Category Archives: Goals

Finding a Cause and Cure for Diabetic Blindness by Shaili Davuluru

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1443537353eye (1)I am currently a senior at a public South Bay Area high school. After developing a passion for human biology through my high school studies, I am planning to pursue the pre-med path in college in hopes of becoming a physician one day.

I enjoy sharing my findings here from the medical research project that I worked on last summer.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of blindness in the working age population. It is an eye disease that develops when a diabetic patient’s hyperglycemia has been left untreated or has been present for a long period of time.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for this disease at the moment. Physically, someone might experience blurred vision, dark splotches, or floaters in their view. On a microscopic level, it has been concluded that acellular capillaries and pericyte ghosts are histological hallmarks of early stage DR. Therefore, diabetic patients who exhibit these symptoms may be at a risk of having DR. Acellular capillaries, pericyte ghosts, and leakage of blood ultimately contribute to blindness or loss of vision.

Altered gene expression can have a profound effect on the survival of retinal endothelial cells and pericytes, which are the structural support cells of the retinal vasculature. In order to study the effects of altered gene expression in the retinal capillaries, one needs to isolate the retinal capillaries first.

In this lab, I learned how to isolate the retinal capillary network of mouse eyes, stain them, take images, and look for variability in the retinal capillary network. In particular, I looked for acellular capillaries and pericyte loss which are associated with the development and progression of DR.

To begin with some foundational information, the retina is a light sensitive tissue in the posterior portion of the eye that transmits light to the brain through a series of neurons. The retina, which is responsible for the central vision, contains the macula and fovea, which contribute to visual acuity (as show in the figure).

The retina consists of 10 different layers, 3 of which contain nerve layers and 2 of which are synapse layers. In the retinal vasculature there are structural cells called pericytes, which are embedded on the outside of the capillaries, and there are endothelial cells, which line the inner lumen of the capillaries.

DR is a disease that causes damage to the blood vessels in the retina and changes the morphology of these capillaries. In a diabetic condition, the structural pericytes begin to undergo apoptosis, and when they die, the capillary loses its structure. This forms acellular capillaries, which are thin, collapsed tubules that are prevalent in patients with DR.

In order to actually analyze for the presence of collapsed tubules in the mice, the vasculature is isolated through a 2-day process called Retinal Trypsin Digest, RTD, followed by a staining procedure to make the capillaries visible.

In the RTD process, the retina is put through numerous washes with a 3% Trypsin solution. The retinal vasculature is finally mounted onto a slide and stained with Periodic Acid- Schiff’s Reagent (PAS) and Hematoxylin before being imaged. The resulting images of the stained slides have a varying number of acellular capillaries in the retina.

There are some mouse retinas that have 6-10 thin acellular capillaries while others only have 1-3 acellular capillaries.

From these results, I have been able to show that diabetic retinas have more acellular capillaries (approximately 6-10 per region). Wildtype, non-diabetic, mice tend to have 0-2 acellular capillaries, because the mouse does not have diabetes and does not have the risk of getting diabetic retinopathy.

Essentially, in diabetic, high glucose animals, acellular capillaries as well as pericyte ghosts develop from compromised capillary structure and barriers.

I look forward to my exciting college years to prepare me for my future medical career.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Shaili Davuluru:
Shaili is currently a senior at a public South Bay Area high school. After developing a sincere passion for human biology through her high school experiences, she is planning to pursue the pre-med path in college in hopes of becoming a physician one day.

Lawyer Up or How I Launched a New Career at Age 50 — and you can too! by Kate Allure

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Kate Allure b&w (3) No, I didn’t become a lawyer at the ripe old age of fifty, but I did start a new career as an erotic romance author. In the two years since, I’ve published two books with a respected publisher, Sourcebooks, and established a brand as the author of “Sizzling Romance for Smart and Sexy Women.” In August my second book, Lawyer Up, launched. In writing it, I guess you could say I got to play with lawyers, in my mind anyway.

I never in a million years foresaw that I’d become a professional authoress of steamy stories. It’s been both a joy and a challenge. I’ll admit my achievement didn’t spring out of nothing—I had a non-fiction writing background—but still it took guts and a bit of luck…and that secret ingredient—foot surgery—to get where I am today (more on that later).

