Spontaneous dancing around the world becomes an internet sensation. I want to be like Matt when I grow up.

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Oddly enough today I met a puppeteer on the street. Our conversation led to her saying she grew up in Massachusetts among birch trees. I exclaimed it was the third time in 2 weeks that “birches” had come up in conversation. She insisted I look up the symbolism of birches.

This concept tree symbolism was new to me, despite my long time in Berkeley

The Celts and Tree Symbolism

One website translates Celtic beliefs to about birch trees as:

“a pioneer, courageously taking root and starting anew to revive the landscape where no other would before….The birch sings to us: Shine, take hold, express your creative expanse, light the way so that others may follow…Associated with the sun, the birch is a solar emblem, and facilitates passion, energy, as well as growth.”

MUCH more interesting than the typical description of my zodiac sign. Although I have no idea how “they” derived these interpretations. Let me know what happens when you try out “What’s your tree?” on someone in a bar.

Birches by Robert Frost
When I see birches bend to left and right
Across the lines of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy’s been swinging them.
But swinging doesn’t bend them down to stay.
Ice-storms do that. Often you must have seen them
Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning
After a rain. They click upon themselves
As the breeze rises, and turn many-coloured
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells
Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust
Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away
You’d think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.
They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load,
And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed
So low for long, they never right themselves:
You may see their trunks arching in the woods
Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground,
Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair
Before them over their heads to dry in the sun.
But I was going to say when Truth broke in
With all her matter-of-fact about the ice-storm,
I should prefer to have some boy bend them
As he went out and in to fetch the cows–
Some boy too far from town to learn baseball,
Whose only play was what he found himself,
Summer or winter, and could play alone.
One by one he subdued his father’s trees
By riding them down over and over again
Until he took the stiffness out of them,
And not one but hung limp, not one was left
For him to conquer. He learned all there was
To learn about not launching out too soon
And so not carrying the tree away
Clear to the ground. He always kept his poise
To the top branches, climbing carefully
With the same pains you use to fill a cup
Up to the brim, and even above the brim.
Then he flung outward, feet first, with a swish,
Kicking his way down through the air to the ground.

So was I once myself a swinger of birches.
And so I dream of going back to be.
It’s when I’m weary of considerations,
And life is too much like a pathless wood
Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs
Broken across it, and one eye is weeping
From a twig’s having lashed across it open.
I’d like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.
May no fate wilfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth’s the right place for love:
I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.
I’d like to go by climbing a birch tree~
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.

(Indeed! –Susie) Do you have a birch tale?

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Remember that old joke?

Happy Independence Day! No matter where you are, make your day by looking at this beautiful July 4th e-card from Jacquie Lawson, perhaps the best e-card site on the net.

E pluribus unum! A great motto in many ways.

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Recently I engaged in a discussion about chocolate with someone where I rattled off my extensive chocolate resume.

Her response: “With all that passion around chocolate I am surprised to hear you’re not more involved. ”

Tis true. I first dipped chocolate as a tyke. I worked for several years at a chocolate store. My MBA thesis related to chocolate. I’m a chocolate industry trivia nerd. I’ve thought about starting a chocolate business. The list goes on and on.

Why have I not done so?

Because whenever I embark on anything new in life, I imagine the realities of the outcome.

When the pedal hits the metal, there’s much to NOT like about running a chocolate business. As I mentioned in my blog post about test driving things, I’ve been there and don’t want to do that.

A chocolate making business entails:

• Perfection (When I make chocolate, it usually comes out with those grey stripes. And I don’t care.)
• Quality control and carefully managing demand (Or risk losing big $$$)
• Temptation day in and day out (Who needs that?!)

And no, I don’t get sick of chocolate. So fear of diabetes and weight gain is always there.

The question of whether to pursue artistic endeavors—as well as Internet passion projects like SuperViva (which I do think has a viable business model but went on my “back burner.”) To which I ask myself: Do I want to make a living from them. Or do I just want them “out there,” and that is the raison d’etre.

Barbara Sher promotes a concept of having a “good enough job.”

That’s a job that will pay the bills and enable you to pursue your passions on the side. While ideally you will love your work, the idea is that you have a job that enables you to enjoy your passions without forcing them to be the way you earn a living.

