I admit it is very hard to train yourself not to do a quick glance at your cell phone every now and then, to see what you might be “missing” – but I struggle to find any bit of news or information that would be important enough to endanger someone’s life.  Which brings me to today’s doubleheader of incredibly ”crumb-y” news items [NOTE: these are ratings I give various ideas: Smart Cookie (good), Half-Baked (so-so), Crumb (bad), etc]

First up is the idiotic new hands-free technology called AppLink from Ford, that allows you to listen to Tweets while you drive – although you are not allowed to respond. Well hallelujah for that small detail! While I love Twitter more than most (you know I do!), I can’t imagine needing to know what’s going on sooooo badly that I have to hear a verbal rundown of the current Twitter stream. And what if I did hear something so compelling that I just had to grab my phone and tweet back? Dumb, dumb and dumber.

I know many of you, me included, think we can multi-task – so I suppose this technology was born with the intention to let us do even more in even less time. But numerous studies have shown the multi-tasking concept to be a fraud. “The human brain has a crippling inability to do two tasks at once,” said neuroscientist René Marois, PhD, associate professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University, in an interview on Oprah.com. And a British study has found that texting while driving slows reaction time more than being drunk or high. So why do we insist on tempting fate?

And today’s second example is not only crumby, it’s just plain sad. Earlier this week, celebrity plastic surgeon Dr. Frank Ryan was killed in a car accident, reportedly caused because he was texting or tweeting while driving.  According to CBS News, Ryan died while driving the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu when his Jeep Wrangler went off a cliff, landing on its rooftop. Only moments before, Ryan was sending pictures and updates to his Twitter page.

So while I’m all for new technologies, and taking advantage of every social media tool out there, I hope we can all agree that tweeting while driving is just senseless.  There is nothing you can tweet that is so fascinating that it’s worth risking a human life, period.  But tell me what you think…just be sure to pull over before you start typing!

The gold spatula - an undeniable sign of retirement for a chef

Who throws you a retirement party when you are self-employed?

Good question. Is it your former clients? Is it your colleagues or your competitors or your friends or your family? All of the above or none of the above?

I just want my gold spatula.

Yes, what I’m trying to say, is that after nearly six years as a personal chef (The Incredible Chef!), I have decided to “retire” that business.  It was a decision long overdue, because I essentially had stopped working as a personal chef awhile back anyways, when most of my clients stopped booking cooking dates, didn’t return my calls or pushed their appointments farther and farther out. I think my business knew it was done before I did.

However it took some time to come up with the retirement concept, since I am not “of that age”, despite what the hair color in my photo might say (very premature, I promise!)  Originally, I decided to put my personal chef business six feet under, send it swimming with the fishes, declare it dead as a doornail…you get the point. I even mentally planned a “funeral”, wrote a faux obituary, thought about details for a wake – but no, that was not the answer.

Who me, retire?

Retirement.  That’s what Brett Favre would do…(I apologize to my non-football friends, few of you as there may be)  Retirement sounded much more kind and gentle and acceptable – and like my man Favre, I could change my mind someday and come back.  Even more than once.  Doubtful but yet a possibility.  So retirement it was.

So where the hell is my gold spatula?

I drafted a short email message to distribute, letting everyone know the update – since I know they were all sitting on pins and needles.  Or not.  Funny thing about these kind of emails – people that you haven’t heard from in ages come out of the woodwork and say nice things about you!  Very nice…almost like listening to your own funeral – oops I mean your own retirement party.  Nevertheless, the comments were kind, sincere and made me feel quite appreciated.  And then it happened.

Within the first 24 hours of drafting my “retirement” email, I received not one, not two but FIVE phone calls asking me if I was available to cook that week.  WTF??  Is this some kind of cosmic joke, I wondered.  Where have all you people been and why did you wait so long to need me?  And it should be noted, NONE of these five people had gotten wind of the retirement announcement.  Weird. Odd. Funny. Sad. Lots of emotions.

