The Virtual Wire

Computer Security

Through Small Business Trends blog I came across this article on Computer Security and how to deal with the myriad of cyber threats. This is a great article because it covers a great range of solutions that are suitable for both the small business owner, working on a small budget, to those who have a bit more money to spend.

As I recently upgraded from Norton Internet Security2006 to Symantec’s new product, Norton 360, I thought I would share a couple of great improvements that I particularly like:

1. Access to on-line file storage and automatic continual backup of files. I pay approx. $20 a month for a service like this, so if I find the Norton service can replace the one I pay for then this can be a fantastic saving for me.
2. 

   A Norton toolbar added to the browser that checks each website for fraudulent characteristics. What I like about this is that is, of course, the added security, and at the same times it does not slow down internet surfing.

Another minor, but nonetheless important details, is that last year, when I upgraded to Norton Internet 2006, the upgrade slowed down my machine a bit, but this problem appears to have been corrected.

iPhone Review ... funny, too

I saw this today at Techie Diva, and thought you'd enjoy it.

I found it informative and entertaining. Although it is a bit long, you'll want to watch it through to the end. I'm glad I did.

Writers, writing together

Do you enjoy writing? I do. Well, most of the time, anyway. There’s no escaping it – from composing daily business and personal correspondence, developing proposals, writing copy, creating press releases and marketing materials, and, of course, blogging – writing is a major part of our lives, isn’t it?

If you’re looking for another writing opportunity, Dr. Ellen Weber of Brain Based Business, has initiated an interesting project. She has compiled a list of 100 one-word inspirations she gleaned from 100 blogging sites. (The Virtual Wire is on the list, BTW!). She’s challenging her readers to take an inspirational word from her list, incorporate it into their workplace and daily routine, and write about the experience. Creating quality change for the workplace, together, is one of the primary goals of this exercise. She intends to compile a book, too, entitled: Business Matters – Change and the Human Brain!

Here’s an excerpt as she outlines the plan: (You’ll certainly want to check out her site to find the list of 100 words and blogs.)

Here are the rules… 1). First, choose one word from the list below – other than your own. That leaves you 99 choices from the list! 2. Then, create a brief doable plan for work this week that shows that word in operation. Simply inspire improvement in any one area at your workplace. 3). Now, blog about the word, any specific tactics you tried, the improvement results, and any observations that caught your attention. 4). Finally, link your post to One Word Inspirations From 100 Sites, so we can compile the results and share new tools.

Dr. Weber continues:

I will then respond to your post by showing specific brain based operations involved in your workplace through your ideas, and then will send a book to a person who shows the hottest business improvements in any area highlighted in a blog entry.

Cool! (BTW, that’s TVW’s chosen word, so we can’t use that one to write about – there are 99 others from which to select, though!) This sounds like fun, don’t you think? The finished product certainly will be an interesting and inspirational read!

It's my birthday!

While there will be a couple of indulgences today, no work and dinner at a place I’ve heard nothing but good things about, what I’m most looking forward to is the time I've carved out to spend in deep reflection...thinking, writing, maybe a little crying, and a lot more planning.

While there are many people, things, and occurrences in my life that I am extremely grateful for, I am acutely aware that there is room for major improvements in some areas of my life. Said simply, I can be better.

Chronologically (according to longevity statistics) most of my sand is already in the hour glass. But I'm very much alive, and I want to honor that by living a different kind of life!

Giving thanks and giving back

I was recently introduced to a charitable organization of which I’d never heard. It’s called Heifer International and their tag line is “Ending Hunger, Caring for the Earth.” The movement was started by a Midwestern farmer named Dan West during the Spanish Civil War. As he gave out rations of milk to hungry children, it dawned on him that the children didn’t need a cup of milk…they needed a cow!

The Heifer International website goes on to state that “West, who was serving as a Church of the Brethren relief worker, was forced to decide who would receive the limited rations and who wouldn’t – literally, who would live and who would die. This kind of aid, he knew, would never be enough.

So West returned home to form Heifers for Relief, dedicated to ending hunger permanently by providing families with livestock and training so that they ‘could be spared the indignity of depending on others to feed their children.’

In 1944, the first shipment of 17 heifers left York, Pennsylvania, for Puerto Rico, going to families whose malnourished children had never even tasted milk. Why heifers? These are young cows that haven’t yet given birth – making them perfect not only for supplying a continued source of milk, but also for supplying a continued source of support. That’s because each family receiving a heifer agrees to ‘pass on the gift’ and donate the female offspring to another family, so that the gift of food is never-ending.

