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Google Competition for Kids: If I could do anything…

February 3rd, 2010 by Susie
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Hey, I’m happy to see great minds and corporations think alike.

A couple of years ago I put out a challenge for people to answer: If I knew I couldn’t fail I would… and now Google has such a competition for kids K-12 age in Doogle 4 Google. The idea is to “work their artistic will upon our homepage logo…around the theme, “If I Could Do Anything, I Would …”

The winning kid designs the Google logo! Almost better than a tour of Willy Wonka’s factory.

So get your child a scribblin’. Registration closes at 11:59:59 p.m. Pacific Time (PT) on March 17, 2010. (More details)

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Some Resolutions Were Made To Be Broken

January 1st, 2010 by Susie
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This morning one of the first “tactical” goals of the year I wrote down was to only drink 1 cup of coffee a day. This past year I’d gotten in the habit of having a little coffee for energy, walking 2 miles toward work, then having my “real” cup of coffee.

At the prospect of eliminating one of these, I wondered, why am I really doing this? What is my real goal. Well, my real goal is to not be dehydrated or crabby. Those are both doable without giving up 2 cups of coffee.

And then I backed up  my decision to modify this resolution with the facts:

Fact: One of my greatest pleasures in life is drinking coffee. (I mean, won’t giving this up make me crabby? ;) Maybe not.

Fact: People who drink several cups of coffee a day have a lower incidence of Type 2 diabetes (may theory is if you’re more hopped up on coffee there’s a lower chance you’re craving sweets)

It’s nice to go through a speedy resolution making process that reflects on the ultimate goal and allows you to toss out the resolution if it won’t make you happy.

Bottoms up!

blue bottle coffee

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Personal Year in Review Questions

December 31st, 2009 by Susie
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Awesome questions from David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) newsletter that are perfect for ending 2009 and planning a great 2010:

Completing and remembering 2009

Review the list of all completed projects
What was your biggest triumph in 2009?
What was the smartest decision you made in 2009?
What one word best sums up and describes your 2009 experience?
What was the greatest lesson you learned in 2009?
What was the most loving service you performed in 2009?
What is your biggest piece of unfinished business in 2009?
What are you most happy about completing in 2009?
Who were the three people that had the greatest impact on your life in 2009?
What was the biggest risk you took in 2009?
What was the biggest surprise in 2009?
What important relationship improved the most in 2009?
What compliment would you liked to have received in 2009?
What compliment would you liked to have given in 2009?
What else do you need to do or say to be complete with 2009?

Creating the new year

What would you like to be your biggest triumph in 2010?
What advice would you like to give yourself in 2010?
What is the major effort you are planning to improve your financial results in 2010?
What would you be most happy about completing in 2010?
What major indulgence are you willing to experience in 2010?
What would you most like to change about yourself in 2010?
What are you looking forward to learning in 2010?
What do you think your biggest risk will be in 2010?
What about your work, are you most committed to changing and improving in 2010?
What is one as yet undeveloped talent you are willing to explore in 2010?
What brings you the most joy and how are you going to do or have more of that in 2010?
Who or what, other than yourself, are you most committed to loving and serving in 2010?
What one word would you like to have as your theme in 2010?

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MySQL Help Needed in Trade…

December 28th, 2009 by Susie
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SuperViva is a “LAMP” site and is on a good hosting service…for some reason the site keeps going down. It was built using contracted developers and hums along pretty well by itself, but could use a look at what’s going on.

There may also be some misc. JavaScript / compatibility issues with the newer (post 2007) browsers.

If you have a life goal to make the world a better place, chipping in here will be a great start and I’ll be happy to brainstorm with you on your other goals as well!

If you have a public track record of working on LAMP-based sites and would like to perhaps help in trade for promotion on the site (eg a persistent footer link), please email me. I’d offer to pay but my state has kindly taken all money the site has made in the form of their minimum tax.

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Great Simple New Years Resolutions for 2010

December 25th, 2009 by Susie
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1) Get in Shape for the Right Reasons

Yesterday I had not 1 - but 2 - children hanging off me like monkeys from a tree.

Yet as I wondered if my back would be out of whack the next day, I was thankful for all my gym workouts during which I motivated myself with the idea of being strong in case…I needed to be strong. For lifting something, getting out of a situation, trying to do pull ups at a party. All those good reasons - in addition to looking sharp and being healthy.

(And my back is not out of whack!)typewriter fun

2) Experience the World Through a Newbie’s Eyes

When someone who has never been to your neck of the woods visits you, in addition to all the regular touristy sights to see, try roaming around on foot.

I did this in Los Angeles with some kids who were from a snowy area. They had their first sights, touches, and smells of ice plants, lantana, rosemary, birds of paradise, cacti, lavender, fertilizer, and all the other typical plants that grow in LA gardens. It was so much fun to “discover” all these plants for the first time.

And who ever knew that playing with a typewriter could be as much fun as playing games on an iPhone!

3) Say Hello

Interact with strangers and change someone’s life (yes I’ll be trite and say maybe your own).

See what happens if you spend a day without the headphones, saying hi to strangers, chatting with people in cafes or wherever you go. See #4.

4) Find Theme Songs…and Sing Them

I love the lyrics from the following song, by an old band called Jawbreaker. Recently I was talking with a friend about having theme songs as inspiration to get happy or make a change. Do you have theme songs? If not, maybe think about playlists (see #3…on your ipod :) to help you live your proverbial best life.

I have a present: it is the present.
You have to learn to find it within you.
If you can learn to love it,
You just might like it.
You can’t live without it.
There’s a million open windows.
I’m passing these open windows.
There is plenty to criticize.
It gets so easy to narrow these eyes.
But these eyes will stay wide.
I will stay young.
Young and dumb inside.

Flying High on Life

5) Feel Good About Yourself

It’s hard to commit to “#5″ on a top 5 list. I wanted to say be healthy - because without health it’s hard to be happy and

I wanted to say cherish your friends and family - because without them it’s also hard to be happy.

“Feel good about myself” is the first big goal I ever made, when I realized if anything wasn’t going well in my life it was usually because I was doing something that wasn’t right. By having a simple goal to be happy with yourself, you can quickly trickle down to find the cause - if you’re not eating right, being self destructive, doing work you don’t love etc.

I’ve uploaded a “life self-analysis tool” I created last year that I found to be a very helpful and fun way to figure out what I really wanted / was missing in my life…by reflecting on the past several years. Take a look (it’s a Google doc).

Fun Ways to Plan Your Goals

Keeping a simple list of 10 big goals for the year will keep you focused. I tend to look at my goals on a quarterly basis or if I’m in a funk more often. It only takes a second to “level set” yourself to figure out what you might want to change in your life to get on the right course again.

  • Moleskin notebook
  • On the back of a business card to keep in your wallet
  • Your phone (this is handy but it never feels quite as fulfilling to me as writing)
  • Here on SuperViva or online in other listing places…doesn’t have to be fancy.
  • In a collage metaphorically, which is fun in addition to your list.

Happy New Year!

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