'Swap A Book - For Students' is LAUNCHED

Swap A Book - For Students

Swap A Book for Students is a community project developed by Total Executive to help support students and the education facilities that improve the knowledge of our future generations.

The concept is simple...

You have a book I haven't read and I have a book you haven't read. We both recommend these books to each other.

Instead of buying the same new book each to read ourselves... We 'Swap A Book'.

Now since we are both saving the cost of buying these books - both of us pledge to contribute an amount to the education facility of our choice:

  • It could be a local infants, primary or secondary school
  • Maybe you select a Tafe or University
  • Maybe it is a community education facility...

Whatever your selection, we are sure that your contribution will be appreciated.

[NB: Consider asking for a receipt if you are eligible for a tax deduction for your contribution. In this way, you may be able to contribute more since the government will be giving you some money back].

The whole concept is based on a system of honesty and giving - only as much as you can afford.

At the same time we all are learning - as we read more books!

Total Executive believe that the most valuable investment we can make is supporting the education and development of our future generations. That is why we have developed 'Swap A Book' as the first community project we support.

If you represent an education facility that would like to be involved in 'Swap A Book - For Students', please provide details in the form here so we can promote your involvement

If you have a story about how you have had success using 'Swap A Book', please let us know using the form here and your story could feature in our 'Community Projects Blog' - that is syndicated across a variety of media, including many social media platforms.

If you represent a business, organisation, association or other facility and believe there are ways we can collaborate with 'Swap A Book - For Students', please contact us using the form here


Source:

Total Executive

http://www.TotalExec.com.au

Currently complimentary membership to Total Executive is available for 2010/2011 Saving $495:00.

Learn about Leadership Sustainability Responsibility Technology Communication Creativity Coaching Training and Education from our network of leaders and executives

Visit: http://www.totalexec.com.au/membership-benefits/

3 Exercises to Reduce Fear and Anxiety - by Mark Lesser


I notice that in the many seminars I lead in the business world, that fear, and its various manifestations, are at the root of important and difficult issues. The more we can understand and transform fear, the more we can accomplish with less wasted effort. Fear can be a useful ally. It can focus us, keep us safe, even at times keep us alive. Fear of illness or injury can motivate us to stop smoking, to exercise, and to eat healthier food. In our communities, it can motivate us to make our air and water cleaner, our bridges and levees stronger, our workplaces safer.

Fear can also be an enormous hindrance. Fear can color our world so that a stick can appear as a dangerous snake or an offer of friendship can be perceived as an imposition or even an attack. We can fear not getting promoted or losing our jobs; fear what people think about us, or fear that people aren’t thinking at all about us. We can fear the loss of a loved one, fear getting older, fear dying. The list of possible fears is almost endless, so it is not surprising that, sometimes without being aware of it, our actions and decisions can become ruled by fear. Living with fear can become an accepted and habitual way of being, leading to thoughts and actions that create more fear in a difficult-to-stop chain reaction - in ourselves, in relationships, in businesses and organizations, and in the world.

When we are afraid, our first impulse is to tighten our bodies and shut down our minds. We become the opposite of receptive and playful, and this is an enormous hindrance to learning new skills in the workplace, to collaborating, and to making interpersonal connections. The impulse to tighten can become so deeply ingrained that we may not even be aware of the ways that we keep ourselves back, or of the subtle and not-so-subtle ways that we communicate our fears to others.

Buddhism speaks of five primary fears:
• Fear of losing our state of mind
• Fear of public humiliation, or fear of speaking in public
• Fear of losing one’s reputation
• Fear of losing one’s livelihood
• Fear of death

Reducing fear (and its physical manifestation, anxiety) and opening oneself to new possibilities - surprises, even - is the first step, I believe, toward a more lasting sense of accomplishment. Reducing fear can be the first action that frees us to achieve a goal (even when, in losing our fear, our goal becomes something very different than previously imagined).

