by Gwen Bortner | Tasks & Goals
One of my hobbies has been gardening, particularly “low-maintenance” gardening. As such, iris have been a long time favorite flower for me.
When I moved into my current house, one of the ways I connected with the local community was to join the Garden Club. Decades before, my grandmother had been a member of this same club. Although we do talk about plants and gardening, for me the main value was to be able to connect with a small local community to which I was a stranger, although my family has historical ties in this area dating back well over 100 years.
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by Gwen Bortner | Abundance
I have always been a positive person. I am not sure if I was born with that outlook, or if I just developed it as a result of a wonderful upbringing. But regardless, I have learned over the years that there is amazing power in positive thinking.
[featured-image single-newwindow=”false” id=”130908-JumpForJoy” alt=”jump”]Photo Credit: Ant1_G via Compfight cc[/featured-image]
Whether you believe in nature or nurture, attitude is ultimately a choice. Looking for the best, seeking a win-win, believing in the possibilities are all ways we can achieve greater success.
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by Gwen Bortner | Tips & Tricks
[featured-image single-newwindow=”false” id=”130728-Start” title=”Scrabble Start”]Image via Flickr by jakeandlindsay[/featured-image]
At the beginning of the month I laid out a challenge for myself, to write a blog post a day. And like most challenges, resolutions, or goals, things started off like gangbusters! But then the middle of the month arrived which included about 10 days of travel. I knew I should get at least a few of my posts written ahead of time and scheduled, but I just didn’t allocate enough time.
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by Gwen Bortner | Tips & Tricks
I love movies – lots of movies – but I particularly enjoy a “surprise” movie. A surprise movie is that movie you decide to go see because a friend wants to see it or the one you watch because there is nothing else on and you feel like vegging out on the couch. You expect it to be bad, or just okay, and then it turns out that it is really good. I felt that way about Legally Blonde. What could have been a completely ridiculous movie was surprisingly good. But I particularly loved the smart character of Elle Woods — everything you expect plus a whole lot you don’t expect!
As I was reading an article today on the Harvard Business Review blog I realized what great leadership skills Elle actually displayed throughout the movie. The pink-wearing, perky blonde is not our typical image of strong leadership, but read on and I think you might agree that we should all aspire to be a bit more like Elle; she’s an excellent example of strong leadership.
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by Gwen Bortner | Presenting
The secret to excellence is simple: you have to be willing to try, miss the mark, analyze what went astray, make adjustments and then try again. In short, you have to be willing to practice!
[featured-image single-newwindow=”false” id=”130702-PianoKeyboard” alt=”Piano Keyboard”]Image via Flickr by dgj103[/featured-image]
And there it is, as simple as that. But it is really that simple? Probably not quite, because you do need to have some basic competencies in the area in which you seek to be excellent. But the difference between someone being truly excellent versus good or adequate is rarely (if ever) raw talent; it has significantly more to do with their willingness to invest time and energy in the form of practice.
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