Category: The Big Picture
Excellent video where Dan Pink speaks about the motivation puzzle that companies want to solve.
Why doesn’t “pay for performance” always work?
Dan’s illustrated talk unravels the what economists, sociologists and other professionals who study human motivation have learned; it takes more than money to get people to perform at peak levels.
Watch the video for my thoughts on Twitter
(and subscribe to my YouTube channel)
Last week, I got all teary eyed and appreciative about how awesome Twitter has been in changing and shaping opportunities in my life and sent out some tweets. They were met with RT’s which they struck a chord with others.
“God and Twitter work in mysterious ways but you can uncover their wealth and wisdom if you keep your eyes open”
“It is just so amazing how much Twitter has changed my life for the better”
“I cannot even begin to count the number of seemingly serendipitous tweets that have changed the course of my life”
To me, using Twitter is almost a spirtual expereince due to the amazing interactions I have with people.
It’s amazing how much Twitter has changed my life for the better. I now have this extended network of amazing people I truly feel I can reach out to and count on for ideas, advice, news and friendship. Twitter is definitely a “pay-it-forward” network where the more you give, the more you get.
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June 12th is Loving Day and marks a time in history when people thought quite differently about who could love who.
They did this sort of thinking out out and put laws in place to match those thoughts. I knew about the court case but didn’t know there was an actual day to celebrate and recognize a change on love an marriage in America.
I participated in a guided interview on Growing up mixed in America this Sunday as a part of MTV’s ACT awareness campaign and decided to do a video to share what’s become known as “The Loving Story”:
In 1958 two people decided to get married. They were in love. Unfortunately, Mildred and Richard lived in Virginia at the time where laws like the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 prevented them from legally getting married. Why? Mildred was Black and Richard was White. They decided to go to Washington D.C. to get married because it was important to take those vows and pledge their love for each other.
Well, it turned out Virginia not only had a law against interracial marriage but also one against getting married in anther state and trying to be all uppity and return to Virginia! The Lovings were arrested in their home and taken to jail. The judge was going to sentence them for one to three years but told them if they left the state (for at least 25 years), he would let them leave. Read More…
I am taking this StartupWeekend event as an opportunity to reply to TechCrunch’s post, Women of Color in Tech: How Can We Encourage Them?
The following blog post is written by a Brown woman and is advice to be followed by Brown women who are interested in technology, starting a company, launching a startup or being more successful in business.
A few weeks ago, TechCrunch wrote what I considered to be a “dumb” and patronizing article asking why there appeared to be so few Brown women launching tech startups. I began writing an angry blog post but decided instead to lead with action instead of words.
I invited two Brown women, @drgoddess and @kiratiana, who I knew from Twitter and conferences to head out and join me for StarutpWeekend in San Francisco. We had all spent time talking together at SXSW about how to launch our ideas. Kiratiana bought her ticket, booked her flight and arrived Thursday night! You can read the pre-event blog post Startup Weekend Hits San Francisco Again For 2011 I wrote up.
I’ve decided it’s time to clean house and simplify a lot of things in my life now that my dog Bluey is gone. For a long time I’ve felt frustrated about my blog because while it looked cool, I never found the time to update the backend code so I was missing out on cool stuff that came along last with with the release of WordPress 3.0 (Current version as of this blog post is now WordPress 3.1.2) like custom menus and my theme wasn’t doing me any favors with Google so tonight I decided to put up a simple theme I picked up from Themeforest (aff) called Dandelion (aff) and had it up and running in a few minutes. Ah, feels good to let go….I guess.
Such is the process of streamlining one’s life. Consider. Propose. Digest. Accept. Action. Reflect.
Screenshot of old theme
![Image for Remembering Bluey The Dog [Photo Memorial]](http://cdn.butyoureagirl.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/blueytongue.jpg "Visit: Remembering Bluey The Dog [Photo Memorial]")
Today I lost a very good friend. Her name was Bluey and she taught me three things:
Bluey was my dog and she changed my life. She was with me for the last 8 years and today she died from congestive heart failure. This post will serve as a tribute to her memory.
She passed away at approximately 3:20pm Saturday April 23rd, 2011.
Found this via @charliecurve on Twitter. Nice work @GoJacobGo. Beautiful.
The takeaway? Don’t be cynical. Appreciate life’s gifts.
Check out this video featuring 4th grade elementary teacher Mr. McCraw who tells students a story of how being prepared with help them be successful when it comes to “reading and mathematics” not only for the MSA (Maryland School Assessment) but also on the Stanford 10 (Better known as the SAT). Nice hook and great message!
I was sent this awesome video by Chip (@Chipperd) who produced the video!