But first, here’s how it happened: Years ago I stopped working as a professional fundraiser to care for my two young, special-needs boys. Then, much later, when their care was well in hand I prepared to go back into grant writing with a new, more personal, focus on autism. But then, foot surgery laid me up for several weeks and I found myself writing salacious stories with the mood-enhancing aid of pain meds to help me dream up sexy situations…around doctors, of course. Eventually, the result became my debut book, a trio of stories published as Playing Doctor.

However, jumping back to where I had story nuggets, a fiftieth birthday looming ever closer, and a desire to try something new, I found that writing fiction was fun and freeing and so different from what I’d been doing, but it also required a giant leap of faith to pursue it professionally.

You only live once!
Live life to the fullest.
Everyday is a new beginning. bla bla bla.

All clichés but still true. Ask yourself, do you want to get to the end of your days and wish…wish things were different, wish you’d given it a try, wish you didn’t regret might-have-beens? Not everyone is in a place where they can launch a new career mid-life (and in today’s longer living, I’ve decided that fifty is going to be my mid-life), but for those of you that don’t have any real excuses, time’s a wastin…

If you’ve a dream job or goal that seems out of reach, I urge you to start taking steps toward making it a reality. I can’t promise you’ll succeed, but if you don’t at least try then it definitely won’t happen. And you just might find, as I have, that the effort is as much fun as the achievement. As we say in our house, “No duff sitting!” So, if you have a dream—little or big—here are some basic ideas to get you going:

Start Today
• make a plan and list every step needed to achieve your goal
• inventory your skills and weaknesses; be realistic
• don’t forget to solicit support from friends and family (you’ll need it during setbacks and periods of self-doubt)
• strategize for laying the ground work, whether filling in education/experience gaps or networking in a new field

While the happy-pills and free time recuperating were the catalyst that got me started writing fiction, afterwards I had to take concrete steps to turn my new hobby into a career. For an author this includes attending writing conferences to meet industry professionals, pitching to agents and editors, accepting and incorporating editing feedback, and more.

In my fundraising past, I’d sold other people’s art and now I was selling “me!” Scary stuff. Being told to “take a breath” in my first ever pitch appointment and then to “stop talking” when I didn’t seem to hear that she’d ask for my full manuscript felt awful, but I picked myself up and went back to pitching to anyone who would listen. So, I guess I’m not saying it’s going to be easy and you must want it badly, but still I think I would have regretted more always wondering what might have been. Ultimately, I went home with eight prospects, and surprisingly received an offer from the first lady who I’d pitched. Serendipity. You never know what’s going to happen.

So, for whatever your dream, do the research to find out how to enter the field as well as take inventory of your skills. If something’s lacking you’ll need to make plans to get the education or experience required, but that can be the first step in your plan.

Put the Steps In Your Calendar
• schedule yourself to implement at least one step every week
• expect that you may have to readjust your schedule at times

A plan’s worthless if you don’t do it, so make sure you do something, no matter how small, every week. For a writer this is making sure that you write something every single day. For you, it might be something different, but just make sure you keep moving forward.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
• there will be disappointments, so be ready
• keep striving, but be flexible—success might take a different form than you expected
• celebrate yourself for the effort and for the wins
• Don’t Give Up!

Setbacks may require you to alter your plan but other times you may leap ahead unexpectedly. I have a non-fiction project that hasn’t sold, but I’m exploring self-publishing. It’s a setback but I’m not giving up on something I believe in.

And celebrate your successes. I had a glass of champagne when I got my first offer and then when the book published I threw myself a launch party. When you work so hard to achieve something, you need to take a moment to enjoy the success. Chances are you’ll be back struggling again fairly soon. For me this took the form of rewrites on the second book. I changed editors and in the end rewrote my second book, Lawyer Up, four times. It was a frustrating, emotional period, but I’m thrilled with the end result—a vastly superior book. RT Book Reviews, the gold standard of romance reviews, thinks so to, upping my second book to four stars (the first received a respectable three). Recognize that struggle and setbacks can move you forward too as long as you don’t give up.

Start Today!
Yes, I’ve already said that, but it’s the most important thing you can do to realize your dream. Get started on it today. And don’t forget that there’s an element of luck in everything. If you don’t succeed at first, cut yourself some slack and just keep going.

