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CLEVELAND (WJW) -- The stock market took a major hit this week and so did many 401(k) retirement plans.

No one is sure how the coronavirus outbreak will effect the economy and that has many investors nervous.

"If you get online this weekend and look at your account balance and it freaked you out a little bit, you might want to wait until we get a little bit of a recovery, and then re-assess your level of risk and see if you want to diversity it into some other things," said Jim Lineweaver of Lineweaver Wealth Advisors in Valley View.

The virus halted production and manufacturing in parts of China, but Lineweaver said that has appeared to stabilize. He said American biotech companies could actually see a "boost" as they race to come up with a coronavirus vaccine.

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Could the coronavirus outbreak impact your retirement investments? We ask the experts - WJW FOX 8 News Cleveland

Growing up in Wappingers Falls in the Mid-Hudson Valley, Peter Fortunato loved horses and came to Cornell in 1968 to become a veterinarian. That changed during his first year when he realized his vocation was to be a writer, so he transferred into the College of Arts and Sciences. Peter was also inspired by his art history courses with Peter Kahn, who encouraged him to keep making visual art. Then he met his life partner and eventual wife, the poet Mary Gilliland when they were both advisees of James McConkey, who became a lifelong friend.

Peter graduated in 1972, but stayed on an extra year until Mary graduated. He wrote poetry, read about Zen Buddhism, and began practicing meditation after being introduced by Mary to the writings of poet Gary Snyder and philosopher Alan Watts. He earned money by working at Cornells High Voltage Lab, doing yard work, and modeling nude in figure painting classes at Cornell and Ithaca College.

After winning a fellowship in creative writing at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, Peter and Mary moved South. While writing and earning an M.F.A. in poetry, he and Mary also worked as models for art classes. They were in high demand because while meditating they could sit still for so long.Greensboro was soon to be known as Little Atlanta. However, we lived in the country, and since cohabitation was illegal in North Carolina, we had to pretend we were married. After graduate school, while waiting for clear direction, he and Mary took a BOCES Carpentry class and each continued to write.

With no fixed plan we accepted friends offer to return for a weekend to Ithaca: Gary Snyder is coming to give a reading. We can go to that and the reception! We both adored Gary, who remains our friend and teacher, Fortunato said. The reading and the party were fantastic and went on into the early morning hours. Before we crawled home, Gary had invited us and we had agreed to join him and his family in Nevada County, California in the foothills of the Sierras, where he and his friends were building a community school.

Mary and Peter loaded their 1965 VW Bus and drove to California. We practiced Zen and we helped build the school. We wrote poetry and savored life with our hero and his circle, living off the grid, off the beaten path. [...] We found ourselves in the midst of the Back to the Land Movement. [...] It was an exciting time.

Loving the uncharted life, Mary and Peter had many adventures before trekking back to the East Coast. They worked in the San Francisco Bay area doing carpentry and house shingling. And Peter would constantly write. After living for a time on a houseboat in Sausalito and then back in the Mid-Hudson Valley for a while, Peter and Mary eventually returned to Ithaca in December of 1977. They were confident they could live anywhere, make friends, and do many different things to make a living.

While continuing to do carpentry and occasionally working as models, Mary and Peter found other opportunities: Mary completed a Masters at Cornell, and they both began careers in academia. They bought a rundown rental house and turneditinto a spacious, bright retreat with room for two writing studio offices, and a meandering garden leading down to Six Mile Creek.

Peters first book of poetry A Bell or a Hook, inspired by his life in California, was published by Ithaca House, located at 108 North Plain Street. Baxter Hathaway and wife Sherry created and ran the publishing company. Baxter, a renowned author, was also founder of the Creative Writing Program at Cornell, so this reunion was especially dear for Peter, who had studied writing with Baxter as an undergrad. Marys first poetry collection, Gathering Fire, was also published by Ithaca House.

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As Peter began teaching creative writing, composition and poetry at Cornell and Ithaca College, he also continued his studies in complementary alternative medicine. For many years, he has had a professional counseling practicefocusing on hypnotherapy, shamanism and Reiki.

Mary, a well-known poet, joined the Cornell University faculty in 1981 and retired from her full-time work in 2007. Peter who had been teaching on East Hill and South Hill for almost 30 years, in 2005 took a position at the newly opened Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. Mary also taught there for a semester. Peter stayed on for four years.

The students were very sincere and engaging, he said. With tolerance and mutual respect, as the War in Iraq continued several hundred miles away, we learned from each other.

It takes something unique for two writers to make a good life together, and Peter and Mary have continued unabated in their creative lives. We have worked hard as two artists, seeking to find our way. We have created a special synergy as a couple, understanding that we each need space and time and quiet to create, yet loving and valuing the time we can spend together.

Peter's new novel Carnevale is full of references to his early life in the Hudson Valley, as well as to the sexy, psychedelic 60s. All are invited to Peters reading March 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the Tompkins County Public Library.And then we hope to hear Marys version of this couples wild story.

