Magnificent Women and Their Journeys... Maggie K. Fox

I met the totally amazing Maggie K Fox at the AWESOME! Toronto Mesh Meetup at the Irish Embassy Pub on the evening of November 15th.

Maggie provided her business card during our brief introduction and I decided to check out her blog early on the following morning and... That's when things began to get interesting!

I was astounded [1] Maggie had already written an outstanding post regarding the pre-Mesh 2007 event, including interesting vignettes on people she had met, and [2] therein included a (highly perceptive) observation (bolding is mine), "...Sheamus. We chatted for a bit, I wish now I’d asked more questions (he asked a lot)..."

Thereafter we began an email exchange and on November 20th Maggie included this eye-popping and spirit-catching comment, "...I mostly believe in the challenge of doing something new and pushing my knowledge and intellect to the max."

WOW! I immediately knew I had had just been privleged to met a Magnificent woman with a Magnificent Journey!

A little about about Maggie...

Maggie is the founder and principal of Social Media Group and is also the managing partner of New Sun Creative Inc., where she works with her kick-*ss great Creative Partner, Randy Cameron, in a very hot boutique custom publications firm working primarily in print for large retailers like Home Hardware and U.S.-based Do it Best. Within three years, New Sun had expanded into online development and revenues had more than tripled. With a heavy focus on great content, usability and design, New Sun has created websites and editorial for Home Hardware’s Home at Home magazine, Home Hardware’s Lumber and Building Materials Division, Transcontinental Printing, Home Furniture Stores Limited, Do it Best, Avery Dennison Canada and Truman Engineering Services, to name just a few!

Just imagine... "I mostly believe in the challenge of doing something new and pushing my knowledge and intellect to the max."

Oh Joy!

Magnificent Women and Their Journeys... Susan Scrupski!

Susan is the the Founder and Principal of IT Services Advisory LLC (ITSA) which provides deep and wonderful world-class services to clients on Internet, software and related business issues and... Susan also has a super, well-written and interesting blog entitled ITSinsinder!

Moreover... Susan is a GREAT! Mom, a kind, thoughtful and giving person and... she really cares about others, even when it isn't always so convenient. In particular I LOVE how she demonstrates the courage to rethink her life in order to find the ways that make her feel great and which also enables her to shine, both professionally and personally.

From the perspective of this ancient guy that GREAT! attitude and commitment to living a joy-filled high-quality life takes deep personal integrity and courage!

Let's raise a glass this day (Champagne of course!) in celebration of Susan and her Magnificent Journey!

Oh Joy!

Rivers of Joy... Work and Relationships!

Today citizens of the United States of America celebrate their Thanksgiving day, and my family and I take this opportunity to extend very best wishes for a "Happy Thansgiving" and for a wonderful, safe and happy Thanksgiving weekend!

Rivers of Joy in Work and Relationships!

When I was a young entrepreneur back in the seventies and early eighties I often experienced feelings of joy from my work. Then after a decade of unreasonable success including lots of dough I somehow lost that feeling of focus and joy. In fact things got kind of dark for me for a while.

Being a thinker and somewhat (read highly) analytical I tried to figure out what happened, in particular, because feeling joy felt so good! And, when I now look back it was rather hard work!

Identifying and re-evaluating my values. What was important to me? What didn't matter? What mattered less. What did I really want? How could I get it? etc. And of course, always looking to rediscover my joy.

A few years ago things seemed to somehow come together (for which I thank God!). I gradually began to live differently, to move though the world differently and in ways that were good and which made me and others feel good. Again gradually, as I moved more and more into that space that was just right for me I noticed my joy beginning to return and... Joy increasing.

Today I love my work! I love my contributions to others! I love the people with whom I work and hang out with! I love the Internet! I love the social interaction that has such a beautiful life of its own through this ether of the Internet. I love the incredible diversity of talents and positive energy that flows from a million points across the ether of the Internet.

I love the beautiful surprises... Like today on American Thanksgiving a lovely person, Susan Scrupski, the talented ITSinsider blogger and Principal at IT Services Advisory, LLC took the time to post a beautiful and touching comment to one of my blog posts.

Susan's comment touched my heart!

Thank you Susan and... Down with those occasional bears!

Oh Joy!

Think Different!

With thanks to Apple by way of Ben Casnocha the eighteen year old entrepreneur and writer from San Francisco ...

Think Different

(Apple Computer Ad Campaign)

Here’s to the crazy ones.

The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.

The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.

Because they change things.

They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire.

They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

We make tools for these kinds of people.

While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Oh Joy!

Life Balance: Work, Family and Personal

I realized (after the fact) that I had gotten out of balance last week relative to appropriate rest for my body and mind.

So excited and energized by my work and the great people I work and hang out with that at (almost) age 60 (January 2007) I sometimes forget I am not a youngster any more. Last week I worked over 80 hours and Friday I worked 22 1/2 hours out of 24. And, of course, exercised only once during the entire week.