WARNING — this paragraph is X-rated. As an erotic author I sometimes get asked how I do my research? (wink wink) Obviously, research is important in any field, and today the Internet makes it super easy to learn anything…I mean, seriously, anything! But nothing is as useful as “hands-on” research, and in my field that can be quite…pleasurable. I’ve discovered a whole new world hiding right in plain sight. It’s name is Fetlife and that’s all I’m gonna say, but you can Google it. Oh, and while you’re at it, search on “bunny flogger.” It’s heavenly!!! (believe me, it’s worth three exclamations). Besides researching, I’ve enjoyed writing steamy sex scenes that fit the different professions—doctors, lawyers, and coming up, strong men who work with their hands (yum). In Lawyer Up, I had a great fun writing a sizzling scenario set in a New Orleans courthouse late at night—the stories title, “Of Writs and Writhing,” kinda sums it up nicely.

So this leads to my final piece of advice—if you’re not having fun, you’ve got to rethink your goals. Life really is too short to waste time pursuing dreams that don’t fill you with joy, maybe not all the time but at least some of the time. I’m having a ball with my new career and that’s just as important as any money I make.

You may have noticed that I didn’t really address starting a new career at fifty. That’s because age shouldn’t be a factor at all, unless the looming birthday spurs you to action. Whether your twenty or sixty, if you want something you should go for it. Be realistic about your abilities, but don’t let a mere number stop you.

I’m truly grateful for the encouragement of my friends and family and for the good fortune that has helped me launch a new career at age fifty. AND, you can do it too—at whatever age you are.

Good luck and enjoy!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kate Allure writes erotic romance fiction and is the author of the Meeting Men series for Sourcebooks about real women meeting handsome professional men as they go about their everyday lives—and the fun they have behind closed doors! Her non-fiction writing included working for American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet and penning a weekly arts column. Beyond writing, Kate’s passions include traveling and exploring all things sensual with her loving husband.
Kate’s website: http://www.KateAllure.com
Kate’s fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/KateAllure.Sizzling.Romance
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KateAllure
Watch Kate’s new Playing Doctor book trailer: https://www.facebook.com/KateAllure.Sizzling.Romance/videos/vb.603530653080063/664317833668011/?type=2&theater or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHXNhKO8wpg

Sharing Is Caring: How Coworking Is Changing How We Work by Chrissy Gomez

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Originally Published on http://www.mbacentral.org/coworking/

As traditional office settings become less and less common, shared office spaces — also known as coworking — are becoming more popular. Startups in particular are turning to coworking arrangements to save on some of the initial cost of doing business.

What Is Coworking?

What is it? A style of work that involves a common working environment, typically an office, but where activity is independent. Unlike a traditional office, those in a coworking environment aren’t usually employed by the same company.
Continue reading→

Silicon Wellness was created to reduce the high stress and re-balance the energy by Linda Benn

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Linda BennWhat is the scrappiest most outrageous courageous thing you have done?

Have you ever had a spontaneous thought to move to the other side of the world? Give away your business or job and every possession to start your business all over again in another country?

This is what I did 5 years ago in 2010. I felt guided to move to the Bay area where I left my heart many years ago when I was traveling the world. I always loved San Francisco and it felt like home. I love the energy of the city as it is so alive and dynamic.

I grew up in a small town on the east coast of Australia where you access the Great Barrier Reef. My family owns charter boats. As a child growing up we would go out to the different islands, reefs and beaches and explore the marine life. I remember as a little girl when we anchored at Lady Musgrave Island. I asked one of Dad’s friends “is there any sharks here” & he replied “no the crocodile ate them all”! Then all us kids would jump over board and go swimming.

Even though I grew up in one of the most beautiful areas in the world, I was always excited to travel and explore the rest of the world. I was born with a different spirit to my family, their belief system is different to mine and I never felt accepted. I was always searching where do I belong in the world?

My family has taught me emotional resilience and how to survive alone.

I made my decision to move here when I was living at the beach another beautiful area in Australia on the east coast where the whales raise their young. I heard the song when you go to San Francisco where a flower in your hair and I started crying, actually sobbing! San Francisco was calling me to come home. I then proceeded to pack up and let go of everything in order to leave the country. I organized a temporary home for my little dog- “Penny” who was a short haired dachshund.

When I arrived on a 90 day tourist visa, I was on a mission to find out how can I stay permanently and get a work visa. Tenaciously I overcame every obstacle and challenge to get my visa. I did all the research and paperwork myself without an attorney. I went back to Australia to have the interview with the US consulate and was approved straight away and left Australia 2 weeks later with my little dog Penny.