I had to wonder – what was the message in this?  Were these calls a “bright shiny object” luring me back into cooking before it was too late? Or were these calls “a test” to see if I really meant it (retirement)?  It was a difficult couple of days analyzing the signs but I’m pretty sure I know the answer. 

To further illuminate, the reason I finally retired the personal chef business was to concentrate fully on my developing marketing/social media consulting business for restaurants and the hospitality industry.  I had been juggling cooking and consulting the past six months and neither emerged as the bread-winner (so to speak) and neither was thriving.  So I made the decision to fully give up one (personal chef) to let the other one bloom.  Didn’t that happen in Sophie’s Choice? But I digress…

I will add that I received another three calls that week (for a total of 8!), after the retirement email was distributed, asking me to cook again.  Unreal – but easily identified as more bright shiny objects.  I think.  I have fully focused the past week or two on the consulting business and felt both a renewed energy (from me) and renewed interest (from others), so I know I’ve made the right decision.

But I’m still waiting for my gold spatula…

But, this idea is just bursting to be shared, so I’m going ahead with it – and guess what? It actually will be supported and guided by the 3 words I chose. Double bonus!

So today I embark on the “do 20 actions 10 times each in the year 2010″.  The reactions have ranged from “20 things? That’s a lot!” to “10 times? Big deal – that’s easy!” to “interesting”.  And I agree with them all.

But, I do believe this idea will give a blueprint to the year, and provide consistent, specific goals throughout the year that will provide balance, improvement and perspective to my life. And that’s a good thing.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle

I will spare you the details of the entire list, but I’d like to share a few of the activities to give you an idea of where I’m headed.  Plus, maybe you can help me accomplish some of them – don’t be shy!

One of the first business books I plan to read in 2010

Read a business book

- I already have a monthly book club that typically covers fiction/literature/etc. and I read my fair share of food-related books…but this year I need to consistently stay up on general business trends, ideas, best practices, etc. that will support my social media coaching endeavors.  Fitting in 10 of these books will be a challenge, but well worth pursuing.

Attend live arts performances – Every time I attend a concert, play, comedy show, or the like, I am so inspired, energized and entertained.  And I always wonder why I don’t go more often! So, I will do more to support the great cultural opportunities we have in our area - have any suggestions?

Meet new Twitter friends in person – It’s so easy to have “friendships” on Twitter, but how many of your followers have you actually met? Would they know your name if you walked up to them in person and used their REAL NAME, not “Hi, I’m @soandso? I was thrilled to finally meet some Twitter friends face-to-face this year - @kathycaseychef, @ChefRobinL, @nancyleson, @SeattleMaven, @HeinzMarketing, @JeffreyJKingman – just to name a few.  And it made it so much more interesting to tweet with them – and know that they’d actually reply and/or help me!  If I can meet at least 10 more of these Twitterific (ugh!) people in 2010, I’ll be very happy.

But I want...

Eat gluten-free or sugar-free for a week

- I’ve tried every diet under the sun (sound familiar?!) but one thing I know for sure…when I restrict my gluten/wheat/carbs intake, I feel much better and lose weight.  Ditto with the sugar, but that’s much harder thanks to my favorite two words – dark chocolate!  Taking a seven-day break from these tasty treats about once a month should help keep my diet balanced and keep my health in check.

Teach a Twitter class, with at least 15 attendees – I’m focused on improving my presence as a Social Media Coach and am committed to helping people learn to use social media tools well for fun, business or whatever they desire.  And I believe there’s more than enough interest to fill at least 10 of these classes, either beginner or advanced. And I should mention, another goal is to work for at least 10 non-food related companies this year, to diversity my experience and knowledge.

Swimming with the dolphins in Puerto Vallarta - definitely a 1+ night getaway!

Go on one-night (minimum) getaways

- I must admit my dogs (Buddy and Griffin, the amazing cocker spaniels!)  have ruled the roost in this area.  Rather than work at finding a suitable housesitter, we often choose not to get out of town for a weekend or take that week-long vacation or go camping, because the dogs either can’t go with us or there’s no one to stay with them. That must change!  Also, if I am to meet another goal of visit a different state 10 times, that will require doggie care – must find ASAP! I’m sure someone would love a few weekend getaways on the Edmonds waterfront with a partial view…hmmm???

