Weirding Word®

SOPA and PIPA = Big Brother Infringement on Our Rights

SOPA and PIPA would effectively make YOU responsible for the content of websites that you link to on your own website or blog. It would also give individuals and private businesses the power the shut down YOUR website.

Copyright and intellectual property protection are important, but these bills go too far and inhibit the free exchange of information that is a cornerstone of our democracy. Contact your congress(wo)man and senators to oppose SOPA and PIPA. Look them up on Sopa Track at http://sopatrack.com/. Then call them and tell them what you think.

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a publishing house that promotes engaging books and novels, and provides editorial, design and marketing services.

Copyright 2007-2012 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.

The First Time Is Seldom As Good As the Last

It's always helpful to remember that a first draft is just that -- the very first, roughest go at it among all of the revisions and iterations that will come along.  However, that lonely little underappreciated first draft is a doorway to opportunity. It's an opportunity to clarify goals. A chance to assess direction and style.  It literally illustrates where we can improve and how far we've come.

Maybe you know what you want the piece to accomplish or to explain, but the how of it is not quite straight in your head.  You want it to be engaging.  To be clear.  To be simple.  To be better than the competition!  And yet, ACK, that poor little first draft is not what you'd hoped!  Whatever that was supposed to have been.

So, is there any way around that painful first contact?  Whether you write the piece yourself or hire someone to do it for you, these tips will help:

1. Find samples of the things you like -- whether an entire document or just a feature in an article.
2. Briefly outline the main goal of what you're writing. (HINT: More than 3 goals means you probably need to rethink it.)
3. Know your topic -- don't get tripped up trying to explain something you don't quite understand.
4. Write to your strengths -- use your own authentic voice in the first draft and leave the polish for later drafts.
5. Edit, revise and edit some more until it's what you want.
6. Have someone else review and comment on the document.
7. If you've hired someone to do the writing, discuss the process and number of revisions ahead of time.

Keep hope alive and keep on keeping on.  That final draft is going to shine.

 

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Copyright 2007-2010 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.

Grow Up and Vote November 2

This has been on my mind for a few weeks. I questioned whether this was the right forum and whether I even wanted to enter the fray. Well, yes and yes! I am fed up with the wafflers, whiners and civic couch potatoes of America.

"I don't like either of the candiates." "They're all crooks." "They never follow through on their promises."

Maybe, maybe not. But refusing to vote is not going to change a thing. We all know that being a grown-up is hard. If you're old enough to reproduce, you're old enough to head for the voting booth. All the rest is just excuses.

Okay. So, you're not moved. Maybe you should take a moment to think out of the box, or take a few minutes to verify your opinion. Here are some things you can do:

1. Go to Factcheck.org to see if those annoying ads are true at all then decide if that ad makes a difference.


2. Go to the website for Congress, the Senate, the state house, the candidate, etc. to see what types of policies your favorite candidate (or the two "equally bad" choices) supports. Maybe you'll be surprised. Maybe you'll be encouraged. Either way, at least you'll have some facts and know if their views are in line with your interests.


3. Just about every election includes propositions, ballot questions or some sort of binding vote about community programs. By not going to the polls, you're allowing everyone else to speak for you on where your taxes should be spent.


4. Use the write-in option -- and I don't mean for something stupid like "Superman" or "None of the above". Pick someone. Pick a civic, community, business or government leader who has impressed you with their knowledge, skills and abilities. Then, write his or her name on the ballot. If everyone who didn't like the listed candidates did this, we might be surprised to actually discover the up and coming leaders of our communities and the nation. Just 100 people picking one person could make the news.


5. Get clear on whether you're upset with all politicians or just one politician, and why. Is it because she compromised and didn't establish the exact policy you wanted or she targetd going in? Or, is it because he just failed to accomplish something? We don't usually get exactly what we want -- not in life; not in politics.

The annual election cycle is dramatic and crazily active, and we say we're tired of it and don't want to see this mess anymore, but we're not really doing the things that would make it go away -- learning about the issues, becoming informed about candidates, and going to the polls to VOTE FOR SOMEONE. In fact we're so wimpy, that all the political campaigns need to do is run a few negative ads, and we run off crying about how it's all such a disgusting process.

Grow up, do your own research, and vote like Americans should.

 

Gaea Honeycutt
blog at WeirdingWord.com

 

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Copyright 2007-2010 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.

Merging, Mergers and Partnerships: Navigating a Hazardous Road

There is this ridiculous intersection in Wiliamsburg, VA.  As soon as westbound traffic passes through, the cars must then choreograph a merge in a very short space of time -- literally no more than about 20 feet and 3 seconds  Now, merging is just a pain under normal circumstances, but this merge is a left-to-right maneuver; not the standard right-to-left.

Yes, folks, the left lane (the side with the oncoming traffic) disappears about 3 seconds after you cross the intersection.  Not only do you need to find a way to play nice with the folks in the other lane, you've got to make sure you don't stray over the double-yellows into the grill of some guy's F-150.

