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August 28, 2006

Friendly advice on NYC

Have you ever been in a situation that provokes a whole lot of well-meaning, unsolicited advice?

I'm in one now, as I prepare to take my first trip to NYC in a few days. In my excitement about the trip, I've been telling lots of friends about it. What shocked me was how many people have eagerly offered their ideas about what I "must do" when I'm there. It's exciting to know that people feel so strongly about this city, but a little overwhelming all the same to hear the laundry list of must-sees.

I've been dilligently using my Notetaker wallet to capture all of these great museums, sites, burroughs, restaurants, hotels, friends, relatives, and friends-of-friends that I should see.

But in the end I must confess, this trip is all about spontaneity for me, and I am sure that with all New York has to offer, my experience will be rich even if it isn't complete. I have a nomadic friend who once told me that you can't truly get to know a place or culture in less than one year's time. So I've given over any false hopes of consuming New York, and though my laundry list is coming with me, it may remain in my back pocket.

However, since I am fearless when it comes to input (bring it on, world, I am a processing machine!), I thought I'd open up this post for comments:

What is the ONE thing you love most about NYC and would not want me to miss seeing?

Posted by Lisa at 02:38 PM | Comments (4)

August 14, 2006

GTD Connect

It's official! I am delighted to announce that David Allen's new membership program, GTD Connect is now available to the public.

For several months I have had the pleasure of being part of the Connect team, preparing to offer a wealth of coaching resources and materials from David Allen. The program includes interactive forums, a system for reflecting on goals and intentions, a library full of audio and video resources, monthly mailings, and so much more I could not possibly list it all here.

My excitement about GTD Connect is that I see it as a program that fills in a huge missing link for GTD users everywhere. Suddenly people all over the world will have an opportunity to connect with a leading expert on personal productivity, without needing to travel to a seminar. It's also a program designed to be beneficial for everyone, from CEO's, to stay-at-home-parents, to students, to entrepreneurs. Because it's largely a web-based program, it's something everyone can benefit from, wherever you may be.

Beyond the accessibility of GTD Connect, I'm excited and delighted about how Connect will provide on-going coaching and support more than anything we've done before. Like anything worth sticking to, using the principles of GTD in life can be tricky at first, and it takes time to form solid new habits to replace behaviors that weren't as effective. The very nature of Connect is that people can jump in at any point in their process to deepen their learning and, in effect, transform their behaviors to create a more balanced, fulfilling, and creative life.

For me personally, it's a fantastic opportunity to me a part of a program that is flexible- always ready to grow and change based on what our members want. I am so blessed to be working with David and everyone here at DavidCo. David's complete dedication to sharing his information with the world is both contagious and inspiring.

More to come as GTD Connect unfolds... I just wanted any readers out there to know, it's officially here!

Posted by Lisa at 12:46 PM | Comments (1)

August 02, 2006

The Authentic Voice

When I was a teenager, I reluctantly recorded my first answering machine message of my very own. I remember recording it over and over again, frustrated by how repulsive my own voice sounded to me. Despite this, many of my friends growing up told me they liked my voice, and I always had success presenting oral reports and speeches.

So why did I hate my own voice? I hadn't yet uncovered my "authentic voice", which I had the pleasure of discovering recently thanks to Tom Boyer.

I was lucky enough to take a half day workshop on Voice with Tom Boyer, a longtime musician and voice coach. It comes as no surprise that how you express yourself through your voice speaks worlds about who you are, and what you bring to the world. Tom talks about three types of natural voices- voices of strength, beauty, or wisdom. I was thrilled to discover that when I "produce my voice correctly" I have a voice of beauty, and it does sound beautiful to me, even relaxing to listen to. What a relief! In voice lessons I was told that my voice was too breathy, and that for a soprano I just couldn't hit high notes properly. Well after all of that negative feedback, I had decided that my voice was mediocre at best, and my singing voice was something to be ashamed of.

Thanks to this Voice workshop, I am now embarking on a journey of voice discovery. I'm continuing with the little exercises Tom taught us, deep breathing, relaxing and stretching the jaw, projecting more air through an imaginary tube to increase volume, etc. And I'm singing more and more, discovering which songs I sing along to well, and which onces tend to pull me away from my own natural voice. It's opened up another world to play in, a sensory experience that I never much cared about before since I tend to be a highly kinesthetic and visual person.

Michael Bungay-Stanier published this excellent July issue of his Outside the Lines newsletter called Are you loosing your voice?. Fortuitous for me that he points us to more resources and commentary on the importance of using your natural voice in presenting, which is something I am continuing to expand into. I've always loved Michael's insightful newsletters, and these great articles on voice happened into my inbox in perfect timing. I hope you'll enjoy the articles, too.

Posted by Lisa at 09:59 PM