voice and act on them.
• Stimulator - You are the host of other people's emotions. You feel responsible for them, for turning them around, for elevating them.
• Teacher - You are thrilled by the potential you see in each person. Your
  power comes from learning how to unleash it.

My order of results:

PIONEER
TEACHER
CREATOR
ADVISOR
PROVIDER
INFLUENCER
EQUALIZER
CONNECTOR
STIMULATOR

In the results there was this bit about my ideal career:

You bet on talent. You are adventurous with people. "Throw them in the deep end," you think to yourself. Not that you are callous. It's more that you believe in action-learning. "Try it and see what you figure out." And if people fail, you give them another chance. You're the kind of person whose faith in others does not erode if they struggle. Rather, your faith in them persists, even grows, in the face of failure--the more they've failed, you think to yourself, the more experience they have, and so, since experience is the best teacher, the more valuable they are. Therefore, you will excel in any sort of training role, so long as you are out of the classroom--on-the-job training is what you will specialize in. If you are actually in the classroom teaching children, make sure you are in a school system that allows you to challenge your students with concepts, subjects and projects that are, technically, above their grade level; and one that allows you to tailor your style to the unique needs of each student. In medicine, you will be the specialist who teaches other specialists about new techniques. In research, you are the scientist who will want to share the import of new discoveries with your peers. Wherever you are, you will excel in a role where sharing knowledge is power.

I'm still digesting some of the other notes in my results but it is its own interesting lens to view myself. At the same time, I would like to be more precise about my genius.

The saga continues...

I was recently challenged to write for 7 minutes every day and this is that exercise. I could wind up writing about almost anything really. I nearly cried at saying good-bye to a co-worker that is leaving to go work somewhere else. I cried at watching "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" on Cosmopolitan TV. I'm starting to recognize that at times being honest about where I am can make me really vulnerable though at the same time provide a great deal of strength. Just showing up can do so much. I prayed for some people and blessed some other people. Who knows where this will all lead or what will come of doing this little exercise each day and seeing what kind of brain dump I can have.

Twists and turns in my life...

Tonight I had a few odd episodes that I feel worth jotting down somewhere out here:

First, there was the disc I was to pick up from the wellness center where I'm having an assessment done. As I'm about to get in the elevator to go up to their floor, out comes someone I know and tells me that the disc is being mailed to me. I had called last week to have them hold onto it but somehow I just managed to miss that. On the bright side, I did get to know when the next one would be which is of course a scheduling conflict with my Remarkable Man group but ah well laugh has these moments. I just roll with the punches and try to see humor where I can.

Second, there was an orientation tonight for the Calgary Homeless Foundation I thought according to my church at the McDougall Center but apparently that wasn't so. I talked to the security guard for a good 10 minutes before figuring, "Ok, maybe God has something better for me planned tonight."

Third would be the mastery about writing a book and getting it published. Very worthwhile exercises and suggestions found. At the end though I noticed a habit of mine. I helped clean up the room, stacking chairs and putting away tables. This just sort of reinforced for me how I like to be helpful and get things done. In the process of the exercises I now have 32 topics to write posts about which I plan to do over the next 32 days and see what happens. I also want to connect this blog with my Facebook, Twitter, all that good stuff.

Synchronization part I

Iamsynchronized.com has a motivational profile tool that has been quite useful to me. Granted I have been using it in various forms for at least the past year, possibly a little more than that. For those familiar with the profiles my primary is Knowledgeable Wisdom Responsibility and my secondary is Merciful Compassionate & Fulfillment. This can make for an interesting combination as in a way I am like this giant sponge that just soaks up everything around me on an intellectual and emotional level. I also tend to know a lot on a lot of things which can range from having hundreds of thoughts that I could share on something to having just the right line that seems to be almost magical in terms of what happens after I say it just the way it came to me.

Where this gets interesting in my life now is to try to see how leadership can blend with this in my life. Possessing tons of knowledge isn't worthwhile if it isn't articulated accurately so someone else can see the wisdom of the picture being painted for them to see things from another angle. Similarly, having lots of compassion for others can lead one into some traps that aren't always the easiest to see. While I do lead my life, I'm not sure how well leading others fits well with these profiles but I suppose that could be a question for the group that showed me these profiles in the first place.