RockstarCarlene.com: The Unrelenting Optimist » Links

Dying daily

Carlene — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:38:20 +0000

My Twitter friend Leslee Horner has a blog called “Waiting for the Click,” and this week she had a very nice entry about “dying daily.” Here’s an excerpt, which is actually advice from her friend Biswajit, a poet. Click the quote to visit her blog and read the rest for yourself:

throw away all fear
thoughts are like old garments
you keep on changing
leave everything
even the fear to lose this being
what is beautiful is your soul
so nourish it with love
devotion
faith

I’m going to mull this one over and see what my own thoughts are about “dying daily.” And that, in a nutshell, is why I love reading and learning, because of the questions that I come up with to discuss with myself.

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From the keyboard of a man I respect

Carlene — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:30:44 +0000

I signed up to receive daily emails from Seth Godin’s blog, which is dedicated to guiding open-minded business people to the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. The reason I enjoy Seth’s writing so much is how easily it applies to real life, not just the business world.

One of the biggest points of the blog it basically the Golden Rule (treat others the way you want to be treated) with a twist – it reminds businesspeople to stop succumbing to the temptation to put money, not clients, first.

Sounds obvious, but trust me – after a few years of every customer trying to take you for a ride and squeeze you dry, we tend to get a little bitter at the edges.

Here’s an article I particularly enjoyed:

Like a dream come true

That’s the way Derek Sivers (founder of CDBaby) described his mission statement in building the company. “What could I build that would be a like a dream come true for independent musicians?”

What an extraordinarily universal way to construct a product, a service or a business. Notice that dreams are rarely “within reason” or “under the circumstances.” No, dreams are dreams. If your business is a dream come true for customers, you win. Game over.

Too often, I hear about businesses that just might be a dream come true for their owners, but hardly for the people they seek to recruit or the customers they hope to snare. What do your prospects dream of? What would get them to wait in line?

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A whole generation viewed with equal parts admiration and contempt

Carlene — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:30:28 +0000

I stumbled across this article today and my god, I found that it both hit way too close to home while being completely enjoyable. It’s the first time I’ve read an article lumping my entire generation under the term “entitled” while also explaining why in a concise way. It was written by a Gen Y-er, and it’s an honest and, frankly, awesome look at the most volatile generation yet.

I’m not quite sure how that works, but it does.

Some of my favorite clips are below, and click on the link on the bottom if you’d like to read the article in its entirely. It’s worth the read, I promise.

Attracting the twentysomething worker

Generation Y..[...]…They’re ambitious, they’re demanding and they question everything, so if there isn’t a good reason for that long commute or late night, don’t expect them to do it. When it comes to loyalty, the companies they work for are last on their list – behind their families, their friends, their communities, their co-workers and, of course, themselves. [....]

[....] the early baby-boomers, [....] with their ’60s sensibility and navel-gazing – [....] left their mark on just about every institution they passed through. Now come their children, to confound them. The kids – self-absorbed, gregarious, multitasking, loud, optimistic, pierced – are exactly what the boomers raised them to be, and now they’re being themselves all over the business world. [....]

When it comes to Gen Y’s intangible characteristics, the lexicon is less than flattering. Try “needy,” “entitled.” Despite a consensus that they’re not slackers, there is a suspicion that they’ve avoided that moniker only by creating enough commotion to distract from the fact that they’re really not that into “work.”

[....] For some of them the concept “work ethic” needs rethinking. “I had a conversation with the CFO of a big company in New York,” says Tamara Erickson, co-author of the 2006 book “Workforce Crisis,” “and he said, ‘I can’t find anyone to hire who’s willing to work 60 hours a week. Can you talk to them?’ And I said, ‘Why don’t I start by talking to you? What they’re really telling you is that they’re sorry it takes you so long to get your work done.’” [....]

While development is a long-term goal, it begins in the short term with harnessing Gen Yers’ energy. “They’re so vocal that you can almost take an associate to a meeting with the CEO,” says Asher, “because something that comes out of her mouth is going to be actually outside the box, something that none of us have ever thought about.” [....]

Gen Yers have been told since they were toddlers that [....] they were not promised a healthy, happy tomorrow. So they’re determined to live their best lives now.

Read the rest of this article in its entirety.