Ithaca is filled with treasurespeople, places, programs. Marjorie unearths some of these gems every other week here in her column, Community Connections.

Excerpt from:
Peter Fortunato and a winding path to writing - ithaca.com

My parents gave me a nickname when I was young: mini-Martha, named after my Type A, efficiency-obsessed aunt.

We shared common habits like filling our schedules with activities for self-improvement, and wanting vacations to be planned down to the minute.

Why then would I center my career around the idea of doing nothing?

It was an idea embraced by my first boss and one of the most innovative thinkers I know. We worked at a research and consulting firm, solving problems for Fortune 500 companies when it exceeded their capacity to do so.

A trained anthropologist, she taught me the art of ethnography: spend hours, even days, on end with little to no agenda just observing. Observe the typical life of a subject. Observe how customers naturally interact in stores, on devices, with their friends.

With ethnographylike a fish in waterthe more you went with the flow of the experience, the clearer everything became.

This method for being was a forced break from my hyper-planned daily life. But the more I saw results, the more I embraced doing nothing as the true way to innovative thinking.

Harvard Business Schools Clayton M. Christensen undertook a broad study on CEO innovation and arrived at this same conclusion:

Innovators engage both sides of the brain as they leverage the five discovery skills to create new ideas. Associating is like the backbone structure of DNAs double helix; four patterns of action (questioning, observing, experimenting, and networking) wind around this backbone, helping to cultivate new insights.

Harvard Business Review

Now, this is not to say we must shun the cult of busy entirelytaking idea to application often requires a different mindset.

But were so focused on being always-on, that much of the modern day business worldand the world in generalmisses the forest for the trees.

Were a society addicted to short-term results, a quantified and measured life (looking at you Apple Watch), and data that tells us the what but not the why.

The fact is that efficiency will hit a wall when we view it as a means and not an endflip the equation and see that the lack of structure (with bounds) is actually more productive than constant measurement.

This is something our clients realized and came to us for: A major gaming company hemorrhaging revenue among previously engaged consumers. A hyper-growth entertainment platform unsure where to best invest next.

In each case, we were approached for our outsider perspective and we, in turn, approached the problems without major pre-conceptions.

Zen buddhism had known about this trick of millennial, calling it beginners mind:

In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, but in the experts mind there are few.

Shunryu Suzuki, Zen monk

The new products we rolled out to clients, the improved storylines, the better user experienceall of these were birthed from doing nothing but observing.

Why?

We let insightful connections come to us. We do not logic our way into them.

This is why Netflixs recommendation engineas precise as it iswill never be as powerful as somehow seeing a truly random film and unexpectedly end up loving.

When we are intent on directing the story of our life at every moment, we end up with an uninspiring narrative where the past is always prologue.

The idea of true creativity can become elusive.

Walk down a random street and simply noticinga piece of street art, an interesting outfit, the way two strangers interact. No objective. Just wander.

When our self-directing mind has a chance to rest, we pick-up on more and we build a fertile foundation for creativity to strike.

Ill borrow another page from Buddhism on this one. In Zen Buddhism, great insights are learned through seemingly mundane tasks: meditate on a paradoxical Koan or just peel potatoes.

You want spiritual insight? Dont think about spirituality while peeling potatoes. Simply peel the potatoes.

Indeed, its healthy to give ourselves time with no set objective, but its also damn productive.

Thats the great irony for those of us (hand raise) naturally inclined towards goal setting and achieving, AKA Type As.

Give yourself a break and take a break.

I mean it.

It might just be the most useful moment of your life.

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Why Efficiency is the Enemy of Innovation - Thrive Global

This time itll be different.

What do you mean?

Exactly what I said; in the past I wasnt willing to do what it takes. But this time I mean it. This time, Ill get there.

What are you going to do differently?

I dont know if I really need to anything different. I just need to stay focused.

Why will you stay focused this time when you didnt the last three times?

Ill just do it. I mean, I really want it.

Didnt you want it before?

Yeah, sure. But I wasnt willing to do the work. I gave up too easily.

I see. So how do you know you wont give up again this time?

I know me. Now, I really need to do it. My doctor said that if I dont, Ill be in trouble.

I thought she told you that last time too.

She did. But I dont think I was ready. I had too much going on. Life was busy, you know?

Yes, I do. So, your lifes not busy now?

Well, no, it still is. But this time Im ready. This time Ill just find the time.

Where? What will you give up to find this time?

Im not sure I really need to. I just need to work smarter and stick with it.

Why will you stick with it this time when you didnt the last time?

Thats easy. Because this time I mean it.

You didnt before?

Sure, I did. But, I didnt really, really, really mean it. Now I do.

Good luck.

How often have you made the same promise over and over? How many of ended up exactly like the others? Detect a theme? As they say, If you always do what youve always done, youll always be where youve always been. Should you prefer a better visual, how about, When you get tired of walking into walls, open a door. Or, if you want to add a bit of the cosmic to it: The Universe will not change its rules to accommodate our whims, fantasies, or desires.

