Val Nelson» Rescue Remedies

The Pain and Joy of Being in Transition

Val Nelson — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:57:27 +0000

2009 was a year of transition for many of us. Leaving jobs, starting businesses, changing business strategies, facing the power of social media, or whatever it is for you.

I’m currently going through a “birthing” process into a new phase of my business and I’m appreciating how exciting and challenging transitions can be.

Like an unplanned pregnancy, a business transition can sneak up on you and force you to rethink everything from your values to your life purpose. But the idea of the “baby” coming is also thrilling.

I notice so many people are taking this global transition time to embrace what’s really important to them. There’s the joy.

When I first drafted this post a few weeks ago, I was more in the murkiness of the transition, like a baby that was past due and I was getting a bit cranky.

It’s nice to notice that only a few weeks later, I’m fully in the joy of it. The baby is here!

I’m wishing you joy or acceptance of murkiness in whatever birthings are happening for you right now.

The potential is truly amazing if you can embrace it!

Sending sincere thanks to my “midwives”: Nadia, Lisa, Dave, Kelli, Sara, Jaime, Denise, Joe, Angela, Dan, Joan, Bett, and well, everyone that’s listened and cheered me on. It takes a village…

Oh and if you’re wondering what transition I’m talking about in my life, I described a bit of it in a recent post about my business name change.

For some inspiration:

Celebrate the Middle of Things (Tama Kieves, one of my heroes)

If You Hate Promoting Your Services, Stop

Val Nelson — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 13:36:45 +0000

Helping professionals, healers, artists, introverts, and many others are often convinced that it’s just not in their make-up to promote their services or talents. They often tell me they feel “too fake” trying to sell.

If it feels fake or like “selling,” stop. Because you’re not doing it right. Fake is a turn-off, not to mention it’s draining for you.

The same part of you that loves to help or create something beautiful is exactly the part of you to bring to your networking and marketing. Here’s what to focus on instead of “sales”:

Be helpful. (Good marketers give first.)
Whatever you say, speak from that heart-centered place of being so excited about what you do. Imagine that painting you created or the power of seeing your patient recover, and then tell people what you do, from that place.

Being your true self is enough; better yet, it is exactly what you need to do to be successful.

I love this related thought from a hero of mine:

The power that gives you your gifts is also going to give you the power to share your gifts with the world.

Tama Kieves, author of This Time I Dance

What Matters for 2010

Val Nelson — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:10:10 +0000

Download the e-book

It’s that time of year for reflection, and of course, Seth Godin (business and marketing visionary) has provided something to inspire us to focus on What Matters Now.

Seth asked 70 big thinkers to share their version of What Matters Now. It’s captured in an easy-to-browse e-book, including words and pictures. Download “What Matters Now” (PDF) and share it with others.

This entry from Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, resonates with me:

Dear ones, EASE UP. Pump the brakes. Take a step back. Seriously. Take two steps back. Turn off all your electronics and surrender over all your aspirations and do absolutely nothing for a spell. I know, I know – we all need to save the world. But trust me: The world will still need saving tomorrow. In the meantime, you’re going to have a stroke soon (or cause a stroke in somebody else) if you don’t calm the hell down….Consider actually exhaling.

Start sharing what matters now for you on all your social media updates and business communications. Don’t keep it to yourself.

Speaking up matters now.

I’d love to hear your comments below.

E-tiquette Quiz

Val Nelson — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:40:03 +0000

I bet I can’t find one person to get a perfect score on this email etiquette quiz.

Email is still our main form of communicating over the internet, but we take it too lightly.

We’ve all had the experience of being misinterpreted over email. A little etiquette (or “e-tiquette”) can save you time and trouble… or maybe save your job.

Etiquette (another way of saying “treating people with respect”) matters — everywhere.

Etiquette Quiz for Business Email

Answer these questions based on what you do the vast majority of the time with your business-related email:

Do you start your message with the recipient’s name and close the message with your name?
Do you include your phone number and other relevant contact info in your signature?
Do you use a descriptive subject line?
Do you keep the sender’s subject line intact when replying to messages?*
Do you have your email set up to display the sender’s original message when you send a reply?
Do you call instead of emailing when the matter is delicate or complex?
Do you avoid conveying bad news over email?
Do you forward messages to a third party only with the original sender’s permission?
Do you send thank-you notes by mail instead of email after someone has gone to a lot of trouble for you?
Do you recognize that email is not private and therefore avoid mentioning private issues over email?
Do you use proper spelling and grammar?
Do you keep messages short and manageable?
Do you respond to the sender’s entire message or else suggest alternate means to discuss any incomplete answers?
Do you read over your message before hitting “send” to check for clarity of your tone and meaning?

