Quote of the Day

Life isn't about finding yourself.

Life is about creating yourself.

-Anonymous

Networking

When I was a waitress in FL, it was my job to smile at people. Whether they were sitting in my section or not, whether they would tip me or not, I was responsible for saying hi and making sure they felt welcome. Even now when I hold events through work or greet people at Toastmasters, I make sure to smile and welcome everyone there.

Actually, it's a rather empowering feeling - to know that you have a right to speak to any person in a room. It gives you confidence and makes you feel at ease.

Lately, with holiday parties around every corner, we are provided with the perfect networking situation: professional events with food and/alcohol where we can meet interesting and relevant people.

The key to overcoming shyness is to act like you are working at the event. Imagine the host has asked you to greet every single person who enters the room. Doesn't that empower you to meet people? Doesn't it give you the confidence to smile and introduce yourself to everyone?

Networking is a form of selling yourself, and nothing sells more than confidence.

Quote of the Day

Our quote today actually comes from dinner Friday night, when Yoav and his MIT SDM friends were celebrating the end of classes. While talking about the day's final class, Ilana said something that shows the nadir to which a boring class can descend:

"There I was sitting in class,
Surfing the web, drinking rum,
And I was still bored!!"

Thanks, Ilana, for a memorable quote and a fun evening.

Quote of the Day

Every day is white paper.

What will you make of it?

-Ari Charbonneau, Singer Songwriter

The Rabbi And The Flood

An orthodox rabbi is studying in his living room, when there is a knock on the door.

When he opens the door, it is a policeman, who informs him that the rivers are rising, a flood is expected, and evacuation is recommended.

The rabbi explains, "I am a man of God. I am sure he will protect me from danger."

The policeman shrugs his shoulders and leaves.

As the rabbi is watching the rising water getting closer and closer to his house, there is a second knock, this time a State Trooper.

The trooper says, "Rabbi, we are evacuating the area as the flood is getting serious and you are in jeopardy."

Again the rabbi explains, "I am a man of God. I am sure he will protect me from danger. I am staying."

Well, the water continues to rise, until the rabbi is forced to stay on the second floor.

He hears some yelling and looks up to see two firemen in a rowboat right outside his second floor window. "Rabbi!" one of the firemen calls, "Get in the boat, the rains are not letting up! It's getting serious."

"I am a man of God. He will protect me from danger. I'll stay."

The firemen, fearing for their own safety, row on.

As the flood rises, the rabbi is forced to climb out onto his roof, just as a helicopter is flying over. The helicopter drops a rope ladder and a voice calls down, "We're coming to get you, rabbi!"

"No, no.... God will protect me. You go on."

Well, needless to say, the water continues to rise and the rabbi drowns. When he gets to Heaven, he is really upset.

"I must see God," says the rabbi. "Please take me to God." He is granted an audience with God. "Lord," says the rabbi, "after a lifetime of devotion to you, why would you forsake me in my moment of need?"

God says, "You schmuck, I sent two cops, a rowboat full of firemen, and a helicopter...."

Blizzard!

The snow was so intense this afternoon! It swooped down and swept us away in 24 hours.

I stood at my window in downtown Boston looking at the snow and wind swirl UP between the buildings. It was amazing.

Check out some fun pictures of the snow:

The Sighing Man

There's a Bruegger's Bagels right near our house, and a man works there who is always sighing in the most depressing way. It seems he is in a perpetual world of sadness. You tell him what kind of bagel you want and he always seems like he was forced to work against his will that day. (Remember Clerks: "I'm not even supposed to be here today!"

At first it really upset me, since I get kind of sensitive when people aren't nice, especially when they're in the service industry. However, after a while I learned not to take it personally and I actually found it a little amusing.

So on Sunday I went in to the store kind of hoping he would take my order, and he did. In a voice that sounded earily like Marvin the depressed robot from The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, he said "Who's next?"

I stepped up with a huge grin on my face and said "Good morning!" rather loudly. Yoav looked down, a little embarrassed to be seen with me.

The sighing man remained expressionless waiting for my order.

I paused slightly and then ordered, defeated.

However, after he was done with my order, an older man behind me walked up and said in a rather depressing voice, "How's it goin'?" The sighing man responded, "Not bad, how 'bout you"?

Yoav gave me a significant look, and I realized that I had overdone it. The disparity between mine and the sighing man's mood level was too great. I should have let myself down to his level, and then back up just one or two steps, in order to cheer him up. (see my previous blog about the chart in my dad's office for communicating with patients).

A significant part of communication is about creating a connection with your target audience, be it a person or a crowded auditorium. It doesn't matter what you're mood level is; you should adjust it to the audience so that they can relate.

Relation = communication = mission accomplished.

The mission in this case? Getting a positive response from the sighing man. We'll see next time.

It doesn't get any better than this

Waking up late on a Sunday morning to find the (second) first snow of the year...

Lazily making Hazelnut coffee in a terrycloth bathrobe while watching the thick flakes of snow fall through our large kitchen windows...

It doesn't get any better than this right now. Sono contenta.

Last Year's Trip to Greece

How about these views of Santorini? Courtesy of yours truly...

Browse my recently added pictures of last year's trip to Greece at my Flickr site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/allishapira

Inspiration

"It's hard to remember that this day will never come again.

That the time is now and the place is here

and that there are no second chances at a single moment."

The Passion, by Jeanette Winterson