Envision the Incarnations Your Passion Could Take

Often when people think of a chocolate or other food business like a bakery, a store or a stand at the farmer’s market comes to mind. The hours can be grueling. Consumers are fickle. If people say restaurants are hard business, these may be even harder.

There are so many ways to pursue an interest as a business. Ask yourself:
1) What do you want to get out of it?
2) What don’t you want?
3) What will it be like in day to day reality? Would you get tired of it? Does it provide the lifestyle you want?

My “requirements” for a money-making chocolate endeavor would include:

• Knowing people are enjoying my creations through firsthand input or getting feedback.
• No worries about storing chocolate or keeping it intact (like at an outdoor venue).
• Flexibility, not wanting to be in a store all the time.
• Varieties of chocolate that could withstand flaws
• Avoiding down times like the slow summer season.
• The chance to interact with customers.
• It’s not my only work, as I don’t think it would be fulfilling compared to the work I do now.

Options could be:

• A seasonal business that closes for the summer
• English toffee or candied fruit…varieties that are all weather friendly!
• Wholesaling to caterers or cafes etc
• Chocolate on demand or for special occasions only
• Giving chocolate making classes
• Having a “learn to make chocolate” party business

As it stands, I still have many interests that override my desire to start a chocolate business. Instead, I’m throwing a chocolate-making party like the one at the top of this post. And much like my last chocolate party, it will fulfill many of the things I would seek in a chocolate business, only for a much briefer time. Voila!

Have you turned your “passion into profit?” Or chosen not to do so?

More importantly, are you drooling over the numerous mentions of chocolate?

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Positive psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi points out in his book of the same title that often when you vacation or watch TV, it feels like you’re relaxing. But in reality those activities might not be as fulfilling as engaging in things that immerse you into the flow state.

With that in mind, hide your cell phone and clock and…

Get into the flow…

1. Clean out your magazines and make a collage. Cut, paste, don’t think about it.
2. Play an all night card game or go out dancing till the wee hours. Or both!
3. Mow the lawn
4. Try an activity that uses your hands - like hand building ceramics, kneading bread or pizza dough.
5. Go on a long bike ride with a picnic at the end.
6. Get really into your favorite sport, game, art, or musical activity without tracking time.
7. Play with toys, building blocks, or some other thing that kids usually do.
8. Cook something that takes a lot of stirring or time.
9. Spend a day with friends in a garage sale, sitting around, having fun.
10. Do whatever makes you get into that happy state where time passes!

Now, what immerses you into a state of flow?

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This week we enjoyed “Spare the Air day” in the San Francisco Bay Area, with free transportation until noon. On a rare very warm summer day, this means jam-packed transportation. Which made for a perfect day for my Free Ideas Brainstorm experiment.

My goal: To see if perfect strangers would engage in brainstorms on whatever topic interested them. This would fulfill my love of generating ideas and help whoever took me up on the offer. And of course to promote the joy of a SuperViva life list.

It was scary going alone with a quickly designed sign, wondering if people would think (I mean find out) that I’m crazy. But based on encouragement from good friends - Melea, my life coach Susan, and others - I left the house at 7am, hopped on the BART subway to the bus to the ferry in Oakland.

There the experiment began. It was a blessing in disguise that I’d just missed the ferry, which runs only hourly. That meant a bunch of bored people at my “disposal.”

Mike, professional photographer and designer

Mike grew up in the area and was out to take photos on this beautiful day. His main need was to get more business.
What he learned from me: I suggested posting his services on Yelp (the most popular services review site in the Bay Area) and Craigslist, where I’d seen photographers advertise.
What I learned from him: It’s good to be able to pitch yourself. I asked a bunch of questions about the type of photography he does, and he was able to answer them all. The answer was: everything!

Richie, future security guard / expert janitor

Richie is a happy, hardworking fellow who grew up locally and dreams of world travel—despite the fact that he’s never left California.

He avoids frivolous expenses so he can save up for his future travels, especially around Asia. He’s enjoyed a career in janitorial work and is working to become a security guard to earn more.

What he learned from me:
First, I told him what his t-shirt meant: that Orixas are spirits from the Yoruba religion in Brazil. Then I gave all kinds of travel tips to help him embark:

1. I explained how to get a passport.
2. For traveling cheaply, a multi-country ticket from a company like AirTreks might make sense.
3. MegaBus has very cheap trips between the Bay area and Los Angeles.

