What a thrill and honor to be included among the 101 Women Bloggers to Watch in 2011 in an article by Heidi Richards (no longer available online as of 2018)! It’s an example of the Power of Connection at work. I’d been learning from master blogger Denise Wakeman (The Blog Squad) for quite some time […]
Are you singing in the dark?
Todays meditation on Acts 16:25-40 (in which Paul and Silas were singing hymns to God and inspiring other prisoners, even after they had just been flogged) from Forward Day by Day was first published in 1962. Authors are always anonymous: “The world always listens when we Christians sing in our midnight hour. What wins people […]
Connection Lessons from Sept. 11
No one who was older than a few years will forget where they were and what they were doing when they first heard about the attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the crash in a Pennsylvania field on September 11, 2001. Just reading or writing that date makes my heart squeeze […]
Book Review: Everyone Communicates, Few Connect by John Maxwell
When you focus on adding value to others, your own success and happiness will flow naturally. Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What The Most Effective People Do Differently by John C. Maxwell Reviewed by Elizabeth H. Cottrell 4 stars out of 5 John Maxwell is a great communicator–especially as a public speaker–so when this intriguing title […]
Take a Laughter Vacation
Sometimes I take myself too seriously. I’m trying to remind myself to take breaks during the day and remember: 1) Smiling, even when I’m alone, improves my mood, makes me more beautiful, and puts the right kind of wrinkles on my face. 2) If I am what I think, I need to think thoughts of […]
Self-Connection in the words of others
Just by being ourselves we are borne toward a destiny far beyond anything we could imagine. It is enough to know that the being I nourish inside me is the same as the Being that suffuses every atom of the cosmos. – Deepak Chopra If we are incapable of finding peace in ourselves, it is […]
The Magic Connection Tool
I was reminded today of a powerful connection tool that’s easy to use and absolutely free: the pen and small notepad. I first was impressed by the use of this simple, low-tech tool years ago when used by Warren B. French, Jr., retired President of Shentel and an international leader in the telecommunications industry. He […]
Start by listening
Listening may be the most powerful tool in your whole connection toolbox. The foundation of any business or personal relationship is listening. How can you possibly respond to the needs of your constituents—or spouse or friends or customers or prospects— if you don’t know what those needs are? And how can you find out what […]