Saturday I was exhausted, still had chores (such as shopping at Kensington Market which I love as cooking is one of my hobbies), about 20 business emails to process and one afternoon business call. I finally laid down about 4:30 in the afternoon to close my eyes for a few moments rest. Next thing I knew it was 6:30 Sunday morning and I had enjoyed 14 straight hours of blissful restorative rest! And, I made sure that Sunday was a total veg out zero bandwidth day. For example: I love doing laundry and house cleaning, so simple and pleasurable.

These experiences got me to wondering...

I'll bet people strive to achieve balance in their lives. In particular, achieving a reasonable balance with respect to family, work, personal, friends, education and play / relaxation. I also get the sense that we feel better when we are living our lives in a balanced way.

So I began to further wonder if other people from time-to-time also experience challenges in achieving this blissful (and useful) state of balance.

And, what happens to you when things get out of whack!

Just for fun I am including a few dictionary descriptives regarding balance relative to the discussion at hand:

balance noun... an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady

balance... stability of one's mind or feelings : the way to some kind of peace 2 a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions [in sing.] try to keep a balance between work and relaxation.

2 offset or compare the value of (one thing) with another : the cost of obtaining such information needs to be balanced against its benefits. • establish equal or appropriate proportions of elements in : balancing work and family life.

DERIVATIVES balancer noun ORIGIN Middle English (sense 3) : from Old French balance (noun), balancer (verb), based on late Latin (libra) bilanx ‘(balance) having two scalepans,’ from bi- ‘twice, having two’ + lanx ‘scalepan.’

Oh Joy!

Jonathan Ive... Gasp!

Magnificient Industrial design!

Jonathan Ive and his industrial design team are responsible for the beautiful design of Apple's iMac, iPod, iBook, G4 Cube, Xserve and more!

Jonathan P. Ive (per Wikipedia) is a british born industrial designer. He has received many honors for his work, and Digg just published a story that Jonathan has now also been awarded a CBE by the Queen of England... YAHOO!

Jonathan's industrial design work is so off-the-scale magnificent that it takes my breath away!

Oh Joy!

attap is Hot! personal dna... What Fun!

attap is a way cool outfit which reflects all that is good about the concepts of social interaction as embodied within Web 2.0 initiatives and... The attap kick-*ss great team creates and provides way fun and way useful web-based tools!

For example... attap's personal dna Your true self revealed is so much fun and so insightful! Try it out. BTW my profile results are here.

Also and for sure... The attap blog is delicious!

God, I LOVE the Internet and the incredible range of talents and resources out there in this beautiful ether!

Oh Joy!

Magnificent Women and Their Journeys!

With thanks to Penelope Trunk's very hot blog Brazen Careerist I discovered a fabulous Newsweek Business article of September 25, 2006 which profiles twenty Magnificent Women in Leadership. This kick-*ass great article is entitled Lessons We Have Learned: Accomplished leaders in their varied fields share their hard-earned wisdom about success, failure and not letting yourself off the hook.

Out of my love and appreciation to totally wonderful and magnificent women who influence my life for the better...

+ My totally amazing, feisty and Magnificent Irish Mom (Virginia Margaret Doyle, now up in Heaven!) who was also a career woman back in the 40's and 50's when it wasn't so socially acceptable (acknowledging, honouring and celebrating your journey Mom!).

+ My totally magnificent darling wife Sabrina, an extraordinary women who has lifted me up so many times and in so many ways that she now holds an honorary stevedoring license. My relationship with you makes me a better man in every moment and I love you with all my heart. And, to top it off... The "Yoda of Relationship" who sixteen years ago introduced me to the reality that "there are GREAT women in this world" and to "how women move through this world, including how they manage"... Thank you, thank you, thank you!

+ My three kick-*ass wonderfully magnificent daughters (Naiomi, Tova and Rivcah) and their incredibly exciting and enriching lives ahead to make this world a better place... Love ya, love ya, love ya!

+ My two extra delicious granddaughters... An entirely new generation of magnificent women for the better future of this planet. You go girls!

+ The kind and generous Sarah Blow (UK software engineer, Founder of London Girl Geek Dinners and Barcelona Girl Geek Dinners and Girly Geekdom)... A wonderful teacher and thought-provoker regarding the "ethos of blogging" and in supporting me to begin my first blog... Thank you Sarah!

To Penelope Trunk and her Brazen Careerist blog who through her totally awesome writing abilities introduced me to a number of fresh and original ideas, and in a way, who also influenced my writing of this post... Thank you Penelope!

I highly recommend this article celebrating women!

Oh Joy!

Penelope Trunk's Blog is Hot!

Penelope Trunk's Blog, Brazen Careerist, has an OUTSTANDINGLY excellent post dated November 10, 2006 and entitled, The Easiest Instruction for How To Start A Blog.

I remember the intellectual and emotional challenges faced when comtemplating the prospect of starting my first blog. For example... Lack of understanding regarding the "ethos of blogging", not knowing where to start, not knowing if I had something to say, concerns about the time comittments, would anyone read my blog.

In fact I may not have taken the first big step into the blogosphere had it not been for the gentle support, encouragement and wonderful blogging education provided to me by Sarah Blow (UK software engineer and Founder of London Girl Geek Dinners and Girly Geekdom)... A BIG thank you Sarah!

