A Little Self Discovery

As part of my ventures of Watering the Bamboo, I decided to take on the design and development of a website for a local contractor. Never having published a website before, I wasn't sure how it would go, but I decided that since design, real estate, architecture and decor are of personal interest to me, I should give it a whirl! Well, it's not done, but boy, I'm pretty proud of the progress I've made. Check it out for yourself: www.tytonconstruction.com. I stayed up night after night while the house was quiet developing page layouts, typing excerpts and imbedding hyperinks. What fun! Perhaps my new career will include some design aspects...???

Wa-hoo! What a ride!

Living cautiously is pretty much what your mother always tells you about living. Look both ways before you cross the street. Wear your seat belt. Don't listen to your music too loud or watch TV in the dark. Eat your vegetables. Get plenty of rest. And so on...today, though, I offer you this - one of my all time favorite quotes:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body...but, rather, to skid in sideways, champagne in one hand, strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, "Wa-hoo! What a ride!"  ~Author Unknown

A thought from Grey's Anatomy...

This isn't really a regular blog posts, but something I thought I would share. The timing of this comment just hits right on target....

Grey's Anatomy (yes, I'm a fan!) posts this FB status update:

"Adapt or die. As many times as we've heard it, the lesson doesn't get easier."

Hmmm...guess that pretty much sums it up, doesn't it?

Recommended Reading

Here are two books that lend themselves to the learning I have attained so far and will refer to:

Water the Bamboo: http://www.amazon.com/Water-Bamboo-Unleashing-Potential-Individuals/dp/1935313339/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1309854605&sr=8-1

Little Bets: http://www.amazon.com/Little-Bets-Breakthrough-Emerge-Discoveries/dp/1439170428/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309854899&sr=1-1

As we go, I will continue to recommend related links, books and materials you may find of interest and/or that I personally read to further my journey.

Water the what?

I spent the last week in class. Rumor had it that it would be one of those hold hands, hug a tree, sing kumbya type classes. One person who'd taken the course described it as a "climb a rope, pat each other on the back, bring world peace type B.S. classes"...yikes...what was I in for?

I went to class, somewhat reluctantly and spent Sunday afternoon awaiting some kind of "bomb" on what the week's activities would entail. Nothing. Everything seemed in order and that it would be another typical run-of-the-mill continuing education class.

What I would learn over the course of the next three days turned out to be more of a therapeutic awakening, rather than a graduate level course on adaptive leadership.

Just released from my job as an elementary principal due to budgetary shortfall, I was left reeling as to what I was going to do next or where I was going to go. The field of education continued to bear the burden of federal and state budget reductions. At just 28 years old, I was feeling like I'd spent the last eight years of my life pouring myself into something that while productive and positive wasn't all that personally rewarding. Night after night, I sat in my newborn's room rocking him, staring into the darkness, crying and wondering, why am I doing this? I got up every morning with a knot in my stomach and the sense of dread overcoming my body. For what? I kept saying I hated my job, but that seems now like just a bunch of lip service...after all, I kept doing it!

Back in class, we were learning about shifting our actions to meet the demands of the situations bestowed up on us. For most of my other peers, this was related to their endeavors as building administrators, ESD personnel, lead teachers and the like. For myself and an old friend, also in class, it was about our newfound positions of "unemployed".

The day after class finished, a friend of mine (who had also been through a career change earlier in his life) shared with me a copy of the book "Water the Bamboo". The book is a step by step manual for moving to action on a personal and team level. Based on the idea that when giant timber bamboo grows, it will rocket up an astonishing 90 feet in only 60 days, but not until at least three years of watering.

This blog will take you on my journey of watering the bamboo - through adaptive leadership tactics, my personal feats and failures, the emotional rollercoaster of considering a career shift and the learning I attain along the way. Hang on...it's going to be a ride!