What I learned from him: How inspiring and delightful it is to meet someone who has big ideas about his life and is working toward them step by step. It was really great talking to him.

Andy, trumpeter and more

I’m guessing my exuberant response shocked Andy, after he revealed he’s a trumpeter with a funky “alternative” marching band I love: The Xtra Action Marching Band. This band does private parties and shows and, in fact, played at an old work party I went to!

What he learned from me: He learned about a fun July 11 music fest at the Oakland Museum.
What I learned from him: He’s playing at a voodoo music fest in New Orleans in October, which sounds like a blast (and a perfect life list item). I also learned that many brass instrument companies have gone out of business over the years as they’ve declined in popularity.

Billy Jam, long time DJ, producer etc.

Billy started by telling me that he blogs for Amoeba Records. Bells went off when he I heard his name and I reacted as if I’d met a rock star. He was a major DJ in Bay Area commercial and college radio for years.

Turns out he lives in New York now and is very into street performance art experiments, much like mine, and we had a great lively conversation.

What he learned from me: I told him about the Gel Conference for which he might be a good participant.
What I learned from him: He told me about some women who instantly converted part of a moving New York subway car into a living room, along with curtains, lamp, rugs etc. How fun.

John, student / traveler / student / traveler

John had recently moved to California from Florida and soon will embark on a several month trip abroad. College age and disenchanted with his major, the one thing he knows is he likes traveling.

His one big goal, which made him really smile animatedly, is to own houses in 2 places and live part of the year in each.

What he learned from me: I told him about careers in Ethnography, which companies like Apple rely upon to study their customers’ actual product usage. He vehemently rejected that career path.
What I learned from him: 1) Yes, it might be nice to be able to do some things over again if I knew then what I know now! 2) It’s nice to know what you want. Or don’t want.

Tatiana, marketing maven and sustainable food expert

Tatiana is head of marketing for Boccalone [vegetarians may not want to go there] whose artisan pork salumi shop had just opened in the San Francisco Ferry Building. This business is one of those kismet stories where just as they were looking for a facility, they found a retiring Portuguese sausage maker who wanted to sell his Oakland factory. There, they cold cure the pork salumi, proscuitto, and other meats using old world techniques. (Oakland and nearby towns are sausage central, with a strong Portuguese heritage, including Gallo salami and Aidells sausage.)

What she learned from me: Her mind was fully on the shop. So: nothing!
What I learned from her: I’m the one who benefited from this brainstorm attempt.

1. My world is small and tightknit. It thrilled me to learn I know one of Boccalone’s co-founders, the infectiously happy Mark Pastore, who also runs the popular Incanto Italian restaurant in San Francisco’s Noe Valley area. His persistence and dedication to realizing his vision for the restaurant (after a former career in software) has always impressed me.
2. I also learned that “boccalone” means “big mouth” in Italian. It refers to her husband, Chris Cosentino, who also is part of Incanto and was on the Next Iron Chef.
3. And most importantly I learned that maybe it’s time I finally get involved with the farmer’s market and again with Slow Food.

Pam, Future chef

New to the area from Illinois, Pam had already started culinary school when she moved to the bay area to complete her schooling.

What she learned from me: I told her about Tante Marie cooking school, as an alternative to the “big” very expensive ones. And also told her to go to the Saturday farmer’s market at the San Francisco Ferry Building, where she would have culinary sensory overload, in a good way.
What I learned from her: She filled me in that San Francisco has a Cordon Bleu school which I had not realized.

Unnamed Woman in hospitality sales

During a short bus ride I learned that “Jane Doe” works in hospitality sales and is hating her 2-3 hour daily commute. She wants to get a job close to home…with very little flexibility. I was surprised that after enduring such a long commute, even changing to a 15 minute commute would be too far for her.
What she learned from me: I suggested she should probably go into telesales if she wants to work within a mile of her home, which is on an island. I think she knew that though.
What I learned from her: When you have your priorities, you have your priorities.

Krista (career unknown)

I only had 2 minutes to talk to Krista. For some reason I didn’t want to ask her what she’s doing now with her life, although she wants to have more time for projects—but didn’t have any in mind.
What she learned from me: Of course I told her to get thee to SuperViva for ideas!
What I learned from her: It’s hard to brainstorm in a 2 block stretch.