E-tiquette Quiz Scoring

How many did you answer YES to?

14 – Perfect score! Fantastic!

9-13 – Still impressive. You’re ahead of most people, but there’s room for improvement.

5-8 – It’s time to take email more seriously and make changes now, please.

Below 5 – Disastrous. You’re driving your email recipients crazy! Stop sending email now until you promise to make some changes.

(I didn’t get a perfect score on my own quiz! And I’ve started making some changes.)

I’d love to hear how you did and hear any e-tiquette thoughts. Leave comments below.

How to Improve

Use the quiz as your checklist to start changing those emails. I bet you’ll notice things will flow a little better at the office.

___________________

*When replying to messages, preserving the same subject line as the original will help the recipient keep the conversation grouped together. Some email programs, such as Gmail, will automatically group conversations together, but only based on keeping the same subject line.

Do You Make These E-mail Etiquette Mistakes? (sitepoint.com)
Technology: Email Etiquette (womensblog.score.org)
Five email tics I’d love for you to lose (43 Folders)

Is Email Private?

Val Nelson — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:27:13 +0000

Email is not private. Think of email like a postcard, at best. It’s actually more public than a postcard. Here’s what you need to know.

In a nutshell, here’s why email is not private:

It’s relatively easy to see any email message if someone cares enough to hunt for it.
There are some common incidental ways that people end up seeing your email.

Anyone Can Track Down My Emails?

A postcard is only exposed to the mail carriers and whoever sees your mail where you live or work. That’s nothing compared to the fact that anyone in the world can track down your email messages if they want to.

I don’t know the technical details on how to snoop, but from what I understand, enough people have that technical know-how and there’s nothing (but scruples) to stop them from using it. And if you watch those criminal investigation TV shows, you’ve seen it in action.

Even worse than that, snoopers can often find past emails, even after you have deleted them. Your email provider might store copies that go way back.

Think no one cares enough to snoop?

Think again. Consider that you might end up in a lawsuit over a car accident, and the opposition will want to find a little dirt on you to discredit you. Email is an easy place to look for “dirt.”

More Common Privacy Mishaps

OK, let’s assume you’re not the subject of a police investigation, lawsuit, or snooping, there are still some common ways that people see your emails:

Emails are notoriously forwarded without the sender’s permission. Whether in the name of efficiency or gossip, it’s common.
(“Look what this person just said about you!”)
We accidentally send an email to the wrong person.
(I have two friends named Meg and I accidentally wrote to the wrong Meg the other day. Luckily it wasn’t a breech of confidence but it was definitely confusing.)
We accidentally hit “reply all” when we meant to write to only one person.
(Ouch, I still remember a time someone hit “reply all” when she wrote something very personal to me. I don’t know who was more embarrassed: me, her, or the fifty or so recipients.)
And then there’s your work email that can be viewed by your employer anytime.
Are you still using work email for personal emailing? Time to get your own email account. (I recommend Gmail. It’s free and you can check it from any computer.)

Solution?

Basically, don’t say it over email if you don’t want it on the news.

Remember the phone? Hey, there it is next to the computer. So convenient!

Phone calls are much more private. Phone privacy is protected by law in the U.S. And honestly, it’s more appropriate for delicate conversations anyway.

What About Encrypted Email?

There are ways to send encrypted email for greater privacy, but it’s a bit of a hassle. Last I checked, it hasn’t made it into common usage. But if you need it enough to go to some trouble and probably pay a bit, it’s available. (See secure email options.)

By law (HIPAA), health care providers in the U.S. are supposed to use encrypted communication or similar privacy protection methods when discussing patient info electronically. Sadly, providers are not at 100% compliance yet.

Note that when you use an email service like Gmail, they offer a secure server to view your messages online, but this does not protect your email from being seen. The emails are not encrypted during sending and receiving.

Don’t confuse email’s lack of privacy with concerns about banking online or using credit cards online. There are numerous encryption and privacy methods in place on legitimate banking and e-commerce websites.

The Top Three Free Secure Email Services