So there you have it – a quick glimpse into my 20 actions to be repeated 10 times each, for a terrific 2010!  What do you think? I’d love your feedback and/or your own ideas and goals – let’s hear it!

However, after reading social media advisor Chris Brogan’s post Wiring Yourself for Success,  I’ve been inspired to play the game of choosing just three words to guide my actions, frame my thinking and measure my results for 2010. It’s a scary exercise for someone used to writing many words and describing things in greater detail – but here we go.

First, a clarification on Brogan’s process, which he began in 2006. The selection of three guiding words for the year is different from setting resolutions and goals since those two things have end points – meaning once you accomplish them, then what? You have to continually come up with more, better, etc. The use of three big-picture words as a compass point allows there to be constant growth, improvisation, interpretation, adjustment, etc. – similar to Keith Ferrazzi’s concept of performance goals vs. learning goals in his best-seller “Who’s Got Your Back?”

Here’s an example Ferrazzi gives:  You want to lose 10 pounds.  That’s a performance goal – you either hit the mark or you don’t.  Which means if you lose 9 pounds, you potentially could feel that you “failed” and fell short of your goal?  (this is why many people fail on diets!) The other side of the coin would be to set a learning goal of taking classes to cook healthier meals.  This has a long-term effect that will likely allow you to achieve your performance goal, but even if you don’t hit the 10 pound loss, you still have gained a valuable skill in your life with long-lasting health benefits. So, we want learning goals, yes?

Without further ado, my words for 2010 – Balance, Improvement, Perspective.

Balance – this is an concept I think about a lot, and continually strive to achieve. Am I playing more than working? Am I eating enough of the right kinds of food? Does my client load make sense and support my overall company goals? Do I spend too much time watching reality TV?

By choosing balance as a compass point for the year, I can measure virtually any idea/option/choice against its alternative.  The cool thing is, the definition of balance will be different on any given day (depending on the circumstances), which will allow me to live more “in the moment”, a concept previously not well-known to me! This will be a big change, for sure.

Improvement – isn’t this something we all hope for, in most areas of life? And therefore it makes a great barometer; instead of setting unreachable numerical goals, there can be satisfaction by at least being “better” than yesterday, or last time we tried. It seems many resolutions are blown the first time you do (or don’t do) something, so there’s no way to really satisfy the intention.  But if there was a continual raising of the bar over time, isn’t that a better measure?

Obviously, change doesn’t just happen.  It’s a process, slow but steady. In the book “Good to Great”, Jim Collins talks about successful businesses and how continual 1% improvement has such a significant cumulative effect.  For example, If you could improve a behavior or accomplishment by 1% per day (a small feat, right?), you’d be 50% better in about 7 weeks.  It’s hard to be motivated to go from selling 100 widgets a day to 150 per day, overnight. However, continual incremental improvement makes the goal possible, and worth working towards.

Perspective – whoa, this is a big one for me…and maybe for you too. As the saying goes, everyone just wants to know the WIIFM – What’s In It For Me! We all have our unique perspectives of life and what transpires, and it’s often so hard to put yourself in another shoes and wonder how it is for them. Or is that just me? Also, keeping perspective as an over-arching theme this year will help minimize the “woe is me” attitude or “life isn’t fair” feelings from creeping in. 

As author and marketing whiz Seth Godin noted in a recent blog  “The problem, of course, is that people don’t always think like you…If they only thought like you, of course, and knew what you know, then there wouldn’t be a problem.”  Isn’t that the truth?! I often find myself feeling overwhelmed by some minor detail or small thing that isn’t going the way “I” thought it should, or someone who doesn’t agree with me, so a little perspective should do wonders for my actions this year. I can’t wait to see what life looks like through someone else’s glasses!