Changing a habit, whether that means quitting smoking, exercising more, or even having a better attitude; requires an understanding not only of what you want in the end, but why youre not already there.

As a habit-change primer, I offer theFour Assumptions of Success(in nor particular order). Understand and adopt these, and change comes easier and is more likely. (These are based on NLP, Neuro Linguistic Programming; which Wikipedia describes as apseudoscientificapproach to communication, personal development.)

1) Every behavior is generated by positive intention.

Even what we call bad habits are born of the goal of making our life easier, healthier, or happier. As example, smoking although obviously not a good thing to do has the positive intention of reducing stress. Sadly, the side effect of the behavior is it harms your health. Identify the intention of the behavior youre trying to change and work to find a new way to accomplish it, leading to

2) There is always another choice.

It might not seem like it but there is another option. Continuing with the same example, I could reduce stress by meditating or exercising. I might not want to or I might not like the options, but if I ask how do I get the results I want? Instead of why do I have to change? A path will make itself known.

3) There is no such thing as failure, only feedback.

Simply because we didnt get what we expected doesnt mean we failed. Labeling something as failure, generates within us the urge to quit. After all, if its not working, why would I continue to pursue it? To get past this barrier, look at the results you get from your actions in the same way that a scientist would conduct an experiment. See what worked and what didnt. Alter the course and move forward.

SaidPaul Batalden, active Emeritus Professor of The Dartmouth Institute, Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets. In other words, if youre not getting the results you expected, its not that the system is broken, rather youre using the wrong system. Tweak it.

4) You have all the tools you need to accomplish whatever you want.

No one is born onto this planet doomed to failure. We all have skills and strengths to move us toward whatever we need. Sometimes, however, its important to realize that the tool we are using might be inappropriate for the results we desire and the correct tool might be the willingness to reach out and seek advice.

Scott Q Marcus is a nationally known weight loss expert for baby boomers and the CRP Chief Recovering Perfectionist of http://www.ThisTimeIMeanIt.com. His new book, co-written with his sister, The Busy Baby Boomers Motivational Guide to Weight Loss is at http://www.BabyBoomersGuides.com.

Continue reading here:
The assumptions of success - Red Bluff Daily News

Executive Summary

Up to 85% of big data projects fail, often because executives cannot accurately assess project risks at the outset. But a new research project offers some guidelines and questions to ask yourself before launching a new big data initiative to help predict its success. Access to data is obviously a precondition for any initiative focused on data-driven growth. However, not all available data is useful, nor is it unique and exclusive. Moreover, not all data is available. The question executives need to ask is Can we access data that is valuable and rare?. If the answer is yes, you then need to ask: Can employees use data to create solutions on their own? and Can our technology deliver the solution? And finally, Is our solution compliant with laws and ethics? Little value can be created if your solution breaks the law. Moreover, if users think of the solution as creepy, you might face a media backlash. Try this structured approach to predict the success of your next big data project.

Big data projects that revolve around exploiting data for business optimization and business development are top of mind for most executives. However, up to 85% of big data projects fail, often because executives cannot accurately assess project risks at the outset. We argue that the success of data projects is largely determined by four important components data, autonomy, technology, and accountability or, simply put, by the four D.A.T.A. questions. These questions originate from our four-year research project on big data commercialization.

The components needed for success with big data can be positioned along two dimensions: (1) the focus of the activities (the projects ideation or implementation such as coming up with an idea for a big data project versus actually implementing the project) and (2) the focus of the transformation (digital backbone or getting peoples support such as building the IT-architecture needed to create a sufficient digital backbone or making sure that employees can and will apply data and that this application is in line with societal opinions on what should and should not be done with data). These two dimensions create a matrix of D.A.T.A. components and the key questions executives need to ask when contemplating new big data projects, as seen below.

The figures below provide an overview of the D.A.T.A. components, the related questions, and the rationale behind them as well as examples. Moreover, the table demonstrates the sequence in which the different aspects should be considered in data projects. In the following, we provide an in-depth outline of each component.

Data: Access to data is obviously a precondition for any initiative focused on data-driven growth. However, not all available data is useful, nor is it unique and exclusive. Moreover, not all data is available. The question executives need to ask is: Can we access data that is valuable and rare? Only when these criteria are fulfilled can executives hope to gain a temporary competitive advantage based on data.

Consider the Danish social fitness-tracking app Endomondo. In 2015, the American athletic apparel company Under Armor bought Endomondo for $85 million in an attempt to build the worlds largest digital health and fitness community. Endomondo had more than 20 million users and over 80% of them were located outside the United States. Hence, Under Armour expected the acquisition to not only provide access to data that it considered valuable and rare, but also to give the company immediate scale and increased international presence, as stated in the press release. The very price that Under Armor was willing to pay illustrates the value that it assigned to Endomondos data. Consequently, data is becoming a resource that increases in commercial potential with its user value and its uniqueness in the marketplace.

