Our Virtual World

What the World Needs now

If there’s anything this pandemic has given us besides uncertainty, it’s the gift of time. How did you spend your time over the past two years?

Was it time well spent? Did you become laser focused on what’s important? You already knew. Did you rise and fall (many times) getting lost in the ebbs and flow of uncertainty? Or did you reach out and connect with someone to see if they were all right?

What the world needs now and always is connectivity, not the virtual kind but the humankind.

“When we meet face to face, we become human. We lift each other up. We need this.” – Rev. Cecil Williams, Pastor

Virtual Connectivity

Technology can be a beautiful thing. I taught my 91-year-old Mom to video call me on her shiny new red iPhone XR. My 92-year-old Dad wanted to touch my face on the screen. We laugh a lot.

We celebrated one hundred days since the birth of my good friends’ beautiful baby boy and raised a glass of Prosecco in one hand and waved at the faces in the little Zoom tiles.

We celebrated the life of our faraway dear friend in Malaysia last week and recorded a message for her to hear in her final days.

And we, colleagues and students, are about to celebrate two years of online teaching next month! Has it really been two years?

Some may ask, what is there to celebrate? Will Covid continue to lurk in the shadows as we make our way onto flights and visit Level 4 countries? How much risk are we willing to take when we share a coffee with a friend or colleague, hug family, or hold the hand of someone suffering?

Human and Virtual Connectivity

Thirty (!) years ago, I was in the computer lab at University of Calgary, updating my resume. I had just returned from a three-year posting in Sulawesi with the University of Guelph and Global Affairs. A young man peered at my monitor and asked, “Do you speak Bahasa Indonesia?” And I answered “Bisa! (Yes, I can!)

That was the beginning of our long-term friendship. His Mom cooked me Indonesian food and he now is in San Francisco. We stay connected with visits and chats and have lively discussions about life in the time of COVID.

Recently he shared with me Conor Neill’s Sep 2020 video on two ways of approaching life, “Freedom from or Freedom to” and also on “making a choice or decision”. Professor Neill, who teaches leadership at the global IESE Business School in Barcelona, has explained with great clarity about the distinction in both. Tune in as he asks:

Do you want to live your life merely to survive and removing pain or live your life making choices with confidence?
Do you want to choose and take full responsibility and commit to making your decisions work or do you want to continually validate and justify the decisions you’ve made and say it wasn’t the core of me that has failed?

I believe wholeheartedly in “freedom to …” and choosing confidently, all in, 100%. Go celebrate! Go for coffee, maybe with someone new! Go hug and smile! Hold both hands, touch a heart, connect a soul.

Now you choose.

I am a high energy Instructor teaching soft skills at post secondary institutions in Toronto, Canada to anyone who is curious about connectivity and networking. My next webinar series starts March 12th https://learn.utoronto.ca/programs-courses/courses/3587-fearless-networking-connecting-creatively-confidently

How to Fit in Field Trips While Working and Why it Matters

People are not only looking for ways to cope with and combat COVID but also ways to deal with sudden feelings of doom and despair.

Time for another “field trip” with Creative Mornings! I know I’ll return refreshed and recharged. Members choose from a weekly “menu of field trips”.

We owe huge thanks to Tina Roth Eisenberg (Swissmiss) who started Creative Mornings in 2008 out of a desire for an ongoing, accessible (and free) event for New York’s creative community. Read more …

Our network zooms in from 216 cities across 67 countries to listen and learn about an astonishing range of topics.

Proudly volunteer driven, the fine folks at Creative Mornings know how to host and have fun.

Since COVID, thanks to Creative Morning field trips, I’ve:

Untangled and jumped “Punk Rope”
Searched public domains for beautiful images “Archival Magic”
Used sound to wash away stress “Ignite My Creative Fire Through the Power of Sound”
And today, crafted and shared my “5 Word Life Story”

Don’t let COVID stop you from taking a field trip . Keep calm and connect with Creative Mornings soon. Everyone’s creative!

Staying Connected During COVID-19

I have a quote taped above my desk:

~ *Rev. Cecil Williams, Co-Founder* *and the Reverend in the film “The Pursuit of Happyness”.*

But what do we do in this time of COVID-19? How can networking skills help us if we can’t meet in person?

I often ask my students and audiences what “networking” means to them – “connecting, building relationships, meeting new people, making friends, socializing” to name a few. During this Covid-19 crisis, having networking skills will help us because as humans, we need connection. Technology makes it very easy for us to reach out and connect while maintaining social distance.

When I teach my networking workshops, the first networking skill in my “Five Hacks for Fearless Networking” © is to “Show Up”, overcoming the fear of social rejection. It takes courage to meet someone new in person and on-line.

Is setting up a social calendar useful when we can’t gather physically?

I have a friend who keeps a checklist to help her connect with family and friends who are near and dear to her. She also keeps another checklist to help her connect with professional contacts and colleagues.

I always maintain a professional calendar because of the nature of my business and now add to my whiteboard daily a list of my family and friends.

