Actuate

Next Food Network Star

On July 10, 2010, In Change, Epic, NFNS, WLS, food, By Juli

PHOTO BY: Batega

Sometimes you need to reach for something that has a pretty slim chance of happening. I mean if you don’t nothing new can happen, right? I’m being epic.

I’m doing it. I’m actually putting together a video entry to be the Next Food Network Star (NFNS). I’m filling out the 11 page application and I’m sending it in.

The application is great, asking questions about training, but also about cooking point of view and food philosophy. You know I’m all about the food love, but I also want to help other people who’ve had weight loss surgery find peace in the kitchen. It took me a while to figure out how to do it. I tried to cut that piece of my life and it didn’t feel good; it didn’t work. I had to create a way to work my history to my advantage-and I did. Now I want to share that with other people.

I love my life in the kitchen. Personally and professionally and I love helping people succeed. That’s why you see this on the Actuate blog. Success, action, and a culmination of all that I am. Dudes, this feels so right.

While my relationship with food before WLS wasn’t entirely healthy, parts of it absolutely were. The parts about learning and experiencing other cultures; the parts where the science is cool. The parts where I shared with peoples’ joy by recognizing them with a cake or a dinner. I didn’t want to give up. I couldn’t give it up. But I could use my kitchen skills to make food that worked for me. That’s what I did.

I know why I want to have a show. I know what kinds of food I want to cook-nutritionally dense, full of flavor that supports WLS people and their families and I also know I’ve got skills enough to pull it off.

I’m smart, charismatic, I absolutely know food, I’m self possessed and I want to help other people be successful.

So bring it.

Persistence

On June 12, 2010, In accountability, work, By Juli

Photo By: Horia Varlan

“Where have you been?”

I also got a “What’s the matter with you?” recently. Mind you, I chastised the grown woman who asked me that question about that being an inappropriate greeting, but the truth of the matter something’s just not right.

I’m working on picking it apart and looking under the hood to get it all straightened out. I feel there’s a solution on the horizon, but as you can see my website sits here languishing. I am out of the loop just a bit.

However, I’m as committed to this coaching career as I have ever been. I met with a student from Franklin where I volunteer my coaching this week. I feel like I had an impact.

It underscored that what I bring to the table is valuable.

Are you seeing some doubt creep in my writing? Yeah me too. It’s a big part of what I’m feeling. So I’m fixing it. While I can’t make certification classes happen at this very moment, they are on the agenda. I got some books from library. I’m going to spend time working on my own curriculum.

I’m happy when I’m learning.

Also, I’m remembering (and researching) that everyone, E V E R Y O N E, has moments of feeling like they are undeserving of their role and title. Even Oprah, I am sure, has felt like an impostor.

Here’s to sucking up the muck and working through it because there is no way to success with out persistence.

And to quote a past president who doesn’t get much action in the history books,

“Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

Calvin Coolidge
30th president of US (1872 – 1933)

Tagged with: business • learning

My Personal Ad (for a fantastic work-life).

On May 4, 2010, In accountability, career, coaching, woo-wooey, By Juli

PHOTO BY: Blimpy

This is brilliance which I forgot about until I hit the button in my reader.

Thanks Google Reader for always saving the good stuff for when I remember. Thanks Havi for being. You’ll find her stuff on personal ads here.

What’s a personal ad for your stuff you may ask?

You do a bit of asking here’s what I want, here’s how I want it to come to me and here’s what I commit to do to make it happen. The gravy part is checking in with yourself to see what you might be learning about how you deal with your stuff.

I’m struggling with my job situation.

I graduated a year ago with my MBA and certainly thought the job fairies where going to be begging me to come work for them. That’s not happening and I’m more than a little disappointed. However, I can’t let it keep me down, so I’m working on stuff. Here’s my personal ad to have a fulfilling and meaningful work-life, right now.

Here’s what I want: I want to love my 40+ hours a week I spend at work. I want to be powerfully moving toward my tangible goals. I want to positively impact the people with whom I contact.