Autonomy: Autonomy, or decentralized decision-making, gives employees a mandate to come up with ideas for data-enabled solutions that they can initiate on their own. It is an essential step in the ideation phase, and it similarly deals with the human component of digital transformations. In this regard, the question executives need to ask is: Can employees use data to create solutions on their own? Unlocking the commercial potential of data requires the engagement of many people from multiple levels and departments.

Google serves as an example of this key component. Google has long been famous for allowing decentralized decision-making and for making dedicated resources available for initiatives across the organization. Google has 20% time, where it allows engineers to work on projects of their own choosing 20% of the time. Moreover, Google makes its computing resources and data available to its engineers 20% projects. One project that originated as a result of the 20% time policy and that made extensive use of a variety of data was Google Now (a mobile assistant that proactively delivered information to users based on search habits). Although Google Now no longer exists, the underlying functionality is still used. Autonomy is not only important for creating and launching new initiatives, but also for learning and for adapting existing processes. Consequently, employees need to be able to use data to initiate, create, and adapt their own solutions.

Technology: Technology is similarly essential for success with data. It comprises an important first step in the implementation phase as well as an essential component for the digital backbone. Here, the question executives need to ask is: Can our technology deliver the solution? You can have all the data and ideas in the world, but if your technology can only deliver a prototype, a beta version or non-scalable volume, no real value will ultimately be created for your firm.

An example of the importance of technology is illustrated in the blockchain collaboration between Maersk and IBM. Maersk had long wanted to streamline and simplify the administrative hurdles of global trade. However, it was unable to do so before the emergence of blockchain, which provided the technical backbone to create a solution to the problem. As Maersk arguably did not have the needed blockchain capabilities in-house, it partnered with IBM to create Tradelens, a global trade platform designed to minimize costs and increase the transparency of global shipping. In other words, enabled by blockchain technology, Tradelens digitizes the global supply chain and provides information to all actors. Consequently, it is necessary for any data-enabled solution to have sufficient technology to deliver it.

Accountability: Accountability refers to obtaining both regulatory and societal permission for your data solution as well as being able to demonstrate this compliance. It comprises an important step in the implementation phase and is an essential part of the human component of digital transformations. The question executives need to ask in this regard is the following: Is our solution compliant with laws and ethics? Little value can be created if your solution breaks the law. Moreover, if users think of the solution as creepy, you might face a media backlash.

The impacts of neglecting accountability can be seen in the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal. As shown in the Netflix documentary The Great Hack, Cambridge Analytica harvested personal Facebook data to identify and target persuadables (i.e., people likely to be persuaded by certain messages) with the aim of changing their minds in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The argued misuse of personal data raised questions from both legal and ethical points of view. The case has had severe implications for the parties involved, and it has made both users and lawmakers more aware of the legal and ethical challenges of data collection and usage. Consequently, no solution should be expected to become a long-term success if it is not compliant with the law, societal ethics, and norms.

As you have probably noticed, these D.A.T.A. questions ask for simple yes/no answers. This means that you can determine the likelihood that your next big data project will be a success by tallying your answers to the questions. In other words, if you answer yes to three questions and no to one, your project has a score of 3.

Use the table below to score your next project. As is evident from the table, you will need a score of 4 to be confident of success with your data project. A score of 3 means that the project still requires substantial work in order to succeed, as all four components are essential for big data projects. Consequently, you can think of the components as need to have rather than nice to have.

An example illustrates the necessity of all four components. Facebook has unique and valuable personal data, such as data on users relationship status. In fact, Facebook is able to accurately predict whether a given relationship will last. While this may comprise unique and valuable data (yes to question 1) that Facebook employees are free to build solutions around (yes to question 2), and even though Facebook has the technology to deliver such a solution (yes to question 3), such a solution would seem slightly unethical to most people (no to question 4). Therefore, such a project would be assigned a score of 3, as critical work on accountability is required for it to be successful.

Big data projects are arguably in need of a more data-driven approach to predicting their success. While expectations regarding the business potential of big data are astronomical, returns have thus far been weak. Part of the problem is arguably that executives do not know how to predict the success of data projects, as few structured approaches to doing so exist. With our D.A.T.A. framework, executives can finally start to make data-informed decisions on big data projects.

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Use This Framework to Predict the Success of Your Big Data Project - Harvard Business Review

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Its fascinating how indignant people can get when other people lie about things, yet they readily accept the lies that they tell themselves all the time. Think about it. People respond with things like how dare you lie to me or we cant have a meaningful relationship if you lie to me, but then these same people are perfectly fine with how often they lie to themselves. When you constantly lie to yourself, you chip away at your self-confidence. And the more you allow yourself get away with it, the less likely you are to ever create the different life or career success that you say you want.

