Practical Inspiration from Coach Darcy

Where Have I Been?

Hey--I'm glad you've missed me! I've been hard at work on my new blog and community site, redcaperevolution.com, coming soon.

To find out more about it, here's a sneak peek. Watch for the preview in November 2010 and the "official" launch in January 2011!  

One Powerful Star

I'm sitting on the deck of a cabin in the mountains, on a combination writing/girlfriend getaway. Away from my typical city haunts, tonight I get to see the stars come out--or, in the case of this particular location, at this particular time, one star. One very bright, stationary star.

At first I think it can't be a celestial body; too bright not to be manmade. But it's high up, and not moving, and so I'm now convinced it's just one powerful star. And I can't stop looking at it.

That one powerful star makes me wonder how many other things am I not noticing in my temporary environment because I'm captivated by the strongest glimmer. Close my eyes: I hear the frogs and the crickets, and the ever-so-faint after dinner conversation of the house next door. Open them again, and zam--I'm captivated again by the star. The crickets fade. The star is kinda the only thing I can see right now. Even the other stars seem hesitant to show up.

How many times have I been blocked from seeing the whole picture because I'm drawn to one powerful star?  Or, how many times has one powerful star--at work, among friends, in life--really held my attention and distracted me from all the other things that aren't as important? It's fascinating that it's not all the little stars that are making their mark--it's the one, powerful, shining one that forces me to think.

I wish I may, I wish I might--how do I serve as one powerful star in my own right?

Sometimes, The Simple

I'm struggling today. There's nothing more frustrating to a get-it-done person like me than struggling to get-it-done. And what I'd aimed to get done wasn't even all that tremendous--it's perfectly within my capability and the time I have to do it in. Or had, as the clock keeps ticking  . . and I keep sticking . .
 .

So, I've done what every hot-blooded procrastinator does--I surfed the 'net. I can defend this to some extent as "research" for my book. Sure.

But I did come across something unique (and free) that reminded me that sometimes, we need to stop struggling and just make it simple. From the guys who brought you Basecamp to help you manage your projects in the cloud, comes tadalists.com. Ta Da--even the name makes me smile--is a simple list maker. That's it. You create your topic, your list items, and it lives out there for you to share with others, check off (or have others check off).

So I did what they asked--I signed up, and made a list. I focused on the project at hand where I'm stuck. Sure, I could have done this in Excel, or in Word, or in an email to myself or hand-scribbled in my notebook. But there was something clean and perfect about making a list this way. And suddenly, having a list of the steps I still need to take helped jump start me from my stuckiness.

It's sometimes the simple that does it.

From my August e-letter: Your Magic Wand at Work

If you had a magic wand, what would you do to make your challenges at work go poof!?

I recently asked members of my Community that question, and was surprised to see that their answers fell into three distinct categories: the personal, the powerful, and the possible.

Read the rest of this article here.

What would you do at work with a magic wand? Tell me here.

The Butterflies Are Everywhere

The other day, I heard someone say "the butterflies are everywhere." She meant it literally, noticing the sheer number of winged creatures constantly dipping in and out of her summer garden.

But here's how I heard it the first time:

"The butterflies are everywhere. People are nervous, people are anxious, their stomachs tied in knots. It's hard to tell from one day to the next what to expect as the stock market hiccups, the economic news sounds grim, and our friends are either overworked or underemployed. The butterflies of uncertainty are indeed everywhere."

Well, that attitude got me depressed. So I got up, took a walk, and when I returned to my office, armed myself with a more useful point-of-view:

"The butterflies are everywhere. Look at all the people I know who were inching along as caterpillars and are now soaring ahead, making interesting choices that best show off the beauty of their wings. Notice how much opportunity we're taking advantage of everyday for creativity and experimentation, from our Facebook posts to what we decide to cook for dinner. Yes, the butterflies are everywhere--thank god."

I guess the moral of the story is that seeing more butterflies gave me fewer butterflies.

When Back-to-School Means Back-to-Business

For kids, back-to-school means buses and backpacks. But for grown-ups, the turn of the season kickstarts our drive to get “back-to-business.”

