Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to me! I'm enjoying sunny Tampa with warm temperatures and beautiful scenery. Today I rode the streetcar from the convention center to my hotel in Ybor City, the historic 'cradle of Cuban liberty.' I took a long walk through the area past old buildings, historic markers, statues of men who built the area, lots of bars, tattoo shops, art galleries, and gays. What an interesting place! I celebrated with a delicious and healthy salad followed by yummy gelato and warm chocolate chip cookies at the hotel. So, I'm celebrating alone, but already had several early birthday treats last week. Robin took me to Amigo's, Donna cooked me dinner and gave me a gift card, Keri sent me a beautiful scarf and precious beagle pillow. I enjoyed the scarf today as a wrap in chilly meeting rooms. And I had several calls, emails, and texts today. So, even though I'm physically alone, I'm really surrounded by love and friendship. It's been a good day.

Palimpsest

Palimpsest is a word that intrigues me. If feels good when I say it, it sounds ancient and mysterious. The dictionary defines it:

• from the Greek "scraped again"
• writing materials (such as parchment or tablet) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased

Is palimpsest a metaphor for my life? I think of all the changes, transitions, and new starts in my life. I have been a child, a teen, a student, a wife and mother of preschoolers, a single mother of elementary children, a wife and mother of teens, a single mother of young adults. Have I been scraped or erased? The first divorce nearly did me in, but eventually it led me to stretch into more demanding leadership roles at work. The second divorce was a relief, and through it I learned so much more about myself and my goals for the rest of my life. What was the difference? The first one left me feeling scraped, as it was not my choice; I initiated the second one, and I worked to erase the past as I rewrote the next chapter of my life.

What about my career? I have been a teacher, a school administrator, a consultant, a business owner, and a specialist on a variety of education-related topics. I initiated and desired each of these roles, actively seeking change and new challenges. Have I been scraped? I was ready to make a change several years before I moved from principal to central office, and by the time I moved, I definitely felt scraped. So, even though I made the change willingly, it wasn't on my timetable. Maybe that's another difference.

I wonder if what is scraped or erased truly goes away in a palimpsest? I know that in my life, each of the personal and career stages has influenced what came next. Today I am a composite of all the experiences that I have had in the first 58 years of my life. If one of those stages had not occurred, I would be in a different place today. So, even though my situation has changed, I still carry the impressions of those earlier experiences.

As I continue to grow and learn, moving to other life stages, will I feel the effects of scraping or erasing? Will it be my choice? Will it be on my timetable? My job is to pay attention, to be willing to take risks for what is important, and to seek wisdom when making decisions. Change will come.

Leaders as Innovators

Recently I heard Tom Kelly of Stanford University speak on the topic of innovation, defined as "doing new things." As leaders, we are called upon to innovate as we work to impact our community. Kelly went on to describe habits that help achieve innovation.

Think like a traveler. When we travel we see with wide-open eyes, hyper-aware, looking for things of interest. We notice things that are similar and different to what we are used to. We pay attention to details, using all of our senses to take in the new surroundings. How does this relate to leadership? A leader must be ever aware, looking for needs, opportunities, and solutions. As leaders, we must stay aware, even in our ordinary environment, intentionally noticing details that need our attention.

Treat life as an experiment. An innovator is willing to take a risk, to try new and varied solutions in order to make a difference. This brings to mind the many inventors who were willing to try again and again: Thomas Edison, Jonas Salk, Alexander Graham Bell. They were willing to fail many times in order to finally succeed. As leaders, we must also be willing to risk failure as we try many ways to impact our community. Some of our ideas will be accepted enthusiastically, while others will be rejected. Leaders do not give up; we are willing to fail forward, always looking for the next success.

Cultivate an attitude of wisdom. Wisdom comes from living in the world, learning, paying attention, asking questions, looking for service opportunities. A leader seeks wisdom and uses good judgment when making decisions. Leaders call on the strengths and experiences of others for inspiration, assistance, and wisdom.

In order to ensure success, continued practice of these habits is required. We must keep our eyes open, be willing to take risks, and seek wisdom as we strive to make a difference in our community.

I wrote this article for Tidings, a publication of Altrusa International.

What Is Fear?

What is fear? The dictionary says it's "concern or anxiety, a distressing feeling caused by real or imagined impending threat." Dudley Nichols describes fear as "the highest fence." Others have given a more positive view. Miguel de Unamuno says that "fear is the start of wisdom" while an old French proverb states that "fear is the greatest of all inventors."

Fear is always a part of life. As I looked back over my journals I found many references to fear over the years. In 1999 I wrote a list of fears that I wanted to overcome with courage: failure, losing, showing my true feelings, being hurt, losing face, losing my job, losing respect, not being able to write, not having anything to write about, authenticity. Quotes about fear are scattered through the pages:

• Let go of fear.
• Leap and the net will appear.
• Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.
• I need courage and love to face down the fear.
• The main thing is to do it afraid.
• Work through fear. Don't let it stop you.

So, how do I choose to respond to fear? Will I slink back from the high fence, or will I look for the wisdom and use it to invent a positive response? Each thought, word, and action is my choice. My commitment for 2011 is to let go of the fear that holds me back. It is with courage and love that I will expand my life to reach my potential. Those things that I commit to "more of" will take priority:

• healthy habits
• good use of my resources
• sticking with writing projects
• loving my current situation and being open to opportunity
• looking for ways to make a difference in the lives of others

My life will shrink or expand in proportion to my courage.