The great big lie that destroys career success is the lie people tell themselves about how they dont have choices and are unable to create a fulfilled and successful career. When we dont like any of our choices, we sometimes complain that we had no choice at all, and that is the saddest thing in the world. When we dont want to grapple with the negative consequences that come with choices, we complain about how unfair all the consequences are.

People blame their career failures on a lack of choices or options in life. But the truth is that the reason most people stay stuck in jobs they hate isnt because they dont have any choices; its because they dont like the choices they have because all choices have some kind of change or cost attached to them. People dont like that they have to give up something to make something else better happen. They dont like the risk and uncertainty of their options, and so they end up showing that they dont have the courage to make any choices. Hence, the status quo holds, and they never experience career success. It simply becomes easier to say that they dont have any choices rather than face the fact that they do have some but are afraid to make the change.

By falling for the big lie, people get to complain about their lives and careers and act like everyone else somehow has it easier than they do. They get to play the victim and sometimes become miserable about life. Again, Ive observed that people become most angry and upset when others lie to them, but yet they find it way too easy to lie to themselves on a regularsometimes dailybasis, seemingly without consequence. Here are some examples:

You name it. We have all kinds of plans for the things we need to do to get to that next level in our careers and have sustained career success, but too often these things end up as no more than lies.

Career fulfillment cant be achieved when people lie to themselves about how they will do something different to experience career success, but dont. This means that you have to get real with yourself about what kind of life and career you truly want and then face yourself about what you are willingor not willingto do to make it happen. You have to get real with yourself about whether or not you are willing to pay the cost to experience your desired life and career.

Dont ever get fooled into believing there isnt a cost (a trade off of sorts) on the path to success. Happiness has a cost. Peace and joy have a cost. And yes, life and career success have a cost. If you arent happy with where you are today, you arent going to just wake up one day happy. If you work a job that you hate, you arent going to suddenly start loving it. The great truth about lying is that we lie to ourselves more than we lie to anyone else, and too many of us find it completely acceptable to do so. If you want a better life and a better career, then take note.

Among other things, you eventually stop believing in yourself. How does lying to yourself make you feel? How do you hold yourself to account? Do you ever make repairs on yourself, and if so, what are they? What does it do to your psyche? How do continual self lies and lack of accountability impact your ability to actually follow through to sustain personal or career success?

As you journey through your career, you will have several different discussions and conversations with several different people, but be absolutely clear that the most important conversation you need to have for career success begins and ends with yourself. If that conversation starts and ends with you lying to yourself, you will continue to be unfulfilled in your career.

Original post:
The Great Big Lie That Will Destroy Your Career Success - Forbes

Defining a goal is the first step toward achieving it. However, figuring out exactly what you want to pursue can be challenging:There are a lot of different good ideas out there,and somecan prove more difficult than others toclearly identify.

So what are some good ways to better establish what you want? Below, members ofForbes Coaches Councildiscuss some of the waysleaderscanmore clearly definetheir goals andthenreach them successfully.

Members discuss a few ways people can better define, and then reach, their goals.

1. Envision The Ideal Future

One of the best tools to gain clarity around goal setting is visioning. Investing time at the beginning of the planning process to envision the ideal future, in as much detail as possible, helps solidify goals and create momentum for follow-through. Approaching goal setting from this future vision perspective allows you to first discover where you are going and then solidify how you will get there. It creates your why and can provide motivation during times of challenge or stress. - Cheryl Czach,Cheryl Czach Coaching and Consulting, LLC

2. Map Your Goals

Goals are places to come from, not destinations to go to. They represent significant milestones deriving from your vision. First, develop your vivid vision. Let it be fueled by meaning, purpose and identity appeal. Then reverse engineer your vision to define your milestones. These will become your goals. Finally, map your goals, not just set goals, by answering critical questions that will allow you to script your way to success, such as, What needs to be true about my time allocation? My structural environment? My social environment?etc. - FrdricFunck,CENTER FOR CREATIVE LEADERSHIP

3. Start Journaling Your Progress

It starts with knowing where you are, where you want to go, and seeing the space between the two. One step is to start writing and journaling to see the progress. I do this daily, weekly, monthly and yearly with an incredibly helpful tool called thePassion Planner. - Denise Russo,School of Thoughts

4. Distinguish Between Vision And Goals

Make sure you distinguish between vision and goals. Goals are the milestones one has to achieve in order to reach the vision. Identify your desire or a dream. Then work backward to create milestones that are SMART. Achieving each milestone brings about a sense of success and motivates working toward the vision. - Pritha Dubey,Success Vitamin

5. Assess How You Live Your Values

One way to define goals is to assess how fully a client is livingtheirvalues. What do they care about? What is most important to them, and how are those priorities reflected in their daily actions? If, for example, a client indicates family time is most important, but typically works a 16-hour day, the client will experience dissonance, or a work/life misalignment. Setting goals that help the client realign actions relative to the priorities will move the client toward the life they desire. - Patricia Carl,Highland Performance Solutions, LLC