And, truly, this is how it is merging in professional life.  There are treacherous left-to-right mergers all over the place.  We may not be talking life and death, but the principles are the same:

Are the right people at the table? Not all drivers are as skill or focused, or have the same temperment. Yes, Ed's your good friend and Susan is a longtime colleague. But do their skills and talents fulfill the needs of the venture. Who among you is handling the key tasks and functions? Topical expertise doesn't equal business savvy. Nor does friendship equal long-term commitment. And in these situations, it's easy to loose focus on the business of running your business.

Is everyone on the same page? In a perfect traffic world, people in the two lanes take turns, giving everyone a fair chance to enter the single lane without incident.  In the business world, do you and your partner(s) have the same ideas about assignments and responsibilities? Or are you just assuming that any sane person would do things the way you would? Map out a plan for implementation together, and question your most basic, simple assumptions. Most of all, know what you want and what your vision of partnership looks like before beginning.

Are there clear signs and indicators?  Most of us understand and interpret road signs the same way, but maybe there are distinctions that we wouldn't expect about one another.  Is there a contract?  Are there benchmarks that allow all parties to measure progress?  Is there clear communication between you and your partner(s)?  Is everyone listening? Does communication turn into action or decisions?

Is there enough time? Let's not have an accident due to race track maneuvers.  A high-pressure or impractical timeline is no way to get started in a partnership. Is everyone truly on board with the timeline?  What types of benchmarks are in place to measure progress and allow for adjustments?  When is it time to count your losses and pull out of the deal?  Are you feeling rushed and uncomfortable?

What happens if there's an "accident"? How do you extricate yourself from a bad situation? The accident has happened and it ain't pretty. What type of insurance -- metaphorically speaking -- did you put in place to cut your losses? Create a dissolution agreement or a memorandum of understanding to ensure appropriate allocation of assets, and that breaking up is as painless as possible.

Putting a damper on your euphoria? Don't let it get you down, but don't enter into this venture blindly either.  Give that merger, partnership or collaboration plenty of consideration and planning.  You'll be better situated to handle whatever comes your way.

Gaea Honeycutt
blog at WeirdingWord.com

 

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Copyright 2007-2010 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.

Resiliency: Bouncing Back From Your Setback

A guest blog by Eric Twiggs

While preparing this article, I started thinking about failures and setbacks. I have discovered that we all have experienced failures and setbacks at some point. In any arena or industry, the difference between the champions and everyone else is how they respond to the them.

I watched the movie Invincible the other day. Based on a true story, Vince Papale was pursuing his dream of playing in the NFL for his hometown Philadelphia Eagles. He was a long shot and he knew it. He had not played college football and was not drafted into the NFL.

Every morning before he went to practice, he had a habit of looking at a note in his locker. The note seemed to inspire him to perform at a higher level. He did this every morning without fail. It got to the point where I was talking to the TV screen asking, what is on that note? The note was a letter from his ex-wife informing him of the fact that she was leaving him and that he would never accomplish anything in life. He ultimately achieved his dream of playing for the Philadelphia Eagles and proved that you can bounce back from your setbacks.

You too can bounce back from your setbacks and all you need is the following three things:

The first thing you need to bounce back from your setback is the Right Aim.
When I refer to Aim I mean a vision. A vision helps to keep your setbacks in the right perspective. Noted author and speaker Dr Gene Mims said it best when he said “when you have a vision, circumstances will arise, but when you have no vision you are ruled by your circumstances.” Its not enough to merely have a vision, the vision should be in writing. Did you know that 97% of the population is without a written vision or goals? Having the vision in writing would put you in the top 3 % of the population.

The 2nd thing that you need to bounce back from your setback is the Right Attention.
By attention, I mean that your attention should be on the process of practice and preparation. The Olympic Gold Medalist does not win the medal at the games. The medal was really won during his time in isolation when he was practicing. If he has a setback in the games, he can improve his process of practice and preparation and overcome this setback the next time. We can do the same. If we have a setback, we can take a step back, and improve our preparation and practice process and make a comeback.

The 3rd and final thing that you need is the Right Attitude.
Winston Churchill said it best when he defined success as "the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm". If you have the right aim and the right attention, you recognize that each setback is bringing you closer to your goal.

Let me introduce you to a man that you may already know. His struggle will help to clarify what you need to bounce back from your setback. He was born into poverty and lacked a formal education. He joined the militia and obtained the rank of Captain. His leadership skills were so questionable that he was demoted down to the rank of Private. He met a nice young lady and was engaged to be married. She died of a sudden illness. This event caused him to have a nervous breakdown. He recovered and decided to open his own business. The business failed. He then decided that he would pursue a career in politics. He ran for a seat in his state legislature and lost. He ran for a seat in the US Congress and lost. He ran for a seat in the US Senate and lost. He was Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. In addition to the right aim and attention, he had to have the right attitude to overcome all of those setbacks.

If you have the right aim, the right attention and the right attitude, you too can bounce back from your setback.

Eric M. Twiggs is a nationally known Business Coach who’s coaching and motivational strategies have led to the turnaround of numerous businesses across the country.

 

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Copyright 2007-2010 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.