Malcolm Gladwell put out an article last year that the revolution would not be on Twitter. He cited several examples from laissez-faire Facebook groups failing to raise enough money despite the massive number of fans to how friendships cultivated in college were the foundational success of the Woolworth’s sit-in by the young men who planned, rallied and led the protests against segregation in Greensboro, North Carolina.
On the other hand, an article in the New York Times explain the seemly strange sense of closeness, “ambient awareness”, people feel towards others who participate in social networks. A New York Times article explained the sense of comfort and closeness one could feel by being able to receive “updates” about the other person whether through Twitter, Facebook or a blog.
My definition of revolution: Dramatic shifts in awareness followed by measurable, sustained action….the foundation of a revolution.
What makes us share a funny video, forward an email or tell a story to a friend about something we read?
A shift in perception and awareness according to Epipheo, a company that creates video content for companies.
A we gathered around computer monitors tonight discussing if WordPress could be used for the websites my roommates Alex and Tyler were thinking about, each shared a funny video from YouTube that made them laugh. The tangent developed from me pointing out the “Ninja Say What?!” video I posted to my blog.
Have you seen these viral YouTube videos?
After watching these quirky, cute and slightly disturbing videos, I asked Tyler what him share the video. What feelings came to mind? Happiness, smiles and laughter.
The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger
Baby Monkey Backwards On A Pig
What motivates us to share videos with each other?
We share things that bring us joy and allow us to change the direction of our awareness towards a more pleasant feeling. YouTube isn’t the #2 search engine by accident; it’s a breeding ground for happiness, discovery and new states of awareness. We can escape from the daily grind of work for a good laugh, learn how to fix something that’s been broken and see how others feel about things in their world. YouTube allows us to be part of the experience by uploading our own videos, sharing our discoveries with friends, commenting, rating, creating playlists, sending out personal messages and even adding annotations to a video! It all makes us feel like an active participant vs a passive viewer which I think gives us a level of satisfaction akin to playing football vs watching it from one’s couch. Read More…
“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.”
— H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
One of my favorite quotes out there because it asks you to stop and think about what you really spending your time on. How can days, weeks and eventually years go by causing you to wonder what the heck you’ve been doing with your life? When you’re caught on the hamster wheel looking at the small, parallel bars you’re running on, it’s truly challenging to think bigger and realize you’re in a hamster cage and that’s the real problem. Read More…
In this clip, Mr. Miyagi has Daniel wash and wax all the cars that came in from Detroit. He explains,
“Walk on road. Walk right side; safe. Walk left side; safe. Walk middle, sooner or later *squish*, just like grape.”
This is because Daniel answered Mr. Miyagi with a, “I guess so.”
The message here is that your actions, thoughts and results should be definitive. If you are doing something half heartedly, you will not achieve your full potential. Do your very best in the moment and live for the present. Of course we all giggle when Daniel is made to wash all the cars that came in from Detroit but he was being taught to narrow his focus. Wax on with his right hand, wax off with the left. Systematic, methodical, predictable.
This morning, I had a flashback to this part of the film due to an amazing meeting yesterday which led to an amazing breakthrough…
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As 2010 comes to a close, I’ve created a video to share five things I’m grateful for, three resolutions for 2011 and 20 people who I would like to thank for making a difference in my life this year! Read More…
This video represents all business ladies in jeans, suits, pajamas…and anyone who snorts when they laugh. Also for those geeky girls, geek women and nerdy women out there!
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Photo Credit: Jeff Croft
Yesterday I spent my first 4th of July in San Francisco. We had a BBQ here and then some fellow Zendeskians came over and we headed off to visit Clay, our old co-worker who was having a Vegan cookout.
Scene on the rooftop in the Mission – Lot of Googlers since both roommates work there. Young crowd. Single + few couples. Freetime. Smartphone in your pocket. Burgers. Hot dogs (kosher?). Sunny. More beer than the cooler could hold.
Scene at Clay’s in Mission/Noe – Young crowd. More couples. Indoors. A few dogs. Curios cat feeder. Agile development. Pet rescue. Delicious white wine sangria. Jailbreaking.
It’s been almost 5 years since I made a commitment to be more social. Small talk is still not my favorite thing in the entire world; it’s like a salty drink in the middle of a desert. This geeky introvert has come a long way from not showing up at parties to seeking them out and *gasp* inviting others to come!
On this day of celebrating freedom, I felt especially appreciative that I even have the CHOICE to focus my attention, future and career. I was born in New York City at a Jewish Hospital in 1978. If I were born just 100 – 200 years earlier, I would be disenfranchised due to my race, gender and high falootin’ curiosity about science, technology and trying new things. That fact that I’m a combination of races could have created even more hardship. This post was quite a bit longer but I’m going to hold of on the second part while I develop it out a bit.