6. Self Reflect

Substantive self-reflection is a vital first step in understanding our gaps and establishing meaningful and worthwhile goals for improvement. We then need to set intermediate steps that can act as guideposts as we work towards accomplishing larger outcomes. - Jonathan Westover,Human Capital Innovations, LLC

7.Define Your Vision Then Pursue It

Start by asking what vision they want to experience and then help them name the resources necessary to experience that. Then define the specific actions that are required to secure those resources. Finally, establish commitment: Decide what the first step is in taking the needed action, and then write on the calendar when theyll take that step. - Corey Castillo,Truth & Spears

8. Review Your Digital Footprint

Engaging in a yearly objective assessment of both your company's digital footprint and personal digital footprint is key to assess how successful you've been over the past year aligning your personal and professional goals for growth, connections, and reach. Doing so will lead you to think about what kinds of adjustments to make to your digital strategy in order to reach your personal and professional goals. - Julie Fisher,Echo70

9. Keep Asking Why?

Clients can come with goals they think that they "should" or "need" to do as opposed to something they really want to do or feel excited about. Help them dig a little bit deeper and see whats important to them, and then keep asking the followup question And why is that important to you? This process helps clients uncover what their true goal is. Once you tap into that, they'll find genuine motivation. - Denise Csaky,The Firefly Moment LLC

10. Tap Into Emotions

Cultivateexcitement in the end result of adesireddream orvision. Without an emotional and measurable desire for inner dreams to become tangible goals, the journey to success can be quite single minded and harder. Emotions are key to fuel the passion and the earnest desire for success. It adds meaning to the goal success and to a life worth living.Every goal matters when the voice has unshakable heartfelt passion behind it. - Charlotte D. Blignaut,EMOTION IN MOTION

11. Get Started

The single biggest reason why goals aren't achieved is because they are never started. A framework to help leaders and their teams is to answer these six questions: 1. What do you want to do? 2. What is your desired outcome? 3. What specific steps will you take to reach that outcome? 4. What obstacles stand in your way? 5. What is the time frame associated with this goal? 6. How will you measure success? - Shelley Hammell,Sage Alliance, Inc.

See the rest here:
11 Actionable Steps Leaders Can Take To Define And Then Achieve Their Goals - Forbes

The cast of the CBC original show Fortunate Son, Kari Matchett, Darren Mann and Rick Roberts.

The season finale of Fortunate Son premieresWednesday, Feb. 26 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC and CBC Gem.

The drama,inspired by a true story,is set in the socially and politically tumultuouslate 1960s. It tells the story of a family fractured by a mother's unyieldingdedication to activism and the personal toll it takes on those close to her.

Watch Fortunate Sonon CBC Gem.

CBC Booksasked the cast to share one book that has stuck with them.

"When I turned 30, I had an ever-increasing awareness that something was missing in my life. After much soul-searching, I developed an awareness that instead of being present in the moment, I was either worrying about the future (easy thing to do as an actor) or in some sort of regret or sadness about the past.But I didn'tknow what to do with that awareness.

"Within a week or two,I found myself in one of my favourite book stores at the time (the Bookshelf in Guelph, Ont.). As I browsed the shelves, I came across a display that seemed to be a beacon just for me: The Power of Nowwas on the shelf and it felt like a magnet that pulled me in. I bought it, and over the course of the next few months I read it everyday. There were days I could read a few pages.Other days, I only read a paragraph or even a few sentences.

"It's a book I still carry with me most of the time. I think what stays with me the most from the book is Eckhart Tolle's personal account of the first time he felt he was truly in the now.He heard himself say (to himself), 'I can no longer live with myself.'But what occurred to him in that moment was, 'Who was the "I"he referred to? What was the division there? Who was the real "I"in that phrase?'He realized the truth is, there is only one 'I.'And this notion forever changed him. And me. When I get caught up, as one does, I try to remember this. And when I remember to remember it inevitably brings me back to the now. I have come to realize that the now is where our true wealth and health, mind, body and soul really lie the power of now."

"It's hard to describe Kathy Acker's writing. It feels like it re-wires your brain. It's confusing sometimes, locations and points-of-view abruptly shift, sometimes you're not sure if you're in the real world or in a dream. It somehow manages to seem like it was simultaneously vomited onto the page and meticulously crafted. It is crass and carnal, confusing, titillating, shocking, sometimes it's so dirty that you feel like you shouldn't be reading it at all. It goes from political treatise to adventure novel to thriller to slapstick comedy.

"You are in the hands of an artist whose only imperative is truth, (i.e. the best kind of artist).One who is still behind the lines, fighting it out in the war zoneor tapping out messages from beneath the rubble. Empire of the Senseless is grotesquely carnal. It is vengeful and it can be cruel. It is filled with aching and longing. It is intellectual. It is funny. It is a wound of a book."