Here’s how I want to receive it: I want it to flow with multiple purpose. I don’t want to work on one thing in isolation. I want my stuff to be layered and thick with meaning. I’d love it if working with Bob and Betty over there gave me something tangible over here. I’m not sure how it looks, but that’s okay.

Here’s what I’d rather not have: A list of shoulds and shame telling me that I should have different work or different goals. I don’t want other people’s renderings of what my work-life should be.

My commitment: My goals will be to take care of me and my family first, but also to provide growth and development to other people in my community.

What I’m noticing: It’s harder than I expected to lift the vale of shame I placed around me, I value stuff harshly and need to be more forgiving. My work is important and I can do it exceptionally well if I take responsibility for being accountable to it and the people I impact.

So what about you? What might you need to create a personal ad around? Got some stuff holding you back? Need some clarity? Are you a SWF searching for same? I shouldn’t type that, because you can’t find it here. But you know what I mean. If you were to do the exercise, what might you ask for?

Burst, Expand, Elevate, Florish

On April 6, 2010, In Change, fear, By Juli

PHOTO BY: hartford.strong

I’ve done it again. I’ve poked around thesaurus.com to find the word to express what it is when we are ready to grow.

As the title may tell, I couldn’t find just one word.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to talk about what it is that I do with Actuate. I wanted to tell the group that you use coaching when you want more from your time spent at work. Maybe you’re stuck and need to get unstuck or maybe you’re ready to grow.

I couldn’t find the right word for growing.

Expandate-Burstish-Growify

You know that place right before you get bigger. I notice it with my elementary school aged daughter. Just before she gets a size bigger she shows the signs of change. She a little awkward, vaguley uncomfortable, but happy to get away from where she is.

Maybe that’s not quite it, but when you are on a precipice, you sometimes need some hand holding or a push over the edge. With well laid plans the jump should be less frightening, but it’s still enough to catch your breath in your throat; to make your pulse raise.

But that’s where I, the coach, comes in. I hold your hand, or push, but I also help create the plans that make the jump a bit less scary.

So do you have words you like to play with?

Have you created something new out of a few left over words which is better then the individual parts? Share in the comments.

If you enjoyed reading this, please consider telling a friend.

Mind over Matter

On April 2, 2010, In fear, happiness, By Juli

PHOTO BY: Guy Noir

I have quote on my wall that says “Fear is only as deep as the mind allows.” It’s a Japanese proverb.

I’m amazed at how much fear can hinder us. I’m more amazed at how it hides in insidious ways. I’m at a jumping point in a few areas of my life. I’ve been working toward these momentous things for years and now that they are about to blossom into something tangible and I’m terrified.

There I said it.

So here I am questioning my fear. Is it because the unknown is scary? Is it because my next ventures are ill advised and my subconscious is telling me to stop? Are there things I’ve not considered? Am I acting unwise? Or is it plain and simple-new stuff stinks? The old is indeed comfortable.

Regardless, going back to the proverb, my mind will dig me a pit a fear so deep I may never scale the walls and move forward. I like to examine my navel as much as the next person, but this is one of those times where pondering doesn’t equal clarity. It just makes things more murky.

So wish me luck. I’m jumping and I’ve turned off the doubt piece of my brain.

What do you to that helps you make decisions. Do you count on a feeling, rely on a well laid plan, or just suffer the consequences of saying “yes” without much angst?

Sabatical

On March 17, 2010, In Change, career, goal setting, By Juli

PHOTO BY: Rick

So apparenlty I took a sabatical. A break as it were, from doing what it is that I should be doing.

But I’m moving stuff from my get to it list to my do it now list. Getting back in the saddle of writing and connecting with folks is on that list and here I am.

Hi, I’ve missed you.

Breaks are fun. Sometimes they are necessary or we may lose our minds. Getting back to business if fun too. There’s the excitement of doing something that fetches results. That’s the sweety ooey goodness of why we get up in the morning. If it’s sending the kids off to school with a full belly, merging a company with another, or creating new math to better understand the universe; results are the unifying thing.

So here’s to taking a break, raise a green drink, it is Saint Patty’s Day after. And then raise another for finding motivation on the other side of the lull.