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Fun find to brighten up a Monday

Carlene — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:05:00 +0000

Another benefit of new Twitter friends is they hook you up with some cool websites you would most likely not have found on your own. Today’s find was also courtesy of Gretchen Rubin’s blog. and if you enjoy my Cooper photography you are going to love this woman’s blog:

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www.ColorMeKatie.blogspot.com (click to visit site)

(If you want to follow me on Twitter, my name is @RockstarCarlene!)

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Photo shoot for GPR Masonry

Carlene — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:55:26 +0000

One of the photos I took for the GPRmasonry.com website. Click the photo to view the website.

The wet summer we’ve had in New England has been killing me in terms of my outdoor shoots. This shoot was for GPR Masonry, and thank goodness stone looks better wet! Greg was a champ about the weather and we avoided the rain by mere minutes.

Like what you see? Visit the official VBCphoto.com (photography) and Visions by Carlene (graphic design) webpages.

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Good quote to counteract a bad day

Carlene — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:00:23 +0000

Nothing can throw me off course like a nasty client phone call or realizing I owe a bill I can’t pay; it’s quotes like this that help me keep the faith.

Painful as it may be, a significant emotional event can be the catalyst for choosing a direction that serves us–and those around us — more effectively. Look for the learning.

Eric Allenbaugh
from the book Wake-up Calls: You Don't Have to Sleepwalk Through Your Life, Love, or Career!“Wake-Up Calls”

Worth every penny

Carlene — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:05:18 +0000

I’m generally bored by ESPN, except for when they do their Make-A-Wish series. That is the only time you will find this bookworm avidly watching football clips and sitting through Wimbleton recaps.

The first time I watched the Make-A-Wish series I burst into tears and cried to Ian for about an hour. It wasn’t out of pity, but out of an overwhelming appreciation that a huge name like ESPN supports such a great cause.

It could be a shameless marketing ploy and I WOULDN’T CARE; they make sure these kids get the best damn wish fulfillment possible.

I also adore every one of those athletes for being there and putting aside their personas and egos to make a 5-year-old boy with leukemia feel like a star for a day.

The ones who do even more than just the ESPN stories deserve every penny of their ludacris salaries, in my opinion.

Every year, no matter how broke I might be, I give Make-A-Wish $100. Years when I have more, I sometimes give double or triple that, and I hope that one day I can make enough money to be a sole sponsor for at least one kid’s wish a year.

The reason Make-A-Wish is near and dear to my heart, and to the hearts of many people back in my hometown of Latham, NY, is because they granted the wish of a gorgeous teenage girl named Kathleen, who left us at sixteen due to brain cancer.

Because of them, she was able to ride on a plane to the Bahamas, sit on a sunny beach, and swim with dolphins as her family watched.

Any organization that makes sure these kids get to swim with dolphins, go to Disneyworld, or – in the case of the ESPN wishes – meet entire football teams, is phenomenal. I love them for what they did for Kathleen, and I make sure I can always scrape together more than a couple of bucks to make sure they can keep making miracles happen.

So, this is my heartfelt thanks to the ESPNs and Make-A-Wishes of the world. Thank you for taking the money I donate and turning each dollar into a life-changing experience, and for being there for the kids too far away for me to reach otherwise.

If you’d like to donate to the Make-A-Wish foundation, their website is http://www.wish.org/. I’m not affiliated with them outside of my personal appreciation and support.

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The right way to start a Monday

Carlene — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:05:25 +0000

The right way to start a Monday is always, in my opinion, with Albert Einstein.

In case you don’t have time to read through the entire Wikipedia article (I skim the in-depth bits on his scientific career to get to information about the man himself at the bottom), I posted a few of my favorite Einstein quotes:

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage — to move in the opposite direction.”

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

“God is subtle but he is not malicious.”

“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.”

“Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds.”

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

“Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.”

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.”

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”

Thank you to my desktop gadget for providing me with these quotes.

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The Rockstar Store

Carlene — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:00:50 +0000

I added a new link to the menu a few days ago for the Rockstar Store. I am a huge merch fan and decided to create some items that are unique and fun.

There are currently limited-edition mounted prints available in the Rockstar Store. Each print is a from photo I have personally taken, and most are currently hanging up in my office and are big favorites of my clients and friends.

As the prints are limited-edition, I will be changing them out fairly frequently, several times a year. Click on any of the photos below to see what other prints are currently up!

"Respite" Limited-Edition Mounted Print

"Cooper" Limited-Edition Mounted Print

"Serenity" Limited-Edition Mounted Print

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