In the last 4 ½ years, it has been a whirlwind of events including moving 12 times looking for where am I meant to be to shine my light? Yes you read correctly twelve times I moved and dragged Penny everywhere with me!!

I now live in Redwood City to focus on corporate companies in Silicon Valley and worked at Rocket Fuel for 4 ½ years as their wellness consultant. I saw a need that this area needs healing with so much stress, worry, overwhelm and fear. I knew this is where I am meant to be, to share my gifts to re-balance and calm people down! Penny my little dog would come to the office with me. She worked with all my clients in Australia and did her healing work. In the office she would just look at people and you can see the stress melt away from their face. She helped people to connect with their hearts and come back to their true self and be their authentic selves. Unfortunately she passed in November 2014 at the age of 15 ½ years old.

Silicon Wellness website was created in 2015 to provide holistic wellness services to corporations introducing the model, the ‘rapid growth management model’ with 3 levels of Physical, Energetic and Organizational wellness. My model is designed to provide opportunities for other holistic gifted practitioners who are looking for more work and wanting to learn new skills through my training program called the BENN technique incorporating my 5 R’s. More about my work in the next blog story.

I feel blessed to have followed my guidance, follow my heart, have faith and trust, this is what has kept me going. My intention is to now inspire and teach others how to move, change and follow their hearts to create their dreams and embrace the Aussie philosophy of No Worries Mate!

I didn’t give up on my dream and feel so grateful for being here. I love the work I do and the positive impact it has on others.

What have you always dreamed of doing? Make it happen now.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Linda Benn and her team provide sessions in the Silicon Valley bay area from San Francisco to San Jose. They can come to you and meet you when you arrive in the country.
For an appointment email linda@siliconwellness.com or call 415-290 3793. www.siliconwellness.com

 

 

When Deadlines Create Major Stress by Melissa Heisler

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heisler9404When I worked for corporate, I was tied to meetings, schedules, control, management, hierarchy, and chain of command. Rules and procedures were a way of life. Everything was planned then executed. The work day was rigid and uniform. Changes and the unexpected were met with horror and immediately neutralized. Over the past seven years, I learned a new way to go about business.

Being my own boss I was able to make changes to the way I work. At first, I met my day with the same dogmatic precision I had for the past eighteen years. It felt awful. Here I had my dream job yet it didn’t feel right. Then I realized I make the rules. I can decide when and how I work. I can change due dates. I can create my perfect work week. I didn’t have to adhere to the 9 to 5 format. I could work seven days a week or three. As long as my business progressed, how I made it progress didn’t matter.

In this new business style I learned to be flexible. At first when a client canceled or rescheduled, I was spun into a Type-A hissy fit thinking that the world would end because a session didn’t happen as planned. Eventually I found the flow. I released dates and times. If a client or meeting had to shift, I trusted that it was for the better knowing that there was a reason for the reschedule. Many times I could uncover why. For instance, a client wanted to delay her session a few days. In that time I happened across a piece of information which was perfect for the session. Had we met as initially planned, I would not have been able to share this information. Another example is writing. If I penciled in a time to write but don’t feel like it at that day and time, the writing was stifled and poor. If instead I seized the opportunity to write when the muse calls me, I write quickly, clearly, and more strongly. As I built up proof that divine timing was more ideal than any schedule I could devise, I relaxed into trust and learned to flow my business.

One work instance where I am still flung back into rigidity and Type-A stress revolves around deadlines – hard, crucial deadlines. Taxes need to be paid by April 15th. Credit card payments are due at the end of the month. These dates are not flexible and penalties are incurred if they are not met. Just having a deadline date is not enough to send me into a tailspin however. Two other elements are necessary to push me into stress overload. First is a large amount of diverse work. Never shy of a little hard work, I am very happy to roll up my sleeves and make it happen. But when the work is tied to a fixed deadline it triggers my worry and anxiety. This leads to cloudiness and inefficiency. Adding in the final part of the equation, not being able to complete the work on my own, and we have the trifecta of stress. Nothing frustrates me more than having a deadline to complete a lot of work and not being capable of completing the work on my own or needing to rely on others for their part of the work.