A few practices are:
- awareness of fear: begin just by noticing - when are you afraid; where does fear reside in your body; when do you move away from fear and when do you move toward fear? You might even try the practice of inviting your fears to tea.

- playing with time and how you think about and relate to time: try noticing the difference between relative time and time that is not relative. Experiment with just doing what you are doing, without trying to get to the next thing (not so easy…)

- practice generosity: by helping others, being aware of other’s needs and feelings. Notice how this reduces your fear.

Adapted from LESS: Accomplishing More By Doing Less

Marc Lesser is CEO of ZBA Associates LLC, a company providing executive coaching, leadership development consulting, and keynote speaking services to businesses and non-profits. He is a developer and instructor of Google’s Search Inside Yourself program. Marc was the founder and former CEO of Brush Dance publishing. Marc is a Zen teacher with an MBA degree; a former resident of the San Francisco Zen Center for 10 years, and graduate of NYU’s Stern School of Business. He is the author of Less: Accomplishing More By Doing Less and Z.B.A. Zen of Business Administration.


Source:

Total Executive

http://www.TotalExec.com.au

Currently complimentary membership to Total Executive is available for 2010/2011 Saving $495:00.

Learn about Leadership Sustainability Responsibility Technology Communication Creativity Coaching Training and Education from our network of leaders and executives

Visit: http://www.totalexec.com.au/membership-benefits/


Resume - Embellishments or Lies?

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It was a combination of some reading and DVD viewing that led to this topic of resumes and whether we are in fact lying when we dress them up a bit to make them more interesting. I pose that we are not lying; a bit of embellishment and 'white lying' make it far more interesting for the reader and more likely to get you the job.

Let's face it - we all lie. Albeit, the frequency and degree to which we all lie may vary. Lying is not necessarily a bad thing, as highlighted in the movie "The Invention of Lying" starring Ricky Gervais. If you have not seen the movie, it's about a world where everyone can only tell the truth until Ricky Gervais' character discovers he can lie. What is interesting is that it is painful to watch these people telling the truth all the time. The truth can sometimes be very unpleasant, so dressing things up by bending the truth - or not saying anything at all - can be far more preferable.

Can the same be said for our resumes? If you think about it, if we stated the exact truth it would no doubt be dry and/or boring to read, and unlikely to get us employed. Recruiter Daily had an article recently called "The top nine CV lies to look out for". It made me question whether in fact some of the nine items listed are really lies. The article highlights areas of the resume for recruiters to scrutinize, including achievements, the importance of the role, tenure and management.

Is it a case of the pot calling the kettle black?

If you consider how job ads tend to be written, and when you go through the interview experience, it is more than likely that the recruiter is doing a bit of white lying themselves, leaving out the not so attractive parts of the role and embellishing those that they list.

Read the full blog post ‘Resume Embellishments or Lies’ on the Six Figures blog and share your thoughts on the matter.

Original Source: Six Figures

Source:

Total Executive

http://www.TotalExec.com.au

Currently complimentary membership to Total Executive is available for 2010/2011 Saving $495:00.

Learn about Leadership Sustainability Responsibility Technology Communication Creativity Coaching Training and Education from our network of leaders and executives

Visit: http://www.totalexec.com.au/membership-benefits/

Performing Ourselves: Why Social Media is 25% Larger than Life

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I have always been drawn to acoustic performance. I love the authentic, stripped back timbre of a singer’s voice. I like the fact that you can’t hide behind the volume or be disguised by the electronic mixing. Perhaps this is why I ended up studying theatre for years.

And my study of theatre took me to unexpected places. I went from the mainstream deep into the avante garde of the early 20th Century – spending time immersed in the dark, imaginative worlds of Frank Wedekind, Antonin Artaud and Heiner Muller. I emerged, later, in the powerfully vibrant theatres of Howard Barker, Penny Arcade and Robert Wilson – where words, identity and action burned the scripts, bounced off the walls and scarred or transformed not just the audiences, but the performers too.