Integrity/Accountability

On February 9, 2010, In accountability, behavior, choices, coaching, food, integrity, By Juli

PHOTO BY: Woodleywonderworks

There was a coach the coach thing yesterday which happened at Franklin University, my alma mater. Bill Brewer from Designed Learning who did a presentation called Building Accountability and Commitment.

It was some high level concepts-or painfully simple-you know how those are.

Choosing accountablity in the work place is so hard to stretch ones head around. We butt up against, overlap, and work together with so many different personalities it’s often hard to see where our agendas begin, the organization’s mission drives our efforts, and where the egos of all the players start and end.

The simple idea, the genius, is to approach all interactions with the commitment to be accountable for yourself

If everyone in all communities did that there would be a new world of possibilities.

The example that came to mind when a participant complained that if they show up deciding to be accountable, but others didn’t that he’d essentially be screwed.

Made me think of going to a potluck where there’s always tons of delicious food.

You can choose not to go, but then you don’t get to have a voice. Or you can go and pig out with little regard for your health. The last approach is you go, have a voice, eat a meal -not 3- and walk away enriched for the experience without having slashed your committment to yourself.

That would be being accountable. Right?

So how do you do that at work?

You decided before you enter a situation that you’re going to participate and that you’re going to get value from the experience. You decide that you’re going to take some risk which includes taking a leap of faith that others care for the general whole as well. That’s pretty much from the hand out I got, I don’t want to plagerize.

But wow. It’s caring about the general whole, the trust part that’s hard. Go back to the potluck analogy though, I can trust that people aren’t going to poison me. I trust that they kept their cat out of the food while it was cooking. And even more subtlely they didn’t use whole cream then tell me it was made with skim milk. Individuals have a certain amount of integrity.

Integrity is a important word for me.

It’s one of the core three that I use to rule my decision making. Optimism and persistence are the other two, incase you were curious.

I see integritiy as how I personally commit to myself, how I handle situations as right or wrong. It’s my internal measure by which I hold myself.

I see accountability as how I commit to you and others in my community. And my community is vast. It’s work, my daughter’s school, my family, my EGG DAY folk. Plus I see areas for improvement for myself.

How about you? Are you good with being accountable? In what ways could you improve your accountablitiy to the people around you that you impact? Can you stand up and make a promise in front of a group of people without internal negotiations and caveats? Would that make you itch? Tell me about it.

I Love Shoes and Zappos Especially

On February 2, 2010, In customer service, happiness, By Juli

PHOTO BY: Misocrazy

It happened today.

Word on the street is that it would and today it happened to me.

“What”, might you ask “happened to you?” Well I will tell you. I mentioned a frustration on Twitter about ordering shoes at Zappos.com and consistently finding the message, that the shoe in the style I wanted was not available.

I mean I’m a regular sized girl with regular sized feet so I am accustomed to finding my size available with out too much hassle. I know these things happen so the first and maybe even the second time I was like, wow, fancy that, I must have popular fashion sense.

If you know me at all I’m pretty conservative in my dress, however I do like a good looking shoe. It’s not too far from a possibility.

But by the 6th time my desired shoe was unavailable and I felt like I had to pick a secondary choice yet again I was frustrated.

It felt like not being the first one or even in the first 50% of a team being picked for dodge ball in Jr High. There was a sense that I wasn’t getting what I wanted.

I wanted to be picked first and I wanted my first pick.

Don’t get me wrong I ordered 3 pair of shoes.

One will be sent back. I knew after I hit send that it wasn’t the right one. But I have faith. Zappos’ reputation for customer service is unrivaled. I know it won’t be a hassle.

Having remembered reading something somewhere about a person saying such and such about a company on Twitter got him contacted by their customer service via twitter made me think let me tweet my frustration.

Then it happened. I got @julianna01-ed. I got tweeted directly from Zappos Customer Service with an offer to help me look for what I wanted. And really, I don’t want help to find what I wanted unless there’s a secret stash of shoes hiding, but I got remedy. I got noticed and that makes me happy.

Frankly, I can’t tell you how this ended because I’m in the middle of tweeting with them now, but I’m sure I’ll be satisfied because it’s Zappos and they didn’t have shoes I wanted but I still love them.