So there you have it – 2010 is all about B.I.P.  Balance. Improvement. Perspective. I’d love to know what your three words are, if you’d care to share in the comments. This is going to be a fun ride – hang on!

In my last post, I wrote about shuffling down life’s buffet table to plant myself in front of the “let’s help food companies with Twitter” section.  All was good, things began to take shape, prospects appeared, personal chef clients stayed in hiding.

Then the FIRE HOSE let loose!  No kidding, in the next 24 hours I would be:

• bombarded with introductions to more than five different food companies that are interested in help with social media (my ultimate goal!)
• taking calls from several people about Twitter in general so they could tell me how they have it “handled” on their own (gee thanks)
• handed two potential personal chef/catering clients (read: bright shiny objects)
• overwhelmed with a multitude of my colleagues’ messages  and Tweets of support/congratulations (thank you)
• given great content and direction from a proven sales coaching pro
• soaking up great wisdom from a brilliant, strategic PR professional who gave me my next big idea (so unexpected and gracious of her!)

Whew – talk about drinking from a fire hose! My head has been spinning as I try to make sense of all the opportunity and sort through the priorities.  The problem, if there is one, that so much time is spent reacting that I don’t have time to be proactive and DO THE WORK!

Now I’m not suggesting that I “have it made” now, by any means.  I would even go as far to say this hasn’t resulted in one red cent – yet.  But the seeds are planted, possibilities are growing and the word is spreading.  Are there any more clichés I could use to express my excitement?!

This flurry of activity came after an afternoon walk on my Edmonds beach, where ideas typically “show up” and I get clarity on so many things I didn’t even know I needed answers for – all while supposedly picking up beach glass!

The new analogy I discovered on the beach was that my new business direction was akin to a repositioning cruise – say what? That’s when the cruise lines move their ships from one port to another (say, Alaska to the Caribbean) at the change of season and have the challenge of fewer passengers due to the one-way voyage, odd itineraries and lack of port visits.  However, the advantages for the passengers are much lower prices, more time at sea and a relaxed leisurely trip.

So I figured – food companies that hire me right now (at the beginning of my voyage) for their social media advising are going to get a great deal (financially and energetically) as I “reposition” my business. While I may not have a set course (who does in this new world?) and make all the customary tours, I am going to give them a terrific, value-packed ride through exciting territory while we cruise through this changing sea of social media!  To wit, companies will embark from one port (maybe where they aren’t very visible) and we will sail to a brand new exciting port (where they have new followers, engaged customers and everyone knows their name)!  I have no doubt these companies will get far more value that they ever expected – what do you think?!

So, what about that bright shiny object syndrome (BSOS)?  Well I wrote about BSOS in my other blog this week, on the Seattle Women & Business Examiner site.  The gist is that as I began to pull away from personal chef work towards social media, the “bright shiny objects” came flying in to distract me, and take my eyes off the direction I wanted to.  And maybe that’s how repositioning cruises started, come to think of it…but I digress.

This week’s BSO’s came in a relatively harmless-looking package, appearing to be financially rewarding and worthy of my time.  In fact, they were even posing as “helpers”, to pay the bills while I chased after this new business venture of mine – ha!  These were opportunities to do small catering gigs, which are really not my expertise, but they were flashing dollar signs at me.  I could do the events fairly easily, make a few bucks, and be done – much easier than the kind of energy I had to put in with ongoing personal chef clients.

But I quickly recalled the lessons learned last week from my “lifeline” friends – this is not the direction I’m going!  I had to remember that if I want to make room for the new business (social media), I can’t keep hanging out in the old ‘hood (cooking every day!). And while it pained me to pass up the catering opportunity, it was a relief to be rid of the stress, planning and energy I would expend – which would ultimately take time from my emerging passion to help food companies use social media in exciting new ways.

To sum it all up, what I’ve learned these past few days is that you have to reposition yourself away from the bright shiny objects when the fire hose cuts loose – no joke!

So tell me what you think about all these signs I keep getting and the direction my repositioning cruise is headed – I’m all ears!