This simple idea of giving families a source of food rather than short-term relief caught on and has continued for over 60 years. Since 1944, Heifer has helped 7 million people in more than 125 countries.”

Imagine a woman

Today is my birthday! I am celebrating in style by spending a long weekend with my family at Crystal River. While you’re reading this I am probably floating down the river absorbing the beauty all around me, and expressing my gratitude for another amazing year on this planet. I’ve already been thinking about the things I have learned and accomplished this year, a few highlights are; my second year in business, living debt-free, and moving steadily towards our dream of living aboard a houseboat.

Life is good! I am learning to live consciously instead of plowing through my days blindly. It’s definitely more challenging to dig deep and look at the nuts and bolts of my life and my choices, but ultimately more rewarding and empowering than I ever imagined.

The people in my life (loved and even not so loved!) have helped me grow and stretch into the authentic, loving, happy, and fulfilled person I am today. I’m incredibly grateful to have such wise and kindred souls on my journey, and acknowledge your hands and hearts in supporting me so that I can imagine myself as this woman. Namaste.

Imagine a Woman
Patricia Lynn Reilly
©1995
The poem that inspired the book Imagine a Woman in Love with Herself

Imagine a woman
who believes it is right and good she is woman.
A woman who honors her experience and tells her stories.
Who refuses to carry the sins of others within her body and life.

Imagine a woman
who believes she is good.
A woman who trusts and respects herself.
Who listens to her needs and desires and meets them with tenderness and grace.

Imagine a woman
who has acknowledged the past's influence on the present.
A woman who has walked through her past.
Who has healed into the present.

Imagine a woman
who authors her own life.
A woman who exerts, initiates, and moves on her own behalf.
Who refuses to surrender except to her truest self and to her wisest voice.

Imagine a woman
who names her own gods.
A woman who imagines the divine in her image and likeness.
Who designs her own spirituality and allows it to inform her daily life.

Imagine a woman
in love with her own body.
A woman who believes her body is enough, just as it is.
Who celebrates her body and its rhythms and cycles as an exquisite resource.

Imagine a woman
who honors the face of the Goddess in her changing face.
A woman who celebrates the accumulation of her years and her wisdom.
Who refuses to use her precious life energy disguising the changes in her body and life.

Imagine a woman
who values the women in her life.
A woman who sits in circles of women.
Who is reminded of the truth about herself when she forgets.

Imagine yourself as this woman.

A Leap of Faith with Microsoft Office 2007 III

Okay I am sold, I think. I like MS Office 2007. I really like the new menu bars, I do find them to be contextual, and like the fact that the most relevant items are right there in front of me. This change is geared towards those of us who are committed mouse users, as opposed to the gifted few who are great with keyboard strokes. (I say they are gifted because I tried in all earnest to be a keyboard stroke type, but just couldn’t get the hang of it.)

I love the ribbon in the top left-hand corner that offers access to the basic everyday functions of the application (see picture below of the ribbon in its expanded view). It makes sense to me that these items would be here. I also consider the save, undo and redo icons next to the ribbon are in fitting and great places, i.e. they make sense to me. This entire setup does feel intuitive.

What I also find very cool is that as I hover over a new font, or font size this possible change reflects immediately on the page. So even though I haven’t changed the font or the font size, the proposed change shows immediately, which allows me to see what it might look like.

Even though the menu bars have changed considerably, with just a little time to adjust to the change I found it easy to familiarise myself.
Have a look at the page layout tool bar. I found it so useful to have margins, orientation, columns, page breaks, page numbering and before and after spacing immediately available in the toolbar.

Public speaking happens, let's do it with excellence

I have friends and colleagues who are professional speakers. I imagine many of us and/or our clients have hosted teleseminars, taught classes, held workshops, or made presentations at various venues. Public speaking happens.

I came across Jim Logan's blog after attending a teleseminiar (hosted by the VACOC) where he was the featured presenter. I appreciated his perspective, found the information he shared quite helpful, and enjoyed his style of presenting. I've followed his blog ever since, and the other day he mentioned this free ebook about public speaking written by a good friend of his, Kevin Stirtz.

The New Rules of Public Speaking -- How to get more customers by speaking to groups like a professional.