Which platforms are available for staying connected? Phone calls vs. Video chat vs. Social media vs email or snail mail?

I use them all!

Video Conferencing

Most platforms have similar features – share, chat, raise your hand, etc. I’ve use GoToMeeting, WebEx, and Zoom to hold meetings with clients pre-COVID-19 and was a guest panelist on an AGEWELL webinar hosted by Translational Research Project, U of T Faculty of Medicine a year ago on March 14, 2019 on I believe, WebEx.

I’ve transitioned my in-person classes on-line on Zoom quite seamlessly and as someone who is very social. I’m delightfully surprised how much I love teaching virtually. I recommend Zoom because it is simple to start and use and you don’t have to be a member to join a Zoom meeting.

Video calling and phone calls

I had planned an Easter visit to be with my 90+ year old parents in Calgary but of course, my visit has been postponed so I call now them daily, sometimes twice a day instead of our usual Sunday weekly call. This ritual provides all of us tremendous comfort and assurance. Hearing them say they love me every night means so much to me. My siblings also live in Calgary so they help connect me with our parents through video calling on Whats App and Facebook Messenger. My Dad loves touching the screen! Use video calling and phone calls if you want to reach someone you love and someone quickly.

Social Media

You either love it or leave it alone! I’m very active on social and connecting and engaging with friends, family, students, mentees, colleagues, acquaintances, and strangers through comments and direct messaging on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter.

My sister who had been a reluctant user of technology now does a fitness class with her soccer friend via video!

I recommend LinkedIn to stay relevant within your business network by posting comments and sharing if you don’t have time to contribute a post or an article.

Email

As a Boomer, we tend to default to email but I’m mindful when connecting with my younger friends (IG DM and Whats App) and my 22-year old niece (FB messenger) by choosing the media channel they use frequently.

Use email to connect with people of a certain age (Boomers) and also to maintain documentation or an “audit trail” on any important issues – business and personal.

Snail Mail

Snail mail also serves a unique purpose if you don’t mind physically receiving mail. I found Easter cards at Whole Foods last week, had stamps from Shoppers Drug Mart (available from cashiers), and popped them in the mail box with a little prayer that they reach my family and friends – so old school but another way to connect and send a little happiness.

Use snail mail because you’re like a mini-Amazon, delivering love, caring, and joy in an envelope or small package to anyone in the world.

What are some things we can do every day to avoid feeling too isolated?

Or what are some things we can do every day to stay happy at home?

Top 10 Tips to Stay Happy at Home During COVID-19

Keeping a journal – digital or paper – gives you a place to off load your thoughts. I also have this blog and contribute and share posts and articles on LinkedIn and other business blogs.
Do something nice for your neighbours whether you live in a condo, apartment building, or a house. Check in while maintain social distance and ask if you can pick something up for thing if you are making a quick trip to the grocery store.
Connect with nature. Walking meditation helps and a good one can be found in “Peace is Every Step” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Meditate even for 5 minutes to help clear your mind.
Learn something new! With so many ways to learn online – YouTube, IGTV, Coursera, etc., most of us have access to so much. We are fortunate because not everyone has Internet access. I’m sad to see on Twitter that people who don’t have Internet access gather around the exterior of branches of the Toronto Public Library trying to find a way to log in if they have cell phones. It also shows us the value of our libraries and social services.
Some establish new routines immediately. It grounds them and gives a sense of control. As a creative, I maintain some routine to get work done while also allowing (and sometimes scheduling) time for my mind to wander and be free.
Move! Make sure you move and not sit in front of your computer all day. Stretch! Jump! Dance! Do the Wonder Woman power pose made famous by Professor Amy Cuddy! With over 56 million views to date, watch her 2012 TED Talk: “Your body language may shape who you are”. “We know our minds can change our bodies but can our bodies change our minds?” ~ Amy Cuddy
Pick up the phone and call someone you love, someone who lives alone, someone you’re thinking of.
Take the initiative and identify someone you can help by introducing them to someone in your network who can help, mentor, share their expertise and experience.
Breathe and be thankful for all that you have this moment. The universe will unfold as it should.

Nothing is forever, not even COVID-19. Keep healthy. Keep safe. Keep connected.

In with the “In” AND with the “Old”

There’s a lot to be said about the tsunami of all things internet aka #IOT and the virtual world.

Speed is of the essence. Speeches by the hip and cool contains words about speed – “fast, faster, fastest”, “nimble”, “hurry, hurry hard (oops, curling call to action)”. Time is ticking, dammit!

The “new” phraseoology (note the middle letters in this word, “SEO”) amuses me – “discussion” becomes “conversation”, “random” is no longer confined to math, “talking” becomes “texting”. Sometimes I feel like “The Martian” who got off at the wrong space shuttle stop and fell to Earth.

However, most of the time, I stand back in awe and amazement and celebrate what a wonderful world and age we live in… together – young and younger and youngest! Talk to me. I mean text me.