Be grateful. Live in the moment. Appreciate every day you wake up breathing.
Today I moved into the apartment. I cannot begin to express how relieved, happy, excited and grateful I feel writing this. I spent the day moving, moving around furniture and setting up my technology.
June 2009 the seed was planted about moving to San Francisco. That seed began to sprout after working for Zendesk. February 9th I announced I was moving. April 13th I moved. May 24th, I have a permenant place to live!
I never would have imagined my life developing and evolving the way it has in the last 4 years. What I do know is that I pretty much enjoy every, single minute of my life. The ability to spread smiles, knowledge and hope each day fills my heart with joy! I am seeing so much good here in San Francisco that I now regret not thinking of moving here sooner!
I’ll go to sleep tonight thanking God for the wonderful opportunities he has put in my path. I will continue to show my appreciation by stepping up and using my skills and passion to make every day count *smile*
Was I scared sh**less to do this?
Did I regret my decision at least once during the process?
Did I fear failure or some huge disaster?
The answer is, “yes”to all those questions.
I overcame fear by looking it in the face. I will leave you tonight with some powerful quotes on fear, courage and fear. I wish you the best in going after your dreams.
The only way past fear is to go through.
- Author Unknown
You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith.
- Mary Manin Morrissey
Courage is not the lack of fear. It is acting in spite of it.
- Mark Twain
If you’re careful enough, nothing bad or good will ever happen to you.
- Ashleigh Brilliant
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.
- Anais Nin
Leap, and the net will appear.
- John Burroughs, Naturalist (1837-1921) Read More…
Which do you hate? Baseball or brocolli? By the end of this post, I will be asking you to reconsider things you have avoided your entire life.
I don’t like professional sports. I think they are a waste of time and distract humanity from progress and evolution. I’ve been to baseball, basketball, football and hockey games in my life. Boring, slow paced, uneventful.
So when my Zendesk coworkers invited me to a San Francisco Giants game, I was prepared with my standard answer of, “I don’t like professional sports.” Read More…
Ever been out in public and felt that everyone was staring at you?
Fidget during job interviews, standing in line or when you’re talking to someone new?
Today I sent out a tweet saying I felt comfortable in my own skin and it seems to of hit a nerve! I made this video to explain a little bit more my feelings behind the tweet:
A sense of self in the present moment is important to feeling truly at peace with who you are. The goal of this post is to help you internalize confidence, real time awareness and a consistent focus on your life goals.
Journal each night. This will help you to consider the day’s events and write down both the good and bad things that are on your mind. We work through problems in our dreams so what better way to prep than to summarize everything for your brain and go to sleep?!
Write down 3 goals daily. Life can be full of distractions. Don’t lose 10 years of your life with your head in the sand. Keep your life goals in front of you by writing them down in a notebook each day. This could be the same one as above or a smaller version that you carry around with you. Write down 1 subtask for each goal that you could complete each day.
Give your body a physical outlet. We are not in a natural environment. We wake up in homes we’ve built, we don’t have any natural predators and food is very easy to come by. This leads to a very sedentary lifestyle. Regular physical exercise like yoga is excellent to get the blood flowing through the body and I often have great ideas while doing yoga that cause me to run over and scribble them down on paper. Find a physical activity you enjoy. It can even be a video game console like the Wii! Read More…
I got to thinking tonight about how people view other people in social media. I realized that a lot of love songs from the 90′s fit the bill.
“I’ve been watching you baby, for a very long time”
If you’ve ever been talking to someone and the two of you start talking about someone who is “Internet Famous”, you may have experienced feelings of euphoria, amazement, wonder and curosity. I think many of these same feelings are like infatuous love (yes! I’m going to use that word even if it’s not a word).
I’m not sure how to start this blog post so I’m just going to start writing. Today I’m not writing about technology. Today I got a card and a couple of gifts from my sister, Gwendolyn. I haven’t talked to her since 2008.
I love my sister. It brings me much pain to realize how our childhood has affected her as an adult. I know that I always seem happy, excited, optimistic and ready for the next challenge that life brings my way. Unfortunately, her life and thoughts have been very different.
She suffers from depression. I didn’t really understand what this meant. I thought depression was something that was temporary. I thought it could be cured if things in life got better for you. I thought medication helped make life better if you have depression.
I know it took a lot for her to muster up the courage to do this.
Whenever I think of depression, that commercial with the cloud comes to mind where that’s sad person is always followed by that sad cloud. Then I think of the more happy, parody version MadTV did:
Pretty much 99.9999% of the time, I am happy, joyous, grateful, full of energy about life! Sometimes, I have felt guilty that I am just so excited about being alive while others seem to find the world a horrible place to exist.
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