I took a peek, read the first tip, and … well, I was hooked. Kevin's done an excellent job of taking what he’s learned from his personal and professional experiences as a well-traveled speaker, and then writing about them in a clear and concise style.

Here’s Rule #1: It’s ALL about your audience.

You are there for them. (They are not there for your gain.) Whatever you do, your intent and focus needs to be 100% on your audience. Help them leave with more than they came. Entertain them, inform them, inspire them.

Having attended plenty of meetings, seminars, and networking events (both virtually and otherwise) where presentations and speakers abound, I certainly appreciate those that have abided by Rule #1. Sorry to say, not all did!

The practical tips shared in this ebook might just help propel me toward a professional speaking career ... who knows! (big grin) Certainly, those public speakers you know might enjoy having a copy of this.

My hero…My Papi

Every little girl needs a hero in her life and mine has always been my Papi (“daddy” in Spanish). I’ve shared so many memories with him during the 60 years of my life and I’m so thankful for each and every one. The older I get, the more I realize that I’ve had and continue to have a unique and wonderful relationship with my parents. I wish everyone were as fortunate as me.

As a little girl, I could hardly wait for my Daddy to come home at night. When he walked in the door, I would jump into his arms and wait for him to say, “How hard can you hug me?” Then, with all the strength a little girl could muster, I would clench my jaws, wrap my arms around his neck, and hug him as hard as I could. In my mind, the harder the hug, the more he would know I loved him.

One of my first memories of Daddy-and-me time was when he took me out to dinner when my Mom was in the hospital after giving birth to my younger brother, Peter. That night was made that much more special because going to a restaurant was a rare event in 1949. We went to Johnny No Bones Steakhouse in southern California. Salisbury steak (aka hamburger steak) was my meal that night. I was just three years old and yet I can remember feeling very grown up. I was out on the town with my main man and I did my best to be very grown up. My maturity bubble burst when, as we were leaving, the waitress asked if I wanted a lollipop.

Live in the reality of where you want to be

I’ve been listening to Mike Dooley’s audio book Infinite Possibilities. Mike is a lovely, like-minded, and kindred soul whose work I greatly admire. I had the privilege of attending one of his seminars last year and meeting and speaking with him in person. His spin on the Law of Attraction is that “thoughts become things” and that we manifest our own realities with them. I delight in his daily Notes from the Universe emails which always seem right on target for me personally, and often precipitate giggles or outright belly laughs.

I’ve been listening to Mike’s wise words and insights while I walk which I’ve been doing more of this past month. I’ve stepped up my daily strolls realizing that I had been coasting in my exercise plan instead of challenging myself. I’m now walking at a fat-burning sweat-producing clip that energizes and stretches me. I’ve added strength training to my routine and in only three weeks easily transitioned from three pound hand held weights to five pounds. My mind has been geared towards health, fitness, and attaining my ideal weight, so it was no surprise to hear Mike offer these totally unique thoughts about manifesting my desires:

1) It’s simple.
With the proper perspective the challenge you face is a simple one; altering food intake compared to growing a new limb!

2) Overeating is not natural.
There are reasons. Perhaps hidden reasons for this physical imbalance, and Mike suggests you study your beliefs to discover the root causes and create inroads to changing your behavior and understanding your beliefs.

3) Your body is not you.
Your body is your creation and has an awareness and needs all it’s own. It needs you, relies on you, and exists solely to serve you. Cherish it. This perspective may help you separate emotions from food.

4) Watch everything you say or do about your weight and body.
It doesn’t matter if the negative things you say were or are true. Do not ever utter again, “I am overweight.” This statement will only perpetuate that manifestation. Your body is perfect and is supremely capable of sustaining it’s perfect weight, you’ve simply misprogrammed it.

5) Think, speak, and act in relation to how you want to be not how you’ve been.
Operate only as if you were now your ideal weight. Say things that don’t even make sense on a physical level, “Thank God I’m so thin!” because spiritually you are the perfect weight, and you summon it forward into your physical reality when you make statements like that. Live in the reality of where you want to be.

I visualize daily about how I will look, act, and feel at my ideal weight. Feeling those feelings is how I set myself free from my safety net of protection. Mike’s perspective is incredibly empowering, makes good sense, and of course points to infinite possibilities.

“Thoughts become things…choose the good ones.” ~Mike Dooley