kathleen forden

Couldn’t have said it better – Thanks Hugh.

Ouch. This is one of those that you’d think, but never, ever in a million years say to someone.

Let’s face it, sometimes there’s just something holding you back. It’s not that you’re not in love. It’s not that you’re not compatible. It’s not that you’re not happy.
But on occasion, you see a side to someone’s personality that just terrifies you. It’s the monster that is scary enough that you take pause and think…..

For as long as I can remember I was schooled and saw others schooled in the art of sharing.  When my son was younger I can remember reminding him to share his toys with other children.  Extra piece of food at a meal?  Share it.  See someone who needs something you have?  Share it.   It’s something I always believed helped make us better people in the long run.

Now as an adult I realize that society has changed and sharing is now more suspect than not.

So why now am I even bothering to keep doing so?  Like most of the living I have had decades of life altering experiences , many heart wrenching life stopping moments and every thing that can be experience between.  I recently decided to change my life in more ways then one.

I changed my lifestyle to a more healthful one, changed my personal life to leave behind baggage I’ve held on to way too long, changed my career path and decided to expand my horizons about how I define sharing.

So what is the definition of sharing?

1. To divide and parcel out in shares; apportion.
2. To participate in, use, enjoy, or experience jointly or in turns.
3. To relate (a secret or experience, for example) to another or others.
4. To accord a share in (something) to another or others.

Basically for me sharing is the new way I tithe back to society.    I use to tithe to the religious organization I was reared under and with.  Then as I became more aware I tithed to the local homeless shelters and food banks.  Then domestic abuse shelters and finally I found what works best for me.

Everyday I try to tithe 10% of my waking hours and a 10% of my income to those around me.  It might be the down on their luck couple at Circle K without enough gas money, it might be part of the lunch I brought, it might be the smile I share but basically it’s something I offer and experience daily.

Sharing your smile, lunch, a book or just a joke  which can brighten your day more than you  realize.  So what if occasionally you encounter nothing but negative around you and feel like not bothering.  Share something and feel the difference around you!

Here’s to the power of sharing!

Wow, as I sit here tonight thinking about the bubble of 1999; I can’t but help to see similar signs of that time now in 2011.  Linked In, Facebook, Pandora, and more are all heading towards public offerings.  The valuations are again in the stratosphere, like in 1998 and 1999.

Are we doomed to repeat the past?   Thinking back to that time, I’m realizing quite a few of my successes and my failures.  What I did well, I did really well,  what I did bad I did really well, to paraphrase Mae West.

So what have I learned:

• That we all need heros and mentors
• That it’s OK to fail, it’s how you handle it that matters more
• That walking away and taking a timed break will do your heart and passion good
• That you should celebrate your success when it happens and learn from what worked and what really didn’t
• That we need to build relationships, projects won’t sustain your business, relationships will

So here I go, I’m back to trying to learn from Bill Gross of Idea Lab again.  Over 14 years ago he was my hero, on the cover of Inc. Magazine and launching a Start-Up Factory.  He was my role model on what was possible in business.  His start-up Idea Lab was the inspiration for the name of my second software development start-up Idea Avenue, Inc.

After recently connecting with someone that worked closely with him around that time, I find myself following him again.  This time it’s his blog at www.billgross.com.  I urge you to read it and learn about the man and his principals, then go to his business at UberMedia to learn what they are doing to help change the world, 140 characters at a time.

Here’s to sharing a great resource whom offers sage advice on everything from business to saving our planet.

For the past two months I’ve been running a large project for the world’s largest provider of higher education and have not really had a lot of time to post.

During that time I kept seeing signs of what I call the start of the human-machine convergence.  Yes, I know there are precedents for this and these are not the “true first signs”.

I’m interested for another reason, the way it is being marketed.  For some reason it’s being commercialize this holiday season.  Several “toys” are being promoted to consumers that allow brain reading to control objects in front of you.

Mattel and StarWars Science are both offering these toys at your local Walmart or Target.  But good luck finding them, even with a $100+ price tag they appear to have sold out.

I don’t have the time to post all of my thoughts, and came across this article below that sums up what I was missing above.  Have fun and enjoy the read, let me know your thoughts too!

Mind Reading (Neural Decoding) Goes Mainstream | h+ Magazine.

Other Resources:

What We Saw on 9/11/01

more about “September 11, 2001: What We Saw by wt…“, posted with vodpod

A moment of silence and rememberance

(Thanks Gerd!)

“Re-Industrialize the Planet”. A quick summary:

* The web is creating a global infrastructure for collaboration (which leads to disruption and confusion)

* As a result, all of our institutions have come to the end of their life-cycle

* The current recession is a crucial punctuation point in human history – the point where we said that we need to reset, the point where the industrial economy has finally run out of gas

* This paradigm shift is creating a crisis of leadership

* The Digital Natives are inheriting this situation – and they think very differently

* Kids are now the authority on many issues

* We have 40 years to re-industrialize the planet

i know you’ve heard of or visited LoLCats or Failblog, here is Ben the founder talking about one of my favorite subjects

how his company makes 7 figures in ad sales last year is due to this method of development

as many of my friends and family members know, i’ve been dreaming and planning my move to the Netherlands and possibly Amsterdam within the next decade to work with some of the most progressive technology folks i’ve ever met.

here is just another example of why i feel this way:

smart products that can change the world – they test them first in Amsterdam

http://www.amsterdamsmartcity.nl/#/en/home

Check out the video