Being in the midst of just such a large workload with a fixed deadline for tasks I can not complete myself, I started to notice physical stress symptoms pop up; a little weight gain, unclear mind, inability to sleep soundly, and reaching for quick fix addictions to ease the anxiety. Once I realized the extent of my stress I stopped and took account of the situation. Instead of finding ways to make the work easier and faster (which I already had tried and just led to more fear and stress), I took a hard look at myself and my thoughts. I was trying to control things outside of my command which only led to more stress and worry. Instead I turned to trust. I recounted all the times when I let go and surrendered to divine timing and everything worked out better than I could have imagined. Also I let go of the desire to affect what I can not affect. The end result is that I feel better, I am more clear and able to act, and everything is happening as it should, when it should.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Melissa Heisler is a stress reduction expert, Type Me coach, speaker, and the author of From Type A to Type Me: How to Stop “Doing” Life and Start Living It. She is committed to guiding entrepreneurs and professionals to improve their health, increase their mental clarity, easily deal with difficult people, find peace in their current jobs, and improve their business effectiveness all through reducing their stress levels.
www.ItsMyLifeInc.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaheisler
https://www.facebook.com/itsmylifeinc

Finding Women in the Information Systems Environment by Beata Green

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Beata GREENThere is a marked gap between the number of male and female students enrolled in computer science in schools. That means very few women are entering into a computing career. Moreover, this is a concern, because the lack of women in information systems careers can actually slow down the economy. Not only that, but the risk trickles down to companies who are missing out on the more diverse teams that studies say will make their businesses more successful.

There are a host of benefits to acquiring female talent, one being better returns. Women, when placed in general leadership positions can offer far higher returns to shareholders and investors.

The fact that there are fewer women in information systems means that they can be very difficult to find, let alone attract for a business. However, there are ways to locate the talented female coders you seek.

Explore Different Networks
Do you currently know any female developers? If you don’t, chances are you won’t be able to use your existing networking channels to find them. Instead, try and connect with individuals from other networks, and explore your opportunities there.

Support and Encourage Existing Female Talent
Are there women who are already working for your organisation that would be a good fit in the developer role? Identify the strengths and qualities you want in a female developer, and then set about finding and interviewing them. Ensuring that potential female developers feel supported and encouraged will help them to feel more comfortable with new challenges.

But the challenge lies not only in finding women to work for your company; it will also require a change to the way your existing company culture is structured. It also requires you to effect a change in how women developers are perceived by those who already work for your company.

Change Your Company Culture
If you are currently working with teams of male coders but want to harness female talent, a culture change will likely be necessary. Many business owners believe that new female team members will simply adapt to the existing company culture. However, this won’t be beneficial to the new team member or to your business. To make any team member feel welcome, you must understand how they communicate, and then learn how to communicate in their language. That includes new female team members.

A Non-Competitive Environment
A non-competitive culture can provide far more benefits to your company than a competitive one. When everyone is on the same playing field, individual talent can be utilised far more efficiently. This kind of environment places importance and value on all team members, and can present a much more welcoming place for coders of all genders to work.

Don’t Change the Focus for Female Interviewees
Believe it or not, talking about the work-life balance your company offers will not impress female interviewees. A woman engineer, coder or developer will be interested in the challenges they will be solving at your company, just as male interviewees would. If you have a set of especially difficult challenges that you are dealing with, put the spotlight on these at the interview.

Some studies suggest that even simply removing any gendered pronouns from employee communication before handing it to your team can be enough. When management shows no gender bias, it can set an example for employees. Although this may seem like a simple solution, it can go a long way to communicating to existing and potential employees that you are interested in talent, regardless of the gender from which it may originate.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Beata Green is Managing Director of HeadChannel Ltd., London based bespoke software development company. She is responsible for overall strategic direction and overseeing the company’s continuing growth, building closer client relationships and maintaining best working practices. She enjoys brisk country walks with her red fox labrador and then relaxing in front of a TV crime drama with a glass of red wine.

11 Networking Tips to be Connected by Mari-Lyn Harris

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ml_fresh2 copyTo meet new people is sometimes very scary, especially when you don’t like doing it or you are new to town or shy.

Let’s say, you have just moved to a new city what do you do?  This is a great question,  Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank..asks this of people when there are offers on the table. “What are you going to do?”

When I moved to San Francisco CA,  I just knew I wanted to launch an idea/project here. Of course the weather and it’s beauty does help too!

What you need to do, is figure out who you want to meet..when I arrived I knew no one, even though people may say, “hey look me up and…” I think they just said this out courtesy don’t depend on them..some may actually  mean it, some really don’t. I was fortunate that my sister lived here for a long time and hooked me up with a few people..that I could meet or get to know. One of the gals was Liz –  Bette just said “Meet Mari–Lyn for coffee and pretend it’s her (Bette).”  We did, we hit it off, and I always keep in touch or find ways that we can socialize.