I learned over the years the difference between intuition and imagination, between intelligence and understanding, and that was is written is not always what is performed. The gap between text and performance excited me. Why, for example, is one performer’s version better or worse than another’s? No matter the song, it can only be a matter of words, right?

But there is an intangible sense that comes with performance. It’s about purpose and intent, and the need to step beyond what we say. We need to inhabit the very limits of who we are – physically and emotionally. In the theatre, Etienne Decroux – a physical theatre practitioner – created a grammar for the bodily articulation of movement. He discovered that to appear REAL to an audience, performers had to appear 25 percent larger than they are. Yes, they needed to be larger than life.

In social media we see this everyday. A predominantly text based form, social media in various guises requires that we write ourselves into existence. It requires us to write as a performance. And those participants who appear REAL are larger than the words that they use, their ideas magnified through the lens of Twitter, Facebook or blogs. Look at any one of the individuals you are drawn to in social media and ask yourself how much of this person do you know? How much is real and how much is performance? Are they 25% larger than life?

In the social media world of micro-celebrity, there is much we can learn from “real” celebrities – from performers who have mastered the art of celebrity as performance.

Over the coming weeks I will be sharing my thoughts on various performers and what we can learn from them as social media participants – and what it means for brands and businesses wanting beginning or already engaged in their social media performance.

Original Source:Servant of Chaos


Source:

Total Executive

http://www.TotalExec.com.au

Currently complimentary membership to Total Executive is available for 2010/2011 Saving $495:00.

Learn about Leadership Sustainability Responsibility Technology Communication Creativity Coaching Training and Education from our network of leaders and executives

Visit: http://www.totalexec.com.au/membership-benefits/

'Swap A Book - For Students' is LAUNCHED

Source:

Total Executive

http://www.TotalExec.com.au

Swap A Book - For Students

Swap A Book for Students is a community project developed by Total Executive to help support students and the education facilities that improve the knowledge of our future generations.

The concept is simple...

You have a book I haven't read and I have a book you haven't read. We both recommend these books to each other.

Instead of buying the same new book each to read ourselves... We 'Swap A Book'.

Now since we are both saving the cost of buying these books - both of us pledge to contribute an amount to the education facility of our choice:

  • It could be a local infants, primary or secondary school
  • Maybe you select a Tafe or University
  • Maybe it is a community education facility...

Whatever your selection, we are sure that your contribution will be appreciated.

[NB: Consider asking for a receipt if you are eligible for a tax deduction for your contribution. In this way, you may be able to contribute more since the government will be giving you some money back].

The whole concept is based on a system of honesty and giving - only as much as you can afford.

At the same time we all are learning - as we read more books!

Total Executive believe that the most valuable investment we can make is supporting the education and development of our future generations. That is why we have developed 'Swap A Book' as the first community project we support.

If you represent an education facility that would like to be involved in 'Swap A Book - For Students', please provide details in the form here so we can promote your involvement

If you have a story about how you have had success using 'Swap A Book', please let us know using the form here and your story could feature in our 'Community Projects Blog' - that is syndicated across a variety of media, including many social media platforms.

If you represent a business, organisation, association or other facility and believe there are ways we can collaborate with 'Swap A Book - For Students', please contact us using the form here

Back on track

Source:

Total Executive

http://www.TotalExec.com.au

 Back of woman

 

It’s the central pivot of our bodies, the structure around which all of our movements are executed. The spine has such a fundamental effect on our quality of life that we should be lovingly protecting it and keeping it safe from harm. Yet, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, our slouchy lifestyles have made back pain not only the most prevalent, but with total spending on pain relief exceeding $8 billion, also the most costly musculoskeletal condition in Australia. The good news is, with a little attention, it’s not too difficult to keep a back happy.

