How to Be Interviewed - Seth Godin

You most likely already know Seth Godin, but if you don't click over to Seth's Blog and bookmark it (or grab his RSS feed). Besides having my all time favorite surname (reference my past clerical background), Mr. 'God-in' shares prolifically his interesting and helpful information. Today I ran across his simple and paradigm shifting correction to what I would call the  "I hate bad interviewers" whine. Seth offers a short and direct list of truths that EVERY presenter should know.

My biggest take a ways are: 1. The burden for a good interview is yours. Prepare and plan. 2. Stick to your interesting and exciting stuff. 3. Always remember it is about you so it's up to you to make it a success.

So, read it for yourself - he says it much better anyway!: How to Be Interviewed

Note: Image is directly from Seth's blog (click to follow) and I'm hoping he doesn't mind me stealing it... #justsaying

iPhone Dream

So last evening I was checking my iPhone...

The Reverberations of Poet's Pen

while reading a poem over at Nevine's, i was reminded of how deep poetry, and creative prose for that mater, reaches into my being. it is a living witness to the full gamut of my life, even though i am most driven to write when my spirit is in pain.

yes. for the scars that remain after the battered soul heals, for the ongoing hemorrhage of internal hope, for the fears arising from tortures too ghastly to be mentioned, for the pit of despair where rests stagnant laughter, mired in decay... for these pieces of the poet's being... there must be poetry. for in the words of the verse, hammered out on life's iron fist, i often find relief and sometimes, in moments of purest grace, wonderful questions.

Bob the Squirrel Comic Strip, May 23, 2011 on GoComics.com

Squirrel + Coffee... this could be BAD!

Bob the Squirrel Comic Strip, May 23, 2011 on GoComics.com

Why Our Education No Longer Works...and the ADD non-epidemic

Great video. Content and presentation are worth viewing...many times.

Public Speaking Words of Wisdom - With an Old Lady Attitude

When I was a young lad…after one of my earliest public presentations had ended many people filed by and spoke words of appreciation and encouragement to me. After almost everyone else had left an elderly lady walked over to me and gave me some words of advice I have never forgotten.

“Young man,” she said, “You need a good job for a beginner. I have some advice for you, if you want it.”

I felt a little slighted, but told her I would welcome her feedback.

“Well,” she continued,” Remember three these three things: 1. Stand up so they can see you. 2. Speak up so they can hear you, and 3. Once you have said what you came to say, Shut Up. You did ok on the first two, but you kept talking too long tonight. Leave us a little room for thinking”

Then she hugged me and shuffled off.

I eventually got over the injury she inflicted on my pride, but I have never gotten over her words. Time and again I have returned to those words.

1. Stand Up – there are numerous skills that the public speaker needs to master in order for our appearance to assist in our communication.  We need to be seen as  a part of the message we are communicating.
2. Speak Up – clearly spoken, well chosen words projected to the back of the room will always command attention.
3. Shut Up – Every day presentation should have a beginning, a middle and an end. The end should be as precise as the beginning and must always leave room for people to draw their own conclusions and do their own thinking.

Good advice for all of us who speak in public.

Amusing Inspiration

Did Jung refer to you
Anima
Flit and a wisp through
My lungs
Stealing my breath

Are not you the artist's
Muse
Singing and dancing by
My passions
Making off with my propriety

Thank you

The Transformation of Reading - Rock, Scissors, Kindle?

I recently purchased a Kindle. I'm enjoying the portability and ease of the device. I chose that reader because it is most ‘book like,’ lacking all the digital temptations of the tablets and color readers. I’ve switched off as many of the features I as can to cut down on any distractions while reading. Still, there is nothing like the feel of paper, the smell of an aged hard cover, the traces of previous readers…. Yes, we will adjust, but the loss is real for those of us who will always remember when a coffee shop was most likely attached to a room of used books.

Many of us are morning the passing of paper. Two bloggers that have said it well are:

Kent Anderson, over at “the scholarly kitchen” writes Mourning the Printed Book — The Aesthetic and Sensory Deprivation of E-books and Kristen J. Tseti of “From a little office in a little house" posts on

The looming extinction of everyday art and history.

I invite you to visit their posts and ponder this shift in the state of reading medium we are witnessing. A wake may be in order.

The Google vs Facebook War - Gone Wild!

Apparently, according to Blogger (a Google product), Facebook isn't even a word, much less a company.

See spell check screen shot...

The Secret to Social Media Promotion

What is Social Media good for? If I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times, "Social Media is NOT about self promotion!" I get it. I get it. Companies, businesses and self made experts shouldn't promote themselves. Social media consumers don't like pushy people.

Yesterday, I discovered a secret way, quite by accident, to use Social Media to advance your own cause. It worked. It's worked many times, almost every time. Interested?

A Rose Is...

Sometimes, a rose is more than a rose...

Yes, Taylor, another flower.

Happy Mother's Day

As you no doubt know, I have the most amazing mother in the world. I hope your day is fantastic mom!

One of her favorite poems captured below...

The poet, Archibald Rutledge, is South Carolina native who died in 1973. He seemed to savor life and wrote both poetry and prose to capture that experience. I've looked for this poem online and have not been able to find any record of it. This photo is one I took last year from a records book on file at Brookgreen Gardens. The photo is of a stone engraving of the poem that probably dates from the 1960's. 

Aha! Moment Comes to Winston Salem

Apparently the folks over at Mutual of Omaha' Aha Moment campaign are coming to Winston-Salem, NC in June 2011. At least two of us local bloggers have been contacted and asked to participate. So, I guess I'll be joining Kristen over at fourhensandarooster  in the Aha Moment Air Stream to share my Aha Moment - which won't be anywhere near as good as hers...

After I received the email invitation, I wrote back and asked what 'specifically' interested them in hearing from me. They pointed me to a single line in the bio of my website:  "...this stuck out to me - 'Kim Williams believes that who we are begins with what we believe and what we believe is created by what we do every day.'"


Truth is, there is a great deal of life behind those words - maybe even something worth sharing.

What Should I Read?

I recently purchased a Kindle and have seen my reading volume take a bit of an up-tick. My daughter  sent me an Amazon e-gift card for my birthday and now, I'm puzzled as to what to purchase next.

So, what should I read?

Recent reads include:

1. The Shallows, Nicolas Carr
2. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell
3. The Blood that Bonds, Christopher Buecheler
4. Full Dark, No Stars, Steven King

Please feel free to offer suggestions...

Happy Birthday to Me!

Born May 2, 1958 to William Earl and Claudia Elizabeth Williams. Youngest of three children. Pamela Earl (1952) and Jan Everette (1957). Still as cute as ever!