I’ve been here for almost 2 years..boy it’s hard to imagine.. I have some great connections in the Food business and still finding ways to meet more people.

My 11 Networking Tips:
1. Pick a focus or vertical of people that you want to meet, this will shorten your time.

2. Go to each city’s Chamber mixers – just to get a feel for the people and the area your are in. Living in Fremont, my roommate would tell me about it, introduce people to me, it will give you time to discover who you would like to get to know better. Each chamber has it’s own focus.

3. Volunteer – I actually volunteered for an organization that I liked what they were doing – Community Gardens.. I was offered a contract for a Project Manager as they received a grant. I said, yes! I was just so happy to have something while finding my way.

4.  Go to Church – Normally it’s not something someone says..find a church that believes in the values as you do.  That will fill your spirit. Why? Because, you’ll depend upon your Spirit or your God within to help you on your new adventure or journey.

5. Check out Meet-Up.com, they have many meetings listed, pick a couple that could help you in your job search, for socializing or just interests. There are lots of business networking groups.

6. Take a class. Learn something new and meet people at the same time.

7. If you are looking for a Tech job, check out this website (www.techjobscafe.com) for jobs. One thing that is funny here, people post jobs on Craigslist.com. Also be active on LinkedIn. Search Indeed.com, you can connect using your LinkedIn account.

8. Be proactive in meeting new people, ask them where they go.  If they are active, they will invite you as a guest. When you find a group you like, reciprocate.

9. Be consistent in networking. I met this gal who was a financial planner I asked her how she keeps up with all the networking she does. Her answer was, she goes to a women group every month and volunteers for committees. The rest of the time, she has five groups that she attends once a month on a consistent basis.

10. Start your own group, whether it’s online or meeting in person.  You never know who you are going to meet. Or join a group like Rotary that would be of interest to you.

11.  Be a hostess/host of the event. Even if it’s not yours. It’s a great way to get comfortable, you are helping other people who are shy and you meet more people. Years ago, I was coaching a gentleman who wanted to meet new people, he was rather shy, I just suggested that he become a host of the event. He reported back to me, saying it worked really well.

Try these 11 tips out see how they work for you. I love to hear which tips that have worked for you.

You can also be a guest blogger by writing a blog about you or your business for this website:  http://www.scrappywomen.biz/blog

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mari–Lyn Harris advises Food Startups – how to energize their Marketing. She blogs, writes about Marketing, Social Justice issues and a few things in-between.  Food 4 Social Change is a Producer Cooperative, provides many services to support food startups. A complete food-eco system. Check out http://food4socialchange.org

You Can’t Do Everything for Everyone by Melissa Heisler

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heisler9404Recently I watched a TED Talk by Marla Spivak about why bees are disappearing. I learned a lot about how intertwined we are with nature and how some of our current behaviors are not only hurting animals and plants, but our future as well. However I am not writing to preach about environmental issues. What I would like to share is my realization about how we all go throughout our days without truly realizing how our actions and words have a ripple effect around us.

It is common knowledge that bees pollinate flowers. But Ms. Spivak explained, “Bees are not out there pollinating our food intentionally. They’re out there because they need to eat. Bees get all the protein they need from pollen and all the carbohydrates they need from nectar.” Because these little guys are hungry, they are actually providing the means of food production for humans and animals. Bees are not grand humanitarians; they are simply going about their day.

Many of the individuals I coach are humanitarians. They live to give. They give to their family, their children, their jobs, and usually they also have a deep desire to give to humanity and the world overall. Sometimes they give too much; putting a social agenda above their own needs resulting in burnout. Sometimes they feel unfulfilled or a failure if they are not doing “big enough” work, if they are not helping to make large societal changes, if they are not changing the lives of millions. When I saw this TED Talk, I found hope for all of my givers. We all do not have the means of Bill and Melinda Gates to do large scale programs. We all do not have the celebrity of Geena Davis to use for gender equality awareness. We all do not have the world platform of Pope Francis to call for the end of poverty. But each of us, each and every day, are able to effect the world around us.