• It’s not so bad acting weird in public by yourself. Some of the most famous weirdos on the streets are solo performers, right? While, yes, the world loves couples and groups, acting alone will impress you and it will impress others. Be fearless!
• Signs are good. Having a sign gives people a heads up about what you’re doing. Then you don’t have to “pitch” them from scratch verbally.
• People who work or have interests similar to mine have the luxury of being out and about in the morning. Namely musicians, people who travel, and those into food.
• Taking improv classes and learning how to speak spontaneously through Toastmasters continues to help me.
• I want to do this again! It was so much fun.

If you enjoyed this experiment and story, please “Digg” it and/or link to it to spread the word! Thanks

Add comments and ideas here of other experiments or things you want to brainstorm!

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I’m so excited to meet Shelly77, a new SuperViva member, who has a great story to tell about why you should start living TODAY and not wait until after an illness diagnosis:

I had breast cancer that was dignosed a few days before my 29th birthday. The good news is that I’m cancer free and about to turn 31.

I love the concept of Superviva because before I got sick, there were so many things I assumed I would do “some day”. There was so much traveling that I thought maybe I would be able to do when I retired. Now I realize that instead of sitting around waiting for those things to happen “some
day”, I can make them happen now! Thank you for turning your experience into an inspiration for others

I love Shelly’s “theme for this year” which is: Where do you run when you jump off the hamster wheel?

Making a life list will help direct her!

Here’s me a few years ago celebrating my recovery with a LLS half-marathon—which I highly recommend over doing a full marathon for knee preservation purposes! Better yet, do something different and daring that’s on your life list to raise money. As another cancer survivor friend once said “Screw marathons!”

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Have you always wanted to set a world record? If so, add it to your life list!

Better yet, be part of the Mozilla Foundation’s effort to set a Guinness Book world record for the most software downloaded in a day. As a Firefox user since the day it first came out, and friend of many people who create this software, I guarantee* you’ll also enjoy using the best web browser in the world.

My top 3 reasons to use Firefox are:
1) Many interesting and useful add on tools for a better Internet experience
2) A world of Firefox loving developers constantly improve the browser.
3) To date, it’s been the most secure browser for Internet surfing.
Bonus point: It FEELS good. You know when software or a website just makes you happy?

See what’s so great in Firefox 3 and download it starting at 10 am PST today at http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/

*The Wall Street Journal says it’s the best too!

Or get a Google toolbar along with Firefox to easily access Google’s great services.

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In reading about the sudden passing of Tim Russert, who questioned the powerful and influential as moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” one thing in particular caught my eye.

Brian Williams called him “aggressively unfancy.”

Why do I love that?

It’s like the brand mantra, a company’s guiding statement, which Guy Kawasaki espouses. Only it can help you identify the kind of person you want to be.

I can imagine someone who is aggressively unfancy. Hal Riney, a multiple award winning ad man, seemed to often create aggressively unfancy (”folksy”) characters. Probably Ross Perot could be described the say way. And I’m guessing so too was Joan Kroc, philanthropic wife of McDonald’s founder.

Crafting Your Personal Mantra

To be honest I’m just making this up off the cuff, as a proposed experiment: An adverb plus an adjective seems like a format that will encompass your mantra. Two words may not be enough. But you get the idea:

• effortlessly delightful
• eternally caring
• purely good
• constantly living

Mine…something like: infectiously inspiring.

Do you have a mantra? What do you think and what is your process to find yours?

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A few years ago a good friend participated in The 48 Hour Film Project—which I consider one of the most fun creative contests out there.

“The 48 Hour Film Project is a wild and sleepless weekend in which you and a team make a movie—write, shoot, edit and score it—in just 48 hours. On Friday night, you get a character, a prop, a line of dialogue and a genre, all to include in your movie. 48 hours later, the movie must be complete.”

Registration is now underway to participate as a team across the US and many International cities.
(Hurry, many are due June 23.)

This year’s competition came to my attention when I saw a great ad on Craigslist looking for actors:

I am looking for several people to fill several various roles depending on the genre we get. If you have the range of being - Detectives, CSI, Back Alley Mafia men, brawling fighters, Sultry leading ladies, crackhead, meth addict, hero or heroine,

Got Dreams of Being in Film?

If you have goal on your life list to make a movie, be in a movie, be an extra in a film, or other film related goals, try to get into the 48 Hour Film Project!

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