So what are you doing to meet your customers? What are you doing to reach out? Are there tools like twitter that you use to monitor your brand? Even if you are low tech, do you take critical comments seriously and work hard to find solutions? Wouldn’t you love to have someone gush about you and how you handled a tricky situation?

I know I would like that.

Tagged with: customer service • Twitter • Zappos

Kvetch or Not

On January 21, 2010, In Change, behavior, choices, By Juli

PHOTO BY: Benimoto

Do you ever think about how being negative brings you and everyone around you down?

It’s fun to be witty. Even charming to be sarcastic, in the right crowd.

There’s also a myth that happy people are stupid.

But with all the kvetching in the world, the harping, the nagging, the “God, it sucks to be me!” thinking it can really get you down. Not to mention how it impacts the listening crowd you’re talking to.

And while I struggle to be a Suzy Sunshine all the time I find the struggle to be well worth it. The pay out is immense. I mean the people around me fare better and I fare better too.

My morning drive involves me traveling 6 miles from home on the main thoroughfare in my city. There are at least 21 lights between my door and the work parking lot. I was a few minutes late getting out the house today. The difference in the light sequencing between 5:55am and 6:11 am is amazing. I hit over 50% of the lights. At a few minutes to six I can make it from my house to work in 5 minutes or so. Not today.

I was frustrated.

But I saw the opportunity to grow. my. appreication. for. my. life.

(the periods denote personal eye rolling)

I was reluctant.

But I was going to hit the lights, I told myself to take that time while I was stopped to appreciate being.

My thoughts ran from:

I have a job to get to!

I’m healthy. It’s a little early in the season to be saying the flu shot worked without fail, but so far so good.

I have all my stuff I need with me. I remembered my lunch and my breifcase.

I don’t need to stop to get gas!

Those 3 runners look dedicated and they must have a valuable relationship with each other.

It went on like that. I got to work happily and kvetch free.

So let me say, we all have the choice to view obsticals as opportunities.

I know a series of traffic lights are pretty insignificant compared to some challenges that come our way, but if you can think differently about the little frustrations perhaps you can find new ways to think about the big ones. Or maybe you’ll have the energy to face the big stuff with a little more grace.

When you start the conversation with, “You know what I hate?” Can you check yourself? What gets in your way? Where might your potential opportunities happen?

Let me know what you think in the comment section. Thanks!

Commit

On January 15, 2010, In goal setting, stories, By Juli

PHOTO BY: Westerndave

Showing up is half the battle. Well not really its about 90% of the battle.

And I mean not just getting in the car and going where the action is happening but that’s part of it.

I mean be present in the moment.

Have integrity.

Do what you say you are going to do.

And that’s including what you promise yourself you will do too. It feels so good to keep those little promises to yourself. Things like flossing. I am a sanctimonious flosser. Well I could be, but another promise I’ve made is to not be sanctimonious. But deep down I think I’m just a little bit better than all the non flossers out there. At least I think I have better gum health.

Commit was one of my words for 2010. Produce was the other and while I thought blogging consistently was going to be a piece of the production, it looks like I need to get a little more ground work laid before I can follow through on that one. I’m not ready to give up, but I’m just not ready right now to do it. I know I just said in the paragraph above to keep your promises, but the flip side is to give yourself some slack when you can’t and don’t fill up on self loathing.

So while blogging daily is never going to happen. I was hoping for weekly. That too is a little too much right now. I could give you my explanations, which is a kinder way to excuses, but to what end? The thing is, it will happen when it happens. Blogging regularly is important to me, it will happen.

I promise. And that’s me talking to myself.

So what are some simple commitments you’ve made to yourself? How well do you keep them? What are some big promises you’ve made? Even if you don’t share here, I hope they are filling you with enthusiasm and joy at their potential.

Next Food Network Star

Persistence

My Personal Ad (for a fantastic work-life).

Burst, Expand, Elevate, Florish

Mind over Matter

Sabatical

Integrity/Accountability

I Love Shoes and Zappos Especially

Kvetch or Not

Commit

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