Years after college a friend of mine who had just appeared in a movie with Denzel Washington told me he would not be an actor if it was not for me. I was confused. In college I never singled this person out to support and encourage. He told me of a single incident that changed his life. He didn’t want to audition for a play for fear of rejection. I told him if he didn’t audition, he was already rejected. If he did audition, he at least had a chance at a part. He did audition and he did get a part. To this day, I don’t have a recollection of this conversation. I was just going about my business like a busy bee. I just happened to provide the right words and encouragement at the right time to make a change in someone else’s life.

Giving money and time to volunteer organizations is noble, needed, and fulfilling. But we don’t have to give up our lives to give to others. Every day is a chance to give to others by just being ourselves. We can smile in a grocery line. We can help our elderly neighbor bring in the groceries. We can take a friend to the doctor. We can talk to a graduate about landing their first job. None of these activities would take a lot of time or necessarily take us out of our routine. We don’t need to start a non-profit in order to contribute. Just being aware during the day will show opportunities for helping those around us. And our little effort can have a big impact in the long run.

“If you wait until you can do everything for everybody, instead of something for somebody, you’ll end up not doing nothing for nobody.” ~ Malcom Bane

What can you do today in your daily routine to give a little to those around you?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Melissa Heisler is a stress reduction expert, Type Me coach, speaker, and the author of From Type A to Type Me: How to Stop “Doing” Life and Start Living It. She is committed to guiding entrepreneurs and professionals to improve their health, increase their mental clarity, easily deal with difficult people, find peace in their current jobs, and improve their business effectiveness all through reducing their stress levels.
www.ItsMyLifeInc.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaheisler
https://www.facebook.com/itsmylifeinc

How To Sell To Difficult People by Amy Walker

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(First Published at http://amywalkerconsulting.com/blog/ on February 4, 2014)

Selling to the Stinkers

Ahhh, the Hecklers, the Know-It-Alls, and the Doubters.  They are not our favorite people to sell to.  I definitely prefer hearing, “This is exactly what I’ve been searching for!”  But in every event you are going to have a tricky person to sell to.  I know speakers and trainers who just let them go and work with the excited ones.  You can do that.  I also know that I have had some that were stinkers during the sales process and ended up being my most loyal and long running clients.  I’ve also closed stinkers who turned into stinker clients.  The key is to know which ones you need to let go and which ones really need you.

Why are they stinkers?

Most human beings are good and it is in our nature to protect ourselves.  When you come across crusty people, they are usually nursing some type of hurt.  Hecklers have often been through rejection or ridicule and had to laugh their way out of it;  Know-It-Alls often can’t handle being weak and imperfect; and Doubters have often been taken advantage of in the process.  The first step to handling a tough sale is to try to understand them and think of them as a good person.

shutterstock_114407182The Heckler: Makes Jokes, derails the presentation, asks completely irrelevant questions etc.

Remember that hecklers like to see you sweat.  They like pushing buttons.  The easiest way to handle a heckler is to get them on your side.  Laugh with them.  Joke with them.  Understand that they want to be seen and heard, and treat them with kindness.  When they like you, they will also sometimes be the most outspoken proponents of your products.

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The Know-it-All: Everything is great in their life, they don’t need help, every time you get close to finding their pain or problem they will block you

Know-it-alls have a hard time showing weakness.  They are usually strong and are used to doing things on their own.  They do not want to feel incompetent or wrong.  If you keep pushing to figure out their problems, they will put up wall after wall after wall.  When I come across these situations, I pull back and invite them to tell me what they see that isn’t working.  If they come up with nothing, I ask them what they want that they don’t have and then I ask permission to help them come up with solutions to get there.

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Doubters: Second guess you and your product.  Want proof.  Treat you like you are trying to pull one over.

NEVER sell this person into a product or service, you have to let them choose into it.  If you talk them into it, they will inevitable blame you for why their life has gone all wrong!  Ask them if they have had a negative experience before.  Listen to them and ask questions like, “What do you need from me so that this is a different experience?”  Keep asking them, “What else do you need to know before you can decide if this is right for you?”  Give them any type of reassurance they ask for.  If they want references, let them call your clients.  If they want facts, show them where to find it.  Your job in this situation is to inform where ever they need it and continue to invite them to get more answers until they have no more questions.  Then you ask for the sale.

When to RUN! 