Even those without children find that the start of classes and the Labor Day holiday now signal an unofficial new year, motivating a more disciplined schedule and a renewed commitment to goals and projects we conjured up on January 1.

If you’re getting back-to-business—or, like many in today’s economy, you’ve never left—here are three tips to help you squeeze the most out of the final stretch of the year—without stretching yourself too thin.

Read the rest of this article on Atlanta Daybook at:

http://atlanta.daybooknetwork.com/story/2010/08/11/34006darcy-eikenberg.shtml

Stuck in the Mud

When I was a kid, my friend Eric and I used to run around our babysitter Sue's basement and play a game called "Stuck in the Mud." Basically, we'd hop between the square blocks that were part of Sue's carpet design, and suddenly one of us would call out "stuck in the mud." Then, the other had to stay planted on whatever square you were on until you were freed. (I can't remember if there was any magic to being freed--I'm pretty sure it was just an arbitrary creative decision.)

This week, I've felt like someone called "stuck in the mud" and I've been frozen on one of those carpet squares. Car trouble--you're stuck in the mud of depending on others for transportation (thanks, Charles.) Nose trouble--stuck with a bad cough-and-sneeze routine. People trouble--stuck in the mud of confusing comments and emotions. And of course, self-created trouble--feeling stuck yet overwhelmed with all the ideas and work that have yet to happen.

But today, I decided I could choose to be stuck no more. I made the same arbitrary creative decision Eric and I did when we were six or seven and called freedom. Nothing changed--except my perspective. And changing that perspective, I made a tremendous amount of forward movement today that I feel good about. What a neat game!

When You Care Enough to Click

The questions and comments have certainly come in responding to my July newsletter article, "How to Click Less--to Connect More."  They range from "thank goodness someone's saying this!" to "are you living in a fantasy world?"

If you didn't read the piece, I make the case that if we want to connect more with our families, friends, and even colleagues and clients, we need to click less. Less clicking on our BlackBerries, IPhones, and Facebook accounts. Less time tapping out our texts and tweets.

And of course, the apparent irony is that I offer these thoughts by clicking away right now. And of course, I know that to get you here, you'll have to care enough to click.

Maybe that's the nuance I didn't discuss, the tip that I didn't outline in my list here on my website. That nuance is that to click less, you have to care less. You have to care less about. . .

• Responding to everyone elses' priorities and ignoring your own
• Maintaining appearances of accomplishment instead of actually accomplishing things
• Missing an opportunity to get your two cents in
• Knowing everything, all the time
• Keeping everyone else happy at your own expense
• Being seen as unique, out of the ordinary, and not afraid to stand out from the pack.

When you start caring less about the things that don't matter to you, you create space to care more about the things--and especially people--that do. You then have time to connect more--and click less.

How to Click Less and Connect More

The state of Georgia, here in the US where I live, recently banned texting and emailing while driving. That led a Facebook friend of mine to confess that she's created her own Pavolovian response to traffic signals, checking her Blackberry at every red light. No wonder traffic has been moving so slowly.  

Don't get me wrong--I love our technology. It's amazing that during my recent trip to Budapest, I could text my Mom in 5000 miles away--and get her response in seconds. The ability to send a client a proposal instantly over email is a far cry from the 9 p.m. FedEx runs during my early career.

 

But as I watch the behaviors of my clients and colleagues, I keep asking: Are we're using technology, or is it using us?

 

That's why my latest newsletter shares how--and why!--to click less so we can connect more. Read it here, and don't miss the extended tips on my website here.

How Art Became Fun

In our serious, oil-soaked and heat baked summer, it's great to see several fun, imaginative art projects spring up across the USA! Take for example:

• Chicago's 30-foot eyeball--here's looking at you, kid!
• New York's "play me I'm yours" pianos-on-the-street--ready for your Mozart or my Chopsticks
• Cincinnati's Shepard Fairey wall collages, made of wheat paste and paper (Fairey is the artist who created the iconic Obama "Hope" posters during the 2008 Presidential campaign.)

What a great way to show support for our communities, especially now as we are bombarded with less than inspiring news about a devastated environment and a continued slow economy. It's a wonderful reminder of the creativity and innovation of the American people.

If you've visited any of these installations or others in your neighborhood, would love to see your pictures here.