Meet Your Spine

This clever stack of vertebrae and cartilage plays best supporting structure to your skull, pelvis, arms, legs, ribs, and spinal cord (which connects your brain to your body via the nervous system). The jelly-like cartilage discs between each vertebra provide cushioning and shock absorption, and a complex series of muscles and ligaments keeps it all in place. With a natural s-shaped curve, it is both strong and flexible, enabling you to twist, bend and arch at your leisure. Your spine’s job is to deal with the physical stress placed on it from everyday activities. Unfortunately, sedentary modern lifestyles and workplaces have not been designed with spines in mind.

How Do Backs Go Bad?

This common condition affects men and women equally. In a healthy adult the most frequent cause of back pain is injury or trauma to the vertebrae and surrounding tissues. Modern lifestyles, complete with long hours of sitting at desks, on couches, using computers, and general inactivity, have created a population of weak-backed people. Weak muscles are particularly susceptible to injury, as they are unable to handle the stresses and strains of everyday activities (not to mention the odd burst of well-intentioned exercise). Sprains, strains, and spasms of the muscles and ligaments of the back can come from such simple activities as overstretching, lifting something too heavy, housework and gardening.

Acute symptoms may come in the form of muscle aches, shooting pain, limited movement and limited flexibility. Back pain is considered chronic when it persists longer than three months. If the strain is too much for the spine, or it becomes overly compressed, it can lead to bulging or rupture of an intervertebral disc. Bulging discs can put pressure on the nerves coming from the spine and lead to problems such as sciatic pain.

8 common causes of back pain

  • Insufficient exercise, or exercise without warming up and cooling down
  • Not moving enough during the day
  • Old mattresses
  • Poor posture
  • Being overweight
  • Stress
  • Dehydration
  • Non-ergonomic workplaces (In Australia 39% of back pain is work-related)

Prevention better than cure

 There’s an easy option when it comes to avoiding ongoing pain and costly treatments, and that’s by preventing back pain from occurring in the first place. Not only will this save you much moaning and groaning (and hard-earned dollars), but you may actually start noticing an overall feeling of good health too. Here are six top  tips for you and your back:

  • Exercise. Do it regularly and the muscles that support your spine will improve along with your posture. Gentle exercise for 30 minutes a day is the goal, but even incidental exercise such as using the stairs instead of the lift will do. Remember to warm up and cool down.
  • Watch how you lift. Bend your knees and keep your abs tight when lifting. When carrying, keep the object close to your body and keep your back straight. Whatever you do, don’t twist while lifting or carrying something heavy.
  • Take a break. If you have to sit for long periods (i.e. driving or at work) take a minute every hour to stretch or have a little walk. This will loosen your back muscles and allow your joints some flexibility.
  • Take a load off. Maintaining a healthy body weight prevents the extra weight from compressing the intervertebral discs, and putting strain on the back.
  • Sleep well. If you’re waking stiff and sore in the morning it may be your mattress. You might also want to adjust your sleeping position, for example, sleeping on your stomach puts undue stress on your back.            
  • Drink up. Keep yourself fluid and flexible by drinking plenty of water. It rehydrates your muscles and keeps your intervertebral discs heightened and healthy.

Don’t be a slouch

The health of your back is intimately linked with your posture, and the quality of your posture is intimately linked with your core muscles. Unless you are super-fit, or were brought up attending ballet lessons twice a week, chances are you slouch. Slouching placates your inner slob, but it also weakens your deep abdominal and lower back muscles, otherwise known as your core.

Core strength

These synergistic muscle groups work together, complimenting each other’s movements, while they support your spine and give you fabulous, movie star posture. When it’s strong it lowers the chance of injury or damage to your spine and keeps your vertebrae in alignment. Exercises that improve your core muscles include yoga, pilates, and swimming.