Anyone that has worked with a pain in the butt client knows they make your life miserable.  Some of my favorite clients and people have fit into these 3 categories in the beginning.   But if they can’t pass my test, I will not work with them.  My test is simple.  Can they take accountability for themselves, or do they blame others?  If they blame others, they will blame me.  If they can take accountability I know we will be able to work together as soon as they are ready and I will move forward.  If not, I bust out of that sales call as soon as possible!

Happy Selling!

Amy Walker PicABOUT THE AUTHOR: Amy Walker is an International Executive Business Coach and CEO/Founder of Amy Walker Consulting.  As a Featured Professional Speaker she has shared the stage with some of the top names in the industry including Willie Jolley and Delatorro L. McNeal II.  Amy is a Master of Sales and has written sales scripts for billion dollar companies and organizations.  She has been regularly featured on television, radio, and print.  Amy is passionate about Women in Business, Making Businesses Thrive, and Balancing Business and Family.  She is the happily married mother of 5 boys.
Website: www.amywalkerconsulting.com
Facebook:  Amy Walker Consulting  – https://www.facebook.com/AmyWalkerConsulting
Twitter: @amywalkercoach – https://twitter.com/AmyWalkerCoach
Instagram: amywalkercoach – https://instagram.com/amywalkercoach/
Youtube:  Amy Walker Consulting – https://www.youtube.com/user/awalker2911
Linkedin: Amy Walker – www.linkedin.com/in/amywalkerconsulting

The Cost of Business as Usual by Melissa Heisler

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heisler9404Most individuals in current business environments have the feeling of being chained to one’s desk for an inhuman amount of hours, running to endless meetings, and being bombarded by constant emails and calls. Many employees are doing the work of two or more people these days. Associates are being held accountable for unrealistic sales goals. Everything is a crisis. The result is stress. And a lot of it.

The irony is that the more hectic our day, the more stress we experience and the less productive we become. When we are stressed, our fight-or-flight system kicks in, the same unconscious system which takes over if we are in physical danger. All of our energy goes into our muscles to help us run or fight. Our digestive, reproductive, and immune systems are turned off. The longer we are stressed, the longer our basic systems are turned off causing ulcers and other digestive issues, along with a host of other physiological problems. The fight-or-flight system runs on autopilot so our cognitive mind is cloudy. Since our minds are constantly cloudy our work is slower, inefficient, and ineffective.

One great way to combat our daily stress is to disconnect from our fight-or-flight limbic brains and allow our normal bodily functions to return to normal. We can do this by simply taking a walk once or twice a day, or getting up from our desk every hour to do a few minutes of physical movement. Many employees can also find relief using meditation during the work day to help them disconnect from their reactionary stressed-based minds and reconnect with their effective, intuitive, calm cognitive minds.

Changing expectations about communication reaction time can also make a big difference. Many employees feel a prisoner of their electronics. When the communication pops up, they stop what they are doing, read the email, determine it is not urgent, and go back to the original project. When the next email pops up, the cycle repeats. The result is being constantly busy but getting nothing done. Working this way is an amazing waste of time and focus. Instead of constantly checking in with communications, turn off notifications for email, texts and social media, and instead carve out time slots during the day to check communications. This allows for better focus, more efficiency, and less stress.

When you do take a moment to look at the communications, open each only once and act upon it in that moment. Choose to either Do, Delegate, Delay, or Delete.

  • Do: Respond and complete the request in that moment.
  • Delegate: Is this the highest and best use of your time? Is there someone else you can delegate this to?  Is there an automated system you can put in place to handle a specific type of email?
  • Delay: If the email does not need to be handled right now, but it does need to be done by you, add a reminder to come back to it. Don’t just leave it in your inbox as you may then open it again in the future only to delay it again. Color code the email as a “future” and set up a follow-up reminder.
  • Delete: Does this need to be done at all? Is there really anything you need to address with it? If you find you are constantly deleting emails from certain sources, you may want to unsubscribe from the list or remove yourself from the project.

Adding in movement, disconnecting from the day, and shifting your relationship with communication, can help reduce some of your workplace stress leading to more productivity and increased wellness.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Melissa Heisler is a stress reduction expert, Type Me coach, speaker, and the author of From Type A to Type Me: How to Stop “Doing” Life and Start Living It. She is committed to guiding entrepreneurs and professionals to improve their health, increase their mental clarity, easily deal with difficult people, find peace in their current jobs, and improve their business effectiveness all through reducing their stress levels.
www.ItsMyLifeInc.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaheisler
https://www.facebook.com/itsmylifeinc