"HockeyTough is a book that sticks out to me, I've read it on multiple occasions to help get me over a hurdle. As ahockeyplayer, I was always looking for an advantage over my competitors. in doing so, I became a firm believer in working on my mental side of the sport. I find myself using a lot of these same methods of preparation, visualizingand mental toughness to help me reach my goals as an actor and to be the best that I can be.

"I always revert back to talking abouthockeywhen I talk about my personal success in acting, and a lot of that comes from working on my inner self."

Continued here:
The cast of CBC's Fortunate Son reflect on the books that changed their lives - CBC.ca

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Delran senior Tommy Murphy has led the Bears to their first home playoff game since 1994.(Photo: Josh Friedman/Staff Photographer)

Tommy Murphy rose out of his seat and walked down the aisle of the school bus.

The Delran High School senior was in eighth grade when he saw a friend being bullied several rows up.

Murphy couldnt let that stand.

He came down to the kid and told the kid if you dont stop bullying my friend youre going to have a problem with me, Tommys father Joe recalled. That night, the parents (of his friend) called us and said what a wonderful son we had.

Murphys mission in life is to serve the greater good. He plans on joining the Marines when he graduates.

More: South Jersey boys basketball Mean 15 rankings for February 23

I always thought I could be a part of something bigger, he said. I never wanted to show off individually. Id rather show off as a group, so I dont think it gets any more impressive than the Marines or any type of military organization. Anything I can do to help people.

That mentality has always shown up on the hardwood.

The 17-year-old has never cared about his stats, only wins.

This season, Murphy and the Bears are piling up both.

Delran is 17-6 and secured its first home playoff game since 1994. The No. 6 seed will host No. 11 Sterling in the opening round of the South Jersey Group 2 playoffson March 3.

A lot of coaches go, Thats not a big deal, said head coach Travis Murphy, who is trying to determine if the program has ever had a 20-win campaign before. Theyre going for divisions or theyre going for sectionals. For us, its the first really big step. We havent had something for the school to rally around for 25, 26 years.

Its unlikely the Bears would be in this position without Tommy, Travis nephew.

He leads the team in points (377) and steals (42), is second in scoring average (16.3) behind 1,000-point scorer Glenn Morrisonand rebounding average (5.0) behind Ahmed Johnson, and is considered the squads top defender.

Hes just 5 points away from his 1,000th.

He realizes now hes our go-to guy and hes kind of embraced that and accepted that, Travis said. Where other years he was able to defer, now hes our top choice. When we run certain sets its through him, when we run different plays its through him, when we do certain activities on the court defensively, assignments go through him. I think hes embraced that.

More: Boys basketball: Love for Camden Catholic has JV coach Joe Murtin on verge of state history

Murphy didnt expect all the personal success hes had as a senior.

His defense, power and ability to penetrate have always been strengths, which he honed against his older, taller brother Matt, a 2017 graduate who was dead-eye from deep and joined the 1,000-point club his final season, and his younger brother Danny, a sophomore whos also a great shooter and was big for his age as well.

I think his game, what he concentrated and focused on was obvious, being able to move quicker with the dribble, be able to create his own shot, Travis said of Tommy, who stands 6-foot-1. Matt (6-5) didnt have to. Wed get that separation with his size, but Tommy does (have to), he has to be able to use that dribble, use that quick one step to get by guys. I think he embraces the effort and the attitude of defense. Defense usually translates into offense, and kind of get into that flow of the game and constantly be that presence for 32 minutes.

But Tommy, much to his surprise, added his brothers ability from beyond the arc this year too.

Murphy has connected on a team-high 67 3-pointers, making at least three in nine of his past 10 games.

I did work on my shot over the summer, he said. I changed my workout routines. Since I was so good at getting to the basket, I focused on that for so many years that I was like, Im already good at this, why dont I focus on one of my weaknesses? Now if I shoot well it gives me different opportunities on the court, pump fake, go by a guy, something like that which I didnt have the past two years.

Neither Travis nor Joe, an assistant on the team, were taken back by Tommys development though. The work ethic has always been there.

He was one of those kids, he was never sitting around, Travis said. There was no video games, theres gym, theres work, hes outside without his dad telling him what to do. Hes cutting the grass, raking the leaves, hes doing these different things. Hes one of those kids where its a little bit different.

Its that drive that makes him a leader and has helped the Bears produce one of the great seasons in program history.

More: Boys basketball: D.J. Wagner, Lance Ware lead Camden to Olympic National championship

And the selflessness will help him excel in uniform too.

I dont care if anybody knows my name, Tommy said. I play hard. I play hard on the basketball court, play for my teammates. I dont really play for myself, but if the job needs to be done, if I end up being the scoring leader, thats just because thats what I had to do that game to win. I dont care who scores the most points as long as we win, as long as I back up my teammates. Thats all that matters.