Well these many months later I discovered Penelope's post which so beautifully addresses the interests of the ever so many people who want to begin a blog and need to easily know how to start.

Well done Penelope!

FYI per Penelope's Brazen Careerist About Page...

Penelope is a columnist at the Boston Globe. Her syndicated column has run in more than 100 publications including the Wall St. Journal’s Career Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Penelope’s blog, Brazen Careerist, has been featured in publications such as TIME magazine and the London Guardian.

Penelope’s forthcoming book is Brazen Careerist: New Rules for Success (Warner Books, May 2007).

Penelope’s prior experience includes more than ten years in the technology and consumer products industries. She launched new businesses for multinational corporations and founded three of her own companies. Penelope has endured an IPO, a merger and a bankruptcy. She also played professional beach volleyball.

Oh Joy!

State of the Blogosphere, October, 2006

David Sifry (Founder and CEO of Technorati) has produced an interesting, informative and useful report entitled, State of the Blogosphere, October, 2006... David's report includes excellent analysis and is accompanied by first-rate graphs and charts... well worth reading and his findings well worth some thought and consideration.

Remembrance Day 2006

On Remembrance Day I pause and reflect...

Thinking of the sacrifices made by so many men and women in war, and of their families and friends left behind, for some sadly forever.

I think of my father, Captain Joe MacLean, as a very young man during WW II, physically wounded twice in Europe and wounded emotionally for so many years thereafter.

I think of my mother, Lieutenant Virginia Doyle, as a very young nursing sister during WWII, first in England and later moving to Europe as the war progressed, caring for the wounded, sick and dying boys and men.

I think of the elderly former Canadian soldier who fought in Burma, and his having given me his "Burmese Star" for safe-keeping and as a reminder to honor his memory and sacrifices made by his fellow soldiers in Burma during WWII.

I think of my uncle who lost both legs while a POW in a Japanese camp during WW II.

I think of the men and women serving in the military right now, some wounded, some dying and... I think of their familiies back at home

I think of my eight now grown children and my grandchildren for the security and freedom they enjoy, all paid for by the sacrifices, blood, agony and privations of those magnificent men and women.

God Bless you all!

Microsoft Office 2007... Gotta Have it!

I Love Google and use several of their offerings (daily) with great delight… For example: Gmail, Blogger Beta and Google Page Creator.

Furthermore as a long-time Mac user I am well aware of the whacks that Microsoft gets from the Mac community and others.

Now on to Microsoft Office and from a totally personal perspective… I’ve used Office on both PCs and Macs over the years, sometimes buying upgrades, and at other times, buying fresh new versions when purchasing new computers.

My usage has been primarily confined to Word, Excel and Entourage (Mac equivalent to Outlook), and my primary focus with respect to these tools has been and remains “increased professional and economic productivity”.

And over the years by every objective standard of performance and in every case my professional and economic productivity has increased by leaps and bounds.

In time perhaps online offerings by Google and others, and/or Open Source offerings such as NeoOffice may begin to match or outpace the capabilities inherent within Microsoft Office. But today (and I must work and collaborate today) these alternate offerings are not even close to Microsoft Office capabilities.

Microsoft and Microsoft Office may have many flaws. However I keep my eye on the doughnut and not the hole. That is, does the investment result in increased professional and economic performance i.e., “increased productivity”.

Thus I look forward with excitement and enthusiasm to purchasing Microsoft Office 2007 (for Mac) as soon as it is released.

Oh Joy!

What You Want!

Molly E. Holzschlag has an interesting post of November 4, 2006 entitled What You Want, and it is well worth a read.

Good one Molly! And, in the spirit of playing this great game of life with gusto, here's my short list!!

What I want

Living a loving, courteous, kind and thoughtful life (working on it daily!)

Love and respect from my darling wife and children (got it!)

Independence (got it!)

Living my dreams (working on it daily!)

Making meaningful contributions (working on it daily!)

Competence in my work and in my life (got it!)

Respect, tears and laughter with my family, colleagues and friends (got it!)

To be a tad less serious (a ways to go!)

To cherish and honour the gifts given to me of always curious, always learning, and looking at this beautiful world with fresh eyes (working on it daily!).

To get to heaven when I die (working daily to be that quality of man and thank God for grace and mercy!)

Now I wonder, how about for you?

Oh Joy!

Dharmesh Talks to Startup Entrepreneurs

Dharmesh Shah has just written an oustanding article on his Onstartups blog entitled 9 Pithy Insights on Venture Capital.

This is a damn good article and in my view... essential reading for startup entrepreneurs in the Software and Web 2.0 worlds.

BTW Dharmesh and Brian Halligan are the very experienced and very cool co-founders of an exciting new start-up called HubSpot... exciting because of their focus on helping very small business (VSBs) to grow relationships with new and existing customers and thereby... increasing associated revenues for VSBs.

I look forward to having the opportunity to play with HubSpot's beta version in the near futre and will post about it right here.

Oh Joy!