When To See a Doctor

Most back pain can be managed easily, but every so often back pain can indicate a more serious problem. Back pain accompanied by fever, difficulty passing or controlling urine, weakness or numbness in the legs, pain when coughing, or severe pain that keeps getting worse, is worth getting checked out by your GP.

Getting back to health

 If you’ve already done yourself a mischief there are a few things you can do other than downing painkillers.

  • Temporarily reduce heavy activity.
  • Exercise. Strengthening, mobilising and stretching is great, but often best prescribed by an exercise specialist, such as a physiotherapist.
  • Acupuncture has been shown to have wonderful analgesic effects, and reduces muscle spasm, inflammation, and nerve pain.
  • Massage. Any excuse!
  • Joint mobilisation and manipulation can help re-align unhappy spines. Qualified osteopaths or chiropractors can help you with this.

Somebody Help Me

Here’s a list of therapies that can help you out of a tight spot …

Acupuncture

Acupuncture has been used for pain relief for centuries. Acupuncture reduces pain by releasing ‘stagnation’ and encouraging blood flow to the affected area. This flushes injured tissues with nutrients and sweeps away inflammation, swelling, and bruising. It also encourages muscle, joint, and bone repair, which in turn eases chronic pain. Needles are placed around the painful area, as well as at points on the arms, legs and feet. These needles are hair-fine and are essentially painless. Current research confirms what the Chinese have known for so long. Research published in the Clinical Journal of Pain has  shown that not only is acupuncture a safe and effective treatment for back pain, but that the results last for six months or longer without the negative side-effects of medication. You can find your local practitioner through the Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association.

Craniosacral Therapy

The origins of craniosacral therapy can be found in early 20th century cranial osteopathy, but in the mid 1970’s Dr John Upledger developed the fledging theory into a complete therapy. Your craniosacral system is the bones and soft tissues of your head, spine, sacrum, and pelvis. Craniosacral therapists work with the fluid that surrounds, protects, and nourishes these structures, while travelling around them in a kind of tidal movement. Using a light tough, practitioners mobilise and release restrictions that cause pain and dysfunction in the body. Each treatment lasts around 40-60 minutes. The Craniosacral Therapy Association of Australia has a list of practitioners in each state, or find one in a natural health directory.

Rolfing

Rolfing, also known as Structural Integration, was developed by Dr Ida Rolf over 50 years ago. Deep tissue manipulation and movement integration is designed to reshape your body’s myofascial structure and remind the structures of your body how to work together again. Rolfers work the connective tissue of the body until it is supple, allowing muscles to lengthen and fall into proper alignment. Releasing this tissue tension encourages correct alignment, improves posture, and increases range of movement. Basic Rolfing treatment consists of 10 weekly sessions, each session taking 60-90 minutes. The Australian Group of the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration has a list of practitioners, or try a natural health directory.

Bowen Therapy

Bowen therapy also works on the connective tissue (fascia) to ease pain and improve posture. Unlike Rolfing (which employs techniques similar to classic massage), Bowen therapy uses sequences of small movements over particular areas of the body. Using gentle movements that vary in pressure, Bowen therapists use their hands to roll across the muscles, tendons and ligaments, to release the fascia. These techniques affect the autonomic nervous system, increase oxygen production, and improve circulation, which relieves pain and physical and emotional stress. During your treatment the therapist may leave the room after some of the moves to allow your body to process the information. Most treatments take 30-60 minutes. To find a Bowen therapist near you the Bowen Therapists Federation of Australia has a list for each state.

Alexander Technique

If your back pain is recurring and you’re sick of going to the chiropractor, it may be time to unlearn some bad habits. The Alexander technique addresses the cause of back problems by stopping them before they start. By helping you to rediscover poise, balance, and coordination while you move through your everyday activities, this clever technique significantly reduces strain on your bones, joints and muscles. The result is a sensation of lightness throughout your body as it begins to move more efficiently, with childlike ease. A study printed in the British Medical Journal in 2008 reported that a series of six lessons in the Alexander technique combined with an exercise regime significantly reduced both chronic and recurrent back pain. Find your local practitioner through the Natural Therapy Pages.