Josh Friedman has produced award-winning South Jersey sports coverage for the Courier Post and The Daily Journal for more than a decade. If you have or know of an interesting story to tell, reach out on Twitter at @JFriedman57 or via email at jfriedman2@gannettnj.com. You can also contact him at 856-486-2431. Help support local journalism with a Courier Post subscription.

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Boys basketball: Tommy Murphy helping Delran to one of its best seasons of all time - Courier Post

For a long time, social media has proven to be an effective marketing channel for celebrities. Whether theyre announcing concerts or just trying to stay relevant, posting on social gives them direct access to their fans.

Take Cristiano Ronaldo, for example. With over 400 million followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, he can reach millions of fans within minutes. His social strategy has been so successful that hes earning more from Instagram than his salary at Juventus. It was reported last year that he earns an average annual income of $47.8 millionfrom Instagram alone.

So, why would anyone leave? Well, there seems to be a new trend in town. Lots of popular celebs are now taking an old-school approach by sending SMS (text) messages to their fans. Theyre sending breaking news, providing daily updates and asking questions. A recent campaign saw Jennifer Lopez asking fans to text her with their song requests for her Super Bowl LIV halftime show.

This is all done via a company named Community, which provides celebs with a platform to log in and send messages in bulk. They can then view replies and respond if necessary. Some of the celebs who have already signed up reportedly include Paul McCartney, the Jonas Brothers, Diddy and Mark Cuban. Ashton Kutcher is also both an investor and user of the platform.

At Reach Interactive, we arent surprised by this new trend, as consumers are striving for personalized content. As a result, users of our SMS marketing platform are beginning to adapt. Rather than sending out generic campaigns, they are sending targeted messages that attempt to build personal connections with each recipient.

Whats up with social media?

Its becoming more and more difficult for celebrities to get their content seen on social media. On average, only 8% of a pages total likes will see any given post on Facebook. That means that a page with a million likes will only have 80,000 views on any given post. Flip that around, and you have 920,000 missed opportunities.

Its the same on Instagram and Twitter, too. As followers rise, engagement falls. The average engagement rate for accounts with less than 1,000 followers is 7.2% on Instagram and 1.4% on Twitter. However, when accounts have over 100,000 followers, those numbers fall significantly, as engagement is just 1.1% on Instagram and 0.3% on Twitter.

Theres also the issue of internet trolls. Its pretty common to see jokes in the comments section of celebrities posts. While some of those messages are light-hearted, others can be malicious and personal. With platforms doing very little to combat this problem, its no surprise when celebs call it quits. Just last month, Lizzo left Twitter due to trolling on her account.

Why SMS?

A big benefit of using SMS is that it is direct. Celebs can send messages that go straight to their fans inboxes. Those messages arent going to be missed. Theyll sit there until they are either read or deleted. This is a big benefit because it means that fans no longer have to refresh their social feeds to read updates.

Texting is also personal. Fans can receive direct messages from their heroes. Imagine sending a message to a local fan that says Concert announcement in your city. Id love it if youd be there, Jodie. That message is much more personal than a generic tour poster that is published on every social channel possible.

Finally, texting doesnt have to be in bulk. It can be as simple as arranging numbers based on area codes or geographical location. Then, if celebs have any upcoming events, they can target fans in that town, city or state.

How can businesses benefit?

Itd be naive to think that celebrities would completely ditch their social channels and focus solely on SMS. Instead, theyre now able to utilize both platforms when communicating with fans. There is no reason businesses cannot use a similar strategy. All you need to do is grow your list.

Your business may not have the same number of followers as the celebrities mentioned, but growing your SMS list can still be easy. You just need to let your existing channels do the work. Easy wins are to include your number in email campaigns, publish it on your website and post about it on social channels. Budget dependent, you can also use traditional methods such as direct mail, billboards and TV ads. And you could even get creative and run podcast ads or use influencers.

The key to growth is to offer an incentive. For celebrities, thats easy. Theyre providing fans with an opportunity to receive a direct response. For businesses, youll get more opt-ins by offering a monetary discount. Send a welcome offer such as 20% off or buy one, get one free. Also, try to make it clear that your SMS subscribers get exclusive access to discounts and products.

Consider your messaging strategy.

Once you have a sizable list, its all about strategy. Firstly, your content needs to add value. You can send texts that are informative, such as appointment reminders or delivery notifications. Or, you can send marketing messages that include calls to action, such as discounts and product launches. Then, consider timing. For example, a fast-food chain would have more success on a Friday evening than on a Monday morning. Finally, avoid bombarding your customers, as this will undo all of your hard work. Further, giving out too many discounts can hurt your brand.

This strategy can also be implemented across all of your other marketing channels. Whether youre sending a text, sharing a post or sending an email, think about your content in terms of value added, timing and consistency. As a result, youll be able to develop a successful multichannel strategy that targets unique customers across each platform.

Link:
Why Celebrities Are Texting Their Fans, And What Businesses Can Learn - Forbes