Simple changes to your lifestyle can make huge changes to your long-term health and happiness. Looking after you spine now will help you stay active and comfortable, whatever age you may be.

By Aja Stuart.

Julie Hamilton By Julie Hamilton on Friday, December 11, 2009 and filed under 'Healthy Living' | (0)


Authors Website: http://www.omigoddess.com.au

How to be rich & thin with great hair

Source:

Total Executive

http://www.TotalExec.com.au

Self help books

100 Self Help books later

It started, as I guess it often does, with a life crisis.  My mother was diagnosed with cancer – ’serious’ cancer, the type with a poor prognosis.  I took three months off work to look after her following her surgery and had plenty of time, as well as the inclination, to consider what I was doing with my own life. 

Mid life crisis

Two things were clear to me: no one lives forever, and I was now playing a role that I had not chosen – ‘carer’.  Is this who I was, who I wanted to be?  What were MY goals, what did I want out of life?  And I was turning 40 soon.  I had all the ingredients for a mid life crisis, but I was determined to rise to this challenge and I turned to … books.

French connection

It started innocently enough.  Despite my left wing leanings and bohemian inclinations,  I started reading  the Vogue and Harpers Bazaar, magazines I had disdained for clues as to what my next haircut should be, and somehow this led me to the idea that the French had all the answers.  Not just about hair, about EVERYTHING. 

Pandora’s box

I read my way through ‘French Women don’t get Fat’ and countless bios from women writing about how moving to Paris had changed their lives.   One thing leads to another, and soon I was also devouring tales from women from many walks of life on how they had lost weight and changed their lives.  I quickly moved from there to how to change your life through what you eat: Ayurveda, protein diets, food combining, vegetarianism, baking bread, giving up sugar, eating the right fats, eating local, growing your own food. Like the diets themselves, these books soon left me wanting more.  My trips to the library took me to shelves I never even glanced at previously – where personal development meets spirituality and that is where the trouble really started!

Zen monks to backpacking 

Buddhism, Christianity,  Zen, Quakerism,  Atheism, Humanism.  Meditation, yoga, human evolution. I’ve read Eckhart and Deepak, and ‘old school’ material like ‘7 Habits of Effective People’. From downsizing and voluntary simplicity to career planning and being the perfect employee. Enneagram, Myers Briggs, habit breaking tricks.  Philosophy, Astrology, Romanticism. Even economics, architecture, urban design and global warming  – to understand the world I live in! I’ve read biographies of people who’ve become Zen monks, lived on remote South Pacific islands, cycled through Japan, backpacked China and cooked their way around India.

New and improved!

So what have I learnt?  Am I richer, thinner, healthier with a better hairstyle?  Am I calm, centred with a great career? Well, yes and no!  I am a little bit thinner, but my health is the same.  My hair -  a boring bob I have to admit!  My career? – well I’m still in the same job, but I have enrolled in a part time degree and for the first time in my life actually have a career goal.  I will claim to be more centered – most days!  A regular yoga practice has helped.  I have a better understanding of living in the ‘now’.  I am trying to have less attachment to outcomes and more attachment to my values and principles and I’m starting to appreciate where my ‘circle of influence’ lies. 

Making it happen

The big step of course is to move beyond the reading and into action!  I ran a charity fundraiser at my work for a cause I believe in – hard work for an introvert!  I’ve enrolled to study, and re-affirmed my commitment to my role as a mum and a carer – but the good news is, Mum is well.  She had another serious battle with a secondary cancer, but she’s had 12 months of good health.

Most of all, I’ve learnt to count my blessings, one of which is having a great local library!

Holly Humphrey

Julie Hamilton By Julie Hamilton on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 and filed under 'Healthy Living' | (0)


Authors Website: http://www.omigoddess.com.au